Discovering Something Amiss: Ze Jing Blessed Land

After confirming that the location they had traversed was temporarily safe, Xiao Chen landed on a nearby rock.

I carefully examined my current situation.

The first problem he discovered was that the Heavy Water Robe he had cast beforehand did not travel with him.

In other words, there is no way to ensure one's safety while traveling by using Law Technique.

"What happened?"

This was clearly bad news for Xiao Chen.

If he were to encounter a premeditated attack by the enemy immediately after completing the teleportation, or if he happened to come across two powerful individuals engaged in combat, he might not have time to cast Defensive Spell.

Although the chances of this happening are slim, it's not entirely impossible.

Fortunately, he had Night's Edge as a safety net, so even if he was unlucky, he wouldn't be killed on sight.

Could it be a problem with the Law Technique?

Xiao Chen silently noted this question in his mind and decided to use a different Defensive Spell as a reference before launching the next teleportation attack.

He also discovered that not only was his Heavy Water Robe gone, but his Storage Ring was also affected.

Xiao Chen originally wore five Storage Ring on his hands.

These include the Vast Sea Ring, the Sundries Ring, the newly acquired Large Storage Ring, and two spoils of war seized from Sea Race spy.

But now only the first three remain; the other two spoils have vanished.

I don't know if it stayed on that island or if it disappeared completely.

But we'll have to verify that when we get back.

Fortunately, Xiao Chen had already taken out the Spirit Stone inside, leaving only two miscellaneous items to be sold, worth only a few hundred Spirit Stone.

It's not worth feeling sorry for them even if they can't be found.

But why is that?

Xiao Chen brought his other three Storage Ring with him, and his White Feather Robe was also intact.

Only the two Storage Ring disappeared.

"Could it be that it's because of a problem with the sacrificial process?"

The difference between them is that Xiao Chen only broke the restriction, but did not completely refine the two Storage Ring.

He did this because he originally planned to sell the extra Storage Ring.

Therefore, it was not thoroughly refined, so that it could be traded in the future.

"It would be best to try this out as well."

Verifying this isn't difficult. Xiao Chen simply needs to purchase two similar Spirit Artifact, then refine only one of them to obtain a comparison result.

He had originally planned to go to the nearest gathering place or market.

Gather intelligence and understand the situation in this world.

I'll take this opportunity to examine the Spirit Artifact here and see if there's anything different about them.

Which way should we go?

Having just arrived, Xiao Chen was unfamiliar with the place and its people.

Although it's not difficult to distinguish east from west, south from north when looking around, it's still hard to know which direction to go first.

"Should I just stay here for twelve hours?"

Xiao Chen hesitated, wondering if he needed to be more cautious with his exploration strategy.

To be honest, the idea of coming here and doing nothing but waiting in one place all day is really stupid and too conservative.

However, a clumsy method is not necessarily a bad method.

Once the twelve hours have passed, Xiao Chen can leave this Cultivation World and return at any time.

This means that no matter what happens to him here, he is 100% confident of escaping.

"But is it really necessary to do this?"

Sensing the sparse Spiritual Qi around him, Xiao Chen felt that the cultivators or Demon Beast nearby were probably not that strong.

Judging from the situation in the Southern Domain, there are probably very few people here even at the Late-stage Golden Core.

With my current level of cultivation, I can certainly show myself openly and confidently.

Logically speaking, he could already be considered to rule this place.

"No, we still can't be careless!"

However, after careful consideration, Xiao Chen decided to follow the wisdom of his predecessors.

As the saying goes, "Better safe than sorry."

He now possesses Lifespan of a thousand years, so why is he in such a hurry?

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen immediately activated the <Profound Sect Harmonious Modulation Secret Art> to conceal himself, and then hid in the crevice between two rocks.

This location is very well hidden.

Whether someone passes by above or below, they can't see him.

However, perhaps the place where Xiao Chen was located was too desolate.

They waited from morning till night, but not a single cultivator or even bird or beast passed by.

After nightfall, the surroundings were utterly silent.

"How boring."

Feeling the sparse Spiritual Qi around him, Xiao Chen didn't even have the thought of passing the time through cultivation.

Firstly, there is very little Spiritual Qi here.

If he were to absorb it all at once, the resulting commotion would be enormous, and it might not even be enough.

Secondly, an excessively scarce amount of Spiritual Qi can severely impact cultivation efficiency.

Instead of wasting that effort, why not think carefully about where you should go next?

"How about we head east after dawn?"

Xiao Chen, considering that he had Wood Spiritual Root, felt that going to the east side might bring him better luck.

Head towards the direction where the sun rises.

That sounds like a pretty good option.

"Boom! Boom!"

The silent night was suddenly shattered by an explosion.

Xiao Chen's ears twitched, and he subconsciously turned his head to look to the west, but unfortunately, his view was blocked by rocks.

"Boom! Roar!"

A new explosion rang out, and the distant roars of beasts could be faintly heard.

However, like the sound of an explosion, the distance between them made it sound somewhat ethereal.

"At least a thousand miles away."

Xiao Chen immediately made an estimate in his mind, and at the same time judged based on the order of these sounds.

The two sides are moving rapidly from south to north.

Moreover, their strength must be considerable; they must be at least at the Golden Core stage, otherwise they wouldn't have caused such a commotion.

Normally, at this point, we should probably go out and take a look.

However, Xiao Chen only thought about it for a moment before dismissing the idea.

Perhaps it's just two Demon Beast fighting.

Even if cultivators are fighting, what does it have to do with him?

As long as Xiao Chen stays here and doesn't go out, this matter won't affect him.

Besides, making such a commotion in the middle of the night would definitely attract other cultivators.

The more this is the case, the more he should stay away.

There will be more excitement to watch later, but right now, he only has two words in his mind—steadiness!

They waited patiently until the next day, and felt the powerful energy within the emblem had been restored.

Xiao Chen then leaped out of the rock.

Then, following the established goal, they headed straight east.

Since we're heading to find a gathering place or market, and the cooldown for teleportation is over, there's no need to keep hiding ourselves any longer.

Therefore, Xiao Chen voluntarily stopped the <Profound Sect Harmonious Modulation Secret Art>.

He then used the <Mysterious Sect Illusion Art> to disguise himself as a Mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.

Golden Light Rogue Cultivator has returned to the martial world!

This was a plan he devised last night out of boredom, a choice he made after careful consideration.

The reason why Xiao Chen doesn't directly reveal his true cultivation level is...

Considering that they were newcomers, they should at least hold back some cards.

This was also to keep a low profile and avoid attracting the attention of the Nascent Soul True Lord of this realm.

After all, anyone who discovers a strange Nascent Soul True Lord has appeared in their territory would inevitably come over to investigate.

However, if it were a Mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, they probably wouldn't care at all.

At the same time, Xiao Chen also considered that a lower cultivation level is not necessarily better.

If the cultivation level you fake is too low, it will easily attract unscrupulous people who will come looking for trouble.

Therefore, he ultimately chose the strength of the Mid-stage Golden Core.

This level is truly not low among independent cultivators; it's enough to filter out many people with ill intentions.

It can be said that this was all for the success of this exploration.

Xiao Chen had made ample preparations.

To make his disguise more convincing, he deliberately reduced his flying speed, observing this entirely new Cultivation World as he traveled.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a barren world."

Despite suppressing his speed, Xiao Chen had already covered nearly a thousand miles by noon.

However, along the way, he did not notice a single place with abundant Spiritual Qi.

At the same time, no Spirit Herb were found by the roadside.

That's right, there isn't a single Spirit Herb!

"Strange, something seems off about this Cultivation World."

The reason Xiao Chen chose Hextech was because he thought that having another Cultivation World would be helpful for his future breakthrough to the Spirit Transformation.

Whether it's a special spiritual object like the Dao Comprehension Crystal.

Or perhaps the main ingredients of the Breakthrough Spirit Pill, as well as the special Breakthrough Secret Method, would all be extremely valuable treasures.

Even if Xiao Chen can find a suitable fortuitous opportunity in the new Cultivation World.

For example, spiritual mines that have been depleted or spirit medicine that have become extinct in the original Cultivation World, and even Fifth-Tier Spirit Item that are of finite value to Spirit Transformation Venerable.

Its impact will far exceed that of the other two Hextech.

But judging from the current situation, this place seems even worse than the Southern Domain.

However, Xiao Chen did not lose heart, after all, the original Cultivation World was divided into the Southern Domain and the Eastern Domain.

Most monks born in Li Province could never imagine the richness of the Sea of the Compassion Sea in their entire lives.

Perhaps his journey to this new world just happened to land him in a barren place.

Perhaps in a couple of days we'll find a land of plenty, harvest countless High-Tier Spirit Medicine, and reach the pinnacle of life.

Wow, just thinking about it makes me a little excited.

However, after traveling the second thousand miles, they still hadn't encountered any places where Spiritual Qi gathered, nor had they seen a single Spirit Herb.

Xiao Chen finally realized that something strange was going on in this Cultivation World.

It's important to note that this isn't a question of whether something is barren or not, but rather a question of what is illogical.

Even in the Southern Domain, the Spiritual Qi Concentration varies from place to place.

Some Spirit Land, nestled against mountains and beside water, are more suitable for cultivation than barren wastelands where not a Spiritual Qi of grass grows.

For example, if we consider Spiritual Qi as a water source.

Some places are crisscrossed by rivers, while others are naturally arid.

However, since Xiao Chen can sense Spiritual Qi, it means there must be a stream here.

So, without external interference, there should be some small puddles or similar spots in the middle of the stream.

The problem is that after traveling two thousand miles, he didn't encounter any places where Spiritual Qi gathered.

This is undoubtedly quite unusual!

On the bright side, perhaps Xiao Chen just happened to land in a large area that resembled a desert or wasteland.

If that's the case, then as long as we go out, it won't be a big problem.

But if we look at the worst-case scenario, could some major upheaval have happened here in the past?

A widespread war, shattering the land?

A sudden, major disaster, or a bizarre, inexplicable change?

Many thoughts flashed through Xiao Chen's mind in an instant.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from the southeast.

Xiao Chen immediately turned his head to look.

Six conspicuous beams of light streaked across the sky, revealing six Late-stage Golden Core cultivators dressed in identical Magic Robe, each riding a sword.

Upon closer inspection, they had actually managed to vaguely form a simple Sword Formation.

There is a flow of Spiritual Power between them, which increases their sword-wielding speed.

They naturally noticed Xiao Chen as well, but only the young man in the lead scanned him with his Divine Sense for a brief investigation.

The six of them then neither stopped nor slowed down, and headed straight northwest as if they hadn't seen anything at all.

Amplified by the Sword Formation, their speed was incredibly fast.

It disappeared into the horizon in an instant.

"Six young-looking Late-stage Golden Core?"

Xiao Chen blinked. Was he seeing things?

How could such a Spiritual Qi place, even worse than the desolate Southern Domain, possibly cultivate six Late-stage Golden Core under two hundred years old?

Even more outrageous, they appeared to be wearing Unified Magic Robe.

They must come from the same faction.

"I knew something felt off, and sure enough, there was a problem."

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen's spirits lifted immediately. "How about we change course and go to the south side?"

After thinking for a moment, he decided to change direction and continue exploring along the path the six cultivators had taken.

Based on his experience, such powerful forces usually have markets or neighborhoods nearby.

Once you arrive at the market town, you'll naturally encounter independent cultivators.

At that time, Xiao Chen will have many ways to obtain the information he wants.

However, despite slightly increasing his speed and flying south for a day and a night, covering tens of thousands of miles, the conditions along the way remained almost unchanged.

From an environmental perspective, there have indeed been many more flowers, trees, and even forests.

However, the most important element, the Spiritual Qi Concentration, showed no improvement whatsoever; it remained as sparse as ever.

As a result, Xiao Chen, who was used to the original changes in Spiritual Qi, felt a distinct sense of incongruity here.

Especially since the Spiritual Qi Tide was no longer present during the morning hours, he felt somewhat uneasy.

However, the Spiritual Qi Tide seems to be a characteristic of the Compassion Sea, so it's normal that it's not present here.

"Ah~, there's Spirit Herb!"

Finally, thanks to his excellent eyesight, Xiao Chen spotted a large patch of lush green Qi- Qi Nourishing Grass growing in a basin about four hundred miles away.

He was very familiar with this thing.

Even if it's just a fleeting glance, I would never mistake it for something else.

A place where Spirit Herb can be cultivated must not be a place lacking in Spiritual Qi.

More importantly, such a large area of Qi Nourishing Grass is clearly a concentrated planting, and there are usually Spirit Farmer responsible for its maintenance nearby.

Xiao Chen immediately adjusted his direction and moved closer.

However, upon closer inspection, he discovered that this basin was no ordinary place.

Despite possessing nearly twice the Spiritual Qi of the outside world.

However, there was a semi-transparent Array Barrier on the outside, which firmly locked the Spiritual Qi in the basin.

Even though Xiao Chen had gotten within ten miles, he still couldn't sense any Spiritual Qi emanating from him.

Even the Spiritual Qi Concentration around the basin not only did not increase, but actually decreased slightly.

It was clearly gathered by that formation and absorbed into the basin to nourish the Spirit Herb.

"Wow, such a high-level Spirit Gathering Formation?"

Xiao Chen was somewhat surprised, as he always carried a portable Spirit Gathering Array Disk with him.

However, the array plate in his hand was completely unable to completely bind the Spiritual Qi.

.

Its main principle relies on Spirit Stone to quickly increase the Spiritual Qi Concentration within the formation. The formation itself only serves to ensure that the Spiritual Qi does not dissipate rapidly.

However, over time, the Spiritual Qi within will spontaneously leak out.

Of course, Xiao Chen's array plate wasn't of a high grade, but the problem was that the Qi Nourishing Grass was only a first-tier Spirit Herb.

Logically speaking, it should be a level lower than his array.

Do even a Tier 1 Spirit Herb deserve such a good Spirit Gathering Formation?

However, looking around at the surroundings, Xiao Chen realized that he really did have to rely on the Spirit Gathering Formation.

Without the Spirit Gathering Formation, the Spirit Herb here would at least be greatly affected in their growth rate, if not withered to death.

Moreover, it's not hard to imagine that since Spirit Gathering Formation was used, the cost must be reasonable.

To achieve this, it would mean that the Qi Nourishing Grass in the Cultivation World are very expensive.

Then Xiao Chen could consider making a quick fortune by reselling Spirit Herb.

This either means that the cost of the opponent's Spirit Gathering Formation is very low.

That would be even more incredible!

If the energy-gathering effect is so powerful yet the cost is so low, it can only mean that the array system in this Cultivation World is extremely advanced.

As a result, the other party developed Array Dao Skill that far surpassed those of the Cultivation World where Xiao Chen originally lived.

Technology is also a form of wealth, perhaps even more valuable!

First of all, the matter of buying low and selling high doesn't necessarily require bringing things over from the original Cultivation World to sell.

As long as there is a gap between the two sides, Xiao Chen can easily make a huge profit by moving the goods here back to sell.

Secondly, if the formations and techniques here are well-developed.

He can also learn more powerful formations from here.

This matter concerns improving Xiao Chen's abilities, which is far more important than earning Spirit Stone!

"That's interesting!"

Xiao Chen landed on the Flying Sword and scanned the entire basin with his Divine Sense.

However, they were surprised to find that there were no cultivators in the basin.

The entire basin, or more precisely, the entire area within the Spirit Gathering Formation Array.

Apart from a few ditches that guide the spiritual spring and bear footprints, the entire area is planted with dense Spirit Herb, leaving no empty space.

The utilization rate of the Spirit Field can be said to have been maximized.

Naturally, there was simply no room for the small huts used by the cultivators who guarded the Spirit Herb.

This is strange; someone has to be responsible for maintaining the formation and taking care of the Spirit Herb, right?

With a thought, Xiao Chen expanded the search range with his Divine Sense.

Finally, we saw two rows of small houses built outside the Spirit Gathering Formation.

And a group of about seven or eight monks who were hiding to the side, secretly observing them.

They were crouching nervously inside a cave at a higher point in the basin.

A slender Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator surveyed the outside world with his eyes.

The others were only at the Mid-stage Qi Refining Realm- or Late-Stage Qi Refining level, so they obediently hid, not saying a word, and seemed a little nervous.

Xiao Chen also noticed that they were holding identical Flying Sword.

However, three of the Flying Sword looked newer, while the other three looked rather Flying Sword, as if they had been used for many years.

Not only do they not look very wealthy.

Even that Foundation Establishment Cultivator was somewhat poor.

Judging from the obviously worn, secondhand, high-quality Magic Robe he was wearing, it was clear that he had been shopping for a secondhand item.

Alternatively, judging from the fact that he only possessed a mid-grade Flying Sword at his waist, the same conclusion can be drawn.

"I am the Golden Light True Person."

Xiao Chen looked at the other person and beckoned, "Young friend over there, please come over for a moment. I have a couple of questions for you."

"Don't be nervous, I won't hurt you."

Upon hearing him directly reveal his location, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator dared not continue to hide.

He gritted his teeth and crawled out of the hole, carrying his Magic Robe, which was noticeably too long, and ran over in small, quick steps.

Then, with a beaming smile, he cupped his hands in a respectful bow and said, "This junior, Li Jianyang, Guest Elder of the Yang Gao City Gao Family, pays his respects to the senior!"

"If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

"This junior will certainly speak frankly and without reservation."

Despite his respectful attitude, his very first words were a quick mention of his background.

They were trying to use this method to make the unfamiliar senior in front of them feel some apprehension or fear.

Unfortunately, he misused his little scheme.

Xiao Chen had no idea where Yang Gao City was, nor did he know anything about the Gao Family.

He knew nothing about these things, because after listening, he was completely confused and felt no concern or fear whatsoever.

However, these are not the main points.

Anyway, Xiao Chen wasn't there to cause trouble, so the other party's background didn't matter.

He simply asked, "Alas, about a hundred years ago, in order to advance my cultivation further, I went into seclusion for an extended period."

"But unexpectedly, after a hundred years, many things have become unclear in my memory."

"In addition, some unexpected changes occurred after we left the customs, and we also unintentionally went the wrong way."

"Tell me, what territory are we in now? Which sect is the nearest to us? And which direction should we head?"

This is the new identity that Xiao Chen has set for himself.

A hermit who secluded himself for a century, causing himself to become disconnected from the outside world.

Of course, he remains the same as before, a rogue cultivator with no sect, no faction, and no background.

However, upon hearing this question, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator couldn't help but look up at him in surprise.

A century of seclusion?

This concept is still too exaggerated for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

So much so that he was filled with both doubt and envy for a moment.

"Um?"

Xiao Chen frowned slightly and gave a soft hum to urge him on.

The Foundation Establishment Cultivator immediately shuddered, forgetting all his feelings and speculations.

He hurriedly replied, "Replying to your question, senior, this is still within the territory of Yang Gao City."

"The nearest sect is the Gui Yun Sect, located in the Ze Jing Blessed Land to the southwest."

After he finished speaking, he bowed his head respectfully.

But I became increasingly curious: why would this senior ask such a question?

Has a century of seclusion really made one forget the locations of even the most auspicious places?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen immediately realized that Ze Jing Blessed Land must be a very famous location.

He nodded. "So this is where it is."

Then, feigning a sigh, he said, "Alas, it seems I really strayed too far from the mark."

"Alright, you can go back now."

Xiao Chen smiled slightly and waved his hand.

Then it flew back in the direction it came from.

He did not intend to ask any more questions, lest he leave any room for doubt.

Instead, they planned to leave the area and then go around to the southwest side of Ze Jing Blessed Land to check the situation.