Preparing for Training, Departing for Northern Azure!

Several days later,

Outside Nine Nether Palace,

Nine Nether and the Tang sisters had come to see Lu Chen off.

"Have you decided? You're leaving to train now? You won't wait until you've successfully cultivated the Heavenly Flame Celestial Body?"

Nine Nether asked with a solemn expression.

"I've decided. I've only just begun cultivating the two Divine Abilities, but I already have more than enough means to protect myself. This trip is merely to travel the world, see the scenery of other continents, walk ten thousand miles, throw a million punches, spar with the prodigies of every land, and test some of my ideas."

"When the Great Lo Golden Pool Competition begins a year from now, I'll return. By then, I'll sweep aside all enemies, help you reclaim everything you lost, and ascend to become the foremost of Da Luo Territory's younger generation."

Lu Chen said with a smile.

Nine Nether rolled her eyes at him, then slowly took out a Spirit Ring and handed it to him. "Be careful in everything you do, and come back early. There are some pills inside for restoring spiritual energy and treating injuries, as well as some Spirit Coin. When you're out there, you can't always pay with Sovereign Spiritual Liquid. That would be far too wasteful."

Lu Chen accepted the Spirit Ring and swept it with his spiritual energy. The space inside was quite large, a full hundred cubic meters, packed with pills and Spirit Coin.

Spirit Coin was the currency commonly used by cultivators in the early stages of cultivation and the Three Heavens Realm. It contained pure spiritual energy and could be used as cultivation resources.

As for those in the Three Minor Tribulations of the Sovereign and the Supreme Realm beyond, they generally used Sovereign Spiritual Liquid for transactions, because ordinary spiritual energy could no longer do much to advance cultivation at their level.

"Big Brother Lu Chen, you must be careful out there. If you run into an enemy you can't defeat, come back quickly. Sister Nine Nether and we'll definitely find a way to avenge you."

Tang Rou spoke softly, her bright, watery eyes brimming with reluctance and affection.

"Don't worry. So long as they're not above the Fifth Grade Sovereign, they won't be able to do anything to me."

Lu Chen smiled and nodded. Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly remembered something.

He then looked at Tang Bing beside him and abruptly asked, "Sister Tang Bing, how much Sovereign Spiritual Liquid do you need to break through to the Supreme Realm?"

"At least... one thousand drops."

Tang Bing froze for a moment. After hesitating briefly, she deliberately gave a lower estimate.

Lu Chen smiled upon hearing this. He clenched his hand, and a glowing jade bottle appeared in his palm. He handed it to Tang Bing and said, "Sister Tang Bing, there are two thousand drops of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid in here. It should be enough for your breakthrough."

The Tang sisters were the two strongest people in Nine Nether Palace besides himself and Nine Nether.

The younger Tang Rou was still fine. She was merely at the first level of the Divine Soul Tribulation and still had some distance to go before breaking through to the Supreme Realm.

However, Tang Bing had already passed all three Divine Soul Tribulations and only lacked opening her Supreme Sea. She had simply never possessed enough Sovereign Spiritual Liquid to make the breakthrough.

Now that he was about to embark on a long journey, it was time to provide Nine Nether Palace with a few more safeguards of strength.

Tang Bing was stunned, but she did not take it. Her eyes turned toward Nine Nether, and only after seeing the latter nod slightly did she gently accept it. Her gaze softened somewhat as she quietly said to Lu Chen, "Thank you."

"Protect Nine Nether Palace well, and keep an eye on Sister Nine Nether for me. Don't let her be too impulsive and fall for the provocations of the other kings. Nine Nether Palace's strength is far inferior to what it once was. We can no longer casually start a war."

Lu Chen instructed with a smile.

Because competition on Tianluo Continent was too intense, Da Luo Territory, as one of the Northern Region's top powers, did not forbid the Various Kings under its command from killing one another. On the contrary, it encouraged and supported it. So long as they had a legitimate reason, they could attack, conquer, and annex each other.

"You little brat sure worries about a lot. Your big sister here isn't stupid. Why would I start a war if I can't beat them? Stop nagging already. Are you leaving or not?"

Nine Nether glared at Lu Chen and spoke with an unhappy expression.

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving. I won't trouble Sister Nine Nether to worry about me."

Lu Chen blinked, then waved his hand. Spiritual energy circulated within his body, and a pair of purple wings roughly half a meter long suddenly shot out from his back in a bizarre fashion.

Lu Chen smiled faintly. With a flap of his wings, he shot into the sky and shattered through space, vanishing before the astonished eyes of the three women.

"Sister Nine Nether..."

"Isn't space travel a method only Fifth Grade Sovereigns possess? How could Big Brother Lu Chen..."

Tang Rou widened her eyes and spoke with an incredulous expression.

Nine Nether smiled, somewhat moved as she said, "That brat really is cunning. That must have been the legendary Space Divine Ability. Once cultivated successfully, it allows one to easily perform space travel."

"I'm afraid even ordinary Fifth Grade Sovereigns can do nothing to him. No wonder he was so confident about venturing out. I really believed his nonsense!"

"So that's how it is..."

Tang Rou nodded in realization.

Tang Bing, however, held the jade bottle in her hand and stared blankly at the space Lu Chen had disappeared into, lost in thought.

Not long after,

Outside Tianluo Continent,

In the Endless Sea.

This was a vast, azure ocean. It stretched boundlessly, as though its end could not be seen. From time to time, enormous fish-shaped Spirit Beasts leaped from its waters, raising towering waves.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

Above the ocean, space suddenly twisted. Violent spatial fluctuations erupted, forming a spatial vortex. Immediately after, a young figure shot out from the vortex and appeared above the sea.

The moment he appeared, the figure looked around. Upon seeing the boundless ocean, he froze slightly.

"Where am I?"

Lu Chen scratched his head and muttered in confusion.

After thinking for a moment, he slapped his forehead and hurriedly pulled a glowing scroll from his Mustard Seed Bracelet.

As he slowly unfolded the scroll, complex patterns of light filled its surface. Looking closely, it seemed to be an enormous map beyond description.

A Spirit Map was a special Spirit Tool used specifically to record maps in the Great Thousand World. Generally speaking, anyone traveling outside would prepare one.

Lu Chen looked at the Spirit Map in his hand, then lightly tapped a region on the map with his finger.

Ripples spread across the Spirit Map, and the map began to enlarge, becoming increasingly clear. Finally, a point of light appeared within that region.

"So I'm in the sea outside Tianluo Continent. Further ahead is Shang Continent, the continent closest to Tianluo Continent. I can use the Teleportation Spirit Array there to travel to other continents."

"I need to hurry. I hope the White Dragon Spiritual Treasury in Northern Azure Continent, the one connected to the Plane Embryo, hasn't been taken yet."

After studying it for a while and confirming his location, Lu Chen put away the Spirit Map. His purple wings flapped, and he once again tore through the air.

The journey continued.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a month had passed. During that month, Lu Chen traveled through dozens of continents and witnessed all kinds of different scenery.

Some of the continents he passed through were small in scale, no larger than a single island. Yet others were exceptionally vast. Though they still could not compare to Tianluo Continent, the powers within them possessed strength far surpassing that of Da Luo Territory.

In that short month, Lu Chen's experience had grown tremendously. He had even seen quite a few other races from the Great Thousand World, which truly broadened his horizons.

For example, the Wood Spirit Race, capable of bringing forth all things; the Spirit Insect Race, which controlled spirit insects; and the Spirit Gathering Race, which could naturally gather spiritual energy...

Of course, as his experience increased, Lu Chen also drew ever closer to Northern Azure Continent.