On the Way

Lu Bai emerged from the pile of rocks and looked around. All he could see were jagged stones, stretching for at least several dozen miles.

Under the Lightning Tribulation, all living things vanished into thin air; there was no chirping of insects or calls of birds, and the place could be described as eerily quiet.

Having anticipated this, Lu Bai didn't stand there in a daze any longer. He randomly chose a direction and started walking away from this no-man's-land.

He kept his head slightly lowered the whole way, clearly deep in thought.

In fact, since he doesn't experience negative emotional fluctuations, the Lightning Tribulation that nearly killed him didn't really affect him.

He still maintains the Mahayana stage realm, but he can no longer fully utilize his Mana. It's estimated that he can only exert the power of a half-step Mahayana cultivator in combat at best.

After all, the aftereffects of cutting oneself off still linger.

It's obvious that cultivation level isn't something that can be severed so easily.

If it were that simple, there wouldn't be so many cultivators dying under the Lightning Tribulation.

The so-called Mahayana stage cultivators mean that their physical body and Primordial Spirit have been perfectly integrated, achieving a second rebirth. They are able to perceive and utilize the Great Dao Laws, and it can be said that they have one foot in the realm of immortality.

His understanding of the Great Dao could not be diminished, especially since Lu Bai didn't actually have a deep understanding of the Great Dao to begin with.

So, to put it simply, cutting oneself is to forcibly separate the physical body and the Primordial Spirit from their close fusion.

The effects of [Steel Body] are still in effect. Lu Bai's body is fine, but his Primordial Spirit is the problem.

Even without using his internal vision, Lu Bai could sense that his Primordial Spirit was covered with countless tiny gaps, like a frozen river that had almost shattered completely after bearing immense pressure.

This is Dao Injury; no matter how talented you are, you can't handle this situation.

Fortunately, an Immortal Dao Flower grew within his Primordial Spirit, constantly emanating Dao Charm, which prevented the situation from worsening.

Despite his current predicament, Lu Bai remains quite optimistic.

Anyway, he won't stay in this world forever, so the fact that his path forward is blocked won't have a big impact on him.

Lu Bai wandered aimlessly until he heard a notification in his mind that he had obtained the "Node".

[Bite!]

[Successfully acquired the current Deathmatch Arena Node.]

[Double Points Reward loaded.]

[Current points: 4, Current ranking: 1/193]

The system notification indicated that less than a day had passed since the Lightning Tribulation began, so there was no need to rush back to the Qingwang Sect.

It's worth mentioning that this round of Deathmatch Showdown featured a wide range of fighters due to the high level of skill involved.

Therefore, most deathmatch fighters choose to first try to join a sect, master the cultivation methods, and then focus on cultivation without rushing to kill other deathmatch fighters.

Despite the fact that the Deathmatch Showdown has been going on for so long, only a few fighters have died. Moreover, Lu Bai guessed that those unlucky guys who died might not have been killed by the other fighters.

Lu Bai stroked his chin and quickly made a decision.

"Let's reduce the number of deathmatchers first."

Lu Bai mostly flew, spreading out his divine sense like a radar, conducting a carpet search.

Only in populated areas would he descend to the ground and proceed on foot.

Along the way, Lu Bai heard quite a few rumors about the Dao Commencement Assembly.

And a large part of it is about him.

This is not surprising. With the conclusion of the Dao Commencement Assembly, the disciples of the immortal sects who fled before the Lightning Tribulation would naturally spread the news of what happened on Purple Cloud Mountain.

"Have you heard? In this year's Dao Commencement Assembly, the Qingwang Sect has produced a true prodigy."

"Are you talking about Lu Bai of the Qingwang Sect?"

"That's right, that person single-handedly suppressed all the Holy Son and True Inheritance, and stood out from the crowd in the Dao Commencement Assembly."

"That's not true. I heard that all the disciples of the immortal sects joined forces, but they were still defeated by Lu Bai alone."

"Isn't this a bit too absurd? The Dao Commencement Assembly has thousands of top disciples from various immortal sects."

"What's this? I heard a rumor, but I can't guarantee it's true, that it seems none of the elders from the major immortal sects have returned to their respective sects..."

As I've said before, there are no governments or similar political entities in this world.

Both order and the power of discourse are controlled by the immortal sects.

Even though mortals, who make up more than 99% of the total population, cannot embark on the path of cultivation without spiritual roots, they still pay attention to this situation.

Don't underestimate the Dao Commencement Assembly just because it's a competition among the younger generation of various immortal sects. As long as these young disciples don't perish and continue to develop step by step, they will definitely become the rulers who ride on the backs of these mortals in the future. You can't ignore it.

The news of the deaths of hundreds of Nascent Soul stage is something that the major immortal sects would certainly not actively publicize.

Rumors and gossip spread like wildfire throughout Xuanzhou.

The autumn rain, chilly as it fell, barely stirred up the fragrance of the earth, instead turning the roads into a muddy mess.

The rain wasn't too heavy; even walking through it, you wouldn't end up completely soaked and disheveled.

But when a horse-drawn carriage is carrying goods, its wheels can easily get stuck in the mud, making it difficult to move even with people pushing from behind.

Upon seeing this, the middle-aged man leading the convoy immediately decided to take shelter from the rain at an abandoned, dilapidated temple by the roadside and set off again once the rain stopped.

People getting caught in the rain is fine, but we can't let the goods offered to the immortals have any problems.

"Go quickly and see if those Blood-stealing Granny are alright!"

The middle-aged man entered the temple, ignoring his soaked clothes, and immediately sent someone to check on the goods.

They are the people under the rule of the Myriad Insect Valley.

Even though the people under the rule of the Immortal Sect don't live very well, the people under the rule of the Myriad Insect Valley often live even more difficult lives.

After all, the people under the rule of other immortal sects are at most treated as tools or slaves.

In the Myriad Insect Valley, these people, in addition to fulfilling the above two roles, also have the additional obligation to test and raise insects.

Their mission was to deliver goods to the Myriad Insect Valley.

The so-called "Blood-stealing Granny" is, of course, the common name for a poisonous insect.

This venomous insect sucks human blood, stores it in the body, and transforms it into blood essence. For the Spirit Insect raised by the cultivators of the Myriad Insect Valley, it is a kind of fine food.

A gaunt boy lifted the lid, his face changing drastically. "Village Chief, this is bad! These Blood-stealing Granny look a bit weak!"

The middle-aged man, referred to as the village chief, rushed to the side, glanced at the scene, and then, without hesitation, rolled up his sleeve and stabbed himself in the wrist.

The spilled blood fell onto the black carapace of the venomous insects, causing them to wriggle, creating a chilling scene.

However, the villagers present all seemed unsurprised and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thankfully, everything is alright. We'll take good care of them; if there were any issues with the quantity, we couldn't afford the consequences."