Journey

Given the power Bai Sui had displayed at Hongan-ji Temple, the Daimyo Mansion, while wishing to keep him, dared not use force.

Upon realizing that Bai Sui had made up his mind to leave, they dared not obstruct him and even gifted him a significant amount of money to use on his journey.

In truth, the reason Bai Sui had chosen to stay in the capital of the Land of Iron for three months was because of the Exchange Shop he had discovered earlier.

During those three months, Bai Sui had managed to get a fairly good grasp of how the Exchange Shop operated.

At its core, it was an organization jointly established by the daimyos of various nations, later joined by numerous other nobles and factions; it was originally founded for the purpose of researching ninjas and chakra.

It gradually evolved into the current Exchange Shop, shifting from the daimyos hunting ninjas to the daimyos using money to incite ninjas to slaughter one another.

To prevent ninjas from discovering the true purpose of the Exchange Shop, they even included bounties for targets other than ninjas.

Having gathered the intelligence he sought, Bai Sui no longer lingered and headed north, arriving in the Land of Frost.

Unlike the three seasons of snowfall in the Land of Iron, the Land of Frost remained in a state of perpetual winter almost year-round, with very few moments where temperatures rose above freezing.

After experiencing the local customs and culture, Bai Sui found a small boat, moved everything from his carriage onto it, and sailed across the sea to the Land of Earth.

Following this, he traveled through the Land of Snow, the Land of Demons, the Land of Ghosts, the Land of Bears, the Land of Wind, the Land of Rivers, the Land of Honey, the Land of Tea, the Land of the Sea, the Land of Rainbows, the Land of Water, the Land of Lightning, the Land of the Moon, and the Land of Hot Springs.

In total, he had circled the Ninja World counter-clockwise, finally arriving in the Land of Fire.

At this point, Bai Sui was over forty years old, though his face still retained the appearance of a sixteen-year-old.

Of course, this sixteen-year-old appearance was relative to this world; after all, people in this world, aside from the idle nobility, aged quite rapidly. In reality, for Bai Sui, this appearance was at least that of someone in their twenties.

Bai Sui was currently strolling through the forest, alone and carrying no luggage.

It was not that Bai Sui had exhausted all his money during his travels, but rather that he had finally managed to research some useful runes during his journey.

Because they resembled swimming dragons in shape, Bai Sui called them Dragon Talismans.

After many years of study, Bai Sui discovered that the Dragon Talismans were not two-dimensional; they were inherently three-dimensional, which was the reason he had failed so many times before.

Of course, this three-dimensional nature did not mean the Dragon Talismans were statues that could not be inscribed on a flat surface.

Rather, it referred to a difference in dimensions; they were not mere two-dimensional characters, but possessed an additional dimension of energy.

This meant they could still be written on paper like text, though the difficulty was much higher. To make them effective, one had to ensure the construction of energy during the writing process; Bai Sui only had a rough idea of this now and had yet to succeed.

Naturally, just because they could not be written directly on paper did not mean there were no ways to use them.

For instance, the jade pendant hanging at Bai Sui's waist contained a Dragon Talisman he had condensed. Under the effect of this talisman, a space of approximately 27 cubic meters had been carved out within it—the limit of what Bai Sui could currently achieve.

Among these Dragon Talismans, some were responsible for stabilizing the space, some for absorbing Qi, and others for storing it.

In other words, as long as this pendant was not damaged and was left in a natural environment, it could be maintained indefinitely until the Dragon Talismans inside gradually disintegrated over time, at which point the internal space would dissipate.

As for exactly how long it would take for the Dragon Talismans to disintegrate, Bai Sui did not yet know, but the jade pendant at his waist had been in use for several years without the slightest sign of damage.

The space was currently filled with items Bai Sui had collected over the years, primarily books, jade, chakra metal, and gold; as for antiques, calligraphy, and paintings, Bai Sui had no interest in them.

Therefore, Bai Sui had exchanged those previous items for books and money. Later, when the accumulated wealth became too much to carry, he purchased a significant amount of chakra metal.

As for why Bai Sui did not make more storage jade pendants, he discovered that different storage pendants would interfere with each other when kept in the same area.

As the quantity and time increased, the influence between the storage pendants would grow greater.

Under Bai Sui's testing, when two storage pendants were kept in close proximity, one of them would be completely destroyed within at most two months, while the other would also suffer a certain degree of damage.

Thus, to avoid unnecessary loss, it was better for Bai Sui to use only one Storage Jade Pendant for the time being.

Of course, this pendant was not the only thing Bai Sui had crafted; he had also made a string of jade beads, the primary purpose of which was to store various attributes of Qi to facilitate his use.

While searching for containers to hold the Dragon Talismans, Bai Sui discovered that jade and chakra metal worked exceptionally well, and the higher the quality, the better the effect.

Consequently, the precious sword he originally possessed was abandoned and was now kept in the Storage Jade Pendant as a collection piece.

Since Bai Sui had collected quite a bit of chakra metal, he extravagantly forged a sword made of pure chakra metal and inscribed a complete set of Dragon Talismans upon it.

The limit of what Bai Sui could currently achieve was to construct nine Dragon Talismans simultaneously; any more, and the structure would collapse.

Thus, under the effect of these nine Dragon Talismans, the sword could now be considered a treasure. Not only could it absorb Qi on its own, but it could also store a significant amount of it. When Qi was present, it possessed the ability to fly and was incredibly durable.

This meant that even if the sword left Bai Sui's spiritual perception range, it could still fly through the world, greatly enhancing Bai Sui's attack range and tactical flexibility.

It was also covered in a thin layer of light. Do not underestimate this thin light; on one hand, it enhanced the sharpness of the sword, and on the other, it strengthened its defense. The light would not dissipate until the Qi was exhausted, and as long as the light remained, the blade within would not be harmed.

Bai Sui had even tested it by placing the sword into molten lava, and the light upon it had resisted for over two minutes without extinguishing.

Furthermore, due to the nourishment of the Qi, the sword itself became tougher, though because of the protection of that layer of light, Bai Sui had never truly tested the extent of this enhancement.

For Bai Sui, this journey through the Land of Fire was essentially the final stop. Although there were still some nations or unclaimed lands in the Ninja World he had not visited, he had experienced most of the regions, which could be considered the fulfillment of a previous wish.

Now, the only remaining wish Bai Sui had was to find the blood relatives of this body and help them to the best of his ability.