Within the Cultivation Alliance, several cultivators at the peak of the Spirit Severing Realm had gathered, watching the events unfolding on the Outer Realm Battlefield with strange expressions.
"The Outer Realm Battlefield has been terribly unstable lately. Something must have changed in there that we don't know about."
One of them, a male Spirit Severing cultivator with a fairly handsome face, spoke gravely.
"Things were fine the last time I went in. It's only been a few months, so how did they suddenly get worse?"
The Giant Devil Race's Chi Xiong took a bite out of an apple, also finding it hard to believe.
After all, nothing had ever gone wrong on the Outer Realm Battlefield before. Now that something had suddenly changed, it was only natural that they were at a loss.
"Worse? You're only supposed to enter the Outer Realm Battlefield cleanup at the Foundation Establishment Realm. You're a Spirit Severing cultivator. Who knows what you might've damaged by going in there!"
Chi Xiong's mouth twitched. He pointed at the female cultivator in front of him and roared, "Who do you think you're talking to? You think I won't beat you up?"
"Enough, stop arguing. The Outer Realm Battlefield is already unstable. People outside can't get in, and people inside can't get out. Tell me, how should we handle this?"
The cultivator from earlier rested his chin on his hand and narrowed his eyes.
"Ask someone from a Level 6 Cultivation Country to repair it?"
The Giant Devil Race expert Chi Xiong snorted. "Are you crazy? You know what it would cost to get a Level 6 Cultivation Country involved. Besides, it's too expensive—we can't afford it."
"In that case, we could just leave the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the Outer Realm Battlefield to fend for themselves. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
In the eyes of these Spirit Severing experts, the lives of those Foundation Establishment cultivators were no more than ants. So what if they all died on the Outer Realm Battlefield? It had nothing to do with them anyway.
At that, the Giant Devil Race expert Chi Xiong stood up and immediately objected. "No. The people from Zhao Kingdom who entered the Outer Realm Battlefield belong to the Hengyue Sect. And now, the Hengyue Sect has a Spirit Severing cultivator among its experts. If he finds out we abandoned his sect's disciples, the consequences will be unthinkable."
"This..."
The other Spirit Severing cultivators looked at one another. They couldn't make the call on this matter either. If they indirectly offended an expert who might one day break through to the Yingbian Realm, they wouldn't be able to bear the consequences.
"Then let's do this. We'll cancel the cleanup of the Outer Realm Battlefield and focus all our efforts on searching with our divine senses. Three years from now, we'll open the Outer Realm Battlefield's formation all at once and let everyone leave. We'll act as if this cleanup never happened. What do you think?"
Hearing this, Chi Xiong nodded instinctively. At this point, there was nothing else they could do. They would just have to go along with it.
That way, they wouldn't offend Luo Chuan, and the Hengyue Sect's disciples would be able to leave the Outer Realm Battlefield safely. They'd get two birds with one stone—why not?
Besides, ending the Outer Realm Battlefield cleanup after three years was perfectly reasonable and wouldn't violate the rules set by the Cultivation Alliance.
At the Hengyue Sect, in a quiet room.
Luo Chuan, dressed in a white robe, opened his eyes. The room's spiritual energy drifted through the air like fireflies.
[Congratulations, host. You have completed this month's check-in. Reward: one Yingbian-level treasure, the Dragon Cry Sword. Its level can increase along with your cultivation.]
Just then, the familiar mechanical voice sounded beside Luo Chuan's ear. At the same time, a Dragon Cry Sword, gleaming all over with a reddish-gold hue, appeared before him.
The Dragon Cry Sword shimmered with a reddish-gold glow. In the light, its blade rippled with a warm radiance like molten gold at sunset, as if it held the evening clouds of the western sky within it.
Fine patterns were inlaid along the spine of the sword like stars scattered across the night sky, their light flickering without pause.
Dark-patterned brocade wound around the hilt, with reddish-gold tassels hanging from its end. When they swayed, light shimmered along them. The sword held both the majestic warmth of a sunset and the clear, cool glow of the stars; even sheathed, it exuded an aura that seemed to look down on all spiritual energy.
Luo Chuan wrapped his right hand around the Dragon Cry Sword's hilt and felt the energy emanating from it. He nodded in satisfaction. "As expected of an Yingbian-level treasure. Its reputation is well deserved."
In the original story, treasures were ranked as follows: Spirit Treasures, Mystic Treasures, Pseudo-Immortal Treasures, Immortal Treasures, Void Treasures, Cinie Treasures, Nie Treasures, and Kongnie.
Realms: Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, Yingbian, Ascendant, Spirit Severing, Jingnie, Sunie, and so on...
[System Name: Exiled Immortal]
[Host: Luo Chuan]
[Age: Thirty]
[Cultivation: Early Spirit Severing Realm]
[Identity: Progenitor of the Hengyue Sect]
[Treasures: Cloud Clear Flute, Luo God Sword, Dragon Cry Sword]
[This Month's Check-In: 0/1]
[Next Breakthrough Reward: Ancient God Art]
As Luo Chuan gazed at the system before him, a meaningful smile appeared on his peerlessly handsome face, a sight that could leave anyone breathless.
He had already made some progress in formations and alchemy. All he needed now was to obtain the Ancient God Art, and he would have a chance to visit the Ancient God Land and gain Ancient God Tusi's memory inheritance.
He would cultivate a true Ancient God Body and obtain supreme power.
Luo Chuan dismissed the system and slowly rose to his feet. Before he could leave, he sensed a peculiar energy fluctuation in the air.
The sky, once as blue as the sea, was suddenly torn open. A middle-aged man in black stepped through. His face was sallow, and he looked sickly.
"I never expected a mere Level 3 Cultivation Country to give birth to such a heaven-blessed prodigy. What an extraordinary talent."
Feeling the energy radiating through the air, every cultivator in Zhao Kingdom trembled. Even Lin Yi, the Heaven-Reaching Tower's envoy, braving the pressure, made his way to the sky above the Hengyue Sect.
"This junior Lin Yi, envoy of the Heaven-Reaching Tower, pays his respects to senior..."
The middle-aged man clasped one hand behind his back. After glancing at Lin Yi, he said coolly, "Early Spirit Severing Realm, heh heh. I've come here for the Progenitor of the Hengyue Sect. You, junior, leave this place at once."
Lin Yi's heart jolted. He's here for the Progenitor of the Hengyue Sect... Could he mean Luo Chuan? If he takes Luo Chuan away, when will Zhao Kingdom ever advance to a Level 4 Cultivation Country?
Before Lin Yi could speak, Luo Chuan stepped forward and looked at the middle-aged man in the sky, who shone like the sun.
"Who are you, senior, and why have you come to my Hengyue Sect?"
"I am Ou Zhi. I was ordered to come to Zhao Kingdom and seek out a junior named Luo Chuan."
Ou Zhi... Early Yingbian Realm. Could he be an expert from Vermilion Bird State?
This man was an Early Yingbian Realm expert and a protector of Vermilion Bird State named Ou Zhi. In the original story, he was one of the experts who helped Snow Domain State destroy the State-Protecting Azure Dragon.
Protector Ou Zhi of Vermilion Bird State looked at the remarkably young Luo Chuan and furrowed his brow slightly, unable to keep the envy from rising within him.
After all, someone Luo Chuan's age should have only recently broken through to Foundation Establishment. Yet Luo Chuan had already reached the Spirit Severing Realm.