Dou Zong Cave Abode

Having made up his mind, Xie Tianxiao stood up and vanished from the cave with a single teleport.

In the blink of an eye, he had arrived on a cliff dozens of miles outside the cave.

"So this is the power of space."

Xie Tianxiao sighed.

This was his first time using the power of space. Although he had known that Dou Zuns could control space, that had only been a conjecture from his time on Blue Star, without any real concept behind it.

But now, as a Half-Saint, he had truly experienced the might of spatial power.

It was simply terrifying!

Xie Tianxiao looked out over the rolling mountain range beneath the bright moonlight.

This was the Heavenshade Mountains, located beside an empire called the Rippling Mountain Empire among the many empires of the northwest.

The two were separated by a thousand miles. It was neither particularly far nor particularly near.

Xie Tianxiao slowly lifted his feet off the ground and flew steadily toward the edge of the mountain range.

As for why he did not simply tear through space and travel that way—wasn't it because he wanted to take a good look at this Battle Qi Continent? Using a spatial wormhole right away would be far too boring.

"Oh? I didn't expect there to be so many magical beasts at the edge of these mountains."

As he flew, Xie Tianxiao deliberately released his soul power to probe the magical beasts in the mountains below.

"The strongest are only a few fifth-tier magical beasts. No wonder the previous owner of this body never paid them much attention."

The previous owner had been a Half-Saint. Mere fifth-tier magical beasts at the Dou Wang level were not worthy of a Saint's attention.

The magical beasts below sensed Xie Tianxiao's soul power and scattered in terror. For a time, more than half the mountain range was thrown into unrest.

The reason the low-tier magical beasts in the mountains could withstand Xie Tianxiao's soul sweep was only because he had deliberately restrained himself and released no killing intent.

Otherwise, how could a few low-tier magical beasts possibly endure the soul probe of a Half-Saint-level expert?

At the border between the Rippling Mountain Empire and the Heavenshade Mountains.

A group of two men and two women hurried forward.

"Senior Brother, why have the magical beasts in the Heavenshade Mountains ahead suddenly become restless?"

A woman near the back of the group asked the leading man.

She wore green robes and had pretty features, appearing only seventeen or eighteen years old. Her large, lively eyes made her seem like an elf.

Before the leading man could answer, the white-robed man beside the woman in green hurriedly said, "Don't panic, Junior Sister. Even if a horde of magical beasts charges out, your Second Senior Brother will protect you!"

"Yes, yes, Little Junior Sister, don't worry. Second Senior Brother will protect us," the red-robed woman on the white-robed man's other side quickly echoed.

Though the woman in red was not as striking as the woman in green, she was still quite beautiful.

Seeing this, the leading man fell silent for a moment before saying, "Junior Brother, do not act rashly. The magical beasts of the Heavenshade Mountains would not be in such turmoil unless something major had happened within. Otherwise, it would be impossible to disturb so many beast hordes."

"In any case, we must be careful. Although this is the edge of the mountain range, if a horde of magical beasts suddenly rushes out, we will be in trouble."

Their strength was not bad, but they could not withstand the joint assault of a beast horde.

"Senior Brother is right."

The woman in green then turned to the white-robed man. "Second Senior Brother, stop being so reckless all the time, or you'll suffer a great loss someday."

"Yes, yes, Little Junior Sister's lesson is correct." The white-robed man chuckled in response.

"We should leave this place quickly. Regarding this investigation of the Dou Zong cave abode, once we return, I will report this matter to the ruler. I believe the ruler will send people to investigate," the leading man said with a slight nod.

Just as they were about to leave, a man in black suddenly appeared before them, blocking their path.

The abrupt change startled all four of them.

The leading man, whom they called Senior Brother, asked the black-robed man ahead, "Who might you be, sir? Why are you blocking our way?"

The man in black was Xie Tianxiao. He had originally intended to leave the Heavenshade Mountains, but he happened to see the group below and heard them say that the magical beasts of the Heavenshade Mountains were in turmoil and that they would return to send people to investigate.

As the one responsible, he suddenly became interested and came down to tease them.

"Not bad cultivation. One Da Dou Shi, two Dou Shis, and one nine-star Dou Zhe."

Xie Tianxiao looked at the group and spoke calmly.

Other than the woman in green, they were all only around twenty years old. In this remote northwestern region, they were indeed fairly capable.

"Stop playing mysterious. Who are you?"

The white-robed man known as Second Senior Brother frowned and immediately spoke.

!!

"Second Junior Brother!"

The leading man sharply rebuked the man known as Second Senior Brother.

After seeing his Senior Brother's angry rebuke, the latter moved his lips slightly, then fell silent and said nothing more.

The leading man then cupped his fists toward Xie Tianxiao. "Please forgive him, Senior. I am Feng Jing, the chief disciple of the Moon-Sealing Sect of the Rippling Mountain Empire. Those behind me are my junior brother and two junior sisters."

"The Rippling Mountain Empire? In the memories I fused with, it seemed to be merely a very small empire, one that could hardly even produce a Dou Wang."

Xie Tianxiao thought for a moment before saying, "No matter. Continue."

Because the Rippling Mountain Empire was close to the Heavenshade Mountains, the previous owner of his body knew about several empires around the mountain range.

Feng Jing paused before continuing, "As for why we are here, Senior, have you heard the news about the Dou Zong cave abode discovered near the Heavenshade Mountains some time ago?"

Xie Tianxiao had suddenly appeared and immediately stated the cultivation levels of their entire group. Feng Jing knew that the black-robed man before him was at least a Dou Ling-level expert.

Such an expert could already serve as an elder in his sect, so he explained the purpose of their journey in good faith.

"A Dou Zong's cave abode?"

"When did this happen?"

Xie Tianxiao did not pay much attention to their behavior and merely asked.

"You must be an expert passing through this area, Senior. This news has already spread like wildfire throughout the Rippling Mountain Empire. It will likely reach the other empires before long."

Feng Jing paused, then continued, "As for us, we merely received a notice from the sect to head to the ruins first and investigate them as part of our training."