Arrival at Azure Cloud Sect

They could travel ten thousand li in a day, yet it would still take half a month of flight!

Did that not mean a distance of over a hundred thousand li?

All the Immortal Seedlings were stunned by the vastness of the Cultivation World.

Wei Xu exclaimed, "This world is actually so immense!"

Chen Qingxuan scoffed. "And you call that immense?"

Hearing the disdain in his words, everyone understood that there was surely far too much about this world that they did not know. They all begged Chen Qingxuan to tell them about the Cultivation World.

Chen Qingxuan was happy to teach them more, so they could be mentally prepared for the world they were about to enter. After a brief pause, he said, "The region of the Cultivation World where we are located is called Qionghua Continent..."

"Ah!"

Wang Xiaohu said, "I understand. Just like our Cloud Prefecture, the Cultivation World is in another place called Qionghua Continent."

Chen Qingxuan laughed. "You could not be further off."

"Cloud Prefecture is merely one of the many prefectures, commanderies, and counties of the Great Qian Dynasty, and the Great Qian Dynasty is merely one of the larger human dynasties among the dozen or so in the mortal world."

"As for your mortal world, it is only a barren corner of Qionghua Continent. The entire Qionghua Continent is more than ten times larger than your mortal world."

All the Immortal Seedlings were deeply drawn in by Chen Qingxuan's account, and were utterly shocked.

In particular, Chen Qingxuan had explained it from near to far, as though beginning with Cloud Prefecture and gradually pulling back the view. At once, they could feel just how tiny Cloud Prefecture was, and how vast Qionghua Continent was.

Most of these Immortal Seedlings had never even left Cloud Prefecture. How could they possibly have imagined the immensity of Qionghua Continent?

Even Zhou Qing was somewhat shaken at this point.

According to Chen Qingxuan, Qionghua Continent was probably no smaller than the entirety of Blue Star.

And...

Zhou Qing asked, "Uncle Chen, you said our Cultivation World is on Qionghua Continent. Are there other continents as well?"

Chen Qingxuan nodded with a smile. "Our world is called the Dao Xuan World, and Qionghua Continent is one of its eighty-one continents."

Wang Xiaohu asked blankly, "Are the other continents as large as Qionghua Continent too?"

Chen Qingxuan said, "I have never been to the other continents either. I have only heard that all eighty-one continents are regular squares, identical in size. Invisible forces separate the different continents, and the conditions for traveling between them are extremely harsh."

Wang Xiaohu scratched his head. "Why are they all so square and neat? It is as if someone deliberately cut them out."

Wei Xu laughed. "These are incomparably vast continents. Who could possibly have the ability to cut them apart?"

Chen Qingxuan said, "There is indeed a legend about that. It is said that the Dao Xuan World was formed from the chessboard of a holy god from the Upper Realm, and every continent is a square on that chessboard."

"Chess pieces must obey the rules as they move across the board and cannot cross over lightly. Thus, invisible barriers stand between the different continents, preventing all living beings from easily crossing those boundaries."

The crowd fell silent once more. All of them imagined that holy god who used the entire world as a chessboard, and their bodies could not help but tremble.

"Ha!"

Wei Xu suddenly clapped his hands and shouted, "For cultivators like us, only reaching such a height would make a life of cultivation worthwhile!"

Chen Qingxuan took the opportunity to instruct them. "The path of cultivation requires lofty aspirations, certainly, but you must also keep your feet on the ground. No matter how lofty the realm, you can only reach it one step at a time."

All the Immortal Seedlings said solemnly, "We will bear Uncle Chen's teachings in mind."

Chen Qingxuan nodded in satisfaction.

The quality of this batch of Immortal Seedlings was not bad. A few of them in particular had dispositions that pleasantly surprised him. There might even be several worth molding among them.

Time drifted by slowly and uneventfully.

Each day aboard the flying boat, the Immortal Seedlings listened to Chen Qingxuan speak of the Cultivation World. Though they had yet to begin cultivating, their ears had already been filled with talk of Four Dao Palaces, Seven Dao Grounds, hundreds and thousands of sects, and families as countless as stars.

Whenever they grew tired of listening, they would go out onto the deck to admire the vast scenery between heaven and earth, chatting and laughing together.

Living together day and night like this, the Immortal Seedlings gradually grew familiar with one another. Knowing that they all came from Cloud Prefecture and were about to plunge into the sea-like vastness of the unfamiliar Cultivation World, they could not help but feel a measure of closeness toward each other.

After traveling for seven or eight days, the flying boat entered the domain of the sea.

Waves leaped high from the ocean's surface, shaking mountains and heaving peaks. The terrifying power contained within them made every Immortal Seedling hold their breath.

Even Chen Qingxuan sat upright and solemn, as though ready to deal with an unexpected situation at any moment.

Yet for some reason, rather than raising the flying boat higher, he lowered it until it skimmed close to the crests of the waves.

After another three or four days of flight, the Immortal Seedlings finally learned why.

Land appeared at the far end of the ocean ahead, while thick clouds shrouded the sky above it. Lightning flashed and thunder roared within them, as though the end of the world had arrived.

Chen Qingxuan smiled. "The Cultivation World differs from the mortal world. Spiritual energy here is abundant, and all kinds of natural phenomena are more violent and dangerous."

"Thunderstorms frequently occur above one thousand five hundred zhang from the ground. Whether flying artifacts or cultivators traveling through the air, none would lightly venture to that altitude."

After entering the land region, the flying boat traveled for another two or three days before entering a vast mountain range.

This mountain range was called the Phoenix Tail Mountain Range, and the Azure Cloud Sect was located within it.

Within one of the mountains of the Phoenix Tail Mountain Range lay a spirit vein. In those days, the founding patriarch of the Azure Cloud Sect discovered that spirit vein and established the sect's Dao lineage here, using a secret art to restrict the spirit vein's course.

The mountain where the spirit vein originated was named Azure Cloud Mountain by the patriarch. The spirit vein circled once beneath the mountain, then flowed in turn through White Cloud Mountain and Violet Cloud Mountain.

The farther the spirit vein flowed, the thinner it became.

Thus, once the Azure Cloud Sect's structure had been fully established, Azure Cloud Mountain became the place where the sect master, the Elders of each hall, and the core disciples cultivated in seclusion.

White Cloud Mountain was where Inner Disciples cultivated and lived, while Violet Cloud Mountain was where Outer Disciples cultivated and lived.

The newly admitted Immortal Seedlings, including Zhou Qing, were Outer Disciples.

Chen Qingxuan guided the flying boat down at the foot of Azure Cloud Mountain and led the Immortal Seedlings to the Hall of Skill Transmission to register.

Knowing that this was the Azure Cloud Sect, all the Immortal Seedlings looked around curiously.

Three mountain peaks rose abruptly, piercing straight into the clouds. White mist coiled between the mountains, while auspicious beasts and spirit birds often wandered through the forests, not even bothering to avoid people when they saw them.

Beneath the trees and beside the streams, sect disciples dressed in Daoist robes could often be seen, either practicing arts and techniques or circulating their qi in cultivation.

Thinking that this would be their life from now on, the Immortal Seedlings could not help but yearn for it.

"Brother Zhou Qing, what is that person doing?"

Wang Xiaohu suddenly tugged on Zhou Qing's sleeve and pointed at a sect disciple in a bamboo grove nearby.

Zhou Qing looked in the direction he indicated and saw a young man doing something strange. Like a clumsy bear, he rubbed his back against the bamboo, letting out a roar every now and then. He looked utterly ridiculous.

Zhou Qing guessed that he was practicing some kind of cultivation technique, but it was beyond his knowledge. He shook his head and said, "I think he is cultivating some technique. We should ask Uncle Chen to clear up our confusion."