The Spiritual World

The Spirit World.

"So this is the method you mentioned? Leave our bodies where they are and send our spiritual forms out to beat people up?" Lin Fan asked curiously, surveying this world constructed from spiritual power.

Mountains and rivers, trees and grass, blue skies and white clouds-everything was just like the outside world, as though it truly existed.

Even the sensations against his body were no different from reality. Gravel crunched beneath his feet, and when he exerted his strength, the surroundings trembled and the mountains shook.

"That's right. The Spirit World was constructed from the gods' spiritual thoughts. Everything here has a physical counterpart in the outside world," Yue Chan explained as they walked.

"What an amazing place. I've always heard about it, but I've never actually entered before." Lin Fan sighed in wonder.

"Don't underestimate this spiritual world. It's as vast as the Three Thousand Provinces. And when we hone ourselves here, all our insights return to our bodies when we go back to reality, just as though our real bodies had cultivated here," Yue Chan reminded him.

Lin Fan pondered this. He already knew that much: the Spirit World was a spiritual world modeled after the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm, with all manner of incredible features.

It was another kind of reflection, like a world inside a mirror, yet it was also a gathering of powerful spiritual forms. After all, every living creature's spirit was profoundly mysterious, no weaker than its flesh.

"Don't be careless. If you die here, you'll be weakened for several months in reality. Sometimes, if you're killed by treasures such as the Soul-Destroying Needle or the Soul-Suppressing Tower, your real body will die too."

As they talked, the two swiftly arrived beneath the walls of a city-Qianfeng City.

"Aren't we supposed to beat up the Heaven Severing Sect Heir? What are we doing here?" Lin Fan asked, slightly altering his appearance to conceal his identity.

Yue Chan frowned and said with some indignation, "This city is the Sikong Family's base in the Cave Heaven Realm. They have a fairly talented member in this generation named Sikong Ming. A few days ago, he actually said I was inferior to Demoness and wasn't as pretty as her, so..."

"So because he didn't suck up to you and sucked up to the Heaven Severing Sect's Demoness instead, you want to beat him up." Lin Fan smiled and finished for her.

"Hmph!" Yue Chan snorted, tacitly admitting it.

She could lose to anyone, but never to her sworn rival, Demoness.

My voice is sweet, my face is beautiful, and I'm ethereal as an immortal. How am I inferior to that temptress? He has no taste at all.

Of course, her dear junior brother beside her was even worse. Every time they fought, he aimed straight for her face, utterly ignorant of what it meant to cherish a delicate beauty.

Had Lin Fan known what she was thinking, he would have cried out at the injustice!

He simply wasn't interested in little girls or young lasses. If it were a mature beauty like Qing Yao instead, he would certainly have fallen at her feet, beneath her pomegranate-red skirt.

Inside the city, the streets were a brocade of bustle and prosperity, with crowds flowing back and forth. Cultivators gathered here, some even trading goods or discussing the Dao and cultivation methods.

Though this was a spiritual world and goods could not be taken out through trades, people could settle their deals here and complete the exchanges in reality, saving a great deal of time while improving safety.

Boom!

An explosive roar rang through Qianfeng City. The Sikong Family's gate, dozens of zhang tall, burst apart and shattered across the ground. Even the plaque inscribed by a god split into several pieces.

"Who is it? Such audacity! You dare attack the Sikong Family? Are you tired of living?" A thunderous roar erupted from the residence, scattering the clouds overhead with its boundless fury.

"Tell Sikong Ming to come out, or I'll flatten this place today!" Lin Fan shouted. He strode forward like a tiger, with the bearing of a dragon, his gaze cold and fearless.

With a single step, he seemed to cover dozens of zhang, entering the sprawling courtyard of this blessed land.

When guards rushed up to stop him, Lin Fan merely glanced at them without slowing his steps. As he passed between the two, he grabbed each by the head and hurled them toward the towering residence.

With a bang, they smashed into a cluster of resplendent halls. The terrifying force was staggering!

The two guards were the most bewildered of all. They had seen only a blur before being thrown away like sandbags, unable to resist in the slightest.

Even Yue Chan, who followed a step behind, was utterly stunned. Her little mouth formed an "O" of disbelief.

Junior brother really is fierce! He stormed straight into their home without another word!

Then more and more people rushed out of the Sikong Family residence, over twenty in all. Each wielded a saber, treasured sword, iron hammer, or another weapon, their treasures radiating light until divine brilliance flooded the area.

Every one of them was formidable, an outstanding cultivator in the Cave Heaven Realm. They had opened at least three Heavenly Passages, and some had as many as six or seven.

They surrounded Lin Fan. There was nothing to say to an enemy, so they charged in to kill.

"Kill!"

"Anyone who dares offend the Sikong Family dies!" the middle-aged man leading them ordered coldly with a wave of his hand.

In an instant, dozens attacked Lin Fan. Sabers swept across, swords shot through the air, and runes flashed all around, bursting with dazzling radiance.

But the next moment, something horrifying happened. Lin Fan became a streak of rainbow light, and in a single blink, he smashed four people's heads apart.

Yet none of them had even caught sight of his shadow. He was simply too fast, and too powerful!

"Aaah..."

A scream rang out as another person died. His spiritual form was slain, dissolving into a shower of light and vanishing. This also meant he would be unable to enter the Spirit World for several months.

That was not absolute, however. Taking precious medicines to restore one's spiritual power could speed up the process.

But the cost was enormous. Medicines that restored the spirit were especially rare and precious, beyond the means of many living creatures.

"Attack together! Form the array!" the middle-aged man said grimly.

The Sikong Family was, after all, a prominent clan in this region. Though it could not compare to the great sects, it was still a minor overlord of the area.

Yet someone had stormed their gates today, practically grinding the Sikong Family's face into the dirt. How could they hold their heads up in this region afterward? Even in reality, they would become a laughingstock.

Now, only repaying blood with blood could wash away this humiliation.

Whoosh!

Countless runes lit up in the air. Divine light surged into the heavens, mist swirled, and stars seemed to fall as a crimson sun blazed. A terrifying aura spread outward.

But Lin Fan was no fool. Why would he pit his strength alone against the entire great array?

Instead, he stopped advancing and stood where he was. A fiery-red Crimson Feather Fan appeared in his hand, and he swept it fiercely toward the crowd.

Boom!

Heavenly fire swept across the sky, gales raged, and lightning flashed amid rolling thunder, engulfing the entire courtyard in a boundless expanse.

The magnificent scene was like a heavenly punishment descending from the heavens to destroy the mortal world, sending waves of dread through every heart.

"This is bad! That brat's treasure is no ordinary thing!"

The Sikong Family's people hastily retreated. Sensing death upon them, their hearts filled with terror. That treasure possessed formidable heavenly might; they could not withstand it head-on.

Just as everyone scattered to flee, crimson fire and heavenly lightning descended, blanketing the area. With a thunderous explosion, the place erupted into a field of purgatory.

Those who failed to escape in time were reduced straight to ashes, unable even to scream. It was a gruesome sight!

At the same time, the earth split open, revealing one precious bone after another. Their runes were dull and lightless, like withered flowers, and the bones crumbled to fragments.

Yet this was only one corner of an array. It was hard to imagine how many rune bones the Sikong Family had buried here, or how many great arrays they had laid down to protect the place.

Without the treasured fan's power, Lin Fan would likely have faced a bitter battle before he could break through.