Golden light tore through the sea of clouds, becoming a seventy-foot golden dragon that wound through the cloud waves. Beneath the sunlight, it seemed to shimmer with ten thousand flecks of broken gold.
Ao Ding and Sun Chen stood atop the golden dragon's head, feeling the fierce wind whip past.
Clutching the boy's arm tightly, Sun Chen asked with a laugh, "Well? Your first time truly taking to the sky. How does it feel?"
How strange. This timid fellow didn't show the slightest fear?
Plenty of cultivators fainted from fright on their first flight because they couldn't adjust to the sights up among the clouds.
"Not bad." Ao Ding admired the scenery of the heavens, his eyes filled with delight.
It had been a long time since he had seen a sight like this. Since transmigrating, this was his first chance to take a proper look at the scenery from high in the sky.
Suddenly, the golden dragon plunged into a thick, overlapping sea of clouds.
Cold struck their faces. Fierce winds drove and rolled a thousand layers of icy clouds, and the boy could not help shivering.
"Mystic source of heaven and earth, root of all myriad qi..."
Ao Ding hurriedly recited the Golden Light Spell. Brilliant golden light flowed around him, seeming to resonate with the golden dragon below.
Sensing something, he examined the divine dragon beneath him. "Senior, is this the Golden Light Spell?"
"Something similar. This is a Divine Ability I comprehended from the Taiyi Golden Light True Scripture. As I told you, the scripture is the trunk, while techniques are its tiniest branches. You can comprehend the Golden Light Divine Spell, and I can comprehend the Mighty Heaven Golden Dragon Divine Ability. Reciting your spell completes your cultivation practice, whereas I-as long as the golden dragon stays by my side, I cultivate automatically."
Roar-
The dragon's cry shook the nine heavens. Waves of sound swept the sea of clouds apart, revealing the mountains and rivers below.
Ao Ding looked down and glimpsed an immortal tree in the heart of a dense forest.
The Xuanjia Immortal Tree!
Lingcheng County was two thousand li from here.
Before, the Qingji marsh sprites had needed half a day, taking turns to maintain their speed.
Yet now, it had taken no more than a few breaths.
Suddenly, Ao Ding narrowed his eyes. He seemed to see a familiar figure near the Xuanjia Immortal Tree.
"Huh? Sect Master Wang? Why do I feel like I just saw Sect Master Wang?"
Sun Chen glanced down, and the golden dragon swiftly accelerated away.
"How could that be? Wang Weilong is at the Seven Spirits Sect. Where would he find the time to come here?"
"True. I must have seen wrong."
Ao Ding thought no more of it and continued admiring the scenery of the nine heavens.
At the Xuanjia Immortal Tree.
Yin Chimei and Wang Weilong emerged from the Jiaxia Kingdom. She sighed. "It looks like Senior Brother and the others left long ago."
"Let's go to Lingcheng County. According to them, that young man named Lin Bai took them to Lingcheng County in White Mountain Commandery."
Watching Wang Weilong, who still refused to give up, Yin Chimei sighed inwardly.
Given how long they had taken to find this place, by the time they reached Lingcheng County, her senior brother would probably already have left with the boy. Counting the days, he might even be taking him to the Immortal Tomb already.
"Madam, do you truly not know where Martial Uncle's tomb is?"
"I once knew, and I went there with him before. But with Senior Brother about to undergo Liberation by Violence, how could he not have made preparations? A spell was placed on that location, stripping it from our memories. Even searching a map, we can no longer find it. Only True Persons can know the location of that Immortal Tomb."
Sun Chen's preparations for himself were all too thorough.
At this point, Yin Chimei sounded puzzled. "Speaking of which, Senior Brother asked you to help guard his path. Why was your Seven Spirits Sect unwilling? The Nethermoon Wolf Court may be vicious, but he defeated them before. How could he have no countermeasures?"
"The Wolf Court is one reason. Another is that Martial Uncle broke away from the Pure Tenuity Sect. We dare not have too much contact with him."
Yin Chimei shook her head inwardly. "If your master has the fortune to return someday and hears how you treated Senior Brother Sun, you'll certainly get a beating."
"If Master could return, never mind one beating-what would ten or a hundred matter?" Wang Weilong said helplessly.
His master was a Guangfa True Disciple cultivating through reincarnation. If the old man were here, why would Wang Weilong need to worry about falling from a collateral lineage to a remnant lineage? Why would he need to rack his brains nurturing Ao Ding?
Seeing that Wang Weilong had not understood her meaning, Yin Chimei fell silent as well.
She wanted to give Wang Weilong a pointer: Sun Chen might have broken away from his sect, enraging many eminent True Persons of the six sects, with his master publicly severing their relationship and declaring that his life or death would henceforth be none of his concern. But did Sun Chen have no fellow disciples in the six sects with whom he was on good terms? Old friendships were not so easily severed. With the Seven Spirits Sect treating a dying True Person so coldly and slightingly, his friends and relatives might say nothing, but who knew what they thought in their hearts?
Yin Chimei even had a conjecture: Sun Chen's True Person friends had not appeared because they probably shared a tacit understanding. With the elders of the six sects still angry, they could not openly help him. In private, they tacitly allowed Sun Chen to seek protection from the Seven Spirits Sect. Then Sun Chen could reincarnate smoothly, the Seven Spirits Sect could inherit his mantle and send a few disciples to become True Disciples of the Guangfa Sect, restoring its standing as a main lineage of the Guangfa Sect.
-But when Sun Chen arrived at the Seven Spirits Sect, he had not even met Wang Weilong. Naturally, much had been left unsaid.
Forget it. Let's try our luck again and take a look in Lingcheng County... Yin Chimei thought silently.
The golden dragon raced through the sea of clouds as commandery after commandery and county after county flashed past amid the mountains and rivers below.
"Ah, right-there are still a few things I haven't taught you."
Sun Chen took out a sheet of golden silk.
"This is a map of the Ten Continents and Hundred Kingdoms of Central Desolation. You can compare it with what you see."
Ao Ding kneaded the golden silk, then poured magical power into it. Instantly, countless streams of light spread out before him and rose...
The Myriad Aspects of Mountains and Rivers Map was not a flat map, but a projected model of all ten continents of the Central Wasteland, a magic artifact recording the history and geography of every kingdom. The Central Wasteland was vast and boundless. The maps of mortal dynasties could not record it in full; only cultivators could document the ten continents and hundred kingdoms one by one.
"This artifact isn't cheap. Prices start at three hundred pattra leaves in the Spirit Market. You can have mine-"
Studying the map, Ao Ding noticed a slender streak of golden light speeding above it.
Looking more closely, he saw two little red dots atop the golden light. They were none other than himself and Sun Chen.
This map even had real-time positioning?
Comparing it with the places the golden dragon passed, Ao Ding learned that they were currently in Wenshi Commandery on Liyun Continent, within a country named Daxu. Lingcheng County in White Mountain Commandery, which they had left not long ago, belonged to a place named the Wufeng Kingdom. It lay in the northeast of Liyun Continent, while the two of them were now racing toward its northwest.
Sun Chen said, "Quite a few of the hundred kingdoms of the Central Wasteland were founded by cultivators. They've changed and replaced one another over hundreds and thousands of years, but the Myriad Aspects of Mountains and Rivers Map can communicate with the earth veins and update in real time. Oh, this artifact was invented by the Golden Court Sect. Higher-grade maps can also mark the locations of Dharma Realm Spirit Lands, but this poor Daoist's cannot."
Ao Ding stared at the map, checking location after location, before shifting his gaze from Liyun Continent to the other nine continents.
Chizhang Continent, Yujing Continent, Cangluan Continent, Jinlai Continent, Danxia Continent, Suhong Continent, Xuanfeng Continent, Piaoyin Continent, and Biyuan Continent.
Great rivers formed the boundaries between the continents, yet four of the legendary six sects stood on none of them.
"Senior, where is the Guangfa Sect?"
"All four sects are in the sky. In terms of direction, here-" Sun Chen pointed at Yujing Continent.
"This was where the six patriarchs descended to the mortal world in the past, and the ancestral seat of the immortal sects is here as well. High in the skies in each of the four directions around Yujing Continent hangs an ancestral seat of a Daoist sect. The Guangfa Sect's ancestral seat lies in the western Central Wasteland, between Yujing, Piaoyin, and Jinlai Continents. The Jade Cauldron Sect's ancestral seat is between Yujing and Cangluan Continents. The Purple Sun Sect is between Yujing and Chizhang Continents. The Golden Court Sect is between Yujing and Xuanfeng Continents. Still, there's no need to memorize such trifles. Just having a general idea is enough. Ordinary cultivators can't travel all ten continents in their entire lives."
Ao Ding silently calculated the extent of Liyun Continent, then compared it with the others and inwardly clicked his tongue. "So far-"
He compared the distances against Liyun Continent, which spanned eight million li. Liyun Continent, where they currently were, lay in the northeast of the Central Wasteland, neighboring Xuanfeng, Biyuan, and Cangluan Continents. Only beyond those three continents lay Yujing Continent, and only after crossing all of Yujing Continent would they reach the Guangfa Sect's ancestral seat.
A distance of tens of millions of li!
And this was only part of the Central Wasteland. If he included the Eastern Wasteland, where the Pure Tenuity Sect stood, and the Western Wilderness, where the Demon Court lay...
The vastness of the True Realm of Mountains and Seas surpassed even Ao Ding's imagination.
"That's why I found you a few True Persons on this continent beforehand to guide you. Otherwise, if you really followed my old example of going to the Eastern Wasteland, the journey alone would take years!"
Suddenly, the golden dragon flicked its tail, broke out of the sea of clouds, and plunged toward the foot of a mountain below.
Ao Ding had only enough time to see the golden dragon approaching the northwestern corner of Liyun Continent on the map before the entire map blurred.
He tried casting magic again, but the map did not respond.
"Put it away! My Immortal Tomb is concealed by the Greater Celestial Circuit Miro Supreme Profound Incantation. The Golden Court Sect's geomantic arts cannot record this area."
The golden dragon wrapped around the pair and brought them safely to the ground.
In the distance, verdant mountains rose and fell in unbroken succession, vast mists winding around eighteen peaks and hills.
"This place is called Qianling Mountain. It is the burial ground I chose for myself-"
Sun Chen pointed, and a white jade immortal gate appeared amid the clouds ahead. Above it hung the words "Qianling," and a golden bridge slowly extended to their feet.
Ao Ding followed close behind Sun Chen into Qianling Mountain. When he looked back, the golden bridge had vanished completely, and even the scenery outside was entirely hidden from view.
A Dharma Realm Spirit Land.
Qianling Mountain had already been severed from the True Realm. It was an independent world.
Sun Chen led Ao Ding to a white jade immortal mansion.
The mansion was rugged and imposing, built entirely of white jade, without any carvings or ornamentation.
Only, its layout... was that of a perfectly conventional tomb residence.
"Ha-rather than a residence for cultivation, this cave abode of mine is really an Immortal Tomb. So build yourself a hut beside it. For the next few days, just concentrate on cultivation. Until..."
Sun Chen glanced at the sky.
"The next full moon will be when I undergo Liberation by Violence. With the great moon hanging high, that enemy of mine will bring his subordinates and allies to seize my opportunity together. I'll teach you what to do later. For now, find somewhere to rest-I'll prepare some things for you."
Only Ao Ding had come, rather than the entire Seven Spirits Sect, so quite a few things needed to be rearranged.
Fortunately, Sun Chen had left plenty of materials over when building the immortal mansion.
Ao Ding waved his wooden staff, using True Heaven Golden Gang to sweep up the building materials, and hastily put together a little hut nearby.
When Sun Chen emerged pushing a small cart piled with books, he saw the crooked hut and shook his head inwardly.
"It seems I'll have to start by teaching you the House-Building Technique."
Sun Chen pushed the cart aside. "Boy, come here-these are the books I selected for you. Starting tomorrow, begin reading. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me. Don't rest these next few days. Read-if you're thirsty or hungry, eat golden buds to refresh yourself."
He lightly tapped a finger against the crooked hut, and it immediately became straight and sturdy.
"Come, tonight I'll teach you the House-Building Technique first. Cultivators invented this spell because, out in the wilderness, they didn't want the sky for their quilt and the earth for their bed.
"At the same time, it is also a successful example of first creating a technique, then extending the technique into a method, and finally reaching from the method to the Dao.
"At its lowest level, the House-Building Technique can only build ordinary wooden and stone houses. As your cultivation deepens, you can create spiritual chambers and mystic halls, immortal terraces and heavenly palaces, and even evolve a Dharma Realm. A world-what is it if not another house? That is the central principle of the Immortal Nest Nine Palaces Scripture. Oh, this scripture would also be a good choice to incorporate into your Mystical Perfection Formula."
Beckoning Ao Ding to sit on the ground, Sun Chen explained the mysteries of the spell in detail...
Before you continue