The Eastern Lands

Three years later.

"We've finally crossed the Land of Severed Spiritual Qi!"

Fang Yu steered a small boat, feeling the increasingly rich Spiritual Qi, and couldn't help but sigh.

For the past three years, he had been traveling in that Land of Severed Spiritual Qi, but unfortunately, he was unfamiliar with the route, or perhaps the route described in the travelogue was wrong. This caused him to wander around in circles for more than two years before he finally found the right direction and came out.

'This must be the Eastern Lands. Let's find a market town and gather some information first!'

Fang Yu murmured, lowered his altitude, and his aura shifted, transforming into that of someone in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

A month later, he landed in front of the entrance to a market town, stowed his light boat, and glanced at the "White Deer Ferry Crossing" sign on the archway.

He learned about this ferry crossing from a Qi Refining Lineage cultivator he found in a mortal city. It was said to be a ferry crossing with a ferry to the Ascension Immortal City, but the ticket was extremely expensive.

Fang Yu had read about the Ascension Immortal City in his travelogue. It was a major cultivation city under the rule of the Ascension Immortal Sect, a powerful force at the Nascent Soul Spirit Transformation level. It was a sacred place that countless cultivators yearned for.

Fang Yu immediately decided to go to the Ascension Immortal City to take a look. Anyway, he didn't have any specific goals, and since the Ascension Immortal City belonged to a powerful force at the Spirit Transformation level, it was equivalent to a top-tier metropolis.

In a large city of this caliber, it would be very convenient to purchase Cultivation Method that lead to the Nascent Soul stage, as well as various inheritances and elixirs. This would be perfect for a Golden Core Early Stage cultivator like him who possesses a large fortune and wants to live a secluded and peaceful life of cultivation.

Stepping into the ferry, Fang Yu looked around. This second-tier market was not much different from the one in the Western Extremity. Most of the people there were Qi Refining Realm cultivators. However, after he arrived at the ' White Deer Inn ' in the market, he immediately sensed the auras of more than thirty Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

'The cultivation world of the Eastern Lands truly lives up to its reputation; there are so many Foundation Establishment cultivators in just one ferry crossing—that's equivalent to the combined number of all the Rogue Cultivator in Mosquito Immortal City!'

Fang Yu thought to himself, found an empty seat and sat down. A waiter at the Qi Refining Late Stage Great Perfection came forward, "Would you like to take a boat, sir?"

"Hmm!" Fang Yu nodded. "Is there a ferry to the Feathered Ascension Immortal City recently?"

"Yes!" the waiter nodded. "The White Deer Sect will have a treasure ship bound for the Ascension Immortal City in a year. Since it's a cargo ship, there's limited space. If you want to board, it's best to buy your tickets now to avoid being unable to board."

"How do you sell them?" Fang Yu asked.

The waiter explained, "There are three classes of tickets: Class A, Class B, and Class C. Class C tickets cost 10,000 low-grade Spirit Stone Spirit Stone don't come with a private room; you'll have to share with other guests. Class B tickets cost 100,000 low-grade Spirit Stone and come with a single-room cabin. There are only a dozen or so tickets left. The highest class is Class A, which costs 300,000 low-grade spirit stones. The cabins are larger, and you can bring up to four attendants on board. If you purchase a Class A or Class B ticket, you can stay at our shop for free for one year."

Fang Yu's brows twitched slightly. He hadn't expected the difference in ticket prices to be so great, and so expensive. Ten thousand low-grade Spirit Stone was no small sum. Back when he Qi Refining, he had to carefully calculate how much he could use even a single low-grade Spirit Stone, but here he could only afford the lowest-grade ticket.

"A Class B ticket!"

Fang Yu spoke, he took out 100,000 low-grade Spirit Stone and handed them to the shopkeeper. Although he was currently very wealthy with Spirit Stone, he did not want to be too ostentatious. With his Foundation Establishment cultivation, it was impossible for him to crowd with those in the Qi Refining Realm, and Grade A spirit stones were too expensive. Buying a Grade B spirit stone was just right.

"Alright! Please wait a moment, sir!" The waiter took the Spirit Stone and went to the counter. After a moment, he returned and handed Fang Yu a jade slip engraved with a white Jade Slip.

"Please keep this safe, sir. You can board the ship with this Jade Slip, and you can also choose a room with the 'earth' rank for free at our shop."

"Hmm!" Fang Yu nodded, then asked, "Do you have a map of the towns and cities along the way?"

"Of course!" the shopkeeper replied, then took out a Jade Slip and said, "A gift of one thousand low-grade Spirit Stone!"

Fang Yu didn't haggle, paid the Spirit Stone, and took the Jade Slip slip in his hand. As he scanned it with his Divine Sense, the map in the Jade Slip appeared in his sea of consciousness.

The map was quite well-made, clearly marking every station along the way, what local specialties were nearby, what Demon Beast were present, which faction they belonged to, what taboos were involved, how long the treasure ship would stay, and so on. However, it only covered the area within a thousand miles of the markets along the way; the more distant areas were all blank.

A thousand miles seems vast, but in the Eastern Lands, it's quite small—just the range of Nascent Soul Divine Sense. Hmm, this map was probably created by some Nascent Soul cultivator.

Fang Yu then carefully examined the map and indeed discovered that the organization that created it was the White Deer Sect.

The White Deer Sect was merely one of several Nascent Soul sects located near the Land of Severed Spiritual Qi.

Compared to the middle section, the Western Extremity of the Land of Severed Spiritual Qi is truly a remote and impoverished place. The three countries together only have five Golden Core cultivators, which is probably less than the number of Golden Core cultivators in a single Nascent Soul sect here.

Having bought his boat ticket and finalized his itinerary, Fang Yu settled into the White Deer Inn. In his spare time, he would stroll around the market, buying local specialties such as deer antlers and deer velvet.

Several months passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Fang Yu was drinking deer blood wine in a restaurant in the market when he watched a female cultivator dance. Suddenly, the Yuanchen Pearl in his sea of consciousness began to spin.

He immediately connected with the Yuanchen Pearl and sensed a violent reaction from the heart fire he had given to Embroidered Tiger.

He immediately left the restaurant and returned to his room at the White Deer Inn. He casually set up a protective barrier, sat upright on the edge of the bed, and closed his eyes.

"Kill..."

"Kill them..."

"Traitor, die!"

"The dragon soars in the sky... The dragon soars in the sky..."

"..."

The sounds of countless battle cries rang in Fang Yu's ears, and then a scene appeared before his eyes.

On a high platform, the Embroidered Tiger, fully armored, looked at the central army arrayed in the distance and the hundreds of thousands of troops already fighting with the rebels. A flame was burning in his outstretched palm.

"... A thousand homes warmed by hearths, their glow like starlight; ten thousand families shed tears of candlelight, their candles burning like crimson ink. Let us take only a fraction of the warmth from our hearts, so that even the coldest iron will not betray our sincere spirit, for this warmth originates from the smoke and fire of human life..."

Embroidered Tiger's voice echoed between heaven and earth, and countless sparks broke through the air, constantly gathering into the flame in his palm, causing him to cheer, leap, and transform into a bird.

"... Gathering into fiery feathers that soar to the heavens, a single glance from their golden eyes shatters a thousand mountains; spreading their wings, they burn away the frost of the eight wastelands. Now, we invite the phoenix to patrol the battle formation..."

The bird spread its wings and soared into the sky, flying towards the battlefield. Its body swelled in the wind and transformed in an instant into a fiery phoenix that blotted out the sun. Flames flowed between its feathers, and the terrifying heat distorted the air.

"... With heart-fire as armor and soul as spear, crimson feathers cover the shoulders, the three armies tremble, a long cry breaks the dawn, and ten thousand men rise up..."

A fiery phoenix swept across the battlefield, scattering crimson flames. Fiery phoenix totems appeared on the armor of each soldier, their weapons wreathed in burning gold, and their charging steps stirred ripples of earth fire.

Endless flames erupted from his body, enveloping him and transforming him into a seamless, flowing fire phoenix armor with lava-like patterns.

Just then, Embroidered Tiger's voice suddenly changed, "... Tiger Warriors..."

In an instant, the flames twisted and formed a tiger-head mask, covering the soldier's head and turning him into a Daoist soldier wearing a tiger-head mask and a fire phoenix armor.

Is this the final battle?

Fang Yu murmured something, then disappeared from the guest room the next moment.