After bidding farewell, Xiao Chen left the Pure Land. The simple and peaceful three years would definitely leave an indestructible impression in his memory.
The mountain range stretched for several tens of thousands of miles in the southwest border. Many ancient Jungle Tribe and Beastmen took up residence at this place. It was one of the most mysterious territory in the mainland.
The Pure Land was not at all located at the southwesternmost. It was actually very close to Middle Earth. If Xiao Chen was to unfold the Undying Wings and fly with all his might, he should be able to get to Middle Earth in just a single day.
However, he did not fly and chose to advance on foot. Who knows when he would be able to come back to this land again. He was a man who valued relationships, so he was somewhat reluctant to leave.
Climbing on an insecure and ancient plank walkway ⌈1⌋, Xiao Chen walked past the mountain road paved by the ancient beastmen. He felt as if he could see the traces of antiquity.
As he reached the Great Suiren Plain, he could see abundant of vegetation. It was full of vitality as far as the eyes could see. It was said that the ancestor god had once built his house on this plain, causing this land to become the most fertile place in the mainland. No matter what kind of seeds you planted, they would grow vigorously.
As he crossed the Slain Deity Valley and looked at those crumbled mountains, Xiao Chen couldn’t suppress his excitement. Just imagine, how fierce was the battle that took place here in the distant past?
More than ten days later, Xiao Chen walked out of the uncultivated land and entered the Middle Earth.
The boundless Middle Earth, it was vast and without boundary. This place was the genuine central location of the immortal’s mainland. It was a place that reflected the glories of illustrious heroes from time immemorial. It was a land that nurtured countless outstanding individuals.
There were even five powerful nations in the Middle Earth; namely Hsia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, Zhou Dynasty, Vatican City, and Rome. The five great empires occupied eighty percent of the vast Middle Earth. The size of each nation was inestimable. Using the Great Hsia Dynasty as an example; there were at least fifty thousand miles from the north to south border, and forty thousand miles from the east to west border.
Any one of these nations was already far beyond the size of the mortal world. Without a doubt, this was a big shock to Xiao Chen.
The Hsia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, and Zhou Dynasty was mostly occupied by the Eastern clan. While Rome was mainly by the Western clan. On the other hand, the majority of Vatican was occupied by those of mixed blood. More than half of the population that occupied the aforementioned nations however, were believers of Buddhism.
Other than the five great nations, there were many vassal states. Some were as big as ten million kilometers square, some were as small as a town with a moat. There were no less than hundreds of these tiny vassal states. However, they could only exist beyond the boundary of the five great nations.
Not many of these vassal states were capable of gaining complete independence. The most famous states among them were only the Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Mongol, Ming, and Ch’ing Dynasty. Although these eight states couldn’t be compared to the five great nations of Hsia, Shang, Zhou, Vatican, and Rome, their territory was still comparable to the nine dynasties of the mortal world.
The aforementioned, is enough to prove the vastness of Middle Earth. However, this is only true for the Middle Earth, it did not represent the entirety of the immortal’s mainland.
Moreover, to the north of the Northern Barren Land, to the west of the Western Mountainous Range, to the east of the Eastern Boundless Sea, and to the south of the Southern Uninhabited Islands, just what kind of unknown world lies beyond these territories, nobody could say for sure.
They said that, even the gods found it very difficult to enter those unknown regions.
After entering the Middle Earth, the mountainous paths were no longer arduous. It was not as unmanaged as the Southern Wasteland and the southwest border. Although there were still a lot of mountains and rivers in the Middle Earth, they were much more refined.
The mountains were covered by clouds and appeared faintly discernable. It was as if the mountain of immortals fell to the human world. The rivers were surging forward with crashing waves, as if a jade dragon was coiling around. The vast plains appeared to be boundless and full of vitality, as if the starry sky had fallen to the ground.
The mountains, valleys, and rivers painted a great picture. It was picturesque and glorious.
Xiao Chen had entered the southwest part of the Middle Earth. This was within the borders of the Great Shang Dynasty. The power of this great nation was at its peak, thus it was very peaceful.
After pushing his way through uncultivated forest for many days, he finally saw a huge city wall ahead. Xiao Chen felt extremely delighted, he was finally about to re-enter bustling human society.
This was a big city located at the southwest border of the Great Shang Dynasty. There were endless streams of horse and carriages within the city walls. Stores stood in great numbers and the sound of peddlers hawking their wares fell incessantly on the ears. The stream of people came and went without stopping, it was very bustling.
Xiao Chen directly walked into a restaurant. He chose a window seat on the second floor and listened to various fantastic stories from the other customers while enjoying his meal.
This restaurant was located on the most flourishing streets in the city walls. Many visitors would go past this area, so news traveled the fastest here.
Naturally, there were bound to be many practitioners among them.
“Hey, did you guys know, something big is about to happen.”
“What is it?”
“A major event among the practitioners, it might even involve a few great dynasties.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Yuanshi dispatched his disciples down the mountain. Tongtian sent his disciples to the outside world. Things are going to be heated.”
“I’ve also heard about it. The Buddhist Sect is repeatedly losing their face recently. There has been no trace of those legendary figures for quite a few centuries already.”
“At present, there are no less than seven or eight big sects. If all of them were to dispatch their disciples, it will surely get very chaotic in the world of immortals.”
“Lu Bu who stands out among men, the Red Hare which stands out among horses, have you guys heard of this? They say that this guy was a general who died in the mortal world. However, his soul did not extinguish! Even when he entered the nether world, he was still an unparalleled authority that nobody dared to provoke. Not long ago, he reconstructed his corporeal body and reappeared in the living world. My master had seen it with his own eyes, Lu Bu was riding Red Hare as he paced back and forth on the ancient battlefield within the borders of the Great Zhou Dynasty. His murderous aura pierced the skies directly. Even the geese that were flying over got crushed immediately. His might is unimaginable!”
“Reportedly, the human butcher Bai Qi has also reconstructed his corporeal body and returned from the underworld with two hundred thousand soldiers. This Lord might be even more ferocious than Lu Bu!”
“Say, what do you guys think the odds of success are if historical figures like Bai Qi and Lu Bu were to face the experts from the Buddhist Sect?”
“It’s hard to say, although Bai Qi and Lu Bu’s techniques might not be as good as those of practitioners, but their ‘soul force’ is unmatched by anyone. For instance, once Bai Qi really goes crazy and go on a rampage with two hundred thousand soldiers, it would be hard to rout them even with a few senior Buddhas working together.”
While Xiao Chen was eating, he listened to their chitter-chatter quietly.
Many of these figures had showed up in legends of the past. And it was extremely possible they would make an appearance in the world once again. It was impossible for the hot-blooded youth to remain calm. He was looking forward to the day when these legendary figures would make their appearance.
Just when the practitioners were chatting in a frenzy upstairs, a thirty years old middle aged Taoist walked to the second floor. His eyes were listless and his complexion was pale. Even the whiskers that were drooping down lacked luster. He somewhat resembled a weakened god. While he was eating and drinking, he listened to everyone’s loud arrogant talk. Then he suddenly opened his mouth and said, “Everyone, the focus of the mainland now is not far from here.”
“What focus?”
The middle-aged Daoist priest smiled and said, “The Terra Empire of the South is already approaching Middle Earth. An immortal’s temple appeared in that region. Over the past few years, the practitioners of many major factions have already obtained unusual treasures from there.”
With a hissing sound, someone said resentfully, “What are you talking about, everyone in the immortal’s mainland already knew about it! However, nobody could make it into the innermost palace. After three years of ransacking, there’s hardly anything left to plunder. I even went there personally, but I couldn’t even fly up there. I could only watch at the side.”
The middle-aged Daoist priest laughed. His pale complexion and listless eyes made him look so weak and feeble as he said, “Recently, I heard that Sengen, Tongtian, and other such legendary existences were making their way over and preparing to break through the last seal.”
“What?!”
Cries of surprise immediately rang out on the second floor of the restaurant.
The weak-looking middle-aged Daoist priest smiled as he focused on eating and drinking.
“The huge figures are finally showing up. This won’t do, I must go and take a look no matter what.”
“We must go.”
The entire crowd had gone wild. Nobody would want to miss the chance to see what kind of treasure would come into being after the last seal of the temple was broken through. It had already been three years after all. The sky palace in the Terra Empire had stirred the hearts of many.
“Oh, that’s right. Daoist priest, did Lord Tongtian already figured out the origin of this Sky Palace? Otherwise, how is it possible for him to make a move.”
The Daoist priest smiled and said, “Of course, that is the ancestor god Youchaoshi’s Sky Palace.”
“The Sky Palace left behind by an ancestor god?!”
Everyone was shocked speechless. Soon after, many people directly put down their bowls and chopsticks, and left immediately.
In such a big restaurant, only the Daoist priest and Xiao Chen were left. Xiao Chen was not in a rush. Since the major figures were going to make their move, even if there were valuable treasures, there wouldn’t be any left for him. So what was the rush for? If he just wanted to enjoy the show, he could walk over there slowly.
The Daoist priest cast a quick glance at Xiao Chen before he proceeded to finish his meal. After that, he left in a hurry. After the meal, when Xiao Chen was wandering around the city, he ran into the middle-aged Daoist priest again. He was really putting out energy to advertise the news regarding ancestor god Youchaoshi’s Sky Palace, causing more than half of the practitioners in the city to leave.
Xiao Chen followed after him.
“How should I address this elder?”
“Poor Taoist Senxibao.”
“How come it feels so uncomfortable when I heard to his name.” Someone whispered.
There were also some who felt the name was familiar, “How come it feels so familiar, I wonder where had I heard this name before.”
Someone at the side said, “Did you forget? In the ancient times, there was a man called Saigonbao, there were countless casualties among Yuanshi and Tongtian’s disciples due to him. Although his strength was not something to write home about, anyone who ran into him would be out of luck.”
“Elder, for your name to be this weird, do you have some relationship with Saigonbao?”
“That’s my paternal grandfather.” The weak-looking Daoist priest was all smiles when he answered.
“What? The descendant of the fallen god? Oh my @#%￥…” A group of people immediately turned around and ran.
“Friends, please halt.” As soon these were heard, the group of people who just ran ten meter away halted and came back involuntarily.
It was such a bizarre event, everyone was dumbstruck. Immediately, they recalled an ancient legend regarding that fallen god. When he uttered the single sentence, “Friends, please halt,” just how many practitioners had been killed? To ordinary practitioners, this was even scarier than Tongtian’s four god slaying swords!
1. Looks dangerous.