novelraw Chapter 242 : Cangluo Continent, Desolate Ancient Continent
Chapter 242 : Cangluo Continent, Desolate Ancient Continent
Chapter 242: Cangluo Continent, Desolate Ancient Continent
"Desolate Ancient Continent?"
Feng Zhi Tao, who had been eavesdropping nearby, couldn't help but sit upright upon hearing the name.
Ji Yuan furrowed his brows even more... This panel for upgrading buildings could even require items from other continents?
If that was the case, wasn’t upgrading going to be too difficult?
And this was just a Level 4 building, yet it already needed things from another continent—what about later?
Damn panel.
Ji Yuan cursed inwardly.
"Right, where did you read... Never mind, you probably saw it in some ancient texts again, didn’t you?" Hua Yaoyue said with a half-smile.
Ji Yuan could tell she was teasing.
But since they were both the master and her old disciple, there was nothing to hide. "Exactly."
Feng Zhi Tao seized the chance to ask, "Master, where is this Desolate Ancient Continent located?"
"To the south."
Hua Yaoyue casually replied, "South of the Cangluo Continent is the Desolate Ancient Continent, and to the east is the Extreme Abyss Continent."
"What about west and north?"
Feng Zhi Tao pressed on.
Hua Yaoyue gave her a glance. "Why don’t you go and see for yourself?"
"Fine..."
Feng Zhi Tao lowered her head in reluctance.
Seeing she had fallen silent, Ji Yuan took the opportunity to ask, "Then if I want that Taiyi Azure Light Talisman... is it hopeless?"
If it was hopeless, then there was no need to go through the trouble of collecting the Three-Eyed Dark Beast Spine Bone—since even if he got it, he still wouldn’t be able to upgrade the Pigsty.
Hua Yaoyue rose from her soft chair and began pacing inside the pavilion.
"Among the nearby continents, the Desolate Ancient Continent is considered the poorest. In terms of resource scarcity... even this Cangluo Continent fares better."
"But even such a continent once nurtured a sect stronger than the Six Immortal Sects of Eastern Shang, called the Taiyi Immortal Sect. The Taiyi Azure Light Talisman you need is one of their inheritances."
Hearing this, Ji Yuan cautiously said two words.
"Shang Court?"
"No, stronger than Shang Court."
"Hiss—"
Feng Zhi Tao gasped.
After hearing this, Ji Yuan had only one thought: "Then isn’t it even less likely for me to get this Taiyi Azure Light Talisman?"
"It’s from another continent anyway. If you want it, Junior Brother, just head south across the Endless Sea and swim over yourself."
Feng Zhi Tao offered a ‘brilliant’ suggestion.
And why was it brilliant...? Because Ji Yuan couldn’t think of anything better.
Just as Ji Yuan thought he was hitting a dead end, he heard Hua Yaoyue say, "I have it. I can draw the Taiyi Azure Light Talisman."
"What?!"
Ji Yuan couldn’t help exclaiming in shock.
"Master, you..." Feng Zhi Tao, who had been lounging on the soft chair, also raised her head. "Could it be you came from the Taiyi Immortal Sect?"
Ji Yuan knew Hua Yaoyue had reincarnated and was cultivating anew, and Feng Zhi Tao knew as well.
They also both knew she came from another continent, but as for which one, that remained unknown.
Hearing her words today, it was likely she had some connection to the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
But unexpectedly, Hua Yaoyue shook her head.
"No."
Ji Yuan and Feng Zhi Tao exchanged glances, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes.
Since Hua Yaoyue said she wasn’t, then she truly wasn’t.
There was no reason for her to lie about something like this to Ji Yuan and Feng Zhi Tao.
That meant Master must’ve stayed in the Desolate Ancient Continent for some time and had some entanglement with the Taiyi Immortal Sect... Ji Yuan speculated internally.
He even thought of several possibilities.
Perhaps someone from the Taiyi Immortal Sect had relentlessly pursued Hua Yaoyue, even offering their sect’s inheritance.
Or maybe Hua Yaoyue had killed some big figure from the Taiyi Immortal Sect and seized part of their inheritance.
Or perhaps she had found the immortal residence of a Taiyi Immortal Sect ancestor while in the Desolate Ancient Continent, and so on.
"How many do you need?"
Hua Yaoyue looked at Ji Yuan and asked expressionlessly.
"Two will be enough."
Ji Yuan quickly replied.
Although upgrading the Pigsty only needed one, since it was an inheritance from another continent, Ji Yuan wanted to take a closer look—see if talismans from other continents differed in any way.
He also wanted to see what the Taiyi Azure Light Talisman actually did.
"Wait here."
With that, Hua Yaoyue turned into a streak of escape light and flew toward the mountain peak.
Soon, only Ji Yuan and Feng Zhi Tao were left in the pavilion.
"Junior Brother, do you know which continent Master is actually from?"
Feng Zhi Tao asked via divine sense transmission.
Ji Yuan appeared calm on the surface but responded through divine sense, "If even you don’t know, how could I?"
"True... But don’t you think Master is super mysterious? I feel like she must’ve been an extremely powerful cultivator in her past life. Don’t you think so?"
"I think so too."
"And I suspect Master is already a Nascent Soul Cultivator now."
...No need to suspect. She definitely is.
Ji Yuan shook his head. "That, I’m not sure about."
"But didn’t Master say First Senior Brother is already in the Golden Core Stage? Last time I saw him in Lanshan City, he didn’t seem like it." Ji Yuan quickly changed the topic, fearing Feng Zhi Tao would continue probing about Hua Yaoyue.
"Very possible. You hadn’t joined back then, and I had just become Master’s disciple. At that time, First Senior Brother was already a Pseudo-Core Cultivator. Plus, he’s very talented, born with Earth Spiritual Root. After so many years, I bet he’s already formed a core."
Feng Zhi Tao said seriously.
"True... What about Second Senior Brother?"
"Him? If he practiced diligently, he might’ve reached the Pseudo-Core Stage too. But look at him, always slacking off. Doesn’t seem like someone who could reach it."
...Speaking of slacking off, Senior Sister, you seem the same.
Ji Yuan nodded earnestly. "Definitely."
"Sigh, I just hope that after going to Shang Mountain, he’ll come to his senses and cultivate properly."
Mentioning Yun Qianzai, Feng Zhi Tao recalled what he said before departing and sighed, slumping against the armrest of the lounge chair.
"Let’s hope so."
Ji Yuan turned to look west as he spoke, wondering what kind of scene Shang Mountain was right now.
Or perhaps... a disaster?
Just as he pondered this, a streak of radiant light descended from the mountain peak and landed in the pavilion, transforming into Hua Yaoyue’s figure.
"These are the Taiyi Azure Light Talismans you need."
She handed over two deep-green talismans. The symbols on them were obscure, but they emitted an intense sun-like aura.
Ji Yuan hurriedly accepted them with both hands. "These are... Third-Tier talismans?"
"Yes. They’re yang-type talismans, extremely effective against filth and malevolent entities. They also work well against demonic cultivators who practice sinister arts."
Hua Yaoyue explained.
...Wait, Master, why does that last part sound like you’re hinting at me?
Ji Yuan quickly stored the two talismans in his pouch. "Thank you, Master."
Now that he had the hardest-to-obtain Taiyi Azure Light Talisman, he could focus on preparing the rest of the materials. Once gathered, it would be the day Ji Yuan swept the seas—no, swept the Pigsty!
After a moment of joy, Ji Yuan suddenly had a thought.
Did the panel know that Hua Yaoyue could draw the Taiyi Azure Light Talisman?
Otherwise, just that one requirement would’ve forever trapped his Pigsty at Level 3… After all, crossing a continent was something only a Nascent Soul cultivator could hope to do, right?
And even then, how would he know that the Taiyi Azure Light Talisman was only available in the Desolate Ancient Continent?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. But in the end, everything boiled down to one thing… Thank you, Master!
Of course, in front of Hua Yaoyue, there was no need to bring up the stench of money like spirit stones—so Ji Yuan sensibly offered her a batch of Wishful Wine.
Plus some ordinary spiritual wine boosted by the Wine Cellar.
For such fine gifts, Hua Yaoyue naturally welcomed them all.
After a bit more idle chatting, Ji Yuan took his leave and returned to Wuyou Island, mainly to check on the Spiritual Pigs and Spiritual Chickens he had placed there.
Fortunately, everything was fine, and even the Fish Pond was already set up.
Next time he visited, he planned to bring the Spiritual Fish over as well.
Of course, normally he wouldn’t go through such trouble. A trip to Everything Island would offer plenty of spiritual fish for sale.
But since Ji Yuan’s current batch consisted mostly of carp, with potential to transform into flood dragons, they needed extra protection.
Also, the Grave Mound and Bee Nest needed to be relocated soon.
Ji Yuan stood atop the highest point of Wuyou Island, overlooking the entire island.
Luckily, when Real Person Xuan Shui had created the island, Ji Yuan had already asked him to make it large. So now, Wuyou Island was roughly twice the size of Misty Island.
With that, all his buildings from Misty Island could be moved over without issue.
Thus, over the course of nearly a month, Ji Yuan barely cultivated at all, instead making frequent trips between Misty Island and Wuyou Island.
He first moved the Spiritual Fish from the Fish Pond, including the ultra-cautious Ice Flood Dragon.
Then he relocated the Bee Nest, along with all the Spirit-Devouring Bees.
Initially, he planned to move the Grave Mound next and dig up all the previously buried corpses—but alas, the Spiritual Field had not yet been harvested, so that had to wait.
During this time, Ji Yuan also asked the Great Toad several times if it wanted to come along and move to Wuyou Island.
The first time, the Great Toad hesitated for a long time before refusing.
From then on, every time he asked, it always refused.
It seemed unwilling to leave Misty Island—the place where it had grown up.
Ji Yuan figured the situation wasn’t bad for now, so he let it be. After all, there were still some things on Misty Island that might need the Great Toad to look after.
If, later on, the world fell into chaos, then whether the Great Toad agreed or not, Ji Yuan would have to bring it along.
It had followed him for so long—it couldn’t just be left to die out there, right?
Next came Ji Yuan’s most important task—setting up the Spirit Vein. Fortunately, he had already excavated a long tunnel on Wuyou Island. Compared to the one on Misty Island, this one was deeper and longer.
Once Ji Yuan moved all the spirit stones and inserted them into the tunnel, a new Spirit Vein was created.
After that, Ji Yuan began guarding Wuyou Island.
Tu Yue remained on Misty Island to cover the rear, primarily to manage the rest of the Corpse Servants, ensuring a smooth harvest.
That day.
Ji Yuan was resting inside the Spirit Vein.
At the same time, he was thinking about when he should depart for Ice-Fire Island.
The Taiyi Azure Light Talisman was already in hand, and just days ago, Li Changhe had delivered two Third-Tier Demon Cores with water and fire attributes.
As for spirit stones... he had only accepted the lowest price possible—2,000 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones for each Demon Core, totaling 4,000 for both.
Everything was ready. As long as he could obtain the Fire Vein Spirit Marrow and the Three-Eyed Dark Beast Spine Bone, he could upgrade the Pigsty.
It was just that, at present, it felt a bit inappropriate to leave the sect. So Li Changhe stepped in once again—yet again—and said he’d figure out a way to get the sect to send a batch of goods to Southern Sea City, at the southernmost point.
At that time, Ji Yuan would simply take on the task.
In this way, a personal errand became an official duty.
He wouldn’t have to worry about the sect questioning him for not contributing to the righteous path in these times of conflict.
So long as he delivered the goods to Southern Sea City, he could just keep heading south and eventually arrive at Ice-Fire Island.
But that also meant... he would be setting off again.
During this time, Ji Yuan had made ample preparations, intending to forge two more Flying Sword Embryos on this journey.
That would bring his total to seven swords.
As for the last two, the final one would be assisted by Hua Yaoyue.
That meant Ji Yuan only needed to figure out how to forge one more himself—what joy that would be!
More importantly, Ji Yuan wanted to form his core before the demonic path breached Shang Mountain.
By then, even if Shang Mountain fell, he would at least be able to fight.
And wouldn’t be left fleeing in all directions.
Over the next month, Ji Yuan busied himself preparing for the trip while frequently cultivating sword techniques in the Enlightenment Room.
Or doing Dual Cultivation with Dong Qian.
Meanwhile, the autumn harvest on Misty Island proceeded in an orderly fashion.
And so, on the day when the autumn harvest on Misty Island concluded and Ji Yuan had moved both the Corpse Servants and the Grave Mound to Wuyou Island...
The sect made an announcement.
They said the first batch of Foundation Establishment cultivators sent by the Water Dragon Sect had successfully arrived at Shang Mountain and participated in the first defensive battle.
There were casualties, and the sect would notify each fallen disciple’s master and family.
This made Ji Yuan’s previously calm heart anxious again. He worried about Ran Kui and Yun Qianzai, but thankfully, after waiting a few days, everything seemed fine.
That day.
Under Li Changhe’s guidance, Ji Yuan arrived at the Thousand Mechanisms Hall and accepted a freshly issued mission. After receiving a batch of goods from a Duty Disciple, he now had the sect’s endorsement for his departure.
Even if emergency orders came later, they wouldn’t fall on his shoulders.
As for the Shang Court, Ji Yuan had been keeping an eye on things... particularly on Island Lord Yun Miao and Feng Yichen.
He still didn’t know what those two old bastards from the Shang Court were planning.
When the war broke out, they boarded the boat heading to Shang Mountain—meaning they, along with Yun Qianzai and the others, were part of the first Water Dragon Sect deployment to Shang Mountain.
‘Could they be trying to contact the Shang Court Remnants in Western Shang?’
‘But weren’t they supposed to be fiercely opposed—weren’t the two sides not on the same team?’
Ji Yuan had no idea what those two were scheming, but as long as it didn’t interfere with him, he didn’t care.
So, mission in hand, Ji Yuan went to Wuyou Island, first delivering the Wishful Wine produced over the past month, and then said, “Master, your disciple must leave to forge flying sword embryos.”
“Mm. You should have gone long ago.”
To Hua Yaoyue, Ji Yuan hiding in the sect wasn’t a good thing. He needed real-world experience.
“Disciple is going to Ice-Fire Island. It’s quite far, so I may not be able to honor Master for some time.”
“Ice-Fire Island?”
Hua Yaoyue thought for a moment and understood. “That strange pool, huh. Looks like the Li Family does have some skills if they found it. Go ahead. Do I look like I need your honoring?”
“Right, that wine cup I gave you earlier—bring it out.”
Ji Yuan knew this meant his master was going to bestow another treasure, so he immediately took out the Jade Cup.
Hua Yaoyue took it back and gave him another jade cup that looked nearly identical.
“The previous one could only withstand attacks up to the mid-Golden Core Stage. This new one can hold up against late-Golden Core attacks for about half a stick of incense.”
As for anything stronger—Nascent Soul level—that wasn’t even worth thinking about.
...But Master, why are you taking the old one back? Can’t you just let me keep both?
Ji Yuan was puzzled but dared not ask.
“Hmph. My wine—you can only handle one sip. If you had both cups on you, you’d pass out before even using them.”
Hua Yaoyue saw Ji Yuan’s doubts and explained.
Though the explanation... was rather arrogant.
“Yes, thank you, Master.”
After bidding farewell to Hua Yaoyue, Ji Yuan didn’t say goodbye to Feng Zhi Tao—no need to stir up trouble.
As for Dong Qian, she’d been informed long ago. She wanted to come along, but Ji Yuan refused.
There was also Du Wanyi, but she’d been away on missions. And with the demonic invasion, her post—previously in charge of a city—had been reassigned to guard a Spirit Vein.
Naturally, such an opportunity had to be taken.
So her contact with Ji Yuan had been reduced to messages relayed by a few fellow disciples.
That day, just as Ji Yuan finished his preparations and was about to set off for Ice-Fire Island... a small incident occurred.
The incident came from the Grave Mound.
Just as Ji Yuan had summoned his Flying Boat and was ready to depart, a powerful surge of Yin Energy erupted from the Grave Mound, instantly sweeping across the entire Wuyou Island.
Even Tu Yue, who stood nearby, showed a hint of pleasure on her face.
‘This is...’
Ji Yuan vaguely had a guess, but couldn’t quite believe it.
If it were true, it would be way too delightful.
He immediately released his Divine Sense, comparable to the Golden Core Stage, and swept across the island—then saw the truth... Corpse Servant!
A new Corpse Servant had appeared!
And it was at the Golden Core Stage... Real Person Heaven Silkworm!
“Hm?”
Just as Ji Yuan sensed it, he also felt something off.
Because the aura of this Corpse Servant was unstable.
He quickly flew the Fenghuai Flying Boat around to the other side of Wuyou Island, entering the dense forest, where he saw the corpse-variant Real Person Heaven Silkworm.
Only half of his body remained.
And that hadn’t changed.
Half a head—his brain matter still visibly flowing. As for his body, only the right half remained, meaning his heart and such were gone—only lungs and some twisted intestines remained.
So he did look quite like a Yin-Type Entity.
It was just... the aura was wrong.