After the Hidden Villages of the Five Great Shinobi Nations became aware of the barrier surrounding the Land of Demons, they began to secretly attempt to infiltrate its borders to gather intelligence.
However, without exception, these individuals were blocked at the frontier. The five Hidden Villages even dispatched several ninjas who specialized in Sealing Jutsu, but they met the same fate, unable to bypass the array.
While the ninjas were barred, ordinary merchants and travelers were not. They could enter and exit the Land of Demons normally. The strange part was that once these merchants left the country, they had no recollection of what they had seen or encountered inside, aside from the goods they had acquired. It was as if that segment of their memory had been cleanly excised.
The Five Great Shinobi Nations tried using these merchants to pass messages, hoping to initiate negotiations. However, the other side ignored them completely. Perhaps they were provoked by the villages' attitude,
or perhaps it was simple greed for the Land of Demons' massive barrier, but the five villages moved to the next phase of their plan. Since they could not enter, they initiated an external blockade. They wanted to see just how long the Land of Demons' food and resources could last under total isolation.
Inside the Land of Demons, Qiu Xia laughed when he learned of their plans. He didn't know which "genius" had come up with the idea of trying to starve them out, but they certainly were ambitious. No matter its history, the Land of Demons was a sovereign nation. Aside from the disaster known as Moryo, the land was perfectly healthy. They could cultivate crops normally and had no shortage of food or water.
Being blockaded by the outside world only meant they would be out of the loop regarding external developments. Would that truly be a loss for the Land of Demons? In a modern world without mystical energy,
isolation might lead to falling behind the times. But in the Shinobi World, where technology followed an eccentric path, it mattered very little. Furthermore, with Qiu Xia's help, would the Land of Demons' development ever lag behind? Of course not.
In the few years since Qiu Xia had arrived, the Land of Demons' progress had been like a skyrocketing rocket. The first major change was the housing; aside from the royal palace, nearly every residence had been replaced with two-story villas. Every scrap of arable land was planted with crops, and Qiu Xia even established a school within the country.
Those capable of cultivating Spiritual Power became Onmyoji or Miko. Those who could not became Samurai or scientists, researching better crop cultivation and advancing the nation's technology.
Compared to the past, the Land of Demons remained perpetually under the starlight, but this had little negative impact. In fact, for the Miko and Onmyoji, the celestial influence allowed them to cultivate their Spiritual Power even faster.
The situation in the Land of Demons did not escape the notice of Obito Uchiha and the Akatsuki. They had personally gone to investigate, only to find that even they were barred just like the outsiders.
Whether it was Obito's Space-Time Dojutsu, Nagato's Rinnegan, or Zetsu's ability to slip through the earth, none could penetrate the barrier to reach the interior. Even sneaking in from underground was impossible; protected by the array, the Land of Demons was an impregnable fortress.
Faced with this, the Ninja World was left with no options. They could only choose to ignore it. If the people inside refused to come out and the barrier couldn't be broken, there was nothing left to do but put it out of mind.
A month passed quickly. Between his own cultivation and the assistance of Miroku, the time flew by. When his time was up, Qiu Xia set out on the path back to the Zombie World.
"Master, I've brought back some vegetables and fruit. Please, keep them for yourself."
"Mm, Qiu Xia, you are very thoughtful," Uncle Jiu said as he tucked away the spiritual vegetables. "It has been over a year. How is your cultivation progressing?"
Uncle Jiu was curious about his disciple's growth. Over the past year, by cultivating alongside Auntie Zhe through mutual assistance, he had reached the sixth rank of the Yin Spirit realm and was on the verge of the seventh. His fellow disciple, Auntie Zhe, was even faster; she had reached the ninth rank of the Yin Spirit realm and was nearing the Yang Spirit stage.
"My cultivation? As of now, I have reached the strength of a late-stage Zhenren."
"Pffft!"
Uncle Jiu, who was sipping tea, instantly turned into a human sprinkler. "Cough, cough... Late-stage Zhenren! How on earth are you cultivating?!"
Uncle Jiu stared at Qiu Xia with wide, disbelieving eyes. He had only broken through so quickly because of the spiritual vegetables Qiu Xia had left him and the support of Auntie Zhe. But how could Qiu Xia be this fast?
Even if his world had high spiritual qi, there was a limit to such recklessness. In just one year, he had jumped from a Celestial Master to a Zhenren. If he returned as a Zhenren this time, would he be an Immortal by his next visit?
"It is likely because the spiritual qi is so dense, and I have been working very hard on my cultivation," Qiu Xia explained.
Uncle Jiu nodded slowly. "That is indeed a possibility."
"By the way, Master, it's been a year. How are Qiusheng and Wencai doing?"
At the mention of those two, Uncle Jiu's face instantly darkened. "Don't mention those two idiots. I get angry just thinking about them."
"Master, what did they do wrong this time?" Qiu Xia asked curiously.
Uncle Jiu was silent for a moment before answering, "A while ago, Qiusheng ran into a female ghost and... well... if not for the life-saving artifact you left him, he would have nearly died. As for Wencai, while dealing with a fox spirit, most of his Yang Qi was stolen. Both of them nearly had their cultivation drop below the Earth Master rank."
Qiu Xia's eyes widened in shock. "No way. I can understand Qiusheng, but Wencai? What kind of fox spirit has such heavy tastes that she would actually fall for him?"
Uncle Jiu rolled his eyes in annoyance. "You said it yourself; she's a fox spirit. They've seen all sorts of people. He might be ugly, but he can still provide cultivation, so she didn't care! If I hadn't raised those two since they were children, I would have kicked them out of the sect long ago. If the people of Maoshan knew that my disciples were like this, I'd lose all face."
"Master, please, put your mind at ease. You still have me! Actually, aside from bringing gifts and visiting, I have another matter to discuss. I want to see if I can bring you all back to my world. The spiritual qi there is much higher. If possible, I could take you there, and you might even become an Immortal in the future."
Uncle Jiu's eyes lit up instantly. He didn't have a standard for how much spiritual qi his disciple's world had, but it had to be an immense amount. Otherwise, Qiu Xia couldn't have jumped from a Human Master to Human Master Perfection, then through Earth Master, then to Celestial Master, all in such a short time.
And now, only a few years after reaching the Celestial Master rank, he was already a late-stage Zhenren. While Qiu Xia's hard work played a part, the vast majority of that progress had to come from the environment. Hearing that Qiu Xia wanted to take him to the Naruto World made Uncle Jiu very happy.
"Master, don't celebrate too early. I only have what I have today because you took me in as a disciple, so I truly want to give you a better future. However, I have one concern before I take you to the Naruto World."
Uncle Jiu asked anxiously, "What concern? Tell me and see if your Master can solve it." This was a chance to become an Immortal! Moving to a world filled with spiritual qi was his dream. He wondered if his Maoshan Daoist arts could solve whatever was worrying Qiu Xia. If not, he'd just have to use the Deity Invitation Technique!
"Master, in this world we are in, you are the protagonistor at least, the protagonist of this current stage. I am not certain what changes might occur if I take you to the Naruto World, or if it might cause this world to collapse. To test this, I want to take my two senior brothers over first to see if anything happens. If everything is fine, I will come back to take you and my Mistress."
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