"I saved you because the path of immortals and mortals should not cross. The Tianlan Clan's act of slaughtering mortals is a grave departure from the righteous path!" Li Yan offered this brief explanation to A Guxi.
"Thank you, Seniors, for helping my clan escape this great calamity. This kindness and virtue, this junior and my people will never forget for the rest of our lives. We will record this event so that future generations will forever remember our seniors' great benevolence!"
A Guxi didn't quite believe Li Yan's words. Why refuse to help before, only to suddenly turn back and save them? But he didn't dare to ask. The temperaments of cultivators were strange; they could be completely different from one moment to the next. Perhaps this mysterious cultivator had truly been struck by a fit of kindness, it wasn't impossible. He naturally considered that the "Wood Essence Pool" he had mentioned might be the reason, but the other party had known about that for days. If they were going to agree, they would have agreed back then.
"What are your plans after you return?"
"As you know, Senior, if I can return to my clan this time, my first duty is to fulfill the last wish of my ancestors. Even if it means death, I must know why, after all these long years, no one from the clan has come looking for us. No matter what, we share the same origin. Either they have all perished, or I must have a clear explanation. Secondly, after I've investigated this matter, if this junior is not dead, I will surely implore the clan to repay you both as I promised before!" A Guxi once again brought up his previous promise. It was the only condition he could offer.
"You should also enter the Spirit-Storing Pouch. When it is safe, I will call you out to discuss the matter of where you all will go!" Li Yan beckoned lightly. The two Spirit-Storing Pouches in A Guxi's hand flew toward Li Yan. Then, with a flash of light from the mouth of one pouch, A Guxi, who had been standing before them, vanished.
"Senior Sister, I hope we made the right bet!" Li Yan stroked his chin. The final decision to come back and intervene had been at Zhao Min's insistence. After they had captured and soul-searched three cultivators in the central Tianlan Prairie, they had found no news about the 'Wood Essence Pool'!
"Judging from A Guxi's aura, there was no fluctuation when he spoke of the 'Wood Essence Pool.' It seems what he heard is likely true. Some ancient races have their own foundational cornerstones for establishing their sects. These are not things that just any cultivator would know about."
Li Yan understood what Zhao Min meant. The three cultivators they had captured were all at the Foundation Establishment stage. Their status dictated that the information they knew was of a more common variety. As Zhao Min spoke, her delicate black eyebrows furrowed slightly.
From searching the memories of the Tianlan Clan cultivators, she had learned that one of the reasons these cultivators came on this training expedition was to capture women of the Giant Wood Clan for copulation. Even mortal women of the Giant Wood Clan possessed a small amount of spiritual charm in their bodies, and every sliver of it offered considerable benefits to cultivators. From this, it was clear that the Giant Wood Clan's very constitution was special, so one could only imagine the essence produced by the legendary Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Wood. It was because of this discovery that Li Yan had agreed to return and bring A Guxi out of the Tianlan Prairie.
Though it was a gamble, Li Yan felt it was one worth taking.
Inside the Spirit-Storing Pouch, a revived Ai Ni found herself in a space only a dozen or so zhang in circumference, surrounded by seven or eight of her clansmen. Among them were two Qi Condensation disciples, who were squatting beside her, staring at her nervously. When they saw Ai Ni awaken, their faces immediately broke into smiles.
"Martial Aunt is awake! Martial Aunt is awake!"
Ai Ni looked around. The Clan Chief and Ai Sang, as well as the other clansmen, were nowhere to be seen.
"Have we been captured and imprisoned?" This was the first thought that flashed through her mind.
She immediately propped herself up from the ground to sit up. In her haste, although she managed to sit up, she felt the magical power in her body was thin, and she was utterly exhausted.
"Where are the Clan Chief and the others?" Ai Ni's eyes reddened. She assumed the rest of her clansmen had met a grim fate. As she asked the question, her eyes scanned the faces of her people. To her surprise, none of them showed any signs of grief or anger. Instead, they exchanged glances, and finally, one of the Qi Condensation disciples spoke up.
"Martial Aunt, we've been saved…"
After several dozen breaths, the sadness on Ai Ni's face was gone, replaced by a dazed look. She stared intently at the Qi Condensation disciple.
"Martial… Martial Aunt…" The disciple began to feel uneasy under her gaze.
"Is everything you said true?"
"Martial Aunt, how could I make this up? Even if you gave me a thousand guts, I wouldn't dare to speak such nonsense. Everyone here can testify to it!"
"We were saved by those two seniors we met a few days ago…"
"The Clan Chief is still outside, talking with them…"
Seeing Ai Ni's continued disbelief, the people around her began to chime in.
Finally, Ai Ni slowly exhaled. Listening to everyone's words, a mix of emotions churned within her. She was finally starting to believe that she and her clansmen had been rescued. Ai Sang was in the other Spirit-Storing Pouch, treating the others with medicinal pills, while she was here with these clansmen.
At that moment, the sky suddenly darkened. Before anyone could react, a somewhat stooped figure landed on the ground.
"Clan Chief!" Ai Ni's eyes reddened as the other Giant Wood Clan members surrounded him with joyful surprise…
Seven days later, at the southern end of the Tianlan Prairie. The Spiritual Energy here was exceptionally dense. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the endless prairie resembled a boundless green carpet, stretching out in all directions.
Li Yan and Zhao Min stood side by side. The speed of the Cloud-Piercing Willow was comparable to that of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator. At this moment, Zhao Min's appearance was very plain; she had long since concealed her beautiful face to avoid attracting attention. From time to time, a streak of light would flash through the surrounding sky, and occasionally, a Divine Sense would sweep over them. Upon discovering two Golden Core cultivators, it would immediately retreat.
"We are now close to the border between the central and southern parts of the Tianlan Prairie. Once we cross the southern prairie, we will have left the Tianlan Clan's sphere of influence," Li Yan said softly, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.
The Tianlan Clan's defenses were particularly strict in the area north of the central prairie. Large patrols of green-clad guards frequently patrolled back and forth, making it virtually impossible for cultivators of other clans to enter. In contrast, the southern Tianlan Prairie, their clan's main base, had quite a few foreign cultivators, and entry and exit were relatively free. After all, the Tianlan Clan was not an isolated group; interaction and trade with other clans were, of course, necessary.
As Li Yan and Zhao Min drew closer to the southern Tianlan Prairie, the number of cultivators flying in the sky also increased. Occasionally, a team of green-clad guards would fly by, vigilantly patrolling for any unusual activity. Li Yan noted that these green-clad guards paid special attention to cultivators coming from the north or heading toward the north of the prairie.
A few days ago, Li Yan had spoken with A Guxi again and had slowly learned more about the situation. The purpose of their conversation was, of course, to find out more about the Verdant Continent. However, after A Guxi's people had emerged, they had been trapped in the northern Tianlan Prairie and knew very little about the outside world.
But since their clan had once had experts at the Golden Core level and above, they were able to glean some information whenever they captured and soul-searched Tianlan Clan cultivators. This information included some details about the world beyond the Tianlan Clan. Although it wasn't much, it was better than nothing.
Afterward, Li Yan and Zhao Min took action again in the northern prairie, capturing two more Tianlan Clan cultivators on a training expedition and performing Soul-Searching on them as well. In the end, by piecing everything together, they managed to assemble some important information.
The Verdant Continent was also home to numerous races, but they were mostly native cultivators, and the races here were scattered across the entire continent. It was unlike the Forsaken Continent, where the major sects and cultivation families were all gathered in the core regions of the east and west, and sects could guess how many Nascent Soul cultivators and Spirit Transformation old monsters the others had.
The Verdant Continent, on the other hand, was more like the Desolate Moon Continent. The various sects and cultivation families divided territory based on strength, each occupying their own domain and not allowing others to interfere. The strong occupied places with dense Spiritual Energy and abundant cultivation resources, while the weak could only reside in remote corners.
How many Spirit Transformation cultivators there were on the Verdant Continent now was a mystery to most; news of their appearance was extremely rare. Li Yan speculated that this was because the Forsaken Continent was divided into the black and white demon clans. Aside from internal strife, the black demon clan had immense expansionist ambitions, so they kept as many Spirit Transformation cultivators as possible in the lower realm to facilitate the invasion of other territories. As a result, the other sects and families living on the Forsaken Continent had no choice but to leave their own experts behind to protect their heritage, which led to a situation where many cultivators at the Nascent Soul level and above on the Forsaken Continent did not immediately ascend.
This information was no secret to the cultivators of the Forsaken Continent.
But on the Verdant Continent, where the cultivation world was relatively stable, year after year, aside from a few major sects that might leave some backup plans, cultivators from other sects who reached the Nascent Soul stage and could ascend had long since done so. It was just as when Li Yan and Zhao Min were on the Desolate Moon Continent; they only knew that their own sect had Nascent Soul cultivators. Spirit Transformation old monsters were legendary figures even to the core disciples of the Four Great Sects, who didn't even know if any still remained in the mortal realm. The top experts on the Desolate Moon Continent, like Gu Jiuqi, had at most left behind a clone before departing.
Cultivators like Li Yan, as long as they were not burdened with the legacy of a sect or clan, would surely seek out ascension nodes one by one after reaching the Nascent Soul stage. Why would they be willing to remain in the lower realm?
Li Yan and Zhao Min roughly determined that experts at the Nascent Soul level or above were a rare sight on the Verdant Continent. It wasn't like on the Forsaken Continent, where you had a high chance of running into a Nascent Soul expert if you went to Sacred Demon City or the territory of the black demon clan.
After piecing together this information, Li Yan and Zhao Min were still a bit skeptical. Their years of living in Sacred Demon City had altered their way of thinking due to the environment. However, after careful deliberation, they finally accepted the state of the Verdant Continent's cultivation world and felt much more at ease. It was as if they had returned to the Desolate Moon Continent, where a Golden Core cultivator could roam almost freely across the land.
The southern Tianlan Prairie had several of the Tianlan Clan's core cities, which were gathering places for their cultivators. They were composed of four tribes, all from the same lineage, which together formed an elder council called the "Hall of Heavenly Masters." The strongest lineage held authority over the entire Tianlan Clan. On a daily basis, they each governed their own territories, but in times of crisis, they would unite to defend against external threats. Each of these four core territories' cities covered an area of nearly ten thousand li, linked together like four interlocking rings.
The land bordering the southern Tianlan Prairie was called the Tingyun Kingdom, a rare nation managed by cultivators who followed the imperial system of mortals. The Tingyun Kingdom and the Tianlan Clan had been at war for thirty thousand years, the cause being nothing more than the struggle for cultivation resources. The war continues to this day. During their major battles, even Nascent Soul experts had made appearances, which was extremely rare in the current Verdant Continent.
Both the Tingyun Kingdom and the Tianlan Clan permitted foreign cultivators to enter and leave their territories, but they strictly investigated their origins to prevent enemy spies from infiltrating. Everyone understood the principle of not making too many enemies. It was a normal thing for cultivators to go out on training expeditions. If they unintentionally offended a disciple from a major sect, they could bring trouble upon themselves.