Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Chapter 1786: Blocked

Feeling the clear change to his perception of the world after the increased comprehension provided by the source crystal expired, Xuan Hao wanted nothing more than to try and explore the depths of this new yet invisible sea of time that shrouded the world.

Unfortunately, given his current location, he decided against going into secluded meditation to explore the Dao of Time and instead focused his attention on modifying his Illusory Light Steps with the help of his newly improved Dao of Light and the recently comprehended Dao of Time.

Of course, considering that the Illusory Light Steps wasn’t originally a movement technique that incorporated the Dao of Time, it was far from simple to add it into the mix. Even if his understanding of the Illusory Light Steps had deepened significantly after he had been forced to rely on it for days on end in the Verdant Abyss, it was far from enough to qualify him to modify a complex movement technique that he hadn’t even mastered fully.

In the end, after another few days of contemplation, he ended up with an improved version of the Illusory Light Steps that not only incorporated his Large Success Realm Dao of Light but also incorporated the acceleration of time from the Dao of Time. Allowing the overall speed of the movement technique to surpass that of an ordinary Land Creation realm cultivator, while at the same time retaining the original framework of the movement technique.

Although this was still far from enough to make him feel confident in a potential encounter with a Star Creation Realm demon beast, it did at the very least give him some confidence in being able to escape an encounter with a Land Creation Realm demon beast.

He could have increased the speed even more, but that would sacrifice his ability to carry Huo Fen and Meng Jie along and wouldn’t be anywhere near enough in case he really did end up running into a Star Creation Realm demon beast, so it was thrown to the back of his mind for a time when he didn’t have to carry people along...

Rustle~

As he got up from his seated position for the first time in a week, both Huo Fen and Meng Jie, who had been growing increasingly nervous with each passing day he didn’t move, turned around to face him with an expectant look in their eyes.

"Is it time to leave!?"

"..."

"Yes..."

Meeting the question from Huo Fen and the shining eyes of his little disciple who had run out of spiritual fruits a day earlier, Xuan Hao gently nodded his head to the relief of the master and disciple. Having clearly grown tired and fearful of just waiting around at the edge of the abyss. Especially so because they had noticed that the abyss was slowly growing by around one meter every few days. Getting closer to them with each passing day.

Xuan Hao had also noticed this but had chosen to ignore it since there wasn’t really anything he could do about the abyss expanding towards them. All he could do was finish his cultivation before the abyss reached them and get moving.

Given how slow it was expanding, it wasn’t really a threat, as it would be simple for even a mortal to escape from the expanding abyss. The main problem would be the demon beasts that were lurking in the endless forest surrounding the Verdant Abyss itself.

Even for someone like himself, those demon beasts were a deadly threat, let alone a mortal without any cultivation...

Whoosh~

Shaking his head at these meaningless thoughts, Xuan Hao scooped up the master disciple pair before beginning his journey out of the Verdant Abyss. Hoping that he would be able to avoid having to use the Dao of Space for a third time, as he understood very well that he wouldn’t be able to escape ending up in the abyss if he used it so close to the abyss itself... And although it might not directly end up dying the second he ended up inside the abyss, the fear shown by even Star Creation Realm demon beast when faced with the abyss was more than enough to show just how terrifying it was.

Before he became strong enough, he didn’t dare start recklessly exploring the abyss.

Although... When he became strong enough, he could make use of the spatial formation covering the Verdant Abyss to easily reach the abyss.

...

At the same time Xuan Hao began setting out on the perilous journey through what was considered a death zone by most who ventured into the Verdant Abyss, back in the Eastern Central Region, Chu Yang was making his way through the Fleeting Cloud Empire with far more ease than he had originally anticipated after learning about the overall state of the Fleeing Cloud Empire.

Of course, all of this was thanks to the existence of the Explorer Union, as although it didn’t provide permanent shelter from the chaos, it provided him with a place to rest for a few days and get information on the movement of different powerful figures from different major powers clashing with each other in the Fleeting Cloud Empire.

The main problem with this solution was that it was far too expensive for most wandering cultivators to afford and even if they could afford it, they would much rather find somewhere safe to ride out the chaos or join the Explorer Union.

After all, even though the recruitment tactic of the Explorer Union wasn’t the most admirable, the Explorer Union was still fair to its members and offered countless benefits to entice those Soul Ascension or Dao Seed Realm cultivators who had been hesitant to join them in the past.

"This is already the seven branch in a row without any clear path forward..."

But, even if he hadn’t run into any serious danger yet, his journey wasn’t entirely without trouble, as he found himself wandering from branch to branch along the edge of a massive battlefield between two Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators who seemed to have a grudge against him.

At first, he had believed if he moved further upwards to try and move around, he would be able to avoid the two, but their battle ended up moving along with him. Ruining his plan.

Deciding to then move backwards and try his original path, the two Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators moved down along with him.

That was all fine, but when he decided to then move up again, those two followed him again and blocked his path almost like they had a grudge against him.

One time was a coincidence, but three times!? They blocked him three times in a row!

Even worse, the number of branches he had visited with each turn numbered around three or four. Meaning he had ended up going through all the branches in the area and had essentially lost any location he might be able to settle down and stay safe for a few days.

His only choice was to continue upwards for a grand total of seven different branch locations, but... Wouldn’t you know it, the battlefield between the two Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators not only expanded in size to block his path again but also drew in another two Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators, causing the battlefield to reach a whole new level.

In only a few short days, the battlefield turned into the largest one in the entire Fleeting Cloud Empire. Drawing more powerful cultivators over with each passing hour.

Curious about what might be behind such a massive change, Chu Yang had decided to use a few of his top-grade spirit stones to get information on what it was that caused this massive battle to break out.

And... In the end, he learnt that some kind of ancient ruins belonging to an ancient sect that specialized in alchemy had been unearthed together with several precious spiritual herbs and other alchemy related treasures.

Understandable as it might be for a battle to break out over something like that, he still felt incredibly unlucky, as the ruins themselves just so happened to be directly on his path... And from what he learnt through the Explorer Union, the size of the ruins themselves was found all over the place and expanding the size of the battlefield itself with each passing second. Increasing the area that was being blocked off.

Even if he continued trying to move around the ruins, he wouldn’t be able to do so and might instead end up being caught in the expanding battlefield and find himself facing a Dao Seed Realm cultivator from one of the many major powers that had been drawn over by the ancient ruins.

Worse yet, it was clear that the scale of the conflict itself was growing far beyond just involving a few Early Stage Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators... And with his strength, staying anywhere near a conflict on that level was a death sentence.