85: Beilingguan

Lan Tian sent a voice transmission: "Fellow Daoist Chu, I have been in charge of this Extraterritorial Battlefield for many years, and there is actually nothing much happening."

"Northern Spirit Pass, which you are responsible for guarding this time, has always had relatively few Gluttonous Beasts attacks, so you can rest assured."

"Gluttonous Beasts?" Xu Qi'an had never heard the name of such a creature.

Lan Tian stroked the beard on his chin and smiled: "Fellow Daoist must be entering the Extraterritorial Battlefield for the first time. There are Three Great Calamities in this Extraterritorial Battlefield."

"Gluttonous Beasts, Yin Spirits, Evil Ghosts."

"These Gluttonous Beasts are four-legged beasts, different from the Spirit Beasts we raise. These Gluttonous Beasts are wild and untamable, without intelligence, only beastly nature."

"As for the Yin Spirits, they are similar to the nether souls in the Spiritual Cry Abyss, but they are not nether souls. They are a new type of creature, also without intelligence, only their innate nature."

"Evil Ghosts are humanoid-like. These creatures have hideous faces, are covered in sharp teeth, and are enveloped in black energy. More accurately, calling them demons would be more appropriate."

"Among these Three Great Calamities, only the Gluttonous Beasts are easier to deal with. Both the Yin Spirits and Evil Ghosts are very troublesome things."

"Yin Spirits are numerous, appearing in large swaths, while Evil Ghosts have no pattern."

Lan Tian explained very carefully, which allowed Xu Qi'an to understand a lot.

"Oh, so that's how it is. Thank you, Fellow Daoist Lan Tian, for the introduction. So we are guarding Northern Spirit Pass to resist the invasion of these Three Great Calamities?"

At this moment, an expression of contemplation appeared on Lan Tian's face.

"Unless something unexpected happens, it should be. It has been like this the previous times, but this time, it's unclear."

"After all, the Sect is making such a big move this time, I'm afraid there's some big action planned!"

"Although I haven't received any instructions, I think it's very likely to deal with other Fourth-Grade Cultivation Countries."

"Other Fourth-Grade Cultivation Countries?"

Lan Tian nodded: "That's right, there are at least four Fourth-Grade Cultivation Countries in this Extraterritorial Battlefield!"

"For example, the Ghost Spirit Sect, which had a war with our Heavenly Dao Sect thousands of years ago, as well as the Divine Travel Sect, Five Elements Sect, and other Sects."

"These are all Fourth-Grade Cultivation Countries, and they all have strongholds in the Extraterritorial Battlefield."

"Fellow Daoist Chu should also know that the Extraterritorial Battlefield has many fragments of grotto-heaven relics from ancient times. These fragments produce many rare Spirit Medicine or rare treasures."

"And for us Heavenly Dao Sect and other Sects to compete for these fragments, conflict is unavoidable!"

"So I speculate that this great battle is being assembled to compete for a certain relic fragment."

"So that's how it is."

Xu Qi'an stroked his chin and fell into thought, recalling what Envoy Liu had said that day.

He said that this time seemed to be at the behest of the Fifth-Grade Cultivation Country, Seven Color Sect.

Lan Tian, however, gave two dry laughs: "Of course, this is just my guess. What the specifics are, can only be seen from the Sect's instructions. For us Jie Dan Cultivators, thinking too much is useless."

Xu Qi'an nodded and said no more.

After about the time it takes to steep a cup of tea.

Lan Tian then said with a smile: "Everyone, we have arrived!"

Xu Qi'an looked in the direction Lan Tian was pointing.

It was a floating island suspended in the starry sky. From a distance, Xu Qi'an felt that the island was already half the size of Tiandao City.

There was a Formation on this floating island.

The Formation's rank was quite high, reaching the level of a third-grade super-grade.

Lan Tian quickly led Xu Qi'an and the other Cultivators into the city below.

The Jie Dan Cultivator guarding the pass was a middle-aged scholar, also at the Core Formation Late Stage cultivation. Seeing Lan Tian arrive, his face immediately lit up with joy.

"Brother Lan Tian, you're finally here!"

"I've been guarding this Northern Spirit Pass for sixty years, just waiting for you to take over!"

"I need to leave the Extraterritorial Battlefield and go out to see my relatives."

Hearing this, Lan Tian immediately looked embarrassed: "Brother Zhang Li, you're putting me in a difficult position. The Sect has no instruction for a handover this time."

"On the contrary, I was also sent to reinforce Northern Spirit Pass."

"What?"

"How could this be?"

The Cultivator named Zhang Li was immediately stunned, and it took him a while to accept reality.

"These are Cultivators who have come from various countries to reinforce."

"This is Fellow Daoist Chu from Yue Country, this is Fellow Daoist Chen from Xu Country, this is Fellow Daoist Feng from Han Country..."

Lan Tian introduced Xu Qi'an and the others to Zhang Li one by one.

But Zhang Li couldn't leave and was already absent-minded. After greeting the Cultivators under his command, he left.

Xu Qi'an, Water Lingmiao, and others were settled in a courtyard in Northern Spirit Pass.

This Northern Spirit Pass seemed to be built on a shattered Mystic Realm, so the spiritual energy was just passable.

It could only be said to barely sustain cultivation.

But for Cultivators like Zhang Li at the Core Formation Late Stage, it was very difficult.

Xu Qi'an couldn't help but think about why Zhang Li wanted to leave Northern Spirit Pass at this moment.

Anyone who stays here for decades with slow cultivation progress would have the idea of leaving.

And now that Xu Qi'an and the others have arrived here, they don't know how many years they will have to stay.

However, Xu Qi'an has very low requirements for external spiritual energy, so it was better than nothing.

Lan Tian had Xu Qi'an and the others rest for a few hours and arranged internal affairs.

Then he had the Jie Dan Cultivators in charge from various countries go to the main hall to discuss matters of guarding the pass.

Routine guarding of the pass was very simple, only requiring checking if the Formation was damaged.

As long as there were no large groups of Gluttonous Beasts attacking, generally nothing major would happen.

Lan Tian quickly determined the rotation schedule for each country to guard the pass.

One month per rotation.

During the rest of the time, Cultivators from each country could move freely or focus on cultivation.

They would wait until instructions came from the Sect.

Xu Qi'an readily accepted this.

He wished that nothing would happen, and that he could safely pass through this Extraterritorial Battlefield and return to Yue Country without losing a single soldier.

However, some Jie Dan Cultivators from other Cultivation Countries were impatient. Hearing that there were many opportunities in the Extraterritorial Battlefield, they all eagerly went out to explore.

Xu Qi'an, Jiang Qiuhe, Water Lingmiao, and others all received invitations from Jie Dan Cultivators from other Cultivation Countries.

Xu Qi'an directly refused this.

Inside the quiet room.

Xu Qi'an looked at the Medicinal Pills in his hand and the spirit gathering Formation arranged with superior-grade spirit stones around him, a smile on his lips.

"It's almost time to break through to the Core Formation eighth level."

Speaking of which, after Xu Qi'an entered the Core Formation Stage, his spiritual energy cultivation speed has been extremely fast in these ten years.

This was even after he spent a lot of time cultivating the Soul Character Incantation.

The main reason was the significant difference in his Spiritual Root Aptitude. Now he has an Earth-grade Wood Spiritual Root, coupled with the spirit gathering Formation arranged with superior-grade spirit stones, there are few Bottlenecks in the Core Formation Stage.

Cultivating and breaking through stages was like drinking water.

After a night's time, Xu Qi'an broke through to the Core Formation eighth level.

Xu Qi'an was in a great mood.

Just as he was thinking of continuing his cultivation, a Sect instruction arrived.

Xu Qi'an walked out of the quiet room and saw Lan Tian pacing anxiously at the door.

"Fellow Daoist Chu, the Sect has sent an order, specifically naming you to go to a certain place!"

Xu Qi'an picked up the Jade Slip and examined it carefully.

He immediately saw the name at the bottom.

"Wenxiu Cliff."