143: Chapter 102 Departure

Chen Xuan sat by the stone table, watching her back.

The two of them had lived together for many years, having met during a trial and now walking hand in hand.

Unfortunately, after several years, there was still no movement in her belly.

Sometimes, they would be teased by friends from the same Sect.

The sound of a Spell being activated came from the kitchen.

Liu Lili was using her magical power to heat the soup bowl; there was no need to light a fire or boil water.

The life of a Cultivator was far more convenient than that of a Mortal.

But convenience could not solve the trouble at hand.

The Cultivators from the Central Plains had arrived.

It was not one or two, but over three hundred.

The leader was even a Golden Core Master at the Late Stage.

They were rampaging through the territory of the Southern Region, looking down on the local Cultivators, seizing resources, and even killing people.

Yesterday, a magical battle occurred in Bihai Immortal City.

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Central Plains and one from the Southern Region had a dispute over a spiritual fruit.

The Cultivator from the Central Plains severed the Southern Region Cultivator's arm with a single sword strike and then strode away.

The Law Enforcement Hall of Bihai Immortal City went to make an arrest but was stopped by Zhou He.

He said that this was a private grudge and the Sect should not interfere.

The head of the Law Enforcement Hall of Bihai Immortal City was at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment and dared not make a move against Zhou He.

Because standing behind Zhou He was an Immortal Master at the Late Stage of Golden Core, known as Immortal Master Kumu.

Liu Lili walked over with the heated soup and placed it in front of Chen Xuan.

"Junior Brother, drink your soup."

Chen Xuan picked up the bowl and took a sip.

The soup was very hot, but it tasted very good.

"Senior Sister, do not leave the city for the next few days."

Liu Lili sat down beside him and leaned on his shoulder.

"I know."

"Senior Sister Wen Yao said that it is not peaceful outside."

"The Cultivators from the Central Plains look down on us people from the Southern Region, calling us bumpkins, saying our Cultivation Technique is crude, and saying our Magical Artifacts are not presentable."

Her voice was calm, but Chen Xuan could hear the anger within it.

"Junior Brother, what right do they have?"

Chen Xuan set down the soup bowl.

"By virtue of their strength."

"Immortal Master Kumu is at the Late Stage of Golden Core; there is no one in the entire Southern Region who is his match."

"The strong looking down on the weak needs no reason."

Liu Lili fell silent.

She leaned on Chen Xuan's shoulder and said no more.

The spiritual bamboo in the courtyard rustled in the night wind.

The shadows of the bamboo leaves fell on the ground like an ink painting.

The moonlight was like frost.

Chen Xuan looked up at the moon.

He was thinking about the words in that cyan Jade Slip.

Using the Metal element imagery as a base to forge the Purple Mansion Foundation, transforming it into a Small World.

Once the Blessed Land is formed, one becomes a Golden Core Master.

Not a False Core, not a fake core, but a true Golden Core.

He was currently at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment, only one step away from the sixth level.

After the sixth level, there were the seventh, eighth, and ninth levels.

Only after the ninth level could one reach the Golden Core.

The road was still long.

But he did not have time to walk slowly.

The Cultivators from the Central Plains had arrived, and the peace of the Southern Region had been broken.

Today they only looked down on the local Cultivators; tomorrow it might be seizing resources, and the day after it might be invading cities and territories.

Without strength, there is no voice.

Without strength, one can only be slaughtered at will.

Chen Xuan closed his eyes and looked inward at his Dantian.

The City Wall Earth imagery in his Purple Mansion trembled slightly, as if responding to his thoughts.

He needed more imagery.

Heavenly Fire, City Wall Earth.

He needed every single one.

He opened his eyes and took a Jade Slip from his Storage Pouch.

That was the distribution map of Metal element imagery in the Southern Region, collected by the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce.

It marked all the known locations where the imagery appeared.

Heavenly Fire appeared at Nanming Volcano, the seabed of the Long Sea, and the fire veins deep within the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range.

City Wall Earth appeared at the Ancient Battlefield, ancient Immortal Caves, and places where earth veins converged.

He had not been in a hurry to find them before because there was no rush.

Now, he was in a hurry.

Chen Xuan put away the Jade Slip and stood up.

Liu Lili looked up at him.

"Junior Brother, are you going out?"

"Tomorrow morning, to the depths of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range."

"Looking for what?"

"Metal element imagery."

Liu Lili bit her lip.

"I will go with you."

Chen Xuan looked at her for a long time.

"Senior Sister, it is very dangerous outside."

"I am not afraid."

"The Cultivators from the Central Plains might intercept and kill us on the way."

"I am not afraid either."

Chen Xuan was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright."

Liu Lili smiled and reached out to flick his forehead.

"That is more like it."

She stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"I will go prepare some dry rations. We will set off early tomorrow morning."

Chen Xuan watched her back, and a warmth welled up in his heart.

Then he turned and walked into the quiet room.

He sat on the prayer mat and closed his eyes to cultivate.

Magical power surged through his Meridians.

The aura of the Late Stage of the fifth level of Foundation Establishment echoed in the quiet room.

He was only one step away from the sixth level.

He would take this step on the road.

The night grew deeper.

The lanterns of Wanyao Immortal City went out one by one.

Only in the distant Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range did the howls of Yao Beasts still echo.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the moonlight was like water.

His gaze crossed the city wall and looked toward the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range.

Deep in the mountain range was the imagery he needed.

And also the ambushes that the Central Plains Cultivators might have set.

But he had to go.

If he did not go, he would just be waiting for death.

If he went, there was still a glimmer of hope.

Chen Xuan withdrew his gaze, returned to the prayer mat, and continued to cultivate.

The next morning.

Before dawn, Chen Xuan opened his eyes.

He walked out of the quiet room, and Liu Lili was already waiting in the courtyard.

She had changed into a fitted outfit, with the Mingyue Sword hanging at her waist and a pack on her back.

Her hair was tied in a ponytail, her face was without makeup, and she was bare-faced.

But she was still so beautiful that one could not take their eyes off her.

"Junior Brother, let us go."

Chen Xuan nodded.

The two walked out of the courtyard and followed the bluestone path toward the Sky Port.

When they reached the gate of the Inner City, Senior Sister Wen Yao was standing there.

Seeing them, she took a jade talisman from her Storage Pouch and handed it to Chen Xuan.

"Junior Brother, this is what Revered Master asked me to give to you. It contains a sealed Sword Qi; no one below the level of a Golden Core Master can block it."

Chen Xuan took the jade talisman and tucked it into his robe.

"Many thanks, Senior Sister."

Senior Sister Wen Yao nodded, turned, and walked into the Inner City.

Her back was as straight as a sword.

Chen Xuan watched her back disappear, then turned and walked toward the Sky Port.

The flying boat was already waiting at the Sky Port.

The two boarded the flying boat, which rose into the air, turned, and flew toward the depths of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range.

The morning light shone from the east, coating the entire Wanyao Immortal City in a layer of gold.

Chen Xuan stood by the side of the boat, watching the Immortal City grow smaller and smaller, gradually disappearing into the horizon.

Then he turned his head and looked forward.

The outline of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range loomed in the morning mist.

Demonic Qi filled the air, blotting out the sky.

His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his fingertips slightly cool.

Liu Lili stood beside him, not speaking, just watching the front quietly.

The flying boat passed through the clouds and entered the territory of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range.

The Demonic Qi became thicker and thicker.

Chen Xuan's Divine Sense spread forward.

Within ten thousand zhang, there was no aura of a Golden Core.

But there were many auras of Foundation Establishment Yao Beasts, scattered among the mountains.

He took out the map and checked their position.

The first target was an Ancient Battlefield deep in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range.

That place was once the site of a great battle between ancient Cultivators and the Yao Race, where countless Golden Core Masters had died.

The place where the City Wall Earth imagery was most likely to appear was there.