135: Chapter 135 Exploring Forbidden Areas is Strictly Prohibited

Xia Shaoxin exclaimed, "If we ascend to the Upper Realm, will we contaminate them?"

Vice Minister Li spread his hands with a look of grievance. That was exactly what the Tang Kingdom's Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Great Cultivator Dong Xian, had said!

"The ancient Cultivators of the Gou Realm understood the rules of the world's operation. They recklessly explored other realms and found various ways to undergo Ascension to the Upper Realm. As a result, the turbid qi from those other realms leaked into our own, causing our Spiritual Qi to be neutralized."

"It is said that in the very ancient past, the world above the Gou Realm took action to suppress us. Many secrets gradually faded into oblivion. Only a few top Sects preserved these secrets, but they were also forbidden from spreading them."

Xia Shaoxin exclaimed, "Vice Minister Li, are you saying that the Upper Realm can control us?"

Vice Minister Li nodded, "The Upper Realm is a much purer place with immense power. They can bring down disasters at any moment, or even destroy our entire Yellow Earth World."

Xia Shaoxin suddenly felt a chill run down his spine; he was too shocked to speak.

Vice Minister Li also wore a look of sorrow, his Face full of resentment and utter confusion.

After a while, Xia Shaoxin said, "So, when we collect the poisonous herbs from the Forbidden Ground, we are actually introducing the Lower Realm's turbid qi into this place, causing our Spiritual Qi to become increasingly thin?"

Vice Minister Li nodded, "Yes. Great Cultivator Dong Xian said that if the turbid qi becomes too overwhelming, it will cause the rules of the world to change, and we will all be unable to Cultivate, completely reduced to Mortals. In severe cases, even before the Upper Realm takes action, we would sink into the Demon Realm."

Xia Shaoxin slammed his hand on the table. He understood this state all too well.

When he was a Bug Catcher at Dawu Mountain, he thought he would never be able to leave Dawu Mountain for the rest of his life, and that his descendants would all be tainted by the poisonous miasma, catching Poisonous Insects for others.

"We are like people locked in a prison for a lifetime, never able to get out."

Vice Minister Li also slammed his hand on the table, "Brilliant! Fellow Daoist Xia, you've said exactly what I wanted to say. We are born here, and no matter how hard we work our whole lives, we only reach the Ninth Level of Qi Refining! Those people are born in the Upper Realm, and reaching the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stages is effortless for them!"

Xia Shaoxin suddenly felt that the food and wine he had just eaten had lost all their flavor.

Liu Tingting asked, "We belong to the Lowlands, where the highest level is only Foundation Establishment. I heard there are Golden Core Cultivators in the Highlands. Why can't we go to the Highlands?"

Vice Minister Li sighed, "The Lowlands are severely affected by the Demon Realm's turbid qi. Many years ago, the Cultivators of the Highlands set up a barrier to prevent the Devilish Qi from eroding the Highlands."

He turned to look at Xia Shaoxin and said, "You should be able to understand. That barrier is the most potent area of poisonous miasma. Mortals can come and go freely, but if a Cultivator walks through it, their cultivation base will be severely affected, and they might even become unable to Cultivate ever again."

Xia Shaoxin remained silent.

Mortals are simply humans who have a large amount of turbid qi in their bodies.

And Bug Catchers are the most turbid among the turbid.

"Only our Lowlands have Forbidden Grounds; the Highlands have not been eroded by the Demon Realm," Vice Minister Li said with a sigh. "If the Sects in the Lowlands dared to explore the Forbidden Grounds on a large scale, the Highland Cultivators would definitely take action. Their attitude toward the Lowlands is even worse than that of the Upper Realm."

Xia Shaoxin was stunned, "Didn't you say the Highland Cultivators don't dare to cross that barrier?"

"They have their own methods that we have no way of knowing."

"In other words, the Highlands view us as a burden?" Liu Tingting frowned.

Vice Minister Li said sorrowfully, "Great Cultivator Dong Xian's exact words were that the Highlands view us as a latrine—they despise us, but cannot discard us."

Everyone fell silent, not knowing what to say.

Xia Shaoxin smiled bitterly in his heart. This was the first time someone had given him a detailed description of this world.

It was strange that none of the Disciples of the Chiyan Sect were interested in this.

Perhaps they were too busy trying to Cultivate and didn't want to rack their brains over places they couldn't reach.

From this perspective, the Tang Kingdom was boring; he had to go to the Highlands for a look.

There must be a way to break through that huge obstacle between the Highlands and the Lowlands.

The group didn't want to talk about things they were powerless to change, so they chatted about other topics.

The atmosphere was still lacking, and before long, Vice Minister Li took his leave, offering some parting words:

"You are no longer wanted and are safe now, but you still need to be careful. If you encounter ambitious people like Elder Qian Yunchang or Elder Luo Xi again, you will have a hard time."

He took two Cultivators with him to attend to his official duties and hurried away.

Liu Tingting looked distressed, and Xia Shaoxin was in no better mood.

"I finally understand what so-called Aptitude for Cultivation is," Liu Tingting murmured.

Xia Shaoxin also sighed, "I also know why I can resist the poisonous miasma of the Forbidden Ground—no, the turbid qi. That is not something worth being proud of."

"I used to think I was a Genius with a fast speed of Cultivation. Now I know there is a ceiling above my head. So what if I Cultivate fast? What difference does it make compared to others!" Liu Tingting said.

Xia Shaoxin sighed, "People like me shouldn't even bother with Qi Refining. Without practicing Qi Refining, I would just be a Mortal, staying in the poisonous miasma of Dawu Mountain, and I might have a chance to die of old age. After practicing Qi Refining, being caught and sent to the Forbidden Ground, I might die even faster."

The two of them went back and forth, becoming more and more dejected, until they both stopped talking and retreated into silence.

After a while, Xia Shaoxin stood up and shouted with his arms raised, "Let's first find a way to reach the Ninth Level of Qi Refining, then achieve Foundation Establishment, and then worry about the future!"

Liu Tingting nodded repeatedly, "That's true. Once we reach the Ninth Level of Qi Refining, there won't be many people who can threaten us."

The two quickly arrived at the border between the Yue Kingdom and the Tang Kingdom and crossed over without a second thought.

For the past few months, they had been rushing on the road every day, making it difficult to Cultivate with peace of mind.

Liu Tingting was a bit better off, able to spare some time each day to circulate her Cultivation Technique, but in the vast Jianghu, where there was no Spiritual Qi, Xia Shaoxin's attempts to Cultivate were completely ineffective.

His Medicinal Pills had long since run out, and he couldn't find a suitable opportunity to properly brew a few furnaces of Medicinal Pills.

Now that the wanted order had been lifted, they didn't need to deliberately avoid detection, so they traveled much faster. After making inquiries along the way, they arrived at Elder Luo Xi's hometown, Shangliu County.

Before even reaching the Luo Family Village, they knew that the Luo Family was the most prominent Family in the county.

Elder Luo Xi's parents had three sons, and two of them had reached the Ninth Level of Qi Refining; how glorious that was.

They learned that Uncle Ancestor Luo You and Elder Luo Xi had never married or had children. The current person in charge of the Luo Family was actually the grandson of their brother.

Although not of their direct Bloodline, they were at least their grand-nephews. By using the names of those two, they enjoyed endless wealth and glory in this area. Uncle Ancestor Luo You's remains should also be worshipped by them.

Leaving Shangliu County, they followed the main road for only ten miles before arriving at the Luo Family Village.

Xia Shaoxin was shocked to see that this was clearly a small city.

It wasn't called Luo Family Village, but rather "Luo City."

The Luo Family was financially powerful and had built their home into a large town that was no less impressive than the county seat.

After entering Luo City, they went straight to the Luo Family mansion to request an audience with the Luo Family's Clan Chief.

The gatekeeper saw that he was dressed in an odd, mismatched way and was from out of town, so he reprimanded them rudely, "Who are you people? What are you doing at my home? Is the Clan Chief someone you can see just because you want to?"

Xia Shaoxin had grown accustomed to this kind of hostile attitude when he was a child, so he didn't feel hurt; he just found it ridiculous.

He looked down at his own attire and suddenly realized why.

He had plenty of silver in his Storage Pouch, but he was used to wearing these clothes and was too lazy to change.

Liu Tingting's sword-like eyebrows shot up, and she shouted, "You judge people by their appearance! Asking you to announce us was out of respect for Senior Luo. Since that's the case, there's no need to announce us anymore."

She puffed out her chest and prepared to force her way in.