405: So we're just in the nooks and crannies?

Old Potato's idea was that since Yan Xiao was gradually recognized as the Son of Luck, some secrets might only be realizable through Yan Xiao.

Hidden Grotto Heaven entrances, Heaven And Earth Treasures that were slow to appear, scattered map fragments in various corners... it might take hundreds or even thousands of years for ordinary people to find and excavate these things.

But if it were Yan Xiao, he might be able to gather a complete set for you in a few years or even a few months.

This wasn't Old Potato's delusion, but a conclusion drawn from the legends of Yan Xiao in the Western Great Desert:

An ancient strong Cultivator's Legacy, which Loose Cultivators in the Great Desert had studied for thousands of years without finding a way to open it, Yan Xiao happened to encounter a change in the spiritual aura of heaven and earth and opened it immediately.

Spirit Medicine that countless Yao Beasts had guarded for thousands of years, slow to mature, suddenly ripened the moment Yan Xiao arrived.

A Grotto Heaven that was about to fall, for which various forces had contended for hundreds of years, coincidentally landed right on Yan Xiao's head when he arrived.

There were simply too many similar incidents.

Old Potato felt that if Ginger Ore Sword truly harbored some secret, such as a treasure map, a Secret Realm Grotto Heaven, or a Legacy site, he could negotiate with Yan Xiao and explore it together with him.

The benefits would definitely be much greater than if he went alone.

Ginger Ore Sword should also be aware of this, so after Old Potato contacted him for a while, he gave an affirmative answer, willing to join the Great Desert Exploration Team.

Old Potato counted the numbers again, inviting some Golden Core Loose Cultivators, but many were attracted by the Ancient Battlefield that appeared in the East Sea, and few were willing to come over.

Ultimately, most of those mobilized by Old Potato were Foundation Establishment Players who wanted to get rich through the Son of Luck, numbering over 500,000.

However, there were very few Golden Core Playerss, less than ten including himself.

The overall combat strength was inferior to the East Sea Exploration team.

But the danger level in the Western Great Desert was also slightly lower than that of the East Sea.

Firstly, Old Potato and the others had obtained a lot of intelligence in advance, naturally reducing the danger.

Secondly, the eastern region of the Western Great Desert had been incorporated into the Immortal Dynasty's rule. The original Loose Cultivators or some forces in the Great Desert all obeyed the command of the state-stabilizing seal, belonging to the players' friendly forces.

This also meant that Old Potato and the others didn't need to start building cities from scratch, and there were many supply points along the way.

Further west, Yan Xiao taking the strange flame also caused the greatest danger to disappear.

Although many fifth-rank strong Cultivators and various forces began to contend for the desert resources left vacant after the strange flame's heat disappeared, the overall risk was controllable. There was no terrifying force of dozens of fifth-rank strong Cultivators gathered together, and the team organized by Old Potato was sufficient to deal with it.

Thus, the westward exploration did not incur significant casualties, and the Golden Core combat power was preserved intact. The group smoothly reached the western edge of the Great Desert.

Further ahead, the yellow sand gradually disappeared, replaced by normal soil, followed by grasslands and woodlands. Hills could be seen in the distance, and if Spiritual Sense covered them, one could see clustered villages.

Traces of civilization began to appear.

Old Potato ordered everyone to stop first, establish a temporary base at the edge of the Great Desert, and then dispatch a portion of Mortal Foundation Players to form a small team to continue exploring westward.

After some time, the exploration team returned.

"Ahead are scattered villages, all Mortals, not a single Cultivator, not even a Spirit Beast or Yao Beast was seen.

"But further ahead, about three hundred li away, there is a large city with over a million people. For Mortals, the scale is large enough, and more importantly..."

The captain of the exploration team showed a somewhat surprised expression: "The city wall guards are all Mortals, and there are no traces of Formations in the city, but there are many facilities called 'Spirit Testing Halls' inside, which should be recruitment points for various Sect forces."

Old Potato was surprised: "Why is your expression so strange... Also, what do you mean by many Spirit Testing Halls? For a city of a million people, one should be enough, right?"

The captain said:

"This is where we are startled. Completely different from the Immortal Dynasty, the west seems to be a country with numerous Sects... No, calling it a country is a bit far-fetched. They don't seem to have a country; it's divided into prefectures.

"The large city we discovered is the seat of a prefecture. Although the city only has a million residents, it undertakes the spirit testing work for the entire prefecture.

"The strange thing is here: in such a small prefectural seat, even if expanded to the entire prefecture, the population would at most be a few million, yet it is crammed with a total of one hundred and thirty-six Sects, all of which have opened Spirit Testing Halls in the prefectural city to conduct initial outer disciple selections."

Old Potato calculated and found that the proportion was incorrect.

Cultivation Sects consume a lot of resources. Although inner disciples mostly no longer need Mortal wealth, outer disciples still consume resources.

Whether it's the current Immortal Dynasty or the former Four Kingdoms, the number of Sects that specifically set up "recruitment points" is extremely limited.

Most are conservative Families and small Sects, relying solely on internal recommendations from their disciples to recruit, with limited scale.

Only fifth-rank Sects, which almost occupy an entire country, dare to hold events like grand disciple recruitment ceremonies and send disciples to conduct spirit testing and recruit disciples everywhere.

Old Potato frowned: "Could it be that all these one hundred and thirty-six Sects are fifth-rank Sects?"

The exploration captain said:

"It's not clear yet, but we inquired and it seems to be common knowledge in the west that these one hundred and thirty-six Sects are all large Sects with Grotto Heavens. They rule this area and have established Spirit Testing Halls in every prefecture.

"Some prefectures will have clear power divisions, with only a few or even one Sect recruiting disciples, but many key prefectures, due to historical or geographical reasons, cannot be completely occupied by a single Sect, and more Sects will open Spirit Testing Halls to recruit disciples—"

"So we guess that further west, there are probably not just these one hundred and thirty-six Sects; the number of Sects capable of recruiting disciples in various Mortal cities will only be greater.

"And every Mortal takes pride in joining a Sect. The relationships between these Sects are intricate; some cooperate, some oppose each other, some have ancestral feuds, while others have been allies for generations.

"In short, it's a completely different situation from the Immortal Dynasty and the Four Kingdoms."

Old Potato pondered for a moment. Sects with Grotto Heavens, these are not simply fifth-rank.

And there are actually one hundred and thirty-six such Sects?

No, perhaps there are even more than one hundred and thirty-six?

"What about Buddhist Cultivators? What about the Buddhist Kingdom? Have you inquired clearly?"

The exploration captain smiled bitterly:

"We also asked about that. We originally thought it would be the Buddhist Kingdom, the behemoth of the west, but it's only three of the one hundred and thirty-six Sects. There are three Buddhist Sects in total, forming an Alliance, but they are not the strongest force, merely mid-tier.

"I specifically inquired, asking if there were rumors of other Buddhist Sects or Buddhist Kingdoms in other directions from this area, but the locals here don't know.

"I think not knowing is knowing. If they were truly famous, their name would have spread long ago. Clearly, the power behind the Buddhist Cultivators is not as strong as we previously thought."

Old Potato, Ginger Ore Sword, and others looked at each other, their eyes filled with surprise.

The Buddhist Cultivators who once spread Buddhist Dharma in the Great Jiang Imperial Dynasty, causing the Great Love Sect to become the Great Love Sect, leaving a deep impression on all players.

In the west, they were merely three out of one hundred and thirty-six Sects, and only mid-tier?

"Old Potato, I've noticed something."

Ginger Ore Sword spoke: "Although the Great Jiang Crown Prince's memory did not mention the overall layout of the Prison Land.

"But I think that further north from the Yuyao Kingdom, one can see ice and snow, and the Yao Race outside the wall also seems to have no desire to explore northward, which should indicate that the north is barren land, almost reaching the North Pole of this planet.

"And the east is the sea. Although the Ancient Battlefield is a bit strange, the conclusion that it is entirely sea cannot be wrong.

"So, the complete continental plate should extend westward and southward.

"That is to say..."

Old Potato also suddenly realized:

"Our Immortal Dynasty and Four Kingdoms are merely a small corner of the continent, or even a remote backwater... 'Further west, that's the core of the continent?'"