413: What lies at the northernmost point?

“We each take what we need?”

Old Potato still watched Helian Rui cautiously.

Helian Rui chuckled happily:

“Fellow Daoist, you should know that we Envoys of the Yuyao Kingdom all possess unique cultivation methods—Transforming External Power into Self-Power, and Using the Demon Body as One's Own Body. The profound mysteries involved could not be fully explained even if I spoke for three days and three nights.”

“However, we also have one small flaw: it is difficult for us to utilize Innate Spiritual Objects, such as Exotic Fire.”

“But Exotic Fire is powerful, and many processes of Alchemy and Artifact Refining cannot proceed without it. Therefore, throughout the long history of our Yuyao Kingdom, we have only been able to cooperate with other Cultivators, relying on their strength to perform Alchemy and Artifact Refining.”

“Old Potato Fellow Daoist, are you willing to become our partner?”

Old Potato was startled; he truly hadn't expected the situation to develop this way.

As players continuously poured into the Yuyao Kingdom, their understanding of it grew, and they generally knew that the Yuyao Kingdom's cultivation system had two major characteristics:

First, the people of the Yuyao Kingdom were actually only Cultivating Soul Power, enabling their Soul to bear the Power of the Throne, and subsequently control Yao Beasts and the Yao Race.

Second, the Envoys of the Yuyao Kingdom are individuals whose Soul Power has reached its peak. Their Physical Bodies are not important; once they die, their Soul can be guided by the Power of the Throne to reconstruct their Physical Body in a safe location.

It was precisely these two characteristics that sparked great interest among many players regarding the Yuyao Kingdom's cultivation methods.

The first characteristic allowed people to ascend to heaven in a single step, gaining immense power after only a very short period of cultivation.

The second characteristic made people fearless of death. The Physical Body was merely a vessel that could be replaced at any time, and since means to target the Soul were truly scarce, there was no need for worry.

Old Potato had studied this before coming. He felt that this cultivation system was too unconventional, and the cultivation base was acquired too easily—it seemed problematic no matter how he looked at it.

Helian Rui stating this explicitly in front of him confirmed some of Old Potato's suspicions.

He had spent considerable effort refining the Exotic Fire and had gained a complete understanding of a crucial point:

So-called refinement was not simply “possession,” but comprehensive “ownership.”

Once he refined the Exotic Fire, it was completely bound to him, and no one could seize it.

Even a Son of Luck like Yan Xiao, without killing him, could only obtain a Fire Seed to Cultivate a Sub-fire, but had no ability to seize the original Mother Fire.

It wasn't just Exotic Fire; some powerful Magic Treasures also required refinement. Once successfully refined, even if accidentally lost, as long as the original owner was alive, the new possessor would have to spend a long time grinding away the imprint before they could refine it anew and take ownership.

The bond between these supreme treasures and the Cultivator was profound, far beyond the imagination of ordinary Mortals.

However, the interesting point about the Yuyao Kingdom's cultivation method was that their cultivation base was artificially inflated, relying entirely on borrowed power from the Throne.

This resulted in them being unable to genuinely refine supreme treasures because they lacked the corresponding cultivation level.

As for the Throne, which distributed its cultivation, although this was only a guess before, it now seemed confirmed: it also lost the ability to refine supreme treasures.

As for the controlled Fifth-rank Great Demons and Fourth-Rank Great Demons, their spiritual intelligence might no longer possess the ability to refine supreme treasures after being controlled. Furthermore, Old Potato guessed that even if they could still refine supreme treasures, the Throne and the Envoys would absolutely not dare to do so.

It could be said that the Yuyao Kingdom's cultivation method had both advantages and disadvantages.

Although Old Potato remained cautious, he was no longer as fearful as he had been initially.

Instead, he spoke frankly, “Alright, then take me to the Yuyao Kingdom.”

...Further north of the Yuyao Kingdom.

Towering city walls blocked everything, protecting the last habitat of the Demon Race Outside the Wall.

Li Changfeng arrived south of the city wall early, but did not immediately head north.

The city wall was not constructed of ordinary bricks and tiles, but of a certain black spiritual ore, upon which was set up a Great Array reaching the Fourth Rank.

Li Changfeng even suspected that the rank of this Great Array was actually higher than the Fourth Rank; otherwise, it would be difficult to explain how it could resist the Yuyao Kingdom for such a long time.

To cross the Great Wall, one must be guided by the Demon Race Outside the Wall, allowing the Great Array to open a passage for transmission.

This was actually a very dangerous matter, because it meant that once transmitted north of the city wall, wanting to head south again would also require the approval of the Yao Race.

Although players could circumvent this restriction by self-destructing and restarting, they would ultimately pay a price.

Mortals like Wan Lin wouldn't care, but Li Changfeng had to be meticulous; the cost of his death was too great.

Therefore, Li Changfeng made contact with the Yao Race south of the wall in advance, mutually probing, revealing some of their cards, and making promises to each other.

Only then did he cross the city wall and arrive in the north.

He saw the same scenery that Wan Lin had seen back then.

Although the terrain in the north tended to slope slowly upwards, it leveled out after a certain distance. Overall, it was a plateau considerably higher than the south, but being within it, one only felt they were on a plain.

This vast plain was covered by grass, and then covered by ceaseless white snow.

There were no cities or roads to be seen, only winding dirt tracks trodden out; due to the varied sizes of the Yao Race, the tracks appeared somewhat chaotic.

Unlike the Mortal Wan Lin of the past, Li Changfeng was a genuine Golden Core Cultivator, who could be called an “Immortal Master” among practitioners. The strength of his Spiritual Sense was sufficient to detect the surrounding Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence.

With a quick sweep, Li Changfeng frowned.

It was too poor.

The scarcity of Spiritual Qi in the surroundings made even the most barren sandy areas of the Great Desert seem proud.

Li Changfeng looked at the Toad Great Demon guiding him beside him and spoke calmly:

“Presumably, in this environment, you have no successors and are destined to meet your end sooner or later. Is that why you had to seek us Extraterrestrial Demons? You certainly played a trick on us.”

The Toad Great Demon offered a wry smile:

“Although the Great Wall protected us, it also separated the spiritual essence. Without a turning point, in another ten thousand years, we of the Demon Race Outside the Wall would likely turn into dust in history, never to be mentioned again.”

The area outside the Wall was a special region rapidly approaching the Era of Dharma Decline.

Li Changfeng gazed into the distance. His Spiritual Sense first contracted, then extended forward like a spear, greatly increasing his detection range.

But even after reaching its limit, he still could not find the end of the north.

His interest in Sacred Emperor Mountain was no longer so intense; instead, he wanted to figure out what was going on with the place where the Demon Race Outside the Wall resided.

Could he find the North Pole further north?

If he crossed the North Pole, could he reach the other side of the planet?

If so, why would this dividing city wall block the spiritual essence?

Since the planet is round, the spiritual essence from the other side should also diffuse over, right?

Li Changfeng asked the Toad Demon about this matter.

The other party looked at him strangely and said:

“Is the Great Flood Dragon's mist influence so great? Have you forgotten common sense?”

“The end of the north? That is naturally the World Boundary.”

“Huh?”

Li Changfeng was stunned: “What... do you mean?”

The Toad Demon said:

“Literally. The sky is round and the earth is square. The boundary of the world is utter Chaos, containing nothing, and naturally, no spiritual essence.”