Chapter 433

Conflict between participants of the Xian Sect's Grand Competition and the locals of the Xuanxiang Realm was inevitable.

Which of these youngsters wasn't a child of heaven?

With youthful ardor and still-burning blood, how could they remain unmoved after witnessing all that the Xuanxiang Realm had to offer?

Even during the earlier Three Heavenly Realms trials, weren't there a few who sought to bring change to that world?

Soon, another message arrived.

Dan Zu: "By the way, the time branches generated by this Realm-Derivation Method are quite stable."

Dan Zu: "I originally thought a method relying on tiny variables to generate time branches would lack stability."

Aside from the main time branch where the Soul Transformation group resides, the Nascent Soul and Jin Dan groups have been sent to two separate time branches.

Compared to the main time branch, the side branches are relatively weakened.

The first time branch—the one where the Nascent Soul group resides—has its local realm's "expressive power," or "actual combat strength," somewhat diminished.

The so-called "Return to Emptiness" there is roughly equivalent to Soul Transformation in the Taixuan Realm, and so on.

The second time branch—the one where the Jin Dan group resides—is weakened further still.

The "Return to Emptiness" there is even only equivalent to Nascent Soul!

Participants of the Xian Sect's Grand Competition within these two time branches experience a sensation similar to entering the starry void from the Central Continent—their divine techniques and spells are somewhat amplified.

Ba Zun: "Hong Zun, though he often seems idle, this Realm-Derivation Method is truly mysterious."

Hong Zun: "/smile"

Hong Zun: "You can drop the first half of that sentence."

Ba Zun: "/smile"

Hong Zun: "/cultivator's refined speech"

Master Jianzu: "This Realm-Derivation Method might one day be useful in more places."

Dan Zu: "Brother, what's your opinion? /eating sunflower seeds"

Master Jianzu: "It's still just an immature idea; when I have time later, I plan to go retrieve Yuan to handle this."

Let's prepare in advance and mention it first.

Dan Zu: "Yuan?"

What does Yuan have to do with this?

Hong Zun: "I think I've guessed a bit..."

Dan Zu: "?"

Wait, how could you guess this already?

Xiang Yuanjun: "Because of the last time?"

Master Jianzu: "Sort of. I'm probably not very good at this."

Master Jianzun: "No matter what you do, I'll always support my younger brother."

Master Mei Zu: "I'm with you too /little yellow duck clutching heart"

Master Jianzun: "Go die somewhere else /little yellow duck spitting sword qi"

Master Mei Zu: "/sad"

Master Mei Zu: "/spinning confetti"

Master Mei Zu: "I finally see you use this again!"

She had missed seeing Master Jianzun use this emoji so much.

Ba Zun: "Retrieving Yuan is indeed a good idea."

In his view, though, it wasn't necessary to find Yuan—many of the younger generation who grew up in this era would be quite suitable...

But then again... if you're going to find him, then find him! It's better than Brother doing something reckless himself!

Dan Zu: "..."

Dan Zu: "Can't you just speak plainly?"

Qi Zun: "There are only a few things Brother isn't good at—how hard is it to guess?"

Qi Zun finally couldn't help but remind him.

But Dan Zu directly ignored his message and kept sending inquiries.

Dan Zu: "Stop playing riddles—just say it clearly, won't you?"

Qi Zun: "..."

The performance is too heavy!

You insist on isolating yourself, don't you?

This damn group isn't worth watering anyway!

Do you think I won't sell your dark histories straight to Hu, that big mouth?

Xuanxiang Realm, main time branch, Cultivation Realm.

【Zhitui Xiancheng】, a city that from the outside appears merely unremarkable.

But once inside, one immediately notices its strangeness.

The city is vast, its spiritual energy far denser than outside; countless pale white sheets of paper tremble softly, forming the city walls, vermilion-drawn talismans winding across the paper like dried blood, each gust of wind stirring a rustling, tearing sound—as if the entire city were slowly "molting"...

No!

It really is "molting"!

With every gust of wind, fragments of paper—large or small—fall from the "city walls," drifting away on the breeze.

Dozens of people, already waiting below in tattered clothing, immediately rushed over and began fighting over the papers blown down by the wind, shoving and cramming into a tangled mass.

But strangely, no fighting occurred at all—as if once a paper was taken, it belonged solely to the one who grabbed it…

And the bizarre situation went far beyond this.

Every person who seized those papers saw their skin gradually wither, becoming as brittle and textured as paper soaked in water then dried again.

'…This demonic technique is truly cruel.'

By the roadside, Zhao Ruoming's face was grim, his pupils now transformed into two slowly rotating yin-yang fish—

Qianyuan Guanshi Zhen Tong.

A divine technique he forged by combining the Taishang Dao Sect's methods with his innate innate ability, its effect rivaling the Tai Xu Po Wang Jin Tong from the Sword Sect's Grand Void Sword Scripture.

At this moment, the entire 【Zhitui Xiancheng】 had changed appearance in his eyes.

A giant, its body reduced to nothing but a thin skin stretched over bones, skin pale as paper, its stark white bones radiating an aura of deathly stillness, lay sprawled across the earth.

This was the true form of 【Zhitui Xiancheng】!

Soul Transformation?

No—it was Soul Transformation peak.

The entire 【Zhitui Xiancheng】 was clearly forged from the remains of a Soul Transformation peak cultivator!

Its most vital sea of Qi and soul had been excavated, its flesh and essence drained, leaving only a skin envelope wrapped around the bones.

The city walls were 'skin'; the interconnected roads and dwellings were the 'bones'!

'The cultivation method he practiced in life must have been related to these papers…'

His thoughts raced; Zhao Ruoming reached out and caught a drifting sheet of paper, activating the analysis function on his wristband—a mysterious light instantly shone upon the paper and swallowed it whole.

To be honest, this paper—or the 【Zhitui】 technique—seemed crude to him, so he'd soon extract its basic information.

Then he could use this local method as cover, making his actions easier…

As he thought this, Zhao Ruoming withdrew his gaze, still carefully concealing himself, then moved forward.

Ink-black fluid seeped from cracks in the blue stone street, its viscous texture causing each step he took to emit a soft 'squeak-zza' sound.

He walked, paused, walked again.

Along the roadside, withered 'paper people' were everywhere—faces painted in vivid cinnabar, eerily grotesque. Zhao Ruoming remained unmoved.

Though he maintained only the bare minimum of Qianyuan Guanshi Zhen Tong, he could sense these paper people were hollow—mere puppets made of paper.

After walking for a long stretch, his Qianyuan Guanshi Zhen Tong finally detected traces of 'vital energy'—along with Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment auras.

There was one Jin Dan as well.

It was a building resembling a workshop, its vermilion door strikingly bright, a plaque above bearing large characters: 【Qingfu Tang】.

'Go take a look.'

With a thought, the rotating yin-yang fish in Zhao Ruoming's eyes spun faster, then he floated directly into Qingfu Tang.

Using the array virus to seize control of the array, he had already briefly scanned 【Zhitui Xiancheng】.

A Soul Transformation was present—but only one, and a mere minor figure, easily slain with a flick of the wrist.

For now, it was safe.

!

But it couldn't be ruled out that he was concealing his cultivation, and was actually a Return to Void cultivator.

The 【Steady Survival Guide】 recorded many cases of death due to carelessness—he didn't want to follow in their footsteps.

So he dared not even conduct a thorough probe, only daring to explore bit by bit.

Following the 'vital energy' detected by his Qianyuan Guanshi Zhen Tong, he cautiously slipped into Qingfu Tang.

Beyond the courtyard wall, Zhao Ruoming saw over a dozen teenagers and young girls seated in meditation.

Each appeared 'tattered'; exposed skin bore cuts, and the wounds were patched with brightly colored sheets of paper.

A horrifying and absurd scene!

Thin streams of spiritual energy were drawn into their bodies, but only a small fraction flowed into their Qi seas—the vast majority seeped into their 'skin'.

The brightly colored paper patches over their wounds, nourished by spiritual energy, slowly transformed into Bai Xi, delicate skin!

As more spiritual power surged in, bamboo fiber patterns surfaced, and the paper-turned 'skin' glowed faintly with spiritual light.

One boy suddenly ended his meditation, staring at his arm where the skin had fully transformed into 'spirit skin,' his face filled with ecstatic joy.

'I've saved enough! I've saved enough!'

Unable to contain his excitement, he tore off the paper patches covering the 'spirit skin' and ripped the entire layer of skin from his arm!

Perhaps due to how often he'd done this, the blood flow was surprisingly minimal…

Nearby teenagers and young girls, sensing the commotion, opened their eyes and gazed at him with envy.

Saving enough Qingfu skin meant he could redeem himself from Qingfu Tang, shed his identity as 'paper,' and truly become an outer disciple of Qingfu Tang, stepping onto the path of cultivation!

Ignoring the gazes around him, the boy sprinted from the room toward a side chamber.

Blood dripped from his fingertips, staining the path behind him.

By the time he reached his destination, his face was deathly pale.

Only then, as waves of dizziness struck him, did he remember to stop the bleeding—he hastily pulled a brightly colored paper sheet from his robe and stuck it over the wound.

'…'

The scenes before him made Zhao Ruoming's face grim.

The Juan Sect records of Taishang Dao Sect did document some demonic cases, but a few lines of text could never compare to witnessing it firsthand.

Moreover, beyond this boy, he had seen even more.

In a nearby storage room, stacks of sealed crates of 'Qingfu skin' filled the space.

What he found even harder to accept were the withered figures, entirely covered in white paper sheets like paper people, being thrown out of Qingfu Tang.

Every inch of their skin had been peeled off, and even the paper effigies used weren't the specially made, brightly colored kind.

"Qingfu Hall...!"

If Qingfu Hall wants 'skin,' then what about the other powers in this city?

Flesh and blood souls as ink?

Bones as brushes?

He suddenly recalled those withered 'paper effigies' he had seen by the roadside before.

Empty and hollow, existing like puppets.

Could those paper effigies have also been... from the start?

The more he thought about it, the colder his heart grew; he even felt he didn't want to keep thinking about it any longer...

Turning to one side, Zhao Ruoming looked toward the location of that Jin Dan cultivator.

Just as he was about to set off, an invisible ripple seemed to be probing for something.

Dong~

A vast, distant bell chime echoed outward, visible sound-wave ripples spreading as they came.

Trailing seven-colored rainbow trails through the mist, firefly-like gilded small characters swam within them, as if the truths of the world were manifesting.

Wherever the bell chime passed, pure, translucent spiritual energy, true essence, and even magic power rose up from within Zhitui Xiancheng, only to sink into those firefly-like gilded small characters.

In an instant, the auras of everyone in the city became much weaker, but each person was used to it.

Staring at the seven-colored rainbow light rippling toward the horizon, Zhao Ruoming was dumbstruck.

Absorbing cultivation?

Damn!

What the hell kind of world is this!

The Mortal World.

Because of the 'Xuanxiang Heavenly Trajectory,' the mortal world, which lacked spiritual energy, basically had no other cultivators lingering in it, except when major sects occasionally came to select 'seedlings.'

But the mortal world had not stopped developing because of this.

On the contrary, several great nations had already developed to the level of the First Industrial Revolution, using steam engines as power sources, beginning an era of machines replacing handicraft.

If it could continue developing like this, might one day there be a scene of the mortal world counterattacking the Cultivation Realm?

Emm...

Most likely impossible. Before technology develops to an extremely high level and understands and pries open the world's rules, it simply cannot pose a threat to Void Return cultivators.

Even though most of the Void Return cultivators in this world are artificially nurtured 'meat pigs.'

But Void Return is Void Return!

Even if some country in the Xuanxiang Realm truly developed technology to that degree, there must certainly be a Void Return cultivator pushing it from behind.

According to the current trend...

If no Void Return cultivator saw the potential and chose to invest, these 'sparks' of the Industrial Revolution, no matter how fiercely they burned, would be crushed by cultivators who sensed something was off.

Of course, Chi Jiuyu's 'initial spawn point' wasn't in a country that had started an Industrial Revolution.

Panyun was just a small country, its system also the feudal dynasty set, nominally a vassal state of another powerful nation—the Cangxuan Dynasty.

The current Emperor of Panyun had been on the throne for thirty-five years, and two Crown Princes had already been outlived.

In his prime, the Emperor of Panyun could still be considered diligent in governance, but as his body grew increasingly frail, he also began pursuing 'immortality.'

The Emperor scoured the world seeking only a single immortal fate, making the already geographically average Panyun even harder off.

On one hand, it had to satisfy the ever-expanding appetite of the Cangxuan Dynasty; on the other, it had to seek 'immortal opportunities' for the Emperor.

It was no exaggeration to say the citizens of Panyun were in deep misery.

High in the nine heavens.

Chi Jiuyu sat on the blade of her own natal sword, holding a string of candied hawthorns in her hand, looking down at the still rather prosperous imperial city of Panyun.

Originally she had planned to head straight to this world's Cultivation Realm, but looking along the way, she discovered that the Emperor of this Panyun was truly fucking no good!

So, before heading to the Cultivation Realm, she prepared to deliver a great gift to that dog Emperor! (End of Chapter)