Chapter 213: Five Continents and Four Seas, the Heavenly Corpse Emperor

The world of immortal cultivation that Lu Yuan had envisioned should have been bizarre and magnificent, vast and mysterious, and boundless.

Within it, there should be cultivators roaming the heavens and earth, plucking stars and grasping the moon, as well as all kinds of divine arts and secret manuals, heavenly materials and earthly treasures, rare and exotic beasts, and immortal palaces and secret realms, with endless resources and treasures for cultivators to explore.

In the memories of Bai Qianfeng, the so-called Upper Realm of Yuanling Heaven had indeed once been filled with sects, with its five continents and four seas spanning hundreds of millions of miles; powerful cultivators would enter the blue void, traverse the heavens and earth, and enjoy longevity.

But that was already history from two thousand years ago; today, the environment in which the cultivators of the Upper Realm survive is one of crumbling heavens and broken earth, where destruction and death have become the theme of the world.

In the other party's memory, two thousand years ago in the Dongxuan Continent of Yuanling Heaven, the Feathering Sect, a top-tier sect possessing a Return to Void Great Ability, accidentally discovered a tomb suspected to be that of an immortal cultivator from the ancient era or even the previous epoch.

This great tomb was hidden within a cave-heaven secret realm; the Feathering Sect mobilized the power of the entire sect, led by that Return to Void Great Ability, and brought several Transformation Spirit Giants and Nascent Soul True Monarchs into the cave-heaven secret realm to explore.

The cultivator buried within the great tomb was possibly an Immortal existence who had already Refined Void into Dao; the Feathering Sect was originally full of anticipation for this exploration, yet no one knew what happened inside, and the Return to Void Great Ability, and even the Transformation Spirit Giants and Nascent Soul True Monarchs who entered the secret realm to explore, all suddenly lost contact.

That cave-heaven secret realm could not be entered even by Nascent Soul True Monarchs without the protection of a Return to Void Great Ability, so the middle-level members of the sect could only wait anxiously outside the secret realm.

And after waiting for a full three years, one day the cave-heaven secret realm suddenly opened, yet those who walked out were no longer the Elders and high-level figures familiar to the Feathering Sect Gatekeepers, but rather Corpse Demons with heaven-shaking corpse energy and bloodthirsty cruelty!

These Corpse Demons, it goes without saying, were all transformed from the True Monarchs and Giants of the Feathering Sect who had entered the secret realm to explore, and even that living fossil of the Feathering Sect, its only Return to Void Great Ability, was among them.

After turning into Corpse Demons, these top-tier existences of the current age clearly had their reason extinguished, leaving only bloodthirsty instincts; after walking out of the cave-heaven, they immediately slaughtered the middle-level members of the Feathering Sect waiting outside, and devoured their flesh and blood, and swallowed their Inner Pills, being cruel and terrifying to the extreme.

After killing the middle-level members, these terrifying Corpse Demons then swept through the entire Feathering Sect; nearly one hundred thousand people, from the inner and outer sect members to the miscellaneous servants within the Feathering Sect's mountain gates, were all slaughtered and devoured by these terrifying Corpse Demons.

And what was even more terrifying was that the Corpse Demons instantly spread corpse energy, and their claws and fangs also carried highly infectious corpse poison; once ordinary cultivators were tainted by the corpse energy and corpse poison, they would go mad and mutate in a very short time, likewise becoming violent, cruel, and mindless Corpse Demons, attacking all living things indiscriminately.

Precisely because of this, in just a single night, the top-tier sect of the Dongxuan Continent, the Feathering Sect, was completely annihilated, and at the same time, thousands of sect cultivators of varying cultivation levels were infected and turned into Corpse Demons, radiating and ravaging in all directions; wherever they passed, all living beings were slaughtered and devoured, and a large number of living beings were polluted by the corpse energy and corpse poison and transformed into Corpse Demons, rapidly forming a massive Corpse Tide, becoming a terrifying catastrophe that swept across the entire Dongxuan Continent.

The world's top Return to Void Great Ability turning into a supreme Corpse Demon—such a terrifying thing was unimaginable for the cultivators and mortals of the Dongxuan Continent; under the catastrophe, they had almost no power to resist, and even when the top cultivators of several other major sects in the Dongxuan Continent reacted in time and united to fight back, facing an unprecedented Return to Void realm supreme Corpse Demon was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Although this Corpse Demon was muddled in mind, its cultivation and means were not discounted much; wherever it passed, the land was scorched for a thousand miles, living beings were plunged into misery, and no one could stop it, almost single-handedly setting off a massive catastrophe.

Within a few years, the catastrophe swept across the entire Dongxuan Continent; snowballing, the number of living beings turned into Corpse Demons reached the trillions, and the large and small sects of the Dongxuan Continent could not hold on for long—either their mountain gates were breached by the Corpse Tide and the entire army was wiped out, or they saw the situation was bad and were forced to abandon their mountain gates and Spirit Pulse strongholds, fleeing in a sorry state to other continents.

By this point, the entire Dongxuan Continent had become a ghost realm, and the vast land was filled with bloodthirsty Corpse Demons, with no living beings left.

However, even after turning the entire Dongxuan Continent into a ghost realm, the Corpse Demon Catastrophe did not stop because of this. In the long years that followed, they polluted the vast oceans, and the corpse energy and corpse poison gradually radiated to other continents, and those flying zombies, Corpse Generals, Corpse Kings, and even Heavenly Corpse Kings comparable to Nascent Soul Great Cultivators, as if driven and commanded by someone, also crossed the vast oceans in a mighty force to sweep through other continents.

After cultivators mutated into Corpse Demons, although their intelligence dropped significantly, they also feared no pain and fought without regard for their lives; high-level Corpse Demons could even retain their cultivation and Dharma Power, and even continuously grow stronger by devouring flesh and blood.

Coupled with the terrifying effect of corpse energy and corpse poison polluting all living things, this also led to other continents being completely unable to block or eliminate them.

During this period, there were actually top-tier Great Ability cultivators from other continents who united to fight against the Corpse Tide.

Like the Dongxuan Continent, other continents also possessed Return to Void Great Abilities; at that time, three Return to Void Great Abilities personally went to the Dongxuan Continent to seek the source of the Corpse Tide, wanting to completely eliminate this catastrophe.

However, they faced the siege of endless Corpse Demons, among which was that Feathering Sect Great Ability who was on the same level as them!

At this time, the Feathering Sect Return to Void Great Ability who had turned into a supreme Corpse Demon had devoured billions of flesh and blood, having long since evolved to an unprecedented level, and could be called a Heavenly Corpse Emperor; even when besieged by the three Return to Void Great Abilities, he remained completely fearless.

The two sides fought for a full few months, causing the mountains and rivers of the Dongxuan Continent to shake and the sun and moon to lose their light, but the final result was that both sides suffered heavy losses.

That Heavenly Corpse Emperor was beaten by the top Great Abilities of the various continents until his body cracked and he fled into the earth; and those three Return to Void Great Abilities were also severely injured, and even polluted by the corpse poison of the Heavenly Corpse Emperor, having to go into seclusion for years to seal themselves and expel the corpse poison.

But while they were still in seclusion, the fleeing Heavenly Corpse Emperor recovered as before in just a few years, and once again led the Corpse Tide to ravage the world.

Two thousand years have passed since the beginning of the catastrophe; today, of the five continents of Yuanling Heaven, the Dongxuan and Beihao continents have completely fallen, turning into death realms, while the Zhongtian, Nanchan, and Xiyan continents are still continuously struggling against the Corpse Demon Catastrophe.

However, even these three continents have suffered heavy losses in this nearly two-thousand-year struggle against the endless Corpse Tide; their Spirit Pulse Dao sites and living spaces have been continuously polluted and compressed, and by now, it can be said that they are struggling at every step.

Bai Qianfeng and Qin Ruoning came from the Longshan Immortal City in the north of the Xiyan Continent, one of the three continents, which could be considered one of the front lines fighting against the Corpse Demon tide.

"Unexpected, truly unexpected, the Upper Realm is actually in such a state..."

Digesting the memories to this point, Lu Yuan could not help but sigh with emotion, and said to Qin Ruoning:

"So, you came to the Lower Realm wanting to manage this world as a rear base for Longshan Immortal City, so that you can recuperate here, select and cultivate War Soldiers, and also use this place as a retreat if you encounter danger?"

Qin Ruoning stared fixedly at Lu Yuan and said hoarsely:

"You have already known through the Soul Searching technique, why do you need to ask me again?"

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes:

"I didn't expect your days to be far worse than this Lower Realm; it seems that ascending to the Upper Realm is not necessarily a good thing..."

Today, the Corpse Demon Catastrophe is sweeping through Yuanling Heaven, and no continent has been spared; like the Xiyan Continent where Qin Ruoning and the other were born, more than half of its territories have been occupied by the terrifying Corpse Tide, and the major sects and aristocratic families have formed alliances, integrated their forces, and set up major defensive Immortal Cities to form defensive lines to prevent the spread of the Corpse Tide.

Longshan Immortal City is considered a medium-sized defensive Immortal City, established on a third-rank high-grade Spirit Pulse; the richness of its spiritual energy is sufficient for Golden Core cultivators to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, and it can also satisfy the cultivation of millions of cultivators.

However, anyone who practices for a long time on the Spirit Pulse within this city, regardless of their cultivation level, needs to serve two years of patrol duty for Longshan Immortal City every ten years to resist the impact of the Corpse Tide.

Serving this duty has a very high casualty rate for ordinary cultivators; on average, three or four out of every ten cultivators do not return each time they serve, but now that the major continents are crumbling and the Corpse Tide is ravaging, only the major defensive Immortal Cities based on major Spirit Pulses can provide shelter and resistance, so millions of ordinary cultivators have no other choice but to serve on schedule; perhaps one accident will lead to them being buried under the claws and fangs of Corpse Demons, or even becoming mindless, bloodthirsty Corpse Demons themselves.

Like Bai Qianfeng and Qin Ruoning.

Although these two were born into immortal cultivation families and had high status, they could not avoid being conscripted in Longshan Immortal City, and from time to time they needed to go out to clear out the Corpse Tide, and they had narrowly escaped death from various dangers more than once or twice.

In short, the situation in the Upper Realm was extremely terrible, completely inconsistent with Lu Yuan's expectations, making him feel a sense of disillusionment.

After thinking for a moment, he took the Storage Bag from Bai Qianfeng's corpse, directly used the corpse's essence blood and then infused it with Dharma Power to open it, and then took out a Jade Talisman from it.

According to Bai Qianfeng's memory, this Jade Talisman was a Two-World Communication Talisman given to them by the Nascent Soul Great Cultivator of the Upper Realm and the Immortal City Lord of Longshan Immortal City, True Monarch Huanglong; as long as one inputs Dharma Power near the passage between the two worlds, one can transmit messages from this world back to Yuanling Heaven.

At the same time, if Yuanling Heaven opens the Reception Array, they can also return to the Upper Realm through the Heavenly Ladder while holding this talisman.

In other words, if Lu Yuan held this talisman, it would also be possible for him to muddle through and be received into the Upper Realm, but he would be directly exposed under the eyes of the Upper Realm cultivators.

"True Monarch of the Nascent Soul..."

Lu Yuan could not help but stroke his chin:

"Nascent Soul cultivators shatter the pill to form an infant, and their every move can cause the heavens and earth to resonate; moving mountains and filling seas is not a problem, and some can even cultivate Supernatural Powers; I should not be a match for them yet."

Bai Qianfeng was, after all, a Golden Core Real Person, knowledgeable and experienced; not only did he have a lot of understanding of the Nascent Soul realm, but he had also personally witnessed the actions of True Monarch Huanglong of Longshan Immortal City many times.

In the new method of cultivation in the Upper Realm, after the formless and qualityless Inner Pill is refined, one seeks the original nature to refine the Primordial Spirit. The so-called Nascent Soul is the process of the Inner Pill gestating and manifesting an infant. The Inner Pill points to yin and yang to return to the Taiji; the Inner Pill shatters, purple energy comes from the void, and the Nascent Soul is born, then the Great Dao is achieved.

Such cultivators' divine sense can cover a hundred miles with a sweep, and their spellcasting can cause the power of heaven and earth to resonate, greatly increasing the power of their techniques, comparable to half-step Supernatural Powers;

At the same time, the Nascent Soul can also leave the body to teleport through the void, travel through the Great Void, and even possess a body to be reborn, truly possessing vast and powerful Supernatural Powers.

Lu Yuan thought about it over and over; although he had already mastered ten Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend Supernatural Powers, he had after all just stepped into the realm of Refining Qi into Spirit, and he was probably not a match for cultivators of this level.

Of course, by comparison, the Nascent Soul realm still belongs to the category of Refining Qi into Spirit; he only needs to practice steadily and reach the middle or late stage of this realm, and with the blessing of multiple Supernatural Powers, he would not need to fear the Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the Upper Realm.

But this was obviously a matter for a long time in the future; he decided to first completely stop the Mending Heaven Array in the Extreme North to avoid any further trouble.

While he was still considering various things, Qin Ruoning, who had been waiting for judgment like a year, gritted her teeth and spoke:

"You should already know the situation in the Upper Realm; we came down simply to manage the Lower Realm as a logistics base to prepare for resisting the Corpse Tide, and we harbor no ill intent."

Lu Yuan's gaze, wearing a look that was not quite a smile, swept over: "Your accomplice has already died by my hand; you still expect me to let you go?"

Qin Ruoning said woodenly:

"I, Qin Ruoning, am not one who fears death, but within the Immortal City, there are not only tens of thousands of cultivators but also millions of mortals. I would rather use my capable body to exterminate Corpse Demons; even if I were to die, it would be a contribution to the Immortal City. But to die silently and obscurely at your hands, I am not reconciled!"

Lu Yuan sneered and said nothing.

The Longshan Immortal City of the Upper Realm stretches for nearly a hundred miles and indeed houses nearly ten million mortals.

However, in the memories of Bai Qianfeng, the reason for sheltering mortals is not because the cultivators care for the common people, but to replenish fresh blood.

The new method of cultivation places particular importance on Spirit Root aptitude; the so-called Spirit Root is something all humans possess, yet some are inferior and hidden, some are mediocre and unremarkable, and others are those with excellent Spirit Roots—the outstanding among people.

Spirit Roots relate to the gathering and refining of the Spiritual Machine of Heaven and Earth, directly affecting the speed of cultivation. Under the current catastrophe, major Immortal Cities lose many cultivators every year resisting the Corpse Tide, so replenishing fresh blood has become the top priority, and the mortals sheltered by each Immortal City have become the source of that fresh blood.

Therefore, he simply listened to Qin Ruoning's words for what they were.

However, in the memories of Bai Qianfeng, he was quite fond of this woman and had a fair amount of understanding of her.

This woman has excellent natural talent and outstanding beauty, with many admirers in the Upper Realm, and she has always acted quite uprightly, without any evil deeds; even when Bai Qianfeng came to this Lower Realm, she had expressed dissatisfaction and attempted to dissuade him from his actions.

In Lu Yuan's view, this could be called a crime not deserving of death.

Therefore, he looked at Qin Ruoning and said indifferently:

"You did attempt to dissuade Bai Qianfeng after arriving in the Lower Realm; your crimes do not warrant death, so I will not kill you. However, expecting me to let you return to the Upper Realm is likewise impossible."

Qin Ruoning was stunned for a moment, then said with extreme vigilance and caution:

"Then what do you intend to do?"

Lu Yuan smiled dismissively: "You will know in the future."

Having said that, he first very carefully and cautiously collected Bai Qianfeng's corpse and all his belongings, then produced Qin Ruoning's severed arm; after removing the strange bracelet from the wrist of the severed arm, he used a gentle breeze to send the arm before her:

"Can you reattach it yourself?"