Chapter 205: Forbidden Land and Gods

The flying car flew quietly through the air; outside the window, the white clouds changed shape as the angle shifted, and flocks of birds could be seen from time to time.

Chen Shu sat alone inside the car, holding a cup of milk tea and sipping it, his gaze aimed toward the distance.

Gradually—

A behemoth not far away transformed from blurry to clear.

Chen Shu could not help but widen his eyes.

This was a piece of land floating in the sky, its size unimaginable; any flying object created by humans, even a Sky Carrier, was not worth mentioning in front of it. When it flew past, the vast land would be shrouded in its shadow, and even the continuous white clouds were merely embellishments circling around it.

And this flying car was not even as large as a sesame seed.

Chen Shu kept his eyes fixed on it.

Towns were built upon this land, and the outer layer had a natural protective barrier that shimmered in the sunlight.

This was the Floating Island where Heavenly Humans once lived, an existence referred to by many ancient nations as the "Heavenly Realm" or "Divine Realm." It was a massive island that naturally floated and rotated around Earth; it was not the Heavenly Humans who made it fly, but rather the Heavenly Humans who were the first to discover it and land upon it. In fact, even now, Yiguo has not made its propulsion source public.

Currently, it belongs to Yiguo as a super-large mobile military fortress, with over two hundred thousand troops permanently stationed on it and thousands of various fighter jets, possessing a military deployment capable of killing any Ninth Stage Cultivator or destroying any ordinary major power.

Named: Heavenly Palace.

This was for returning to attend the new Emperor's coronation ceremony.

The flying car gradually dove beneath it.

The intense airflow caused the flying car to shake violently.

In that instant, the sky turned black, and the behemoth, which was almost boundless when looking up, brought an extremely strong sense of oppression to those below.

Chen Shu withdrew his gaze and continued drinking his milk tea.

Two hours later, he arrived at the Spirit Sect.

Chen Shu first notified Vice Sect Master Du Heng, then immediately went to the Phoenix Tower to return the *Dayi Divine History* he had borrowed a few months ago, as well as the *Small Blazing Sun Art* the Vice Sect Master had given him, before asking the librarian:

"Senior, do you know about that big shot from the Ming Sect who was expelled from the sect? The one who was the eldest disciple of the former Sect Master."

"I don't know."

"Emmm... I want to find books about him."

"Seventh floor, 2-3-2, *Ming Sect History*; 3-1-2, *Cultivation Secret History*."

"Thank you, Senior."

Chen Shu turned and walked upstairs.

Following the directions, he quickly found these two books, then went to the reading room at the very back, walked straight to the window to sit down, and began to flip through them.

The *Ming Sect History* records the major events of the Ming Sect and is divided into several volumes, covering the ups and downs over three thousand years. In terms of figures, it records past Martial Gods, Sect Masters, sect members who stepped into the Ninth Stage, and those who had significant positive or negative influence.

The *Cultivation Secret History* is roughly equivalent to "Gossip of the Cultivation World"; it is full of juicy details, and they are all big ones—the group owner probably likes this book.

Chen Shu quickly found that big shot of the Ming Sect.

This big shot was named Cao Ci, one of only three disciples of the former Ming Sect Sect Master, and also the disciple he thought most highly of. If nothing had gone wrong, this big shot should have become the current Ming Sect Sect Master. However, it was clear that something had gone wrong, as the current Ming Sect Sect Master is his junior brother.

The text here was too cold, lacking any subjective emotion from the author.

For a history book, this is as it should be, but for a gossip book, this is quite unqualified.

Because it was not exciting enough.

Chen Shu read carefully, bringing his professional expertise into play.

The book stated that long before being expelled from the sect, this big shot had been scolded by his master many times for having an improper mindset, but he had not repented. And by cross-referencing the information recorded in these two books, it could be inferred that it was perhaps not just his own master, but people from other top sects who had also gained a rough understanding of his character and had expressed dissatisfaction.

Then, cross-referencing with the *Dayi Divine History*.

Before Cao Ci was expelled from the sect, a Forbidden Land opened, drawing Ninth Stage Cultivators from all over the world to enter. A Barbarian Ninth Stage Cultivator from a northern major power thus stepped onto the God Altar, and not long after that, Cao Ci had a conflict with the sect and was expelled.

Chen Shu keenly sensed that there was a high probability of a connection between the two.

According to the *Divine History*, it is not difficult to summarize that every time a Forbidden Land opens, it can be roughly divided into two situations—

The first type.

The Forbidden Land is controlled by a top sect, and the last god born from this Forbidden Land also came from this sect; it just so happens that this top sect has a peerless talent in the current generation. Then, the cultivation world at that time will tacitly agree that this Forbidden Land has been opened for this peerless talent, who is also the successor chosen by the god.

Thus, there are rarely other Ninth Stage big shots who insist on being stubborn and running over to interfere.

Even if there are, they basically just make a wasted trip.

The second type.

At least one of the previous three conditions is not met.

When the Forbidden Land opens, it is considered open to all of humanity; as long as you think you are awesome, you can come, but only one person will eventually step onto the God Altar.

This time, it was open to all of humanity.

But the Forbidden Land was right behind the Ming Sect, the previous Martial God was also a Martial God of the Ming Sect, and Cao Ci himself was also publicly recognized as someone very likely to become the next Martial God...

"Emmm..."

The world of big shots is truly complicated.

Chen Shu put the books back.

His curiosity had been satisfied, his doubts should be resolved, and it was time to find other useful books.

That evening.

Chen Shu went to pay his respects to the Vice Sect Master and had a casual meal while he was at it.

The current Spirit Sect Sect Master had already headed to Yujing, and all matters of the Spirit Sect were handled by Vice Sect Master Du Heng. If nothing went wrong, in a few more years, the position of Spirit Sect Sect Master would be handed over to this Vice Sect Master. Such a big shot had privileges everywhere, so Chen Shu hitched a ride to have a good meal with him.

After the meal, the Vice Sect Master asked Chen Shu to accompany him for a walk, and Chen Shu had no choice but to comply.

The night at Yuding Mountain was exceptionally quiet; walking on the upper part of the mountain, one was met with the evening breeze, the neon lights outside the mountain could be faintly seen, the western sky presented a gentle and beautiful gradient, and the mountains showed their silhouettes.

"Have you advanced to the Fifth Stage?" Vice Sect Master Du Heng asked.

"Yes," Chen Shu answered honestly.

"It went even more smoothly than I imagined," Vice Sect Master Du Heng said, "but the subsequent promotion to the Sixth Stage will be much more troublesome; you must make more preparations."

"Why?" Chen Shu asked.

"Because the effect of the Auxiliary Potion for the Fifth Stage promotion is still quite good, but it is different when it comes to the Sixth Stage promotion. We did obtain the Sixth Stage potion formula from the Secret Sect, but several of the raw materials used in these formulas have already gone completely extinct, and they cannot be found in the Forbidden Land either." Vice Sect Master Du Heng sighed, "Now our Spirit Sect also has a specialized team working hard to find modern substitutes, and other organizations and institutions are doing this as well, but no one has succeeded yet."

"I see..."

Chen Shu nodded, not surprised.

As the Cultivation Rank increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to have a significant stimulating effect on the Spirit Sea; since ancient times, this has been a major challenge.

The Secret Sect belonged to those who "cheated," so they could ignore technical limitations in ancient times and directly find a solution that was very close to the "optimal solution." It is said that among the raw materials for the Secret Sect's Fifth Stage Promotion Auxiliary Potion, there were some materials that people only knew had this medicinal effect after the Secret Sect found them, and some materials were even more outrageous and scarce; before the Secret Sect found them, people did not even know of their existence.

Even now, the Secret Sect's formula is still the most effective promotion potion formula; modern people are merely performing further process optimization on it.

If it is for the Sixth Stage promotion, some of the raw materials used will likely be even rarer and more precious than those for the Fifth Stage.

"There is no need to rush."

The Vice Sect Master comforted him very kindly: "Your promotion speed is already very fast. In fact, there is no need to be too eager about promotion; a little earlier or a little later will not have much impact on your long life ahead."

After saying this, he added another sentence: "Of course, you cannot slack off either; the necessary diligence is still required."

"How long does it usually take for people to promote to the Sixth Stage?" Chen Shu said, then added, "Those with talent similar to mine."

"After promoting to the Fifth Stage, it takes about one to two years to reach the peak, and then two to three years to promote."

"About what I thought..."

"What did you think?"

"Reach the peak before the start of junior year, then use two or three years to promote, and promote to the Sixth Stage before graduation."

"Not bad."

"Do people who practice modern Spirit Method have an increased lifespan?"

"Theoretically, yes. The increase in lifespan from modern Spirit Method is significantly higher than that of Ancient Spirit Method because it has eliminated almost all discovered side effects." Vice Sect Master Du Heng is a top expert in modern cultivation studies, "As for the reality, it can only be tested by time."

"What about the gods?"

"You can go look it up."

"..."

Chen Shu twitched the corner of his mouth and stepped onto the stairs.

Looking up, tonight's moon was no less impressive than last night's; a corner of the Divine Hall peeked out from behind Yuling Hall, its tiled roof stained with a thin layer of frost under the moonlight.

Every small path on Yuding Mountain had streetlights; the streetlights were stone pillars beside the paths, one every few meters. The height of the streetlights only reached a person's waist, and the lamp shade at the very top emitted a faint light, looking exactly like the color of the sky at this moment—it originated from a sensitive material, paired with the simplest Luminous Rune, without any Energy Source; it just glowed continuously because the natural Spirit Power in the Spirit Sect's base was sufficiently dense.

The path cast by the fluorescence led all the way to the distant palace, where the palace was also brightly lit, revealing an intoxicating classical beauty, as if many scholars and elegant people would gather inside, accompanied by singing girls and dancing women, drinking and making merry, lasting all night long.

Chen Shu was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Many precious heavenly treasures are unearthed from within every Saint Ancestor Cube, among which there is no lack of those that have already gone extinct. Are all these heavenly treasures used for scientific research?"

"Partially used for scientific research." The Vice Sect Master's voice was calm, "Scientific research has priority; if there is a surplus, it is provided first to the direct descendants of the Imperial Family."

"There is usually a surplus, right?"

"There is."

"If the Imperial Family's direct descendants use them and there is still a surplus?"

"The Daoist and Buddhist Sects have a higher priority than us."

"Oh..."

Chen Shu dragged out a long tail note, then said: "Can I take a look at the potion formula?"

The Vice Sect Master glanced at him sideways, his voice steady:

"You can."

That is full of trust.

Chen Shu glanced again at the top of Yuding Mountain; as the angle changed, more of the Divine Hall was revealed. Among all the palaces and pavilions on Yuding Mountain, it was the only building that did not have a single bit of light at night; if not for the moonlight, it would be pitch black.

There are gods three feet above one's head, indeed.

Chen Shu pursed his lips and changed his words: "I only need to know the few missing, extinct raw materials."

"You can."