Holy Land of Cultivation

Chapter 149 Holy Land of Cultivation

As soon as Zhao Lao finished speaking, the caravan members immediately found a place to set up camp and rest.

Several array flags were quickly thrown out, setting up a concealed and sound-isolating array that completely blocked the firelight and sounds of the camp.

The flickering campfire dispelled the chill of the night deep within Wanyao Ridge.

Old Zhao slowly walked up to True Person Leng Yue, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and proposed, "Fellow Daoist Leng Yue, tomorrow we will enter Falling Star Valley to search for the Purple Nether Grass."

"The valley has a complex terrain, and we don't know what dangers it may hold. Why don't you and your disciple come with us into the valley? That way, you can look out for each other."

"If we are unfortunate enough to encounter the Demon King, our combined efforts should be enough to handle it."

"Furthermore, Falling Star Valley is rich in moisture, and there may be mid-level third-tier water-attribute demonic beasts hidden there. If you can encounter one, it will be a good opportunity to fulfill your purpose on this trip."

Old Zhao's invitation was naturally motivated by a desire to win him over and protect himself.

After all, Master Lengyue, like him, possessed the cultivation level of the late Core Formation stage. If the two fought side by side, they would have little to fear even if they encountered a demon king.

"Alright."

Master Lengyue nodded slightly, gave a faint reply, then closed his eyes to rest and said no more.

She seemed to be a person who wasn't good with words.

Previously, when Jiang Yun met with her apprentice Yao Ling, she did not say much.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun had an idea and immediately stepped forward, cupping his hands to Elder Zhao and True Person Leng Yue, saying, "Seniors, my purpose in coming here is to temper my physical body, and I do not intend to go too deep into the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge."

"After the caravan enters the valley tomorrow, I will not accompany them, so as not to be a burden to you all."

"Very well." Old Zhao gave Jiang Yun a deep look and nodded, "There are many ferocious beasts in Falling Star Valley, which is indeed a bit dangerous for you. Whether you stay or leave, you can decide for yourself tomorrow."

"Thank you, senior." Jiang Yun said, then returned to his original position and sat cross-legged to meditate.

The caravan will depart for Falling Star Valley tomorrow, which will be the time he and the caravan part ways.

Of course, Jiang Yun's excuse of not wanting to go too deep into the Demon Ridge was just that.

With his mid-stage Core Formation physical cultivation strength, he could travel without using magic power, relying solely on his physical strength. As long as he used concealment and breath-concealing techniques and carefully avoided the habitats of high-level demonic beasts, even crossing the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge would not be impossible.

However, doing so would be too mentally taxing and extremely slow.

As night deepened, the night wind in Wanyao Ridge carried a biting chill.

Jiang Yun opened his eyes, his gaze piercing through the shadows of the trees, looking towards the endless darkness to the north, and pondered to himself.

"I wonder what lies north of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge."

Just then, a light footstep approached.

Yao Ling sat down beside him and asked in a low voice, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, what is the purpose of your risky journey to Ten Thousand Demon Ridge?"

"It's nothing important." Jiang Yun turned his head and smiled gently. "I just want to find some body-refining medicines or some third-tier demonic beasts to fight and seek a breakthrough in my physical body."

"I see." Yao Ling nodded. "Then there's no need to go into too much detail."

"Our Xuanshuang Sect's records state that the depths of the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge are extremely dangerous, and one might even encounter a great demon at the fourth stage of the Transformation Realm."

"Once a ferocious beast of the demon race breaks through to the fourth rank, it can transform into human form and walk in the world. Its strength is comparable to that of a human Nascent Soul stage cultivator, making it extremely dangerous."

Yao Ling sat beside Jiang Yun, speaking softly to herself.

"A fourth-tier transformed demon, the demon forces in the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge are probably enough to easily annihilate the entire cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom."

Upon hearing Yao Ling's words, Jiang Yun fell into deep thought and asked, "Since the demon race in the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge is so powerful, why haven't they invaded the cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom?"

Since ancient times, the human, demon, and monster races have been constantly fighting, and it is common for the three races to compete for territory and seize resources.

However, the fact that such a powerful demon force in the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge did not invade the Zhou Kingdom puzzled Jiang Yun greatly.

After all, just as human cultivators can plunder cultivation resources in the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, demons can also plunder cultivation resources in human territories; it's a reciprocal exchange between the two races.

"Perhaps it's because the cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom is too barren." Yao Ling pondered for a moment and answered softly, "Precisely because it is barren, the demons of Wan Yao Ridge don't even look at Zhou Kingdom, which is why they haven't launched a large-scale invasion."

"Barren?" Jiang Yun's heart stirred slightly, and upon careful consideration, it made sense.

Although the cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom is vast, it is extremely lacking in top-tier combat power.

He had lived in Canglan Immortal City for over thirty years and had only heard that the seven major sects had Nascent Soul elders in charge, while the other forces did not even have a single Nascent Soul cultivator.

Moreover, the Nascent Soul ancestors of the seven major sects all seem to be only at the early Nascent Soul stage, and not even a single late Nascent Soul stage cultivator has appeared.

If we take a longer-term view, such a cultivation world truly deserves the word "barren".

"In that case, there is a high possibility that there are late-stage fourth-order demons in the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, which is equivalent to a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator in the human race."

Jiang Yun pondered to himself, and felt that this guess was more and more reasonable.

"The cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom, and indeed all the cultivation kingdoms south of Wan Yao Ridge, are far too barren compared to Wan Yao Ridge and the areas to the north," Yao Ling added softly.

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Jiang Yun's eyes.

Judging from Yao Ling's tone, she seemed to be quite knowledgeable about the situation north of Wan Yao Ridge.

After all, she was a mid-stage Core Formation disciple of one of the seven major sects, and she had access to many secret scriptures of the sect, so her perspective was naturally far beyond that of ordinary rogue cultivators.

"By the way, how much does the fairy know about the area north of Wan Yao Ridge?" Jiang Yun immediately asked.

"I once saw some records about the area north of Wan Yao Ridge in the books collected by the Xuan Shuang Sect."

Yao Ling recalled for a moment and slowly explained, "According to historical records, the area north of Wan Yao Ridge was called the Great Shang."

"Da Shang?" Jiang Yun's expression was strange. This wasn't the Investiture of the Gods; perhaps it was just a coincidence of names.

"Yes, the Great Shang Dynasty," Yao Ling said. "Those records are very ancient, and we don't know how accurate they are. They might even have other names."

"Is that all that's recorded in the ancient texts? Is there any other information?" Jiang Yun asked immediately.

"There are some more, but only a few words," Yao Ling explained. "According to historical records, the Shang Dynasty north of Wan Yao Ridge was extremely powerful."

"There are many powerful cultivators in the late Nascent Soul stage, and various sects stand side by side. There are even cultivators in the Deity Transformation stage."

"Any one of the powerful sects in the Great Shang Dynasty could easily annihilate the entire cultivation world of the Zhou Kingdom."

"The ancient texts only mention these points, and at the end, they also mention that the Great Shang Dynasty was a true holy land for spiritual practice."

Jiang Yun was greatly surprised upon hearing this.

The area is home to numerous sects and holy sites for cultivation, producing a constant stream of late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, and even some powerful figures at the Deity Transformation stage.

Such formidable strength is a devastating blow to the cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom.

It's quite reasonable to say that the cultivation world in Zhou Kingdom is barren.

"I see, thank you for informing me, fairy."

Jiang Yun became radiant and immediately made a decision in his heart.

"This is a sacred place for cultivation. After completing the first three stages of the Nine Revolutions Nirvana Shattering Pill Technique, I will cross the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge and head to the Great Shang Dynasty!"

Jiang Yun had already begun to dream of becoming a great merchant.

Although the Great Shang region is more dangerous than the cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom, it also offers more opportunities, which can help to quickly improve one's cultivation level.

"It's nothing." Yao Ling smiled and explained, "With the Shang Dynasty being so powerful, the demon forces in the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge naturally set their sights on the rich land of the Shang Dynasty."

"Compared to the Great Shang Dynasty, our cultivation world in Zhou Kingdom is naturally extremely impoverished, so there is no reason for the demons in the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge to launch a large-scale invasion."

"That makes sense." Jiang Yun nodded. To the powerful Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, the cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom was just a backyard that could be invaded at any time.

The situation was different with the Great Shang Dynasty in the north. Because the Great Shang was too powerful, the demons of Wan Yao Ridge had to focus their energy on dealing with the Great Shang and had no time to pay attention to the barren cultivation world of Zhou Kingdom.

Upon learning that the vast world north of Wan Yao Ridge contained late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators and even Nascent Soul experts, Jiang Yun's heart was filled with excitement.

He closed his eyes, his belief in cultivating immortality growing even stronger.

As the night deepened, Jiang Yun and Yao Ling discussed matters concerning Wan Yao Ridge and the Great Shang Dynasty before closing their eyes and pretending to sleep, awaiting dawn.

Nothing was said all night. The next morning, just as the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

The thin mist deep within Wan Yao Ridge had not yet dissipated when the caravan members awoke from their meditation and began to dismantle the formation in preparation for entering Luo Xing Valley.

Old Zhao stood up, glanced at everyone, and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, let's prepare to set off. Falling Star Valley is just ahead. Everyone, stay alert and do not let your guard down."

Everyone responded in unison, quickly packed everything up, and prepared to set off.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun decided not to enter Falling Star Valley.

He bowed to Elder Zhao and Master Lengyue, and said calmly, "Seniors, I will stop here."

"This Falling Star Valley is extremely dangerous. I'll go and check out other places."

"I am deeply grateful for the guidance of these two seniors. Farewell."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhao nodded slightly and said calmly, "Since you have made up your mind, I will not force you to stay."

"Ten Thousand Demon Ridge is fraught with danger, please be careful. Farewell!"

Master Lengyue nodded slightly, as if to say hello.

A hint of reluctance flashed in Yao Ling's eyes, but she knew that Jiang Yun was determined to leave, so she said softly, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge is extremely dangerous, you must take good care of yourself."

"Thank you for your concern, Fairy Yao. Farewell."

Jiang Yun smiled slightly, then without hesitation, his figure flickered, transforming into a wisp of breeze, and swept towards the depths of the dense forest, which was completely opposite to Falling Star Valley, and soon disappeared from everyone's sight.

Having escaped the caravan's sight and moved a hundred miles away from Falling Star Valley, Jiang Yun completely unleashed his divine sense, exploring in all directions.

"Falling Star Valley is a large canyon, inhabited by a great many demonic beasts. I will not go there to hunt them."

"Otherwise, even if we didn't encounter the Demon King, we might still be surrounded and killed by demonic beasts."

Jiang Yun pondered to himself as he moved through the dense forest.

After flying for about half an hour, Jiang Yun's divine sense suddenly detected a strange fluctuation.

"Hmm? There are two demonic auras ahead, and neither of them is weak. They should be low-level third-tier demonic beasts."

A glint of light flashed in Jiang Yun's eyes. He immediately concealed his aura and silently stealthily moved towards the demonic energy.

A moment later, he arrived at a secluded mountain hollow.

Using the dense vegetation as cover, he looked down and saw two enormous monsters fiercely fighting on the open ground below.

One was an armored crocodile covered in black scales, and the other was a shadow leopard with six legs.

Both were low-level third-tier demonic beasts, and they were currently fighting each other to the death over territory, their auras greatly weakened.

Around it, there were also the corpses of many second-tier demonic beasts, numbering about a dozen.

"Two Tier 3 low-level demonic beasts fought a fierce battle; the snipe and the clam fought, and the fisherman benefited."

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Yun appeared above the heads of the two third-tier demonic beasts in a flash.

"go!"

With a flick of his finger, he immediately summoned the Zhou Tian Star Sword Formation.

In the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, battles between demon beasts may not attract the attention of other demon beasts.

However, if a human cultivator were to enter, the other demonic beasts would be attracted by the human cultivator's aura.

In any case, a quick victory is always the safest approach.

Therefore, Jiang Yun didn't waste any time and directly unleashed the Zhou Tian Star Sword Formation.

The thirty-six flying swords instantly formed a powerful array filled with killing energy.

Jiang Yun immediately unleashed a sword formation, giving the two demonic beasts no chance to escape.

The sudden sword formation startled the two demonic beasts, causing them to roar in fury.

"Human cultivator, you're courting death!"

They could actually speak human language.

Sensing a deadly threat, they immediately joined forces to deal with Jiang Yun.

The armored crocodile suddenly opened its blood-red maw and spewed out a stream of foul-smelling poison.

The Shadow Leopard then blurred into several afterimages and pounced straight at Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun snorted coldly, and the physical power of a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator erupted.

He didn't use any magic; instead, he directly met the Shadow Leopard's claws with his bare body.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, the Shadow Leopard's claw, powerful enough to tear through refined iron, struck Jiang Yun's arm, but left nothing behind.

Jiang Yun then unleashed a punch, the force of which shattered the Shadow Leopard's head.

"Seven Stars Guarding the Mountain, Descend!"

At the same time, Jiang Yun made a sword gesture.

Seven flying swords shot out, mercilessly piercing through the armored crocodile's defenses, piercing seven large holes in the monster, and killing it instantly.

In just a few breaths, both of the low-level third-tier demonic beasts perished.

Jiang Yun descended from mid-air, skillfully dissecting the corpses of two demonic beasts and extracting two inner cores that emitted a faint demonic aura.

After that, he looked around.

The two demonic beasts had fought a battle earlier, during which more than a dozen second-tier demonic beasts died under their command.

These second-tier demonic beasts naturally also have inner cores within their bodies.

Jiang Yun had a sudden thought.

Although he is now a body cultivator at the mid-stage of Core Formation, using the inner core of a second-tier demon beast to temper his physical body will not be very effective.

However, if there are enough of them, they can still be used to temper the physical body.

So, Jiang Yun dug out all the inner cores of these second-tier demonic beasts and took them all away.

After doing all this, he put the corpses of the two third-tier demonic beasts into his storage ring.

As for the other second-tier demon beast corpses, they were all burned to ashes by the Golden Core True Fire.

Then Jiang Yun erased all traces and traces, and immediately left to find his next target.

"Two Tier 3 low-level demon beast inner cores, and a dozen Tier 2 inner cores."

77

"At this rate, we'll have nine third-tier demon cores soon."