Chapter Nine: The Endless Rivers and Lakes

According to the jade slip provided by Li Fusheng, the entire territory of the Heavenly Realm was vast, not much inferior to the Divine Realm, and was filled with imperial dynasties contending for power—a place where mortals struggled for dominance. Naturally, that was not to say there were no cultivators in the Heavenly Realm. There were, but not many; here, the majority were martial artists.

Cultivators who managed to reach higher levels of mastery in the Heavenly Realm could at most break through to the Vein-Opening stage. If they wished to advance further, the spiritual energy was insufficient, and cultivation resources were scarce; only by finding a way to the Divine Realm could they progress. Thus, few cultivators chose to remain in the Heavenly Realm after reaching the Vein-Opening stage, and in this place, martial artists could contend equally with cultivators. This led to martial artists enjoying the same status as cultivators throughout the Heavenly Realm.

After traveling for three whole days, Wang Changsheng had yet to see a single city, or even a person. “Why did the cloudship land in such a remote place…” he muttered. By his reckoning, he’d covered at least a thousand miles in those three days, yet all was desolate—no sign of humanity anywhere.

What Wang Changsheng didn’t know was that the cloudship’s landing site was deliberately chosen for its remoteness, to avoid disturbances. To travel from the Divine Realm to the Heavenly Realm, one only needed to be at the Vein-Opening stage or below, but to return from the Heavenly Realm to the Divine Realm was not so simple; it required not only cultivation, but also a large sum of spirit stones to pay for the cloudship’s fare.

Ascending from the Heavenly Realm to the Divine Realm was exceedingly difficult.

On the fifth day, Wang Changsheng finally spotted people—a caravan resting in a mountain gorge. He immediately approached.

“Brothers, be on guard!” Several figures dashed out from the caravan as he neared, quickly surrounding him.

“Daoist, what business brings you here?” the leader asked, brandishing a curved saber and glaring fiercely.

Wang Changsheng clasped his fists in greeting. “Don’t misunderstand. I am Wang, and I’ve lost my way. Seeing you resting here, I hoped to ask for directions.”

But his words only heightened their wariness, and they looked ready to strike at any moment.

“I don’t know!” the leader replied coldly. “If you want information, look elsewhere. You’re not welcome here!”

Without waiting for Wang Changsheng to reply, the leader motioned for him to leave, and the guards parted to open a path.

Wang Changsheng gave an awkward smile and walked away. It wasn’t that he feared them—the strongest among them was only at the Postnatal stage, and he could dispatch them all with a wave of his hand. Rather, Wang Changsheng reasoned that, since he’d finally encountered people, civilization couldn’t be far off.

Only when his figure disappeared did the guards relax and return to the caravan.

“Young master, that Daoist has gone,” the leader respectfully reported to the carriage at the center.

A voice came from within. “It seemed he truly was only asking for directions. Next time, don’t be so harsh in such cases.”

“Yes,” the guard replied gravely. “But these are dangerous times, we must be cautious!”

With that, all was quiet within the carriage. The caravan began to pack up and move on.

After leaving, Wang Changsheng muttered to himself, “Are all the people of the Heavenly Realm so fierce? They’re ready to fight at the slightest provocation!” He shook his head and continued on.

No sooner had he crossed a ridge than he frowned. “An ambush?” With his innate peak cultivation, Wang Changsheng sensed several hidden auras nearby, the strongest of which was at the early Innate stage. The suppressed killing intent was unmistakable.

He didn’t think they were after him—he was a stranger here, having just arrived, and had made no enemies. “Are they targeting the caravan instead?” Thinking of the caravan’s vigilance, Wang Changsheng understood. “Such is the way of the jianghu—no matter where you go, even in the Three Realms.”

Before long, he saw the caravan heading straight for the ambush point. Unlike a lone traveler, the caravan, laden with supplies, could only take the main road.

“Not good—an ambush! Protect the young master! Kill them!”

Half a stick of incense later, the sounds of battle reached Wang Changsheng’s ears. “So it was indeed an ambush for the caravan…” He quietly crept closer, not to help, but out of curiosity—to see what combat between martial artists of the Heavenly Realm looked like. Of course, he didn’t rule out the possibility of opportunism; after all, he was short on money. Spirit stones were hard to come by, but at the very least, he needed some local currency.

Squatting at the edge of the gorge, he could see everything clearly. The caravan’s martial artists had already suffered heavy losses. The ambushers were fewer, but generally stronger, and among them was a martial artist at the early Innate stage.

After half a stick of incense, only three of the caravan’s martial artists remained, while the ambushers still had five. “At this rate, the caravan will be wiped out within the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense,” Wang Changsheng mused.

Just as he thought this, another of the caravan’s martial artists fell, though he went down fighting, taking an enemy with him. Two against four—there was no hope left.

The remaining dozen or so ordinary people in the caravan looked utterly hopeless. Wang Changsheng couldn’t help but notice that none of them tried to flee.

“Stop!” came a voice from the central carriage.

A man, about twenty-five or six, stepped out. The two remaining guards immediately fell back to shield him. The four ambushers halted as well, which surprised Wang Changsheng, for the man appeared to be just an ordinary person.

“Judging by this, their target must be this man,” Wang Changsheng realized.

“Who sent you?” the man demanded.

The four said nothing, their faces masked by black garb.

“Not talking?” the man continued, unafraid. “Then I was right in my suspicion!”

“Kill them all!” snarled the assassin at the early Innate stage, then charged at the young man. Two of his companions went for the guards, the last for the ordinary people.

Seeing this, despair filled the young man’s eyes. “Never thought the Yunfeng Empire would fall into my brother’s hands…” he murmured as the blade drew close.

The two guards were quickly entangled, unable to help. Death seemed certain.

Clang! A sharp sound rang out. The young man felt no pain; he could still breathe.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. The sunlight was as dazzling as ever, but the air seemed somehow fresher. Having brushed against death, the world seemed all the more beautiful.

“Who are you?” he asked the figure before him.

He was not foolish; seeing an elderly man with a snowy beard standing before his carriage, he knew at once that it was this elder who had intercepted the assassin’s attack. The assassin knelt a short distance away, his eyes the only part visible, filled now with terror.

“Young master! Be careful!” The assassin at the early Innate stage had been repelled, and the other two killers fell back defensively. Freed, the two guards rushed over to protect the young master, eyeing Wang Changsheng warily.

It was Wang Changsheng who had intervened, blocking the assassin’s strike and, in the process of saving the young master, dispatching the assassin who had gone for the ordinary people.

“Young master, we’ve met this Daoist before,” one guard said. “He was the one who asked for directions earlier!”

“Oh?” Surprise flashed across the young master’s face. Having been inside the carriage earlier, he hadn’t seen Wang Changsheng, nor had he expected the Daoist’s strength to be so terrible.

The Innate stage assassin had been defeated in a single exchange, and Wang Changsheng had acted later than the others. They could hardly imagine the extent of his power.

“Thank you, Daoist, for saving my life!” The young master bowed deeply.

The two remaining guards offered awkward smiles, especially the leader, who knelt and clasped his hands in apology. “Daoist, I was rude to you before. Please accept my respect!”

“Thank you for saving my young master!” the other guard added.

Thinking of Wang Changsheng’s strength, and their earlier attitude, both guards broke out in a cold sweat. With power such as his, Wang Changsheng could have destroyed the caravan with ease. Had he taken offense at their treatment, there would have been little need for these assassins—the caravan would already have perished.

Wang Changsheng ignored the guards and looked at the young man, curiosity evident. “Just now, I seemed to hear you mention the Yunfeng Empire. Is that correct?”