Gou in the world of comprehension

Chapter 1566 Red Plains Ruins

At dawn, the orange-red sunlight falls, splashing ink across the mountains and rivers, blending with the thin, smoky mist, and draping the towering peaks in colorful veils.

Su Fan closed his eyes and sat cross-legged by the pond next to the thatched hut.

The pool water was as clear as glass, reflecting the glow of the sunset and the shadows of the mist.

Several exotic plants, resembling willow leaves but shimmering with a pale purple luster, floated on the water's surface. With a gentle breeze, they rippled outwards, creating tiny, scattered waves that reflected starlight-like silver light wherever they passed.

A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes, a thoughtful look flashing across his dark pupils, his brows furrowing slightly as if he were sorting through a jumble of thoughts.

He shook his head slightly in an instant, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

It has been a full ten years since I left "Zuokun Constellation".

For the past ten years, he has never set foot in the outside world, remaining hidden in this personal secret realm, keeping the long journey of stardom outside his reach.

Although the long journey across the starry sky was so peaceful as to be almost boring, and even the trajectories of stardust passing over the spaceship were all similar, Su Fan never had a moment of leisure.

He spends most of his time each day consolidating his newly broken-through Integration Realm cultivation or studying ancient texts that record the profound principles of thunder.

In addition, it requires a great deal of effort to harmonize the complex and chaotic special energies within the body.

There was no way around it; Su Fan's body was in complete chaos.

The "Heavenly Demon Saint Body Technique" alone allowed him to cultivate seven completely different special energies.

The seven energies—Heaven and Earth Thunder, Yang Extreme Earthly Fiend, Bone-Corroding Yin Wind, Source of All Poisons, Nine Nether Mysterious Water, Netherworld Fire, and Netherworld Filth Earth—are all incredibly domineering.

It is by no means something that ordinary cultivators can control; any leakage of it would be enough to turn a small world into scorched earth.

Fortunately, they all originated from the cultivation system of the "Heavenly Demon Sacred Body Technique," and there was a subtle balance between them, so they lived peacefully in his body for many years.

The mutually reinforcing cycle that had already formed had become one of his major strengths.

But everything changed after he broke through to the Fusion Realm in that special environment of the Evil Spirit Realm.

The primal characteristics of the evil spirit realm seeped into his meridians like a malignant tumor, becoming the source of chaos that disrupted the balance within his body, causing the originally harmonious energy cycle to collapse instantly.

What surprised him even more was that, precisely because he chose the realm of evil spirits as the place of his breakthrough, a "suppressing evil thunder seal" unexpectedly condensed within his body when the heavenly tribulation descended.

To this day, Su Fan still hasn't figured out the details of this Thunder Seal, and has no idea why it appeared out of nowhere.

He devoted himself to the study for several years, and even communicated with the old dragon Li Gao, who resided in his personal secret realm, through his divine soul, before finally arriving at a seemingly plausible conclusion.

All of this is because he possesses the Thunder Dao Body.

Su Fan still can't tell whether the appearance of this "Evil-Suppressing Thunder Seal" is a tremendous opportunity for him or a fatal trouble.

In any case, since the Thunder Seal was formed, his combat power has soared to an almost heaven-defying level. Ordinary cultivators at the Integration Realm are no match for him, but it has also completely disrupted the harmony and balance of the "Heavenly Demon Sacred Body Technique" cultivation system.

Now, among the seven special energies that were originally mutually restraining, the Thunder of Heaven and Earth, aided by the power of the Thunder Seal for Suppressing Evil, has become increasingly powerful and has already shown a dominant position.

The other six types of energy were suppressed and relegated to a supporting role, making it difficult to even maintain a normal energy cycle.

In addition, the evil spirit's inherent nature, which disrupts the entire situation like a catfish, makes the chaotic energy situation within the body even worse.

Although he spent a great deal of effort to condense a second Yin spirit, temporarily suppressing the chaos and barely stabilizing his cultivation, this was ultimately only a temporary measure.

Although this chaotic energy granted him extraordinary combat power far exceeding that of his peers in the short term, in the long run, it will inevitably have an irreversible impact on his future path to the Great Dao.

After all, in this vast world of cultivation, the Integration Realm is by no means the end of the Great Dao. Above it are even higher realms such as the Mahayana Realm and the Tribulation Transcending Realm, waiting for cultivators to explore.

If he cannot completely resolve the chaotic energy situation within his body, he will probably never be able to reach the Mahayana realm in his lifetime, let alone transcend tribulation and ascend to immortality.

Ten years is half a lifetime for ordinary people, but for cultivators with long lifespans, it is nothing more than a fleeting moment.

Those top-tier experts with profound cultivation often go into seclusion for a hundred years, and a single nap can last for decades or even centuries. Ten years is just a blink of an eye.

Thus, during his long and arduous ten-year journey to stardom, Su Fan devoted almost all his time to researching how to completely resolve the internal chaos, working tirelessly day and night.

He was so engrossed in his cultivation and research that he was completely unaware of the passage of time.

If it weren't for Li Chongxiu's reminder, he probably would have forgotten the exact date long ago.

Suddenly, Su Fan's eyes narrowed, a sharp glint flashing in his dark pupils, and he stood up from the ground in a flash.

In that instant, he clearly sensed that the spaceship carrying him was diving downwards at an extremely high speed, and the stellar energy fluctuations around the ship became abnormally chaotic.

Without the slightest hesitation, he vanished from his personal secret realm and reappeared in the cabin of the flying boat.

Su Fan strode to the porthole of the cabin, pushed open the window and looked out. He saw that the airship had already left the dark starry sky and was hovering above a vast and boundless land.

Below are rolling, crimson mountains, with a faint yellowish-brown miasma permeating the air, and a faint metallic clanging sound can be heard in the air.

The airship was slowly plunging towards the ground with a piercing whooshing sound.

During its ten-year journey through the stars, this spaceship has maintained a constant speed in space, except for brief pauses when passing through star gates a few times. This is the first time it has made a voluntary landing.

Could this be the destination of this interstellar flight?
"Boom..."

With a deep, thunderous roar, the ship trembled slightly before settling down completely and landing steadily on the ground.

The crimson mountains outside the cabin window became increasingly clear, and one could even see the strangely shaped vegetation at their foot.

Some plants are dozens of feet tall, with branches twisted like dragons and leaves that are eerily blood red; others grow close to the ground, blooming with skull-like flowers that emit a faint fishy smell.

"Clap clap..."

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the hatch, the rhythm steady.

Su Fan's eyes flickered slightly. He raised his hand and waved it to dispel the several isolation arrays set up at the hatch, and then opened the hatch.

Standing outside the door was the same man in black who had led him onto this airship ten years ago.

"We've arrived. Pack up, it's time to go down..."

"Where is this place..." Su Fan asked in a deep voice.

"This is the 'Red Plains Ruins' on the outer edge of the 'Qurong Constellation'..."

After the man in black finished speaking, he handed over a jade talisman that was entirely crimson.

"This is your identity jade talisman. Don't look at it too closely; it's a fake and can't withstand close scrutiny..."

What the hell...

If it can't withstand scrutiny, what's the point of giving me this thing?

Su Fan cursed inwardly and took the crimson jade talisman.
He held it in his hand, examined it casually for a moment, and then put it into his storage bag.

Perhaps sensing the dissatisfaction in his eyes, the man in black impatiently offered another explanation.

"The Crimson Plains is a lawless land on the outer edge of the Qu Rong constellation. It's a melting pot of all sorts of people, and many cultivators who frequent this place don't even have a fake identity jade talisman like this..."

At this point, he waved his hand impatiently. "Let's go, I'll take you downstairs, don't waste any more time..."

Su Fan said no more and followed the man in black outside.

"Is there anyone here to meet me...?" he asked in a low voice as he walked.

"I've already arranged for someone to meet you. Just go to the address I gave you and show your identification jade talisman..."

As they spoke, a faint divine consciousness entered Su Fan's mind, containing an address and a simple map of the Red Plains Ruins.

After explaining all this, he emphasized one more point.

"The Red Plains are in complete chaos. It's best not to cause trouble. Once the airship arrives, leave as soon as possible..."

This arrangement is way too hasty.

But since things had come to this point, he had no other choice but to take it one step at a time.

He followed the man in black to the main cabin door of the airship, where he found that a large number of people had already gathered.

These people all exuded a calm and collected aura, radiating the unique pressure of cultivators at the Integration Realm. Clearly, they were all cultivators who, like him, had traveled on this flying boat.

When they saw Su Fan approaching, cold gazes were cast upon him as if they were real, filled with undisguised scrutiny and provocation.

Su Fan remained calm, avoiding eye contact with them, and deliberately turned his head away to escape their malicious gazes.

Damn it, these guys don't look like decent people at all; they're probably outlaws who've been living in lawless areas for years.

He now only wants to get to the Jiaochen Realm as soon as possible to reunite with his family, and he doesn't want to get into unnecessary trouble or cause any unforeseen complications in this damned lawless land.

Seeing Su Fan's submissive demeanor, the provocation in their eyes lessened, and they all withdrew their gazes.

A moment later, a piercing metallic scraping sound rang out.

The heavy main cabin door of the airship slowly opened, and a thick, almost viscous spiritual energy mixed with a faint fishy smell and miasma rushed out.

The concentration of spiritual energy far exceeded anything Su Fan had ever seen before. Inhaling it even caused his meridians to swell slightly.

The feeling was as if one had entered solidified spiritual liquid, making even breathing heavy.

Following closely behind was an immense pressure from heaven and earth, like a towering mountain pressing down on him, causing his bones to creak slightly.

Fortunately, he had similar experiences before and was already used to this high-pressure environment.

Su Fan composed himself, turned and nodded slightly to the man in black, then followed the crowd and slowly stepped off the flying boat.

As soon as he stepped off the flying boat's suspended stairs, he couldn't help but look around.

This is a huge airport, with the ground paved with dark blue-green rocks covered with grooves of varying depths, clearly formed by the constant erosion from the descending air currents of airships.

The airport is extremely vast, stretching as far as the eye can see, and is surrounded by all kinds of flying boats.

Some are shaped like giant birds, with wings made of metal that gleam with a cold luster.

Some resemble giant pythons, their entire bodies covered in scales, exuding a faint demonic aura.

Several other airships had extremely strange designs, resembling countless intertwined tentacles, and were surrounded by dark green miasma, clearly belonging to other alien races.

The airport plaza was bustling with cultivators, a lively and noisy scene.

Among them were not only human cultivators, but also many demon and monster cultivators.

Most demon cultivators have dark skin and are surrounded by a faint demonic aura.

Most of the demon cultivators retain some of their original features; some have fox ears, some have beast tails, and some have sharp claws on their fingertips.

Su Fan even spotted a massive, multi-legged reptile.

The insectoid creature had eight pairs of long legs and its entire body was covered with a dark purple carapace covered with fine spikes. It was slowly moving through the crowd.

Wherever he went, the surrounding cultivators all gave way, their eyes filled with apprehension.

Strangely, the cultivators of various races here are all roughly similar in physique to humans. Even those alien races with enormous bodies have deliberately shrunk their size to a level comparable to humans.

Presumably, this is because although this place is beyond the law, it is still on the edge of the human race's sphere of influence in the Qu Rong constellation. Cultivators of various races deliberately transformed into human form for the convenience of their activities.

Su Fan followed the crowd out of the airport square, and a huge town came into view in the distance.

Calling it a town is a stretch.

Because there are no city walls surrounding this place, countless oddly shaped buildings are gathered together in a well-organized manner, with varying heights and densely packed together.

Some buildings are constructed from massive piles of rocks, resembling fortresses.

Some are caves carved directly into the reddish-brown mountain rocks, with dark red banners hanging outside.

Some buildings were even simpler, constructed only from the bones and fur of demonic beasts, swaying slightly in the wind.

Although the town is large in area, it is completely disorganized.

The air was thick with a strange stench of blood, miasma, and spiritual energy, a far cry from the order and tranquility of a normal city.

Calling it a town would be an exaggeration; at best, it was just a chaotic gathering place for cultivators.

Su Fan walked to the edge of the gathering place, but did not rush in.

He didn't dare to unleash his divine sense to investigate. In this lawless land where all sorts of people mingled, rashly releasing his divine sense could easily arouse the vigilance of others, and might even be mistaken for a provocation.

But relying solely on his spiritual senses, he could clearly perceive that from the depths of the gathering place, there were faintly emanating incredibly powerful auras.

The aura was cold and heavy, carrying a faint pressure of the Heavenly Dao, and was extremely similar to the auras of the avatars of the upper realm bigwigs he had killed before.

Su Fan understood. It seemed that those in charge of the Crimson Plains Ruins were mostly avatars of the human Daoist leaders from the Qu Rong constellation.

In this case, this so-called lawless land is probably not a truly unclaimed land, but rather a private port secretly controlled by those powerful figures from the upper realm.

The businesses operating here must all be shady and clandestine.

Smuggling, slave trading, trading in forbidden arts, and recycling stolen goods are all underground businesses that are highly profitable but violate the laws of nature.

In any world, the most profitable businesses are always those that operate on the fringes of the rules, the underground businesses.

It seems that those lofty and powerful human sects in the upper realms are not as upright and virtuous as they appear on the surface; in secret, they are also rife with all sorts of despicable and underhanded dealings.

There is no essential difference between it and the cultivation world in the lower realm.

However, none of this had anything to do with Su Fan.

His only thought now was to find the person who would meet him at the address given by the man in black as soon as possible.

They await the next flying ship to leave this chaotic Red Plains Ruins as soon as possible, return to the Jiaochen Realm, and reunite with their families.

(End of this chapter)