Born with immortal seed

Chapter 739 Today, in this realm, whose kingdom reigns supreme?

The northern regions are bitterly cold, and the western regions are desolate wastelands.

In comparison, the Northern Region is more suitable for cultivators to live in, at least there are no desolate places that are tens of thousands of miles away.

The ground was riddled with holes and raging with poisonous flames, making it impossible for even the most resilient spiritual plants to grow and thrive.

As for humans, inhaling even a single breath of the toxic fumes in the air will cause dizziness and blurred vision, and if left untreated for even a short while, it will rot their internal organs.

Therefore, the mortals of the Western Regions basically gathered near a few immortal cities, relying on the resources that leaked out between the fingers of cultivators to make a living.

The hardship of survival there was something that the other four human races could not even imagine.

It was common for people to exchange their own children to eat each other, leaving their bones exposed in the wild.

If it were a cultivator from the Central Region, they would only think it was a fantasy.

The idea of ​​setting aside a piece of sacred land to plant ordinary rice, which could easily feed thousands of mortals, was too extravagant and impossible to achieve in the Western Regions.

Every resource must be used on cultivators for humanity to have any chance of surviving in the Western Regions.

Through generations of effort, the territory radiating from the Immortal City has been expanded, striving to one day restore the spiritual veins of the Western Regions and cause the poisonous flames to retreat back to the Earth's core.

During the great war between the two races, the three immortal cities were overwhelmed by the half-demon race and almost had to abandon all their spiritual lands and retreat back to their cities.

Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better. The demon race suffered a crushing defeat, and the half-demon clan slunk away with their army. The following days were quite peaceful.

A dark-skinned boy sat upright on a stone pillar in the center of the spirit lake, with a light white talisman with gold patterns floating at his eye level.

He continuously exhaled streams of magical power, which surged onto the talisman, causing the golden patterns on it to glow with spiritual light.

He stopped panting heavily when his magical power was exhausted, and swallowed the pale white gold-patterned talisman back into his stomach.

The dark-skinned boy was named Li Xuanji. He was a citizen of Wuguang City and had been given a talisman since he could remember.

First, he carried it with him day and night, and then he refined a spell on it.

After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the talisman can be refined into a natal talisman and stored in the dantian. A second spell will then appear on the talisman.

This is the path of cultivation through one's natal talisman; all one's cultivation and strength are entrusted to this small talisman.

During cultivation, no external objects are needed, and afterwards, no magic treasures are required; a single natal talisman is sufficient.

As cultivation level increases, more and more spells and supernatural abilities are inscribed on it, and activating them consumes only about 10% of the normal mana, making them easy to use.

Therefore, various suitable spiritual materials are selected and integrated into the natal talisman to make it even more powerful.

"The selection will take place in the city at the end of the year. It is said that because of the rebellion of the Datong Army outside, there are three more openings this year..."

Li Xuanji is in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and among his peers in Wuguang City, he can be ranked in the top 100.

Candidates for the Imperial Guard will receive double the cultivation resources of the Immortal City, with priority access to various breakthrough pills, making them the first choice for all disciples from humble backgrounds.

Each cohort consists of only about twenty people, but many of them are young people with strong backgrounds or exceptional talent who have other options and don't have to pursue the path of becoming a candidate for Imperial Guard.

He has a good chance of getting this ranking.

Just as he was about to get up and leave the rented training ground, he had only taken two steps when he heard a loud crash behind him. A cultivator fell from the sky and slammed into a stone pillar, breaking it in two on the spot.

The cultivator, however, seemed to be alright. He rubbed his forehead and stood up straight.

Li Xuanji was startled. The young cultivator who had fallen from the sky was handsome and refreshing. He dusted off the dust on his Taoist robe with his fingers, his movements were calm and composed, and he seemed extraordinary.

Even though he knew nothing about this person's background or cultivation level, he felt that he was probably not a bad person, but just a cultivator who had accidentally wandered into the execution ground.

"Senior, did your spell go wrong? Guards should be arriving soon. You'll have to pay for the spirit stones needed to repair the damaged stone pillar before you can leave."

Even if a Core Formation cultivator attacked this stone pillar, it wouldn't break so completely. Li Xuanji could roughly guess that the newcomer's realm was unfathomable.

"Who rules the world today?"

The young man looked up at the sky, a look of doubt on his face.

During the day, the sun is not visible, and streaks of flame dance back and forth in the high sky, completely different from the normal landscape.

After some calculations, he realized that he had fallen into the Western Regions because, in addition to the severed spiritual veins caused by the great war that caused the land to sink and the earth to collapse, there were often strange phenomena in the sky.

Bai Zichen stepped into the Heavenly Barrier Passage and returned to the Ancestral Continent through the Taixu Passage drawn by Immortal Lord Shaoyang. During this process, he was restricted in his actions and allowed the power of space to toss him around.

Fearing that his own manipulation of power might interfere with the spatial forces, causing the teleportation location to deviate even further.

Fortunately, the Immortal Lord Shaoyang's supernatural powers were well-deserved, and no accidents occurred.

Judging by the location, it's at least in a normal setting.

If you fall directly into a desperate situation and are trapped for a period of time, that would be a real headache.

He left Zuzhou for nearly eighty years, which is only the time it takes for many Nascent Soul True Monarchs to cultivate a top-level technique.

However, Bai Zichen is not even four hundred years old yet, and this period of time accounts for almost a quarter of his life. After returning, he felt a sense of unfamiliarity and estrangement.

Especially in the Western Regions, which I had never visited before, I truly had the illusion of a world transformed.

“Senior, this place is Wuguang City, and there are also Moyi and Dingfeng cities that watch over and help us... The half-demon forces have retreated to their territory, and there have been fewer conflicts in recent years. The largest number of them still gather in Luming Valley and Baihe Gorge.”

Li Xuanji's reply clearly failed to satisfy Bai Zichen. What he wanted to know was the situation of the entire Zuzhou, but the other party mistakenly thought he was asking about the Western Regions.

However, how could a Foundation Establishment disciple possibly know much about anything beyond the Western Regions?

"Who goes there? You have entered the execution ground of this city without permission!"

Several golden-armored cultivators flew in on the clouds, shouting loudly.

The leader stared intently, so shocked he almost lost his footing and stepped into thin air.

"Wen Yuan of Wuguang City pays respects to Sword Master... I was unaware that you had come to the city, and I apologize for not welcoming you properly."

Bai Zichen's mind raced, and a vague recollection came to him: "So it was you..."

He had only met a few Western Region cultivators in total. He had met this person once in the Central Region and had casually rescued them.

They were oppressed by the half-demon race and could no longer bear it, so they went to the Central Region to seek help from the Moral Sect.

"Where is your city lord? Please introduce me to him."

Bai Zichen knew that there were only a handful of Nascent Soul True Monarchs in the Western Regions, so if he wanted to get the latest information, he might as well ask the top-level cultivators directly.

"Sword Lord, come with me here. Li Xuanji, you come along too."

Wen Yuan waved away several of his companions and led them higher and higher. The surrounding light dimmed, and they arrived at a gloomy building.

"Sword Lord has disappeared, and the cultivation world is spreading rumors that you perished overseas, but I have never believed it. How could someone who has rendered great service to heaven and earth be so easily killed?"

After setting up the table, brewing tea and pouring water, Bai Zichen was naturally invited to sit at the head of the table.

They couldn't recognize his identity at first, but later, when the Sword Master of Time became famous throughout the world, Wen Yuan and the others naturally knew who they had encountered.

"Our city lord was severely injured in the battle against the fourth-tier half-demon of Deer Cry Valley. His physical body was damaged, and only his nascent soul escaped back. He has been in seclusion to recuperate for the past few years. Sword Lord, you can ask me any questions you may have. As the sheriff of Wuguang City, I have access to all information."

Li Xuanji's eyes widened. The city lord, who was all-powerful in the eyes of the young people, was actually missing, no wonder he hadn't shown his face all these years.

"Who rules the world today?"

Bai Zichen asked again, thinking that since this person had reached the peak of Core Formation, he should be able to provide an answer.

My sudden departure will definitely bring huge changes to the cultivation world. I wonder if any sects will take the opportunity to rise up and seize the benefits that will be vacated.

"In reply to Sword Master, the Western Regions are relatively peaceful now, but other places are in complete chaos..."

Wen Yuan straightened his expression, paused, clearly organizing his thoughts, before speaking.

"Not long after you disappeared, a group called the Great Harmony Army rose up in the Central Region. Under the slogan of 'Equalizing the World and Ascending to Immortality Together,' they targeted the major sects and families as their enemies and gathered countless low-level rogue cultivators. Originally, it was thought to be just a joke, but unexpectedly, their momentum grew stronger and stronger, and even several super sects could not suppress them. In recent years, they have also breached many Nascent Soul level sects and swept through many places in the cultivation world."

"It's just that the Western Regions are of little value, so the Datong Army didn't extend its reach here, and thus had little impact on this area."

"What is the reaction of the Datong Army and the Daodezong sect?"

Bai Zichen's gaze was deep, and he had a premonition that the so-called Datong Army was probably related to the people he had met at the Jishui camp.

After the chaos of the world was initially brought under control, some people, unwilling to remain idle, stepped out from behind the scenes to the forefront, wanting to reshape the political landscape.

I just didn't expect that in such a short time, it seems that quite a significant situation has been achieved.

Perhaps my departure accelerated this process.

"Although the True Lords of the Moral Sect issued stern condemnations, they did not respond directly and only managed to keep the Great Zhou from falling into chaos... Behind the Datong Army are several hidden sects, each with a Great True Lord in charge, and I heard that each of them possesses top-notch supernatural powers."

Wuguang City is the closest of the three cities in the Western Regions to the Central Region, so news travels to it the fastest. With the city lord in seclusion, Wen Yuan is one of the three most powerful figures in the city, and all intelligence is gathered here.

He only learned about major events that occurred in the Central Region every two or three months.

"The Holy Lord of Dharma did not make a move?"

Bai Zichen asked in bewilderment, "It was unimaginable before the great war between the human and demon races that a few Great True Monarchs would dare to openly defy the Moral Sect."

Even if that great battle caused the Moral Sect to lose too many cultivators, as long as the Holy Lord of Propagation was still alive, it shouldn't have developed to this point.

"The Holy Lord of the Dharma has not appeared. There are rumors that he and the Lord of Qingqiu Mountain were both seriously injured and had to stay in the secret realm to stay alive... Originally, this was only circulating among a few people, but the longer it goes on, the more people believe it."

Wen Yuan looked worried. Right now, the Datong Army had no time to pay attention, but once they established their dominance in the Central Region, even a small detachment of their army entering the Western Region would be more than Wuguang City could handle.

"Both sides suffered heavy losses, and Yu Ziliang didn't mention it. Could there be some other hidden story...?"

Bai Zichen snapped his fingers together, realizing that the Datong Army indeed had someone behind it.

It wasn't the sects he was thinking of, but some so-called hidden sect.

"Recently, another major event has occurred. An ancient demon has appeared in the Northern Region and destroyed two Nascent Soul sects as soon as it appeared. It is likely a peak Nascent Soul cultivator! It is said that everyone in the Northern Region is in danger. Fortunately, the ancient demon has eaten its fill of blood and has stopped making any moves. No one knows where it has turned to."

As soon as Wen Yuan finished speaking, Bai Zichen slammed his hand on the table and said in a deep voice, "Ancient Demon of the Northern Region? Do you know which sect has suffered this calamity!"

"I don't remember the specific name of the sect clearly, but I suppose it's not the Qingfeng Sect, which is where the Sword Lord came from, otherwise it would definitely have been mentioned in detail in the intelligence."

Wen Yuan quickly explained that if it were related to the Sword Lord of Time, it would be impossible not to mention it.

(End of this chapter)