Rise of the Wasteland in Cultivation

The two corn cobs were quickly roasted, filling the air with a fragrant aroma. Leng San pinched a tomato, secretly channeled his spiritual energy into it, and with a sudden burst of power, the entire tomato was crushed into sauce, which was then poured onto the two corn cobs.

Leng San handed one of the corn cobs to Chen Xi, who took it and took a bite. Her eyes immediately turned into crescent moons, looking sweet and lovely.

"Is it good?" Leng San asked with a smile. Chen Xi nodded and ate with relish.

Although the little girl can speak now, she doesn't talk much and is rather quiet and introverted. However, she has made significant progress compared to before, and at least she can communicate normally with others now.

As Chenxi ate, she suddenly raised her pretty face and said, "Gentle Sister."

Leng San was slightly taken aback and asked, "Does Xiao Xi miss Sister Wenrou?"

Chenxi nodded.

Leng San suddenly realized that he and Chen Xi had been in the small world for two years without realizing it. Time flies when you are cultivating, and two years have passed in the blink of an eye.

I remember when the camp was overrun by the zombie horde, I was locked onto by the aura of the armored zombie. In order to avoid implicating Ye Wenrou and the others, I stopped Ye Wenrou from trying to follow me and made an appointment to meet at Camp C-444.

I wonder if Bi Lang and the others managed to escape that night. If they did, were they waiting for me at Camp C-444? But two years have passed, so they should have left Camp C-444 by now, and probably thought they were dead.

"I'll think of another way to see if we can leave here. If we can get out, I'll take you to find Sister Wenrou." Leng San affectionately ruffled Chenxi's hair.

Chenxi happily took a bite of corn.

Since there was an agreement, whether it's two years or twenty years, Leng San will keep his promise. A cultivator must have a firm Dao heart and keep his word, otherwise he will leave a flaw and eventually become a stumbling block on his path of cultivation.

When Leng San first met Chen Xi, he did try to break his promise to the woman in black and get rid of Chen Xi, this little burden, but he was mainly influenced by the original owner of this body's inherent mindset.

A teenager struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland would naturally not be trustworthy; everything he does is for survival. However, now, the cultivator Leng Shan has completely taken over the thoughts and values ​​of this body.

Oh, saying "completely dominant" might be a bit of an overstatement. At least emotionally, there was some influence. For example, the original owner's affection for his parents and sister was so strong that it had a certain impact on the protagonist's thoughts and actions.

After Leng San finished eating the roasted corn, he took a bath in the pond. After three rounds of Qi tempering, he expelled much less impurity and was no longer so dirty.

After taking a bath, Leng San changed into clean clothes and happened to see his reflection in the clear pond water, which made him somewhat dazed.

Over the past two years, he has grown much taller, and his clothes no longer fit him; he's probably over 1.75 meters tall. His figure is upright like a pine tree, with sword-like eyebrows and bright, star-like eyes; his skin is fair and jade-like. To be honest, he's quite handsome, although his hair, uncut for two years, is now past his shoulders.

Leng San broke off a tree branch to use as a hairpin and skillfully tied it into a topknot. If he were to wear the flowing robes of a cultivator, coupled with his outstanding temperament, he would truly become a handsome young man in this apocalyptic world.

"Looks great!" Chenxi stared at Leng San's new hairstyle with starry eyes, a typical fangirl.

Just then, the ground suddenly shook, startling the fish in the pond, which darted about and even leaped out of the water.

"An earthquake?" Leng San looked around in surprise. He had been here for two years and this was the first time such a strange thing had happened.

Then the ground shook violently again, this time the tremor was even stronger, and even the birds in the trees were startled and flew away.

Meanwhile, outside the small world, it was pitch black, and a thunderstorm was brewing.

Where Leng San and Chen Xi had fallen into the small world, there was now a strange-looking lightning-attracting device, constantly drawing lightning down.

Not far away, inside an abandoned building, two Church of Light disciplinarians draped in black cloaks were waiting expectantly.

These two punishers were none other than the superhumans Gu Tong and Yi Hua. They had returned with the head of the armored corpse to report back, but they concealed the matter of the small world. After things had cooled down for a while, the two secretly plotted to enter the small world.

The two initially tried to blast open the entrance to the small world with high explosives, but it was to no avail. The energy of high explosives was clearly insufficient to tear space apart unless a nuclear bomb was used.

So, Gu Tong and Yi Hua discussed it and decided to do the same thing, using the power of lightning to recreate the scene from that night. They made a lightning-attracting device and waited nearby for nearly a month. Finally, a thunderstorm came, and they immediately and impatiently placed the lightning-attracting device at the spot where Jin Leimu had been struck by lightning, even at roughly the same height.

Soon, lightning was drawn down and struck twice, which is why the small world trembled twice earlier.

However, just as Gu Tong and Yi Hua were filled with anticipation, the thunderclouds in the sky were uncooperative, striking twice before stopping, and the rain began to weaken, with the thunderclouds showing a strong tendency to dissipate.

Just as the two punishers were getting anxious, an old man suddenly appeared behind them. He was also wearing a black cloak embroidered with the symbol of the Church of Light, but instead of a blood-red cross on his forehead, he had a silver sun mark.

"What are you doing here, sneaking around like this?" the cloaked old man asked coldly.

Gu Tong and Yi Hua suddenly turned around, and when they saw who was behind them, they were so frightened that they immediately knelt on one knee: "Greetings, Ninth Elder."

It turned out that the cloaked old man was the Ninth Elder of the Church of Light, in charge of the Disciplinary Hall. In other words, he was the direct superior of all the disciplinarians.

The Ninth Elder coldly looked down at Gu Tong and Yi Hua, and said indifferently, "I noticed your suspicious behavior a long time ago. I'm giving you one last chance. What exactly have you been up to, sneaking around like this?"

Gu Tong and Yi Hua exchanged a glance. The latter was about to liquefy and escape, but the next second, the Ninth Elder had already disappeared from the spot. When he reappeared, a hand reached into Yi Hua's body and tightly grabbed the latter's spine.

Yi Hua screamed in agony, sometimes liquefying and sometimes returning to human form, but he couldn't break free.

The Ninth Elder said disdainfully, "Your little tricks may work on others, but they're no match for me. Tell the truth, or I'll break your spine and you'll be a cripple."

"I confess, I confess! Ninth Elder, spare my life!" Yi Hua begged in terror.

The Ninth Elder threw Yi Hua to the ground, not afraid that he would escape, and coldly said, "Speak."

The bronze statue beside it was so frightened that it knelt on the ground, not daring to move.

Yi Hua then recounted everything about the small world in detail. After listening, the Ninth Elder couldn't help but let a hint of greed flash in his eyes.

The allure of the small world is simply too great. In the small world where the Holy Temple is located, His Holiness the Pope is the ruler. If Elder Jiu were to obtain a small world as well, he could also become the ruler of that small world.

Thinking of this, the Ninth Elder's gaze toward Yi Hua and Gu Tong held a chilling murderous intent; clearly, he intended to kill them to silence them.

Gu Tong and Yi Hua were terrified and immediately kowtowed, begging for mercy: "Ninth Elder, spare our lives! We will never reveal this secret, and we will be loyal to you forever!"

The Ninth Elder hesitated for a moment. If he wanted to dominate this small world, he would indeed need helpers to build his own team, just like when the Pope founded the Church of Light.

The Ninth Elder took out two boxes of injections from his robes and casually tossed them in front of Gu Tong and Yi Hua, saying indifferently, "Inject them into your bodies, and I will spare you."

Although Gu Tong and Yi Hua were extremely unwilling, they obediently injected the medicine into their bodies under the powerful pressure of the Ninth Elder.

"This is a power-dissolving injection. You must receive an anti-dissolving injection once a year, otherwise your powers will be neutralized," the Ninth Elder said coldly. "You know what will happen if you dare to betray me!"

Gu Tong and Yi Hua quickly swore, "Your subordinates are utterly loyal to the Ninth Elder and would never dare to betray him."

The Ninth Elder nodded and warned, "There are many ways to synthesize the anti-ability injection. Different synthesis methods result in different anti-ability injections. Do not try them randomly. If you use the wrong one, you will die a terrible death."

Gu Tong and Yi Hua looked ashen-faced and repeatedly said they dared not.

At this moment, the rain stopped, and the thunderclouds in the sky completely dissipated, so the lightning detector was obviously ineffective.

The Ninth Elder's figure vanished from his spot in a flash, appearing almost simultaneously next to the lightning detonator.

This is precisely the Ninth Elder's special ability—teleportation, or rather, spatial jump.

This superpower is so extraordinary that it was rated as Grade A.

However, the Ninth Elder's teleportation range is limited, with a maximum teleportation distance of about 100 meters. If there were no distance limit, this ability could even be rated as S-level.

The Ninth Elder stretched out his right hand and groped in the air, as if sensing the pulse of space. Gradually, a hint of joy appeared on his lips, and he nodded, saying, "There is indeed a spatial interlayer here."

The Ninth Elder closed his eyes, pressed his hand into the void, and after about a minute, his body suddenly disappeared and never reappeared.

Yi Hua and Gu Tong exchanged a glance. It seemed that the Ninth Elder had already entered the small world using his spatial teleportation ability.

In this small world, Leng San shielded Chen Xi behind him, warily watching the uninvited guest who had appeared out of nowhere—the Ninth Elder.

The Ninth Elder ignored Leng San and instead strolled around, surveying the surroundings. Seemingly dissatisfied, he shook his head and said, "This small world is too small, far smaller than the Holy Temple."

"Brother, he is the Ninth Elder of the church, in charge of the disciplinary center," Chenxi whispered a reminder.

Leng San was greatly alarmed. He hadn't expected to encounter such a troublesome person so soon after advancing to the third level of Qi Refining. The level of difficulty was simply outrageous.

At this moment, the Ninth Elder's gaze finally fell on Chenxi, and he let out a soft exclamation, "The Seventh Saintess has grown so much taller? And she can talk now? Hmm, I heard you awakened the ability of mind control. It seems to be another failed creation, there's no point in keeping her."