Chapter 1541: A Preliminary Exploration
“This… is this the power of Divine Sense recorded in the ancient texts?”
Great Master Lan couldn’t help but exclaim in astonishment.
At this moment, Elder Hao also looked around with an agitated expression. Tears had already streaked down the face of this immensely powerful cultivator.
Given their cultivation levels, even though they already knew they were truly going to the outside world, their emotions were hard to contain. Great Master Lan, in particular, had been forcefully suppressing her excitement.
She was about to enter the rich and colorful outside world that the old Sect Master and others had always spoken of—a place she had yearned for.
Great Master Lan was a native cultivator of the Earth-True Domain. She was unlike Elder Hao and Elder Tang, who, at the time they were swept into the Earth-True Domain with the old Sect Master, were a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator and a minor Golden Core cultivator, respectively. They knew what the outside world was like and still retained memories of it.
But Great Master Lan had no idea what the outside world looked like, nor did she know that the use of Divine Sense could have such miraculous functions.
In truth, the first person to release their Divine Sense here was Li Yan. Elder Hao’s Divine Sense had been suppressed for far too long; the time he had spent in the Earth-True Domain was countless times longer than Li Yan’s. He had long grown accustomed to a life without Divine Sense. Therefore, even when they were about to emerge, his instincts had led him to rely more on his Soul Power.
Moreover, that was a critical period for clearing out the last of the chaotic forces. Elder Hao and Great Master Lan had waited for too long and dared not be the slightest bit careless.
This was unlike Li Yan, who had only been there for a little over a hundred years. For a cultivator, this wasn’t considered a very long time; it could easily pass in a single session of closed-door cultivation.
The moment Li Yan’s Sea of Consciousness stirred, he had thought of the power of Divine Sense…
Great Master Lan felt an unprecedented sense of freedom. Although Soul Power could be used for investigation, its primary function was to sense the fluctuations of the Rules of Heaven and Earth. When perceiving scenery, there was always a hazy quality to it.
Divine Sense, however, was like seeing with her own eyes. Even sounds could be perceived with perfect clarity.
The rustling of various small insects in the grass hundreds, even thousands of li away, poured into her consciousness from all directions. It gave her a sense of boundless freedom she had never experienced before.
“Elder Lan, this should still be the Heavenly Demon Prairie, a most perilous place. It’s not lacking in old demons at the Body Integration Realm. Therefore, you shouldn’t probe too far and wide, lest you attract a powerful enemy. Should we first conceal this entrance for the time being? Then we can carefully investigate the surrounding area. For now, this place seems quite remote, but if it’s the territory of a certain demonic beast clan, it could be troublesome.”
Just as Great Master Lan released her Divine Sense, still marveling at the world and about to probe further, Li Yan had already retracted his.
At the same time, his voice entered her and Elder Hao’s ears. Great Master Lan’s expression froze slightly.
Elder Hao immediately thought of something as well. He quickly withdrew his Divine Sense and spoke.
“If this is truly the Heavenly Demon Prairie, what Li Yan said is right. It’s better to be cautious. Back when the old Sect Master brought us here, he was extremely careful. Although I no longer fear Body Integration Realm demonic beasts, this exit cannot be exposed. Of course, we must handle it properly first!”
A short while later, the three figures reappeared at the entrance of the forest gorge.
In reality, it was Li Yan and Elder Hao who had gone out to scout the surrounding area, while Great Master Lan remained behind to begin setting up some preliminary formations at the gorge’s entrance.
Although she hadn’t seen any demonic beasts yet, she naturally believed Elder Hao’s words. She could only suppress her excitement and start with the initial concealment and protection of the area.
Watching the two gradually regain their composure, Li Yan felt a sense of helplessness. He had actually been thinking of leaving.
But they had told him inside that they still had things to say to him.
Moreover, Li Yan himself wanted to know more about the Hellsoul Clan and the Soul-Suppression Palace. Elder Hao had made a soul incantation, which put Li Yan at ease.
However, while scouting the surroundings just now, he had quietly hidden the Earthen Patch nearby. With his Divine Sense now unimpeded, Li Yan’s main body was already aware of everything that had transpired.
The most critical issue here was that Li Yan simply couldn’t escape. Even if he had advanced to the Spirit Transformation Realm, how fast could he be?
Elder Hao was right here. This man wasn’t like Great Master Lan, who would take some time to become familiar with the wonderful uses of Divine Sense.
As long as Elder Hao familiarized himself with it a little, he would reawaken his buried memories and fully recover his various applications of Divine Sense.
Li Yan had no confidence that his Stealthy Night Art could evade the detection of a Body Integration Realm old monster.
Furthermore, what was more terrifying about this person was his proficiency in Soul Power investigation. Li Yan had no confidence whatsoever in concealing the fluctuations of his own soul.
The existence of a Body Integration Realm Soul Cultivator, Li Yan always felt, was like a ferocious beast uncaged once freed from the suppression of the Earth-True Domain—an absolutely terrifying presence.
Thus, he brazenly decided to stay for the time being. Through this period of collaboration with the two, especially after Elder Hao had made the soul incantation, Li Yan could feel that their attitude towards him had genuinely changed, and it was not an act.
Li Yan knew it was because he had claimed to be from the Hellsoul Clan that the two had let go of their hostility. Of course, they wouldn’t believe him based on just a few words.
It was the complete cultivation method he had presented that was impossible to fake.
“It’s not so bad here. At least, there aren’t many demonic beasts within a four-thousand-li radius. About eighty percent are wild beasts, and the few demonic beasts that do appear are of a very low rank! Beyond ten thousand li from here, the auras of many demonic beasts can be sensed. I didn’t dare to investigate that area carefully. Judging from the concentration of Spiritual Energy here, we should still be in the outer periphery of the Heavenly Demon Prairie, but it might be a section in the middle of the outer region. I’ve only been active in the outer periphery before, and slightly toward the central part of the prairie; I never dared to venture deep. The further inward you go in the Heavenly Demon Prairie, the vaster it becomes. That’s because the higher the rank of the demonic beasts within, the larger the territory they need to occupy. In the deepest parts, the territory of a single clan might be larger than the entire outer periphery. I can’t be too certain if my assessment of our location is correct, but I am seventy percent sure that this general area is the Heavenly Demon Prairie!”
Li Yan spoke. He had only scouted the immediate vicinity and still didn’t dare to probe around randomly.
Even though he had become a Spirit Transformation cultivator, in the Heavenly Demon Prairie, a Spirit Transformation cultivator might be worth less than nothing.
Therefore, during his cautious investigation, as soon as Li Yan detected the aura of a demonic beast, he would briefly sense it for confirmation and then immediately withdraw his Divine Sense. Elder Hao, on the other hand, probed a much greater distance.
“I also agree with what Li Yan said. This should be the Heavenly Demon Prairie. I have already detected fifth-rank demonic beasts beyond ten thousand li, and there are even more lesser demonic beasts below the fifth rank! Judging from the distribution of those demonic beasts, it’s different from the distribution of the outer demonic beast clans when I entered the Heavenly Demon Prairie a long time ago. They feel much stronger. When the old Sect Master led us through here back then, we only dared to traverse diagonally along the outermost periphery. Therefore, I also cannot determine where in the Heavenly Demon Prairie this is. Alternatively, it’s possible that both Li Yan’s and my judgments are wrong, and this is actually the heartland of some large demonic beast clan. That’s a possibility.”
“The heartland of a demonic beast clan?”
Great Master Lan didn’t immediately understand what Elder Hao meant.
She hadn’t seen many demonic beasts in the Earth-True Domain, and most of them were low-ranked, so she wasn’t very familiar with their habits.
“Yes. Some demonic beast clans place great importance on reproduction. They will place their young, who have not yet fully matured, in the center or in some remote heartland areas, while the powerful members of the clan guard the periphery. Our appearance here might just be an accident. It’s even possible that the wild animals and some weak demonic beasts that appear here are the food source for this clan. Demonic beasts are gluttonous, and they often promote their own advancement by devouring the essence blood and flesh of their prey. However, I’ve only conducted a brief probe, so this is just a guess. Perhaps this is just an extremely remote spot in the outer periphery of the Heavenly Demon Prairie.”
Elder Hao gave a simple explanation to Great Master Lan.
As he finished speaking, Li Yan immediately added.
“There’s another possibility, and this concerns the Dream Return Ant. This is an ancient or primordial Heavenly Demon. After its fall, all sorts of incredible and bizarre things have occurred at the location of its physical body. In such a place, where strange phenomena are frequent, demonic beasts would be too afraid to approach, leading to a scarcity of them in this area. For example, this very gorge before us is a place where even a Body Integration Realm demonic beast would very likely perish upon entering, let alone ordinary ones. Over time, in this vast region, only some wild beasts without spiritual intelligence would dare to be here, unaware of the danger. Most demonic beasts would keep their distance.”
Elder Hao nodded in agreement with Li Yan’s words. His mind had been in turmoil and unable to calm down for a long time, causing his thinking to lack thoroughness. It was clear that Li Yan had considered more.
Li Yan was right. If it hadn’t been for Li Yan this time, he and Lan Feng would not have been able to get very far after entering the gorge behind them.
And those silver sands were formidable. One had to wonder what rank of demonic beast would be required to survive in that gorge.
Thinking about how many chaotic forces they had cleared along the way, Elder Hao even felt that with the endless existence of those chaotic forces, even a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator might not be able to make it through that entire stretch.
Of course, this was just his speculation. After all, he didn’t know how terrifying a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator was, but this was his personal feeling.
As Great Master Lan listened to the two of them explaining the results of their investigation, a wave of bitterness washed over her heart.
She was a dignified Void Refining Realm cultivator, yet there was so much basic knowledge about the Immortal Spirit Realm that she was completely unaware of. She even needed Li Yan to remind her of things to watch out for.
The experience she had accumulated in the Earth-True Domain felt utterly useless here. A complex emotion flickered in her pair of purple eyes.
Elder Hao had also spent far too long in the Earth-True Domain. He saw through Great Master Lan’s thoughts at a glance and chuckled.
“Hahaha… Regardless of which of the two scenarios our investigation points to, this place is at least relatively secluded. We must control this exit. Since we can get out, the Earth-True Domain of the future will become our true base of operations. And the outside world will become a fine place for us to hunt for resources and temper ourselves! Lan Feng, in the future, you will be able to obtain many more artifact refining and pill refining manuals, as well as a massive amount of raw and rare materials!”
Great Master Lan first heard Elder Hao’s words and knew he was comforting her.
But when she heard about more artifact and pill refining manuals, and the vast amount of materials from the outside world, her purple eyes slowly began to brighten.
‘Yes, since we can get out, all we lack is an understanding of the Immortal Spirit Realm. How much time can that take? Could it be more difficult than researching a set of formations?’
She thought to herself, then took a slight breath and said to the two of them.
“For now, I’ve only set up a concealment formation and a defensive formation. Later, we will need Elder Hao to use his great divine abilities to fortify and seal this place. After that, we need to go back. We’ll use the sect’s resources to completely open up this path, then carefully determine how to utilize this passage, and also search for the whereabouts of the old Sect Master and the others!”
The path from the Earth-True Domain to the outside world had been opened, but how to use it to maximize the benefits for the Soul-Suppression Palace involved a great many matters that they needed to address.
They could allow the other sects in the Earth-True Domain to use this path, but should they provide it for free? And how should it be used?
Before the path was opened, they had already had some simple preliminary ideas.
For those factions that were very close to the Soul-Suppression Palace, they might be given two options.
Either they could completely submit to the Soul-Suppression Palace and leave the Earth-True Domain as its disciples in the future, or they would be sent out to fend for themselves, with all ties severed.
As for the majority of the other sects that wanted to leave, they would probably be charged a vast amount of wealth before being allowed to leave the Earth-True Domain.
Their ultimate goal was to make the Soul-Suppression Palace the only power within the Earth-True Domain, no longer allowing a hundred schools to contend!
At the same time, the entrance to this passage to the outside could only be controlled by the Soul-Suppression Palace, and only by a select few.
Therefore, Elder Hao and the others would need to set up more distant teleportation exits, teleporting to other places in the Heavenly Demon Prairie, to keep its true location hidden from others.
The location of that teleportation exit would also have to be carefully chosen, and multiple layers of defense would need to be established, among other things…
All of these matters had been preliminarily planned when the old Sect Master was searching for an exit, but it was only a broad framework.
Once it came to actual implementation, the various tasks would be incredibly tedious and complex. It would likely take a very long time, perhaps many years, to complete.
Great Master Lan brought this up now because she wanted to return immediately to inform Elder Tang, Xue Tieyi, and the few core elders of the sect of this news.
As for the others in the sect, for now, everything would proceed as usual, as if nothing had happened.
They would prepare everything before announcing this news in the Earth-True Domain. By then, all preparations and regulations would be complete and perfected, ensuring everything would proceed in an orderly manner.
There was another very important matter here: finding the old Sect Master and the Void Refining elders. The place where Elder Hao and the other two had emerged should be the mouth of the Dream Return Ant.
The gorge they came out of was actually just the gap between two of its teeth, and the Dream Return Ant certainly had more than two.
Therefore, it was possible that the old Sect Master and his group were trapped in another gorge.
However, the three of them felt that this possibility was extremely small. The throat they had passed through was only a single passage.
If the old Sect Master and the others had managed to break through that area, they would surely have flown high into the sky to search for an exit after seeing the silver desert, just as Elder Hao had done.
They, too, would have detected that the edge of the desert in this direction was the closest to them.
The old Sect Master could have come to the same conclusion as Elder Hao. Would they have forsaken the near for the far, giving up on breaking through here to search for a place with no visible end?