Chapter 39: The Gray World

Jiang Li wasn’t surprised by the existence of other worlds. Ancient records had long documented that the Celestial Realm governed countless worlds, each with its own Stairway to Immortality. As long as someone in that world met the standards for Ascension, they could become immortal. Among these worlds, the Nine Provinces Continent had the highest number of people achieving Ascension.

If there was an unknown world on the other side of the spatial rift, then it was most likely one of the many worlds under the Celestial Realm’s rule.

Perhaps the Stairway to Immortality in that world still existed!

“How do I obtain Source Points?”

【The host can earn Source Points by completing tasks or selling items. This system will buy Source Points at one-third of the store price.】

“… You damn scammer.”

Buying at one-third the price and selling at full price—if this system had even a shred of conscience, it wouldn’t say something like that!

“I’ve already completed several tasks. Where are my Source Points?”

【Would the host like to accept a side quest—Source Points Task?】

“Yes.”

【Source Points Task issued: Please mine 200 jin of Shouyang Stone from Shouyang Mountain.】

This time, Jiang Li didn’t need to go to Tianji Tower to ask where Shouyang Mountain was. He had heard of it before. It was once a famous mining site, but due to reckless over-extraction by the mine’s owner, the mountain had become a barren wasteland two hundred years ago.

Back then, a ton of Shouyang Stone could be mined in a single day, but now, mining fifty jin in a day was considered impressive. Since Shouyang Stone wasn’t essential for cultivation, the cost of mining far outweighed the profit, and naturally, no one bothered to mine it anymore.

With Jiang Li’s abilities, if he were to mine properly for a day, he could probably extract fifty jin.

After some thought, he found the task quite simple.

Flying above Shouyang Mountain, he directly uprooted the entire mountain range.

Jiang Li refused to believe that an entire mountain range wouldn’t contain 200 jin of Shouyang Stone!

The system seemed unprepared for this kind of mining method. After hesitating for a moment, it deliberated whether this counted as extracting 200 jin of Shouyang Stone.

【Congratulations, host, for completing the Source Points Task. Reward: 50 Source Points.】

“Teleport me to the world I just found!”

【56,800 more Source Points are required. Insufficient Source Points. Unable to teleport.】

Jiang Li’s fists clenched.

If this damn system could take physical form, he swore he’d beat it half to death!

You needed this many Source Points—why the hell didn’t you say so earlier?! How long would it take to grind that many through tasks?!

“Looks like I can only sell items for Source Points.”

Jiang Li browsed through the store. The majority of the listings were various cultivation techniques, with the cheapest only allowing cultivation up to the Golden Core Stage, priced at 100 Source Points. The most expensive ones, capable of leading to Ascension, cost a million Source Points.

Glancing at the sunset, he swiftly wrote out a technique—Remnant Sun Heart-Piercing Technique. This technique allowed cultivation up to the Early Soul Formation Stage. It harnessed the fading light of the setting sun, and those struck by it would uncontrollably recall painful memories, weakening their will to fight.

Selling this technique instantly earned him over 10,000 Source Points.

Jiang Li slapped his thigh. “Why didn’t I just do this from the start? That damn system made me move a whole mountain for nothing!”

“Techniques for the Tribulation Stage are hard to write, but ones reaching the Soul Formation Stage? Those are everywhere!”

A Tribulation Stage cultivator could spend their entire life writing only three to five techniques that could lead to Ascension. Even for Jiang Li, it would take over ten days to create one.

But Soul Formation Stage techniques were different. Jiang Li could casually write ten or eight of those without breaking a sweat.

Taking in the sight of the lush green grass, he wrote Cycle of Withering and Flourishing Technique and Endless Vitality Art. Looking at the mountain peaks, he wrote Mighty Mountain-Moving Art…

Jiang Li sold all these casually written techniques to the system, instantly raking in over 110,000 Source Points.

“Teleport me to the unknown world!”

【Initiating teleportation.】

This time, the system really could teleport him.

The space around Jiang Li began to distort, gradually forming a passage to another world. Stepping forward, he crossed the Nine Provinces barrier, chaotic void storms, and the unknown world’s barrier, finally arriving in the unknown world.

With his keen eyes, Jiang Li immediately recognized that the system’s spatial abilities were extraordinarily advanced.

So advanced that he couldn’t understand them.

“I can’t make sense of a damn thing. I don’t know jack about the Dao of Space.”

Jiang Li had initially wanted to study the system’s spatial teleportation technique, but then he suddenly remembered—he didn’t know a damn thing about the Dao of Space.

“When I get the chance, I’ll go to Mount Sumeru and demonstrate this technique. The Old Buddha of Mount Sumeru is a master of space—maybe he can learn something from it.”

“So this is the unknown world?”

Upon arrival, Jiang Li frowned slightly. The spiritual energy here was shockingly sparse.

Standing alone in an endless desert, he allowed the storm to batter his protective barrier. The entire world was shrouded in a dull gray tone, with not a single speck of green in sight. Anyone staying here too long would probably develop depression.

Jiang Li paced across the land, measuring the terrain step by step. He found that the gravity here was identical to that of the Nine Provinces. Scooping up a handful of coarse sand, he observed that the material composition was also largely the same.

“But why is the spiritual energy so thin?”

Even in the Nine Provinces, spiritual energy wasn’t evenly distributed. There were rare places known as spiritual energy dead zones, where cultivation was nearly impossible. Even a single spiritual root cultivator couldn’t reach the Foundation Establishment Stage in such areas.

But this unknown world had even less spiritual energy than the spiritual energy dead zones of the Nine Provinces!

This place simply couldn’t produce cultivators!

Sweeping the area with his Divine Sense, Jiang Li found no signs of human life—only a pack of gray creatures, resembling a cross between wolves and leopards, digging at the ground.

They seemed so starved that they had begun eating the sand.

Noticing Jiang Li, the gray beasts instinctively found him appetizing and prepared to share this unfamiliar meal among themselves.

With a single thought, Jiang Li completely immobilized them.

He had never seen creatures like these in the Nine Provinces.

Using his Divine Sense to analyze them, he discovered that they weren’t eating sand out of desperation—their very biology required it.

Their digestive and respiratory organs were unlike anything Jiang Li had ever encountered. If not for his powerful Divine Sense, he wouldn’t have been able to determine their functions.

These beasts had incredibly strong bodies. The leader among them had the physical strength of a Golden Core Stage cultivator, while the rest were at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

For some reason, Jiang Li instinctively wanted to stay far away from them. Something about them made him deeply uncomfortable.

Next, Jiang Li expanded his Divine Sense across the entire world, his brows remaining furrowed the whole time.

At last, he understood why these beasts ate sand.

Because in this world, there were only two things—gray beasts and sand.

Not just humans—there were no other species at all.

If the system told him this was Hell, and these creatures were beings from the Beast Realm, he’d believe it 80% of the way.

Compared to this place, the Nine Provinces might as well be the Celestial Realm.