novelnext Chapter 469 - 293: Conquer the Outer Realm?
Chapter 469 - 293: Conquer the Outer Realm?
Amassing so many resources for a breakthrough actually made it easier for things to go wrong.
After all, the higher you stack something, the easier it is for it to collapse.
Therefore, his approach wasn’t exactly wise.
However, Zou Feng had his list of ’brothers’ to take the fall, so he wasn’t afraid of such recklessness.
’As for which ’brother’ to use for this breakthrough...’
Zou Feng chose Gongyang Marquis, the one he had mysteriously connected with in the Glazed Immortal Palace.
He chose Brother Gongyang because, for the time being, he had no other targets that required immediate attention.
People like Li Dingjie, Luo Yingning, and Fu Jiaming could be dealt with slowly after he entered the Inner Sect.
He was especially reluctant to use the method of transferring side effects to make Luo Yingning die a sudden death.
The reason was simple: if Luo Yingning died suddenly within the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, he would lose his chance to perform Refinement on the female Poison Cultivator and absorb her.
After all, just as Luo Yingning coveted his Poison Body, Zou Feng naturally coveted hers as well.
As for Gongyang Marquis, this ’brother’s’ Realm was by far the highest. In the past, no matter what Cultivation side effects Zou Feng had thrown his way, the brightness of his name on the list had never once dimmed.
This fact made Zou Feng more than a little nervous.
’This time, I’ll have to really put him through the wringer. I refuse to believe he can remain unaffected even by the side effects of a reckless breakthrough.’
「Five days later.」
After making thorough preparations, Zou Feng went directly to the Sect and rented a Spirit Spring.
A Spirit Spring, as it was called, was a spring formed entirely of liquefied Spiritual Qi.
They were not naturally occurring, however. The Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect had created them specifically for disciples to use in their Cultivation.
Nearly every mountain peak had at least one such Spirit Spring.
Their most common use was for Spiritual Qi infusion during the breakthrough to the Spiritual Energy Realm.
Su Qingyu had also rented a Spirit Spring for her breakthrough.
When breaking through to the Spiritual Energy Realm, the physical body could accommodate and absorb a massive amount of Spiritual Qi without bursting.
The rental fee for a Spirit Spring was, of course, steep, and there were additional charges if one absorbed more than a certain amount of Spiritual Qi.
This time, Zou Feng also brought Gongsun Jinghong with him to the Spirit Spring he had rented.
After all, once he succeeded in his breakthrough, it would be Gongsun Jinghong’s turn, so there was no need to find another time to assist her.
"Commandery Princess, please wait nearby for now. I’ll call you over once I’ve successfully broken through..."
Zou Feng instructed Gongsun Jinghong upon arriving at the entrance to the Spirit Spring.
Since he had prepared an excessive amount of resources and was planning a ’reckless’ breakthrough, he was worried something might go wrong.
For example, the toxins in his body could suddenly have a massive Burst.
Therefore, for safety’s sake, it was better for Gongsun Jinghong to wait outside.
After walking about thirty paces in from the entrance, a Spirit Spring resembling a small pond, swirling with Spiritual Qi, appeared before Zou Feng.
The place was practically bursting with Spiritual Qi, its density far exceeding his expectations.
However, such an overabundance of Spiritual Qi no longer felt refreshing or invigorating.
Instead, it felt suffocating, and soon his head grew groggy, as if he were drunk.
’Too much Spiritual Qi can actually make you feel drunk?’
Upon discovering this, Zou Feng was tempted to use the opportunity to practice his Drunken Immortal Moon Chasing Step.
’But now isn’t the time. Breaking through to the next Realm is the priority.’
With that thought, Zou Feng took off his outer robe, laid out his prepared materials by the spring’s edge, and, wearing only his under-shorts, jumped into the Spirit Spring...
「At roughly the same time.」
Inside the Rakshasa Palace of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, Leng Jing stood in a crowd, a conflicted look on his face, as if he were stumped by something.
The Rakshasa Palace was the exclusive domain of True Disciple Jiang Wanzhao.
Although she hadn’t founded the Rakshasa Sect of Great Yan, it had grown and flourished under her leadership.
Thus, after entering the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, Jiang Wanzhao had remained fond of the name and called her own residence the Rakshasa Palace.
At this moment, many Immortal Sect Disciples—or rather, disciples from Jiang Wanzhao’s faction—were gathered here, buzzing with discussion.
Evidently, Jiang Wanzhao had summoned them to make an announcement.
As for what the matter was, a rather reliable rumor had already begun to circulate.
This was exactly what everyone was now discussing.
The matter was actually quite simple: the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect had located another unknown Outer Realm and was preparing to dispatch several True Disciples to explore it.
If the exploration proved fruitful, they would conquer the Outer Realm outright.
And Jiang Wanzhao was one of the True Disciples assigned to explore this Outer Realm.
It was worth noting that she had volunteered for this expedition.
After all, having only recently been promoted to True Inheritor, she urgently needed the achievement of conquering an Outer Realm to further prove and solidify her position.
On the other hand, when it came to conquering Outer Realms, Jiang Wanzhao was still a complete rookie.
Her reason for summoning ’her people’ this time was obvious: to see who was willing to accompany her on this expedition to the Outer Realm.
Many of the people present were her blood relatives and descendants, and venturing into an Outer Realm was naturally fraught with danger.
This was especially true for an ’unknown Outer Realm’ that even the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect’s methods couldn’t fully survey; all sorts of mishaps were possible.
Therefore, Jiang Wanzhao wasn’t going to force anyone to go.
Even without these descendants under her command, she couldn’t just go all-in with her entire force.
This was the source of Leng Jing’s current dilemma.
’To be honest, I really don’t want to go.’
’Exploring an Outer Realm is a huge opportunity, a chance for a fortuitous encounter or to make a fortune and rise to prominence.’
’But none of that is as important as my life.’
’The problem is, as Jiang Wanzhao’s descendant, I’ve received a lot of benefits since being formally acknowledged by her in the Immortal Sect.’
’She even gave me a Seven Orifice Spirit-Gathering Pill.’
’Thanks to that Pill, I successfully broke through to the Spiritual Energy Realm three days ago.’
’Of course, even though I broke through, using the Seven Orifice Spirit-Gathering Pill consumes some of your future potential.’
’But I’m well aware that I didn’t have much potential to begin with. Just becoming an Inner Sect Disciple of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect is already pretty good.’
’Taking the next step—building a Dao Foundation, even the lowest Yellow Tier Dao Foundation—is probably beyond me.’
’In short, I really don’t want to go. But you can’t just take handouts without giving back, especially since she just formally acknowledged me. I feel like I really should do something more...’
"Senior Sister Jiang is here!"
A startled cry rang out, and the previously noisy crowd immediately fell silent.
Although many people present should have addressed Jiang Wanzhao as ’Ancestor,’ Jiang Wanzhao disliked the title. So, everyone stuck to the standard form of address in the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect and called her Senior Sister Jiang.
Hearing that his ancestor had arrived, Leng Jing didn’t dare to be disrespectful and quickly offered a respectful bow.
On the steps at the front of the hall, a young-looking woman appeared with startling abruptness. She wasn’t particularly tall, but her proportions were perfect.
The woman had white hair tied in a high, upward-pointing braid, and her skin was a healthy, vibrant, wheat-toned tan.
Her attire consisted of just a few interwoven strips of cloth, leaving her quite exposed.
She had a stern expression and blue eyes. With her head held high, she projected the full aura of a queen.
And yet, her face was also full of a youthful innocence. Her deliberate queenly act was so fragile that the slightest change in her posture or expression threatened to break the illusion.
Of course, no one present dared to point this out.
The first time Leng Jing saw Jiang Wanzhao, he had been utterly astonished.
’This woman and the word ’Ancestor’ just don’t seem to belong together.’
’It was hard to imagine an "old monster" who had lived for countless years would still enjoy dressing like this...’
However, compared to others of the same Realm in the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, Jiang Wanzhao was not considered old at all.
"I presume you all know why you’re here," Jiang Wanzhao said coolly after a moment of sweeping her gaze over the crowd below.
Her voice, too, sounded like that of a little girl.
But everyone present knew she wasn’t deliberately putting on a cute voice; that was just how she naturally sounded.
"Don’t be in a hurry to volunteer. While this is an opportunity, I can’t possibly take all of you."
"Instead, let’s leave it all to fate!"
"When you entered the gates of my Rakshasa Palace just now, those of you who stepped in with your left foot first, step forward. You’re the ones who will be going!" Jiang Wanzhao decided who would go and who would stay in a manner that seemed like child’s play.
When Leng Jing heard this, his Tiger Body Shook.
He immediately looked down at his own left foot, wishing he could chop it off with a sword!