During the time that Zhang Cuiying patiently waited for Xi Mengfei to appear, many things were changing in the Heaven Continent. Perhaps because of the fight between the Immortal Monarchs, the change was most turbulent in the Northern Regions.
Smaller areas such as the former White Mist Region, Green Scorpion Region, and the Unseen Whale Region directly waged war. The Fleeting Mist Sect, whose headquarters became a direct casualty, retired from the war for supremacy among the three regions. This was the most volatile area.
Not just the Northern Region, from the Northeastern Region all-around to the Northwestern Region, small skirmishes were breaking out. But the possibility of directly evolving into war was not zero.
Of course, these occurrences did not concern third-rate sects and above. Third-rate sects also have subordinate forces like how the Buzhou Immortal Sect had Vassal Sects. But the degree of separation from their subordinate forces and the ones waging war were so far apart that it was like they were from a different world.
Originally, people who thought the sudden increase in conflict at the edge of the Heaven Continent would subside became puzzled. Not only did the skirmishes not decrease, but it increased instead. The battle between sects who only had Core Formation Masters as their strongest power evolved into battles between sects with Nascent Soul Grandmasters. With the escalating conflict, those near them could only prepare and wait to see. But it had reached the point that even third-rate sects had begun to take notice of this eerie situation.
Many people who saw this were puzzled. If this situation occurred within the Earth Continent, they would think it natural. But it appeared in the Heaven Continent. Each continent had a small alliance of forces that did not yield to the hegemonic sect. But most of the time, they did not have the power to cause large ripples.
The situation in the Earth Continent was queer, and the alliance in the Heaven Continent was barely surviving thanks to the Cloud Goddess. No matters what others thought, at the center of all this, the leader of the Nine Regions, Buzhou Immortal Sect of the Central Region, all was peaceful and unmarred by the conflict.
When he heard from Xi Ri, Tianyi, who was busy cultivating, only said, “Ah,” and didn’t think much of it. What he was more concerned about was the actual lack of subordinates.
When he returned to the Buzhou Immortal Sect, he wanted to enquire about Jiang Chunye, but Tianyi discovered that he didn’t have any actual means to do so.
Thinking back logically, his mother had no subordinates either. She was a carefree Grand Elder that didn’t interfere with sect matters. When she needed to do something, she did it herself. And when the sect required her help, she would go along, like during the assault on the Dragon Emperor.
Tianyi wrung his brains on this matter but didn’t know where to start. Aside from the people sent to deliver the necessary goods, Jade Peak didn’t have any servants! Even the Elders living in the mountain were idle Elders who did not interfere with sect matters.
And it wasn’t like he could casually go ask people to investigate a small insignificant person like Jiang Chunye either.
So Tianyi fell into a dilemma.
“Senior brother.” Tianyi paused from his rumination and saw Daoyi walking towards him with Xi Ri. “Are you still dispirited that you didn’t make it back to the Disciple Acceptance Ceremony?”
Tianyi shook his head. “No, it’ll happen in another ten years. Perhaps it would be better that I missed it. I should focus on my cultivation first.”
When Elder Shan, Tianyi, and Daoyi returned, they had just missed the Disciple Acceptance Ceremony. For Tianyi, who had the heart to take on a disciple, it was a bit of a disappointment.
But later, he learned that only Elders were allowed to take a disciple. Tianyi was eligible to become an Elder but only an Outer Elder as he was a Nascent Soul Grandmaster. To be an Inner Elder, he would have to enter the Unity Realm first.
So although disappointed, Tianyi didn’t put it to heart.
“So why are you two here?” Tianyi asked.
Daoyi and Xi Ri shared a look before looking back at Tianyi.
“Senior brother, are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Tianyi asked, confused by the two.
“It’s just that senior brother has been cultivating without rest since coming back,” Daoyi said.
“Senior brother also immediately moved out of Jade Peak Palace,” Xi Ri said. He felt that Tianyi had a slight change after coming back from the Northern Region.
Immediately after coming back, he directly moved out of Jade Peak Palace. And unless there were urgent matters, which was nearly none, Tianyi spent all day cultivating.
Did a cultivation demon possess him?
Xi Ri couldn’t help but have such thought. Daoyi, who felt Tianyi’s change at the Fleeting Mist Sect, had an inkling but didn’t say anything. She just felt that Tianyi madly cultivating wasn’t good for him. The few times she visited, he always had a sullen expression.
Tianyi shrugged. “I just feel after experiencing what happened in the Northern Region, my power and cultivation are too low right now.”
Too low?
If the people who heard the twenty-year-old say such a thing, how many old monsters would vomit blood?
When one entered the Foundation Establishment Realm, their life expectancy would increase to two hundred years. Entering the Core Formation would extending the lifespan to six hundred.
And entering the Nascent Soul Realm, the life expectancy would increase from one thousand two hundred to three thousand six hundred depending on the cultivator itself. Three thousand six hundred years was the maximum life expectancy of a mortal. Transcending Mortality Sages were no exceptions.
“Senior brother, all things must be done in moderation. I feel that your previous pace is good. Cultivation cannot be rushed.” Daoyi said.
How could Tianyi not understand such a principle? But for the first time in his life, he felt that something was biting the back of his heels, and he was unable to slow down either.
“How about researching the Xiyi Talismen? Or the Formation Cards? I feel that senior brother should have some improvements after reaching Nascent Soul Realm.” Xi Ri said.
What is this? An intervention?
“All right, all right,” Tianyi said, slightly fed up.
The three of them once more found themselves sitting around a table talking about the Xiyi Talismen and Formation Cards. With the improvement of Tianyi’s realm, many things did indeed clear up.
For example, to recreate the talisman’s versatility, a server would need to be created to store all the data. Just like on Earth, there would need to be a receiver and emitter to transmit the data, so Tianyi decided just to combine the two and made a black tower for that purpose.
And maybe because Tianyi was looking at a new angle, or perhaps it was an increase in his realm, but he could devise the first feature, a two-way voice transmitter.
Xi Ri held the prototype Xiyi Talisman in front of him. “Hello? Can you hear me? Hello?”
There was no response. Xi Ri held the talisman next to his ear like a modern smartphone and repeated what he said before. Daoyi, who was watching by the side, covered her face with her hand, already expecting what was to come.
Tianyi, who was a fair distance away, smiled and inhaled a deep breath.
“HELLO!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME???”
“Ah!” Xi Ri yelped, and the Xiyi Talisman drop out of his hand. He felt like he had gone deaf in one ear, and he looked warily at the Xiyi Talisman on the ground.
The sounds of Tianyi’s laughter could be heard coming from the fallen Xiyi Talismen.
Xi Ri sighed. Was he too honest? Time after time, he had fallen for Tianyi’s pranks. He glanced at Daoyi, who had long expected this. In the end, he helplessly smiled, but there was a slight relief in that smile.
This was the first time since Tianyi returned that Xi Ri had heard him laugh carefreely like this.
When the day began to darken, Daoyi and Xi Ri excused themselves.
“Senior brother, I’ll come back in a few days. Right now, the flower fairy big sisters are teaching me some interesting things. The big sister referred to the Eighteen Flower Fairies. Almost like magic, once Tianyi left, they began to appear at Jade Peak Palace once more.
Tianyi’s tooth ached just thinking about this.
As for Xi Ri. He was actually also quite busy. Not just the small business he had made, he was someone who his master favored heavily. Thus he had a lot of duties he had to fulfill, in addition to finding spare time to cultivate.
When the two of them bid farewell, Tianyi stretched his back and looked at his estate. This large estate, only he lived there. It was quite lonely.
“No, be strong. Cultivation is a lonely path. If you can’t even withstand this, then don’t even take another step, Tianyi!” Encouraging himself, he returned to cultivation.