Chapter 98 – Introduction to Foreign Battlefields
All the powerful Nascent Soul cultivators flew towards the Tower of Heaven.
Deep within the caves of the Corpse Sect, Ye Zizai’s eyes lit up as he disappeared from the room and quickly teleported away. Before he left, he used his green jade to send out an order to every Corpse Sect disciple.
“I’m going out for a few days. Open the defensive formation and kill anyone who dares to leave!”
The Teng family ancestor, Teng Huayuan, was cultivating inside the Teng family ancestral home when a rainbow-colored cloud appeared. His eyes lit up, and hesitation appeared in them. After a moment, he left behind a voice transmission jade and left.
The same scene played out in various major sects throughout Zhao.
From the Zhao region, all traces of light gathered at the Tower of Heaven.
The Tower of Heaven is a symbol of the countries that are part of the Cultivation Union. When a country joins, the Union will send someone to build the tower. An envoy resides within the Tower of Heaven. This envoy does not interfere in the affairs of the country they are based in and only comes to resolve major issues.
Punnan Zi was the first Nascent Soul cultivator to reach Heaven’s Tower. After all, he was the last remaining Nascent Soul cultivator from 500 years ago. His cultivation level was already at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, only one step away from the late-Nascent Soul stage.
Armed with the experience he gained on the battlefield in a foreign land, he firmly established his position as the strongest cultivator in Zhao.
He was wearing a gray robe as he appeared at the base of the Tower of Heaven. Looking up at the Tower of Heaven, the octagonal tower towered high into the sky. A burst of light radiated from it, making it appear extremely mysterious.
Punnan Zi stared at the Tower of Heaven with fear still lingering in his eyes. This was his second time here. The first time was 500 years ago, when all 23 Nascent Soul cultivators of Zhao were forced by a rank 4 nation to enter a foreign battlefield.
500 years later, he was the only person to return.
Punnan Zi didn’t even know how he had survived these 500 years. There were several major battles every day, and life and death were decided in an instant.
Over the past 500 years, he had seen many powerful cultivators. These powerful cultivators only needed to move their fingers to kill him.
One of the Nascent Soul cultivators of Zhao, the ancestor of the Heng Yue Sect, Punnan Zi personally saw him being swallowed whole by a very ordinary looking cultivator.
The more Punnan Zi saw, the more afraid he became, and the more afraid he became, the more he wanted to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. In those 500 years on the foreign battlefield, he learned that beyond the Spirit Severing stage, there was the Soul Transformation stage.
With mixed feelings, he bowed towards the Sky Tower and said, “Messenger, Punnan Zi of the Xuan Dao Sect is here.”
“Punnan Zi, you and I can be considered old acquaintances. There’s no need to be so formal.” A warm voice sounded from the tower, followed by an old man. This old man was somewhat round, somewhat ugly, and wore a green robe that accentuated his round belly, making him look somewhat comical.
But Punnan Zi didn’t dare to show disrespect. He waved his hand and took out a bag of goods. He handed it to the old man and said, “Mr. Envoy, these are some of the materials I have collected since I returned. Some of them are the materials you requested.”
The fat old man narrowed his eyes and laughed. He accepted the bag without looking at it and put it away, saying, “Punnan Zi, you are the first Nascent Soul cultivator from Zhao to successfully return from the foreign battlefield since I became the Zhao envoy. I have sent all your information to my sect. They have sent word that if you break through to the late Nascent Soul stage within 100 years, they will break the rules and accept you as an honorary disciple.”
Punnan Zi showed a happy expression and nodded.
As the two spoke, two streaks of light appeared and landed in an open area. A man and a woman were standing there. The man looked to be around 30 years old. He was extremely handsome yet sinister. When he saw the plump old man, he quickly and respectfully said, “Chen Huan of the He Huan Sect greets the lord’s envoy.”
The woman was very beautiful. She looked at the fat old man and said respectfully, “Chen Yan from the He Huan Sect pays homage to your envoy.”
The fat messenger nodded and paid no further attention to them as he began chatting with Punnan Zi. In his opinion, only Punnan Zi barely had the right to speak to him.
Soon, more than ten people arrived, including Teng Huayuan. The last to arrive was Ye Zizai. As soon as he entered the tower, the plump envoy exhaled softly. He looked at Ye Zizai and smiled faintly.
As all the Nascent Soul cultivators arrived, the rainbow-colored clouds grew thicker in the sky. The fat envoy’s expression grew serious as he formed several seals and shot them into the sky.
Soon, the clouds began to move and a red beam of light descended from the sky onto the Tower of Heaven. Soon after, the other six colors of the rainbow also descended onto the Tower of Heaven.
After the Tower of Heaven absorbed the seven beams of light, it shook, and a ring of light tens of meters in diameter emerged from the top of the tower. The ring of light shot into the sky, forming a black hole. A ring of white lightning surrounded the black hole.
Looking up, you could see a wave of energy spreading out, centered on a pillar of light. The clouds melted like hot water poured on snow.
A gust of wind emerged from the pillar of light. It hit everyone’s clothes, causing a popping sound. Most of the people present were early Nascent Soul cultivators. They all took several steps backward due to the wind. Only four people were able to withstand the wind and not retreat.
These four people were Punnan Zi, Ye Zizai, a white-haired cultivator from the Piao Miao Sect, and a skinny old man from the Tian Dao Sect.
The fat envoy’s expression became extremely solemn. He flew into the air and respectfully shouted, “The moderator of the third-ranked country, Shi Linyi, welcomes the envoy of the cultivation union.”
A huge head emerged from the black hole and stared at everyone coldly.
Including the four who hadn’t retreated, all the Nascent Soul cultivators present felt as if their Nascent Souls were about to collapse under that gaze. They had no doubt that if the person in the black hole stared at them any longer, their Nascent Souls would be unable to withstand the pressure and explode.
Punnan Zi was the first to recover. His face was pale. He recognized this figure very clearly. He was an expert from the Giant Demon Family from the foreign battlefield. This family of cultivators cultivated by devouring other cultivators. The ancestor of the Heng Yue Sect was swallowed by a member of the Giant Demon Family before they even revealed their true form.
The giant’s gaze fell on Linyi, his expression softening slightly, but he impatiently said, “This remote area has almost no spiritual energy at all. If it weren’t for that damn agreement, I could suck all the spiritual energy out of here in one breath. All of you, listen carefully. The foreign battlefield will open in five months. Those of you from Zhao are responsible for an area of 100,000 square kilometers 58 degrees north of the entrance. There are seven tokens there. The rules are the same as always: four of them must be broken. Only a maximum of three sects are allowed to enter. If more than three tokens remain after five months, the country of Zhao will lose its right to participate.”
With that, the giant opened its mouth and seven rays of light flew out from it, landing on the ground and revealing seven tokens. After that, the giant’s head returned to the black hole, but its head suddenly popped out and it shouted, “If you find a bead like this in the foreign battlefield, you must hand it over immediately. Whoever hands it over will be rewarded with a Soul Transformation-grade magic treasure, their sect will be rewarded with 10 Spirit Severing-stage zombies, and their country will be raised by one rank!”
“But if anyone dares to keep it a secret, their entire country will be destroyed. Linyi, this is a message sent by the higher-ups from Suzaku. You will receive it in a few days.” With that, his eyes lit up, and the clouds in the sky moved to form a picture. The picture was of a bead with several clouds engraved on it.
If Wang Lin were here, he would immediately recognize that it was the bead he kept close to his chest.
With that, the giant muttered a few times, and then a giant hand reached out from the black hole and grabbed the light pillar at the top of the Heavenly Tower. He shook it a few times and said, “Linyi, I’ll take this seven-colored magic treasure. I couldn’t have come here for nothing.”
After a loud rumble, the pillar of light was pulled into the black hole and disappeared with it. The rainbow-colored clouds in the sky scattered, and the immense pressure surrounding Zhao disappeared.
The fat envoy’s face turned ugly. He snorted coldly, waved his sleeve, and entered the tower. From the tower came his gloomy voice.
“Same old rules: Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators are not allowed to join. Bring the Foundation Establishment cultivators. They are your main fighting force. Everyone, return. The battle will begin in three days.”
The seven orthodox and demonic sects took their tokens. They looked at each other and left without a word. The only interesting part was that the Nascent Soul cultivators from the three orthodox sects all left in the same direction.
The skinny old man of the Tian Dao Sect glared at the three people leaving and said, “Fellow cultivators, how about you all come to my place for a moment?”