The Sovereign's Ascension

Chapter 2317 - Wu Yuhua

While Lin Yun and Ji Zixi were walking together, they couldn’t find any people. They also didn’t know where the streaks of light had landed. They ran into many demonic beasts, and Saint Realm demonic beasts could be seen everywhere.

In the beginning, Lin Yun and Ji Zixi weren’t too bothered by them. But when they were forced to make a move by those demonic beasts, they instantly understood that something wasn’t right. The cultivation of those demonic beasts wasn't high, only at the second or third stage of Saint Lord.

If these demonic beasts were in the Kunlun Realm, Lin Yun could kill many with one sword. But it was different in the Heavenly Barren Domain. They were incredibly strong, like the sounds of a ringing bell. Aside from that, Lin Yun also observed that these demonic beasts were somehow connected to the sky.

When Lin Yun managed to kill them after spending some time, he noticed a white light that was being given off by them. This instantly made Lin Yun surprised and he frowned, “Mhm?”

He turned to Ji Zixi and asked, “Did you see that?”

Ji Zixi nodded, “Yeah, I did. It looked like mist but it wasn't spiritual energy or a demonic beast’s ominous aura.”

With a wave of his hand, that mist entered his forehead before he could examine it. In the next second, Lin Yun felt as though he could hear dao by his side, and his gaze became strange when he opened his eyes. He said, “My Wind Dao improved a little.”

“This is weird.” Ji Zixi also tried it and discovered that her Fire Dao had significantly increased.

“It looks like the Heavenly Barren Realm isn’t simple,” Lin Yun muttered, absorbing the remaining mist. As they killed more demonic beasts, he discovered that not every demonic beast could give birth to the ‘miasma.’

He had speculated that some demonic beasts might be born in a secret realm, ate some sort of treasures, observed a saint diagram, or were blessed by heavenly dao. He released his Divine Light Sword Intent with his eyes becoming golden, and he discovered that he could differentiate those demonic beasts with the ‘miasma.’ This naturally made Lin Yun and Ji Zixi rejoice since it would significantly increase their efficiency.

“Let’s rest here a little.” Lin Yun started a fire and returned to what he was good at in the past, roasting demonic beasts. It didn’t take long for the meat to be cooked. The meat was roasted on the outside, and each one was evenly cooked.

Ji Zixi tried it before she began gobbling it up without a care for her image. She exclaimed, “These demonic beasts’ meat has the same effect!”

“It has to be further refined.” Lin Yun discovered that he couldn’t immediately refine the ‘miasma’ from the meat. So consuming the meat of those demonic beasts wouldn’t increase his saint dao. He had to refine and comprehend them.

Seven days later, Lin Yun and Ji Zixi finally saw someone while hunting demonic beasts to refine the ‘miasma.’ Lin Yun and Ji Zixi donned a cloak to prevent any trouble, and Ji Zixi even covered her face with a silk cloth, only exposing her eyes.

On this day, while Lin Yun and Ji Zixi were hunting, they saw someone a demonic beast was chasing. It was a snow-white wolf with a moon on its forehead, leaving behind a blizzard in its path. This was a rare demonic beast that possessed two attributes, and the youth looked pathetic while being chased by the wolf.

“Big Brother Lin, are we going to help?” Ji Zixi asked.

“There’s no need. That person might seem to be in a pathetic state, but he’s holding himself well. On the contrary, that wolf is reaching its limit,” Lin Yun said, shaking his head.

Lin Yun originally didn’t want to meddle in this matter, but the demonic beast sensed their presence and approached them as though it had spotted a delicacy. It abandoned the person it was chasing after and pounced at them instead.

Lin Yun was briefly startled, but he didn’t hesitate to unleash a sword ray that pierced through the wolf’s throat. With a loud explosion, the wolf heavily fell to the ground.

But before Lin Yun could approach the wolf, a seemingly disheveled young man released a saint radiance and came before Lin Yun. He said, “Friend, this is an Azure Abyssal Wolf… which I lured out from its pack.”

“Take it with you, then,” Lin Yun said calmly.

The young man was puzzled as he retrieved the ‘miasma’ from the corpse before he stowed the Azure Abyssal Wolf’s corpse. Seeing that there wasn’t any hostility from Lin Yun and Ji Zixi, he called out to them just when they were about to leave.

“Friend, why don’t you two join me for some meat?” The young man threw out an invitation.

Lin Yun and Ji Zixi exchanged a gaze, and smiled, “It’d be our honor.”

“Hehe. This place isn’t suitable for dealing with the corpse. Let’s go somewhere else,” the young man said.

An hour later, the young man ate the meat that was prepared by Lin Yun, and he couldn’t stop praising, “I didn’t expect you to be so good at grilling the meat.”

“It’s passable,” Lin Yun replied with a smile.

After some casual conversation as they ate, Lin Yun and Ji Zixi learned that the young man’s name was Wu Yuhua, and he was much older than he looked, in his thirties or forties.

“Speaking of which, where did the two of you come from?” Wu Yuhua asked.

“The Kunlun Realm,” Lin Yun replied honestly.

“Kunlun Realm?” Wu Yuhua was visibly stunned for a moment upon hearing the answer.

“Brother Wu, you didn’t hear of the Kunlun Realm before?” Lin Yun asked.

Wu Yuhua smiled, “The Kunlun Realm is famous, and I believe everyone in the Heavenly Barren Realm has heard of it before. After all, the Heavenly Path’s fame once spread throughout the universe. That was over a hundred thousand years ago. But the Kunlun Realm declined after the Heavenly Path was severed. Although there were talents from the Kunlun Realm coming to the Heavenly Barren Realm in recent years, they didn’t make much impact. This is why I was surprised upon hearing that the two of you came from the Kunlun Realm.

Seeing that the young man was serious in what he said, Lin Yun smiled, “The Kunlun Realm is isolated because of the severed Heavenly Path, and we don’t know much about the Heavenly Barren Realm. Would you mind sharing some insights into this place?”

Wu Yuhua smiled, “Actually, I noticed long ago that the Azure Abyssal Wolf was a rare dual-attributed demonic beast, and its fortune contained both Wind and Ice Daos. But the two of you didn’t know much to give it away so easily.”

Lin Yun merely smiled and said nothing about it. Even if he knew about them, the value of an Azure Abyssal Wolf wouldn’t catch his attention.

“Fortune? Are you talking about that miasma?” Ji Zixi asked. Her voice was pleasant even after disguising herself, and her voice was alluring.

Wu Yuhua was momentarily stunned, before he continued, “That’s right. That miasma is fortune, unique to the Heavenly Barren Realm. When you kill demonic beasts, explore the ancient ruins, or seek treasures, you can refine and comprehend the saint dao. But the fortune of ordinary demonic beasts is of the lowest level unless they possess a unique bloodline. So, after refining a certain amount, you can’t refine it any further. If you want to obtain a true fortune, you would have to gain comprehension in ancient ruins or consuming precious fruits.”

Lin Yun asked, “So, are there any standards for selecting disciples by the Heavenly Barren Ancestral Deity?”

“The rules are rather simple,” Wu Yuhua explained. “The Heavenly Barren Ancestral Deity will divide the Heavenly Barren Realm into ten independent realms. After a year, a sacred mountain will appear in each realm, and the top ten individuals who reach the summit of those sacred mountains will move on to the next round of selection and participate in the Jade Tower Banquet. In the end, five individuals will be chosen in the Jade Tower Banquet to become the disciples of the Heavenly Barren Ancestral Deity, and it’s not an underestimation to say that they would ascend the sky with one step.”

Wu Yuhua continued to explain various opportunities in the Heavenly Barren Realm, which was meant to bring out the potential of everyone here.

“One year?” Lin Yun frowned.

Wu Yuhua smiled, “A year in the Heavenly Barren Realm is equivalent to two months in the outside world. The rules of time and space are different here.”

Lin Yun didn’t take long to understand the situation in the Heavenly Barren Realm from Wu Yuhua. Wu Yuhua hailed from the Azure Cloud Realm’s Heavenly Sword Pavilion, which had some fame in the Azure Cloud Realm and produced many powerful deities.

As for the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, it was a powerful immortal holy land that spanned across several eras and could be ranked in the top ten in terms of sword dao. This was the first time Lin Yun heard that there was a force that spanned several eras, which broadened his horizons.

“Since the Heavenly Sword Pavilion is so powerful, there must be deities in it. So why did you guys come to the Heavenly Barren Domain?” Lin Yun voiced his doubts.

Wu Yuhua smiled, “It doesn’t matter how powerful our deities are, they’re definitely not as strong as the Heavenly Barren Ancestral Deity. He’s an expert in the Ancestral Realm. The Blue Dragon King from your Kunlun Realm was also in the Ancestral Realm and was famous throughout the universe with everyone knowing him. Furthermore, there are five spots in the Jade Tower Banquet. Most geniuses who come to the Heavenly Barren Realm are primarily here to seek adventures and opportunities. If they’re lucky, a year here could be equivalent to a hundred years of cultivation in the outside world.”

Wu Yuhua was an easygoing person, and he didn’t have any ulterior motives in his chat with Lin Yun.

Lin Yun obtained a lot of information from Wu Yuhua and not just the selection process of becoming the Heavenly Barren Ancestral Deity’s disciple. He even understood that only the realms who gave birth to a deity could truly establish themselves in the vast universe.

Otherwise, they would be considered as primitive and barbaric with fiend clans frequenting their realms, slaughtering their people just to refine some evil treasures. Or they would be enslaved where inhabitants would be treated like livestock, exploited for generations.

“Fiend clans?” Lin Yun asked.

“Fiend clans are a collective term meant for several invasive clans who worship ancient fiendgods. They’re considered the public enemies in the universe. Even a realm with deities might not be able to fend off the invasion of those fiend clans and could only rely on the God Alliance for help,” Wu Yuhua shared with unease in his voice.

The so-called “God Alliance” was an alliance of deities and the strongest force in the universe. But the internal structure of the God Alliance was complicated with many factions.

Lin Yun asked, “Are the Demonspirit Clan considered a fiend clan as well?”

“Of course. They call themself the Spirit Clan, and they’re one of the ten fiend clans that even the God Alliance is afraid of,” Wu Yuhua said.

“I see…” Lin Yun replied.

After they finished the Azure Abyssal Wolf’s meat, Wu Yuhua smiled, “I can see that you guys have nowhere to go. What do you think about joining forces with the Heavenly Sword Pavilion?”

He had a pleasant conversation with Lin Yun and made a direct invitation.

Ji Zixi smiled, “I see that you only want to eat the meat grilled by Big Brother Lin.”

“Haha! Lady Zixi is smart!” Wu Yuhua laughed even after being exposed.

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