Time flew swiftly on Blue Star, and another two years had passed.
"The southern region of the immortal cultivation world is so vast..." Chu Xuan mused as he lay on a plush velvet lounge chair, flipping through the texts collected by Song Junjie and Qian Tang. "Yan, Yue, and Yu countries together cover an area of a million square miles, which is only about one-third of the Southern Wilderness."
"North of these three countries lies the Myriad Islands Lake, which occupies the remaining two-thirds of the Southern Wilderness. This 'lake' is more akin to an inland sea, it seems."
Despite being a Golden Core cultivator, capable of flight, crossing the Southern Wilderness was still a time-consuming endeavor. No wonder the major sects are so intensely competitive within this confined area. They simply cannot fly out.
"Fortunately, I don't have to get involved in their petty squabbles." Chu Xuan chuckled lightly.
With Blue Star as his backyard, he only needed to obtain techniques and texts from the Southern Wilderness to be satisfied. Most of his resources could be sourced directly from Blue Star—a truly inexhaustible supply, far from the strife of war.
According to the intelligence from Song Junjie and Qian Tang, the chaos within the Southern Wilderness of the cultivation world persisted.
Neither the Hundred Refinements Sect nor the Heaven Burning Sect was able to completely destroy the other.
Naturally, no one openly claimed to be a demonic cultivator; they all professed to be orthodox cultivators, denouncing their enemies as heretics and deviants.
Due to the inability of the Hundred Refinements and Heaven Burning Sects to effectively control this area, these smaller sects had thrived unchecked.
Recently, following consultation with Chu Xuan, Song Junjie and Qian Tang also relocated their sect to this area. They were previously situated at the boundary between the Heaven Burning Sect and the now-defunct Divine Star Sect.
With the collapse of the Divine Star Sect, their location was naturally assumed under the control of the Heaven Burning Sect. To avoid being purged by the Heaven Burning Sect, they had to move.
This lawless area suited them perfectly.
Chu Xuan rubbed his temples, feeling a bit melancholic. In two years, he had barely managed to advance his physical cultivation to the twenty-third level.
The supply of meat was simply insufficient, severely impacting his cultivation pace. When would he find another Psionic Cube?
Just then, Bao dashed over excitedly, waving his arms and legs, seemingly eager to say something. Hu, who always stood by Chu Xuan's side, frowned at Bao's impudence and scolded, "Swallow the meat in your mouth before you speak."
Bao paused, chewed a few more times, swallowed, and then grinned sheepishly before roaring excitedly.
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After listening, Hu said joyfully, "Master, there's news from the Zombie Empress. She encountered a fishing boat from the Sunzi country in the Eastern Sea and sensed the fluctuations of primal Psionic energy!"
Chu Xuan's interest was piqued.
Excellent! Finally, a trace of primal Psionic energy!
Over the past two years residing on Blue Star, Chu Xuan had grown familiar with the overall situation of the planet.
After the Psionic burst, governments worldwide had nearly collapsed, with the Han country suffering the worst fate.
Under mysterious circumstances, on the same day the Psionic burst occurred, the auxiliary capital was obliterated by an explosion that created a crater over ten kilometers in diameter.
At that time, the emperor, along with numerous concubines, princes, princesses, and ministers who were summering in the capital, perished—none of the imperial direct lineage survived.
The empire's imperial and regional armies fell into disarray, each fragmenting and aligning with various new leaders. Some regional forces invaded smaller countries to the south or southwest, establishing dominance there.
Other continents also witnessed the survival of powerful forces, such as:
- The Sunzi country, renowned for its craftsmanship.
- The Arctic Forces, noted for their formidable military prowess and resilience against the cold.
- The Free Alliance, thriving in commerce and trade.
- The Holy Light Theocracy, founded on religious principles.
- The regional powerhouse, the Harsha Dynasty, among others.
These formidable powers had established their unique superhuman systems and were actively exploring other regions.
Chu Xuan was not yet fully aware of the specifics of other forces' superhuman systems, but intelligence from the Corpse Boats and Parasitic Seed suggested that Sunzi's superhumans, much like those in the Han country, had awakened psionic abilities.
They had integrated ancient mysterious arts and physical techniques to form a distinct superhuman system comprising psychic medium and warrior. The former excelled in ranged attacks and summoning, while the latter specialized in close combat.
Geographically, Sunzi was close to Han, separated only by a sea. Nowadays, people dared not venture into the deep sea, sticking to navigation along the continental shelf, which considerably extended travel times. This was why Black Blade found it challenging to gather intelligence from Sunzi.
"Let's go and see for ourselves," Chu Xuan declared, sweeping his hand to beckon Hu and Bao, and they quickly reached the farm.
The Zombie Empress roared excitedly upon their arrival. Chu Xuan frowned, annoyed, "Keep it down, why so loud? Hu, you listen."
Subdued, the Zombie Empress lowered her voice, and Hu relayed the message after listening: "The Corpse Boat was captured by a warrior aboard a Sunzi fishing boat. Before its destruction, it sensed faint primal Psionic fluctuations."
Chu Xuan spread out a map and circled the East Sea. Since the fishing boats from Sunzi would only dare to navigate close to the continental shelf, all he needed to do was follow it to locate them. His gaze sharpened, "We leave immediately!"
In the blink of an eye, Chu Xuan was aboard his Azure Shadow Shuttle, vanishing into the vast sky.
Back at the Black Blade base, Wang Gangjian and the others watched the streak of blue light pass by, their faces filled with longing. They knew it was the trail of an immortal traveling through the sky. How they wished to one day soar through the heavens as freely as the immortals...
Above the East Sea, vast expanses of azure waves stretched endlessly. A large fishing vessel carefully navigated along the continental shelf.
Sunzi, an island nation surrounded by sea, frequently faced attacks from mutated marine creatures.
Additionally, given its small area, the number of extraordinary beings and high-level zombies was naturally limited. The proverbial cake was only so big, yet many were hungry for a slice.
These factors compelled them to accelerate their expansion into other regions, including the neighboring Han country. They were willing to pay any price to set foot on land and escape the perilous sea.
This fishing vessel, supported by the Sunzi government, was headed towards the Han country. The ship was a mixed bag of characters.
Some were powerful superhumans with government backing, tasked with maintaining order on board.
Their ranks included individuals of the fourth level and above, with the strongest even reaching the fifth level. Most, however, were first or second level.
If they remained in Sunzi country, they would likely never acquire enough Psionic cores to advance their Psionic levels throughout their lives.
Their only chance was to smoothly reach the Han country, step onto that ancient and unfamiliar land, and try their luck.