HSSB851: Returning to the southeast
Brought along by Liu Zhenggu, Yan Zhaoge’s group quickly traversed the eastern Vast Heaven Territory, returning to the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory.
Liu Zhenggu headed straight to Golden Court Mountain. Since he had come to the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory, he might as well meet with the Southeastern Exalt, Cao Jie.
Yan Zhaoge looked as if he was thinking about something.
Feng Yunsheng said, “When we met with the Southeastern Exalt back then, there was something which he left unsaid. It seems that that was not just about you cultivating in the Immortal Ending Sword Manual. Instead, it might have also been related to Senior Xue.”
“Perhaps he already discerned something from your appearance back then, just that he was unable to confirm it and could not very well ask you directly about it.”
Hearing her words, Yan Zhaoge nodded slowly, “That might be so. Still, the Southeastern Exalt seems to merely be turning a blind eye to this as opposed to the Eastern Exalt’s stance towards this issue.”
As Liu Zhenggu met with Cao Jie, Yan Zhaoge’s group stayed at Golden Court Mountain once more.
Mu Jun had already headed off to the Royal Reed Sea again.
In this one over year since Yan Zhaoge’s departure, hidden undercurrents had still surged in the Royal Reed Sea where the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory bordered the southern Blazing Heaven Territory.
The problem did not lie with the Royal Reed Sea and the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory. Instead, it lay in the continual instability of the southern Blazing Heaven Territory.
Both sides had continually been manoeuvring over the matter of Tang Yonghao’s phoenix bone.
The Royal Reed Sea was the frontline facing the southern Blazing Heaven Territory. Aside from Lin Hanhua who had continually been guarding the area, Mu Jun had hurried over as well.
Other than that, there were also other peak experts of the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory who hurried over as per the orders of the Southeastern Exalt, Cao Jie.
Still, Zheng Ming and Chen Zhiliang remained at Golden Court Mountain.
Following his short stay there, Yan Zhaoge was already well acquainted with these people.
Therefore, he had no need to worry about his lack of information channels now.
“Little Friend Yan, you and your father can really not be evaluated by common logic. I was still mentioning about your father’s extraordinariness earlier in how he actually ignited starlight and advanced into the fifth level of the Martial Saint realm in a short period of time. I had not thought that you would be not far behind, already having combined your body, avatar and spirit in attaining the third level of the Martial Saint realm now.”
Looking at Yan Zhaoge, Zheng Ming shook his head and sighed in admiration, “How long has it been since you accomplished the Martial Saint realm?”
Chen Zhiliang beside him similarly felt this to be inconceivable, “I personally witnessed your father breaking through two consecutive levels, going from the second to the fourth level of the Martial Saint realm as he broke through space and saw true Divinity, ascending to the World beyond Worlds. Still, I had really not thought that he could actually also improve again within a short period of time.”
“As for you, Little Friend Yan, you are even more unbelievable. How old are you now?”
Yan Zhaoge smiled, “It was thanks to some fortuitous encounters. It’s nothing, really.”
His father having advanced to the fifth level of the Martial Saint realm, his strength improving further, this was naturally a good thing.
Yan Zhaoge was not surprised by Yan Di’s rate of improvement at all.
Yan Di’s cultivation was like the martial dao of his sabre, peerless as it slashed forth domineeringly.
The fiercer and faster he went, the smoother it would instead be. Slowing down to stabilise his foundations might instead be detrimental to him.
Generally speaking, the higher one’s cultivation base, the harder it would be for them to break through bottlenecks as they would have to spend more time and effort in their advancement.
For the ten levels of the Martial Saint realm, many experts could be stuck at a single level for decades to even a century. This was a perfectly normal thing.
Still, while this logic applied to other people, it did not apply to Yan Di.
It was just that it was not that there were no detriments to this. In continually ascending atop a peak of ten thousand feet, moving too quickly, as soon as one stopped, they could likely fall straight to the very bottom.
Yan Di had to continually hack through the thorns that existed before him, forcibly shattering all the bottlenecks and trials that came.
If he was stuck at a bottleneck for too long, unable to advance, it might just be a temporary pause for others. Yet, for Yan Di, it could be like slamming headfast into a wall, blood spurting profusely.
The later this trial came, the higher his cultivation base when he faced it, the more dangerous it would be. It could even directly plunge one straight into the deepest pits of no return.
The heavenly dao was in equilibrium. Where one gained somewhere, they would lose somewhere. Behind the infinite limelight were often dangers which outsiders were unable to see.
This was just like how Yan Zhaoge had chosen the path of simultaneously cultivating in the Three Purities. Behind the limelight was a difficulty which far surpassed that faced by others.
The reason that he had continually been able to advance rapidly was his accumulation and resources as well as knowledge and discernment which similarly far surpassed others.
If Yan Zhaoge were to walk a common path under the same conditions, his cultivation base would be increasing at an even more rapid rate.
As for the path that Yan Di walked, it was the one that was most suited to him.
Yan Zhaoge sometimes thought that this might be a path that only Yan Di could walk. Were it others, they would probably have long since plummeted off these lofty clouds.
Yan Di was extremely talented in the martial dao, extraordinary beneath the heavens. This might be where he was the most unique.
Yan Zhaoge felt more interested in how Yan Di’s current circumstances seemed like they were not a coincidence.
It was just that it was like viewing flowers through a mist as he was unable to see it too realistically.
It was also precisely because of this that he felt even more curious.
Zheng Ming and Chen Zhiliang naturally did not know what Yan Zhaoge was thinking as they only felt admiration at how the cultivation bases of the Yan father and son improved by leaps and bounds.
“Right, Little Friend Yan, there is still one more thing,” Chen Zhiliang’s expression turned rather more solemn, “The Grand Xuan Dynasty has had reinforcements arrive at the Royal Reed Sea.”
Actually, these people could not be considered newcomers for the North Sea Sword Pavilion, Copper Men Island and the other powers that had continually existed in the Royal Reed Sea.
On the contrary, they were extremely familiar with them. It was just that with so many years having gone by without having seen them, they had thought that these people had already long since died.
The second generation monarch of the Grand Xuan Dynasty, King Xuancheng.
It would be fine if it was just like that. Still, King Xuancheng who had been at the early Immortal Bridge stage that year was already a mid Immortal Bridge Martial Saint now, this being something that left the North Sea Sword Pavilion’s Gu Hong, Copper Men’s Island Gongsun Wu and the rest all feeling rather headached.
The founding monarch of the Grand Xuan Dynasty, King Xuanwen, had descended on the Royal Reed Sea as an eight level Martial Saint that year along with Shen Lingzi and Daoist Shi, having conquered the lands of the Royal Reed Sea together.
While the past King Xuancheng had been incomparable to his father, he was already no longer the same man that he once was.
Yan Zhaoge did not feel surprised at the fact that reinforcements for the Grand Xuan Dynasty had entered the Royal Reed Sea. He was just taken aback by who had come.
“Shen Lingzi and Daoist Shi have not appeared?”
Unlike King Xuanwen who was already confirmed to be deceased, Shen Lingzi and Daoist Shi had merely been missing for many years in the Royal Reed Sea, their actual statuses still unknown.
Zheng Ming said, “Not at the present moment.”
Golden Court Mountain was aware that King Xuancheng had entered the Royal Reed Sea.
Ever since entering the Royal Reed Sea, this person had not done anything as he had merely re-stabilised the Grand Xuan Dynasty. Afterwards, he had seldom appeared from his current abode.
Those in the know were all well aware that he was currently primarily concentrating on the Heaven Bearing Efficate Formation.
It was precisely because of this that Golden Court Mountain had allowed him to return to the Royal Reed Sea.
Still, as time passed with Kang Ping and the others being soon to extricate themselves from the deep sea of the Clear Scenic Region, the Grand Xuan Dynasty would likely make a move with their boosted manpower.
Yan Zhaoge pondered for a moment before cupping his hands towards Zheng Ming and Chen Zhiliang, “After meeting the Southeastern Exalt in a while, this Yan will be returning to the Royal Reed Sea. I bid you farewell here. Take care of yourselves, you two.”