Chapter 30: Different Worlds
"To beco an immortal, how could it be easy!" Chen Beiwu looked up and glanced in the direction of the private school, sighing inwardly.
He had studied the jade slip for two days and finally mastered the Southern Wastes Language completely.
That female demonic cultivator had been quite cunning—among the Southern Wastes Language phrases recorded in the jade slip, nine were true while one was false, attempting to deceive him.
Fortunately, Chen Beiwu, being cautious, had stayed near the private school during this ti and consulted a large number of beginner books, successfully identifying the erroneous phrases in the jade slip.
'Daring to change “senior” into “idiot,” “fellow cultivator” into “your mother,” and “fellow cultivator, please stay” into “your mother died early”... Your death was well deserved.'
Chen Beiwu shook his head and didn't pay too much attention to the little trick left behind before her death. He casually pulled out over a dozen books.
"Southern Wastes Domain Insights"
"Miscellaneous Talks of Rogue Cultivators"
"Xuan Abyss Arts Compilation"
"Nine Qi Refining Examinations - Five Great Sects"
...
By flipping through these books, Chen Beiwu gradually gained a clearer understanding of the Southern Wastes.
The Southern Wastes was vast and boundless, located at the extre south of the continent, backed by the Endless Sea, and concealed countless spiritual veins, immortal mountains, and cultivation sects. The number of dynastic powers that various cultivation sects aligned with was too many to count.
It was no exaggeration to say that in just the vicinity of Ze Kingdom, where Shuishan Town was located, there were no fewer than three nad cultivation sects. This slightly stunned Chen Beiwu.
Good heavens. Within the Immortal Alliance, only Golden Core True Persons were allowed to establish sects.
He had not expected the Southern Wastes to be so unruly—here, even a Foundation Establishnt rogue cultivator, or several ordinary Qi Refining cultivators, dared to occupy a low-tier spiritual vein and proclaim they had founded a sect.
Such cultivation forces without a Golden Core True Person could hardly be called sects; they were more like mutual-aid cultivation families.
According to so diary records left in the storage pouch, Tong Yu and Zhong Shan, along with Lin Yu, had once established a cultivation sect, but due to poor managent, it quickly collapsed and turned into a bandit den.
‘Even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator can casually take over a first-tier spiritual vein—no wonder the Southern Wastes dares to call itself vast and boundless,’ Chen Beiwu thought with so joy.
The fewer cultivation resources, the fiercer the competition.
Conversely, the fact that Foundation Establishnt cultivators in the Southern Wastes could disregard first-tier spiritual veins showed that this region's resources were abundant to the point that even higher-tier cultivators scorned such veins. This was undoubtedly great news for Chen Beiwu.
He took out "Southern Wastes Domain Insights" and scanned it briefly, discovering that Ze Kingdom was located in the Earth Proliferation Territory of the Mountain Subrgence Realm. On the full nine-territory map of the Southern Wastes, it was just a tiny dot, but its docuntation was very detailed.
The maps of the other eight territories appeared massive, like spiritual mountains and blessed lands, but in reality, they were full of omissions and vague descriptions.
Clearly, the author of "Southern Wastes Domain Insights" had spent his entire life drawing only the map of the Earth Proliferation Territory, one of the nine. The other eight territories were based on hearsay and transcription—truth and fiction indistinguishable.
"Being a rogue cultivator is just too hard. To survive well in the Southern Wastes, I must join a major sect," Chen Beiwu thought to himself.
The Immortal Alliance upheld order. Even a Golden Core True Person wouldn’t kill and plunder a Foundation Establishnt cultivator for no reason—such actions were not worth the cost and would be severely punished by the Alliance.
But the Southern Wastes were different—here, strength ruled.
The powerful could do as they pleased, even compelling so cultivation sects to offer tributes for protection.
If even small sects had to bow and scrape, rogue cultivators in the Southern Wastes had it even worse, for they were people with the “five withouts.”
What were the “five withouts”?
No spiritual land: No fixed abode, only able to occupy spiritual veins in desolate mountains.
No backing: No sect for protection. When encountering enemies, there was no help—only self-reliance.
No inheritance: Lacking systematic cultivation thods, relying on fragntary scrolls, breaking through Foundation Establishnt was like groping in the dark.
No resources: Competing for resources required risking one’s life. Even if one luckily obtained an opportunity, it could still be seized by a major sect.
No identity: Unorthodox paths were looked down upon. Even if a strong cultivator killed one in the street, no one would care.
To put it bluntly, rogue cultivators were like undocunted citizens, often used by sect disciples as cannon fodder or planted with restrictions by the strong for body possession or tribulation diversion.
Of course, the Southern Wastes was not entirely without rules.
Within the Earth Proliferation Territory, five major cultivation sects held dominant influence: Mirror Moon Palace, Profound Sword Pavilion, Greenwood Sect, Blazing Fla Sect, and Heavy Gold Sect.
These five major sects possessed profound law scriptures and were presided over by Nascent Soul True Monarchs. They had countless affiliated sects under their command and held trendous power, being honored collectively as the Five Great Sects of the Earth Proliferation Territory.
It was no exaggeration to say that even Golden Core True Persons had to abide by the rules set by the Five Great Sects and dared not defy them.
Thus, the cultivation world of the Earth Proliferation Territory could at least maintain a semblance of order on the surface. As for the dark underbelly, life remained difficult for rogue cultivators and small sects.
After a mont of hesitation, Chen Beiwu decided to investigate Mirror Moon Palace and see whether he could join this major power.
He had no choice. Although he had originally intended to be a rogue cultivator, he was one of the “five withouts,” and the Southern Wastes was simply too chaotic.
With his current cultivation at the Seventh Level of Qi Refining, he might still handle soone like Lin Yu, a Qi Refining demonic cultivator. But if he encountered a Foundation Establishnt demonic cultivator ambushing him, it could cost him his life.
Moreover, Chen Beiwu wanted to verify a certain suspicion by joining the Five Great Sects.
What suspicion?
Chen Beiwu suspected that the environntal laws of the Southern Wastes were fundantally different from those of the Immortal Alliance (Sky Abyss Star).
In ancient tis, the Great Dao of Sky Abyss Star had been stable.
Even if cultivators reached harmony with heaven and man, shedding their mortal forms and attaining the state of Three Flowers Gathered at the Crown and Five Qi Facing the Origin, condensing supre mana, they still found it difficult to invoke the laws of the Great Dao through spell arts—let alone contend with the Divine Powers of Great Beasts.
The Beast Race, however, had innate advantages. Without cultivation, their bloodlines alone could trigger the laws of the Great Dao, allowing their divine abilities to unleash earth-shattering might.
So ancient, powerful Great Beasts could even harness the Dao's resonance to condense the Dao Fruit and ascend as immortals.
Precisely because of this, in ancient tis the human race was weak. Not a single person could comprehend the heavens and attain immortality, while the Great Beasts ran rampant and ascended with ease.
Fortunately, the human race gave rise to a peerless great figure who, with vast wisdom, pioneered the path of cultivating with beasts—terrifying the Beast Race.
To this day, the Immortal Alliance's cultivation doctrine had solidified, following a path of external empowernt.
Simply put, it ant using beasts to cultivate and obtain the Dao Fruit, emphasizing Spiritual Roots and resources.
But the Southern Wastes cultivated the self through spell arts to communicate with heaven and earth. In simpler terms, they pursued the Dao Fruit via cultivation of life and essence—a path reminiscent of the ancient Sky Abyss Star cultivators, focusing more on spell aptitude (comprehension).
Although these two philosophies ultimately led to the sa goal, their essence was entirely different.
Chen Beiwu picked up "Xuan Abyss Arts Compilation" and opened it. The more he read, the more he believed in his hypothesis.
Clearly casting the sa spell, the power of his techniques in the Southern Wastes was several tis stronger than in the Immortal Alliance.
At first, Chen Beiwu assud it was due to the Southern Wastes having much denser spiritual energy, which amplified his spell arts, and didn’t think much of it.
It wasn’t until today, when he read about the cultivation thods of the Southern Wastes and understood their core concepts, that he imdiately realized the truth.
'If my guess is correct, then with my spell aptitude, I should be able to join the Five Great Sects with ease.' Chen Beiwu’s eyes lit up.
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