The Start of the Plot
After getting the 1000-Year-old Earth Spirit Milk, Xue Bai would spend the rest of the day plundering the forest outside of Snowy Wind City dry of all its opportunities.
It didn't matter who they belonged to originally. They all ended up in Xue Bai's pocket by the end of the day.
And while this might change the course of the plot by a little, Xue Bai wasn't too worried about it.
Children of the Plane weren't chosen by their innate Karmic Values but instead by their potential. So Xue Bai stealing the chances of the other Children of the Plane wouldn't stop them from being chosen. At worst, it would just slow down their growth by a notch, but to Xue Bai, that was only a plus.
While he wanted to be sworn brothers with Huo Long, he still wanted to be the bigger voice in the relationship and possibly even have the protagonist to his call. So having Huo Long weaker than him was necessary for that to pan out.
After a day of plundering back home, Xue Bai would eat the various Natural Treasures he stole and cultivate wildly, not wasting a single moment. And thanks to the various potent tonics he found, his cultivation would see massive improvements in a very fast time.
Not only Xue Bai but also Xiao'er, who had her potential improved and her body purified by a drop of the 1000-Year-old Earth Spirit Milk, also cultivated at insane speeds compared to the rest of the Southern Continent.
Within a week, Xue Bai advanced to the True Peak of the Blood Exchange Realm while Xiao'er went from the 2nd stage of the Bone Strengthening Realm to the 4th stage.
However, the immense growth of Xiao'er was because of her removing all of the impurities within her veins. As when they were first removed, all of the Spiritual Qi stuck inside were finally able to reach her dantian, which instantly brought her up two stages.
And this astronomical pace wouldn't slow down because of Xue Bai's over-picking of the forest near him. Xue Bai had knowledge of the entire Baishen Plane, let alone just the Southern Continent. So as he continued to pick the lands near him dry, his scope would increase.
Within the month, he successfully advanced to the Muscle Nourishing Realm while Xiao'er advanced a stage as well. Moreover, since they had broadened their scope range, Xue Bai was also able to snag chances that were helpful for not only the Wang Twins but also his parents.
And with the Earth Spirit Milk and his Kidney Vein, Xue Bai had no worries that he would flood his body with impurities and would consume Natural Treasure after Natural Treasure without worry.
So with no repercussions, unlimited resources, and an iron-forged will, Xue Bai would cultivate at the fastest possible speed he could.
The plot was getting nearer by the day, and every second he wasn't getting stronger, Xue Bai felt like he had a fire below him boiling him. So with no immediate threats, Xue Bai would cultivate fast and calmly for another 17 months until the eve of the Plot.
5th month of 974
Now halfway through age 13, Xue Bai had grown very well at a mature height of 156 cm, but sadly he still had an androgynous beauty instead of a handsome one. But now, after being in this body for five years, he had gotten used to it and was growing to like it.
Xiao'er, unlike him, had stopped growing any further thanks to a pill he gave her a few months ago.
The pill was a simple one but to women was one of the most precious gifts possible, as it stopped any visible aging. So Xiao'er now looked eternally 19, which, in her words, was 'The peak of her beauty.'
Xue Bai had also given one to his mother, Li Rou, who had locked her appearance at the young age of 25 compared to her almost century true age.
Cultivation-wise, Xue Bai had reached his goal of reaching the Bone Strengthening Realm before the plot's beginning. But not only that, he took it a step further and made it to the 2nd stage.
Xiao'er also too made leaps and bounds in the past 18 months, reaching the Organ Tempering Realm. However, since that realm was known to be extremely painful to advance through, her cultivation speed had stalled.
However, still, a 19-year-old Organ Tempering Realm cultivator wasn't something to scoff at in the Southern Continent. Even Huang Wei and Li Mei, the heirs to a Marquis family, were only slightly faster.
While they looked to be 18 currently, their true age was in their mid-twenties. It was just that they were raised using age slowing medicines, and their appearances looked to be much younger than it is.
Xiao'er had thought of using them, but since Xue Bai knew where to find the age-stopping pills, he told her not to.
Besides Xue Bai and his maid, the Wang Twins also made steady progress, advancing to the 4th state of the Law Manifestation Realm thanks to the resources Xue Bai gave them. They could've advanced further, but the twins wanted to focus on their comprehension of the Law of Swords instead.
They knew their limit would be the Domain Lord Realm, and they were also confident that they would reach it eventually, so instead of rushing and hitting their limit early on. The twins decided to focus on their Law comprehension first.
The same was the case for Li Rou and Xue Feng, as they only had advanced two stages in the Spirit Awakening Realm, but their reasoning was slightly different than the twins.
After reaching the Xiantian Great Realm, one would have to start cultivating their soul instead of their body, and while Spiritual Qi could also help nourish the soul, its effects were mediocre at best.
So to counteract that, people like Duan Zhen and other tycoons would use the variant of Spiritual QI, Soul Qi, to cultivate. But Soul Qi was extremely hard to obtain as it could only come from natural Grotto Heavens or various Natural Treasures.
And as for Li Rou and Xue Feng, who had neither, they could only cultivate with subpar Spiritual Qi slowing down their cultivation speed.
However, since the two knew that they were already beyond their innate limit. They were only grateful to be in the Xiantian Great Realm and weren't very disappointed with their progress. To them, every stage of advancement was a blessing.
Outside of their home, the rest of the Southern Continent was rather peaceful thanks to one man Wang Yu. Now almost 18, Wang Yu was a pressure that engulfed every possible genius or rising star of the Southern Continent.
He had spent most of his days in the Soaring Sword Sect, but due to the sudden death of Wang Yin in the beast riot that engulfed The Great Xuan Empire and other various Wang Clan members who "randomly disappeared," he was forced back home.
However, even after returning home, his cultivation speed didn't decline but instead sped up as he shattered every single long-standing record of the Southern Continent.
Reaching the peak of the Bone Strengthening Realm at 16 and 4 months. Entering the Organ Tempering Realm a week later. Advancing to the Qi Sea Realm at 17 and 7 months, and now at 18 and 2 months, Wang Yu was at the 5th stage of the Qi Sea Realm.
Even before, when he was at the Soaring Sword Sect, Wang Yu would often be compared to the Central Continent geniuses. But now, as his talent seemed to have awakened fully, he had broken the three views of everyone who had once judged him.
However, Xue Bai knew that this cultivation speed wasn't truly his own, but Wang Yu was being force-fed resources by the Demonic Sect that backed his clan.
They were planning on Wang Yu becoming the Holy Son of the Soaring Sword Sect and then, at a critical point, having Wang Yu unleash devastating damage onto it before retreating.
This plotline happened in Xue Bai's personal playthrough of "Children of the Plane" and was definitely the most annoying one. While Wang Yu was a starting villain, he was the worst one of all. So even though Wang Yu was becoming a medicine jar, his strength was still the real deal making him a pain to deal with.
However, Xue Bai, now in the Baishen Plane himself, was more than confident to deal with him. He only needed a few more years.
As Xue Bai was thinking about his relatively uneventful past 18 months, Xiao'er had sometimes snuck up behind him.
"Young Master, why are you on this cliff? Is there something you're waiting for here?" Xiao'er asked as she sat next to Xue Bai.
Currently, Xue Bai was sitting on the edge of a cliff, waiting for the very scene he had anticipated for so long. And now that there was another pair of eyes wanting to witness it alongside him, Xue Bai had no complaints.
"Xiao'er, just wait. At midnight you'll see something you'll never forget." Xue Bai replied mysteriously as he waited.
Listening, Xiao'er waited while reclining on the chest of Xue Bai. And thankfully, after only a few minutes of waiting, midnight struck.
However, as nothing happened for almost 5 minutes, Xiao'er was about to speak up until Xue Bai suddenly stood up.
"It's here!" Xue Bai yelled out fanatically.
And following his words, the sky above the Baisehn Plane suddenly split open, revealing the heavens above where five heavenly lightning bolts flew down, striking five different spots throughout the Plane.
Two on the Southern Continent and one on the Eastern, Nothern, and Western marking the locations where each protagonist started.
"They've been chosen."
6th month of 975 The Plot Begins