Chapter 101: The Fragmented Lands of Divine Fortune

Chapter 101: The Fragmented Lands of Divine Fortune

The blood-red setting sun shone upon a crimson, barren mountain in the Red Mountain Sect on the Cosmic Skies Continent of the Third World.

The red glow of the sun cast an extra layer of bloodiness on the famous mountain.

From a distance, the mountain resembled a giant beehive, its surface pockmarked with caves.

The spiritual qi within these caves grew denser the higher up one went, and the status of the inhabitants occupying these caves also rose accordingly.

The many villages at the foot of the mountain relied on the Red Mountain Sect for their livelihoods, with the villagers preparing meals for the members of the Red Mountain Sect or growing medicinal herbs in the surrounding forests.

Zhou Qingchen, Han Duping, and Jiang Li sat in a courtyard in one such village, enjoying the cool air and staring absentmindedly at the crimson sky.

Noticing the wine jar in Zhou Qingchen's hand was empty, Jiang Li handed him a new one and said softly, "Don't worry too much. Pang Jian's a good person, and good fortune will come his way. He'll return safely."

Recently, Zhou Qingchen had been neglecting his cultivation. He did not even stay in his own cave dwelling and instead went to Han Duping's place to drown his sorrows in wine.

Jiang Li would often accompany him, trying to console him whenever she saw his spirits declining.

Zhou Qingchen accepted the new wine jar, took a deep swig, and said drunkenly, "I often think about how he pushed me into the Mirror Tunnel and stayed behind alone. I can't forget it. Every time I meditate and cultivate, I can't help but recall that scene.

"When I left, Dong Tianze, Qi Qingsong, Lin Beiye, and two disciples from the Demon Heart Sect were still in the mansion. Pang Jian, he..."

Zhou Qingchen shook his head, eyes bloodshot and voice hoarse.

"The Star River Alliance went to investigate after that as well. The entire Solitary Mountain Range is now shrouded in the bizarre mist. So far, no sect or faction has dared to enter the mist's cover and explore." Han Duping sighed. "Brother Pang is native to the Solitary Mountain Range, so maybe..."

Han Duping could not bring himself to finish his sentence.

Although Han Duping admired Pang Jian's loyalty, he knew Pang Jian was likely in grave danger.

Bang!

The door of the front entrance burst open.

A man in blue clothing stepped inside and said lazily, "It took me a while to figure out that you weren't on the mountain but hiding here instead."

"Qi Qingsong!" The trio in the courtyard paled, drawing their weapons and preparing for a fight.

Jiang Li's face turned ashen. She never expected this scourge would dare intrude into a village at the foot of Red Mountain Sect!

Do disciples from the upper worlds so blatantly disregard the lives of those from the lower worlds?

Panicked, Jiang Li prepared to scream, hoping that any members of the Red Mountain Sect nearby would come to help.

"Stop! This is the Red Mountain Sect! I've not gone crazy, nor do I have the time to come down from the upper worlds to seek revenge on you three," Qi Qingsong hurriedly shouted. He shook his empty left sleeve and said forlornly, "I cut off my entire left arm to compensate for that girl's lost limb. And also..."

Qi Qingsong retrieved a bottle of ointment from his bosom and handed it to Jiang Li with a pained expression.

Smiling bitterly, he said, "This is Exquisite Jade Bone Regrowth Ointment. It can regrow your severed arm. I spent a lot of resources to obtain this. Use it first. I'm still trying to secure another bottle."

Jiang Li stood frozen in shock, staring at the Exquisite Jade Bone Regrowth Ointment. She was too afraid to reach out and take it.

Zhou Qingchen glared at Qi Qingsong. "What are you playing at?"

"I'm not joking," Qi Qingsong said with a bitter smile.

Seeing his missing arm, Zhou Qingchen hesitantly took the Exquisite Jade Bone Regrowth Ointment and asked, "What happened?"

In a corner of the Misty Swamp stood an inconspicuous small hill covered in vegetation. The dense weed on the hillside hid a small stone cave.

In the center of the stone cave was a pool recessed into the rock, with its walls made of intricately arranged rare blood jade.

The pool was filled with the blood of Vicious Beasts and Spirit Beasts.

The piles of radiant spirit jade beside the pool kept the spiritual qi and blood essences within it balanced and abundant.

A white jade porcelain bottle containing a peculiar crystalline snow lotus floated in the bloody water.

A stunning figure sat atop the snow lotus.

Strands of refined blood essences and pure spiritual power drifted toward the bottle and were absorbed by the beautiful woman.

Pang Jian sat near the tightly closed cave entrance near the pool. Luo Hongyan was using Hong Tai's secret blood pool to refine her body, and Pang Jian occasionally opened his eyes to check on her.

They had been here for half a month.

Traveling by night to avoid detention, Luo Hongyan had steered the Divine Spirit Pagoda to the fragmented lands of Divine Fortune.

Divine Fortune was under the jurisdiction of the Shangguan Clan. They had also built the city known as Divine Fortune City.

Within the fragmented lands was a restricted area known as Misty Swamp. The murky atmosphere of Misty Swamp far exceeded its spiritual qi, nurturing many Vicious Beasts and poisonous insects. It also attracted many rogue cultivators.

The Shadow Specter Sect had established a branch here.

Half a month ago, Pang Jian had followed Luo Hongyan's instructions to find Fan Liang in Misty Swamp Village.

After that, he did not go to the place Fan Liang had arranged for him and instead spent most of his time acquiring the blood of Vicious Beasts and Spirit Beasts for the blood pool to aid in the reconstruction of Luo Hongyan's physical body.

He also spent time cultivating, immersing himself in the second stage of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and using the beasts' blood essence to temper his internal organs.

The two of them had an ample supply of spirit stones and spirit jades, so he was not worried about his cultivation resources.

Luo Hongyan sat on the Crystal Snow Lotus in her miniaturized ethereal form in the white jade porcelain bottle, smiling sweetly as she said, "Pang Jian, you don't need to stay here. You know I have Spirit Devils nearby.:

The cave, adorned with its illuminating gemstones, only brightened further with her smile.

"I don't know where to go," Pang Jian replied woodenly.

"You must build connections with the Shadow Specter Sect, rogue cultivators, and the Shangguan Clan. I can't go out right now, but you should find out more about the new Hall Master of the Shadow Specter Sect and see if they've been assigned here," Luo Hongyan said, smiling at him. "Only the Hall Master can obtain high-grade beast blood. We have plenty of spirit stones but lack precious auxiliary materials."

Pang Jian frowned but said nothing.

"Did you seldom interact with others when you lived in Linshan Town?" Luo Hongyan asked in surprise.

Pang Jian nodded.

"That's not good. You need to build connections with the Shadow Specter Sect and the rogue cultivators in Misty Swamp Village to stay well-informed," Luo Hongyan gently advised. As a cultivator, one could not always focus solely on bitter cultivation.

She needed to concentrate on refining the Crystal Snow Lotus. Between her patrolling Spirit Devils and her own strength, she was not particularly worried about her safety in Misty Swamp.

With Pang Jian's strength, as long as he stayed cautious, he would not be in any life-threatening danger.

Luo Hongyan saw that Pang Jian had become increasingly reluctant to interact with others after leaving the Solitary Mountain Range.

However, cultivation was not just about solitary practice. For Pang Jian's growth, she could only encourage him to go out more.

"Oh, alright," Pang Jian relented. Standing up, he left the hidden cave and stepped out into the gray sky of the Fourth World.