Chapter 25: The Western Mystic Skies

  Huoran touched his nose and followed the old man's footsteps. Just as he stood beside the old man, a force beyond compare suddenly attacked him, taking him up and down, and in the blink of an eye the surrounding scenery had changed.

  Above the rolling hills and mountains, the towering pines are lush and verdant as if dripping with dew; flowers and grasses cover all around, and orioles flit about. In the distance, a waterfall cascades down from a precipice, striking the massive boulders that have been shaped by countless years of water erosion, then splashing out in all directions to form a winding stream that meanders through this earthly paradise; the fragrance of flowers, the songs of birds, and the misty vapors rising from the river's surface create an atmosphere that makes this place seem like a real-life fairyland.

  "Great... so beautiful..."

  "Is this paradise? Such a wonderful place doesn't exist in the mortal world!"

  "The place where the immortal lives is indeed extraordinary!"

  Arrived at the tenth sacred place, almost everyone was marveling at its breathtaking beauty, only a few who had practiced could truly feel the difference here! Ordinary people only saw the scenery here, while cultivators could feel the unique thickness of the heaven and earth spiritual energy, taking one breath could even feel that their internal strength had become purer by a fraction!

  In the land of the Ten Saints, ten people seemed to be familiar with each other, nodding their heads in unison. Then, they each took the person they had chosen and transformed into a stream of light, disappearing into the mountains and valleys. The white-haired old man also took off with the ten people, including Huo Ran, until they stopped at a small valley.

  "The Western Mystic Realm!"

  Huo Ran suddenly raised his head and looked at the white jade plaque hanging above the entrance of the mountain valley, on which four characters were written. They were not in the language commonly used in the Jun Tian Realm today, but rather in the ancient script from tens of thousands of years ago. Huo Ran, who had read many ancient books in the library outside the Mu family's mansion, recognized them at a glance.

  He suddenly spoke out the four characters on the painting, and the others were amazed, but the white-haired old man was puzzled. He didn't understand how this young man from a non-powerful family could recognize these tens of thousands of years old words. To be known, this kind of word has always been the commonly used font on the mainland, even in ancient times when all ethnic groups coexisted on earth. But because this font is too profound, it was replaced by the current font that appeared ten thousand years ago.

  Not to mention someone of Huo Ran's age, even some people who have lived for decades or hundreds of years may not recognize it! After all, the era is indeed a bit distant, and many relics are buried in the long river of history.

  "The Ten Absolute Sacred Lands are divided into ten grotto heavens, and the nine of you who just arrived with me are all masters of one side of a grotto heaven." The old man said slowly as he walked. As if feeling that speaking was a bit strenuous, he turned his hand over and injected a beam of light containing information about the Ten Absolute Sacred Lands into the bodies of the crowd.

  The light entered the body, and everyone was like a sudden enlightenment, instantly knowing everything about the Ten Absolute Sacred Lands. It turns out that the Ten Absolute Sacred Lands are also extraordinary, established by ten people who stood at the peak of the holy realm in ancient times, divided into Wangwu Dongtian, Weiyu Dongtian, Xicheng Dongtian, Xixuan Dongtian, Qingcheng Dongtian, Chicheng Dongtian, Luofu Dongtian, Jucu Dongtian, Linyu Dongtian, and Kuocang Dongtian. The white-haired old man in front of him is the master of Xixuan Dongtian - Zhang Zhenxuan!

  The inheritance of the saints is not ordinary, although it can't be compared to the four major forces, but apart from this, only the Jiuli Sect can rival and slightly surpass them. The reason why the Jiuli Sect can rank before the Ten Absolute Sacred Lands is because there are imperial soldiers within the sect!

  The Emperor's Sword is the exclusive property of the Great Emperor. The Nine Li Sect was able to possess it thanks to the cultivation of its founder, the Demon God Chi You, which was truly unparalleled and almost reached the realm of the Emperor. The Nine Li Cauldron he forged was only slightly inferior to the Emperor's Sword. Moreover, the successive saints of the Nine Li Sect have been offering sacrifices day and night, making it a legendary sword that has become immortal!

  It can be said that the Jiuli Cauldron is a miracle. Since it's a miracle, it can't be universal, so until now, only the Jiuli Cauldron in the Jun Tian realm has become an emperor's weapon without being created by the Great Emperor. Apart from the existence of the Jiuli Cauldron, the actual strength of the Jiuli Sect and the Ten Extremes Holy Land are on par with each other.

  Unconsciously, everyone followed Zhang Zhenxuan to the middle of the valley, where dozens of people were already waiting, all of whom were disciples of Xihuang Dongtian.

  "Cave Master!" Dozens of people saw Cave Master Zhang Zhenxuan leading the new disciples back, and they all bowed respectfully. However, when they saw that there were actually ten people this time, each of them showed a hint of confusion.

  Zhang Zhenxuan seemed to be completely unaware of this, and said to a stout middle-aged man who was the first: "Jiang Liu, take these people to their respective cultivation places and guide them in their cultivation."

  "Disciples, follow my orders!" Jiang Liu bowed to Zhang Zhenxuan and then turned his head to look at the ten people, smiling: "My younger fellow disciples, I am now your Big Brother Jiang Liu. You are all now part of the Western Mystic Cave Heaven. Let me take you on a tour to get familiar with the surroundings!"

  "Obeying Elder Brother's orders!" The crowd bowed respectfully to Zhang Zhenxuan and then followed Jiang Liu Xing.

  "Wait!"

  Just as Huo Ran was about to follow Jiang Liu, he was suddenly grabbed by Zhang Zhenxuan's expressionless face, making his heart skip a beat. He quickly regained his composure and turned back to the inscrutable old man, saying: "Dongzhu, I don't know what your orders are?"

  Zhang Zhenxuan waved his hand at the people in front of Xixuantian Cave, indicating for them to disperse. He then headed north and muttered a sentence: "You come with me."

  Upon hearing Zhang Zhenxuan's words, Huo Ran let out a bitter laugh and followed him. Following Zhang Zhenxuan to a natural stone cave, looking at this simple mountain cave with nothing but a meditation mat, it was hard to imagine that this was the residence of the master of Xihuang Cave Heaven, one of the Ten Absolute Saints.

  I'm afraid that apart from the disciples of Xuanxu Dongtian, even the lowest-ranking disciples of the other nine Dongtians have better living quarters than this!

  Sigh...

  Zhang Zhenxuan waved his hand and a futon appeared on the ground. He then motioned for Huo Ran to sit down.

  "Speak up, what brings you to the sacred land of Ten Extremes?" Zhang Zhenyuan sat down with a careless air, his robes fluttering as he said, "Fleeing in distress?"

  When he first heard Zhang Zhenxuan's previous sentence, Huo Ran was already prepared to say that he had come to learn the art, but when he heard the next sentence, his face changed in an instant, and he became pale. When he saw Zhang Zhenxuan's eyes, which seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, he sighed and said, "Senior, how did you know?"

  He Jian's disguise was so good that Zhang Zhenxuan couldn't help but smile and say, "Although you have an extraordinary appearance and a clever mind, making you naturally talented at hiding, if I hadn't cultivated a special technique, I'm afraid I would have been deceived by you."

  He paused, his eyes fixed intently on the spot where Huo Ran's Qi Sea was located, and said with half-closed eyes: "The blood waves in your Qi Sea are turbulent, just like the floating corpse in a sea of blood. It seems that you are indeed the Huo Ran who is currently being jointly pursued by the four major forces and rumored to have obtained the inheritance of the Blood God Emperor."

  Every time Zhang Zhenxuan spoke, Huo Ran's heart sank a little. Until Zhang Zhenxuan had revealed all his secrets, he let out a bitter laugh and said: "Senior, can't you leave some room for your junior? Being looked at by you like this makes me feel as awkward as if I were naked..."

  This unassuming old man was really too terrifying, and suddenly he didn't doubt that if the other party intentionally wanted to kill him, he might not even need a single move. Realm, realm, what kind of cultivation is the master of this Western Mystic Cave Heaven?

  "You're so sure I won't move against you? You should know that handing you over to any of the four major powers, or killing and soul-searching you, would bring benefits that are hard for anyone to resist!" Zhang Zhenxuan gazed at Huo Ran with profound meaning, as if he would seize him at any moment.

  Huoran just shrugged and said, "Ordinary people can't resist that temptation, but seniors must be extraordinary, able to do what others can't. Besides, if the senior really couldn't resist that temptation, there's no need to tell me these things, you would have already captured me long ago."

  As soon as he finished speaking, the cave fell into a dead silence, so quiet that it was suffocating. The two of them stared at each other, both trying to discern any hidden meaning in the other's eyes.

  Hahaha!!!

  Finally, Zhang Zhenxuan broke the silence first, with a loud and powerful laughter that didn't seem like it came from an old man on his last breath. His eyes sparkled with spirit, as if there was a brilliant light flowing within them, and he said in a clear voice: "You are a formidable junior! From now on, you will be a part of the Western Mystic Cave Heaven!"