Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Reaching the borders of the Frozen Wasteland, Xuan Hao didn’t waste any time as he crossed over the borders and entered. Ignoring the few demonic cultivators who were lingering around the borders, as none of them were strong enough to notice him while he was using the Dao of Space to hide himself.

His main worry came from the fact that there might have been a demonic cultivator in the Demon King Realm lurking around the borders keeping an eye on the Star Shattering Sect, but from the looks of things, this worry had been for nothing, or at the very least, the Demon King Realm demonic cultivator wasn’t anywhere to be seen at the moment. Allowing him to smoothly sneak inside the Frozen Wastelands without being noticed.

As for why he didn’t just teleport inside the Frozen Wastelands with the help of the Dao of Space… That was mainly due to him worrying that he might accidentally end up teleporting right next to a powerful demonic cultivator. After all, he couldn’t really sense his surroundings that well before he finished his long-distance teleportation.

For now, at least, he should be able to explore the Frozen Wastelands without any worries and if he did run into a Demon King Realm demonic cultivator in the future, he should be able to sense them before they sensed him. Allowing him to escape before being noticed.

Of course, this was only if the Demon King Realm demonic cultivator was in the Earlier Stages of the realm, comparable to someone in the Early Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm.

If he ended up encountering a Demon King Realm demonic cultivator stronger than that, he had no way to guarantee that he would notice them before they noticed him. The only thing he would be able to rely on in that kind of situation would be the Dao of Space, as even someone above the Early Stage of the Demon King Realm should have a difficult time catching him with his current comprehension of the Dao of Space.

Shaking his head as he thought about this, Xuan Hao began focusing his attention more on his surroundings.

Given that he had already been to the Frozen Wastelands a few times in the past and had already explored most of the areas close to the Star Shattering Sect, he didn’t linger close to the sect’s borders for too long as he began moving deeper inside the Frozen Wastelands. Not just because there weren’t any opportunities related to the Dao of Ice that he knew about close to the Star Shattering Sect, but also because he could clearly sense that the presence of the Dao of Ice grew stronger the deeper, he went into the Frozen Wastelands.

Not just the Dao of Ice, but the presence of the Dao of Yin, Dao of Snow and other related Daos also became more prominent the further inside the Frozen Wastelands he went.

Although it couldn’t be said to be anywhere near the level of the Second Star Peak, it was a clear indication that the environment itself was perfect for nurturing special locations where the Dao of Ice would be easier to comprehend. The only problem was that he would still have to find those locations, as information on the Frozen Wastelands was hard to come by, even after the Star Shattering Sect was acknowledged as a major power by the other major powers of the Northern Core Region.

The only information that was easily accessible regarding the Frozen Wastelands was the fact that it was filled to the brim with demonic cultivators and was best avoided. Especially the Core Region of the Frozen Wastelands where the more powerful demonic cultivators resided.

Any opportunities that could be found inside the Frozen Wastelands were essentially nothing more than rumors of what could be found. Not concrete information on special locations or dangerous areas outside of the core of the Frozen Wastelands.

In other words, a land filled with unknowns outside of the demonic cultivators that could be found everywhere.

With that kind of situation, the only real thing that Xuan Hao could rely on for finding the opportunity to help his comprehension of the Dao of Ice was to head deeper inside the Frozen Wastelands.

Even if it was more dangerous to do so for most cultivators, as the number and strength of the demonic cultivators one encountered along the way would increase, it didn’t really present much of a challenge to Xuan Hao with his current strength surpassing that of a normal Early Stage Celestial Immortal Realm cultivator.

The only thing he had to watch out for were the Demon King Realm demonic cultivators.

Luckily for him, even as he continued slowly making his way deeper inside the Frozen Wastelands for a little over a week straight, he didn’t end up running into any Demon King Realm demonic cultivators along the way.

Not just Demon King Realm demonic cultivators, but even weaker demonic cultivators were hard to encounter along the way, though, the reason for this was not hard to guess, as they should be busy at the borders of the Frozen Wastelands.

The few that remained behind for him to encounter were either too weak to have made the journey to the borders yet or they were trying to hide away from the stronger demonic cultivators to avoid being dragged into the current war between the Frozen Wastelands and the Blue Sea Empire, something that he found understandable considering that they would just end up as cannon fodder if they did end up participating in the battle.

In the end, his overall journey through the Frozen Wastelands was a lot more peaceful than he had expected it to be, but then again, the Frozen Wastelands were massive, and it wasn’t easy to encounter others.

Although… He didn’t find any special locations that would be helpful for his comprehension of the Dao of Ice either. The only thing that kept him moving deeper inside the Frozen Wastelands was the fact that he could clearly sense that the presence of the Dao of Ice and other related Daos continued to grow stronger with each passing minute.

Still not close to the Second Star Peak, but it became increasingly clear that a naturally formed location for comprehending the Dao of Ice should appear within his divine sense at some point.

”Huh? What in the…”

Just as he was lost in his own thoughts wondering when he would encounter a special location useful for his comprehension of the Dao of Ice, he noticed a demonic cultivator at the edge of his divine sense.

Normally, this wouldn’t have made him react, as there were currently hundreds of demonic cultivators within his divine sense, the demonic cultivator in question was different.

Not when it came to strength, having only barely reached the Higher Demon Realm (Core Formation Realm), but instead because he simply vanished from his divine sense for a split second before popping back into existence.

Even when he turned to focus his full attention towards the little demonic cultivator and the location where he had seemingly vanished into thin air for a second, he couldn’t sense anything, something highly unusual given his high comprehension of not just the Dao of Space, but also the Dao of Formations.

If there was something hidden, he should have been able to sense it, unless the methods used far exceeded his own, something that could only be accomplished by a formation laid down by a Saint Realm Formation Master or someone with a comprehension of the Dao of Space that surpassed his own.

Of course, it could also be an illusion, but his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions wasn’t low either.

As for another method? That might be the case, but he felt that it would be more likely for it to be some kind of ancient concealment formation that the demonic cultivator had unknowingly stepped inside of for a split second without even noticing anything in the process.

Someone using the Dao of Space to hide something from him was far too unlikely, given that it would have to be someone whose comprehension of the Dao of Space was either close to the Peak of the Perfection Realm or had already surpassed the Perfection Realm and stepped into the Origin Realm.

Encountering a Saint Realm Formation was far more likely than encountering the remnants of someone who had reached the Origin Realm in the Dao of Space or was at the very least infinitely close to reaching it.

After all, he had already seen himself that demonic cultivators could also master formations of their own during a past visit to the Frozen Wasteland where he had ended up faced with a demonic sect in the outer regions of the Frozen Wastelands. For the stronger demonic cultivators to be capable of creating Saint Realm Formations of their own wouldn’t be that surprising to him and would more so be something he had expected already.