Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Stepping inside the ancient alchemy sect ruins with Huo Fen and Meng Jie in tow, Xuan Hao took a quick glance at the towering ancient buildings that loomed over him on the other side.

According to what Huo Fen had told him during the journey to the Eastern central Region, this should be the core of the ancient alchemy sect- or at the very least an important part of the sect where they stored their elixirs, potions and pills.

The danger of the place itself being nonexistent to someone like himself given how Huo Fen and Meng Jie had been able to explore the place on their own and get their hands on over a dozen Saint Grade Elixirs without running into any danger along the way.

Of course, it didn’t mean the place was entirely safe, as several locations were sealed off by ancient formations, while the entire complex of ancient buildings itself was also surrounded by an even stronger ancient formation that had prevented the two of them from exploring the ancient alchemy sect ruins in more depth.

But... Even though he really wanted to explore this place and find the storage of Stardusk Essence he hoped would be hidden somewhere behind one of the ancient formations that the two of them had been unable to undo in the past, he didn’t really have the time to do so for now. Ensuring the safety of his disciple took priority over finding the Stardusk Essence.

However, considering the potential danger that might be involved when it came to saving his disciple, Xuan Hao decided to leave Huo Fen and Meng Jie inside a nearby ancient building for safety. After all, they were already familiar with this place and with how it had remained undisturbed so far, it was clear that the formations guarding this place were more than strong enough to keep the two of them safe while he was gone.

The main reason why he decided to trust in the ancient formation guarding this place was rather simple, as his divine sense already had a chance to examine it to some extent, through which, he realized that even if he went all out, it would be impossible for him to break through the ancient formation.

In fact, if not for the fact that the ancient formation allowed one way passage to the rest of the ancient alchemy sect ruins, he would have been forced to go back out the same way he came in before searching for another entry point into the ancient sect ruins before he could start searching for Chu Yang.

In a sense, this meant the only way for someone to reach this section of the ancient alchemy sect was through the passage they had used in the small village or by destroying the ancient formation that seemed more than capable of withstanding someone in the Land Creation Realm indefinitely.

To some extent, there was no safer location he could leave Huo Fen and Meng Jie to wait other than the Star Shattering Sect and, in a way, even the Star Shattering Sect might not be as safe as this area guarded by an ancient formation far exceeding his current understanding of the Dao of Formations. The main flaw was the passage inside the small village, but the chance of that passage being discovered was extremely low. Even more so given he had left behind a small concealment formation before he had stepped through the passage to make it even harder to detect.

Whoosh~

Passing through the passage that allowed him to smoothly pass through the ancient formation after having informed the two he had left behind that he would be returning after picking up his disciple, Xuan Hao took in his new surroundings.

First was the seemingly endless forest that spread all around him, followed by what looked like an ancient pagoda at the edge of his divine sense.

However, outside of the demon beasts that inhabited the ancient forest, he also noticed several groups of weaker cultivators making their way through the forest while trying their best to avoid any of the stronger demon beasts that were hidden away in different areas throughout the forest.

But this was far from the most surprising thing...

That... Is my qi?

The most surprising thing was that he sensed some remnants of what should be his own qi lingering in the air about to disperse at any moment.

Although surprising, it didn’t take long for him to realize that this wasn’t something he himself had left behind but should have come from the avatar that had been created through the soul imprint when his disciple had encountered a dangerous situation.

In other words, his disciple was nearby... And feeling for the soul imprint that he could now once again feel clearly even in its severely weakened state, he soon traced out a path to follow-

Rumble-!

But before he could set off, a loud rumbling sound suddenly emerged from the ancient pagoda at the edge of his divine sense. Following which, a figure covered in a colorful robe shot out from the ancient pagoda before rushing in his direction.

Did this person spot me and decide to target me...?

As this thought emerged upon seeing the figure charging towards him, the thought was soon thrown away after realizing that the strength of this person had only reached the Middle Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm and judging from how unstable the aura of this figure was, it was clear that the breakthrough had been recent. Perhaps an opportunity that had been obtained inside the ancient pagoda? No matter what it was, it was clear that he wasn’t the target of this person.

Leaving the simple question of why this person was rushing in his direction so rapidly without even bothering to scan for danger ahead with his divine sense-

ROOOOAR-!

Though... he didn’t have to wait for long before an answer presented itself in the form of a large serpentine demon beast that emerged from the lake at the base of the ancient pagoda before rushing after the escaping Celestial Immortal Realm cultivator, the strength of this demon beast clear from a glance, having surpassed the escaping Celestial Immortal Realm cultivator. Reaching the Late Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm.

How troublesome... I really don’t plan to get involved in any battles. Especially given how I still don’t know what kind of demon beasts might be lurking in this forest.

Frowning slightly as he watched the two figures rapidly approaching him, one escaping, the other chasing, Xuan Hao decided not to get involved. Knowing that even if he could easily deal with the Late Stage Celestial Immortal Realm demon beast, doing so might attract the attention of an even more powerful demon beast, something that could end up with him being dragged into an extended battle and prevent him from finding his disciple.

Swish~

So, with a quick utilization of the Drifting Cloud Steps that now finally had a chance to show itself after being essentially rendered useless inside the Verdant Abyss, he moved aside for the two charging towards him before they had a chance to notice his presence. Avoiding a confrontation altogether before disappearing in the direction that he felt his avatar had fought in the past.

Not just because he was curious about what kind of enemy his avatar might have faced, but also because it was the same direction he could feel Chu Yang had gone in.

Hm? This is...

And soon enough, he found himself hovering above a more than three-kilometer-wide crater with a depth of more than a hundred meters.

Even without analyzing the lingering energies surrounding the crater in great depth, the scorching energy that still burned at the center of the crater made it obvious that his avatar shouldn’t have survived the clash that had taken place here.

The only positive was that he could tell that his avatar had at least managed to buy enough time for his disciple to escape whatever he had encountered in this place.

As for finding out what they had encountered? He already had a clue, as he could sense the terrifying scorching energy still burning at the center of the crater also coming from a broken three-tiered pagoda a short distance away.

Although he wanted to investigate this small pagoda, he understood from how even his avatar had been destroyed that it wouldn’t be that simple to deal with this small pagoda, thus, he threw this thought to the back of his mind for now. Deciding to investigate it if he had the time to do so in the future after he rescued his little disciple.

So, with nothing more of interest along the way, he soon found himself stopping at the edge of the forest- or more specifically the edge of the independent space that the seemingly endless forest was located inside of.

From what he could sense through his soul imprint, it was clear that his disciple was now incredibly close and should be on the other side of this small independent space-

Swish~

With that in mind, he didn’t waste any time and took a step forward. Soon enough seeing the same mountainous terrain that his disciple had seen in the past.