Chapter 207 - 246-255

Chapter 246: Friendly Chat

The next morning, Li Lang headed out early to browse the marketplace for various materials and cultivation manuals. Wei Ping accompanied him, while Long Yi stayed behind to focus on brushing up on his skills for the upcoming event.

There were many things they missed the last time they were at the marketplace due to the lack of time. Now they could leisurely go through the greater parts of the market, chatting as they walked.

"Wei Ping, I have a request I want to ask of you."

"Hm? N-no problem, I can do that Qi attribute test of y-yours."

"No, not that. It's something else, and it will unfortunately take up more of your time. At least while we're still here."

"What i-is it?"

"Can you start teaching me woodsmithing?"

Wei Ping turned to face his friend fully upon hearing the request. He hadn't expected it, but eventually nodded slowly.

"I can, b-but why not wait until we return? You'll be a-able to find a proper mentor once we get back or at l-least reach a city with a guild."

"It's related to what we talked about last night. I want to learn all five of the main crafts as soon as possible so I can verify something."

"Well, I won't be m-much of a mentor, but I can go over the basics."

The two young men walked as they went over the basics of woodsmithing. There were plentiful resources around them, where they could easily purchase all the tools they needed for this craft as well.

Woodsmithing was quite different when compared to the other crafts Li Lang had learned so far. It was the only one where years could be spent for the sake of one work. Of course, this profession naturally had ways to speed up its production, but those all involved expensive materials.

So far, Wei Ping was only capable of performing repairs to their Skyrunners and creating simple materials that were used in various other crafts, such as the handle for brushes in brushweaving. Even after having practiced the craft for so long, Wei Ping was still in the middle of nurturing his first Skyrunner.

"Doesn't that mean it'll take me at least years to master anything useful?" Li Lang said with a frown.

He had heard about the nature of woodsmithing, but now that he had an urgent need to learn it, the wait became unacceptable.

"B-Boss, that is only for complicated items like a Skyrunner. You can l-learn all the basic skills by just focusing on the sm-smaller scale items."

"Oh, that's fine then. I'll do that. My objective is to experience and increase my affinity with wood element Qi. Speak of which, have you experienced any improvement in your ability to manipulate wood Qi?"

"Um, maybe? The more I-I practice, the better my woodsmithing skills are, but I don't have any other techniques t-to test it out on."

"You should look into that before you settle on a cultivation technique. I know you may be leaning toward the wind attribute, but wood shouldn't be a bad option for you either. You may even consider picking up both elements."

Li Lang didn't want to definitively state anything yet. His research into the combination of attributes hadn't even started. From what he observed, the synergy between them wasn't entirely compliant with the scientific principles he was familiar with. The five elements themselves were the perfect example. If he touted that the synergy between these basic elements could unlock limitless energy, he would be called crazy. Even a high schooler would know about the laws of thermodynamics.

That was why he suspected many more artistic conceptions of synergy between attributes were likely effective as well. In the case of wind and wood, the relationship between how seeds and pollen of plants spread, set up a plausible synergy between the two.

The rustling of leaves or swaying of trees, plant life was often inseparable with nature—or more specifically, wind itself.

By the time Wei Ping conveyed all the basics of woodsmithing, the sun had almost traveled to its zenith. The two made haste toward a restaurant on the outskirts of the market area. The reason they were in a hurry wasn't because of their grumbling stomachs, but because they didn't want to be late for their meeting.

Arriving on the third floor of the restaurant, the waitress opened the doors to the private room, revealing a figure already sitting inside, sipping on some tea.

"Senior Ri Xin, it's good to you see again. I didn't expect you to agree to meet so soon. I have to say it is a pleasant surprise," Li Lang greeted as he made his way to the table.

The young man smiled in response. His appearance hadn't changed at all compared to the time Li Lang had met him in Spirit Grove, still appearing as youthful as ever.

"Independent cultivators like me don't exactly have many responsibilities I need to attend to. I'm relatively free, and I could tell you wanted to meet with me. Anyway, please feel free to speak casually. It feels weird being all stuffy when there aren't even any elders around."

"Sure. Oh, I brought one of my friends with me. I hope you don't mind. This here is Wei Ping."

"Of course not. I'm always happy to make more friends. It's the only way people like me can survive and thrive without any large backing." Ri Xin clasped his fist toward the young man in the wooden mask. "Cheers to our meeting!"

The young man held up the small teacup with both hands, prompting Li Lang and Wei Ping to raise theirs in return. The three toasted before settling down as the waitress returned with their food.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Ri Xin asked as he casually started eating the exquisite dishes made from Earth-grade ingredients.

"Nothing specific. I just wanted to have a good discussion with you about your experiences navigating through the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"Hmm? The Foundation Establishment Realm and not my experience in breaking through?"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot." Li Lang exhaled deeply as he released his Wave Dampening Art. His aura slowly increased in vigor until it crossed the mortal threshold. It elicited a gasp from Ri Xin, who was visibly taken aback.

"You've broken through already? Th-that is quite fast."

Seeing this, Wei Ping did the same, opting not to deceive their acquaintance. They were here for advice, so it was disingenuous to deceive a friend like that. Besides, it won't be a secret for long. They planned to participate in The Dark Sea Arena despite their lack of combat prowess. It was just too good of an opportunity to test themselves and make new connections. Their cultivation would be revealed as soon as the event started.

Ri Xin quickly settled down from the surprise. He wasn't privy to the duo's situation, nor did he realize they only had grade one aptitude. The talks quickly moved in the direction of cultivation.

Many things Ri Xin talked about were old information to Li Lang, but there were also plenty tidbits of new information or perspectives to glean from it.

The three quickly hit it off quite well. The harmonious atmosphere was likely fostered when Ri Xin didn't mind at all when they revealed themselves as residents of the Demonic Cultivator Territory. As a result, even after exhausting all the topics about cultivation, they naturally broached more personal subjects without any hesitation.

"Your martial intent is impressive, as always. How do you think you stand compared to everyone else participating in the arena this year?"

"I'm not sure. It's why I'm here to find out, but according to my master, I shouldn't have any trouble with most people, barring the few who are expected to be the new generation of the Eight Demon Pillars or the Four Enlightened Ones."

"Four Enlightened Ones?"

"Right. Those guys are said to be even more skilled than the Eight Demon Pillars you're familiar with. The orthodox sects' territory is a lot larger than the Luminescent Domain. The Four Enlightened Ones are titles awarded to winners of various regional competitions. They're just like this Dark Sea Arena here, but more exclusive for sects and more focused on winning rather than exchange."

"So you're saying even with all your strength, you still aren't near the top of those in our stage? That's hard to imagine," Li Lang muttered.

"Haha, it doesn't really matter at our level. The early stage of the Foundation Establishment is only the beginning. What you should pay attention to are those near the top level. They may be in the same realm in name, but they're all monsters with over a hundred years of experience under their belt. In their eyes, we're still nothing but children. While they may look down on our strength, we shouldn't squander the chance to learn from them."

"Well, I'm sure there's a lot to be seen during the upcoming event. We are especially clueless about most orthodox cultivators. I heard many of those from the provinces up north will be in attendance, and I've simply had no contact with them before."

"Hm, you should travel more to broaden your horizons."

"I would love to, but our—identity makes it a bit tricky."

"It shouldn't be an issue. You're likely not well-known outside your home province. If you would like, you can even join me and my master after the Dark Sea Arena is over. We're heading to the northernmost part of Violet Isle next, so you'll be able to tour a good part of the island on the way there."

"That, I'll have to consider. Thank you for the offer, though."

"Um, m-may I ask what's there in the north?" Wei Ping interjected. "Isn't it the same as the sects n-nearby? Why take the trouble to travel so far?"

"Oh, for the most part, you're right, but the northernmost sects are said to be the most powerful in the entirety of Violet Isle. They have the benefit of being in contact with the mainlanders the most often, after all. We're traveling up there this time to see if we can get a chance to speak to one of these envoys visiting from the mainland."

Mainlanders and more powerful sects? Does this mean the techniques up there will be more powerful and sophisticated as well? I'd love to study them, but should we really spare the time to travel to such a distant place?

Chapter 247: Looking to the Students

After the meeting with Ri Xin, Li Lang, and his group kept a low profile while The Dark Sea Arena had yet to start. They stayed in the Crucible, only exiting for supplies. 

Everyone was busy with their own task.

The students who had broken through to Foundation Establishment Realm were brushing up on their techniques and contingency plans for when they operated alone. Wei Ping and Long Yi were doing the same, with more emphasis on personal combat techniques. It wasn't that they were out of practice, but compared to old monsters who had lived for hundreds of years, they had a long way to go.

Meanwhile, Li Lang was zoned in on the new craft he decided to tackle, woodsmithing. He also studied various cultivation techniques that he had been stockpiling and interviewed his students regarding their experiences with their chosen attributes.

Through all these discussions, a few of the more curious students, like Xiao Dong, even decided to partake in the test to see if he was compatible with multi-attribute techniques. Their spiritual sea was already contaminated with the Qi type of their chosen element, but it was still possible to do the test, albeit the interaction between different types of energies would be affected.

They decided to go through with this test anyway because cultivation techniques could still be changed. Few did so, however, because picking up a new technique would reset all their progress. Those who were at the peak of Foundation Establishment Realm would be reverted to the early stage. It meant now was the best time to explore options, especially if they were even a little hesitant about their current path.

Now that their teacher opened them up to the possibility of practicing seemingly more sophisticated techniques that controlled multiple attributes, many of them couldn't resist. After all, they were still young. People their age always wanted to tackle challenges to prove themselves.

However, the results were less than ideal. Among the six Foundation Establishment Realm students, none of them could maintain a stable absorption of Qi of different attributes.

"You two, are you still trying to master fire and water Qi?" Xiao Dong asked as he walked by two girls in the main hall of the Crucible. "You know, it's been a whole week. If you don't see any improvement yet, you should just settle for what you already learned. We're already behind most people in our realm. We don't have much time to waste."

The two girls turned their sharp gaze at their fellow student.

"Teacher Li approves of our training. Please mind your own cultivation," the more fiery one with short amber hair snapped back.

"Teacher Li is currently obsessed with matters relating to Earth-grade cultivation techniques. He approves because he just wants to see if the ability to cultivate two-attribute techniques can be trained, not because he believes you can do it."

"We agreed to join Teacher Li, knowing full well he wants us to help him test things. We don't want to give up so easily, so it works out. It's a win-win arrangement. Now begone! You're distracting us."

"Shi Yan," the other girl with jet black hair soothed, as she pulled on her friend's arm. "There's no need to get so worked up. Focus."

"But Qinghe, I can't stand this guy's smug tone, as if he knows it all. Just because he broke through first, he's acting like he is everyone's senior. I know you—"

Chu Qinghe broadened her smile, causing Shi Yan to fall silent.

"Ha, you should listen to Chu Qinghe," Xiao Dong teased. "Otherwise, you're going to trouble her when you two head out later. Remember Teacher Wei's lessons on avoiding trouble. Control your emotions."

"You!"

"Shi Yan," Chu Qinghe frostily said before turning to Xiao Dong.

Now that she was facing the young man, he noticed her smile didn't reach her eyes at all. It gave the Xiao Dong shivers. He instinctively knew it was time to retreat, so he did.

His next stop was the mess hall. It was where most of the students gathered from time to time, even outside of meal hours. Some of them even cultivated there, preferring how spacious it was compared to their rooms. Others simply liked to socialize there. However, it was currently devoid of anyone. 

It caused Xiao Dong to balk at the scene. He closed his eyes and strained his ears, trying to locate his friends.

Soon, he heard some commotion coming from the residential area. It was a place with multiple floors and dozens of rooms on each level. It was enough to house hundreds or even thousands, as proven during the last major opening of the pocket realm. 

Normally, the residential area was a tranquil place. The doors there blocked off all senses from the outside world, so it stuck out like a sore thumb when there was a commotion. It took Xiao Dong no time at all to arrive at the source of commotion.

He spotted the missing students, all crowded around a door with a small gap to it. Seeing their neutral expressions, Xiao Dong felt relieved, knowing nothing bad had happened. 

They were standing by quietly, but it was obvious they were straining their ears to hear what was going on inside. Having lived alongside with these people for some time, he naturally had an inkling about the situation. He discreetly joined them at the door, his peers wordlessly shuffled aside to make room for him.

"Interesting. Still no issues?"

"No, Teacher Li. I can keep going."

"Very well, then. Try to absorb from this as well."

"Um, I can't."

"Elaborate."

"I just can't focus on a third material. My concentration on either the Lighthorn or Azure Tearstone breaks whenever I try. It's like I only have two hands that can only pick up one thing at a time."

"Keep trying for a little longer."

The room went silent for a few moments, but the words previously said were enough for Xiao Dong to fill in the blanks.

"Who broke through?" he asked his fellow eavesdroppers next to him.

"Wu San."

"How come I didn't notice anything, but you guys did?"

"We didn't sense anything either. It's just that we saw Teacher Li storming over, so we followed him."

"Well—I guess the owner of this artifact space does have some privileges."

The young students at the door took this recess to retell what they had witnessed, and soon, they completely had forgotten about being sneaky. Their noise level audibly rose. It was impossible for the objects of their eavesdropping to not have noticed. The crowd only quieted down when they heard someone clear their throat from within the room. They all flinched as they recognized it to be Li Lang.

"It seems we have a noisy gallery. Whatever, you've already done more than enough for now. Take a break and stabilize your cultivation. When you're ready, come talk to me before you claim your reward from the cultivation trial."

Leaving those words behind, Li Lang exited from the room and briskly walked away. The students didn't dare to say anything and simply got out of his path. Once he had turned the corner, loud cheering could be heard from behind.

"Congratulations, Wu San! You've finally done it!"

Having heard how positively his students were treating each other, Li Lang chuckled as he made his way back to his room. He then entered Ruby's artifact space and began recording his latest results.

One of his students who only had grade one aptitude finally broke through!

Wu San was a diligent student with a scholarly mindset. As a result, his account of his breakthrough was filled with details. Even without this accurate retelling, just his aptitude alone made him an invaluable test subject.

He was also the second one, after Wei Ping, to be suitable for practicing multi-attribute techniques. This meant another candidate to claim one of these rare Earth-grade cultivation techniques from the pocket realm had appeared.

So far, neither he nor Wei Ping had used this rare opportunity yet. That was because Wei Ping was still exploring the synergy between different attributes that suited him, while Li Lang doubted the pocket realm possessed a technique consisting of the five elements. Both of them were waiting until they knew exactly what they wanted, lest they waste their opportunity.

At the same time, this case also got Li Lang thinking. All three people who had a talent for multi-attribute techniques possessed grade one aptitude. 

Once was happenstance. Twice was a coincidence. Three times was a pattern.

Li Lang couldn't help but wonder how aptitude correlated with this talent. As he sorted out his thoughts, he dutifully went over his observations, reading them out loud.

"Subject: Wu San. Twelve spiritual roots. Mostly practiced the same techniques as the other students. The only difference is the Swallowtail Fist he picked up. Nothing else stands out."

He then scrolled up, looking over the information of other people outside his group, such as Sima Xue or Jian Beiyun. There was even information about their escorts, Ma Kong and Zhu Yi.

The former pair was apparently masters of two elements, while the latter weren't. Their aptitude wasn't that far apart, being either grade two or three. However, they were all demonic cultivators, so he wasn't sure how to take that into consideration. He had yet to do a thorough study into the physique of demonic cultivators. There was too much he didn't know.

From what he gathered, there weren't any patterns among other cultivators. The talent to practice multi-attribute techniques could manifest in both generational geniuses and the average cultivator.

The only pattern he had so far was observed in his group. His group was also the only group comprising cultivators with grade one aptitude, as far as he knew. Everything was pointing to his gut instinct being correct.

Do people with lower aptitude really have an easier time controlling multi-attribute techniques? If so, why can I control five attributes while Wei Ping and Wu San can only do two?

Chapter 248: Roots, Aptitude, Attributes

As Li Lang spent some more time pondering the relationship between aptitude and the talent to maintain control over more than one attribute, his eyes naturally landed on the column of his spreadsheet that recorded the number of spiritual roots one had.

"Those with one to seventeen spiritual roots are categorized as grade one aptitude. Eighteen to thirty-five makes up the next level, then thirty-six to fifty-three. This goes all the way up to one hundred and eight, which is what cultivators of this world theorized to the be maximum. I have so far characterized these spiritual roots as the filter and muscles for manipulating Qi. Why am I seeing a trend of multi-attribute talent with a lower number of spiritual roots?"

"Just to confirm, you're not asking me, right, Master?" 

"Sorry, Ruby. Don't mind me. Just talking to myself," Li Lang replied as he continued to go over his data with a frown.

"It's okay. No need to apologize. Just let me know if you need me to do anything!"

"I'm fine for now unless you can simulate cultivators with varying numbers of spiritual roots for me."

"Sorry, Master. I have the ability to simulate many things at the same time, but that I can't do."

"It's okay. That wasn't a serious question either. You're already helpful enough. I don't know how long it would've taken me to research half the things I do without your ability. I am nothing but thankful to have you."

"Hehe, I am a powerful Origin Artifact, after all. I doubt the likes of Blue, Green, and Orange can keep up with all the stuff Master works on. Only I can do it! Anyway, Master, I wanted to tell you the results from the auto-analyzer are in. I've sent them to your computer. The auto-analyzer is currently waiting for—"

"Wait, that's it!"

"Master? What's it?"

"Good job, Ruby. Just let me focus for a few moments, okay?"

"Understood, Master!"

A new theory developed rapidly within Li Lang's mind. All it did was explain how spiritual roots correlated with the talent of controlling multiple attributes, but he was still excited about it. While it didn't have any immediate uses, being able to verify this would drastically change his recruiting policy in the future.

If he was right and given that the drawback wasn't that severe, he could recruit talented individuals no sect or organization could ever discover. 

It wasn't certain that multi-attribute techniques were stronger. Having a deep mastery of one element was a perfectly viable method of cultivation. However, the flexibility gained from controlling just one more type of Qi could not be underestimated. 

Nightmoon Valley became so well known because the night and moon attributes could synergize so well together. Ma Kong and Zhu Yi were noticeably stronger when together, and the likes of Sima Xue and Jian Beiyun surely had even more trump cards from their mastery of both attributes.

The caveat was in control. 

While these trump cards couldn't be disclosed, Li Lang learned the basic theory about the strengths of complementing attributes compared to a single element or not specializing in any attributes at all. Having control meant the cultivator could freely manipulate the balance of the Qi within their reserve. If Sima Xue was facing someone specialized in an element that countered her night attribute, she could swap out the majority of her Qi for that of the moon attribute. The night Qi would then simply play a supporting role, becoming fuel for the other attribute instead of becoming useless.

And that was just the basics. Specific combinations of elements could produce more effects that could provide various advantages for the cultivator.

"Okay, please let me out, Ruby. I must go discuss my idea with Wei Ping."

Without a word of complaint, Ruby carried out her orders and Li Lang soon found himself back in his room within the Crucible.

As the master of this Spirit-grade artifact, it wasn't hard for him to track down the location of the people within it. Without any detours, he found Wei Ping practicing his techniques outside, at the foot of the mountain, by the entrance to the main part of the pocket realm.

"Are you planning to hone your skills against some Qi beasts out here?" Li Lang asked as he closed the sturdy stone gates behind him.

"No. I j-just want to feel the wind."

"Hm, well, I hope you can spare me some time. There's something I want to talk about."

"I heard about W-Wu San. Are you planning to get us t-to perform the same tests?"

"Not exactly. I want to bounce my idea off of you. I can't exactly verify it until more of my students break through, but it's too important to put off for now. It could change our criteria for recruiting our next batch of students."

"I-I thought that was still a long way away. Didn't y-you say it would strain our resources and t-time too much if we accepted any more students?"

"Yes, but things around us tend to take an abrupt turn without caring for my plans. We should make preparations ahead of time."

Having heard Li Lang admit that, Wei Ping alternated between staring at him and the gates behind him.

"Don't give me that look," Li Lang protested. "I know my—actions can sometimes be disruptive. But I can't predict everything! How in the world could I possibly have known that I would take control of the pocket realm?"

"I'm n-not blaming you. Let's hear about your new dis-discovery."

Taking a deep breath, Li Lang began to explain his suspicions to Wei Ping. The more he talked, the more interested Wei Ping became. The conversation eventually turned back to the attributes they should select and their expectation for the cultivation manuals the pocket realm could offer them.

This went on for most of the day until Wu San showed up, following Li Lang's instructions to look for him when he was ready. He fit right in, as his question was on the same topic as his teachers' discussion.

"Teacher Li, Teacher Wei, I was thinking of practicing a water-attribute technique and now I'm unsure if that is still the right path. Could you expound on the merits and demerits of practicing techniques that comprise two attributes?"

 Wei Ping and Wu San naturally turned to Li Lang for answers. It made him raise an eyebrow.

"I think you're better at explaining, Wei Ping. You got the same rundown as me, and you're more concise with your words."

"I wasn't t-the one who received private tutoring from the princess of Nightmoon Valley. Y-You are definitely more knowledgeable on t-the subject matter."

The two stared at each other for a short moment before Li Lang cleared his throat. They were in the presence of a student and childishly engaging in a staring contest against Wei Ping's wooden mask would not show his best side.

"Well, I can go over the basics. Just remember, we're still new to this as well. There may be some gaps in our knowledge." Wu San earnestly nodded and used his gaze to urge his teacher to continue. "Well, multi-attribute techniques—heck, that's been a mouthful with how often I say it. Apologies, let me restart. The effectiveness of multi-attribute techniques, which will henceforth be known as MATs, is entirely dependent on the attributes they are associated with. I'm sure you won't be able to find any Earth-grade cultivation manuals with an egregious combination of attributes, but you definitely want to spend more time to find one with the best synergy that you are compatible with."

"Compatible?" Wu San parroted.

"Yes. There are certain tests you can do to evaluate your affinity with certain elements. I haven't standardized these tests yet, but I think you can at least figure out which attributes you're good with by repeating the MAT test you did earlier. You should be able to feel which ones you have greater control over. Do take note that this affinity could be trained, so if there are certain elements you want to focus on, you'll have to put in the extra work. I won't let you practice a technique until you've proven you have some affinity for the relevant attributes."

Li Lang couldn't help but think of the bell he used for his artificer affinity test. He was willing to bet each craft had a similar test, but he just hadn't come across them yet. It was up to the mentors to decide if it was something they looked for in their students. Li Lang could see why these affinity tests weren't that popular considering they only measured a person's current affinity and not their potential. According to his artificer teacher, affinity could be improved over time. It was more practical to use other tests and observe their students over time.

Still, Li Lang didn't want his students to blindly pick any element they wanted, thinking they would gain the necessary affinity sooner or later. It was possible some people were just a bad match for certain attributes, especially the more exotic ones. He had no idea if the affinity ceiling for each person was unique or not yet. He'd rather err on the side of caution.

"Hmm, I understand. I am willing to try different combinations."

Li Lang nodded, happy to see his student's eagerness to experiment. He swiftly brought up various heavenly resources of different attributes and laid them on the ground atop a mat.

"Have fun. Remember to note down your results lest you forget. I'll be meditating nearby if you need me."

Chapter 249: Gathering of Talents

Inside his own room within the Crucible, Li Lang was currently sitting crossed-leg on his bed, staring intently at a piece of cloth he laid out in front of him. Several small brown seeds were lying before him, vibrating nonstop. This scene remained unchanged for a good half of the morning before Li Lang finally reached out for the seeds.

He didn't touch them directly, simply hovering a hand over them. He closed his eyes, and the vibrations intensified.

A few moments later, the seeds exploded. To be more accurate, they ruptured. Its exterior shell scattered across the room, but his attention was still glued to the same spot. That was because some roots took the seed's spot, wiggling around as if it was a tentacle of some sort.

However, the roots were moving without purpose. It was as if an artisan was in control, weaving together before forming a miniature tree. Once it took on its new shape, all movements ceased.

Li Lang carefully picked it up and began thoroughly examining it. It didn't take him long before the toy-like tree faded from existence.

Pressing his hat against him, the man in question soon found himself inside his usual lab. 

"Ruby."

The same miniature tree from before suddenly appeared in his hands, and he quickly threw it inside a glass enclosure that slid into a giant machine. 

Some folks may say it resembled 3D printers, but certain appreciators of vintage electronics would say it was more like a fax machine. Except it was enlarged several times so it could even fit a few people inside. It also had a certain artistic look to it, as clear glass was used plentifully at specific angles to reflect the light that evoked a luxurious feeling.

It was a far cry from its previous experience when Li Lang had just stepped onto the path of cultivation! It was all thanks to Li Lang's recent breakthrough, causing numerous positive changes to Ruby and its artifact space.

These changes took shape gradually and continued to do so over time. It took place at such a slow pace that the owner in question had barely noticed it due to his busy workload.

Li Lang was currently typing away on his computer, reviewing his experiences with the art of woodsmithing.

"If only the seeds could sprout in here, it would've saved a lot more time. Now, I'm stuck doing this for at least another month if I want any usable data."

"Apologies Master. Perhaps once my upgrade is complete, that is possible?"

"I won't count on it. Things are never that convenient. Besides, if that were truly to be the case, wouldn't it mean other living things, like a person, would be able to enter as well? That seems just a little too much of a leap from what you were capable of before. Maybe when I reach Violet Core or even Spirit Divide—"

"I'm sure it'll take Master no time at—oh, there seems to be a priority message for you, Master. Blue says Wei Ping is telling you to come outside immediately. It seems there isn't any time left."

"What? Already? Fine, fine. Time always flies by too fast when I'm in here."

Letting out a sigh, Li Lang did one final check to ensure everything was in order before exiting his lab. Upon reaching the real world, he quickly found the space around him warped as well. In the blink of an eye, he found himself facing a group of young men and women, chatting merrily.

A large, towering man stood to the side, beside someone wearing a wooden mask. Both of them turned his way almost immediately.

"You're finally here! Come on. Even Xiao Dong had left hours ago. If we don't leave now, I doubt our friends from Nightmoon Valley will still be waiting for us," Long Yi cried out.

"I'm here, aren't I? Calm down. Xiao Dong and the others should've left days ago. I'm not sure why he stayed put in here for so long, but don't compare him to me. I don't plan to win many bouts, if at all."

"How can your ambition be so small? Since we're here, you might as well try your best! You may have been slacking in your training recently, but I'm sure many—"

"Is slacking what you call it now? Just because I'm focused on things other than combat?"

The two glared at each other for a brief moment before Wei Ping intervened.

"That's enough. W-We don't have time for this. Let's g-go."

Both Li Lang and Long Yi nodded to the mediator before turning to the group of students watching on nearby.

"We've gone through what you should be doing enough times now. You should have memorized it by, so we'll spare you from another lecture. Take care. We'll be back soon enough."

The young students all bowed in response, not raising their heads until their three teachers disappeared from view.

Li Lang, Wei Ping, and Long Yi quickly found themselves back in their room at the inn. The Crucible shrunk in size and Li Lang stowed it away. Then, the three headed out on their Skyrunner, tracing the path they had been shown during their tour, heading toward the other side of the colossal sword-shaped mountain.

Li Lang took the reins, and they barely gained any elevation before both his companions stuck their heads out from within the carriage. They marveled at the numerous Skyrunners flying all around them. There were just as many who flew on their skysword or with only their bodies as well, but their mode of transit markedly denoted their status.

For those with discerning eyes, it was only too easy to be able to evaluate the value of Skyrunners and skyswords with a brief glance. It somehow created a silent hierarchy, where the more affluent flew at greater altitude, while those who seemed less well off or were hiding their wealth flew low to the ground. 

"There must be at least tens of thousands of people around us. That's a lot of Foundation Establishment experts in one place," Long Yi commented.

"Y-Yeah. Most of them m-must've arrived in the past few days. There wasn't n-nearly this many people when we w-went out last week."

Li Lang simply nodded his head at his companions' words. He focused on steering their vehicle through the traffic. It wasn't an easy task, with everyone on Sword Saint Isle all heading toward the same place. 

Thankfully, there were a few noticeable people hovering in the air, directing the traffic. They wore gray robes and all the passersby treated them with respect. The group recognized them to be disciples of the Sword Saint, who ran the entire island. They were the host of this grand event that invited every notable organization within Violet Isle.

While the sight was a lot to behold, Li Lang soon noticed one of his friends, Wei Ping, looking around constantly.

"You looking for something?"

"Y-Yes, but don't mind me. I'll f-find them sooner or later."

"Okay, but make sure you stay on the lookout for those troublesome kids. Make sure they aren't doing anything too stupid. There are too many members of prestigious sects and organizations for them to make a fool of themselves. The point of letting them go their separate ways was to not attract attention."

"They kn-know how to behave."

Li Lang shrugged as their vehicle soon began their descent.

They found the area around the open style arena to be completely different compared to their previous visit. Instead of the venue being surrounded by a lush forest, a large piece of land had been cleared around it. They didn't do so just for fun. A few dozen gigantic Skyvessels parked there.

These Skyvessels were basically oversized airships, dozens of times larger than Skyrunners. Given their size, some of them could easily hold a thousand people. They mostly resembled water-worthy sailboats, but some of them had unique designs, resembling a submarine of sorts. Among these parked vessels, one of them in particular stood out to Li Lang and Long Yi.

"That's from The Orchid Covenant," Long Yi muttered. "Erm, should we go say hello?"

"Officially, we're still members, so we naturally should. The Covenant isn't the most cohesive among the large organizations. There should be plenty of people who came here by themselves."

"Are we still going with that story? When are we quitting anyway? Isn't having Nightmoon Valley as our backing enough to protect us nowadays?"

Li Lang didn't immediately answer that question and instead stared at the Skyvessel in musing. He wasn't being dramatic, but simply didn't know the answer himself.

Things developed too fast. If we quit right away, they may find out we turned to Nightmoon Valley with the pocket realm. Will they blame us if they do?

Chapter 250: Settling into Arena

Having spotted their fellow members from The Orchid Covenant, the trio soon decided to drop their Skyrunner closer to the colossal Skyvessel belonging to the organization they were officially members of.

This Skyvessel had a classic appearance. It was just like a typical sailboat but with a much wider body. The deck, by itself, could fit a thousand people, with over a dozen levels to house that many people. In contrast, Li Lang's Skyrunner looked like an insignificant fly. 

The three slowly descended on the deck with their vehicle, not daring to make any abrupt movements until they spotted someone waving them over. The person helpfully directed them somewhere to land and greeted them as they disembarked.

"State your business," a young man with short hair, looking like he was in his mid-twenties, asked. The aura of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator leaked out from him, as he narrowed his gaze to scrutinize the trio.

"Senior, we're members of The Orchid Covenant, who have traveled here separately. We would like to go to pay our respects to the elders," Li Lang explained as he took out the tokens that proved their identity.

"I see, well the Head Councilman has already left to greet the Sword Saint. Many of the councilmen have already entered the venue too, so only Councilman Sheng is on board."

"Understood. We'd like to go greet Councilman Sheng, then. Where can we find him?"

Having identified themselves, the young guard's tone relaxed. He no longer harbored any suspicions and gave them directions. With these detailed instructions, it didn't take long before the trio arrived before one of the many wooden doors below deck. Long Yi stepped up and knocked several times.

"Come in, you three. The door is not locked," a familiar voice answered.

***

The crowds of cultivators making their way into the venue of The Dark Sea Arena were neatly organized by the members of Sword Saint Isle. The members of notable organizations were treated like respected guests, each assigned a part of the stands with their location pending on their faction. However, their members couldn't enter the venue all at once. Their priority was decided according to their status. 

All those who were participating in the event were let through first, alongside their elders and esteemed leaders of their respective groups. They were the easiest to identify, as one could simply assess their cultivation. Each of these elders from prestigious sects or organizations was in the Violet Core Realm at the very least. Some of the major powers even had their Spirit Divide leader attend.

The ones who had to wait in line were mostly mortals, who were brought along. With the convenience of large transports like Skyvessels, there was no shortage of them. Many sects and organizations always liked to bring along their talented disciples to flaunt and allow them to gain some experience.

Almost every big group within Violet Isle was in attendance, with at least two or three representatives of notable strength and status. That wasn't because of how valuable the competing Foundation Establishment cultivators were, but because it was a rare opportunity to speak with other influential leaders.

The Dark Sea Arena took place on the neutral grounds of Sword Saint Isle, which made it suitable to be a gathering spot for the top echelon of cultivators within Violet Isles. It was a rare opportunity for the leaders of the demonic path to safely interact with those of the righteous path. This was all thanks to the presence of the Sword Saint himself. A neutral entity that neither faction wanted to offend. After all, with the Sword Saint's unfathomable cultivation, he was able to affect the balance of power.

However, for this year's Dark Sea Arena, the Sword Saint wasn't the most popular character there despite being the host. That honor went to an androgynous individual with a youthful appearance. They had striking silver eyes and matching silver hair that stretched down to their waist. They were draped in a glittering, copper-colored robe, wearing a tall hat that resembled a toque. Behind this individual was a teenage boy and girl, standing stoically like bodyguards. 

None of the leaders of various sects and organizations paid those two servants any mind. Instead, they were each fighting a war of words, trying to catch the attention of the androgynous beauty.

"Young Hero Zheng, if it's curious sights you're looking for, then I humbly invite you to tour our Rolling Tide Sect within the Azure Mist Province. We've recently unearthed a large artifact from the hundred races, and we'd be happy to gift it to you, for the greater cause," a gruff, low voice proudly proclaimed.

The man in question didn't bother to reply, continuing to glance down from the high platform erected over the nine equally sized-arenas. It caused a slender man from the crowd of experts to chuckle before speaking up with a soft and lilting voice.

"Han Gu, I don't think it's appropriate to ask Young Hero Zheng here to traverse half of Violet Isle just to go to the countryside to see some wreck."

"Song Leiguang! What do you mean by that? Our Azure Mist Province is just as developed, if not more so than your Amber Star Province. Except we didn't even need to rely on handouts for our development!"

"As if some barbaric countryside province could hope to ever produce anything that could match the splendors of the mainland. As the province that is closest to real civilization, only my Amber Star Province can be considered civilized."

The two didn't bother to hide their hostile glare against each other, but they weren't alone. All around them, various quarrels were taking place. It was just that they kept it more discreet, in fear of disturbing their guest of honor, or they found it unseemly to bicker at all.

Despite the guest of honor blatantly ignoring them, the arguing between the gathered leaders didn't subside but only grew instead. That was until a man with light stubble, wearing a coarse gray robe, strode onto the scene.

His gait was wide, displaying a casual mannerism that ran contrary to the stiff and refined movements most of these leaders upheld. He walked in while taking hearty swigs from a wine jug in one hand while hugging a round bamboo training sword in the other. Plenty of wine spilled with each quaff, but he didn't seem to care. Though, his caretaker, who was following behind him, was visibly troubled by his lack of etiquette. 

Despite his crass behavior, everyone who saw him respectfully clasped their fist toward him and cleared the way. They all called out his title with respect.

"Sword Saint Heng! How do you do?"

"Greetings, Sword Saint. Our Grand Elder Cho sends his regards."

True to his casual mannerism, the Sword Saint warmly greeted everyone back, but didn't bother to stop walking, only sparing a few words to each esteemed representative. He did this no matter who the other party was, sauntering straight to the center. His laid-back attitude knew no bounds, daring to even slam his jug of wine on the table where his guest of honor sat.

"Zheng Hai was it? Drink up! This Red Dew Wine was your granduncle's favorite. Let's see if you share his taste."

If it was anyone else, the leaders present would only cringe at how inappropriately the unkempt man was behaving, but it was a different story when the person in question possessed unfathomable power. Even the androgynous individual known as Zheng Hai finally turned his gaze to the speaker. 

He nodded to the host while wearing a slight smile. Then he picked up the jug of wine with smooth and refined movements that left the spectators in awe. As he drank the wine, a few representatives with lower cultivation couldn't help but gulp as well whenever the guest did.

"How delicious is that wine?" one of the younger Violet Core elders muttered.

No one bothered to answer him, as the more experienced members held their tongues and listened silently from the side.

"Senior Jun Heng," Zheng Hai called out after he elegantly placed the wine jug back down. "Thank you for the Red Dew Wine. It is definitely good wine, but if I may be honest, it is a little too weak for my taste."

"Took weak? Hahaha, took weak. I wish your granduncle was here to hear that. Hahaha, it seems you live up to your reputation. I would love to witness you at work if the opportunity arises. Anyway, enjoy your stay. Let my people know if you need anything."

Seeing Zheng Hai nod, Sword Saint Jun turned around with another cackle. With the hand that was liberated from the duty of carrying the wine jug, he waved in every direction as he walked down from the high platform that overlooked the venue.

No one stopped him or questioned where he was going. They greeted him as he walked by and then returned to their bickering, with most of them trying to gain Zheng Hai's attention.

Unfortunately for them, the man in question didn't give them any face. He turned back to the arenas below, watching the sea of people move.

The Dark Sea Arena was about to start. Zheng Hai narrowed his eyes at the numerous participants walking up toward the nine different platforms.

They were segregated by the various stages of the Foundation Establishment, and his attention was naturally drawn toward the platforms assigned to those at the peak of the realm.

"Hmm, I passed through Foundation Establishment so quickly that I don't even remember what it felt like," the androgynous guest muttered so silently that only his two immediate servants behind him picked up his words. "You two, do you notice anyone special down there?"

"There's no need to look, Young Master Zheng," the female servant replied. "It's naturally impossible for anyone on this small island to be comparable to you."

"My sister is right," the other servant spoke up. "Even on the mainland, I don't think many could compare to you."

"Hmph, that's hard to say. The other sects are full of schemers. Who knows what or who they're hiding?"

The two servants didn't refute their master. They simply wore a smile as they continued to closely monitor their charge.

Chapter 251: Surprising Growth

Li Lang didn't know what he expected when they went to greet their elders from The Orchid Covenant. They hadn't even remembered the last time they showed up at their organization's headquarters.

They may have garnered some attention from their results from the pocket realm, but to The Orchid Covenant, they were still young and without backing. In their view, they believed the trio would soon turn to an elder within their ranks when they needed more resources. 

Raising a cultivator was resource-intensive, raising a demonic cultivator was even more so. However, no matter their method of cultivation, they all needed Foundation Pills in order to tackle their bottleneck.

Imagine Councilman Sheng's surprise when the three all turned up to his doorsteps to greet him and report their participation in The Dark Sea Arena. 

"What? You three, please don't tell me you've been telling people you're going to participate during your stay on the island. Do you realize only those who have reached the Foundation Establishment Realm can participate in the event? Do you realize you three bear our mark? How embarrassing it would be if others caught wind of a couple of our mortal members bragging about participating?"

"Councilman Sheng, you don't have to worry about that," Li Lang replied.

Hearing this, Councilman Sheng let out a brief of relief.

"Good. I take it that you told no one of your foolish intentions. You did well to consult me before things progressed further."

"No Councilman, I think you misunderstand."

"Misunderstand? Misunderstand what?"

"As they say, action speaks louder than words," Li Lang nodded to his two companions.

The trio then unleashed their aura at the same time, no longer holding back. Councilman Sheng blinked blankly before his expression quickly turned serious. He could only utter one word.

"How?"

"Hmm? By breathing through and forming our spiritual sea?"

"No," the old man shook his head as he stared sternly at Li Lang. "How did you get the Foundation Pills?"

"Oh, we were lucky enough to be useful to Nightmoon Valley," Li Lang quickly composed a cover story. "We managed to earn the appreciation of the Valley Master and were awarded for our efforts."

Councilman Sheng took in a deep breath and said nothing. He closed his eyes and while tapping a finger on his desk.

Li Lang had been in these types of situations before and wisely chose to stay silent. Allowing others to come to their own conclusions was often the best choice. Even so, he brainstormed ways to reply, starting with the hardest questions. He thought about several scenarios about how he could possibly be useful to Nightmoon Valley without revealing too much. Before he could decide on which one to be the most convincing, the elder surprisingly didn't pursue the matter.

"I see," was all they said.

There wasn't much else to converse with the elder about, and the trio quickly excused themselves when the conversation died down.

Tracing their path out of the colossal Skyvessel, they made it back on its deck and escaped on their Skyrunner.

It wasn't long before they landed again, just outside the venue. Following the clearly labeled signs, they went to the fast lane and entered the arena without any trouble. They hadn't re-concealed their aura, so all it took was for them to show their affiliation to enter.

The arenas inside hadn't changed from their previous visit, but the number of people present was drastically higher. The four tall columns surrounding the nine arena platforms remained the same, but they could barely make out anything else. The ground floor was filled with people and so were the stands. 

There were constantly more people streaming into the venue, so they were pushed forward. They allowed the flow to sweep them away until they were closer to the platforms.

"Should we look for the area assigned to the covenant?" Long Yi asked. "Or do we line up next to platforms for our cultivation level? There are people already dueling on it, but it shouldn't have started, right?"

"Shouldn't have. This event is like an exchange. I'm sure it's just people fighting on their own accord. The main event shouldn't start when people are still streaming in. Let's go to our section and ask around."

Wei Ping nodded at the suggestion and took the lead. The nine stadiums were clearly separated into three sections, one for each stage of the Foundation Establishment.

The trio had just arrived beneath one such platform assigned to the early stage cultivators when they all abruptly turned their attention to the duel taking place on it.

A familiar boy was facing off against a young woman, and judging by their attire, she hailed from the Eternal Wave Sect.

The young woman summoned forth a tornado of water to attack her foe. It crashed squarely onto its target, blasting the target apart—or so it appeared. It took a second for her to realize it had just been a decoy when her supposed foe popped like a water balloon. It had been a water clone that only reflected an image of her opponent. The Eternal Wave disciple panicked as it sunk in that she had lost sight of her enemy, and rightfully so.

Water splashed and flowed in all directions, at a volume much higher than one would expect from just a human-sized clone. This should've hinted at something going very wrong to the girl, but her inexperience showed. She was glancing around frantically when a figure suddenly rose behind her from the water, sending a punch straight to the back of her head.

The move wasn't anything special. Everyone could tell it was a Mortal-grade technique without any special qualities. Li Lang even recognized it specifically to be the Swallowtail Fish technique. He did so effortlessly because he knew the boy. It was his student, Wu San.

The trio shared a knowing look with each other and shook their heads. They had agreed to allow their students to participate, but didn't think they'd draw this type of attention so soon. Wu San had only broken through recently and he was already showing off. His combat fluency surprised all three of them, but they couldn't feel too happy right now. It was because Wu San was too young!

People could tell he was no older than geniuses like Sima Xue or Liang Po had been when they reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. Perhaps even younger! Combined with the promise he was showing, many people took note of his potential. They couldn't tell his real age without closer inspection through physical contact, but there were some telltale signs of someone recently breaking through in his movements.

He was about to beat an opponent who had broken through for several years already. That may not be a lot for many cultivators, but it was for those who had recently broken past their mortality. The girl obviously had more time to stabilize her cultivation and practice more techniques. The advantage was enormous.

However, the next second, they all sighed.

Wu San's punch landed on target, but that was all. It girl staggered forward for half a step before a geyser blasted Wu San back. While he had caught her off guard, his offensive power was too weak.

"What a waste," one of the cultivators beside Li Lang said with a sigh. "If he had a better technique or proper weapon, he could've won just now. Just what is his mentor doing, leaving him so ill-equipped to capitalize on such an opportune position?"

Li Lang cleared his throat as he pushed past his companions to approach one of the cultivators wearing the red and black robes.

"Greetings, friends from Bloodwave Conclave. It's my first time attending this arena, so do you think you can tell me what to expect?"

Wei Ping and Long Yi shared a look and shrugged before catching up to their friend. They knew it wasn't the time to discuss anything about their students with so many prying ears, but they knew Li Lang was feeling the most conflicted among them. He was the one who had advocated for their students to rush their cultivation the most.

Thankfully, they also knew that they were here to remedy this shortcoming. They couldn't wait to learn from all the experts around them and truly realize their potential.

What they didn't realize was that Li Lang didn't bother about such matters anymore. He had escaped the scene so quickly, not because he was feeling guilty or embarrassed. Instead, he was using every fiber of his being to contain his urge to interview his students right then and there. 

After all, he had just witnessed his student successfully employ a hybrid technique, making use of both his Water Qi and Light Qi. It hadn't been long since he spoke with Wu San, but he was eager to interview him again.

Chapter 252: Start of the Arena

"That young gentleman we saw earlier sure has an interesting set of techniques," Li Lang commented as he continued to spectate the various duels taking place on the platforms around him. "I can't believe he has such good mastery of both the water and light attributes to create illusions when he is so young.

Wei Ping and Long Yi ignored him, as they were each deep in thought. They had just asked a passerby from the Bloodwave Conclave about what to expect. While none of their fellow participants knew what was to come, they talked about precedences in the previous few events. They found out the first event was generally a free-for-all, where they would be facing off against challenges instead of each other.

That was why so many people were dueling prior to the event. They realized they may not have the chance to face off against each other, so they wanted to make the best of their opportunity to face off against various cultivators from different regions.

All of this gave the spectators a good show. While the venue continued to be filled, Li Lang was able to witness numerous clever applications of cultivation techniques.

A majority of cultivators only focused on one attribute, but even then, there were numerous variations. He had seen a water element expert specialized in close-quarters combat, enveloping themself in a layer of water that absorbed the impact of enemy attacks. Others who employed the water attribute used powerful Qi arts to overwhelm their foes, while just as many made use of the flexible properties of water to get around defenses.

Li Lang wanted nothing more than to study all their techniques in detail, but alas, this dream was likely never going to come true. As a result, he paid particular attention to those more relevant to him, those who practiced multi-attribute techniques. Being able to observe the synergy and interaction between all the different elements would definitely be a boon to him.

He relished every moment of this time until someone interrupted him. A hand landed on his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Hey, sleepy heads! You guys sure are relaxed about this event if you managed to oversleep this morning."

Li Lang was the first to turn around, spotting their acquaintance, Sima Xue. Wei Ping and Long Yi reacted a second later. They shrugged at her criticism and directed a pointed look at Li Lang.

"Apologies, a p-particular member of our group, gets side-tracked easily," Wei Ping commented.

Long Yi nodded several times, showing his avid agreement.

Seeing his two companions throw him under the bus, Li Lang also shrugged.

"It's better this way. It wouldn't be too good for others to see us so close to Nightmoon Valley when they realize we aren't one of their members."

"Yeah, well, Senior Brother Jian still waited for you until the last second. You should go apologize to him."

"Hm, I will."

Li Lang didn't bother to argue any further, despite being glad he hadn't come to the arena with Jian Beiyun or Sima Xue. It would only hint at an extraordinary relationship between him and their organization, which wasn't what he wanted. He had agreed to work with them in order to retrieve his pocket realm in secrecy. Doing anything that highlighted their special relationship would work contrary to that.

Thankfully, the status quo so far seemed to be acceptable. The elders from The Orchid Covenant were completely clueless about their dealings and he would like to keep it that way.

The four early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators bantered some more as the duels continued until the sound of a bell being rung caught the entire venue's attention. It rang three times in quick succession before taking a brief pause and then repeating. After it rang out for its fifth set, the entire place became deathly quiet.

"Greetings, fellow cultivators from Violet Isle. I am Jun Oubei. I thank you all for coming to our Sword Saint Isle for this year's Dark Sea Arena. We'll be getting things started momentarily. I ask that the spectators return to their seats and for all the participants to ascend up the stages. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask any of our members. You can tell who they are by the armband they are wearing."

Right after the speaker finished talking, everyone in the venue erupted into action. It could be said most of the participants were adults, so they knew how to behave. No matter how much friction there was between the demonic path and the orthodox path, everyone hid their animosity for the moment.

It was a relief to Li Lang that everyone proceeded smoothly. Soon, several members of Sword Saint Isle flew up above each of the nine platforms within the venue. They had the powerful aura of someone in the Violet Core Realm. It was only when they all got into position that the speaker continued.

"This year's Dark Sea Arena will start off with a survival game. Our formation masters will soon send all the participants into an illusion world. Only those who survive for a full day will be able to move on."

The organizers trusted in the competence of the Foundation Establishment experts present and didn't elaborate too much. Without offering to answer any questions, the formation masters didn't hesitate to start channeling their powers.

A giant circle filled with symbols manifested above each platform. It slowly descended as the wind constantly rushed toward it.

Li Lang found himself near the edge of the platform, next to his companions. He spied the other platforms where the more advanced cultivators were, and they were all stoic and calm, unlike his fellow competitors. He nodded in understanding upon reflecting on the difference.

Most of those experts are hundreds of years old. All the people in the early stage with me are a mixed bag of talented young people and those who are struggling to get past their bottleneck.

He didn't get to mull any further when the formation circle engulfed them, and his vision went white.

His vision quickly returned, and he found himself alone in the middle of a desert. He blinked blankly as he assessed his surroundings, which were towering dunes of sand and a blazing sandstorm.

This feeling—the humidity and sandstorm is so realistic. Is this another type of pocket realm? No, pocket realms are either natural cracks to a different subspace or artificial within artifacts. This is from formation masters…so could it be an illusion? A mental hallucination of some kind?

Li Lang took another few seconds to try to find anyone nearby. His companions had just been inches away from him a moment ago, but they were nowhere to be seen. It wasn't his first time encountering these types of situations, but it was a first that the objective had been so vague.

He was used to having directives, whether it be hunting down Qi beasts for points or competing directly against his peers. He wanted to watch others in action and maybe even have a thorough discussion with these experts. Being isolated completely ruined that.

As someone who had yet to pick an Earth-grade technique, he didn't think his odds were that good compared to others. Even his students appeared quite powerful with their new techniques, while he was still deciding his direction.

With nothing to do, but getting pelted by the sandstorm, Li Lang soon got a move on it. He walked across the dry sandy desert, at a loss for what to do.

If survival is the goal, I guess the first time to do is to find a safe place that will shield me from this sandstorm.

He didn't take too many steps before he suddenly found his steps unstable. He found his feet sinking into the sand, so he pushed forward to get out of the way. The further he walked, the deeper he sank.

Is this what they mean by survival? Survive the hellish terrain? Is this supposed to be a challenge, though?

Once the sand almost reached his knees, Li Lang simply began to fly up into the air. All Foundation Establishment cultivators could achieve such a feat easily. However, he could instantly feel the drain on his spiritual sea, meaning a huge expenditure in his Qi. It was the reason cultivators invented more efficient methods of flying, like skyswords and Skyrunners.

Slowly ascending, Li Lang took the chance to scour his surroundings once more, albeit at a better vantage point. Everywhere looked the same, with nothing in sight. Seeing this, he decided to make use of the Tracing Origin Art to locate his companions first.

If it was a survival challenge, having numbers could only help.

Chapter 253: Desert Survival

Just as Li Lang began concentrating on his Tracing Origin technique, he suddenly found everything darkening around him. When he glanced up toward the sky, an ear-piercing screech assaulted him as he made eye contact with a golden brown falcon of some sort, with a wingspan that could easily wrap around him and his companions if they were together.

It was plain to see that the falcon was a powerful Qi beast, and it swooped down toward Li Lang.

The lone man hastily dodged out of the way, but there was no chance he would be faster than an aerial-type Qi beast. Its talons easily pierced through the sleeve of his robe, leaving a long dash starting from the top of his shoulder and down to his midsection. 

The beast didn't have any plans on relenting as it quickly turned around to face its target, ready to dive in again. It only hesitated when he noticed the glint from the spearhead pointed its way.

During this short standoff, Li Lang's mind raced for a solution.

I doubt my needles could penetrate its defenses when all I have are Mortal-grade techniques. My only shot at doing any damage is unleashing everything I have with this spear artifact in a counterattack.

This sucks. I can't test the new poisons I've been preparing at all until I have better power over Qi of the metal element.

As if sensing Li Lang's hesitation, the falcon didn't give him too much time to brainstorm. It recognized the threat from its foe and began dashing around in a zig-zag pattern. It made it especially hard to track its movements.

With blood drenching his clothes, Li Lang focused on his enemy as hard as he could. The bird charged toward him every so often, managing to leave a small cut every time. New wounds appeared all over his body every few seconds and the only thing Li Lang could do was slowly lower his elevation. The goal was to reach the ground, limiting the falcon's attack angles by deterring it from diving straight down, lest it wanted to take a plunge into the sand.

I guess there's no way for me to test my poisons for now.

When Li Lang shelved any thoughts of testing his poisons, his mind wandered to the next more important thing. His safety.

The organizers hadn't explained much before dropping everyone into their formations. They had expected every participant to be familiar with one of the five major crafts. This left Li Lang wondering if everything before his eyes was real or not.

Given he had heard the event rarely produced any casualties, he'd rather not incur any serious injuries if everything around him was real and not an illusion. Unfortunately for him, there was no way to tell. The formation was employed by powerful experts at the Violet Core Realm. He didn't expect to see through the illusions produced by such powerful masters.

If Foundation Establishment were respected cultivators of talent, then Violet Core Realm experts would be considered seasoned veterans. They unquestionably held the qualification to establish a proper sect or organization, albeit being only a local power.

Li Lang soon made it back onto the ground—or, to be precise, sand. It had cost him a dozen wounds, but he was getting better at tracking the Qi beast, and his latest wounds were each shallower than the previous one.

With his feet on the ground, Li Lang gained a sense of comfort. One of the earliest techniques he practiced was the Earthbound Steps. It allowed him to retain enough balance to maintain an upright position even while pulling off high-intensity maneuvers. 

After the long years of cultivating, this martial art seemed so simple now. It paled in comparison to the flashier techniques he had witnessed. Earth-grade techniques could allow their practitioner to move at speeds the mortal eye could barely see. Then there were outliers like martial intent that could freeze up its target. Regardless, Li Lang still believed there was some merit in maintaining his mastery of these seemingly basic techniques.

Right now, it paid off in spades. Being on the ground meant the falcon had to fly parallel to the ground or slowing down its speed when swooping in from above. This gave Li Lang even more leeway to dodge out of the way, and his Earthbound Steps kept him on his feet despite the unstable terrain. The leeway he received was exactly what he needed to overcome this Qi beast.

After getting used to the bird's movements, Li Lang finally counterattacked. On its eleventh attack, Li Lang was able to thrust his spear directly at it as it flew at him. His cultivation, combined with the Mortal-grade artifact and the oncoming force of the Qi beast's charge, allowed his spearhead to break past its skin and embedded itself into its torso.

Another loud screech assaulted him as the beast cried out in pain.

The falcon panicked and flapped its wings relentlessly. The gust kicked up all the sand near them. Seeing how violent its movements were, Li Lang quickly retrieved his weapon, ready to attack again.

To his relief, the falcon had no intention of continuing the fight. Having incurred an injury, it swiftly flew away in retreat. Li Lang found no reason to, nor did he have the ability to stop it. He was just glad he managed to drive it away.

Once it disappeared from view, Li Lang sighed and plopped himself onto the sand. He then took out a bottle of Recovery Pills and consumed it. While he waited for it to take effect, he pressed his hat against his forehead.

"Ruby, can you detect if I am under an illusion or are the things around me actually real?"

"Hmm, I think it's a little bit of both, Master. Your injuries are real, but I'm not so sure about that Qi beast. Try to have me consume its blood and you'll know."

Li Lang did just that and soon got his answer. Ruby completely rejected the blood-stained sand. No part of it could enter his precious artifact. It could only mean some advanced measures were taken, or it had been an illusion. The latter was more likely to be true, but in that case, how did he incur the injuries? That question got Li Lang wondering again.

Too bad he would have to wait to study formations.

***

Wei Ping found himself in an intense fight before he knew what was going on. He blinked, and he found himself in the middle of a desert. and the next second, some type of thick mucus was shot at him. He had to dodge out of the way several times before he spotted who his attacker was, some kind of carriage-sized slug.

The fight was not going in his favor. He was in a similar situation to Li Lang, in that he didn't have the firepower to overwhelm any of these Foundation Establishment level creatures. He didn't even have an artifact weapon, but even if he did, his claws would have the same penetration power as a spear.

As a result, it didn't take long before Wei Ping was on the run. Unfortunately, the slug was not slow. The scene of a man running across the desert, with a giant slug closing in on him and occasionally spraying mucus in his direction, soon unfolded.

When it was getting dangerously close to him, he didn't hesitate to slam a palm into the Qi beast in an effort to push it back. Upon impact, it caused the slug to stagger, and then a second later, it sent back several feet!

Wei Ping didn't wait to see how the slug liked his move and resumed sprinting away, but before he could pick any his speed, the sound of someone chuckling caught his attention.

"Heh, is that you, Senior Uncle? It looks like you need a hand!"

A young woman, who seemed no older than eighteen, rushed into the scene, riding a skysword close to the ground. She was holding open a folding fan in front of her face to shield her from the sand. 

From a distance, it appeared as if she was riding on a fast sled. Within an instant, she reached the oversized slug and tapped the tip fan at the beast. 

Perhaps a mortal would gawk at the ridiculousness of the scene. A paper fan, even when reinforced with metal guards on its exterior, couldn't possibly do much damage. However, cultivators knew not to question such things. There were numerous exotic weapons using even stranger weapons.

As she tapped the slug, she turned her back to the Qi beast immediately, causing Wei Ping to want to call out to her about the danger, but it immediately proved unnecessary. The light tap exploded out with tremendous force, blowing the entire slug apart.

"It's been some time, Senior Uncle. I can't believe you broke through and are here!"

Chapter 254: Between Real and Illusionary

Wei Ping was taken aback by the abrupt appearance of the girl who had saved him from the slug Qi beast. It caused him to even ignore the scene where the remains of the slug began to dissipate into the air, directing his attention to his savior instead. That was because he recognized her to be a disciple of Wang Yongjun, one of the successors of the Lingering Impact Technique he learned from an old expert he had encountered during his travels alone.

"I d-didn't expect to see you here—well, in hindsight, I should've, b-but not so suddenly, like this."

"Hmm, so Senior Uncle has forgotten about us already?" Wang Xiuying brought her paper fan up to her chin, donning a hurt expression. "That's too cruel. Especially when Master told me to be on the lookout for you. He had high expectations of you. It seems you didn't betray them, but alas, you have moved past us."

"I'm looking for-forward to seeing your Master. He is participating in t-the section for late-stage cultivators, right?

Seeing how Wei Ping ignored her teasing, the young woman didn't maintain her act and shrugged. 

"Of course. You should know it's always been his goal to convince Grandmaster to start an organization, so he needs to show off and prove himself to be the strongest among the Eight Demon Pillars."

"I-Is your Grandmaster here, too?" Wei Ping hurriedly asked.

He still remembered the unkempt appearance of this teacher of his. At first, he had thought he was a simple beggar on the streets. Through some unexpected turn of events, the beggar he encountered had taught him a technique that was not only integral to himself, but for aiding his group to break through their mortality as well.

Since the first chapter of the Lingering Impact Technique had such a great impact, Wei Ping desired to obtain the second chapter of this technique. If his mentor was here, it would be the perfect opportunity.

"No, Grandmaster never cared for these events. It's just me and Master. Anyway, we can catch up later. We need to focus on surviving the first round!"

On cue to her words, several more slugs burrowed out of the sand dunes. The young woman stared at these new foes with an excited grin. She was eager for the challenge.

"Xiuying, do y-you know if these Qi beasts are real?" Wei Ping asked. "Is this some illusion we're ca-captured in, or is this some sort of pocket realm?"

"Senior Uncle, if what you're getting at is if these beasts can kill us, then the answer is yes. It's not likely, as the formation master responsible for bringing us here is actively overseeing everything, but they are only able to bring you out when they sense you're wounded by a threshold. If you take a bad hit, they won't be able to save you."

"Why d-did the remains of that last slug disappear, then?"

"This place is an illusionary realm, but the Qi beasts are real. It's just that they may not be what they appear, but it shouldn't matter. Their attacks will line up with what you see."

"What?"

"No time to go into detail right now. Let's take care of them first."

Wei Ping looked around at the newcomers moving to surround them and nodded.

"I'll f-follow your lead."

***

Li Lang didn't know how large the desert area he had been transported to was. However, he could tell it was as large as the Yellow Qilian province. There should've been thousands of participants for the early-stage category only, and considering how he hadn't spotted anyone after traversing the desert for so long, it would only be natural for him to come to that conclusion. 

That was why, after a while, he decided to stop moving around. It would waste his energy. Instead, he settled down in the pit of one of the larger dunes and executed his Wave Dampening Art to the best of his abilities. The point was to hide his aura to prevent the Qi beasts from finding him. 

Unfortunately, the technique he devised didn't have such great stealth capabilities. It could only weaken the flow of the aura, not hide it completely. No one knew if his methods had any effect. Still, he used what he had and hid away from the burning sun, using the hills of sand as cover.

He took the opportunity to go over his items, preparing for the future.

Hmm, my spear skill isn't anything special, but I'm proficient enough not to hurt myself. Maybe I should coat my spear in some of the new poisons I developed? Then I can start testing, albeit I'll have to take the risk of confronting more Qi beasts. I don't even know if they are illusions or real Qi beasts like the ones in the Crucible.

Oh well, it shouldn't be too dangerous with experts overseeing this event.

With the revelation that he had the talent to practice MATs consisting of five attributes, Li Lang had inadvertently neglected his other research. Combat techniques were one of them, and so were his poisons.

He had long known most toxins only served to drain the victims of their Qi reserve rather than do direct damage. The defenses of those in the Foundation Establishment Realm were just too strong. They didn't need to consciously direct their energies to cleanse the foreign substances, and their Qi would do so automatically. It was practically an autonomic function, like the beating of the heart or breathing.

Li Lang hadn't found a good idea how to bypass this powerful defense until he started working on updating his pill recipes to their Earth-grade equivalents. In the process of doing so, he tested the new pills, checking their efficacy. The Recovery Pill, which was one of the most common pills, was naturally among them. 

By observing the healing process multiple times, an idea had sprouted within Li Lang's mind, but it wasn't until the downtime on Sword Saint Isle that he had a chance to create these new poisons. Having realized his spear artifact was capable of harming Qi beasts of the Foundation Establishment Realm, he was eager to get the tests started.

Without the convenient function of his old spear, which could load cartridges of poison, Li Lang had to employ the classic method of smearing the poison directly on the spearhead. The quantity this system could deliver paled in comparison to his old spear, and the poison could degrade from exposure to the elements. He had tried to address this issue by adding the cartridge mechanics to the exterior of his spear artifact, but this had never worked out. It was too easy for it to be destroyed, and it just wasn't possible to hollow out an artifact without destroying it. 

Thankfully, those drawbacks didn't matter to his current test. The surrounding area was infested with Qi beasts.

Once he was ready, he climbed out of the sand dune and openly trekked across the desert. He would only fly up occasionally when the sand swallowed him up to his knees. It served as a reminder that this place wasn't a normal desert, and some strange powers acted on it.

Putting in no effort to hide, it didn't take long before something burrowed out from below. A violet carapace glittered under the blazing sun as it lunged toward Li Lang. He instantly dove out of the way and assessed his new opponent. He had to wait until gravity did its work on the curtain of sand to identify the target.

It was a purple scorpion, no bigger than a go-kart, but it was quick and agile. With a good chance it was venomous, Li Lang covered himself with the Primordial Star Fire to be safe before continuing to engage. It took full advantage of the heavenly flame's properties to be able to have different temperatures without any transfer of heat. He could stay safe while it would burn everything that tried to touch him, including any venoms.

Without fear of being poisoned, the fight quickly devolved into a standard brawl, with a constant exchange of attacks. Li Lang eventually managed to land a powerful thrust that broke past its hard carapace on the scorpion's hind legs.

Li Lang immediately retreated and went into observation mode.

The powerful scorpion should shrug off the poison if he used cyanide, but his new batch was all made from various Earth-grade materials. He used the processing methods within the Vengeful Leaf Compendium, but it was truly a custom brew. 

With such a distinction between mortals and cultivators, Li Lang had no qualms about trying to create new poisons using unique resources only found in this world, but that wasn't the only reason he became so adventurous with his ingredients. His new idea wasn't aimed at causing damage in the traditional way, so he wanted to test out as many combinations as possible to compare the results.

He carefully watched as the scorpion prepared itself to lunge at the prey before it. Just as it went into action, it suddenly tripped and crashed into the ground!

Li Lang didn't dawdle and instantly moved around the scorpion to inspect the leg he had injured. The wound had healed up, but it was a different shade of purple now. It marked where he had struck, but otherwise appeared fine. There was no bleeding or any other visible wounds. Despite that, Li Lang smirked.

All that's left is to evaluate which formula is the most effective now.

Chapter 255: Damaging Deoxyribonucleic Acid

Li Lang's new poison was simple in theory. After observing how Qi was the cure-all wonder substance that could not only eliminate all toxins, but also cure wounds when processed into Recovery Pills, Li Lang began wondering just how that worked.

Normally, when the body healed, it used the genetic information stored in the DNA to guide cell repair and regeneration. The healing when employing Recovery Pills or specialized Qi arts was fast, but he believed it should follow the same rule. With that in mind, he began wondering what would happen if he created a poison that damaged the very foundation of this healing process, the DNA.

Unfortunately, Ruby couldn't simulate the effects of these techniques on living samples. Nothing alive but him could exist in the artifact space. It was the same reason he couldn't cultivate his techniques in the pocket realm while he could test out various craft techniques.

With both his offensive power and time lacking, he ended up never having the chance to carry out the corresponding tests to test this theory. It was only now, during the anticipated Dark Sea Arena, that he would have a chance to test out all the poisons he had prepared.

While it took his full power to simply break the skin of powerful Qi beasts within his realm of cultivation, it was more than enough to apply his works. He carefully monitored the effects of the new types of poisons he employed, noting down the area of effect, severity, onset time, duration of actual damage, and other telling indicators.

At first, it surprised Li Lang that his idea had worked. The regenerative abilities of Qi beasts didn't address the DNA damage of their cells, only speeding up the cell division process. This meant the newly divided cells copied over the damaged DNA. The body had its natural way of repairing DNAs, but the Qi-empowered healing process didn't seem to include those.

"Interesting. The wounds are still healing but are leading to overgrowth and mutations. The areas closest to the wound are even showing signs of apoptosis. It's causing this scorpion to lose balance and control of the affected area."

With over a dozen different poisons to test, Li Lang actively searched out more test subjects. The Foundation Establishment level beasts were smart enough to escape when they felt the danger, so he never finished any of them off, but that didn't matter that much to him. In fact, he would prefer for them to survive longer, so he could observe the duration and effectiveness of their bodies healing from the DNA damage.

This exercise inevitably served not to only test his poison, but also helped him get the hang of combating these higher-level beasts. The few times he had challenged them previously always ended up with either Ma Kong or Zhu Yi coming to assist him. Whether he knew it or not, Li Lang's ability to solo these challenging targets began to rise at an increasing pace.

Having lost himself to his research, a day quickly passed without Li Lang realizing it. His vision suddenly warped, and he found himself within one of the nine platforms within the venue hosted by Sword Saint Isle.

He glanced around and found a few familiar faces in the same spot he had last seen them in, but many people were missing as well. Wei Ping and Sima Xue were still right next to him, but Long Yi was missing.

The group glanced around and, with their vantage point of being near the edge, they soon spotted a group of cultivators standing beside the platform, looking toward them with mixed expressions.

"Does t-this mean those of us still remain on t-the platforms as those who passed?" Wei Ping muttered.

"Should be," Sima Xue replied. "It seems you two passed while your friend, Long Yi, didn't. I can't say that was why I was expecting."

"Luck p-played a big role in my case. I encountered an acquaintance who helped me survive the day."

"Hmmm, then what about Li Lang here?"

The two turned to the man in question, who appeared as if he was in a world of his own. His eyes were closed, and he sported a serene expression. That didn't stop the princess of Nightmoon Valley, though. She closed the distance and began shaking her target of questioning until she got her answers.

"What? I was already in a poor mood when this test ended too fast, and now you're on my case for what?"

"Ended too fast? We were trying to get you to tell us how you managed to survive in the first place!"

"Umm, nothing special, really? Qi beasts with the strength of the early stage of Foundation Establishment are not easy for me to defeat, but the reverse is true, too. Is it that surprising I didn't lose to them?"

"Early stage?" Sima Xue parroted before turning to the man with the wooden mask.

Wei Ping shrugged, causing Sima Xue to get even more agitated as she narrowed her eyes at her interrogate.

"What?" Li Lang asked. He was genuinely confused about what she was getting at.

"How did you only encounter early-stage Qi beasts? Did you bribe the Sword Saint's people or something? Your luck can't possibly be that good!"

With her outburst, more and more of their fellow competitors began to turn an ear to their conversation. Many of them were already discreetly eavesdropping, having recognized Sima Xue, but their interest only grew.

"Were we brought to different places? All I encountered were early-stage Qi beasts, and I barely encountered any, too. I had to go out of my way to find more of them."

"That can't be possible. I encountered other competitors, so we should've all been brought to the same area. At least for those of us in our group. The more we fought, the more we were swarmed! Near the end of the day, I even had a group of mid-stage Qi beasts chasing after me!"

Li Lang glanced around and found many people, including Wei Ping, nodding along with her words. It was his turn to be confused this time, but he didn't have an answer for them. The tension around their platform began to grow as Li Lang stayed silent. Many of the other contestants began to direct their gaze at the elder floating above them, as they were responsible for the formation that brought them elsewhere. However, none of them dared to question a Violet Core elder.

Thankfully, the Violet Core expert didn't leave them without answers. Perhaps due to the presence of numerous dignitaries and other powerful cultivators, they projected their voice to give an explanation to the entire venue.

"The first round is completely fair. The illusionary realm you were brought to have Qi beasts that were particularly sensitive to Qi. The more you displayed your power, the more enemies you would attract."

A few of the participants who had stayed silent until now sneered.

"You muscle heads need to start learning to use your brain more. Fighting head-on all the time is the sign of a barbarian. You'd do good to realize that."

That comment earned a few glares, but the hostility quickly stopped. It wasn't enough to provoke anyone more when demonic cultivators and righteous cultivators were already restraining themselves. It paled in comparison to the arguments they would otherwise get into.

With that, the first round for the early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators ended, and they got off their platforms.

A rowdy discussion began as the cultivators began to discuss their experiences. The point of this event was to conduct an exchange, so they did exactly that. 

"Fellow Chu Lan, that Qi art you used earlier really opened my eyes. Will you humor me for a duel?"

"Sun Duo, show yourself! We have a score to settle! There's no more excuses now that the first round is over."

As for Li Lang's group, they naturally went to rendezvous with Long Yi. With Sima Xue in tow, even Jian Beiyun and others began to congregate around them.

"You two—" Long Yi weakly muttered. "How did you both pass but I didn't? I could deal with those desert slugs fine, but when three of them appeared at once—"

"Don't w-worry about it," Wei Ping comforted. "I got l-lucky. That brat I told y-you about back when I came—"

"Brat, you say?" a newcomer interrupted.

The trio turned to find a young girl glaring their way. Behind her was a middle-aged man with a clean-shaven face. His appearance made Jian Beiyun stop his conversation with his Junior Sister so he could greet the man. He had his usual friendly demeanor, but his eyes weren't smiling at all.

"If it isn't the Whispering Half Saint. To what do I owe to the occasion?"

"Don't worry. I didn't come to see you. I don't dare to ask for an audience with the great Slithering Shadow so easily, after all."

Sparks could be seen flying between their gaze. The young woman known as Wang Xiuying ignored the confrontation and walked over to Wei Ping and his companions.

"Senior Uncle, I must've misheard earlier. You wouldn't ever call a charming lady like me a brat, right?"

Hearing this, Wei Ping's two friends looked at him in amusement. He had been with them long enough that nothing good was to come of this. He wisely tried to change the subject.

"Anyway, t-this is Wang Xiuying. She was the one w-who helped me out in that illusionary realm."