Chapter 98 – Introduction to the Foreign Battleground
All of the powerful Nascent Soul cultivators flew toward Heaven’s Tower.
Deep in the caves of the Corpse Sect, Ye Zizai’s eyes lit up as he disappeared from the room and quickly teleported away. Before he left, he used his green jade to send out a command to every Corpse Sect disciple.
“I’m going out for a few days. Open up the defense formation and kill anyone that dares to leave!”
The Teng family ancestor, Teng Huayuan, was cultivating inside the Teng family ancestral home when the rainbow colored cloud appeared. His eyes lit up and hesitation appeared in his eyes. After a while, he left a voice transmission jade and left.
The same scene happened across various major sects throughout Zhao.
From the area of Zhao, all of the trails of light gathered at Heaven’s Tower.
Heaven’s Tower was the symbol of a country that was part of the Cultivation Union. When a country joins, the Union sends someone to build the tower. A messenger lives inside Heaven’s Tower. This messenger doesn’t interfere with the affairs of the country they’re in and only comes out to settle big problems.
Punnan Zi was the first Nascent Soul cultivator to reach Heaven’s Tower. After all, he was the last remaining Nascent Soul cultivator from 500 years ago. His cultivation level was already mid stage Nascent Soul and he was only one step away from late stage Nascent Soul.
Along with the experience he got from the foreign battleground, he had a solid hold on the position of most powerful cultivator in Zhao.
He was wearing a gray robe as he appeared at the base of Heaven’s Tower. Looking at Heaven’s Tower, the octagon shaped tower reached all the way up to the sky. There were bursts of light coming from the tower, making it look very mysterious.
Punnan Zi looked up at Heaven’s Tower with fear still lingering in his eyes. This was the second time he had been here. The first time was 500 years ago, when all 23 Nascent Soul cultivators of Zhao were forced by a rank 4 country to enter the foreign battleground.
500 years later, he was the only person who returned.
Punnan Zi didn’t even know how he survived these 500 years. There were several large battles every day and life and death was decided in an instant.
Over these 500, years he saw many powerful cultivators. These powerful cultivators would only need to move their fingers to kill him.
One of the Nascent Soul cultivators from Zhao, the ancestor of the Heng Yue Sect, Punnan Zi personally saw him being swallowed whole by a very ordinary looking cultivator.
The more Punnan Zi saw, the more scared he became, and the more scared he became, the more he wanted to break past the Nascent Soul stage. In those 500 years in the foreign battleground, he learned that beyond the Spirit Severing stage, there was the Soul Transformation stage.
With mixed feelings, he bowed toward Heaven’s Tower and said, “Messenger, Xuan Dao Sect’s Punnan Zi is here.”
“Punnan Zi, you and I can be considered old acquaintances. You don’t need to be so formal.” A hearty voice came from the tower, followed by an old man. This old man was slightly round, kind of ugly, and was wearing a green robe that highlighted his round belly, making him look kind of funny.
But Punnan Zi didn’t dare to show any disrespect. He waved his hand and took out a bag of holding. He handed it to the old man and said, “Lord messenger, these are some materials I have gathered since I returned. Some of these are materials you asked for.”
The fat old man narrowed his eyes and let out a laugh. He accepted the bag without even looking at it and put it away as he said, “Punnan Zi, you are the first Nascent Soul cultivator from Zhao that managed to return from the foreign battleground since I became the messenger of Zhao. I have already sent all of your information to my sect. They have sent word that if you manage to break into the late stage of Nascent Soul within 100 years, then they will break the rules and accept you as an honorary disciple
Punnan Zi revealed a look of ecstasy and nodded.
As the two were talking, two streaks of light arrived, landing in an open area. A man and woman were in them. The man looked about 30 years old. He was very handsome in an evil kind of way. When he saw the fat old man, he quickly and respectfully said, “He Huan Sect’s Chen Huan greets lord messenger.”
The female was very beautiful. She looked at the fat old man and respectfully said, “He Huan Sect’s Chen Yan greets lord messenger.”
The fat messenger nodded and no longer paid them any attention as he began to chat with Punnan Zi. From his view, only Punnan Zi barely had the right to talk with him.
Shortly after, more than 10 people arrived, including Teng Huayuan. The last one to arrive was Ye Zizai. The moment he entered the tower, the fat messenger exhaled softly. He looked at Ye Zizai and let out a faint smile.
When all of the Nascent Soul cultivators arrived, the rainbow colored cloud became even denser in the sky. The fat messenger’s expression became serious as he formed a few seals and shot them into the sky.
Shortly after, the cloud began to stir and a ray of red light landed from the sky onto Heaven’s Tower. Soon, the other six colors of the rainbow landed on Heaven’s Tower as well.
After Heaven’s Tower absorbed the seven rays of light, it shook and a ring of light dozens of meters in diameter appeared from the top of the tower. The ring of light shot into the sky, forming a black hole. Rings of white lightning surrounded the black hole.
Looking up, one could see waves of energy spreading out with the pillars of light as the center. The clouds melted like hot water being poured on snow.
Gusts of wind appeared from the pillars of light. The gust hit everyone’s clothes, making popping sounds. Most of the people present were early stage Nascent Soul cultivators. All of them backed up a few steps under the wind. Only four people withstood the wind and didn’t back up.
These four people were Punnan Zi, Ye Zizai, a white haired cultivator from the Piao Miao Sect, and a skinny old man from the Tian Dao Sect.
The fat messenger’s expression became very serious. He flew into the air and respectfully shouted, “Rank 3 country moderator Shi Linyi welcomes the arrival of the cultivation union messenger.”
A huge head appeared from the black hole and coldly looked at everyone.
Including the four that didn’t back up, all of the Nascent Soul cultivators here felt as if their Nascent Souls were about to collapse under that gaze. They didn’t doubt at all that if the person in the black hole stared at them any longer, their Nascent Souls wouldn’t be able to withstand the pressure and explode.
Punnan Zi was the first to recover. His face was pale. He recognized this figure very clearly. It was an expert of the Giant Demon Family from the foreign battleground. This family of cultivators cultivated by devouring other cultivators. The ancestor of the Heng Yue Sect was swallowed by a member of the Giant Demon Family before they even revealed their true form.
The giant’s gaze landed on Linyi and his expression became a bit softer, but he impatiently said, “This desolate area barely has any spiritual energy at all. If it wasn’t for the damn treaty, I could suck all of the spiritual energy from here in one breath. All of you, listen well. The foreign battleground will open up in five months. You guys of Zhao are responsible for the 100,000 square kilometer area 58 degrees north of the entrance. There are seven tokens there. Same rules as normal; four of them must be broken. Only at most three sects are allowed to enter. If more than three tokens remain after five months, the country of Zhao will lose its right to participate.
With that, the giant opened his mouth and seven rays of light flew out of it, landing on the ground and revealing seven tokens. With that done, the giant’s head went back into the black hole, but his head suddenly poked back out and he shouted, “If you find a bead like this in the foreign battleground, you must immediately turn it in. Anyone who turns it in will be rewarded a Soul Transformation level magic treasure, their sect will be rewarded 10 Spirit Severing stage zombies, and their country will be raised by one rank!”
“But if anyone dares to keep it to themselves, their entire country will be wiped out. Linyi, this is a message sent out by the higher ups from Suzaku. You will get the message in a few days.” With that, his eyes lit up and the clouds in the sky moved to form an image. The image was that of a bead with a few clouds carved onto it.
If Wang Lin was here, he would immediately recognize that it was the bead that he had been storing near his chest.
With that, the giant muttered a few times and then a giant hand came out from the black hole and grabbed the light pillar at the top of Heaven’s Tower. He shook it a few times and said, “Linyi, I’m taking this seven color magical treasure. I can’t just come here for nothing.”
After a large rumble, the pillar of light was pulled into the black hole and disappeared along with it. The rainbow colored cloud in the sky scattered and the huge pressure covering Zhao disappeared.
The fat messenger’s face became ugly. He let out a cold snort as he waved his sleeves and entered the tower. From the tower came his gloomy voice.
“The same old rule; Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators aren’t allowed to join. Bring your Foundation Establishment cultivators. They are your main fighting force. Everyone, go back. The battle will start in 3 days.”
The seven orthodox and demonic sects picked up their tokens. They looked at each other and left without a word. The only interesting part was that the Nascent Soul cultivators of the three orthodox sects all went in the same direction.
Tian Dao Sect’s skinny old man viciously looked at the three people that left and said, “Fellow cultivators, how about you all come over to my place for a bit?”