Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

As panic began to set in across the neutral territory after the Soul Ascension Realm city lord informed his friends and they in turn spread the news to their friends, Xuan Hao and Pei Yang travelled for a few weeks before arriving at the border to the small kingdom with the Earth Immortal Realm ancestor.

Although they could go around the kingdom and avoid possibly offending the ancestor of the small kingdom, doing so would add another few months to their journey, as they would be forced to pass through some dangerous regions that could even pose a threat to someone in the Earth Immortal Realm.

With this in mind, it was far more preferable to go through the small kingdom where they only had a small chance of running into the Earth Immortal Realm ancestor. Not to mention, even if they ended up running into the Earth Immortal Realm ancestor, they had no prior relationship with him and didn't have any reason to fight even if they ran into each other.

Even if the ancestor in the Earth Immortal Realm wanted to fight with them, they both doubted that he would do so inside his own kingdom. After all, the damage caused by a fight between two Earth Immortal Realm cultivators would be more than enough to level the small space that the kingdom occupied.

Whoosh~! Because of all that, Xuan Hao didn't stop at the border of the small kingdom and continued into the kingdom. Moving in the direction of the Sky Empire.

If everything went well, it shouldn't take more than an hour to pass through the small kingdom and reach one of the empires bordering the Sky Empire. At that point in time, they would only be a few days away from reaching the Star Shattering Sect and there wouldn't really be anything for them to worry about outside of some forbidden regions along the way.

…

At the same time Xuan Hao and Pei Yang crossed over the border of the small kingdom, a man looking no more than thirty years old opened his eyes inside the kingdom's ancestral temple before turning to look in direction where Xuan Hao and Pei Yang were, a hint of surprise flashing through his eyes.

"Two people in the Earth Immortal Realm, one gravely wounded unable to utilize his strength while the other- Huh? That's weird… I sense the presence of his Dao Lotus, but it feels different. Maybe he is a practitioner of an ancient art? As far as I know, only those people proficient in ancient arts would have such a strange Dao Lotus…" Muttering this to himself as he focused his full attention on Xuan Hao, ignoring Pei Yang, the man slowly got up.

"Considering the fact that he might have come into possession of an ancient art, he should have stumbled upon one of those sects. Maybe I should try and capture him and see if I can- The Dao of Space?!"

Just as the man was considering whether or not to capture Xuan Hao to try and interrogate him in an attempt to learn about the place behind the strangeness of his Dao Lotus, he suddenly noticed Xuan Hao using the Dao of Space while travelling through the kingdom. Not just that, but he quickly realized that his comprehension of the Dao of Space had at least reached the Large Success Realm.

"How troublesome, capturing someone proficient in the Dao of Space without adequate preparations is close to impossible. Even if I'm stronger, I won't be able to stop him from escaping if he wants. Even then, I can't give up the chance to learn about those sects, they might hold the opportunity I need to reach the Celestial Immortal Realm!" Giving up on capturing Xuan Hao, the man instead decided to try a more peaceful method…

Riiiip~! With this in mind, the man instantly tore apart the space in front of himself as he stepped forward. Instantly disappearing from the empty hall. Displaying his own mastery over the Dao of Space in the process.

…

"Hm?" Almost instantly noticing someone approaching due to his comprehension of the Dao of Space, Xuan Hao came to a stop as he looked towards the direction where he had felt the disturbance while Pei Yang could only look on with a confused expression on his face.

Although everyone would gain the ability to manipulate space to some extent upon reaching a high enough cultivation realm, it was nothing when compared to someone who had comprehended the Dao of Space.

It was also because of this, that catching someone in the Dao of Space without proper preparations or far superior strength was close to impossible, something that also seemed to be the case for the Earth Immortal Realm from what Xuan Hao had learnt about the realm so far.

"Is something-"

Riiiip~!

Just as Pei Yang was about to ask about what caused them to stop all of a sudden, the space a few hundred meters in front of them was torn open to reveal a small passage that soon collapsed as a young man around thirty stepped through it.

"The Earth Immortal Realm ancestor…"

Even without the man saying anything, it did not take a genius to figure out that the man standing in front of them was the ancestor of the small kingdom that they had hoped to avoid if possible. On the other hand, the more pressing matter was the fact that the strength displayed by the man was in no way inferior to the general of the East Sea Army. An Earth Immortal in the Half Bloom Stage that has mastered the Dao of Space…!

Thinking this to himself as he looked at the man who had appeared in front of them, Xuan Hao could not help frowning as he prepared himself to run away the moment the other party showed any signs of hostility.

Even if the man shouldn't have reached the Large Success Realm in the Dao of Space, his strength being at the Half Bloom Stage still meant that he might have other ways to stop him from escaping.

More important than all of this, the information that the city lord had provided them with only said that the ancestor was around the earlier stages of the Earth Immortal Realm. Nowhere near the Peak of the Earth Immortal Realm like the person currently standing in front of them.

The only reason why he and Pei Yang didn't mistake the man for one of the Blue Sea Empire's experts that had come chasing after Pei Yang was due to the fact that the man in front of them was wearing a long luxurious robe with the small kingdoms symbol engraved into it.

If not for that, Xuan Hao wouldn't even have bothered waiting for the other party to speak and would have directly turned around and escaped back in the direction of the neutral territories. Hoping to use the place to shake off the Blue Sea Empire without them learning about the fact that he was from the Sky Empire nor how he was connected to the Star Shattering Sect.

"Might I ask what reason this senior is here? We just happened to pass through this kingdom on our way to find a place for my friend here to recover." Cautiously asking this after thinking things through, Xuan Hao narrowed both of his eyes as he didn't dare to let the man in front of him out of sight for even a second.

Considering the fact that they hadn't done anything to the kingdom and did indeed just happen to pass through on their way to the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao felt that the ancestor of the small kingdom shouldn't make things too difficult for them and would at most ask for a little something from them.

"Don't worry, I'm not here with ill intentions, I just noticed both of you passing through my kingdom without permission and came here. Given that I don't get out much, I was hoping to get some information about a place I have been searching for from seasoned wanderers like both of you. Don't worry, if you don't know about the place I'm searching for, I won't make things difficult for you."

"Information? I wonder what place senior is talking about. If you could give me a description of the place, I might be able to help you." Hearing that he only wanted information from them, Xuan Hao could not help letting out a sigh of relief as he said this.

Although he might not know a lot about the core region of the continent, Pei Yang was a seasoned wanderer and knew about a lot of different places.

"Great, the place I'm searching for is a mystic realm that was once controlled by an ancient sect called the Mirage Sect, I wonder if any of you know about it?"

"…"

Never mind… It would be much better if he just asked them for a few spiritual herbs and spirit stones!