Chapter 23: Separated

In this battle, Jiang Yi unleashed his full might, defeating three Supreme Elders of the Yaoguang Sacred Land and plundering the entire source region, including several rare and precious source stones.

When the news spread afterward, the entire Northern Region was shaken, and the reputation of the Thirteen Great Bandits reached new heights. However, this brought with it the fury of the Yaoguang Sacred Land; as one of the top sacred lands in the Eastern Wasteland, they could not swallow such a bitter humiliation. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a legendary powerhouse from a millennium ago emerge from the Yaoguang Sacred Land, heading toward the Northern Region. There was no need to guess their purpose—they were surely coming to settle accounts with Jiang Yi.

...

Several days later, in a small oasis in the Northern Region, Li Yao overheard the discussions in a tavern and finally grasped an overview of what had transpired in the source region after he left. A sense of relief washed over him; he had unwittingly brushed against death.

"It is fortunate that Zhang Chong sent me away. In a conflict of that caliber, even the shockwaves could have claimed my life. Even if I hadn't been caught in the aftermath, any one of the eighty-plus riders led by Jiang Yi would have been enough to kill me."

In that battle, more than seventy percent of the personnel in the Yaoguang source region, excluding the three Supreme Elders, had perished. It was a devastating loss. Had he remained there, who could say if he would have met the same fate?

"The reason the two guarding Supreme Elders and Zhang Chong only suffered severe injuries rather than death is likely not because Jiang Yi was incapable of killing them, but because he did not want to burn all bridges with the Yaoguang Sacred Land."

Although Jiang Yi had caused quite a stir in the source region, he had not crossed the sacred land's ultimate bottom line. This was evident from the fact that Yaoguang had only dispatched one Great Power. Had he truly executed those three Supreme Elders, the Yaoguang Sacred Land would likely have mobilized their Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Tripod.

"Jiang Yi must have understood this; otherwise, with his strength as a Great Power, killing three Supreme Elders would have been effortless," Li Yao speculated.

While the Yaoguang Sacred Land maintained several source regions around the Ancient Mine of Absolute Beginning, each guarded by experts, those individuals were tasked with defending their respective zones. Even if they provided reinforcements, they would not abandon their posts, and since the regions were not interconnected, traversing the distance took time. Jiang Yi could have easily killed the three men before help arrived, yet he chose not to.

"Sigh, the benefit of being backed by a major power is that before others strike, they must weigh whether the organization behind you will pursue them to the end."

Li Yao stood up and left the tavern. Clad in simple grey robes and covered in the dust of travel, he appeared as an ordinary rogue cultivator, drawing no attention. Having obtained the information he sought, there was no reason to linger. His destination was the very center of the Northern Region and the Eastern Wasteland—the legendary God City.

When Zhang Chong had sent him thousands of miles away with a single palm, Li Yao had seen the battle from afar and immediately chose a direction to flee. Two days later, he arrived at this oasis, where he finally learned the local news. The place was called Yuantian City, a small oasis located seventy or eighty thousand miles from the Holy City.

Although this unexpected turn of events had occurred, it strangely aligned with Li Yao’s own intentions. On the surface, being separated from Zhang Chong and losing the protection of a "half-step Great Power" increased the danger significantly. Yet, as the saying goes, "Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and blessing may hide misfortune." Without the protection of a powerful figure, he now possessed a sky of freedom.

He could not let anyone know what he had truly done. Even though, logically speaking, Zhang Chong would never harm him—given that he was the future pillar of the Rising Sun Divine Island for the next thousand years—Li Yao dared not gamble. There were too many inexplicable aspects to his situation.

He was a genius, and in the eyes of Elder Xun and Zhang Chong, he was likely already comparable to the Holy Son of Yaoguang. But this still did not explain how he had achieved what he had. To glance at a scripture and completely grasp it, then innovate upon it and elevate it to a new level—this was not something a cultivator at the Life Spring realm should be capable of. It was simply too inconceivable.

Heaven knows if these people might have a sudden lapse in judgment, suspecting he possessed some incredible secret, and decide to capture him to search his soul. Even if the probability was slim, Li Yao could not bet his life on it. Until he had the strength to control his own destiny, he refused to leave his life to luck.

After exiting the city gate and walking along the bustling streets, a brilliant divine rainbow surged from his body, enveloping him and lifting him three yards above the ground. This was the Northern Region, infested with marauders and ruthless characters; if he dared to travel too high on his divine rainbow, he would surely be targeted.

The land was desolate—red soil, reddish-brown rocks, a scene of bleakness and withered silence.

This was all that met Li Yao's eyes. He traveled at high speed, but the scenery remained the same. With the Heavenly Book absorbing essence from the outside world to sustain him, his divine power remained incredibly abundant, showing no signs of depletion even as he traveled via the divine rainbow.

However, he did not travel incessantly. Although his divine power was full, his body still felt fatigue, so he generally traveled by day and rested by night.

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

Inside a temporarily excavated cave, Li Yao sat cross-legged in meditation. Before him floated a piece of pure source the size of a fist. As he circulated the Yaoguang Imperial Scripture, vast amounts of essence were guided into his body through every pore.

Once nourished by the essence, his Bitter Sea began to expand slowly. In the center of the sea, the Life Spring surged, the fountain of divine power boiling. The spring eye at the bottom of the sea had widened many times over, gushing forth endlessly and occasionally erupting with rays of glowing light.

His cultivation was advancing rapidly, all thanks to his understanding of the Yaoguang Imperial Scripture, which had reached the point of turning decay into magic. When the Heavenly Book deduced the Yaoguang Scripture, it was no less than a total re-creation of the technique. Since Li Yao and the Heavenly Book were one, he naturally inherited the insights from that creation. One could even say that Li Yao had personally created the Yaoguang Imperial Scripture; thus, as the creator practicing his own work, the fit was perfect, and he could wield it as easily as his own arm.

This was a state of cultivation others dreamed of; those who studied the scriptures of others could never reach such a realm. It was likely that only an Imperial Child, when practicing their father's scriptures, could experience what Li Yao was feeling—and even then, perhaps only to seventy or eighty percent. Under such conditions, combined with the immense essence of the pure source, his cultivation speed was naturally, and quite shockingly, fast.

The next day, as the sun appeared on the horizon, Li Yao ended his meditation and continued his journey.