On the Fourth Heaven, the fierce astral winds howled.
Cyan Dome carried Li Jizhou swiftly as he flew away.
In his past life, Li Jizhou had only experienced the astral winds of the Third Heaven at most.
A month later, he once again trod the land of Yan Kingdom in the Eastern Desolate Southern Domain.
After twenty years, Yan Kingdom flourished again, owing to the righteous and demonic war twenty years ago, during which the Demon Sect's Golden Corpse extracted the primary spirits from the spirit veins in all cultivation countries south of Purple Vine Mountain. Now, almost all the spirit veins in the cultivation countries south of Purple Vine Mountain had nearly dried up.
Once in the Qi Kingdom's cultivation site, Inverted Mountain had the highest tier four spirit vein, which then dropped to tier three until the Golden Corpse fully matured, completely extracting the spirit vein, leaving it as a mundane land. Meanwhile, during the hundred years of the righteous and demonic war, the third-tier spirit vein lands of the Golden Sun Sect, Divine Intent Sect, and Cold Wind Valley, which initially were not severely affected, also completely declined, now only at tier one level.
Therefore, almost all cultivators south of Purple Vine Mountain lost their cultivation environments, either fighting to survive, undertaking arduous journeys to Yan Kingdom.
Or remaining in the Foundation Establishment stage for life, sighing at the unattainable way.
Looking around, the once-unauthorized tier one spirit root wastelands now had many forces lingering.
Besides, in recent years, many cultivators from Central Domain have also come to the Yan Kingdom trying their luck.
"Getting increasingly competitive!"
After entering Yan Kingdom, Li Jizhou collected the Cyan Dome into the Blood Fiend Realm.
Ever since Li Jizhou exposed the Guanghan Seal in his past life, the influential figures of Yan Kingdom had never ceased their attention.
Especially those from the Cangming Dynasty.
When it came to ordinary cultivators, Li Jizhou felt assured with the Blood Fiend Realm, particularly when backed by the threatening golden talisman bestowed by the late-stage Void Refining grand cultivator, Saint Emperor Li Yuan.
But now, the golden talisman had been used, and his realm had been confined by the master of Celestial Punishment Order, so his confidence waned.
Facing such formidable foes as the Cangming Dynasty, who likely had detailed information on him as well as his four demonic female companions.
To avoid potential risks, he collected the four women into the realm.
"Senior..."
Walking in a small town near the Qingyin Valley, where Yu Ziyu was once located, in the west of Yan Kingdom, Li Jizhou seemed to return to his loose cultivation days.
A scruffy-looking, sneaky-eyed Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator came up to him.
Li Jizhou observed her for a few moments and found she was a little girl.
"Senior, I stumbled upon this in a cave today. I'm not sure what it is, but it seems valuable. However, my father has suffered from a cold poison and needs a Tier One Detoxification Pill urgently, so I'm selling it cheaply to you, who seems destined to it."
Li Jizhou glanced at the corner of the "treasure" she exposed and smiled slightly.
"Looks like a map fragment?"
"Senior, you have a sharp eye; I didn't even realize. Could it be a piece of a treasure map?" The little girl feigned a clumsy surprise.
"Hmm, it looks quite intricate. A map impressed on cold jade might indeed be a treasure map."
"Oh no, I might suffer a loss, Senior, could you not let me lose too much?"
"Did I say I would buy it?" Li Jizhou laughed indifferently.
The little girl was taken aback and then came to her senses: "Senior, do you think it's fun to tease a junior who's just trying to do a good deed?"
Li Jizhou smiled without responding and continued walking forward.
"Hey, hey, Senior, aren't you from a prestigious family in Central State? How come you're not interested in the treasure map?" the girl chased after him.
"Why should I be?" Li Jizhou answered with a smile.
"But aren't you here in Yan Kingdom for Master Chang Chun's treasure?"
"Master Chang Chun's treasure?" Li Jizhou raised his eyebrows slightly. Did he have any treasure?
"Yes, don't you know of Master Chang Chun from twenty years ago? A Lower-grade Spirit Root who proved the Immortal Golden Core, and even wielded a Quasi-Immortal Artifact. If he had become a Nascent Soul True Monarch back then, even the Shangguan family's ancestor might have been helpless against him." The little girl got excited speaking of Master Chang Chun.
"I've heard a bit about it." Li Jizhou nodded.
"Only heard a bit? Senior, you truly don't know Master Chang Chun's influence not only in Yan Kingdom but in the entire Eastern Desolation cultivation world as well."
"Did he become a legend?" Li Jizhou laughed, feeling a bit speechless.
"He was merely a True Man killed at the hands of powerful figures."
The little girl appeared displeased at these words: "Seems like the senior indeed hails from a prominent family in Central State, never lacking resources since young with extraordinary talent, isn't it?"
"But do you realize, Master Chang Chun has long been a beacon for cultivators like us with less than stellar talent."
"Everyone says that spirit root talent determines the length of the path, so those of us with poor talent can't enter sects, don't get resources, and gradually become entrenched at the bottom, but Master Chang Chun gave us hope and guidance."
"Can you look at the base-level cultivators in our Yan Kingdom's cultivation world; are they any different from those in your Central State?"
Li Jizhou frowned slightly; this result was something he never expected.
It was also something he was firmly against.
Having been tempered by his past and first lifetime, he was no longer so naive.
How cultivation was in the past, he didn't know, but in the three lifetimes he experienced, it was indeed such.
Cultivation aptitude determined one's ceiling.
This isn't a man-made cognitive bias, but the restraint of the Celestial Dao.
He still vividly remembers the Heaven and Earth Cage when he formed the Golden Core in his past life.
After a pause, Li Jizhou ultimately didn't say anything.
Thinking about it carefully, this had little to do with his past life; it mainly lay in the discontented heart of base-level cultivators, and Master Chang Chun was merely their self-deceiving symbol.
Even if Master Chang Chun didn't exist, they would fabricate someone else.
Moreover, it wasn't entirely a bad thing.
At least, talent might determine the limit, but effort can help them reach that limit.
"Senior, senior, I said so much, won't you... buy it? Maybe you'll truly find Master Chang Chun's treasure, which might hold a Quasi-Immortal Artifact." Seeing Li Jizhou about to leave, the girl urged again.
"Alright!" Li Jizhou chuckled, pulling out a Spirit Stone from his storage and handing it to her.
"Wow, a Middle Grade Spirit Stone! Senior, with such great blessings, your path surely flourishes, and you will undoubtedly achieve the Great Dao, ascending to the Immortal Realm!" The little girl was astonished, initially preparing to scam for ten Spirit Stones, but unexpectedly got more. She hurriedly bowed and blessed him.
However, when she raised her head again, Li Jizhou's figure was nowhere to be seen, and the cold jade fragment she offered still remained in her hand.
"The generosity of the aristocratic sons of Central State!" The girl's eyes were filled with deep envy.
After leaving the little girl, Li Jizhou arrived at a tavern, ordered a pot of Spirit Wine he enjoyed in his past life.
As he drank, he reviewed new information from the Celestial Punishment Order.
[The third prince of the Cangming Dynasty arrived in Yan Kingdom twenty years ago, searching for traces of Master Chang Chun, seemingly very interested, and hasn't left for over twenty years.]
[The Fifth Princess of the Great Xia Dynasty came to Yan Kingdom ten years ago, lingering around the Fire Domain, seemingly related to a prophecy from a relative adept at divination in her maternal family.]
[Prominent descendants from the Shangguan family, the Jiang family, Taihao Sacred Land, Savage Prison Sacred Land, and the Wang family in Central Domain are mostly stationed in Yan Kingdom.]
[There seems to be significant opportunity within the Fire Domain, with several major forces watching in secret.]
...
After reading the latest news about Yan Kingdom from the Celestial Punishment spies, Li Jizhou frowned slightly, realizing taking Bai Yi out wouldn't be easy.