Chapter 1299: Joyful Land First Encounter

The Great Calamity of Xuanhuang refers to the various extreme changes that naturally arise in the Xuanhuang Realm when it senses its impending destruction, as a means of self-preservation.

These changes represent the extreme evolution of a particular aspect.

For example, the Universal Thermal Entropy and the Freezing of All Things, which Li Fan used in his previous life to impersonate a Hedao cultivator, are such changes. They are no weaker than ordinary ice-elemental World Souls within the Xuanhuang Realm, and even stronger than most.

The Great Calamity changes are often aggressive and destructive. Since they typically only emerge when the Xuanhuang Realm faces an existential crisis, their appearance in the world inevitably triggers a stress response from the Heavenly Dao of Xuanhuang. This results in the Heavenly Dao instinctively becoming wary and distrustful of those who possess these changes, much like Li Fan is experiencing now.

However, the Heavenly Dao of Xuanhuang, after absorbing its separated malevolent thoughts, underwent a transformation akin to an infusion of immortal power and a complete revival. This change manifested specifically in the foundational laws of the Xuanhuang Realm.

Leaving aside the changes related to defying the laws of eternal life, the various restrictions on cultivators within the Xuanhuang Realm also became more stringent with its internal recovery.

These include the bottleneck of the Heavenly Calamity, the inability to cultivate different laws simultaneously, and the anomalies appearing in the sky after a cultivator's demise.

These laws, intimately connected with cultivators' practice, are quietly and rapidly changing.

It will become harder for cultivators to achieve breakthroughs; the celestial phenomena appearing after death will record more information about their lives; the criteria for evaluating different cultivation methods will become stricter, and the total number of cultivation techniques in the world will inexplicably be reduced.

Furthermore, Li Fan faintly perceived that the efficiency with which the Xuanhuang World absorbs and converts the returning Dao foundations of fallen cultivators and world fragments is gradually increasing as its internal power strengthens.

A faint hum, like digestion, subtly echoed throughout the world, undetectable by ordinary cultivators.

In the Xuanhuang Realm, cultivators practice by devouring heaven and earth. With the sudden expansion of the Xuanhuang World's power, the strength of its cultivators is bound to advance by leaps and bounds.

Foundation Establishment cultivators battling Golden Core cultivators, and Golden Core cultivators defeating Nascent Soul cultivators, might become common in the near future.

To escape this predicament, pioneer cultivators must either discard their current cultivation and restart, or find a way to quickly break through to higher realms.

Otherwise, these cultivators who have not "grown" alongside the Xuanhuang World will soon be cast aside by the era.

Witnessing all the drastic changes in the Xuanhuang Realm, Li Fan merely observed intently without actively extracting anything. Although the growth intensity of the Xuanhuang Realm was still far from Li Fan's requirements, it was enough to inspire him.

"This is a change of the Dao. Those who conform to the Dao live, and those who lose it perish. So it is with the Xuanhuang Realm, so it is with the Dark Star Sea, and perhaps it was the same for the Immortal Realm back then," Li Fan mused to himself.

He recalled Sun Erlang's experiences in the True Fruit illusion in his previous life.

"I wonder what they will gain from their journey to the Land of No Worries in this life?"

Inside the Dao Discussion Platform, the silver-white eyes rotated slightly, and images of Sun Erlang and his two companions immediately appeared.

Although they were only cultivators at the peak of the Golden Core realm, they were fortunate to have been taught the Grand Dao by the Sage Master. Both the Myriad Immortals Alliance's and the Five Elders Council's protective formations appeared as mere illusions to them.

They penetrated directly, passed through the Human Dao Celestial Realm, and finally reached the so-called Land of No Worries.

At first glance, it seemed no different from other areas of the Xuanhuang Realm.

Yue Zhenwei, the oldest among the three, surveyed their surroundings, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. "Are there fewer people here than in other places in the Five Elders Council?"

Sun Erlang nodded. "Indeed. And they all look listless. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't align with the idea of 'no worries.'"

Wang Xuanba, on the other hand, said nonchalantly, "Who cares? Our purpose here is to search for the grotto-heaven worlds needed to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, isn't it? Naturally, the fewer people, the better!"

Sun Erlang and Yue Zhenwei also found this reasonable. They would only do what was within their capabilities. The secrets of the Land of No Worries were certainly not something that mere Golden Core cultivators like themselves could uncover.

They immediately continued to conceal their tracks, employing the secret techniques taught by the Sage Master to search for traces of grotto-heavens within the Land of No Worries.

However...

Ten days passed, and they found nothing.

The expressions on their faces became rather grim.

"Impossible! We've practically searched all over Qiuxi Prefecture, and we haven't found a single grotto-heaven?" Wang Xuanba exclaimed, full of disbelief.

"Either there's a problem with the Sage Master's secret technique, or..." Yue Zhenwei's expression was no better.

Sun Erlang continued, "Perhaps there are no grotto-heavens within this Land of No Worries to begin with. Or rather, what we are seeing now is not the true Land of No Worries, but merely an empty shell. The legendary dream realm is where it truly resides."

"What should we do next?" Wang Xuanba scratched his head. "We can't just enter a dream to steal things, can we? How about we go back to the Human Dao Celestial Realm and check there? Although it's more heavily guarded, its territory is larger. As long as we're careful, borrowing a few grotto-heavens shouldn't be a big problem."

Sun Erlang and Yue Zhenwei both nodded.

The three quickly reached a consensus and prepared to withdraw from the Land of No Worries.

However, to their inexplicable horror, although they were returning along the same path they came, the scenery changed dramatically when they reached the border of the Land of No Worries.

The white mist barrier, which spanned the land and served as a natural demarcation line for the prefecture, had vanished. What appeared before them was an endless, boundless desert stretching as far as the eye could see.

"This..."

Standing at the edge of the desert, the three remotely drew some yellow sand from the ground and rubbed it in their hands.

"It's real," Sun Erlang said gravely, clenching his fist.

Wang Xuanba, still somewhat in disbelief, stepped down and sank into quicksand. "How can this be? It was fine when we came, and now we suddenly can't go back? We didn't even get lost!"

"I'm afraid we've unknowingly entered the true dream realm of the Land of No Worries," Yue Zhenwei, the calmest of the three, stated.

He gazed into the distant desert but found no trace of any living beings within it.

"It's best not to venture into this desert. Let's try another direction."

The three once again traversed Qiuxi Prefecture, and at another border, they encountered a completely different, adjoining landscape.

Thundering water descended from the nine heavens. The moment it landed in the Qiuxi stream, it transformed into shimmering foam and vanished without a trace.

Not far away was an aquatic world suspended high in the sky.

Not only were many creatures swimming within it, but numerous underwater structures could also be faintly discerned.

"How about we try going in here? We can't get out anyway right now," Wang Xuanba suggested.

"Let's observe a bit more." Yue Zhenwei examined it closely and found that while there was life in this aquatic world, the primary civilization building the underwater structures consisted of wriggling octopuses.

They seemed to possess their own language and writing, ruling this underwater world.

Yet, they showed no awareness whatsoever of Sun Erlang and his companions, who were observing them freely from just a thread's distance away. It was as if they existed in different worlds.

Temporarily leaving the aquatic world, the three continued to search along the border of Qiuxi Prefecture.

Finally, in the southwest corner, they discovered a third adjoining prefecture.

In the nearby prefecture, a massive boulder stood on the seashore.

It was strikingly identical to the giant coastal boulder they had seen before in Shilinzhou of the Xuanhuang Realm.

"Excellent! We've finally found a way out!" Wang Xuanba exclaimed excitedly.

Just as he was about to rush forward, Sun Erlang stopped him.

"Be careful! Something doesn't seem right!"

As Sun Erlang spoke, two figures appeared one after another above the coastal boulder.

The first figure was disheveled and appeared to be heavily wounded.

The figure in pursuit, clearly much faster than the first, seemed to be relishing the thrill of the hunt, constantly maintaining a precise distance between them. This gave the fleeing individual the illusion that they could escape with a bit more effort, when in reality, there was no escaping.

If it had been a normal chase, the three wouldn't have been particularly surprised. However, the one pursuing the human cultivator fleeing desperately was a demon with a human body and a dog's head!

Just as the human cultivator was about to frantically escape the bounds of Shilinzhou and enter the Congyun Sea, the dog-headed demon finally grew impatient and actively ended the chase.

Its hand reverted to a dog's paw, clamping down firmly on the human cultivator. The dog-headed demon laughed maniacally, watching the human's desperate and pained expression amidst their wails.

Then, satisfied, it opened its mouth, ready to swallow the human cultivator.

"Vile beast! Stop!" In the heat of his youthful passion, how could Wang Xuanba stand by and watch such a scene of cannibalism unfold before him?

Sun Erlang and Yue Zhenwei had no time to stop him. A giant gray-white axe, emanating an ancient aura, broke through the boundary between the two different territories and appeared before the dog-headed demon.

Yet, the dog-headed demon seemed to have been prepared.

A ferocious, excited expression flashed in its eyes. It casually tossed aside the human cultivator, its captured "meal."

Ignoring the giant gray-white axe about to strike its head, it charged directly towards Wang Xuanba and his companions.

As the dog-headed demon moved, its region of Xuanhuang Shilinzhou simultaneously underwent a strange expansion. It instantly engulfed the territory of Qiuxi Prefecture, enveloping Sun Erlang and his two companions!

As if a dream had descended into reality, the world of the dog-headed demon converged with the world of Sun Erlang and his companions!

Wang Xuanba's gray-white great axe struck the back of the dog-headed demon's neck, but only produced a clang of metal! A full-force blow, strong enough to split mountains, failed to even cut through the demon's skin!

Wang Xuanba snorted, utterly fearless. "Did you think your grandpa's axe was only sharp?! You dared to take it head-on, relying on your tough body? A beast is just a beast!"

The dog-headed demon's expression subtly changed, as if it understood Wang Xuanba's words. Only then did a distinct gray scar emerge from its nape. The gray quickly spread upward, completely engulfing the demon's dog head.

Moments later, the gray-white head disintegrated into dust, scattering into the air.

"Look out!"

Yue Zhenwei's and Sun Erlang's voices rang out simultaneously.

But while Wang Xuanba was basking in his triumph, the headless dog-headed demon moved again.

Its figure flickered, and it was already in front of Wang Xuanba.

Its dog paw transformed into a black streak, instantly piercing Wang Xuanba's heart.

"Xuanba!" Sun Erlang's eyes were bloodshot with fury.

A cursed dao blade, suffused with malevolent energy, arrived belatedly, conjuring an endless black gale that instantly engulfed the dog-headed demon.

Moments later, the dog-headed demon's flesh and blood were completely scoured away by the black wind, leaving only a skeletal frame.

However, this skeleton emanated an unusual golden glow.

"Something's wrong..." Yue Zhenwei's expression shifted slightly, completely unaware that a figure was quietly approaching from behind him.

It was none other than the human cultivator the dog-headed demon had been pursuing earlier!

A mocking smile played on its lips as it gazed at Yue Zhenwei with greedy eyes. Its aura erupted explosively, showing no sign of injury whatsoever.

Its neck suddenly elongated, and its head shot forward, swallowing Yue Zhenwei's head in one gulp.

Poor Yue Zhenwei, his attention entirely on the dog-headed demon and Sun Erlang, was caught off guard by the sneak attack and died instantly!

"Aaaah! You bastards deserve to die!" With two companions dead in quick succession, Sun Erlang's eyes turned bloodshot.

Veins bulged, and a wave of black energy enveloped his entire body.

His pupils were completely swallowed by black, and Sun Erlang, disregarding everything, flew directly towards the long-necked demon.

Unexpectedly, he was tightly embraced by the golden skeleton from behind.

The golden skeleton tightened its grip while letting out a cackling laugh.

"This trick really works, always managing to hook a few fools."

Sun Erlang's rage intensified.

"Aah!"

A roar echoed through heaven and earth.

A black storm suddenly erupted from his Dantian.

It was several times more terrifying than the black dao blade from before.

It directly engulfed the golden skeleton that had been cackling moments ago.

"Damn it! What the he—"

Before it could finish its sentence, the golden skeleton, along with Sun Erlang, vanished into the black storm.

The long-necked demon, however, showed no intention of rushing forward to rescue it.

It continued to watch with relish, all the while chewing on Yue Zhenwei's corpse.

Shortly after, the black storm completely dissipated.

And the corpses of Yue Zhenwei and Wang Xuanba had both become meals for the long-necked demon.

"Ah!"

Sun Erlang and his two companions suddenly awoke from a nightmare.

Cold sweat poured from their foreheads, and it took a while for them to fully recover from the terrifying experience they had just endured.

"I died?"

"I didn't die?!" Wang Xuanba said, still shaken.

Sun Erlang fell into contemplation.

Yue Zhenwei was still the first to calm down, observing their surroundings.

"It seems we're still in Qiuxi Prefecture of the Five Elders Council, where we were trapped before."

"But..."

Yue Zhenwei looked up at the sky. "The whole world seems to have gotten a bit darker?" he said, somewhat uncertainly.

"It's not an illusion. The world we're in truly feels as if night has fallen," Sun Erlang concurred after observing for a moment.

"But our cultivation realms haven't changed... Wait, what is this?!"

Sun Erlang's voice suddenly rose several octaves.

"Sun Erlang, Golden Core Perfection, Deaths: 1."

"Paradise Experience Level: 1."

"Carefree Coins: 100."

Sun Erlang read aloud the lines of small text that inexplicably appeared before his eyes, his expression profoundly shaken.

"I have it too," Wang Xuanba exclaimed, having also noticed something.

"Wait, no! Why are my Carefree Coins zero?"

"And where did your hundred come from?" Wang Xuanba asked, utterly confused.