Chapter 90: Congratulations, Host

After issuing the three decrees, the Thunder Dragon let out a long yawn and was just about to go back to sleep.

But then it suddenly caught an unusual scent, and surprise flashed in its eyes.

“Oh? The little white dragon from back then actually took over a body and was reborn. Interesting, very interesting!”

The Thunder Dragon blew out a breath. Amid a surge of lightning, a blue flood dragon no thicker than a thumb appeared. With a strange, cackling cry and a sly grin, it slipped down the mountain.

After finishing all this, the Thunder Dragon rolled over and fell asleep again.

A thousand miles away from Thunder Dragon Valley, there were three different places, each home to a two-star power.

Withered Meditation Temple, Evil Moon Sect, and Purple Sky Gate.

At this moment, inside Purple Sky Gate.

The expert who had received the lightning turned around and looked at the powerful figures kneeling on one knee. In a resounding voice, he said, “The lord of the prefecture has issued his order: all cultivators are to go out and slay the enemy. We must annihilate every demonic fiend!”

The elder kneeling at the very front, with gray at his temples, raised his head and asked in surprise, “Gate Master, hasn’t it always been the case that only cultivators at or above the Innate Realm were qualified to take the field?”

The Purple Sky Gate Master said gravely, “The lord’s words are an order. Who dares disobey? Since all cultivators are to fight this time, the enemy must surely be extraordinarily powerful. Everyone, be careful!”

The elder let out a sigh. A look of tragic resolve crossed his face as he said in a deep voice, “I obey!”

Within Withered Meditation Temple and Evil Moon Sect, the many experts who heard Thunder Dragon’s decree were equally astonished.

All cultivators were to fight?

The Innate Realm would still be acceptable, since they at least had some fighting strength, but sending out disciples who had only reached the Energy Refinement Realm was no different from sending them to their deaths.

Could it be that this invasion by demonic fiends was on a massive scale?

If so, the Yunchuan Prefecture Domain was in grave danger!

Upon hearing the news, none of the experts failed to look solemn.

But since this was an order personally issued by Thunder Dragon, the lord of the Yunchuan Prefecture Domain, not even the heads of the three great sects dared disobey it.

“Pass the order along and say that the outer demons from beyond the heavens will attack our Yunchuan Prefecture Domain in a few days. All cultivators are to prepare for battle and slay the enemy. As before, we will join with the other two great sects to establish the Demon-Suppressing Rankings. The higher the score, the greater the reward.”

“Every young talent who makes it onto the Demon-Suppressing Rankings will receive a reward. Those who rank in the top ten may enter the library and borrow any ultimate arts below the master level.”

Inside Purple Sky Gate, the gate master, Yi Changsheng, stood with his hands clasped behind his back and spoke with authority.

The experts kneeling before him all lowered their heads in acknowledgment.

Farther away, those young figures kneeling in place, upon hearing these words, revealed expressions of excitement.

...

As Yunchuan Prefecture Domain was thrown into upheaval, within Thunder Dragon Valley, atop the towering lightning peak that pierced the clouds.

The Thunder Dragon yawned, gathered a bolt of lightning in its dragon claw, and slowly began to speak in its own voice.

“The outer demons from beyond the heavens have invaded, and the calamity will spread across the nine prefecture domains in the southeast region of the continent. All cultivators within my Yunchuan Prefecture Domain are hereby ordered to slay the incoming fiends and restore peace to the domain!”

Its words were majestic and overbearing, like thunder rolling from the heavens, mysterious and unfathomable.

The Thunder Dragon listened to itself with a delighted grin and fell into self-absorption.

But the next moment, it suddenly jumped in shock.

“Bad! I issued the wrong order!”

“How can I be so stupid? I actually forgot the words ‘above the Innate Realm’!”

“This is going to be disastrous!”

“Although the outer demons that can reach the Yunchuan Prefecture Domain aren’t all that strong, they’re still at least at the Innate Realm. Sending out those little fellows in the Energy Refinement Realm is practically sending them to their deaths!”

The Thunder Dragon howled in distress, regretting it bitterly.

However, once a decree had been issued, it could not be changed.

Otherwise, where would the authority of the prefectural lord remain?

After thinking for a moment, it hastily condensed three new decrees, wrapped them in lightning, and sent them to the three great sects.

Inside Purple Sky Gate.

“Because the outer demons from beyond the heavens are powerful, those below the Innate Realm should act according to their abilities.”

As Gate Master Yi Changsheng and the others listened to Thunder Dragon’s stern and domineering voice, they felt that the situation had become even more severe, yet something about it seemed oddly off.

But exactly what was off, none of those present could put into words.

Within Withered Meditation Temple and Evil Moon Sect, the many experts who heard the second order likewise looked at one another in confusion.

...

In the eastern region of the Yunchuan Prefecture Domain, within the Spirit Origin Sect.

Qingxi stretched and felt refreshed.

After refining the five low-grade storage bracelets, his spatial power had increased once more, reaching one million and ten thousand.

Although there was still a long road ahead before he could truly become a spatial constitution, Qingxi could feel that the spatial interference zone had grown larger and its resistance to pressure had grown stronger as well.

If his spatial power could be raised to one million one hundred thousand, Qingxi felt the range of the interference zone would probably be enough to envelop his entire body.

By then, perhaps some special effect might emerge.

Thinking of this, Qingxi moved his thoughts and released the spatial interference zone half a meter above the ground in front of him.

After using the system’s scan, one could see a translucent region about the size of a dinner plate appear there, shimmering like ripples on water.

Others could not see the spatial interference zone; only Qingxi, after activating the scanning function, could perceive it clearly.

He lifted a foot and stepped onto the spatial interference zone, discovering that he was actually standing as though on a suspended mirror surface, his body steady and balanced.

Qingxi immediately leaped lightly, his body shooting diagonally upward for two meters.

At the same time, he shifted his thoughts again, and the spatial interference zone condensed higher up. He instantly stepped onto it and steadied himself.

He then repeated this process several times, as though walking up a flight of stairs, ascending step by step until he reached a height of ten meters above the ground.

Walking in midair was something even an expert at the Spiritual Core Realm would find difficult.

Yet Qingxi managed it with the help of the spatial interference zone. Looking down over the scenery before him, he felt this sensation was wonderfully marvelous.

On the ground.

The dragon horse opened its bewildered eyes and saw Qingxi standing high above. It was immediately startled.

The little diamond ape also noticed this, chirping excitedly, apparently very interested and eager to learn.

Qingxi ignored the dragon horse and the little diamond ape. He continued walking through the air. Only after becoming thoroughly adept did he return to the room on the second floor.

For the past two days, busy absorbing spatial power and repairing the artificial hill, he had not cultivated.

Now, this was his first formal practice session since entering the Innate Realm.

“Little Helper, now that my cultivation has reached the Innate Realm, are Condensing Qi Pills still useful to me?” Qingxi asked the question in his heart.

“Most of a Condensing Qi Pill is spiritual energy, and spiritual energy is the fundamental power needed by all cultivators. It is useful at every realm. It’s just that even the highest-grade Condensing Qi Pills are only of the ninth grade, and the spiritual energy they contain is enough for the Energy Refinement Realm, but somewhat inadequate for the Innate Realm.”

After hearing Little Helper’s explanation, Qingxi took out his last remaining fifth-grade Condensing Qi Pills, swallowed them, and then began refining them according to the meridian route of the Innate Volume of the Condensing Qi Art.

The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth. With the system’s assistance, it was refined into the purest spiritual energy. After circulating through his meridians for one full cycle, it became sixteen threads of true energy and flowed into his sea of qi.

At that instant, the sea of qi suddenly trembled. It was as if something within it was being formed, frantically devouring his true energy.

Qingxi was shocked. Looking inward at his sea of qi, he found a golden vortex had appeared at its center, swallowing a third of his true energy in the blink of an eye.

“What’s going on?”

His breath caught, and he felt something was wrong.

Could it be that something had gone awry in his cultivation, causing a black hole to be born within his sea of qi?

But after thinking about it, he felt this idea was far too unrealistic.

If there really were a black hole, it would probably distort and devour his entire body in an instant.

“Congratulations, Host. Congratulations, Host. You’re about to give birth!”

Little Helper’s voice rang out in his mind.

Qingxi had the urge to strangle it. Roaring inwardly, he thought, “You’re the one about to give birth! I’m a man. What would I be giving birth to?”