Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“This is the map of the Immortal Territory. The Immortal Emperor handed it to me before we set off,” Yi Qing said as he held out a map. There were several land spaces marked out – some were made up of wilderness, some were made up of seas, some were made up of dense rainforests, but most were made up of deserts. “This is only a portion of the Immortal Territory. No one knows how big the entire place is. The places not found on the map are places that nobody have ever made it to before.”
Lonemoon studied the map closely and discovered that there was a list written on each piece of land. The list contained the types of animals or things they would discover there. “Did he tell you which way we should go?”
Yi Qing nodded and pointed to the middle. “He told me not to care about any other place on this map. We just have to follow this pathway in the middle and keep heading westward. We have to aim to get to places where nobody has been to before.”
“Why?” Lonemoon paused. Isn’t it safer to stay within the areas that people have travelled to before?
“Hmph, of course he wants to find the Six-Joint Mystics Sword,” Xun Shu snorted. “Practically everybody in the immortal realm has a copy of this map. Countless sword immortals have travelled to these places. If the sword was there, they would have found it a long time ago. Naturally, he wants you to search somewhere else.”
“This Immortal Emperor wants this sword pretty badly. Speaking of that…” Lonemoon frowned. He glared at Xun Shu and asked, “Why are you here?” And he doesn’t look as if he plans to leave anytime soon.
“I… I… Why can’t I be here?” A flash of panic crossed Xun Shu’s face. He immediately regained his composure and indignantly said, “Although I, heh… have forgiven Shen Ying, I haven’t forgiven you. You haven’t given me a satisfactory explanation regarding the immortal sword and the Winter Spirit Tree. Don’t think about brushing it off. No matter what, I will be tailing you all for three months until you restore my precious Winter Spirit Tree.” He subconsciously glanced at Shen Ying, who was chomping on pastries.
“Here!” Lonemoon plucked the radish off his thigh and shoved it at Xun Shu. “You can take rad- I mean, you can take the vegetation spirit and plant it next to the tree. I guarantee that you would be able to grow at least a hundred trees – not just one.” The radish was just a form that the vegetation spirit took. Any plant, when grown next to the vegetation spirit, would grow well, whether in the lower realm or the immortal realm.
“Ji ji ji…” The radish jumped out of Xun Shu’s arms immediately and shook its leaves in disgust. “Pfft!” Who wants to go back and be planted by this ugly person?
“No way!” Xun Shu was equally unsatisfied with this half-hearted attempt on Lonemoon’s part to fix things. He flipped his long, silky hair and said, “Who knows if this is real? Before my tree gets restored, you can forget about escaping responsibility.” He stole a glance at Shen Ying once again. What’s more, given that person’s scary power, they could really…
“You want that sword too, don’t you?” Shen Ying suddenly asked.
Xun Shu jumped in fright. His face paled immediately. He had an expression of pure guilt upon being exposed. “Who… who… who wants that Six-Joint Mystics Sword? I… I just haven’t been to the Immortal Territory for a long time. I’m bored… That’s why I kind-heartedly agreed to accompany you all to check it out. Otherwise, you might die without even knowing why.”
Shen Ying stared at him for a few seconds. Then, she said, “Oh…” She didn’t say he wanted the Six-Joint Mystics Sword in particular.
Xun Shu: “…”
“Alright, if we’re full, we should set off.” He was in the wrong afterall, so Lonemoon did not pursue the matter with Xun Shu, whose motivations were clear to everyone present. He stood up and dusted his robes. “Let’s go!”
Shen Ying and Yi Qing stood up. The latter summoned his immortal sword and began to fly in the direction that Lonemoon had pointed out earlier. They did not pick the middle path which the Immortal Emperor had instructed Yi Qing to take earlier.
Xun Shu heaved a sigh of relief and chased after the swords. He had initially thought that while the Immortal Territory was wide, they would reach the uncharted area in less than three days. For safety’s sake, he personally conjured a defensive array which protected the entire group for fear that an accident would occur when they reached the uncharted area.
But five days had passed… and they were still within the charted territory.
Ten days passed… and they were still within the charted territory.
Fifteen days passed, and they were still…
An entire month had passed and they were still circling around the chartered areas within the maps. To make matters worse, they were going back and forth and covering the same grounds over and over again. It felt as if they were purposely going to the weird places with stones and plants. The moment they found a new type of stone, they would descend and only do one thing: Dig, dig, and dig!
They found raw material for refining tenth-stage weapons, so they dug and dug and dug…
They found raw material for refining eighth-stage weapons, so they dug and dug and dug…
They found raw material for refining sixth-stage weapons, so they dug and dug and dug…
They found raw material for refining second-stage weapons, so they dug and dug and dug…
Right before his eyes, a hill of stones several times as tall as an average-sized man was reduced to flat ground. Even the soil surrounding it was dug up in the process.
“Lonemoon, do you have another storage bag? There’s a first-stage Moon Crystal Stone here!” Yi Qing pointed at a stone at his feet and said, “All of my fifteen storage bags are full.” We shouldn’t waste it.
“Yes!” Lonemoon tossed a storage bag over to Yi Qing and instructed, “Dig quickly. If you don’t have enough storage space, I have more bags with me!” He was well-prepared.
“Enough!” Xun Shu could finally bear it no longer. He threw his immortal shovel onto the floor in frustration. “When exactly are you going to stop digging?” You refuse to look for the divine weapon and insist on digging for stones instead – expecting even me to assist! “Are you here to dig for raw materials to refine weapons or to search for the sword?”
The three of them paused. Neither Lonemoon nor Yi Qing continued digging. Even Shen Ying paused chomping on her fruit and turned to look at Xun Shu. They pondered for a moment and answered in unison.
“Dig for raw materials!”
Xun Shu: “…” You actually admitted it. What exactly do you take this place for?
“Our Invincible Sect is seriously lacking in immortal weapons of different grades. Is there a problem with that?” Lonemoon challenged. They were trying to make a living with their own skills – what was wrong with that?
“…” Xun Shu was at a loss for words!
No way, he could not allow them to dig any further. Otherwise, the entire Immortal Territory would lose even its soil. He took in a deep breath and looked at each one of them in turn before he finally became less anxious. Then, he stepped forward and said, “There’s no point in digging here. Only sword immortals can enter the Immortal Territory, but there are no good materials left in these outer regions. The first- or second-stage materials that you’re finding can be easily found outside of this territory as well. Why should you expend so much effort on collecting them? The higher-level materials are all to be found inside. Inside, you’ll even be able to find rare materials like the Heavenly Fire Stones, much less tenth-stage materials.”
“Hmm…” Lonemoon looked around him and thought about what Xun Shu said. He did indeed observe that the closer they got to the outer boundaries of the Territory, the more common the raw materials they found were. He had always prioritised stability in all his business endeavours but he had come here to train afterall. It would not be beyond imagination for the three of them would go in and try their luck. What’s more, they had already been digging for so long outside. They had more or less sufficient materials. It was time to move on.
“Alright! Let’s not bother with these first- and second-stage materials anymore. Let’s move on!” He waved his hand and headed toward the uncharted regions together with his three companions.
Xun Shu heaved a huge sigh of relief. He had actually managed to persuade the money-faces who were not willing to let even a single stone off. After digging for so long, Xun Shu had almost forgotten how dangerous this place really was.
Very quickly, he realised he had another problem.
“Why did you stop here?” Xun Shu asked when he spotted them resting ahead of him.
“It’s dark!” Yi Qing retrieved a quilt and gently covered Shen Ying with it. He continued matter-of-factly, “We should sleep.”
“Aren’t you immortals?” What did they need to rest for? “Which immortal still needs sleep?”
“Shen Ying does,” Lonemoon said, gesturing to the person next to him who had already fallen asleep.
“But she doesn’t have to sleep through the night. No matter how tired she is, a half-hour nap should do the trick, right?” He was obviously unhappy with the situation. “Don’t forget, the Immortal Territory is only open for three months. This won’t do, we have to wake her up!”
“No!” Lonemoon and Yi Qing flew to either side of him and restrained him just as he got up to wake Shen Ying up.
Yi Qing: “Don’t wake Master up!”
Lonemoon: “Unless you want to die!”
“…” Xun Shu’s heart jumped.
What the hell?
Just as he was trying to figure things out, they felt the ground beneath them shake. From a place not far away, a roar cut through the peaceful night.
Roar!
