The Reincarnation Cauldron landed just outside the Seven Realms Desert, but Lan Xiaobu frowned. The Rootless Divine Realm truly was plagued by misfortune—not only did it harbor a vile figure like Great Dream Dao Lord, but it also had a harsh place like the Seven Realms Desert.
Compared to his last visit, the desert had expanded outward by at least several million miles. Even with the cosmic rules gradually stabilizing, it couldn’t halt the desert’s spread.
This was due to the desert vortexes within the Seven Realms Desert. Each time they churned, they turned thousands of miles of surrounding land into sandy wasteland.
“The Seven Realms Desert shouldn’t pose much threat to us, but let’s not stray too far apart. Stay close,” Lan Xiaobu said, stowing the cauldron after everyone disembarked.
The weakest among them, Chen Hu, was Quasi-Saint level. The rest were either true Sages, pseudo-Sages, or late-stage Quasi-Saints.
No matter how dangerous the desert, it posed little risk to Lan Xiaobu’s group.
Chen Hu sighed, “Even without Great Dream Sage, the Seven Realms Desert will eventually swallow the entire Rootless Divine Realm.”
Living in the realm, he felt its encroachment more keenly than the others.
Lan Xiaobu hesitated, then said, “Let me see if I can push the desert back.”
With that, he tossed out handfuls of array flags. His charm surged, weaving strands of the Great Dao’s rules. A Fourth-Turn Sage’s casual gesture wielded such power—and Lan Xiaobu was no ordinary Fourth-Turn Sage.
The space around the desert rumbled. Everyone watched, stunned, as the outer sands began to roll back, retreating like a receding tide.
The desert was swept away by Lan Xiaobu’s divine might, revealing the soil it had consumed. In recently swallowed areas, faint traces of broken walls, weeds, and dry branches remained visible. As the sands continued to retreat under his force, the deeper soil showed signs of gradual desertification.
Lan Xiaobu sighed and stopped the futile effort.
Pushing the sand back wasn’t enough. This was a matter of rules. Without addressing the desert vortex’s underlying laws, it would still engulf the Rootless Divine Realm.
“Dao Lord, the rules here are strange—they can turn intact land into sand,” Tian Gang Sage said, his vast experience pinpointing the root cause.
Lan Xiaobu nodded, about to speak, when his divine sense paused. He stepped forward, landing before a frail-looking woman.
“Well, hello. What a coincidence to meet again,” Lan Xiaobu said with a warm smile.
The first time he’d come to the Seven Realms Desert, he’d met this woman. She’d guided him then, a mere Divine Monarch. Now, in a short span, she’d reached late-stage Unity God.
“You?” The woman recognized Lan Xiaobu, quickly bowing. “Kulan greets Senior.”
Kulan was inwardly shocked. Years ago, she couldn’t discern Lan Xiaobu’s cultivation, and today was no different. Not just him—even among his companions, she could only sense Chen Hu’s level, a Quasi-Saint far stronger than her.
For nearly two millennia, she’d never left the Seven Realms Desert. To others, it was a perilous deathtrap; to her, it was a land of endless opportunity. In less than two thousand years, she’d risen from Heavenly God to late-stage Unity God, nearing Quasi-Saint. Much of that was due to the recent stabilization of cosmic rules, but the desert’s gifts played a huge role too.
“Is it me? Thanks for guiding me back then. Have you been cultivating here all this time?” Lan Xiaobu nodded casually.
He was astonished. To cultivate in the Seven Realms Desert for centuries, nearly a millennium, took extraordinary resilience.
In a safe retreat, a thousand years might pass quickly. But the desert was no sanctuary—death loomed at every turn. To survive and grow stronger here was no small feat.
Lan Xiaobu was certain that, despite being late-stage Unity God, few at her level could match her. Honed in this desert, her strength surpassed ordinary cultivators.
Unbeknownst to him, when he first met Kulan, she’d already been training there for a thousand years.
“Senior flatters me. I’ve gained much from the Seven Realms Desert. In this life, I plan to grow stronger and tackle the desert vortex, to stop it from spreading and endangering the Rootless Divine Realm,” Kulan said respectfully.
Initially, that hadn’t been her intent. As her cultivation rose, her perspective shifted.
There’s a saying: “When successful, benefit the world.” If she could prove her Dao here, she resolved to address the desert’s threat.
Hearing this, Lan Xiaobu felt deep respect. Most cultivators in any realm chased personal gain, plundering resources ruthlessly. Yet rare souls like Kulan existed, noble in character. He knew even if she succeeded in proving her Dao, halting the desert’s spread was unlikely—but her intent alone earned his admiration.
“Can you tell me about the pattern of the desert vortex’s expansion?” Lan Xiaobu asked.
Kulan paused, then said, “There’s no real pattern. I came here at Heavenly God level. Under the vortex, the desert expands a few thousand miles each time. But after you entered last time, Senior, its frequency and range dropped a lot. Otherwise, over these years, it might’ve spread tens of millions of miles.”
It lessened after I went in? Lan Xiaobu frowned, pondering. After a while, it clicked—the Seven Realms Desert expanded due to the Seven Realms Stones. He’d taken the First Realm Stone, slowing its growth.
No wonder it was called the Seven Realms Desert. He suspected its very origin tied to those stones. If he claimed the rest, the desert might stop expanding.
With this in mind, he said to Kulan, “I’ve figured out why it spreads. This time, I’ll go in and slow it further. A few more trips, and it might stop altogether. Meeting is fate—this is for you. Cultivate well; we may meet again.”
He handed her a ring and stepped into the desert’s depths. The others followed, vanishing swiftly.
Lan Xiaobu saw Kulan’s immense potential, but her cultivation method was trash, her resources poor, and her charm mottled—limiting her to Unity God. Her desire to aid the Rootless Divine Realm stirred his appreciation, prompting him to leave her something.
He had a hunch: with proper resources and techniques, Kulan’s achievements could rival Tian Gang Sage or Tu Wang, perhaps surpassing them.
“Senior…” Kulan tried to speak, but her divine sense found Lan Xiaobu gone.
Her sense drifted to the ring, and she froze. Piles of divine essence pills, crystals, and several divine spirit veins. If that wasn’t enough, a scroll of Saint Dao technique nearly made her cry out—Immortal Great Dao, a method to reach Ninth-Turn Sagehood or beyond.
She’d clawed her way to Unity God with patchwork resources and techniques. Not to mention Saint Dao methods—even a divine-tier technique, the mediocre Evergreen Divine Art, came only after reaching Unity God.
A Saint Dao technique was rare even across the Rootless Divine Realm.
Kulan knelt toward Lan Xiaobu’s direction, “This junior knows not your name, Senior. I swear not to waste your generous gift. From today, whether you care or not, you are my Master in my heart.”
She kowtowed three times with reverence.
