When Tai Chuan was summoned by Lan Xiaobu to control the Reincarnation Pot again, even Lan Xiaobu was a bit shocked.
“Tai Chuan, you’ve reached Third Turn?” When Tai Chuan hit Second Turn, he’d faced Meng Buchen, driving him back after a fierce battle. How long had it been since then? Tai Chuan was already at Third Turn?
Tai Chuan chuckled, “When Big Brother achieved his Dao, the rules of the Longevity Realm were crystal clear. I piggybacked on your opportunity and hit Third Turn in one go. Not just me, a green apricot tree in the Longevity Realm also attained the Dao. It’s soaking up the world’s essence now, and I reckon in a bit more time, it’ll take human form.”
Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense zeroed in on the Longevity Realm, spotting the apricot tree. He’d acquired it ages ago, back when it bore just one unripe fruit. Now, after all these years, it had drunk deep of the realm’s essence, radiating a charm of the Dao. It even pulsed faintly with life. The green fruit had turned deep purple.
More than that, the purple apricot was drawing in the surrounding vital energy, faintly weaving mysterious Dao laws. Tai Chuan was right, give it time, and it’d transform.
“Not bad, keep handling the Reincarnation Pot, head to this spot. I need to meditate on something,” Lan Xiaobu said, passing the coordinates of the Six Realms Stone Flag to Tai Chuan.
Tai Chuan was stoked. Since leaving the Great Desolation Divine Realm, it had achieved the Dao in no time and was now a Third Turn Sacred Beast. With time, it might even reach Eternal Life.
Under Tai Chuan’s control, the Reincarnation Pot slowed. But with its Third Turn status, “slow” was relative to Lan Xiaobu’s handling, it still outpaced most flying treasures.
Lan Xiaobu began contemplating escape techniques. Even if he reached the Eternal Life Realm, he wouldn’t be a match for Creation powerhouses anytime soon. If he faced seven Creation Saints and hundreds of Genesis or Realm-Deriving Saints chasing him, what could he do but run?
Running was fine, the question was whether he could get away.
Rule-based escape techniques were second nature to him, but now he was diving into ruleless escape techniques.
If he were a Creation Saint sealing off an outsider like himself, the first move would likely be locking down all spatial rules. Without rules, his rule-based escape would be useless in a pinch.
Only mastering ruleless escape would make him fearless.
Days turned to years, five years flew by. Lan Xiaobu tirelessly simulated ruleless escape, refining it endlessly. He felt progress, but hadn’t tested it.
No ruleless zone existed for him to try, which made him think of the Tai Xu Tomb. There was a chaotic, ruleless pocket in there, perfect for testing his technique.
He stood, deciding to take the Reincarnation Pot’s helm, grab the Six Realms Stone Flag fast, then head to Tai Xu Tomb. After that, back to the Great Desolation Divine Realm. Before hitting the Eternal Life Realm, he had to tie up loose ends.
Seeing him approach, Tai Chuan said, “Big Brother, I’ve passed over a dozen flying treasures these past few days, all heading the same way, like they’re chasing something.”
As if on cue, a flying treasure appeared at the edge of Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense, moving blazingly fast, only the Reincarnation Pot could keep up.
Lan Xiaobu tracked it, overtaking it. From its speed, it had to be piloted by a Saint above Seventh Turn.
Was something big out there? As he wondered, another flying treasure popped into his divine sense.
Their paths aligned roughly with the Six Realms Stone Flag’s location. When a third appeared ahead, Lan Xiaobu couldn’t resist, steering the Reincarnation Pot to chase.
In no time, he caught up.
It was a top-grade divine shuttle, its pilot unfazed by Lan Xiaobu’s pursuit, not veering to escape. Clearly, this monk was a powerhouse, fearless of bandits, instead, he stopped when he saw Lan Xiaobu’s treasure.
“Greetings, friend,” Lan Xiaobu said, unbothered by the monk eyeing his Reincarnation Pot. Anyone scheming for it, besides the last owner, the Reincarnation Saint, was long gone.
“Nice flying treasure,” the monk said coolly, no hint of greed.
“Thanks for the compliment. I’ve noticed a lot of monks heading one way, any big news I’m missing?” Lan Xiaobu asked straight-up.
The monk’s eyes flashed with surprise, sizing Lan Xiaobu up, unsure if he was First, Second, or even Third Turn.
His gaze shifted to Tai Chuan, growing more curious.
Unable to pin Lan Xiaobu’s level, the monk didn’t dwell. A guy with a perfect-bloodline chaos beast wasn’t likely weak. He said casually, “A hidden world of the Nether Lord’s surfaced, folks are rushing to it for opportunities.”
Nether Lord? Lan Xiaobu instantly recalled the figure, an Eternal Life powerhouse, maybe Creation-level, he wasn’t sure. But he knew he’d crossed the Nether Lord plenty.
If he had to guess, the Divine Essence Pill Sea in the Abandoned God Abyss belonged to the Nether Lord. He’d swiped all those pills, his Longevity Realm was still stacked with them. Plus, the chaos divine spirit veins on him? All from that sea.
“Didn’t the Nether Lord wake up already? His power’s back, so how’s his world still around?” Lan Xiaobu asked.
He said it because he was sure the Nether Lord had shown up in the abyss, sniffing around for his lost sea.
The monk replied flatly, “The Nether Lord’s an Eternal Life being, even rabbits have three burrows. A guy like him wouldn’t stash everything in one spot. This hidden world’s just one of many.”
Hearing it was merely one of many, Lan Xiaobu’s interest waned. He had too much good stuff already, no need to chase someone else’s stash.
The monk added, “This world’s sealed by top-tier saint arrays, so the more Ninth Turn Saints, the better. Team up, crack it open, and it’s every monk for themselves. Word is, the Nether Lord’s prize possession is Breath Soil, who knows if it’s here.”
Lan Xiaobu, about to leave, perked up at “Breath Soil.” He clasped his fists, “I’m Lan Xiaobu, mind if I tag along to check out the Nether Saint’s treasures?”
The monk wasn’t surprised by his interest, nodding, “I’m Ni Jiansheng, follow me.”
His shuttle flickered, streaking off like a shadow. Lan Xiaobu pushed the Reincarnation Pot, catching up in moments, running side by side.
Ni Jiansheng glanced at the pot, a flicker of heat in his eyes, quickly buried. Controlling the Reincarnation Pot in the void, with a chaos unicorn in tow, and bold enough to ask a Ninth Turn Saint for directions? This guy was no lightweight.
Better to avoid trouble. Ni Jiansheng, at Ninth Turn, with a shot at Eternal Life if luck held, wasn’t about to risk his path for petty gain.
Days later, Ni Jiansheng led Lan Xiaobu into a vast foggy expanse.
Fog in the void was rare, most dodged it. Charging in like Ni Jiansheng was risky.
It could be a void dislocation or someone’s trap array.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu dive in without hesitation, Ni Jiansheng grew surer he wasn’t ordinary.
Inside, endless Nether Dao laws swirled. The Reincarnation Pot was fine, but Ni Jiansheng’s speed noticeably dropped. Lan Xiaobu had to slow the pot to match.
The Nether laws didn’t faze him, but half a day in, Ni Jiansheng halted his ship. Lan Xiaobu looked around, seventy or eighty monks, mostly Sixth Turn Saints or higher, with plenty of Ninth Turns like Ni Jiansheng.
