Upon hearing this, Lan Xiaobu felt an even more urgent need to advance to the Quasi-Sage Realm. He didn’t know who Fang Zhifan was, but as an ancient powerhouse, the Sage of Curses would undoubtedly seek out the Major Curse Technique upon his return. Once he started looking for the Major Curse Technique, he would inevitably find Ming Changxiao. Ming Changxiao couldn’t produce the Major Curse Technique now, and with just a little questioning, Fang Zhifan might figure out that Lan Xiaobu was involved, possibly even deducing the existence of the Cosmic Dimension Model.
The Cosmic Dimension Model was indeed an ancient, world-creating treasure, but it wasn’t something completely unknown to everyone. If it became known that he possessed the Cosmic Dimension Model, not only Fang Zhifan but likely all the major powerhouses would swarm him, tearing him to pieces.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu fall silent, a hearty voice came from outside, “Haha, Xiaobu, I knew you’d come back to help me.”
Old Zhao had returned.
Lan Xiaobu was overjoyed and immediately stepped out of the inn. Outside, he saw the familiar, smiling face of Zhao Gongming. The dust on his body showed that he had rushed back in a hurry, not even taking time to rest or clean up.
“Haha, Brother Zhao!” Lan Xiaobu was equally delighted to see Zhao Gongming. He had come here specifically to find Zhao Gongming, and things had gone smoothly. If he could gather a group of people here to help him, dealing with those opposing holy sects might not be impossible.
“Good, I didn’t expect you to achieve so much. You’ve done well. I’ve long been fed up with those self-righteous so-called holy sects. If you hadn’t established the Dao Court, I suspect someone else would have soon. They might even have created a Sage Ascension Ranking, haha…” Zhao Gongming laughed, clearly seeing through the situation.
Once someone created a Sage Ascension Ranking, it would mean many Quasi-Sages and Pseudo-Sages would fall one after another.
Lan Xiaobu fully agreed with Zhao Gongming’s words. He knew the nature of most powerhouses. Before the Great Dao, everything could be destroyed. In their eyes, their Great Dao was everything, and anything obstructing it would be crushed.
As for ordinary cultivators, they were mere ants. If the powerhouses were in a good mood, they might allow these ants to live. If not, these ants could be turned to dust at any moment. Just look at the Stone Blade Divine Sect annihilated by the Minor Death Technique, or the Yu Kun Divine Realm destroyed by the Major Destruction Technique…
“I originally planned to stay here a few more days to look for you. But now that Brother Zhao is back, I’ve decided to leave this place immediately and return to improve my strength,” Lan Xiaobu said decisively.
His conversation with Tu Wang had given him a sense of crisis. It wasn’t just the Sage of Curses, Fang Zhifan. There was also the Sage of Destruction, Wang Lun, the Sage of Death, and possibly even a Sage of Severance, given the Major Severance Technique. These were all swords hanging over his head.
Moreover, when he obtained the Heavenly Dipper Array Disk, he had a feeling that the Heavenly Dipper Sage wouldn’t let him off easily.
As for potential enemies like the Three Cauldrons Sage, the Great Dream Sage, and the master of the Book of Life and Death, he hadn’t even factored them in yet. As a mere Unity God Realm cultivator, he wasn’t even enough to be divided among them. If he hadn’t established the Dao Court, he might have been able to hide. But now, with the Great Wilderness Dao Court established, he had fully exposed himself to these powerhouses.
“Right, how did you get in here?” Zhao Gongming suddenly remembered to ask how Lan Xiaobu had entered the Great Path Valley. He had just returned and rushed over as soon as he heard Lan Xiaobu was here, so he hadn’t had time to ask about many things.
“I’ve broken Saint Kunwei’s Chain Divine Array seal outside, and I even took the array core from his divine array. Here, I’ll return it to you…”
As Lan Xiaobu was about to hand something over, Zhao Gongming quickly said, “No need for me. Last time, you gave me the Zhaotian Seal, and now I…”
Zhao Gongming’s words suddenly stopped. He stared in shock at the twelve multicolored golden beads in Lan Xiaobu’s palm. It took him several breaths to realize what he was seeing, and he exclaimed excitedly, “Xiaobu, are these my Dinghai Pearls?”
Lan Xiaobu laughed heartily, “Yes, these are your Dinghai Pearls. Unfortunately, there are only twelve here. The other twelve are still missing.”
Zhao Gongming laughed even louder, grabbing the twelve pearls with a triumphant expression. “Let Sage Heku come at me again. I, Zhao Gongming, no longer fear him.”
At this moment, Zhao Gongming was ecstatic. After so many years, his Dinghai Pearls had finally returned to him. Even though there were only twelve, they were still treasures that resonated deeply with him. With the Dinghai Pearls, his combat strength would rise by two levels. The only regret was that the other twelve pearls were still missing.
Lan Xiaobu could clearly see that Zhao Gongming’s current cultivation was at the late-stage quasi-saint level. Moreover, Zhao Gongming’s combat prowess was formidable. With the Dinghai Pearls, even if incomplete, he truly had no reason to fear Sage Heku.
Just then, Sage Heku’s voice suddenly rang out, “Brother Zhao, I have decided to join the Great Wilderness Dao Court. Since we are now part of the same court, there’s no need to talk about who fears whom.”
From a distance, Sage Heku and his group approached. Besides Sage Heku, there were Sage Qianqi, Bei Ji, over a dozen quasi-saints, and even a pseudo-saint.
Lan Xiaobu was overjoyed and quickly stepped forward, clasping his fists in greeting. “With Sage Heku joining our Great Wilderness Dao Court, the court will surely stabilize the Great Wilderness Divine Realm sooner, creating a peaceful and prosperous environment for all.”
Tu Wang also hurried forward, “Congratulations, Sage Heku! I met Dao Monarch Lan back in Heavenly Street, and I have complete confidence in his leadership. Joining the Great Wilderness Dao Court is definitely the right choice. Joining now is like offering help in times of need. If you don’t join now, Dao Monarch Lan might not even recognize you in the future.”
Tu Wang had already made up his mind to tie himself to Lan Xiaobu’s chariot. In the past, without a strong backer, he had been kicked around like a small ball. Now that he had the opportunity, he wasn’t going to let it slip away. So, he didn’t even address Sage Heku as “Alliance Leader” anymore, directly calling him “Sage Heku” as if he had forgotten that Sage Heku had once been his leader.
“Brother Tu is right. Our group has decided to live and die with the Great Wilderness Dao Court. Dao Monarch Lan, let me introduce the person beside me. His name is Du An, with the saint title ‘Buyi.’ Upon hearing that you were establishing the Great Wilderness Dao Court, he was eager to join us,” Sage Heku said respectfully.
Sage Buyi quickly bowed to Lan Xiaobu, who returned the gesture with a smile. “With Sage Buyi joining, our Great Wilderness Dao Court is like a tiger with wings. My confidence has grown even stronger.”
Sage Heku continued to introduce the other strong cultivators, all of whom were at least at the late-stage Heavenly God Realm, with most being quasi-saints. Lan Xiaobu greeted each of them in turn. He could see that compared to Sage Heku’s Heavenly Street Alliance, Zhao Gongming’s Dao Court Alliance was significantly weaker. It was clear that Sage Heku hadn’t intended to completely destroy the Dao Court Alliance; otherwise, it wouldn’t have survived.
In addition to the saints and quasi-saints, there were nearly a hundred cultivators who had stayed behind, all seemingly eager to join the Great Wilderness Dao Court.
Lan Xiaobu knew that some of these people genuinely wanted to join his Great Wilderness Dao Court, while others were likely just looking for a way out of the Great Path Gobi Valley.
Lan Xiaobu spoke loudly, “Fellow Daoists, the sealing array of the Great Path Gobi Valley has been broken by me. After such a long time, I believe Saint Kunwei will have repaired it and will be waiting for us outside. Given our current strength, leaving from here will indeed be difficult, and many of us may perish. However, I still plan to leave from this place. How can we, as cultivators, allow our freedom to be restricted?
Members of the Great Wilderness Dao Court will definitely leave with me. For those who are not part of the court, whether you follow us is entirely voluntary. Once we’ve discussed a plan to leave, we’ll gather outside Little Heavenly Street.”
After saying this, Lan Xiaobu invited Sage Heku, Sage Buyi, Bei Ji, Sage Qianqi, and Zhao Gongming to return to the resting building to discuss how to leave.
“Dao Monarch, breaking this Chain Divine Array from the inside is even harder. If there are people guarding the outside, even if we break through, our group might not be enough to fill their teeth,” Sage Buyi said proactively.
Among them were cultivators who had come from the Eternal Realm, so he was well aware of the strength of the current Eternal Realm. Despite having a few pseudo-saints here, they were no match for even a single sacred sect outside, let alone multiple sects.
Everyone looked at Lan Xiaobu, including Sage Heku. This was also on his mind. If Lan Xiaobu had no other plan and was just relying on brute force, he might have to reconsider. Even if he joined the Great Wilderness Dao Court, he wouldn’t throw his life away. With Lan Xiaobu’s current approach, the Great Wilderness Dao Court would inevitably be destroyed by the sacred sects. At most, he would use the opportunity when Lan Xiaobu broke the sealing array to escape.
Zhao Gongming chuckled and stood up. “Everyone, I haven’t been in Little Heavenly Street for a while. In fact, if I hadn’t heard that my brother was coming, I might not have returned. Do you know what I’ve been doing all this time?”
Sage Heku immediately perked up, “Please enlighten us, Brother Zhao.”
He had a vague idea that Zhao Gongming had been searching for a way out. If he had truly found one, it would be a monumental discovery.
Zhao Gongming grinned, “That’s right. I’ve been searching for an exit, and I found a weak point in the void. At a specific time, a spatial vortex appears there. If we time it right and attack with full force, we can definitely break through that void point and leave this Gobi Desert.”
Lan Xiaobu immediately said, “No time to waste. Let’s go take a look.”
Lan Xiaobu was eager to leave. He suspected that after Saint Kunwei learned of his entry into the Great Path Gobi Valley, he might have sent people in to gather information.
…
When Lan Xiaobu summoned the Reincarnation Pot, even Sage Heku couldn’t hide his envy. Tu Wang sighed, “Sage Sanguo will never get his hands on the Reincarnation Pot in this lifetime.” The main reason was that Lan Xiaobu’s growth was too rapid. The Reincarnation Pot was now far beyond Sage Sanguo’s reach.
