Chapter 75: The Obsidian Plains of Desire

“Big brother, it looks like that group is following us!”

The two cultivators who had been discussing Wang Changsheng and his companions had only just left the town when they noticed a group tailing them. The group was so conspicuous—apart from the leader, every other person was shrouded in black robes—that it was impossible not to notice them.

“Let them follow. Just a minor figure at the Vein Opening stage, hasn’t even cultivated true essence yet, but dares to lead a group of ordinary folk into the cultivation world. Who knows what backwater they crawled out of!” scoffed the one addressed as big brother.

“Exactly! I doubt they have anything worth taking anyway. Let them tag along. If they try to cause trouble, we’ll teach them a lesson and show them the cultivation world isn’t so easily traversed!”

Both men were at the Foundation Transformation stage, and not just at the early stage but already at mid-stage—a level that made them somewhat renowned in cultivation circles. Having made up their minds, they didn’t simply fly off but chose to walk slowly, obviously observing the reaction of those tailing them.

“Oh? These two aren’t running?” Chen Shangyi remarked with a smile.

But to Wang Changsheng, Chen Shangyi’s laughter always sounded eerie—an occupational hazard of the Corpse Refining Sect, impossible to change.

“Run my ass!” Wang Changsheng cursed under his breath.

The group following behind was indeed Wang Changsheng and his companions. Wang Changsheng hadn’t stopped the disciples of the Corpse Refining Sect from acting out of mercy, but rather because he wanted to find a discreet place to deal with these men.

After more than two centuries of cultivation and all the hardships he’d faced, caution was second nature to Wang Changsheng. He had no desire to cause a scene or draw unwanted attention in public.

After all, with the Corpse Refining Sect making its return, they were sure to face many enemies.

“All of you have concealed your cultivation; they can’t sense a thing,” Wang Changsheng explained. “With only my level of strength visible, of course they’re not afraid. In fact, they’re probably figuring out how to rob us.”

The disciples of the Corpse Refining Sect immediately understood after Wang Changsheng’s explanation. It wasn’t that they were foolish, but rather that they had little experience outside of cultivation, and were naive about human nature, especially as newcomers to the cultivation world.

Wang Changsheng himself wasn’t deeply familiar with the intricacies of the cultivation world, but when it came to understanding people, he considered himself more seasoned than Chen Shangyi and the others.

Sure enough, not long after they left the town, the two men ahead stopped and turned to look back at them with mocking smiles.

“Hey, what do you want, following the two of us?” one of them jeered.

The contempt in his eyes was clear enough. In their view, they were both at the Foundation Transformation stage, while Wang Changsheng was only at Vein Opening, accompanied by ordinary folk—what was there to fear?

“See? They think we’re prey,” Wang Changsheng remarked.

He had somewhat misjudged them. As rogue cultivators who had reached their current level, they were bound to be cautious—no one survived long in the cultivation world by being a fool. Had Wang Changsheng’s group not kept tailing them, they wouldn’t have picked a fight.

“You brats, we’ll kill you today!” One of the Corpse Refining Sect disciples, who had wanted to attack earlier, suddenly erupted in fury and lashed out with a slap. “How dare you slander our Corpse Refining Sect and treat us like prey?”

This disciple was at the first level of the Core Formation stage. His palm strike was devoid of any fancy techniques or spells—just pure, dense true essence.

“What?!”

“Core Formation? That’s impossible!”

The two men instantly felt the terrifying pressure in the disciple’s strike. Both had witnessed Core Formation cultivators in action before, and immediately recognized the overwhelming might.

They understood instantly: it wasn’t that the black-robed figures had no cultivation, but rather that their cultivation was so high—at Core Formation—that it was being concealed from them.

“We’re done for!”

Exchanging glances, they saw only despair in each other’s eyes.

In such a treacherous world, reaching Foundation Transformation meant neither was stupid. Realizing the group behind them—whose strength they couldn’t gauge—likely consisted of over a dozen Core Formation experts, they knew their fate was sealed.

“Which power is this? Corpse Refining Sect? Never heard of it! But to produce a dozen Core Formation experts at once—they could dominate the entire Black Desire Plains!”

Despair flooded their hearts and eyes.

Yet they didn’t simply sit and await death. Each produced a magical weapon—one a blade, the other a sword—summoning defensive moves as true essence surged to shield their bodies.

To Wang Changsheng, the force emanating from the two was formidable compared to his own, yet still paled in comparison to the overwhelming might of the Corpse Refining Sect disciples.

“Leave them alive!” Wang Changsheng bellowed.

Boom!

No sooner had he spoken than a tremendous explosion echoed out. The giant palm of true essence crashed down, sending up a thick cloud of dust that enveloped the two figures, obscuring their fate.

After delivering the blow, the Corpse Refining Sect disciple retreated straight to Wang Changsheng’s side and did not strike again.

“Zhang Cunzong, I told you to leave them alive!” Wang Changsheng cursed.

He hadn’t followed these two to cause them trouble, but to get answers. If Zhang Cunzong had killed them with that slap, Wang Changsheng would have to find new targets.

“They’re not dead,” Zhang Cunzong replied gruffly.

Wang Changsheng nodded.

As the dust settled, the pair’s battered figures emerged. Their clothes were in tatters, blood trickling from their lips and wounds, proof that even if they survived, death couldn’t be far off.

“Please don’t kill us—we’re cultivators from the Loose Cultivator Pavilion. We beg you, for the Pavilion’s sake, spare our lives!”

One of the pair pleaded at once, and both slumped to the ground.

Clearly, they had been gravely injured resisting Zhang Cunzong’s blow and could barely stand.

“Loose Cultivator Pavilion?”

Wang Changsheng started in surprise, then a smile crept to his lips.

Just what he’d been looking for!

He had stopped here instead of heading straight to Cloud Palace Peak precisely to inquire about the Loose Cultivator Pavilion. Sparing these two wasn’t an act of kindness, but a calculated attempt to gather information.

To think they actually belonged to the Pavilion! What luck.

His second uncle was currently in the Loose Cultivator Pavilion. If Wang Changsheng wanted to find him, he first had to locate the Pavilion itself. The last time he’d visited, his uncle had led him there via several teleportation arrays, so he had no idea where the Pavilion was actually located.

“You’re members of the Loose Cultivator Pavilion?” he asked.

“Yes! Yes, we are!” they answered at once.

“Good. Tell me—where is the Pavilion? How do I get there?”

The two men froze at this question.

“What, you’re not going to answer?” Wang Changsheng narrowed his eyes at them.

“No, it’s not that!” Seeing the change in Wang Changsheng’s tone and expression, fear seized them. Especially the dozen or so black-robed cultivators standing nearby—they were the true source of terror.

“Actually… actually, we don’t really know where the Pavilion is…” one of them stammered.

“Oh? Are you playing games with me?” Wang Changsheng’s face darkened.

He’d thought his luck was good, happening upon two Pavilion members at random. But it turned out they had no idea where the Pavilion was located.

From their expressions, he could easily guess that these two weren’t Pavilion members at all, but had simply tried to invoke a powerful name to save their lives. Unfortunately for them, the backer they claimed was precisely the one Wang Changsheng was seeking.

Still, for rogue cultivators like these, the Loose Cultivator Pavilion was a logical choice of patron.

“No, we wouldn’t dare!” the other man hurriedly said. “We wanted to join the Pavilion, but it’s too far away…”

“Far?” Wang Changsheng pressed. “So you do know where it is?”

“We know… a little…” one of them said nervously. “It’s in the Southern Domain… all we know is that it’s in the Southern Domain…”

“The Southern Domain?” Wang Changsheng frowned in thought. “Is it far?”

“Very far!”

At this, Chen Shangyi interjected, “I’ve seen a map of Shentian Realm. There aren’t many detailed markings, but the Southern Domain is there.”

“How far?” Wang Changsheng asked.

“The Corpse Refining Sect is on the Black Desire Plains in the north of Shentian Realm. The Southern Domain is at the southern end…” Chen Shangyi pondered. “Even by teleportation array, it would take about a month to get there.”

“That far?” Wang Changsheng was taken aback.

By Chen Shangyi’s reckoning, seeking out the Pavilion in the Southern Domain would mean crossing the entire realm from north to south.

“Where exactly in the Southern Domain is the Pavilion?” Wang Changsheng asked the two.

They both shook their heads.

Wang Changsheng’s face filled with disappointment as he fell into contemplation.

“Should I go find my second uncle first?” he wondered.

If the Pavilion were nearby, he wouldn’t hesitate to go straight there. But with such a long journey ahead—at least a month by teleportation array, not counting delays—he was torn between heading to Cloud Palace Peak or seeking out his uncle in the south.

“Steward Wang… Steward Wang…”

Just as he was lost in thought, Zhang Cunzong interrupted him.

Seeing Wang Changsheng snap back to attention, Zhang Cunzong immediately said, “Steward Wang, these two… can I take care of them? I haven’t, well, had any fun in a long time…”