Wu Tao, lying by the pool, looked at the many wounds on his body and couldn't help but recall the helplessness and hardship of his journey, sighing softly.
In the past month, he had traveled a hundred thousand li.
Flying with his weapon was indeed very fast for traveling. It had only taken him a few months to cover a hundred thousand li.
Along the way, he had traversed mountains and crossed rivers, crossed rivers and forded streams, traversed snow mountains and walked across grasslands, flying through the heavens and burrowing into the earth, avoiding many dangers and demonic beasts.
Of course, inevitably, there had been many fierce battles.
Only now, having just left the desolate grasslands and arrived in the city, had he finally escaped the endless attacks of demonic beasts.
The most dangerous encounter was with a five-element peacock at the early stage of Core Formation.
This five-element peacock had chased him for three days and three nights.
The five-element peacock, hundreds of zhang long, possessed terrifying power. With a single breath, it spat out a stream of radiant light, instantly turning a large mountain into a sieve with countless holes.
The five-element peacock mastered powerful five-element spiritual energy, naturally suppressing demonic beasts and cultivators weaker than itself.
The only stroke of luck was that it couldn't catch up to Wu Tao, who had burned his blood essence, used a precious escaping light talisman, and fled desperately with his weapon.
The five-element peacock, with its ancient and exotic bloodline, was relentless. As long as Wu Tao stopped, it would track him by scent and harass him incessantly.
This had put Wu Tao in perilous situations, nearly costing him his life several times.
After soaking for a while, Wu Tao took out the sheathed ancient sword he carried with him.
Clang!
The ancient sword was drawn, and its cold, water-like sword light flashed!
As the sword light receded, the sword body, though slightly damaged, revealed slender, winding patterns that seemed to embody the Great Dao, ancient and mysterious.
"This sword has been tempered by my spiritual power for a long time, and its sharpness has become even more terrifying!"
Holding the damaged ancient sword, Wu Tao moved his wrist and slashed at the void.
Ch-k!
Without using any spiritual power, the air was cut by the sharp white sword edge, flowing smoothly and unimpeded.
Sheathing the sword, Wu Tao mused, "The inheritance of ancient sword cultivators is truly extraordinary. Although this sword is damaged, it is more than enough to use before reaching the Nascent Soul stage.
Magic treasures can only be used by cultivators at the Core Formation stage and above.
However, ancient treasures and fragments left behind from the three eras of Primordial, Desolate, and Ancient times can be used by Foundation Establishment cultivators after tempering them with special secret methods.
A knock on the door echoed, and Wu Tao's eyebrows twitched. He placed the damaged ancient sword beside him and waved his left hand towards the door.
Creak, the door opened!
The next second, six waiters carrying dishes walked in. The lead waiter said with a smile, "Esteemed guest, our Yifeng City is located on the Wulatuosi Great Grasslands, rich in countless demonic beast materials.
Among them, the most distinctive dishes are from the demonic beast cuisine. Please try these few dishes; they are absolutely more flavorful and chewy than ordinary meat."
Wu Tao nodded at the sight and then gestured for the waiters to leave.
Upon seeing this, the six waiters respectfully retreated.
After picking up his chopsticks and taking a piece of demonic beast meat, Wu Tao chewed it a couple of times.
"Hmm, it really tastes good."
Wu Tao's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, beginning to eat heartily.
After a while, feeling full and satisfied with wine, Wu Tao suddenly felt drowsy and collapsed onto the bed, sleeping soundly.
After staying in this inn for a few more days, feeling refreshed and recuperated, Wu Tao set off again.
"Yifeng City..."
Wu Tao looked back at Yifeng City, where the ancient city walls bore many mottled marks, and streaks of dark red blood, some human and some demonic.
This was once the area most severely plagued by demonic beast invasions from the grasslands. One could even say it was once the territory of demonic beasts.
However, later, cultivators defeated the demonic beasts and occupied this place.
Generation after generation, the fighting continued until the establishment of Yifeng City, at which point it was completely occupied by humans.
"Perhaps the cultivators at that time had their own selfish motives, but their actions truly protected the ordinary humans behind them."
Wu Tao stood under the setting sun, feeling the whistling east wind. Compared to the spring in the heartland of Qingzhou, it was still quite chilly here.
Wu Tao bowed slightly to Yifeng City, then slowly straightened up and strode forward with his chest puffed out.
Having traversed the Wulatuosi Great Grasslands, an endless river appeared before Wu Tao's eyes.
This river was called the Fallen Immortal River, a large river forming the boundary of Qingzhou.
The Fallen Immortal River was about three hundred thousand li long and five thousand li wide, making it one of the largest rivers within Qingzhou.
"It is said that even some cultivators cannot fly across the Fallen Immortal River, falling into the water midway and eventually drowning. I wonder if this news is true?"
Wu Tao's brow furrowed, and basic information about the Fallen Immortal River appeared in his mind.
Generally speaking, even a cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining could fly in the air as long as they had a flying artifact.
However, the fact that the Fallen Immortal River could drown some cultivators indicated that it was no ordinary river and likely had some special properties.
"Let's try first."
There were few people in this area, so he couldn't find a large boat or any help, so he had to rely on himself.
As if struck by inspiration, Wu Tao used his divine sense to control a nearby wild goose.
Under his divine sense, the wild goose flew directly towards the Fallen Immortal River.
The wild goose had flown about three to four li when the surrounding airflow suddenly became chaotic, forming swirling vortices that directly dragged the goose into the water.
The goose struggled desperately a few times before finally plunging into the river and drowning.
Wu Tao, watching from the side, his pupils slightly contracted.
He thought to himself, "No wonder some cultivators couldn't fly across and drowned."
"The airflow above the Fallen Immortal River is abnormal. Let alone ordinary birds, even common flying demonic beasts would be exhausted by these air currents and fall from the sky."
"However, even if some cultivators drown without knowing their limits, they are only low-level Qi Refining cultivators."
"For me, although it's a bit tricky, it's not a problem."
As the journey continued, the surface of the Fallen Immortal River had more and more airflow vortices. In the end, terrifying weather phenomena like wind and water tornados even occurred.
Many flying birds passing through this area fell into the river, their fates unknown.
Whoosh!
Spreading his wings, Wu Tao leaped into the air and soared above the river, heading into the distance.
"Break!"
After flying about three to four li, the surrounding airflow vortices suddenly became chaotic, forming water currents resembling river waves that consumed the spiritual energy in Wu Tao's body.
Wu Tao drew his sword and slashed out. The sword flashed like lightning, its light as brilliant as a white egret in the daytime, its sword energy surging in all directions, piercing through numerous airflow vortices and destroying the turbulent water currents that blocked his path.
"I can't go on. Damn it, crossing the surface of the Fallen Immortal River has consumed too much spiritual energy."
Having crossed three thousand li of the river in one go, Wu Tao's spiritual energy was significantly depleted. If he continued recklessly, he would likely deplete most of his spiritual energy, damaging his meridians and dantian, which would be more than the gain.
His body descended lightly. Wu Tao touched his storage bag with his right hand, and a small flatboat about half a zhang in size appeared. He landed on the river below.
Splash!
The flatboat floated on the water, and Wu Tao stepped onto it.
After adjusting his breathing for a moment, Wu Tao activated his spiritual power to create propulsion behind the flatboat.
With the strong wind blowing, the flatboat moved at an extremely fast speed, braving the waves and heading towards the shore of the Fallen Immortal River.
At the same time, dark shadows emerged from the depths of the river. A giant crocodile over ten zhang long, exuding ferocious might and baring its fangs, directly treated Wu Tao on the flatboat as food and rapidly charged towards him.
Seeing the giant crocodile attack, Wu Tao let out a cold snort, then drew his sword. With a flash of light, sword energy surged out.
The giant crocodile was hit by the sword energy, its scales scattering and a large hole torn in its body.
Wu Tao naturally wouldn't show it any mercy. He gave the giant crocodile another sword strike, completely killing it. Blood instantly dyed the river surface red.
In the subsequent voyage, no matter what dangers were encountered, whether it was airflow vortices or demonic beast attacks, Wu Tao simply drew his sword and solved the problem.
"Fortunately, I prepared many things in advance for this trial, otherwise crossing the Fallen Immortal River would not have been so simple."
"A Foundation Establishment cultivator can fly at high speed with their weapon. At full speed, they can travel five to six hundred li in an hour.
However, no Foundation Establishment cultivator would rush at full speed without important matters.
This is because the spiritual energy within a Foundation Establishment cultivator is not too little, but it is not too much either.
Once their spiritual energy is depleted, it will not only cause some damage to the body but also make them vulnerable to unexpected dangers.
Traveling across the Fallen Immortal River by flatboat consumes much less spiritual energy than defending oneself and flying with a weapon simultaneously.
The Fallen Immortal River is not the ocean, after all. No matter how wide it is, there is a limit. After traveling about five thousand li, Wu Tao finally saw the opposite bank.
Gazing at the desolate riverbank and the towering mountain ranges, Wu Tao gave a wry smile and muttered to himself, "It seems that crossing from Qingzhou to Liangzhou is truly not that simple."
Bang!
The flatboat hit the riverbank, and Wu Tao leaped up.
On the other side of the Fallen Immortal River.
Majestic peaks rose one after another, vast forests stretched endlessly, and some thick ancient trees were astonishing, their canopies reaching into the sky, hundreds or even thousands of meters high, blocking out the sun and sky.