Chen Tian and Zi Long headed in the direction of Xue Qingyou. Several clones of Chen Tian stood silently beside Xue Qingyou. Xue Qingyou looked terrified, the scene before him filling him with dread. The bloody and brutal sights played out before his eyes. Xue Qingyou could hardly imagine that the path to finding his daughter would be so difficult, yet he could not retreat. He was determined to find his child.
Chen Tian and Zi Long's figures slowly entered Xue Qingyou's sight. Xue Qingyou felt a sliver of comfort in his heart as the surrounding clones gradually dissipated. Chen Tian looked at Xue Qingyou, seeing that he was unharmed. Thankfully, nothing had happened, or the mission would have failed.
Chen Tian extended his hand and pulled Xue Qingyou up from the ground. Chen Tian said calmly, "You are almost at the world barrier. Then you will be able to find your child."
"Thank you, thank you so much, sir."
Tears welled up in Xue Qingyou's eyes, his face filled with gratitude. Zi Long, standing beside them, said nothing. As Chen Tian's pet, he had no say in the matter. Chen Tian, Zi Long, and Xue Qingyou walked across the plains. While walking, Chen Tian did not forget to ask, "Zi Long, are there any other beasts around here that can command other beast hordes besides you?"
"No, Chen Tian. And I'm also curious who is behind these beast hordes. I usually don't bother with them, and I certainly didn't order them to do this."
Chen Tian believed Zi Long was not lying. After all, Zi Long was his pet now, bound by a contract, so he wouldn't deceive him. Even if he tried, Chen Tian would sense it. Chen Tian pondered silently, "It seems there are more quests to come."
Chen Tian deduced that this story-driven questline would likely take a long time to complete. However, Chen Tian enjoyed such quests because completing each stage would accelerate his economic growth and fusion with his origin. Chen Tian eagerly anticipated the day of completion.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the three of them arrived at the world barrier, a white barrier blocking their path. Chen Tian frowned, stepped forward, and this time the barrier did not repel him. Chen Tian passed through it freely. Chen Tian thought to himself, "Just as the system said."
Chen Tian reappeared on the other side before Zi Long and Xue Qingyou and said, "This barrier requires a World Recognition Seal to enter. Zi Long, you'll enter my pet space shortly. Xue Qingyou, do you have a seal?"
Upon being asked by Chen Tian, Xue Qingyou realized, "Yes, the seal is here, on the back of my hand."
On the back of Xue Qingyou's hand, a seal slowly appeared on his previously fair skin. The seal looked like a birthmark. Xue Qingyou willed it, and the seal disappeared. However, Chen Tian sensed something was slightly off, as the seal was golden. Chen Tian wasn't sure what was wrong.
Chen Tian extended his arm, and a spatial vortex appeared. Zi Long nodded and immediately dove into the vortex. As Chen Tian's pet, Zi Long now also had a pet space.
Currently, the beings Chen Tian had contracted were: Zi Long, Kong Ling, Long Ling, Cai Ling, Qing Yu, and the Fire Spirit race. Qing Ling had been materialized and was likely still in the real world taking care of her sister. Chen Tian didn't mind.
Then, Chen Tian and Xue Qingyou stepped into the barrier simultaneously. The moment they entered, the entire barrier shook. Chen Tian felt a dizzying sensation and instantly found himself in a city. Standing in the city, Chen Tian was a bit bewildered. Where was this place?
"System, what's going on?"
"Ding! Responding to Host, the seal on Xue Qingyou's hand is a top-tier seal. The barrier was affected the moment you entered, causing the Host to be randomly teleported to another region."
"Ding! Story Quest (3): Find Xue Qingyou and protect Xue Qingyou. Quest Reward: Realm +2"
Chen Tian looked at the quest interface. My goodness, this was only the third quest! It directly triggered a reward of Realm +2. If all quests were completed, who knew what rewards there would be? Chen Tian's anticipation grew.
Chen Tian, as usual, wanted to find an inn to gather some information. As he walked through the city, Chen Tian noticed that the cultivators in this city didn't seem to be trial-takers but rather native spirits. Why would native spirits be born in this region? The previous region only had trial-takers. Chen Tian was very curious. He found a tavern and inn and entered, sitting at a table, his ears open to all the surrounding sounds.
"Did you hear? The princess of the Luo Yun Dynasty is back."
"Alas! Why has she returned? Isn't this walking into a wolf's den? She ran away back then, what was she thinking?"
"It's said she ran to that barren land, and the royal family gave up on her."
"Let's not talk about that. Did you hear? That place is about to open, the Divine Strike Secret Realm. There are two days left, and the royal family is recruiting people."
"Yes! It opens once every hundred years, so the royal family naturally won't be negligent."
Chen Tian's mind raced, and he rejoiced. He wondered what the difference between the Divine Strike Secret Realm and the Divine Strike Trial was. Chen Tian communicated with the system, "System, do you have any knowledge about this world?"
"Transferring memories to Host..."
"Memory transfer complete. Please view at your leisure."
As the words echoed in Chen Tian's mind, he became interested and began to review the memories. Waves of immense memories impacted his mind. Chen Tian's mental power was incredibly strong; as an individual from three different worlds, his mental power had long reached a terrifying level. Yet, even so, Chen Tian felt a severe headache. The sheer volume of memories was overwhelming.
Sweating profusely, Chen Tian endured. When nearly half of the cultivators had left, Chen Tian's complexion finally returned to normal. He then exclaimed, "This, this entire region is one world? Didn't they say it was still different worlds?"
The world Chen Tian was in was called the Divine Origin Continent. The location Chen Tian was currently in was a dynasty on the Divine Origin Continent, called the Luo Yun Dynasty.
On the Divine Origin Continent, there were only nations, not sects or other cultivation systems. Nations often went to war with each other, neither side yielding. Even a small amount of resources could spark a war. Nations on the Divine Origin Continent were divided into: Dynasties, Imperial Dynasties, Emperor Dynasties, and Empires. Each nation was further divided into High, Middle, and Low ranks, with High-rank nations being the most powerful.
The Luo Yun Dynasty, where Chen Tian was located, was a Low-rank Dynasty, the weakest among the Dynasties. But on the entire Divine Origin Continent, there were countless Dynasties. This world was too vast.
"System, convert my realm, let's see what realm I am currently in."
"Ding! Realm conversion complete."
Chen Tian glanced at his status panel. Under the Realm section, it read: Kingly Path Nine Ranks.
The cultivation system on the Divine Origin Continent was divided into: Mortal Path Nine Stages, Martial Path Nine Stages, Kingly Path Nine Ranks, Imperial Path Nine Ranks, Emperorly Path Nine Ranks, and Divine Origin Path Nine Ranks.
Each realm was divided into nine stages (ranks). Only by breaking through the ninth stage (rank) could one advance to the next realm.