Chapter 2014: Turning the Tide

Gu Ya's thoughts aligned perfectly with Qin Sang's. He, too, was looking forward to potentially encountering a senior cultivator who ascended from the Storm Realm at Feng Ju Yu Men.

Past ascenders from the Storm Realm were all exceptional individuals. Besides Tian Yue Shang Ren, Qin Sang knew Xiao Xiang Zi and Bao Gu were undoubtedly extraordinary figures.

The Four Sages led the weak human race to overthrow the original rulers of Cang Lang Hai, the Wu Clan, ushering in an era of prosperity for humanity in Cang Lang Hai. Their merits were remembered by future generations. Bao Gu dedicated herself to the human race and even left guidance for posterity before embarking on the ascension path.

Xiao Xiang Zi suppressed the ancient demons, leading to the creation of Xuan Tian Palace. He also strategically placed protections in the North Sea to prevent the ancient demons from breaking free, leaving behind items like the Town-Spirit Incense.

To some extent, Qin Sang inherited the legacies of these two individuals, which led to his current achievements.

Their talent and spirit were top-tier. If they could ascend to the Great Thousand World and enter a vaster realm, they would surely achieve remarkable success unless they met with an accident.

"With this idea, I set off. I was careful all the way, encountering several dangers midway. Fortunately, I was alert enough to narrowly escape them.

"This time, I was hired by someone. The employer claimed that Feng Ju Yu Men was in turmoil and they were looking for opportunities. Lacking manpower, they hired experts as escorts. I thought traveling in a group would be safer than going alone, so I took a position.

"The journey was very smooth. Unexpectedly, just as we neared Feng Ju Yu Men, pursuers caught up. It was then that we realized the employer had concealed the true secret; the treasure hunt was just a cover-up, which was unfortunately exposed to their enemies, leading to this chase.

"Such things are not uncommon. Enemies usually target the main party. We, as external escorts, usually aren't relentlessly pursued if we aren't entangled and retreat decisively. But unexpectedly, they targeted my Yu Xin Saber. Fortunately, I met Senior..."

Gu Ya glared resentfully at the two figures on the ground. Just now, Qin Sang had instructed her not to call him 'Saint' anymore, so she had switched to 'Senior.'

It turned out her idea was correct. Not only did she meet an ascended senior from the lower realm in front of Feng Ju Yu Men, but it was Qin Saint, revered by an entire realm.

Qin Saint indeed lived up to his reputation; not only had he escaped the demon's clutches, but he had also broken through to the Void Refining stage.

The Storm Realm was saved!

Thinking of this, the joy of meeting Qin Sang immediately overshadowed the unpleasantness of being pursued. Bright light shone in Gu Ya's eyes.

"Senior, when are we going home?"

She believed that Senior Qin, who had sacrificed himself to lure away the evil demon for the sake of an entire realm's inhabitants, must surely care deeply for the beings of the lower realm.

Finally, they could go home!

"Are you in a hurry to go back? Why not wait until the Yu Xin Saber truly transforms before leaving? That way, you'd be much safer."

Qin Sang could tell that the Yu Xin Saber was close to transformation.

Presumably, the Spirit Void Sect or Gu Ya had another fortuitous encounter, otherwise, according to their previous arrangements, the Yu Xin Saber, only being refined within the mountain's core, couldn't have advanced so quickly.

If Gu Ya had been more patient and collected spiritual materials to refine the Yu Xin Saber into a spiritual treasure, her strength would have greatly increased.

"What? Is the situation in the Storm Realm not good?"

Qin Sang noticed the change in Gu Ya's expression, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he already had a guess.

Gu Ya nodded, her expression grave, and stated firmly: "The Storm Realm and the Chang You Clan have been in opposition for many years, and countless fellow cultivators and seniors have fallen on the battlefield. Even if it's just for myself, I must go back. Before being swept away by the Mistfall, I hadn't yet broken through to the Soul Transformation stage. Returning now, I can certainly play a greater role and kill more enemies! My master died at the hands of the Chang You Clan, and I also took away the Yu Xin Saber, a legacy of our sect. Our sect has suffered heavy losses and is now without a leader; I don't know what state it's in now..."

After Bing Han's death, Gu Ya had taken over as sect master. As head of a sect, how could she not worry about her sect? Gu Ya wished she could immediately sprout wings and return to the Mist Sea.

Qin Sang was her only hope.

"How strong is the Chang You Clan? Besides them, are there any other enemies?" Qin Sang continued to ask.

What Gu Ya said was within Qin Sang's expectations.

Before ascending to the Great Thousand World, the Storm Realm's top combat strength was only at the late Nascent Soul stage. Even if they overcame the gray heavenly tribulation, their strength would only leap by one stage in a short time, but it was ultimately limited.

The starting point of the Storm Realm was too low. Moreover, the Storm Realm cultivators didn't understand the severity of the gray heavenly tribulation, and initially, they weren't prepared, so a group of experts must have fallen.

In the descriptions of some ancient texts, while the overall strength of the alien races was inferior to that of humans, they were still powerful clans with names and recognition, capable of standing in a corner of the Great Thousand World. If the Storm Realm had fallen into the territory of an alien race, even if the human, witch, and demon races of the Storm Realm united, they wouldn't have the strength to contend with an alien race; there would be no war at all.

Alien races were similar to demon races, a collective term for many groups. These groups shared a common characteristic: their appearance was close to human, and their customs were reportedly similar to humans, but in some physical features, they differed greatly from humans, instead being closer to demon races.

These features could be in their facial organs or any part of their body. For example, the Chang You Clan was born with fur and four ears, while the Yu Ren Clan members were all beautiful in appearance, born with swan-like pure white wings, and even ordinary Yu Ren could soar in the sky like birds.

Some alien races not only had distinct features but also possessed innate divine abilities, just like demon races.

It sounded like alien races were bloodlines born from the fusion of human and demon races, but according to the descriptions in those ancient texts, this didn't seem to be the case. Alien races were different from the descendants of human-demon unions. The descendants of human-demon unions were called Half-Demons in the Great Thousand World, while alien races were given the name 'Aliens.'

Records showed that the Jiao Ren Clan and the Yu Ren Clan were the overlords among alien races, one patrolling the sky, the other guarding the ocean.

Alien races primarily lived in the Mist Sea, a region dotted with countless tribes and kingdoms. Humans knew little about that area, and ancient texts did not describe it in detail.

The Mist Sea's environment was unique, but it couldn't remain eternally isolated, protecting the alien races forever. For alien races to survive in the dog-eat-dog Great Thousand World until today, immense strength was essential.

Qin Sang didn't know if the Jiao Ren Clan and Yu Ren Clan had Mahayana cultivators, but they certainly wouldn't lack Integration stage cultivators.

If an alien race targeted the Storm Realm, they could annihilate it with a flip of their hand, unless the Storm Realm's enemies were only one or two small tribes among the alien races.

"Just the Chang You Clan alone caused us heavy losses, not to mention the Mist Sea, which besides the natural disaster of the Mistfall, also has elusive and bizarre mist beasts. To gather our strength and resist the Chang You Clan, we were forced to abandon the Demon Sea and Cang Lang Sea, relocating the cultivators of the three races there to the Central Continent. Although we tried our best to move the mortals before the Chang You Clan could react, we still suffered heavy losses," Gu Ya sighed.

Unexpectedly, the dwelling places that the Four Sages had fought so hard to secure for future generations ultimately couldn't be preserved.

Tian Xing Island and Four Sages Mountain flashed through Qin Sang's mind. He also thought of the Wu Shen Continent; Mute Girl's homeland had also been occupied by an alien race.

Central Continent and Western Earth were on the same landmass. The area between them was of unknown size. Previously, it was unsuitable for habitation due to storms tearing apart the land and rampant lava.

Now that the storms had subsided, if the land returned to normal, it would definitely be a vast and empty area, more than enough to relocate all the living beings from the Storm Realm.

"What about the four regions of the North Sea?" Qin Sang asked in a deep voice. Had the four regions of the North Sea also fallen?

Da Sui, Xiao Han Yu, Shao Hua Shan, Qian Shan Zhu Hai, Bei Chen Jing, Xian Yue Jing, Yin Ri Jing... So many places that held precious memories.

"After the storms between Central Continent and Western Earth disappeared, the land returned to peace. We unexpectedly discovered an ancient grand teleportation array there that could lead to the North Sea. With this grand teleportation array, Central Continent can provide timely support if an enemy attacks, otherwise, we might have had to consider moving away from our homeland," Gu Ya said thankfully. "Fairy Liuli united various forces and led the Storm Realm cultivators, forming a pincer movement with the original Western Earth, Central Continent, and the North Sea, to jointly resist the Chang You Clan..."

Hearing that the North Sea had been preserved, Qin Sang's expression softened slightly. The places he had traversed and the traces he had left behind had finally not been completely erased.

The Chang You Clan's strength shouldn't be too strong; their highest combat power was probably only at the Soul Transformation stage. But for the Storm Realm, which was just starting, they were undoubtedly a dangerously powerful enemy.

From Gu Ya's tone, it was clear that Liuli played a crucial role in the war between the Storm Realm and the Chang You Clan.

Earlier, when Gu Ya mentioned 'Fairy Liuli,' Qin Sang's heart had eased, and he had resisted asking. Now, he finally asked.

"Fairy Liuli is said to be the first Soul Transformation cultivator in the Storm Realm when it integrated into the Great Thousand World, possibly even the only one at that time. In this time of crisis, it was fortunate that Fairy Liuli stepped forward in time, rallying various forces and uniting people's hearts. Only then could all races and regions work together to overcome that most difficult period..."

As Gu Ya spoke, she secretly glanced at Qin Sang.

It was rumored that Fairy Liuli was Qin Saint's Dao companion. Xuan Tian Palace cultivators swore that they had held a Dao companion ceremony, witnessed by the entire sect.

Of course, the previous belief was that Fairy Liuli was Qin Saint's widow. The fact that various forces were convinced by Fairy Liuli and united so smoothly also stemmed from this connection.

Even though Fairy Liuli had devoted herself to the Storm Realm, hovering on the brink of life and death countless times, there were still ill-intentioned individuals who made wild conjectures, claiming that Fairy Liuli erected a statue of Qin Saint out of selfish motives. It wasn't until they personally saw the Saint Mountain moved by the Cang Lang Sea Wu Clan and the terrifying marks of the evil demon's attack on the broken mountain that those people finally shut their mouths.

Gu Ya clearly remembered that the day she went to the holy land to pay respects to the saint statue, she happened to encounter Fairy Liuli, standing alone silently in front of the statue for a long time. She regretted not having the courage to say a word to Fairy Liuli at that time.

From Fairy Liuli, Gu Ya sensed an aloofness that kept people at a distance, whether it was her nature or due to heartache from her Dao companion's demise.

That lonely back figure remained vivid in Gu Ya's memory; those fragile shoulders bore an unimaginable burden.

So she leaned more towards the latter. Otherwise, Fairy Liuli could have abandoned the Storm Realm at any time, taking only those close to her. Why would she disregard her own safety and fight desperately to secure a slim chance of survival for the Storm Realm, turning the tide? She probably didn't want Senior Qin's efforts to be in vain, and erecting the statue was also to have a place to mourn her Dao companion, not to mention that it was what Senior Qin deserved.

What profound marital affection this was! Gu Ya didn't envy Fairy Liuli for having a Dao companion like Senior Qin, but she envied that genuine emotion. Fortunately, heaven had eyes, Senior Qin wasn't dead, and they could finally be reunited.

Qin Sang sighed inwardly, realizing that even Liuli believed he had perished.

That made sense. At that time, the First Sword Attendant had forcibly broken the realm to stop his teleportation, which must have created an immense commotion. Elder Fang Mo and other Wu Clan cultivators were nearby and witnessed it firsthand.

By common sense, under such an attack, there was no possibility of his survival.

However, Qin Sang hadn't expected Liuli to achieve so much, especially during the period when the Storm Realm's strength hadn't yet increased. Qin Sang could imagine that every step was incredibly difficult and not easy at all.

Seeing Gu Ya's eager gaze, Qin Sang knew she desperately wanted him to take her back immediately.

In fact, Qin Sang also wanted to return to the Storm Realm as soon as possible.

Besides the anticipation of reuniting with old acquaintances, Qin Sang also thought of something else: he had been preparing to establish an altar and comprehend the Great Perfection Killing Dao, but he hadn't yet found a suitable location.

Wasn't the Storm Realm the best place to establish an altar?

Unlike the mortal world ruled by Qing Yang Temple, the Storm Realm revered him as a Saint. He didn't need to do anything else; they genuinely respected him from the bottom of their hearts, giving him an advantage in comprehending the Great Perfection Killing Dao that no other place offered.

With him there, he could certainly alleviate the crisis in the Storm Realm.

The reason it was 'alleviate' rather than 'resolve' was that Qin Sang didn't understand the situation in the Mist Sea or the attitudes of other alien races toward the Storm Realm.

Since other alien races hadn't moved to annihilate the Storm Realm, an anomaly, perhaps they weren't exclusive, giving the Storm Realm a chance to establish itself.

Even if it faced rejection from the alien races, he could find another way out for the Storm Realm.

"The Mist Sea is far away in the East Sea; it's not somewhere you can just arrive at. Also, do you know the exact location of the Storm Realm within the Mist Sea?" Qin Sang asked Gu Ya.

Gu Ya paused, then shook her head, calming down.

She only knew some information about the vicinity of the Storm Realm, not its precise location.

If the Storm Realm had fallen deep into the Mist Sea, they would have to pass through various alien tribes to reach it. This journey would likely not be smooth, requiring careful planning, at least to first ascertain the location of the Chang You Clan.

What Qin Sang didn't say was that he faced an even more difficult choice and couldn't easily extricate himself.

This trip to Feng Ju Yu Men concerned the fragment of the Di Sha Sword. The First Sword Attendant and Tian Yue Shang Ren had not hesitated to use the Zi Wei Palace as bait to create an opportunity for him to retrieve the sword. How could he just leave now?

Fortunately, according to Gu Ya's description, before she was swept away by the Mistfall, the Storm Realm, relying on the North Sea, Western Earth, and Central Continent, was no longer so vulnerable to the Chang You Clan's offensive.

And the Storm Realm's strength would continue to increase. Unless there were other unforeseen circumstances, it should have the ability to protect itself. Several hundred years had passed; a little more time wouldn't make a difference. If a major catastrophe that annihilated the Storm Realm occurred in the interim, Qin Sang rushing over would be futile.

The news brought by Gu Ya caught Qin Sang somewhat off guard, and subsequent plans would have to change.

He only wished Tian Yue Shang Ren would arrive quickly. But what if his identity was exposed and he went back directly? Wouldn't that bring disaster to the Storm Realm? Qin Sang's brow furrowed; he had to make proper arrangements.

Deep in thought, Qin Sang was about to speak when his gaze suddenly flickered. He turned his head and looked towards the depths of the wind-swept sand.

Several auras were rapidly approaching this location, presumably the companions of these two individuals.