Chapter 849: Boundary Fusion

Rise of the Nine Provinces

When Pang Huanyin abruptly appeared in the Heavenly Mystery Hall of the Blood Will Sect's main branch, Shui Yuan initially thought there was an external invasion. Fortunately, Pang Huanyin's cultivation level wasn't high, allowing Shui Yuan to apprehend her immediately.

"Realm Fusion!" the sect leader, who had been silent, suddenly exclaimed. Lu Ye promptly bowed and humbly inquired, "Sect Leader, then is the floating landmass that suddenly appeared above the Cloud River Battlefield truly the Peerless Continent?"

It was truly quite surreal. The plague of corpses on the Peerless Continent had only been eradicated by the cultivators of the Nine Provinces a month ago, yet in such a short time, the Peerless Continent had already migrated to the Cloud River Battlefield.

This must involve the intricate workings of the Heavenly Secret; it was far from as simple as Pang Huanyin had described. As for the methods the Heavenly Secret used to transport such a vast realm fragment to the Cloud River Battlefield, Lu Ye couldn't fathom it, and even Pang Huanyin might not know. The sect leader stroked his beard and said, "That should be correct. My master once experienced such an event."

Lu Ye was unaware of the sect leader's current age, and his master was an even more ancient figure.

"It is said that the Cloud River Battlefield was not so vast at first," the sect leader continued. "It gradually expanded by integrating numerous broken or decaying realms, including the Spirit Stream Battlefield." Lu Ye still had only a vague idea of the Cloud River Battlefield's true size, but he knew it was definitely hundreds of times larger than the Peerless Continent.

He had once wondered how such a vast battlefield came into existence, but he had only mused about it without delving deeper. He had believed it was formed by the Heavenly Secret tearing off a part of the Nine Provinces, but now it seemed that was not the case.

The birth and expansion of both the Spirit Stream Battlefield and the Cloud River Battlefield were closely related to fragmented realms like the Peerless Continent.

"The fusion between realms is not easy, nor is it a simple territorial expansion. The entire process might last for a long time. During this period, cultivators like you in the Cloud River Realm are not suited to remain in the Cloud River Battlefield. This is why you were expelled." Lu Ye suddenly understood. "What about the indigenous demonic beasts of the Cloud River Battlefield?" Ju Jia immediately perked up his ears, listening intently with a nervous expression. The sect leader replied, "During the fusion process, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surges violently. It's unsuitable for cultivators primarily because it hinders their cultivation, but there's no actual danger to life. Therefore, the indigenous demonic beasts won't be significantly affected; at most, they'll be startled."

Hearing the sect leader's explanation, the tense Ju Jia nearby finally relaxed. "So, for the time being, we can't enter the Cloud River Battlefield?" Lu Ye asked.

"That's right. It will take anywhere from ten days to half a month, or up to several months, for it to stabilize." Lu Ye nodded slightly.

With his current cultivation at the ninth level of the Cloud River Realm and numerous golden spirit talismans remaining, it made no difference whether he cultivated in the Cloud River Battlefield or the Nine Provinces. The only regrettable thing was that he hadn't had time to re-arrange the grand array in the Spirit Land. The Spirit Land's expansion had already concluded, transforming from a small Spirit Land capable of accommodating only a few people to a large one that could hold a hundred. The previously arranged array naturally needed to be altered or re-arranged.

He had originally planned to deal with these matters after reaching the peak of the Cloud River Realm and preparing to leave the Cloud River Battlefield, but then this unexpected turn of events occurred.

The Peerless Continent had migrated across realms, and even Pang Huanyin, the master of the Ziwei Dao Palace, had appeared in the Blood Will Sect.

"Little friend Pang," the sect leader stated, "since you are acquainted with Yi Ye, let him guide you to explore the area. The Aoshan territory is vast, with many spirit peaks, so accommodating another Dao Palace shouldn't be a problem." "Then I thank Sect Master Tang," Pang Huanyin bowed, then turned to Lu Ye and playfully winked her left eye. "I'll trouble Senior Brother."

Lu Ye was puzzled. "What is this about?"

The sect leader explained, "Little friend Pang intends to establish a sect in the Nine Provinces. You are aware of her situation; I heard you went to the Peerless Continent to help them resolve their troubles. They have no foundation here in the Nine Provinces, so they wish to acknowledge our sect as their superior sect. I have already agreed to this. You should lead her to find some spirit peaks to serve as the foundation for their new sect, which will also be our Blood Will Sect's congratulatory gift."

Only then did Lu Ye understand Pang Huanyin's purpose in coming here.

The concept of superior and subordinate sects was not uncommon in the Nine Provinces. Many newly established sects would choose powerful nearby sects to affiliate with. This way, they could receive support from the superior sect to some extent, and their disciples, when out and about, could also get assistance from the superior sect's cultivators, avoiding solitary struggles.

The relationship between them was somewhat like a subordinate one.

The most recent sect with a superior-subordinate relationship with the Blood Will Sect was the Danxin Sect. However, back then, the superior sect was powerful, but now it was the opposite: the Danxin Sect was a second-rank sect, while the Blood Will Sect had fallen into such decline.

The Peerless Continent had been moved to the Cloud River Battlefield by some bizarre means employed by the Heavenly Secret. From now on, there would be no more Peerless Continent; it would only be a part of the Cloud River Battlefield. The cultivators from the Peerless Continent naturally couldn't remain there indefinitely. Previously, they were limited by their realm and could only cultivate to the peak of the Cloud River Realm, unable to explore the mysteries of the next stage.

But for any cultivator, higher realms are an irresistible temptation, so the cultivators of the Peerless Continent would eventually have to leave the Cloud River Battlefield and come to the Nine Provinces. After the previous battle, the number of people in the Ziwei Dao Palace did not decrease but actually increased, primarily due to absorbing a large number of cultivators from various strongholds who came to provide support.

Since these people had come, they were now cultivators of the Nine Provinces and needed a place to settle down.

Therefore, Pang Huanyin had to establish a sect in the Nine Provinces and re-create the Ziwei Dao Palace, unless she was willing to disband it and let its cultivators find their own paths.

During the migration, Pang Huanyin learned many things about the Nine Provinces from the Heavenly Secret. Once she decided to rebuild the Ziwei Dao Palace, she immediately went ahead, arriving directly at the Blood Will Sect with the Heavenly Secret's assistance.

Originally, the sect leader was quite reluctant about such matters, especially with the precedent of the Danxin Sect.

However, after listening to Pang Huanyin's detailed account of the circumstances, the sect leader changed his mind. With his discernment, how could he not see Pang Huanyin's extraordinary talent? In a fragmented realm like the Peerless Continent, her achievements in the Cloud River Realm were no less than those of Feng Rulie and others. If she had truly originated in the Nine Provinces, her foundation would undoubtedly be even stronger. Moreover, as an experienced elder, the sect leader also perceived that this woman seemed to have a favorable impression of Lu Ye. Coupled with the current decline of the Blood Will Sect's middle ranks, if they wanted to develop in the future, they would have to consider more factors. If they took the Ziwei Dao Palace as a subordinate sect, this weakness could be instantly remedied, eliminating the need to wait for their own disciples to slowly grow.

What the Ziwei Dao Palace lacked were top-tier powerful cultivators, so the two sects could perfectly complement each other.

However, the sect leader was an upright man. As a grand cultivator of the Divine Sea Realm, he did not deceive Pang Huanyin in the slightest. During their conversation, he had already informed her in detail about the current situation of the Blood Will Sect, and even advised Pang Huanyin to choose another major sect as their superior sect, offering to mediate on her behalf.

Pang Huanyin naturally refused. As she had stated before, her trip to the Nine Provinces was solely for the Blood Will Sect; she would not consider anything else.

Thus, the matter of the Ziwei Dao Palace acknowledging the Blood Will Sect as its superior sect after its establishment was settled. Since they were establishing a sect, they definitely needed to select a territory as its foundation. Bingzhou's territory was vast, with many suitable places for establishing a sect, but the sect leader's intention was clearly to designate a portion of Aoshan to the Ziwei Dao Palace as their base in the Nine Provinces.

This was understandable, as Aoshan was vast. Even during its most prosperous period, the Blood Will Sect hadn't fully utilized it, so accommodating two sects there posed no problem. Lu Ye was astonished. In such a short time, numerous bizarre events had occurred one after another, which had quite an impact even on his calm demeanor.

"Senior Brother?" Pang Huanyin called softly, seeing Lu Ye lost in thought. Only then did Lu Ye nod and say, "Follow me."

With that, he shot into the sky and casually flew off in one direction.

Pang Huanyin smiled faintly and followed closely.

Shui Yuan watched the direction the two departed, pensive, then turned to look at Hua Ci beside her. "Aren't you going with them, Junior Sister?"

Hua Ci smiled gently. "What would I do there?"

Shui Yuan said earnestly, "Junior Sister, you need to make your move soon, or it'll be too late." "What are you talking about, Senior Sister?"

"Don't play innocent."

"Senior Sister," Hua Ci interrupted Shui Yuan, stepping forward and taking her arm, "since I have some free time recently, I have a few questions about medical arts that I'd like to ask you about."

This was not a lie. In fact, Hua Ci had wanted to consult Shui Yuan about medical knowledge for a long time, but she had been busy with intense cultivation and hadn't had the opportunity. Now that there was an issue with the Cloud River Battlefield, and all cultivators were temporarily unable to enter, it was a heaven-sent opportunity.

Although her inherited knowledge included medical aspects, its main focus was poison. Yet, she never forgot that she was a medical cultivator and that there was someone who often got injured and needed her care.

The two women departed, leaving the sect leader and Ju Jia staring blankly at each other.

The sect leader actually had high hopes for this burly disciple, as he had long recognized Ju Jia's extraordinary talent. However, Ju Jia's taciturn nature, coupled with the fact that he had only spent a few days in total at the Blood Will Sect's main branch, meant the sect leader knew almost nothing about him. He was about to ask Ju Jia if he had any difficulties in his cultivation.

The world only knew that Tang Yifeng, of the Blood Will Sect, was a powerful spell cultivator, but few knew that he cultivated both spells and body. Guiding a fellow body cultivator among his disciples would naturally be no problem. Unexpectedly, before he could speak, Ju Jia bowed to him and then silently walked away.

The sect leader looked melancholic.

To think that he, the dignified sect leader of the Blood Will Sect, once a figure who could command wind and rain, had come to this point where he didn't even have the chance to guide his disciples. How desolate! A voice suddenly echoed in his ear: "Old geezer, hurry up and get over here!"

The sect leader shuddered, quickly darted towards Bright Heart Peak, and hastily responded, "Coming, coming!"

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