Chapter 1653: Initial Arrival at Tianlan

A deserted island, roughly a hundred miles in circumference, lay in the Coral Sea region of the South China Sea. Over a thousand cultivators had gathered there, the weakest among them being at the Core Formation stage.

Wang Yingjie stood on a low earthen mound, his brows tightly furrowed. Following his gaze, one could see a valley shrouded in thick white mist. Inside the valley, Wang Changsheng and over thirty other Nascent Soul cultivators stood in small groups, their expressions varied.

A tall, elderly man stood before them. His hair and beard were white, his complexion ruddy, and he wore a wide green robe that swayed in the breeze. As his sleeves fluttered, he exuded an aura of profound cultivation. This was Fu Wen, the East-Licheng Realm's only Soul Transformation stage rogue cultivator.

“I will personally lead this mission. Everyone must obey my commands. Those who defy them will be executed without mercy,” Fu Wen declared, his gaze icy.

Truth be told, leading this expedition to disrupt the Heavenly-Lian Realm was incredibly dangerous. However, Fu Wen had little lifespan remaining—just over four hundred years. If he didn't take this risk, he would be nothing but bones in four centuries. As a rogue cultivator, Fu Wen had achieved the Soul Transformation stage with immense difficulty, but his progress had halted there. Advancing further seemed an insurmountable challenge.

The realm war presented Fu Wen with an opportunity. Remaining in the East-Licheng Realm meant passively enduring attacks. It was better to venture into the Heavenly-Lian Realm and create chaos. Perhaps he could even achieve the late Soul Transformation stage. If that proved impossible, he could at least acquire rare treasures. And when his lifespan truly dwindled, he might make a final attempt to sneak into the Spirit Realm.

“Yes, Senior Fu,” Wang Changsheng and the others agreed in unison; they were not foolish. Their ability to travel to the Heavenly-Lian Realm stemmed from Fu Wen's skill in refining the fifth-tier Qian-Guang Realm-Breaking Talisman. This meant that as long as they stayed with him, they had a chance to return.

There were a total of thirty-five Nascent Soul cultivators. Besides the Azure Lotus Immortal Couple, the Sun-Moon Twin Sages and Huang Fugui were also present. Wang Changsheng had even brought his avatar. In total, the Wang family had deployed four Nascent Soul cultivators.

The Sun-Moon Twin Sages had only a decade or so of lifespan left. With no hope of advancing to the Soul Transformation stage, they decided to make the most of their remaining time by going to the Heavenly-Lian Realm to wreak havoc, plunder cultivation resources, and assist their disciples in forming Nascent Souls. The Sun-Moon Palace had deployed six Nascent Soul cultivators and fifty Core Formation cultivators, having invested heavily in this venture; they did not intend to return.

Huang Fugui, merely at the early Nascent Soul stage, possessed limited strength. Neither Wang Changsheng nor Wang Ruyan could comprehend how he had managed to join the expedition. In the face of danger, Huang Fugui was known to flee faster than anyone. Thus, they were reluctant to fight alongside him. While he was suitable for delivering messages or escorting supplies, engaging in combat with him was entirely out of the question.

“Prepare to depart,” Fu Wen instructed. “As this is a temporary passage, problems might occur, and you could be teleported to different locations. This is the Seven-Star Sensing Talisman; I can sense your position within thirty thousand *li*, which will facilitate our reassembly.”

Fu Wen then produced thirty-five glittering silver talismans and distributed them to Wang Changsheng and the rest. The silver talismans felt cool to the touch, their surfaces intricately covered with mysterious, rice-grain-sized runes.

“Senior Fu, can we use the Seven-Star Sensing Talisman to sense each other’s positions?” Wang Changsheng hesitated briefly before asking. If they were accidentally separated and other Nascent Soul cultivators were captured, wouldn't the Seven-Star Sensing Talisman allow their captors to locate the others?

“No, only I can sense your locations; you cannot sense each other,” Fu Wen replied. “It’s getting late; prepare to depart.”

Fu Wen swept his wide sleeve and flew out of the valley. Wang Changsheng and the others quickly followed, as did Wang Yingjie and the thousand Core Formation cultivators.

Fu Wen stopped in the void, his expression solemn. Wang Changsheng’s divine sense swiftly swept the void before Fu Wen, detecting faint, elusive spatial fluctuations. They were so subtle that one would not notice them without careful observation.

Fu Wen produced a glistening white jade brush. Its surface was covered with countless minuscule characters which, upon closer inspection, were individual names. This was the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, the Myriad People Brush. Opening a temporary passage required more than just the fifth-tier Qian-Guang Realm-Breaking Talisman; the power of the realm was not so easily overcome. A Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure was also essential.

The Myriad People Brush in Fu Wen’s hand immediately flared with light. All the names inscribed on its shaft glowed brightly, twisting as if alive. Holding the Myriad People Brush, he struck at the void. A flash of white light erupted, a beam shooting forth to cleave the empty space.

A deafening roar echoed! With a monumental crash, ripples spread through the void, which appeared on the verge of tearing open. He then used the Myriad People Brush to draw a shimmering white gateway in the void.

“By the plea of the myriad people, open for me!” Fu Wen roared, and the Myriad People Brush in his hand suddenly blazed with blinding white light. Innumerable characters flew forth—names such as Liu Xu, Chen Yang, Sun Dong, Zhao Dafu, Hao Donglai, Ke Wenzheng, and many more. These names blurred, then materialized into countless common folk—from imperial relatives to street vendors and porters. All of them pressed their hands against the shimmering white gateway.

An astonishing sight unfolded: the white gateway slowly opened, and the void tore apart, revealing a gaping void over ten *zhang* wide. Fierce winds raged, and a biting elemental gale swept forth.

Fu Wen then produced another glistening white talisman, its surface covered with rice-grain-sized runes, emitting faint spatial fluctuations. He tossed the white talisman into the gaping void. With a flash, it exploded, transforming into a white halo that stabilized the passage.

“Core Formation cultivators, go first. Move quickly; this temporary passage will not last long,” Fu Wen instructed, his tone grave.

Ten Core Formation cultivators immediately cast defensive spells upon themselves and flew into the passage without any incident. Only after more than a hundred Core Formation cultivators had entered the passage did the Nascent Soul cultivators begin to follow. Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, Wang Xin, and Wang Qiuming were enveloped in a soft green light and flew into the void together.

Upon entering the void, Wang Changsheng’s ears were assailed by a piercing whistling sound. The passage ahead twisted and deformed, appearing on the verge of collapse at any moment. Wang Changsheng frowned. It was evident this temporary passage wouldn't last long; transporting a thousand cultivators to the Heavenly-Lian Realm seemed a formidable task. The later one entered, the greater the danger.

A moment later, the void ahead suddenly blazed with light. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan felt intensely dizzy, barely able to stand. This sensation was even more powerful than traveling via a large-scale teleportation array.

After five breaths, their senses returned. To their surprise, they found themselves high above a valley filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, rapidly descending towards the ground. Wang Changsheng immediately extended his divine sense to survey their surroundings. Fortunately, he detected no unfamiliar cultivator auras, and the four of them landed steadily.

High above, a black hole several *zhang* in diameter persisted, from which cultivators continued to emerge. Wang Yingjie and others closely followed Wang Changsheng, landing beside him. The Sun-Moon Twin Sages dispatched individuals to scout the area and gather information.

Half a *ke* later, over five hundred cultivators had already materialized. The black hole high above twisted and deformed, appearing on the verge of collapse at any moment.

With a flash of white light, Fu Wen emerged from the black hole and slowly descended before Wang Changsheng. Fu Wen's brows were deeply furrowed. The temporary spatial passage had proven unstable; over a hundred Core Formation cultivators had perished directly in the spatial turbulence. Protected by his Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure and moving swiftly, he had narrowly escaped the same fate. By then, the black hole had already closed, as if it had never existed.

Du Xu and Fang Yue flew over, each holding an unconscious Foundation Establishment cultivator. “Senior Fu, we’ve investigated,” Fang Yue reported. “This is Windless Valley, located in the southwestern part of the Heavenly-Lian Realm. It’s quite desolate here; there are no major sects within a radius of ten million *li*.”