Chapter 311: Zhen-level = Master?
Bang!
Shooting up through a layer of pale gray clouds, Little White closely followed Zhen Congming and rushed into Fifth Heaven.
Standing on the black disk, Zhen Congming flew in a complete circle before returning to Little White.
Zhao Yanzi had been feeling intense; now she sighed in relief. Placing both hands on Hao Ren's shoulders, she sat up and looked around with her big eyes.
Green mountains and clear rivers were everywhere, and clouds and mist floated around. It was a picturesque celestial world.
She clung to Hao Ren, oblivious to the fact that her chest was pressing against his.
"What do you think? I told you I could bring you to Fifth Heaven, right?" Standing on the disk, Zhen Congming asked proudly.
"It's nothing extraordinary. I could have flown up on Little White," Hao Ren said.
"Do you think you can come to Fifth Heaven whenever you want?" Zhen Congming curled his lips. "The world on and above Fifth Heaven and the world below it are not connected because there is a grand blockage array.
"Really?" Hao Ren was surprised because he had never heard of it before. With half of her body in Hao Ren's arms, Zhan Yanzi also arched her eyebrows in surprise.
When she asked Zhao Hongyu about Fifth Heaven, Zhao Hongyu didn't go into details.
"However, this grand blockage array is too big and full of loopholes, which is why we could penetrate it," Zhen Congming continued. "Some of the loopholes are fixed while others change from time to time. Besides, the grand blockage array is not very solid since it mainly serves as a symbolic line between the two worlds. If one can transform into a dragon, which is at Dui-level, them can break through it with ease."
Hao Ren nodded. It seemed that without Zhen Congming leading the way, he and Zhao Yanzi would have stumbled around and couldn't have found the entrance into Fifth Heaven in such a short time.
If they moved along the edge of the grand blockage array, they would have gotten lost.
"Don't worry. Little White remembers the way. This array formation can't trick me, and the loophole I led you through is a fixed one," Zhen Congming said as he showed off.
Hao Ren didn't doubt him. After all, this kid could casually change a necklace into a storage space with the pinch of his fingers. Ordinary array formations were a piece of cake for him.
The array formations were like math. The simple ones were like linear algebras while the complicated ones were like calculus. From this perspective, this kid had a very high IQ.
Zhao Yanzi was not interested in the array formations. She grabbed Hao Ren's arm, urging, "Let's go and have a look!"
"Ok, let's go!" Not wanting to encourage Zhen Congming's smugness, Hao Ren looked away from him and patted Little White's neck, ordering it to find a spot to land.
Discouraged, Zhen Congming stood on his disk and yelled, "Let's split up and meet back here in two hours!"
"Ok!" Hao Ren agreed immediately, knowing that Little White had ways of contacting Zhen Congming if they encountered any dangers. They were here for fun and didn't want to stay with Zhen Congming who was a show-off.
Zhao Yanzi turned her body forward while Little White moved its paws in the air and flew toward a nearby mountain.
There were no factories or tall buildings here, presenting the beauty of primitive mountains and forests. Even Yellow Mountain, which was called the most beautiful mountain in China, was inferior to the mountains here.
According to Zhao Hongyu, the mountains on and above Fifth Heaven were elevated into the sky by the major cultivation sects with huge array formations by force.
The mountains were connected to each other, and they spread into the distance.
Sitting on Little White's back, Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi looked down and saw some mountains hovering in the high sky further away. That was why the cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm didn't dare to fly freely even if they possessed basic flight dharma treasures. If they were not careful, they would fall into the mortal world and burn into ashes before they entered the First Heaven.
With Little White, an advanced 'flight machine', Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi didn't have to worry about that. In Fifth Heaven, even a Core Formation Realm cultivator couldn't afford a spirit beast like Little White.
Under Hao Ren's control, Little White flew through layers of tree branches and landed in a dense forest, startling dozens of colorful birds.
The essence intensity here was three to four times greater than that on the land, and the air here was much fresher.
"If we cultivate here, the progress will be faster," Hao Ren thought to himself.
The places with abundant essences would nurture essence passageways, and the locations in these essence passageways where most essences were kept were known as essence eyes. These essence eyes were great for establishing cave abodes.
From where he was standing, Hao Ren saw many cave abodes in the opposite cliff, and cultivators traveled to and from the caves on swords.
Zhao Yanzi was curious about Fifth Heaven. Obviously, the lifestyle of the human cultivators was completely different from that of the people on land. They lived in the cave abodes, which were both primitive and interesting.
Flying on swords was still new to Hao Ren, but it was the most common method of traveling here.
"Look over there!" Zhao Yanzi yelled suddenly in excitement.
Hao Ren looked in the direction she pointed and saw on an open field where dozens of cultivators formed six circles and were competing.
It seemed to be a test in this small sect. The seniors who were sitting on a high platform appeared to be this sect's elders who were acting as judges.
"I don't think they are great masters since they haven't even noticed us," Zhao Yanzi concluded.
Hao Ren smiled and agreed with her conclusion. If it were Su Han on the opposite cliff, she would notice every movement in the area with a diameter of two kilometers.
They looked further and vaguely saw a small village with cooking smoke floating up. As far as Hao Ren could see, some urchins were fighting with each other at the entrance of the village.
However, their fight was not common wrestling. They formed groups, and one of them was even hovering in the air half a meter from the ground, probably using some dharma note or spell.
All the residents on or above Fifth Heaven all cultivated. They were the descendants of the cultivators who moved to Fifth Heaven. With some luck and talent, they could enter cultivation sects, and some of the stronger ones could later enter Sixth Heaven for future development.
A few glances told Hao Ren about the life of the people who were living in this place.
"Who's there?!" Someone finally noticed Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi who stood halfway out of the forest.
Thinking they were invading enemies, more than ten cultivators who had been loitering on the cliff flew toward Hao Ren swiftly.
Seeing the cultivators rush toward them, Zhao Yanzi panicked. She grabbed Hao Ren's hand and was ready to flee.
Boom!
Hao Ren suddenly released his aura.
"A Core Formation Realm cultivator!"
The cultivators rushing toward Hao Ren couldn't keep their balance.
The elders who were testing the young disciples saw the upheaval, and they all flew over on swords.
When they got close, they sensed Hao Ren's aura, and their anger changed into politeness. They put away their weapons and landed before Hao Ren, cupping their hands and asking. "What can we do for you, elder?"
Seeing that the sect was close to the nearby villages, Hao Ren knew this sect was not a powerful one, and he was not alarmed. Waving his hand, he said, "Nothing. I'm here to look around."
The elders exchanged a suspicious look, but they refrained from voicing their questions before this Core Formation Realm cultivator.
"This cultivator looks young, but his aura of the Core Formation Realm is real! The beautiful female cultivator looks like she is almost at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm, but her weird clothes show that she is someone we shouldn't mess with..." These thoughts flew through the minds of the elders.
As an affiliated sect of a small sect on Fifth Heaven, the sect's responsibility was to manage the surrounding villages and regularly select talented kids. In the sect, the most powerful elder was only a mid-tier Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.
Although they ruled several villages, they didn't dare to show their emotions before Hao Ren.
As to the cultivators on the cliff, they were young disciples of the small sect who were sent there for practice. The strongest one among them was a low-tier Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. They didn't dare to lift their heads before Hao Ren, a cultivator of the Core Formation Realm.
Seeing their anger deflate when they saw Hao Ren, Zhao Yanzi was relieved. She lifted her small head and observed them with her bright eyes.
The cultivators here had never seen such a beautiful female cultivator before. Since Zhao Yanzi was studying them, they wanted to glance at her. However, they all lowered their heads, afraid of offending this Core Formation Realm cultivator.
Seeing Hao Ren trying to pretend to look like a master, Zhao Yanzi tried her best not to laugh.
"What are you staring at! I'll dig out your eyes if you do it again!" Zhao Yanzi stared at a young cultivator who sneaked a glance at her.
"I won't do it again! Forgive me, elder! Forgive me!" This young cultivator who was only on level 7 of the Qi Refinement Realm immediately kneeled on the ground.
The lives of the Qi Refinement Realm cultivators were as cheap as grasses in the eyes of the Core Formation Realm cultivators. The latter could kill the former whenever they wanted.
Zhao Yanzi didn't expect that they would be so scared of Hao Ren. She froze a second before giggling. "That's ok! I was just kidding!"
Her smile was so beautiful that the young cultivators were dazed by it.
After all, there were few female cultivators in the world, not to mention beautiful female cultivators who were about to charge into the Foundation Establishment Realm!
Of course, if they knew that Hao Ren had two Nascent Soul Realm maids, they would have been stunned!
Seeing their expressions change from anger to astonishment to fear and then to joy, Hao Ren was afraid that they would go crazy. He asked, "Do you have dharma spells for controlling swords and flying on them?"
The leading elder didn't expect such a request from Hao Ren. He thought for a moment and said cautiously, "We have only the most basic spells..."
"That's the one I want," Hao Ren said.
"Then... Please wait a moment, elder." The elder didn't dare to ask Hao Ren why. He took out a roll of bamboo slips and copied the dharma spell onto it.
"And we need two swords," Hao Ren continued.
After all, it was too eye-catching to ride Little White, but flying on swords was common here.
Zhao Yanzi understood Hao Ren's intention, and her face flushed with excitement since she had never tried flying on a sword before.
However, she didn't know that Hao Ren had another reason for this request. This place was full of essence and sects. After getting familiar with this place, he wanted to bring Xie Yujia here to accelerate her cultivation progress!