Chapter 888: The Barren Wastelands

"Yeah, it's time to depart," Cultivator responded as he looked around, noticing that the massive demon beast carcasses in the area had disappeared. "Have you finished your preparations?"

"Well..." Krune thought about what he wanted to say. "Truthfully speaking, no. I still have a lot more to do. Then again, preparing for those are never always done. I'll always find something new to prepare for."

"That's true." Cultivator nodded as he took out a ring from his pouch and wore it on his finger, immediately summoning its ring spirit. The ring spirit was the bird-type demon beast he had used before, possessing a massive wingspan that was able to fly for long distances at considerable speed.

He also took out a leash and harnessed it onto the ring spirit, creating a grip to stay steady while riding on its back. He then climbed aboard it and looked at Krune, saying, "Climb up."

"Sure." Followed by a jump, Krune landed beside Cultivator, asking after a moment as he expressed his curiosity, "How did you obtain so many ring spirits? Hardly anyone tries to awaken the spirit of a ring, after all."

"Rings are easier to carry with me, so I reforged the equipment I obtained into rings. It's pretty easy for me." Cultivator smiled as he continued, "Plus, I like the fact that I can wear ten of them on me at the same time. It makes things a lot more convenient."

"That's amazing," Krune expressed his shock. "I never knew you can reforge a piece of equipment while still maintaining its equipment spirit."

"It's pretty easy for me. Though, I hardly ever do it. Most of the time, I just extract the best materials from a piece of equipment and forge it into a ring. After that, I will awaken its spirit. After all, the ones I awaken are many times stronger and have a greater growth potential compared to normal equipment spirits."

'His Spiritual Incarnation is most probably related to equipment spirits. That's most likely the case,' Krune thought to himself, only to remember the fact that the mysterious sword was in the hands of Cultivator now.

His mental state shuddered as he wondered just how strong the equipment spirit of the hilt would be. After all, inside it was a law in its purest form. It was something related to the realm of a God. Without a doubt, it would definitely be incredibly scary.

This was also why Krune didn't finish awakening the brooch given to him by the Spirit Awakener Guild. That's because once its equipment spirit was awakened, there was a good chance it would submit to Cultivator.

Krune had a feeling that it was a possibility. Hence, the reason why he stopped working on it, intending to just use it as is. After all, he did possess more methods of survival now. So, he wasn't entirely reliant on the brooch for his safety.

The ring spirit soon took off to the air and began flying at tremendous speeds, flying past large swathes of the plains in a matter of minutes. Krune was shocked at the speed it exhibited, feeling excitement as he possessed a model of the spirit in his mind.

As for Cultivator, he didn't seem bothered to ask more about Krune. Instead, he gave him a knowing smile from time to time, as if he had an idea of his abilities. Nevertheless, not much was shared between the two. After all, they were still strangers.

All they knew about each other was their names, nothing else.

Krune then noticed how they flew past the Lawless Plains within a couple of hours, amazed at the flight speed of the ring spirit. He then asked after thinking for a moment, "Do you know what exactly is happening in the Four Sectors' Border Region? Why's everyone heading there right now?"

"You never knew?" Cultivator was shocked for a moment before he burst out laughing. "Right, you were living under a rock all your life. That's what you're going to say, right?"

'How did you know about that?' Krune mentally frowned but didn't express it on his face. He then stared at the other party, watching him continue to speak.

Cultivator stopped laughing as he responded, "Based on what I've heard, something incredible is happening there. An ancient Sub-Realm will open up there, filled to the brim with countless treasures. On top of that, there are also countless secret techniques, knowledge of ancient races, and even their respective inheritances, perhaps even more. Anything you can imagine would be there. And anything you can't even imagine would also be there."

"Hmm, if it's as good as you say it is, then why are the continents waging war on each other? Shouldn't they be fighting to claim benefits from this Sub-Realm?" Krune frowned as he asked, finding the claim somewhat unbelievable.

If it had really been something that incredible, probably every cultivator from the Zamuria Continent would have flocked there. So, it made no sense for him not to learn about it beforehand. After all, news traveled fast, not to mention for something as hyped as this. So, he couldn't help but feel suspicious about this fact.

"Hasn't the Zamuria Empire summoned everyone to their capital?" Cultivator smiled after posing a question of his own. Seeing Krune nod in response, he continued, "Based on the news I got, they conducted a massive tournament to decide the people they would transport to the Four Sector's Border Region. I don't know what you've been doing for the past few months, but news of the Sub-Realm has traveled everywhere by now."

"I see." Krune nodded before asking, "Then, is the entire Zamuria Empire at the region?"

"Not actually." Cultivator shook his head as he replied, "There's a restriction placed at the entry to the Sub-Realm. Only cultivators below the Semi-God Realm stage could enter. So basically, immortals are barred from entering it. Also..."

He sighed, feeling it was a loss as he continued, "Another Sub-Realm has appeared between the Rumria and Guria continents. Not to mention that this Sub-Realm is said to contain a lot of resources for one to become a God. This was the reason both continents waged war against each other, to claim sole ownership over the Sub-Realm. Seeing as how they were unable to annihilate the other party, they dragged the Zamuria Continent into it as well to even out the playing field."

"And both of them are about to open up?" Krune frowned as he muttered with a hint of doubt, "Does no one think it's a bit suspicious?"

"Not really." Cultivator laughed as he answered, "Maybe it's a coincidence, or maybe it's a trap. Who cares? The rewards are alluring enough to cause everyone to flock towards the place."

"Also..." His expression turned solemn as he added, "Only the Gods themselves are capable of creating Sub-Realms. Even if they were bored, they wouldn't do something that would cause harm to people. If they made it for their entertainment, they would have placed enough treasures accordingly to the risk. With high risk comes high rewards. So, cultivators would struggle to obtain them and cause a source of entertainment to those beings that sit at the top of the Four Realms."

'Four Realms?' Krune's expression morphed at the word. He focused on the fact that Cultivator had said 'Four Realms' and not the 'God Realm.' A normal cultivator didn't even know of the existence of anything beyond the God Realm.

After all, the God Realm itself was ridiculously vast. Even though it was a finite plane, to average cultivators, it might as well be infinite. Plus, those appearing from the lower realms usually arrived when they were at the Nascent God Realm.

After that, they would break through to the Semi-God Realm to become immortals or died trying. So, information about the lower Realms wasn't circulated through the masses.

And now, the fact that Cultivator was actually privy to it was shocking to him. Moreover, Krune was aware of the fact that Cultivator didn't say it with any hidden intent. He just said what was on his mind.

"You know about the Four Realms?" Krune genuinely expressed his shock, thinking that it was better to be truthful about it and learn some information. After all, he was largely ignorant about too many things. Besides, Krune instinctively guessed that Cultivator didn't mean any actual harm towards him.

This instinct of his stemmed from his Balance Laws, so Krune didn't doubt it.

"To think I was right. You're indeed knowledgeable about many things. You only suck at general knowledge." Cultivator laughed as he said, "There are three lower realms below our God Realm. Well, there's nothing impressive about them. Even the newborn here is considered a god there. In any case, these Sub-Realms would contain significant danger, but the rewards accompanying them would be accordingly priceless."

"Understandable." Krune nodded, thinking it would be a good experience to temper himself. He then thought about the Silver-Winged Mouse couple and Xula, wondering how they were doing. After all, they were also heading towards the same place.

They then arrived at the place where a city was supposed to be. Krune looked around at the desolate place, gazing at the ground that seemed to have been gouged out by a massive being. Moreover, the surrounding areas had also been completely drilled or deprived of their resources.

Even the Godly Energy in the place was dry and faint. It was barely anything to speak of. By spreading his Divine Sense, Krune calculated the remaining Godly Energy left in the place, totaling it as he arrived at a shocking number. "The remaining Godly Energy here only adds up to 10 Rank One God Stones. It's...pitiful."

"Every vein, ore, grass, and rock with use has been excavated and transported to the capital. I think a similar situation is happening in the other two continents as well since all three are gearing up for a massive long-lasting war." Cultivator landed on the ground as he scooped some mud, sighing at the lack of vitality in it as he dropped it not long after.

"Let's continue moving." Following his words, the two of them boarded the ring spirit and flew away.