Chapter 364: Chapter 343: Liu Zongbai’s Diary

“Cultivation is like water, if you do not advance, you retreat. Becoming a Deacon Disciple, I cherish this opportunity greatly. I need to continue striving, the Sixth Grade is not my goal, the Third Grade is.”

“However, for someone like me, a Seventh-Grade Deacon Disciple with no background, cultivation is indeed quite challenging. The distributed Spirit Stones are always insufficient, and the Seventh-Grade Deacon Disciple Jade Token does not speed up the absorption of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. I know complaining doesn’t solve the problem, but I still can’t quite control myself.”

“On the third day of the third month in the year 58009 of the Fifth Human Era in the Great Wilderness Calendar, I made a decision. I’ll take on an Earth Level mission, though it’s a bit risky for me. Recently, I’ve befriended someone who seems to have great Divine Techniques, and we can go together.”

“We’ve prepared thoroughly, and my friend is so experienced that I’m amazed. The little tips and small techniques he casually mentions provide me with great inspiration and benefit.”

“The goal of this mission is to slay a Sixth-Grade Evil Demon. Evil Demons are dangerous, especially since the end of the Demon Era. Some Evil Demons fled to the wicked Vermilion Bird Immortal Alliance, some were thrown into the Sin Prison, and some were killed. Yet, some still lurk in the corners of the world. They’ve become more cunning and ferocious, and they kill every person and every creature they encounter when given the chance.”

“We set off stepping on the gray mist, and fortunately, we encountered another team before departing, which was truly good news.”

“The Guardian Disciple wasn’t wrong; stepping into the gray mist is equivalent to stepping into battle. We were almost attacked just now, but it’s not a big problem. I am looking forward to the battle with the Evil Demon.”

“What luck that in the junction of the Gray Mist Zone and Spirit Mist Zone, I discovered a Ninth-Grade Dark Night Grass. It’s a Spirit Plant that only grows in the Gray Mist area, and it’s very valuable. I carefully hid it away, not wanting to share.”

“The battle came suddenly. We were attacked by a well-organized group of Evil Demons. Initially, they disguised themselves as a group of mortal refugees trying to pass undetected. However, I didn’t expect my friend to harm even the women among the refugees. Later, I found out that he cultivates the Joyful Union Dao, and when necessary, he wouldn’t spare not just the mundane banalities of mortals, but also female Evil Demons.”

“The battle ended, and we won. I felt a bit uncomfortable since it was the first time I saw Evil Demons capable of rational communication, though it was mostly a facade.”

“My friend counseled me and hoped I’d cultivate the Joyful Union Dao. I don’t like it, and I’m already cultivating the Heavenly Repairing Dao. Different paths, different pursuits.”

“Speaking of which, even within the Immortal Alliance, the battles over doctrine and the numerous paths are dazzlingly overwhelming. In the Jade Cauldron Immortal Alliance alone, there are claims of nine thousand paths. Of course, I haven’t really had the chance to get in touch with other Immortal Alliances. The Jade Cauldron Immortal Alliance is just too vast…”

“After traversing the sky for nine days and walking three thousand miles, we finally reached a Mortal City within the gray mist. It felt nostalgic to me because it’s my hometown. I’ve been away for thirty years, unsure if my parents are still alive.”

“Things here are still the same, mediocre, numb, inexplicably stubborn, insipidly repugnant. I am very fortunate to have embarked on the path of cultivation. The Venerable Immortals of the Immortal Alliance are truly magnificent.”

“My brother actually survived; he looks about fifty, has lost an eye, and can’t even recognize me. I’m somewhat restless, yet slightly sad. When the Immortal Alliance came to select disciples back then, he wasn’t chosen. I still remember him crying loudly in anxiety. How ridiculous, he thought I was taken away…”

“The world of mortals is ultimately foolish and numb. I want to escape. However, the Deacon Disciples stationed in this city are quite warm-hearted, gifting my friend and me two Furnaces each. I didn’t take them, but didn’t sleep the entire night, as the screams were deafening.”

“My friend explained that cultivation is about cultivating resources. Without resources, you accomplish nothing. Mortals, although ignorant, still possess a slight bit of spirituality in their pure bodies, worth harvesting. I don’t quite agree, but also feel I indeed need more resources, so I must kill that Evil Demon.”

“The Evil Demon is active just outside the city, and the stationed Deacon Disciples of the Mortal City set out with us. This mission was reported by one of them. He said the Evil Demon is very strong and he couldn’t defeat it alone, but slaying demons and protecting people is our responsibility as cultivators, an obligation. My friend applauded loudly, and I wasn’t feeling well enough to look back at the four girls’ corpses being carried away. Their families did receive substantial compensation.”

“Outside the city lay vast fields of wheat. Under the blazing sun, the gray mist spread, yet mortals couldn’t see it. I recalled the scenes of harvesting wheat with my parents when I was little; it’s too long ago to even remember.”

“We first inspected the crime scene, dated six days ago, where the Evil Demon attacked the wheat fields, killing fifteen men on the spot and capturing eight women who were likely to meet a tragic end.”

“My friend is indeed an expert in this domain. He quickly set up an Array to recreate the events of the day, then tracked it down. Three hundred miles away, on a hilltop, we discovered more traces of the Evil Demons. I assisted my friend in deploying a Celestial Eye Array, a Quick Reaction Sword Array, and a Super Long-range Pursuit Sword Array on the hill.”

“The cost of deploying these three Arrays was not cheap, consuming half of this mission’s reward. But it turns out, I underestimated the terror of the Evil Demons and the ambiguity of the mission description. Indeed, the strongest Evil Demon was Sixth-Grade, but can someone tell me why there were more than a hundred Sixth-Grade Evil Demons?”

“I’m grateful I’m still alive, but I cannot forget the Celestial Eye Array’s precise targeting and early warning. I cannot forget the sword light of the Quick Reaction Sword Array and the Super Long-range Pursuit Sword Array piercing through the darkness…”

“It’s unimaginable that we actually won, but what’s even harder to imagine is that my friend only gave me half a share of the reward. I’ll never forget the way he said with such a cheerful tone, ’The times have changed!’”

“Yes, the times have changed. Since then, my goal has shifted; I want to become an Array Master. There will be fewer and fewer all-rounded cultivators because the cost is too high. Choosing a specific direction and excelling in it is the only way out.”

…

Wang Wu finished reading another entry in Liu Zongbai’s diary. Although it recorded just an ordinary task, it still contained a lot of critical information for him.

“Come on, everyone write a reflection.”

Wang Wu gathered the Four Leather Workers, asking them to interpret from various angles to brainstorm together — something they excelled at.

Soon, lines of information emerged, and the reflections came, though there was only one comprehensive reflection, probably because the difficulty was too low.

“Based on the known information, several conclusions can be drawn.”

“First, the Great Wilderness Calendar indicates Year 58009 of the Fifth Human Era, suggesting that the outside world also uses the Great Wilderness to define its world, followed by the concept of the Human Era. Given that the text also mentions the Demon Era, it is easy to speculate that before them, there may have been the Spirit Era and Monster Era. This structure is similar to that in the Great Wilderness Sin Prison, and it’s even easy to imagine that the outside world is just a larger Great Wilderness Sin Prison?”

“This matter is difficult to conclude for now, but one thing is certain: there is an extremely close relationship between the Great Wilderness Sin Prison and the outside world.”

“However, the Great Wilderness Sin Prison can be traced back approximately four hundred thousand years, while the Human Era has already reached the fifth era, even if each era spans sixty thousand years, that’s three hundred thousand years, there’s some temporal mismatch.”

“At the same time, it must be considered that in the outside world, the human race may not be able to dominate everything, for example, there is also the Vermilion Bird Immortal Alliance, which might be the Demon Race’s controlled area, and there they would use the Demon Era.”

“Second, in the Great Wilderness Sin Prison, the human race has an Immortal Alliance, and in the outside world, there are also Immortal Alliances. This is a similar organizational structure, so it’s almost certain that in the outside world, the situation where cultivation clans and cultivation sects annex resources and enslave sentient beings is likely to be even more severe than in the Great Wilderness Sin Prison.”

“Third, in the Great Wilderness Sin Prison, even if Human Race Cultivators cannot become versatile players, they can at least excel in several directions, but in the outside world, cultivators seem to be becoming professionalized, with clearer divisions of labor, just like mortals where a cook would not open a tailor’s shop, and a doctor would not slaughter pigs.”

“This segmented professionalization of cultivators will undoubtedly gradually lose their voice and competitiveness, seemingly becoming just a brick in the entire social structure, only able to follow the rules in a familiar environment, but in the end, no matter how hard they work all their lives, they may not gain much.”

“Of course, due to currently insufficient information, it’s difficult to reach more accurate conclusions.”

“Fourth, the information mentioned a concept, Gray Mist, but this Gray Mist cannot be seen by mortals, who can live normally within it. Evil Demons also conceal themselves in Gray Mist Zones, and the mortals in these zones can be selected to become cultivation cattle and horses, and mortal women can be used as furnaces.”

“Based on the above, a judgment awaiting confirmation can be made, that is, the division standards of the Gray Mist Zones are not determined by harm but by the abundance of Spiritual Qi, hence there are Gray Mist Zones and Spirit Mist Zones.”

“Fifth, Liu Zongbai’s friend probably had only one chance to cooperate with him. Liu Zongbai didn’t even know his cultivation or name, but his strength should not have exceeded Fifth Grade, most likely it was only Sixth Grade, otherwise, he wouldn’t have needed to cooperate with Liu Zongbai. However, a Sixth-Grade Cultivator who can quickly set up three arrays and only takes half of the mission’s reward is unimaginable in the Great Wilderness Sin Prison.”

“Therefore, there is enough reason to suspect that in the outside world, special means like arrays have likely become commonplace, democratized, and any cultivator can possess them.”

“And this point is evident from the five cultivators who flattened a mountain range within five hundred miles in ten seconds just now. Their strength lies not only in personal power but also in various supporting magical treasures and arrays, which likely have reached heights we find difficult to comprehend.”

“Recommendation: continue gathering relevant information.”

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