In the Spirit Sect, the Founder Clan Leader personally relayed orders that set countless Inner Sect disciples and Foundation elders into action. Even the Outer Sect disciples were summoned. They flew out from the South Shore and North Shore, spreading the mission to find the disciples rescued from the Fallen Sword Abyss.

Once they found one, they would report to the sect immediately.

The first located was not one of the many disciples from the Spirit Stream Sect, but one of the remaining five disciples of the Pill Stream Sect!

The Pill Stream Sect had dispatched 80 disciples into the Fallen Sword World, over ninety percent of whom were killed. Fortunately for the Pill Stream Sect, one of the five disciples who survived was teleported to a location outside the Pill Stream Sect itself.

When the Pill Stream Sect elders and sect leaders arrived, they found an extremely weakened disciple, his energy almost completely depleted. Fellow disciples immediately supported him, infusing him with their spiritual power so he could speak. Trembling, eyes flashing with fear, he weakly explained, "Dead. They're all dead. Fang Lin was killed. Zhao Rou is dead too. All of them were wiped out by Bai Xiaochun from the Spirit Stream Sect!

"Yan Xiaobao... completed 9 Tideflows. He and Song Que contended for immense power, and... he reached the Heavenly Dao Foundation!"

The disciple's words utterly shook the Pill Stream Sect cultivators, even the elders and sect leaders. Gasps could be heard, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Heavenly Dao... Foundation established!?"

"Yan Xiaobao? Spirit Sect?!"

The sect leader's eyes flashed coldly as he said, "Send messages to all spies in the Soul Sect. Tell them to find Yan Xiaobao and kill him. Spare no effort!" The Pill Stream Sect ordered all spies to take action, hoping to be the first to find Bai Xiaochun. If they did, they wouldn't spare anything to kill him. As for the other three sects, they mobilized large forces to search for the currently missing disciples.

As all this happened, something else was occurring on the Eastwood Continent, in the forest-covered mountains not far from Eastwood City. Next to a particularly large tree, the air rippled with teleportation waves, and then Yan Xiaobao stumbled out.

He bent over and vomited the moment he arrived.

"What kind of teleportation was that!? I almost lost my pitiful little life in the process..." Yan Xiaobao's face was pale, gasping for breath. What he didn't know was that his past experiences with teleportation had been weakened in terms of teleportation power to make them as comfortable as possible. In contrast, the teleportation that pulled him out of the Fallen Sword Abyss was fully powered. All portals set by the four sects were like this. In moments of severe crisis, the most important thing was to teleport the target out as quickly as possible.

Such a forceful teleport would cause most people to lose consciousness.

After emptying his stomach, Yan Xiaobao felt a little better, though he still felt so dizzy that he saw stars. Leaning against a tree, he looked around and found himself unaware of his location. Based on Ouyang Jie's long explanations, he understood he could be anywhere.

"I should return to the Eastwood Continent," he thought while massaging his temples. Then, he recalled the little hand and the strange sound he heard before being teleported out, filling his heart with fear. Trembling, he decided never to return to the Fallen Sword Abyss.

Still trying to catch his breath, he sat on a nearby piece of wood, looking down at his tattered clothes. By now, they were so severely damaged and bloodstained they couldn't even be recognized as Spirit Sect robes. He wanted to change them, but unfortunately, he had no spares in his bag.

"The Fallen Sword Abyss was so brutal..." Remembering everything that had happened made his scalp tingle. Especially terrifying was that almost everyone seemed insane with the desire to kill him. Then there was the vicious, brutal battle with Song Que. In the end, he sighed.

"Why do cultivators always end up fighting and killing...?" Sighing, he examined his cultivation base and found his spiritual ocean gradually turning golden. So far, the process was about 30% complete.

"Hahaha! The Heavenly Dao Foundation is established!" He was so excited that he forgot the brutality of the Fallen Sword World. The thought of a 500-year lifespan made his eyes sparkle. He flicked his sleeve, raised his chin, and proudly declared: "I, Yan Xiaobao, truly am a perfect choice. Hahaha! Hahahaha!" After laughing loudly for a moment, he cleared his throat. "I think I should figure out my location."

Another thing he found interesting was that despite his cultivation base growing stronger, the aura it emitted grew weaker. It was almost as if, with his spiritual ocean ascending to the Heavenly Dao Foundation establishment level, all the pressure and energy they usually radiated were now concentrated internally.

Currently, anyone sensing his aura would place him at Qi Condensation's ninth level. As the process continued, he felt his cultivation base aura would eventually disappear entirely, and he would appear as a mortal. Only when this process was complete would he experience a heavenly, earth-shaking eruption of power.

"It should be complete in about two days," he thought excitedly. With that, he set aside the issue of his cultivation base. Next, he crafted a jade slip, attempting to send a message to the sect. Unfortunately, during the teleportation, the jade sliding plate was damaged. Though the teleportation energy was gradually dissipating, it seemed he could not contact the sect temporarily.

Feeling a bit upset, he activated the jade slip, then transformed into a beam of light, shooting into the sky and off into the distance.

It wasn't long before he realized that, with his current cultivation base strength, he could fly faster than before. He quickly exited the mountain range, and there, in the distance, he saw a sprawling city.

The city walls were magnificent, built with green bricks. Moreover, every brick seemed engraved with magic symbols forming spells.

The spell formations sent light flowing high into the sky, seemingly connecting the city with the heavens. Above could be seen a massive green vortex with occasional lightning dancing within.

There was also a pressure falling from above, limiting any cultivator's cultivation base entering the city, preventing them from flying.

This city was vast, capable of housing at least 10,000,000 people, with four large gates frequently crowded with floods of people.

In front of each city gate was a giant stele, beautifully inscribed in calligraphy, like dancing dragons and swirling phoenixes.

"Eastwood City!" Yan Xiaobao was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

This was the largest city within the territory controlled by the Spirit Stream Sect.

It was actually considered part of the Spirit Flow Sect, operated by ten of the most powerful cultivator clans on the Eastwood Continent. Its history dates back 10,000 years, serving as a home not only for cultivators but for mortals as well.

Besides the ten great cultivator clans, there was also a Spirit Stream Sect disciple stationed there as an official envoy responsible for maintaining peace among the clans.

This was the precise location Du Lingfei had been sent to many years ago. Although she had only a Qi Condensation cultivation base, she represented the Foundation Elder also stationed there. The elder rarely showed himself, leaving most duties to Du Lingfei.

Her primary mission was to control the ten great clans.

"Sister Du was sent back here as an envoy. I haven't seen her in such a long time..." Yan Xiaobao's heart warmed at the thought of Du Lingfei, and he couldn't help picturing her both shy and angry simultaneously. "Hmm. I can't just walk in directly. I'll sneak in anonymously and check things out first. After so many years, I wonder if my boo has gone outside and found another man." Raising an eyebrow, he somersaulted into the air, shooting toward Eastwood City.[1]

As he approached, he could feel the restriction on flight taking effect.

"How annoying! I'm a Reputation Disciple! I'm the sect leader's junior brother. Eastwood City belongs to the Spirit Flow Sect, so it's my right! I can't believe I'm not allowed to fly!" Grumbling all the way, he descended to the ground and walked toward the city gate. There was a line, and he didn't feel like cutting in, so he went to the back. After a short while, he made his way up to the gate, where he paid a small Spirit Stone tax.

No one paid him any mind. The only thing they cared about was the Spirit Stones. Clearly, they were confident no one would cause any trouble.

...