In the east of the Land of the Abandoned in the Realm of Split Void.
The entire region was covered in lush trees and plants that looked like a thick carpet of vegetation.
This had originally been a dense forest. After the upheaval, poisonous energy had poured into the Realm of Split Void and killed most of the vegetation in the realm, completely changing the environment of the Realm of Split Void. However, a small proportion managed to survive the hostile environment. They mutated over time, and thrived in new forms.
After their mutation, the trees and plants had become taller, but also more dangerous.
Some of the plants had branches and leaves that were as sharp as blades, making them look very scary. If Qi warriors with low cultivation bases were to pa.s.s through this region, the plants would give them deep cuts all over.
The Land of the Abandoned was under the Dark Moon’s governance. As one of the Dark Moon’s guest elders, Li Langfeng knew this region like the back of his hand.
After arriving in the region, Nie Tian established the Wood Thriving Formation without hesitation. A hemispherical, dark-green ward instantly formed over his head.
In the dark-green ward, numerous mysterious tree patterns could be seen swimming about like fish in the sea as they rapidly channeled wood power from the vicinity.
The wood power in this region was far fainter than in the Floragrims’ ancestral land, where he had obtained the Wood Thriving Formation, or the island that he had recently come back from.
However, in his senses, the wood power in this region was richer than in most realms in the Domain of the Falling Stars.
He thought about it, and suspected that this could be a result of the plants’ mutation.
Without any delay, he started healing Li Langfeng’s festering wounds and eroded insides, and refining his whole body for him with Heavenly Wood Heal and the Wood Thriving Formation.
Since Li Langfeng’s internal damage had lasted for many years, it was harder to tackle than Nie Tian had imagined.
After moving to seven different locations to get fresh wood power from their surroundings, he had barely healed Li Langfeng’s most serious injuries. During the process, he had even consumed a significant amount of his own wood power.
Even so, what Nie Tian had healed amounted to only half of Li Langfeng’s injuries.
Two weeks later, Nie Tian stopped and withdrew his hands. Somewhat frustrated, he said, “Your injuries are much more serious than I had imagined. I’m afraid it’ll take a long time to heal them bit by bit.”
He seemed to be rather sorry that his current cultivation base didn’t allow him to heal Li Langfeng completely in one go.
However, Li Langfeng seemed that he couldn’t be happier.
As he sensed Nie Tian withdrawing his hand, his eyes snapped open, blossoming with suffocating light. Like a serpent that had just come out of its hibernation, he licked the corner of his mouth, and smiled dangerously. “Good! This is already good enough! Now I can seek my next breakthrough with the help of that Fiend heart without worrying about dying during the process!”
Before meeting Nie Tian, he had prepared himself for death during his breakthrough into the late Worldly realm.
After all, he knew his own condition better than anyone.
However, now, after moving to seven different locations, Nie Tian had healed a large proportion of his old injuries and damage, much of which he had deemed permanent and irreversible.
Before, he had spent ma.s.sively to get medicinal pills that could help nourish one’s fleshly body from the Dark Moon. However, none of them really helped.
Therefore, he had long since given up on finding cures for his condition. Who would have thought that the combination of Nie Tian’s Heavenly Wood Heal and the Wood Thriving Formation could have such miraculous effects?
His primary headache had been his eroded internal organs, but after Nie Tian’s unrelenting efforts, they were now fully healed.
Now, he could finally seek his next breakthrough without worrying about dying in the process.
Nie Tian nodded. “Yeah, I believe that you won’t have any life-threatening issues for now, but I suggest that you make proper use of that Fiend’s heart, and don’t strain yourself. Even I can’t tell what grade that Fiend was at when they were alive, so you’d better be very cautious when you extract its toxic essence.”
“I understand,” Li Langfeng said, laughing broadly. “I’ll stay here and focus on my cultivation. I won’t go anywhere for now.”
“Good,” Nie Tian said. Then after a moment of pondering, he added, “I’ve got things to take care of in Shatter City. If you need me, just come to Shatter City and find a person named Hu Rong.”
Li Langfeng nodded.
Nie Tian summoned his Golden Chariot and flew off towards Shatter City.
Great changes could take place in the Realm of Split Void at any moment. Perhaps the powerful outsiders had already made their way to the top continent and discovered the few spatial rifts leading to the Domain of the Falling Stars.
Meanwhile, he wondered how the battle between Hua Mu and the sectmaster of the Spirit G.o.d Sect was going.
He also wanted to know what the major sects’ reaction would be now that their chosen ones had returned to their sects with word of what had happened in that dimension.
The Golden Chariot sailed through the air at a very high speed, and eventually landed outside Shatter City.
He had pa.s.sed regions that should have been roamed by hunters on his way to Shatter City, yet he didn’t see a single hunter.
He had even unleashed his Heaven Eyes and used them to scan his surroundings, but still failed to detect any signs of human Qi warriors along his way.
He wondered where those hunters had gone.
As soon as he stepped through the city gate, he discovered that there were only a handful of people in the streets, completely different from how he remembered the city to be. It seemed that many of the fierce-looking outlaws that had lived in the city for years had left.
Now, most of the pedestrians he saw were at the Heaven stage, with very few Greater Heaven stage cultivators.
He walked straight to the courtyard where Pei Qiqi lived.
Standing before the gate, he instantly had a feeling that numerous wisps of soul awareness had flown over to examine him.
KREEEN!
The wooden gate opened by itself, and Nie Tian strode into the yard. He instantly saw that a few familiar people were standing in the middle of the yard.
They were Zhen Huilan, Pei Qiqi, Hu Rong from the Spirit Condor, Cai Lan, the head of the Blood Skull, and a few Worldly realm members of the Blood Skull. Many of them seemed very surprised to see him, while some didn’t seem to know who he was.
Zhen Huilan looked ghastly, though a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth as she saw Nie Tian walk in. Then she turned to the others and said, “Some of you might recognize him, but you probably don’t know who he really is. Allow me to introduce Nie Tian, also known as Hua Tian, the only successor of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace in the Domain of the Falling Stars.”
Cai Lan’s expression flickered as he exclaimed, “It’s you?!”
Hu Rong, who had long since learned about his true ident.i.ty, nodded, smiling.
Nie Tian was very surprised that Zhen Huilan would reveal his true ident.i.ty. Before entering that other dimension, Zhen Huilan had even given him a special mask to prevent others from recognizing him, especially people from the Flame G.o.d Sect and the Heaven Palace Sect.
However, her actions now confused him deeply.
Zhen Huilan saw through his confusion, and thus explained, “Times are different. Knowing that a joint outsider army is going to march into the Domain of the Falling Stars, none of the sects are in the mood to start strife among ourselves now. Not to mention that you have the Yin Sect and the Yang Sect at your back. The five forces from the Realm of a Hundred Battles, the Ice Pavilion Sect, and the Spirit Condor will also be happy to shelter you. I’m certain that the Flame G.o.d Sect and the Heaven Palace Sect won’t seek trouble with you at such a time.”
Nie Tian went blank for a moment before asking, “What’s the situation now?”
Zhen Huilan then briefly explained the situation in the Realm of Split Void and the overall situation of the Domain of the Falling Stars to him.
Thanks to the return of the chosen ones, all the major sects gained a thorough understanding about what had happened in that mysterious heaven and earth.
Now everyone was aware that outsiders would invade the Domain of the Falling Stars before long.
The reason why the hunters had all evacuated the Realm of Split Void was because they had learned that the Realm of Split Void might become the main battlefield once the outsider army arrived.
Meanwhile, since all the teleportation portals in the Realm of Split Void had recently opened to the public, hunters or normal citizens, everyone was free to leave the Realm of Split Void, just as others were free to come.
As a result, about eighty percent of the Qi warriors that had lived in the Realm of Split Void had chosen to leave.
Furthermore, since the entire Domain of the Falling Stars was facing an outsider invasion, the Heaven Palace Sect and a few other powerful sects had stepped up and stopped the conflicts in the Realm of Dark Underworld.
Through intermediation, Wu Langxie had withdrawn from the Flame G.o.d Sect, and Hua Mu had ended his battle with the sectmaster of the Spirit G.o.d Sect.
Each and every major sect in the Domain of the Falling Stars was dispatching their powerful experts to the Realm of Split Void, where they were preparing for engagement with the outsiders.
“Can’t you seal those few spatial rifts, Master Zhen?” Nie Tian asked curiously.
Upon hearing these words, everyone present smiled bitterly.
Zhen Huilan let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head. “I tried, and so did Wu Ya, a spatial power expert from the Heaven Palace Sect, as well as a few other top spatial power experts. As it turns out, there’s very little we can do. Those spatial rifts are extremely complicated, and ever-changing. None of us were able to seal them.”