Chapter 45: Arrival at the South Pole

The space rift area, with its chaotic energy flows, became even more turbulent. The remaining ten members of Cangyang Valley continued their arduous flight toward the South Pole, at an even slower pace. Each He’er Dan pill could only sustain their vital energy for three days; if attacked by the space rifts, they had to take another pill immediately to restore their energy. Thus, as the supply of He’er Dan pills dwindled, the ten members of Cangyang Valley grew increasingly anxious. Yet, within the space rifts, they still had to carefully monitor their surroundings to avoid being killed outright.

The members of the other four factions faced similar difficulties, flying cautiously through this chaotic space rift area. Of course, Li Heng, Liang Qu, Yinmian Xiaotianquan, Shuo Bai, and Lan Long found it almost enjoyable—like an adventure and a chance to enhance their strength. All five had mastered “Following the Currents,” understanding the five elements’ energies amidst the chaotic flows and rapidly advancing their spiritual realms.

Snap!

A hundred-meter-long black lightning-like space rift suddenly appeared, devouring the energy in a one-mile radius. An elder from Cangyang Valley who was in the early stage of the Congti realm let out a cry before vanishing instantly—dead.

The further south they flew, the more powerful the space rifts became. They were no longer just finger-length but stretched to tens or hundreds of meters, engulfing a much larger area and making it even harder to defend against.

Li Zhen used a communication token to send messages at regular intervals to keep track of everyone’s situation. “Li Chen is dead!” His spiritual sense scanned the communication token and found that only Elder Li Chen hadn’t replied to his earlier messages, confirming his death. Though saddened, Li Zhen remained indifferent. Cangyang Valley had warned everyone about the dangers of this journey to Baiyin Star. If they managed to obtain the Eight Directions Sword, they would all receive generous rewards, and their respective families and factions would also benefit. If not, death was the only outcome.

“Everyone, listen up! We’ve been flying through the space rift area for ten months. We should be arriving at the South Pole soon. Be extremely careful,” Li Zhen quickly sent a message through the communication token.

As for Li Chen’s death, Li Zhen didn’t want to mention it further, so as not to distract the others. Sure enough, upon receiving Li Zhen’s message, the other eight members were both surprised and more cautious. Those who failed now would die regretfully…

The colorful clouds in the southern hemisphere of White Yin Star have covered the entire sky for nearly two years, and now they are gradually fading away. Meanwhile, in a void within the galaxy where White Yin Star is located, a strange phenomenon has emerged—a sound resembling waves, like the tide, spreading throughout the entire galaxy and audible to those on various cultivation planets. Moreover, among the cultivators in this galaxy who have reached the Diversion Stage or above, their spiritual essences, having penetrated into the void, have sensed unusual energy movements, as if the energy was flowing in wave-like patterns. Quickly, the powerful beings in this galaxy simultaneously sent out the message: the Tidal Mist has arrived. The Tidal Mist is one of the four most dangerous regions in the cultivation world. The other three are the Poisonous Demon Region, the Heart Soul Region, and the Heavenly Flame Region—all of which have specific locations—while the Tidal Mist is mobile, appearing and disappearing abruptly in the cultivation world, remaining highly mysterious. No one knows what lies within the Tidal Mist, as those who have entered have never returned. Naturally, with the appearance of the Tidal Mist near White Yin Star, all cultivators immediately began using space teleportation arrays to relocate to other planets. As for those below the Yuan Ying Stage and ordinary people in the secular world, they could only stay on White Yin Star, praying that the Tidal Mist would not pass by. The sound of waves, the appearance of mist in the sky, the emergence of misty masses spanning hundreds of millions of miles, and the shifting of the starry sky—these are the signs of the Tidal Mist, as known to those in the cultivation world from past records. Thus, by observing that no mist had appeared in the sky yet, they knew the Tidal Mist had not fully formed, leaving time to escape. News of the Tidal Mist spread rapidly throughout the entire cultivation world as cultivators from across the galaxy migrated. Naturally, the members of the five sects in the Space Rift Region also learned of the Tidal Mist through communication tablets connected to their sects. Yet, still trapped in the Space Rift, these people continued flying south, having no other choice but to hope the Tidal Mist would not reach White Yin Star. …… Inside the Inch Realm Sphere, Qu Yi stood by the lake, dividing his consciousness into six parts—scanning the One Yuan Dao Formation while controlling the true fire to melt the materials in the Furnace Cauldron. After reaching the later stage of the Outward Emergence cultivation level, Qu Yi’s true essence could maintain the Samadhi True Fire burning continuously even for half a year, allowing him to keep studying various crafting materials without interruption.

By now, Qu Yi had become familiar with tens of thousands of basic material types for crafting, but that was still far from enough—less than a fraction of the tens of thousands of basic materials, not even reaching the level of a beginner. Of course, such extreme demands were relative to the Artifact God. For ordinary crafting sects in the cultivation world, even among the top ten cultivation sects, Qu Yi’s frantic process of mastering basic crafting would already make him a master-level figure. However, the Artifact God’s requirements were too high; Qu Yi had to thoroughly familiarize himself with all kinds of materials before he could truly begin crafting magical artifacts. Under the threat of the Artifact God to pierce his vital essence, Qu Yi had no choice but to patiently follow its demands. Yet throughout this process, his collection grew rich—not only did he become familiar with various crafting materials, but his control over his internal vital energy, true fire, and understanding of energy also advanced rapidly, bringing him great benefits. At this moment, just as Qu Yi had become familiar with one material and stopped the Threefold True Fire, the Artifact God suddenly appeared. “Artifact God, are you here to scare me again? What do you want?” Qu Yi pretended to be terrified as he saw the Artifact God appear out of thin air, shouting exaggeratedly. “Is it really necessary to overact? I’m here to tell you that the nine people from Cangyang Valley will soon reach the edge of the spatial rift area,” the Artifact God said calmly, with hands behind its back. Qu Yi stood up straight, sized up the Artifact God for a while, and then said with a smile, “Artifact God, I don’t believe you’d come to disturb me just to tell me this news.” Qu Yi had somewhat grasped the Artifact God’s personality—it wouldn’t interrupt his material melting process unless it was important. “Good boy, you’ve really become smarter now. Let me tell you—Li Heng, Liang Qu, the Silver-Faced Howling Dog, Shuo Bai, and Lan Long—these five have all reached the middle stage of the Convergence Realm. I’ve already given them your ‘Silent Art,’ telling them to maintain their initial stage of Convergence,” the Artifact God said with a smile. Hearing this, Qu Yi was indeed delighted. He rubbed his hands, his eyes darting around, with a smile on his face the whole time. “Great! Now I also have five subordinates in the middle stage of Convergence. With these, none of the leaders of those five sects can stop me anymore!” Qu Yi exclaimed happily after thinking it through. The Artifact God smiled faintly before saying with a grim expression, “But there’s also bad news—the tidal mist is forming in the galaxy where Baiyin Star is located, and it’s very likely to swallow up the entire planet.”

Qu Yi was also aware of the four most dangerous places in the cultivation world. Hearing that the Tidal Mist was heading to Baiyin Star, he immediately stopped smiling and looked terrified. “Our luck can’t be this bad, right? I hope the Tidal Mist won’t pass by Baiyin Star,” Qu Yi said earnestly. The God of Tools merely smiled. …… Crack! A kilometer-long spatial rift formed instantly, and the spatial energy within a ten-mile radius around it vanished rapidly. Li Zhen, in this area of spatial rifts, gradually understood the pattern of their formation and quickly escaped their devouring force. However, fighting against the chaotic energy currents consumed a great deal of his vital energy. He immediately swallowed the He’e Dan, which calmed his fears. As long as he had enough vital energy, Li Zhen believed he could avoid all the spatial rifts. If his vital energy ran out and the rifts continued to appear, his life would be at risk. Soon, Li Zhen continued flying south, and his mind gradually became clearer—he knew the area of spatial rifts was coming to an end. Li Heng, now feeling relaxed, had finally reached the middle stage of the Consolidation phase. He had a better grasp of the chaotic energy currents in this area and could predict the formation of spatial rifts earlier. Moreover, he continued to practice “Following the Current,” attracting more Earth energy around him and gradually coming into contact with purer forms of Earth energy, even reaching the primal Earth energy. Liang Qu, Yinmian Xiaotianquan, Shuo Bai, and Lan Long were in a similar situation, also diligently cultivating within the spatial rifts. The members of the five sects had been in the spatial rift area for a year. As of now, the number of those still flying within it was as follows: nine from Cangyang Valley, five from Taiyuan Gate, seven from Xianyue Cliff, six from Jinyang Sect, and seven from Jiugong Island. Meanwhile, these thirty-some strong cultivators in the Consolidation phase were rapidly moving toward the southern end of the spatial rift area, soon to reach the South Pole. One day, the entire world suddenly became clear and fresh, presenting a warm and peaceful scene. Li Zhen, the leader of Cangyang Valley, was the first to fly out of the spatial rift area. Seeing the scene before him, he roared in relief, “We’ve reached the South Pole!” After more than two years of hardship, especially a year of suffering in the spatial rift area, it was finally over. Li Zhen needed to vent his emotions. Soon after, the others from Cangyang Valley also quickly flew out of the spatial rift area and arrived at the South Pole.

The last elder of Cangyang Valley, slightly overweight with a very likable appearance, was about to fly out of the spatial rift area.
“I’ve finally reached the South Pole!” the elder shouted loudly.
Yet as soon as his voice was heard, it immediately triggered the energy in the spatial rift area, and a rift appeared that swallowed the elder whole.
For daring to get distracted before truly escaping the spatial rift area, he was punished right away.
“The arrogant one!” The other eight members of Cangyang Valley, who had gathered together, watched the elder. Realizing he had become so overjoyed that he lost control, they wanted to warn him, but it was too late.
The eight members of Cangyang Valley gazed sadly at the spatial rift area, remaining silent for a long time.
Meanwhile, members of the other four sects also emerged from the spatial rift areas in various places around the South Pole.
The people from the five sects all sensed the presence of those from the other sects through their spiritual senses.