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Chapter 104 - Arrival
🕑 Added 2025-05-14 06:50:35 +0000 UTCThe swift return journey progressed smoothly, but as they were about to enter the airspace above the sea, Aotian controlled Bao Wuji to activate his treasure radar, which had become much stronger now.
With his Soul Formation cultivation realm, the detection radius for treasures of the same level had increased tenfold.
So, if before, when he was at the Nascent Soul realm, he could locate treasures of the same tier within 1,000 miles multiplied by his level in that realm, now, at Soul Formation, this range increased to 10,000 miles times his level.
And when searching for lower-tier treasures, for each realm below, the detection range increased by ten times. This meant that the radar for Foundation-Tier treasures could now likely encompass the entire planet, while the Core-Tier radar covered the same range that the Refinement-Tier one used to.
But with so much information, even with all his avatars, it was difficult for Aotian to process everything if he allowed Refinement-Tier and Foundation-Tier treasures to appear without restriction.
And even though his cultivation—and therefore that of his avatars—had advanced, increasing the number of Enlightened Minds he possessed, it was still nowhere near proportional to the expanded range of the radar ability.
The previous night, after his breakthrough, his avatars had created their new minds, while his main body, after stabilizing his cultivation, had formed his as well.
Currently, he possessed the following Enlightened Minds:
- 5 Soul Formation Minds ← Bao Wuji
- 4 Nascent Soul Minds ← Sect Leader (Tian Zhu)
- 60 Golden Core Minds ← 20 Inner Elders
- 102 Foundation Establishment Minds ← 50 Outer Elders + Aotian
Added to his regular minds, which totaled 73, Aotian could now process 244 simultaneous thoughts.
The number of minds hadn't increased much compared to the last time he counted because his outer elders were already at Foundation Establishment, and the realm advancement didn't change that.
After reflecting for a bit, he didn't hesitate and had Bao Wuji activate the ability with restrictions.
This time, the radar was focused again on spiritual veins.
Aotian wanted to observe the distribution of veins across the entire world. Although global detection only allowed him to see second-level veins, that still gave a very clear idea of the world's structure. And since veins were rare, they wouldn't overload his mind.
Thus, the radar spread out in all directions.
Dots began to blink in Bao Wuji's mind. Since there were no complex images, only points, the map formed had no terrain features, but by observing the proportion between them, Aotian could still discern certain characteristics.
The highest concentration of points appeared beneath sea level—probably underwater veins—and there were many, which explained the number of powerful beasts in the ocean.
Next, eight locations emerged where the veins seemed to be at sea level. These were, according to Aotian's analysis, the continents.
Finally, there was the vacuum area at the center, which he had already observed before. But this time, that area was very different.
Signs of veins appeared in that dark space, and Aotian realized they were second- and third-level veins, which now appeared thanks to the radar's increased range.
These veins, like the first-level ones, began appearing in great quantity until, at a certain point, even the second-level veins vanished.
As for the third-level veins, they disappeared around the same time—the range had reached its limit, and with this radar, he could only see the edge. Still, it was enough.
'This!!'
Aotian's heart raced.
In the final shape of the map, using the points as markers for his deduction, Aotian was able to identify four large landmasses in a vast ocean, circling another four large landmasses, and finally, a massive black area in the center of his vision.
He was shocked.
'I was wrong! I was overthinking and didn't consider the simplest answer!'
'It's not an area that blocks my perception, nor a forbidden zone devoid of spiritual energy!'
Aotian couldn't help but laugh internally at his own foolishness while still surprised. Sometimes, when the answer is too obvious, people tend to overlook it.
He had been so focused on future challenges that he began seeing problems where there were none, or perhaps it was just his mindset influenced by all the xianxias he had read, where nothing was ever too easy.
'The center where I couldn't see anything is simply an area where no low-level veins exist. But now that I can see farther with my Foundation-Tier and Core-Tier radar, I can see much more of that region.'
'The four large landmasses where I can see first-level veins must be the four deserts—exactly as I expected. But beyond those deserts, which surround the other continents, the deeper you go toward the center, the stronger the spiritual energy and the greater the number of first-level veins. Until, at a certain point, they just vanish, because the spiritual energy in those places must be so intense that the minimum level of a vein born there is already second-level.'
'The four continents closer to the center must be the four mid-continents Rihai spoke of, and only the outer edges facing the deserts still have first-level veins. But soon, they vanish, and I can only see second- and third-level veins. Although I can almost completely visualize what I believe these continents look like before the second-level veins disappear, I still can't see the full picture. Most likely, in the regions closer to the central continent, the minimum is third-level veins, but at this distance, my Core-Tier radar can't reach.'
This image matched very well what he remembered Rihai once saying about how this world was divided:
'...nine continents. The central continent, the mid-continents that surround it, and the four great deserts that surround the four mid-continents.'
'If it's already like this in the four mid-continents, then the central continent must be even more terrifying. For some reason, the concentration of energy seems to increase the closer you get to the center. Maybe it reaches a point where even third-level veins don't exist, because they're too weak. That... seems to indicate that the central continent of this planet is incredibly powerful — which sounds dangerous, but also means great opportunity.'
Despite his concern, he couldn't help but feel excited. If the world were too weak, it would be less dangerous, yes, but it would also be much harder for him and his avatars to grow, and progress would be significantly slower.
So, to get the best of both worlds, he was determined to be cautious in his approach while making the most of everything this world had to offer.
...
After those discoveries, the journey continued to go smoothly.
With Bao Wuji's speed, strength, and radar — which was periodically activated to detect Nascent Soul-level presences or higher, since the radar could also indicate potential enemies, as cultivators would carry treasures, and beasts were treasures themselves — they could proceed safely and calmly back to the desert continent, where his avatars were.
Although he occasionally spotted Nascent Soul-level treasures on his radar — which he still didn't know the exact tier name for but assumed to be Nascent-Tier — he ignored them.
He wasn't willing to risk his main body and Rihai for treasures right now.
He could send Bao Wuji alone later, if needed. Even so, it didn't feel urgent; after all, he hadn't synthesized any inheritances that required materials of that level.
So, the journey proceeded calmly, and half a month later, they finally arrived at the Bamboo Sword Sect.
At that moment, standing atop the great wooden board, Aotian's heart beat faster.
'My avatars… we're finally gathered in the same place. And this time, we really are all together.' Aotian thought, enchanted.
And indeed, all 72 of his avatars were now gathered at the Bamboo Sword Sect.
In the cultivation cities he had invaded, he hadn't caused massacres in all of them; in fact, some had very few deaths.
But in others, there had been real bloodbaths. Family patriarchs and sect leaders were killed. Aotian even shamelessly asked the Bamboo Sword Sect to send elders to manage those cities before he left with his avatars — which deeply displeased the sword sect, but nothing a few elemental stones couldn't fix.
The massacres, however, were rare — only three cases. The rest involved more isolated incidents, which didn't directly affect the city lords, or he had just given them a good lesson for lesser sins before letting them go.
Aotian even requested that the Bamboo Sword Sect continue receiving reports and monitoring those cities for him.
Yes, he simply did what he wanted, spanked them, and left. Helping people was never the focus of that mission — his goal was to seize the resources of those families and sects. But he still did the bare minimum to ensure the safety of the people in those cities and avoid chaos before departing.
Back in the present, Rihai observed the grand sect slowly approaching before her, now that Bao Wuji had decreased speed, and saw the immense plaque on the entrance gate, with the name written in fierce, fluid calligraphy.
"Bamboo Sword Sect? Are we in the wrong place?" Rihai asked, confused, upon seeing that it didn't say 'Infinite Dao Sect'.
"Ahem!" Bao Wuji coughed into his fist, embarrassed. "No, little girl, we're not. This is the right place. Our sect is just temporarily staying here." He explained, seemingly a little ashamed.
Of course, Aotian was just acting — he didn't feel any shame — but he imagined a decent ancestor probably would.
"The sect is... staying?" Rihai looked at him strangely. She had never heard of a sect being 'hosted' by another.
Feeling slightly awkward for ruining Rihai's first impression of the sect, Aotian stood from his cross-legged position and walked over to her.
Taking the chance to change the subject — and confirm their decision — Aotian took her hand with a complicated expression.
"Hai'er, we've arrived. Have you thought it through? Are you sure about the choice you made? Honestly, it's going to feel a bit weird having to call the others senior brothers or something, when really, they should be the ones calling us that." He asked, his face and voice somewhat dejected.
And that really shifted Rihai's focus. She looked at him and took a deep breath, her gaze growing firm.
"Aotian, we shouldn't stand out too much. It could be dangerous. We won't always have the elders around to protect us, and if we attract too much attention, we'll just draw trouble. Let's stay discreet, start from the bottom, and rise naturally if necessary." She replied with determination, locking eyes with him.
Aotian knew she made sense. What she didn't realize is that all the elders in the sect — except Jian Huiyin — are his avatars.
There was no way he'd be caught without an elder knowing. But, indeed, there was a chance that an elder might not make it in time in an ambush.
Of course, they didn't currently have any enemies who could pose a threat… but that might not always be the case.
Rihai placed her hand gently on his face, holding it tenderly as she gazed softly into his eyes.
"Tian'er, you decide. I'll follow you. But for the sake of both of us and our future, I suggest we take it slow, without arrogance or impatience. And if one day you can't stand it anymore, you can change your status at will, can't you?" She said, smiling at him, referring to the authority he held within the sect.
Aotian raised a hand and scratched his chin, finding it reasonable.
"Alright. We'll go with what you said. From today on, we're outer disciples of the Infinite Dao Sect." He nodded seriously.
Rihai smiled, and rising on her tiptoes, she kissed him gently on the lips before pulling back, still smiling.
Aotian returned the smile, then turned to face the Bamboo Sword Sect's gate, which was quickly approaching before their eyes.
