Chapter 234 - 232: Qi Refining Fifth Layer, a Brewing Storm

After the meeting, the members began setting up a duty roster. Each day, two groups would head to the Gate of the Exotic Realm, dozens of kilometers away, report back to Harmony Island, and then return the next day.

Each team consisted of one Yanhua Martial Artist as the lead, paired with a guide from the Noon Realm.

Due to the abnormal climate, positioning equipment was becoming increasingly unreliable. It was easy to get lost without a guide.

It was hard to imagine that the greatest difficulties in the Exotic Realm weren’t supplies or enemies, but the ceaseless sandstorms, the featureless wilderness, and the suppressed communications.

Before actually participating, Yang Shen had always thought exploring the Exotic Realm would involve hordes of monsters and enemies roaring as they charged forward.

Or perhaps Martial Artists standing on city walls, defending against wave after wave of a "Beast Tide," killing monsters in exchange for merits and rewards.

As it turned out, that was all just nonsense.

The reality was far more detailed, and far more real.

Yang Shen was also assigned a mission, but his turn was later in the rotation. He would likely set out in four days.

Half of the technical staff continued to study the data anomalies, while the other half tried every method they could think of to communicate with the Hei Race, hoping their two different ways of thinking could finally connect.

Beyond that, there wasn’t much else the advance team could do. Everyone was simply a bit more vigilant, helping the Hei Race reinforce their defenses and arranging patrols for the surrounding areas. That was all.

People of the modern age have forgotten what it was like in ancient times when information was scarce. Right now, the advance team was like a group of ancient soldiers defending a city, unable to pierce the fog blanketing the Noon Realm.

There were no satellites, visibility was extremely low, communications were obstructed, and the primary source of information relied heavily on what a person could see with their own two eyes.

To put it bluntly, even if an explosion occurred ten kilometers away, they might not find out for days, and only then by a stroke of luck.

So Yang Shen focused his mind and devoted himself to Cultivation. No matter what might happen, improving his own strength was always the better choice.

And so, on the 24th day after leaving Jianghuai, which was also the 7th day of his arrival in the Noon Realm.

Even with the Noon Realm’s scarce Spiritual Qi, Yang Shen smoothly reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

There was no bottleneck, or at least Yang Shen didn’t feel one. His Immortal Martial Dual Cultivation had tempered his body to be highly compatible with Cultivation Breakthroughs, while the profundity of Cultivation would likely allow him to break through to the True Gang stage in the future without any obstacles.

The only things he needed to acquire from the outside world were experience and insight, a strong Dao Heart and perseverance.

And in the Exotic Realm, he could find all of these.

The Qi Refining Fifth Layer was not a realm that introduced a new mechanic. The next such change would be at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, which granted Divine Sense.

Yang Shen highly suspected this was the same thing as the Biological Force Field of the Jade Viscera Realm.

However, after reaching the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, the Spiritual Qi in Yang Shen’s body circulated more smoothly, and the capacity of his Qi Sea had increased significantly, reaching a level of nearly 200 source points.

Because of his Immortal Martial Dual Cultivation, his physical body was far more condensed than that of a Cultivator at the same realm, with his power almost doubling with every minor realm he crossed.

Unfortunately, Yang Shen had yet to obtain any "Large Displacement" Magic. He couldn’t leverage his superior Qi Sea to unleash massive bursts of power like a Cultivator of a higher realm, so its main advantage was reflected in his endurance.

Also... although there was no news from Jianghuai, the system showed the next stage of the main quest: Reach a family size of 20 members. The progress bar was already at (18.2/20). This was likely due to the continuous increase in "Yang Shen’s Disciples" and "Company Employees."

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On the third day after the emergency meeting, Yang Shen continued to focus on strengthening himself, practicing his martial arts at the cliff’s edge.

Over the past two days, the sandstorms filling the sky hadn’t seemed to change much, but communication equipment had been suppressed to an extremely low level.

It had gotten so bad that communications between the "Hei Race Settlement" and the neighboring "Yin Race Settlement" had become faint and intermittent...

The entire settlement seemed to be waiting for something to brew, and no one knew if this anomaly would end up being a false alarm or a nasty surprise for everyone.

Yang Shen didn’t have much work to do in the camp. If he had a mission, he completed it. If not, he meticulously studied and refined his Cultivation Technique.

As he was training today, he suddenly heard a significant commotion nearby. Yang Shen walked over curiously and found the "Pure-blooded Yanhuans" Guan Mountain practicing a Curse Engraving.

In the past few months of research, Yanhua had already made considerable progress.

A small number of Martial Artists had already acquired Curse Engraving abilities, though their power was slightly inferior.

Despite possessing physiques far stronger than those in the Noon Realm, the actual effectiveness of their Curse Engravings was lower. This was clearly due to insufficient research.

As for things like "bloodline," Xu Mo viewed them as nothing more than a temporary hurdle caused by a lack of technology.

Interestingly... "Curse Engravings" could be washed off, much like tattoos. This was actually a form of punishment for criminals among the twelve families of the Noon Realm, but for Yanhua, it was a good thing. It meant they had room for trial and error.

Take Guan Mountain, for example. His Living Blade was already inscribed with a Curse Engraving, as was he himself.

On an empty cliffside in the Hei Race’s territory, Guan Mountain wielded a long saber, swinging it rapidly. Although there was only air in front of him, it was clear his skill was considerable.

And as he swung, the long saber in his hand could extend for several meters, transforming from a long saber into a "great, exaggerated saber," each strike heavy and powerful!

The visual effect was incredibly intense.

Finally, Guan Mountain took a sharp step back and threw the long saber. It suddenly surged in mid-air, like a viscous liquid being boiled and expanding, rapidly transforming into "another Guan Mountain" that continued to launch a fierce assault on the empty air.

Yang Shen crossed his arms, marveling at the wonders of the "Living Blade." Back then, East Japan had relied on these inexhaustible Living Blades for its rapid rise to power. Taking advantage of Yanhua’s decline, they had launched a brazen invasion.

Even the worst Living Blade could grant a Martial Artist a telepathically linked doppelgänger, doubling their strength. Its bizarre properties had cost Yanhua dearly back then, especially in the early stages of the war.

After taking human form, the Living Blade turned and began attacking Guan Mountain. This was not a betrayal, but a sparring session.

Guan Mountain condensed a pure black longsword, while the Living Sword flicked its hands, its Curse Engraving coalescing into two mantis-like arms.

Two identical-looking men performed a show of "fighting oneself," but it was clear that the "Curse Engraving" wasn’t strong enough. After a short while, it shattered into flying fragments.

It broke apart completely.

It couldn’t even withstand the Power of the Early Innate Stage, making it even less impressive against those at a High Realm. At the very least, it couldn’t be used for direct clashes. This was the limitation of the current technology.

After taking some notes, Xu Mo walked over and ran a hand over the "Living Blade." He possessed the Biological Force Field of the Jade Viscera Realm, which, in Yang Shen’s understanding, was basically Divine Sense.

After a moment, he said, "The degree of fusion is higher. Well done."

Guan Mountain snapped to attention. "Thank you for the praise. As one of the Pure-blooded Yanhuans, it is my duty."

Xu Mo looked at Yang Shen, who was watching from the side. "Have you considered getting an engraving? Although the technology isn’t very powerful yet, it’s safe enough. I’m quite interested in the topic of ’simultaneously possessing two Curse Engraving abilities.’"

"We’ve currently mastered ’Curse Engraving: Shadow’ and ’Curse Engraving: Wind.’ Want to give it a try?"

Yang Shen thought for a moment. "Are there any side effects on the body?"

"In very rare cases, there can be an allergic reaction, but we can just wash it off. We’ve already cracked the formula for the Noon Realm’s ’Erosion Etching Potion.’ It’s convenient, just a bit painful at most."

The Curse Engraving Yang Shen currently possessed surpassed Yanhua’s existing technology in both strength and compatibility. It seemed a little unnecessary...

As for "Curse Engraving: Wind"... it felt a bit weak, and this would be a further weakened version.

"I might need to think about it. But the current power level... is subpar."

Xu Mo didn’t insist. He pushed up his glasses and said, "It’s a new technology, after all. But consider this a perk of being on the advance team. Once you go back, getting an engraving will be much more troublesome and require a lot of approvals."

Yang Shen nodded.

A large hand draped over his shoulder from behind. Deng Ming had appeared at some point. "Hey, kid. I hear it’s your turn to head back to Harmony Island for the comms report tomorrow. Nervous? You’re not going to get lost again, are you?"

Yang Shen replied, "Not a chance. I have a guide, don’t I?"

’If I get lost again, I’m calling Huang Gang and telling him to eat shit!’

"By the way, Elder Deng, what’s your job here?"

This great expert seemed like an idle wanderer, just strolling around the settlement every day and teasing the Hei Race children with candy...

Oh, and playing on his phone. Even though there was no internet, he had apparently downloaded a single-player version of Dou Di Zhu.

Every day, it was just "Pass, pass, pass."

Deng Ming scratched his cheek. "You’ll have to ask Mo about that. I feel like I don’t have much to do either."

Xu Mo gave a faint smile. "It was just a pretext to tell you that you should go back to the country..."

"And haven’t you realized? You’re not so afraid of coming to the Exotic Realm anymore."

Deng Ming froze, then let out a long sigh. "You’re right. It’s been eighteen years since that time, hasn’t it?"

The local tyrant of the Dongying Remnant Island then remembered something. "Those runic fragments of yours, I’ll take them back with me and fix them up for you. Any specific type of weapon you need?"

Yang Shen honestly reported that he had killed a Temple Warrior, but that wasn’t a big deal.

The whole camp was full of ruthless people; there were no sanctimonious do-gooders to cry foul.

Huo Jun had even said it bluntly: "European white pigs. If you killed them, you killed them. So what?"

However, those runic fragments had identifying marks, so they couldn’t be used openly. Yanhua had no interest in confiscating them, so Deng Ming offered to help.

There were seven in total, each with a different function, which Yang Shen hadn’t bothered to distinguish.

The Dongying Remnant Island was a real mixed bag of characters, but the upside was that it had many gray-market businesses. Chen Beiwang had said Deng Ming was the local tyrant there, so he must have extensive connections.

He had proactively offered to handle it for Yang Shen, helping to reforge them into weapons or armor that could be used openly.

He genuinely wanted to build a good relationship with Yang Shen, acting in his capacity as Xu Bamboo’s elder.

Yang Shen thought for a moment and said, "A sword, a spear, a scythe... as for armor, whatever works. Prioritize maximizing their effectiveness. We have a lot of people in my family, so they’ll definitely get used."

Deng Ming laughed. "I’ve heard about it, the Jianghuai Yang Family! I’ll definitely pay a visit when I get back."

Just as he was about to say more, a commotion suddenly erupted from the edge of the settlement. The group turned to look.

Although they were on high ground, the dust and sand obscured their vision. After a moment, a Yanhua Martial Artist came rushing over.

"Professor Xu, Advisor Huo wants you in the conference room! Something big has happened!"

"A lot of people have arrived outside the settlement! They’re the battered remnants of the ’Mo Race,’ and there are many Europeans with them! The Mo Race settlement has fallen! Even the Europeans couldn’t hold out!"

Everyone frowned...

"What do you mean, fallen?"

The man shouted at the top of his lungs:

"It’s the Corpse Calamity! The Noon Realm’s ’Calamity Plague’ has arrived, and it brought the Corpse Calamity!"

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