Chapter 673 - 342: The Passageway Opens; Divine Temple Exploration

Chapter 673: Chapter 342: The Passageway Opens; Divine Temple Exploration

Cheng Zongyang took out the map he’d obtained from the bounty and, after comparing the details, quickly found the corresponding locations.

After carefully comparing the information, Cheng Zongyang marked the location of each Divine Temple on the map.

The first Divine Temple was located in a forest roughly 1,500 kilometers east of the large mountain near the passage.

From a bird’s-eye view, the Divine Temple was surrounded by dense trees. The forest was lush and verdant, like a green ocean. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, forming golden beams and creating a sense of serenity and mystery.

The second Divine Temple sat beside a pool on the summit of a high mountain over 3,000 kilometers north of the passage. It was shrouded in clouds and mist, resembling a fairyland. The peak soared into the clouds, steep and perilous, and the mountaintop pool was crystal clear, reflecting the blue sky, white clouds, and surrounding mountains.

’Cheng Zongyang had no idea who would have run so far, let alone climbed a mountain, just to discover this Divine Temple.’

The third Divine Temple was practically "hidden" in a desolate stretch of the Gobi desert, weathered to the point of ruin. Fierce winds howled across the desert, filling the sky with sand. The Divine Temple stood alone amidst the sandstorm, as if recounting the desolation of the Gobi.

The other temples were similarly scattered in various directions.

From these nine dilapidated Divine Temples, someone had previously discovered and taken thirteen Divine Statue Heads containing Soul Crystals. However, his focus wasn’t on these mysterious Divine Statue Heads, but on the Five Elements Spirit Pearls beneath the temples.

They were his goal for this trip and the key to strengthening Jade Peak Immortal City.

Just like the temples he had sought out before, each of these was situated in a location with prominent Five Elements characteristics.

Another similarity was that these Divine Temples had long since lost the protection of their Arrays.

Cheng Zongyang found this deeply puzzling. He couldn’t understand why these once-powerful Arrays had vanished. ’If it were due to the passage of time, then the Array at the last Divine Temple shouldn’t have existed either.’

’Or was it because of some other, unknown reason?’

His mind was filled with questions, but he knew this wasn’t the time to search for answers.

After Cheng Zongyang finished marking all the locations, they stood out on the map like bright stars in the night sky.

His gaze fixed on each mark on the map as he immersed his consciousness, surveying the location of every Divine Temple in Territory Two to make them easier to find later.

As Cheng Zongyang carefully observed the routes to each Divine Temple, he was secretly relieved to see no signs of excavation. This meant the underground Five Elements Spirit Pearls were still there. This reassured him greatly and strengthened his resolve to find the Five Elements Spirit Pearls.

’Of course, this all assumes those "Deities" actually buried Five Elements Spirit Pearls in the first place.’

After recording the locations, he began to map out a route that would allow him to excavate them one after another.

「Outside Ice City, the passage to the Realm of Ten Thousand Races opened once again.」

As soon as the negotiations had concluded, this news spread like wildfire throughout the Cultivation Immortality Realm, sparking the attention and anticipation of countless people.

The Five Great Immortal Sects, along with representatives from the great clans, various factions, the Independent Cultivator Alliance, and Commerce Associations, all dispatched personnel to the passage to help stand guard and check identities.

They paid little attention to ordinary people and Martial Artists. Their focus was solely on Qi Cultivation Practitioners.

Outside the passage, large numbers of Martial Artists and ordinary people, clad in warm clothing, formed long lines. Their breath fogged in the cold air, their faces filled with anticipation and excitement.

After each person paid a single Spirit Stone, they entered the passage in an orderly fashion.

In a box beside the passage guards, the many Spirit Stones glittered faintly in the sunlight, each one seeming to carry the hopes of its former owner.

In contrast to the Martial Artists and ordinary people, the disciples from the Immortal Sects, clans, and factions, as well as members of the Commerce Associations and the Independent Cultivator Alliance, were much slower to act. They were still mobilizing the necessary number of high-level Qi Cultivation Practitioners in preparation to enter the Realm of Ten Thousand Races.

After all, they still needed to issue and receive instructions; they couldn’t just act on their own to search and claim territory like the Martial Artists.

As all of Ice City sprang into action, Cheng Zongyang also finished plotting out his master route.

He withdrew his focus from the Realm of Ten Thousand Races, checked out of the inn, and got in line with the crowd.

Although he could survey Territory Two from his Realm of Dominator, his physical body couldn’t go there directly.

’He was missing a Teleport Anchor Point!’

He needed to enter the passage personally to find a suitable location and establish a Teleport Anchor Point. As long as the anchor existed, he could then teleport between Territory Two and his headquarters in Territory One, no longer needing to use the public passage to come and go.

After queuing for two hours, Cheng Zongyang entered the passage. He didn’t linger in the safe zone but immediately followed his planned route toward the location he had chosen to establish the Teleport Anchor Point.

The spot was an area covered in rubble and overgrown with vines. Tucked away in a corner, hidden beneath the thick foliage, was a small, abandoned cave.

’If he hadn’t surveyed the area from the Realm of Dominator, he never would have found this place.’

The cave had once been the lair of an Exotic Beast Python. Of course, the creature was long gone now.

Upon arriving at the spot, he activated his Protective Gang Qi and took out a Geomagnetic Stone. He then bent down and carefully lifted a section of the vines, taking care not to disturb the natural camouflage as he slipped into the cave.

The moment the Geomagnetic Stone appeared, countless snakes, insects, and rodents reacted. Those that could resist fled in a panic; those that couldn’t were instantly paralyzed, collapsing to the ground, unable to move.

Soon, Cheng Zongyang finished setting up the anchor point within the small, ten-odd-square-meter cave. He did not leave the Geomagnetic Stone behind.