Chapter 22: Opening Up Wasteland

"The territory of the Dao Alliance is vast, with eight sacred cities and one Dao Alliance Immortal Palace," said Heavenly Unity Dao Lord. "Normally, Dao Lords can head to the nearest sacred city, which makes things much easier."

Ji Ning nodded.

The journey was too far and full of dangers.

If there were only one sacred city, those in distant territories would find it too difficult to reach.

"The nearest sacred city to us—if you're a bit faster than me, you can probably get there in a little over a thousand years," said Heavenly Unity Dao Lord. "I've already reported to the higher-ups that our Heavenly Cang Palace has gained another palace lord. After you arrive at the sacred city, go get an Alliance token first; otherwise, many places in the city will be off-limits to you."

"Understood." Ji Ning nodded.

For hostile forces like the Dark Kingdom, certain areas of the Dao Alliance were certainly forbidden.

"You can enter all eight sacred cities. Only the Dao Alliance Immortal Palace, the true core, cannot be entered directly—you must receive an invitation from the Immortal Palace to enter," said Heavenly Unity Dao Lord. "Generally, more powerful Fourth Step Dao Lords have a chance of receiving an invitation. Given your strength, Ji Ning, you likely have a chance too."

Ji Ning nodded.

The lairs of the six major powers were all mysterious and unfathomable, with the 'Dao Alliance Immortal Palace' being the most mysterious and powerful, said to hold the secret to the Dao Alliance's enduring prosperity. Forces like the Mangya Kingdom, the ancient cultivators, and the special lifeforms couldn't compete with the Dao Alliance, partly due to the Immortal Palace.

But very few knew the secrets of the Dao Alliance Immortal Palace.

"And one more thing you must remember," Heavenly Unity Dao Lord recalled something and earnestly warned, "The Dao Alliance is too vast, so internally it's quite chaotic, divided into many factions. The eight sacred cities each belong to different factions. Behind every sacred city are some old monsters. You must never get involved in the Dao Alliance's internal struggles. I suspect that once your strength is revealed, someone as extraordinary as you will definitely be courted."

"The eight sacred cities belong to different factions?" Ji Ning was stunned. "That means at least eight factions?"

"The strongest are nine major factions, plus many minor ones. In short, the Dao Alliance is in turmoil," Heavenly Unity Dao Lord continued. "It's said to involve some secrets of the Dao Alliance Immortal Palace. Anyway, someone like me, a Fourth Step Dao Lord, wouldn't dare get involved. Only some old monsters and extraordinary Dao Lords meddle in it. Even if you want to get involved, wait until you become a Fourth Step Dao Lord; otherwise, you won't even know how you died. When it comes to internal strife, the Dao Alliance is the worst."

Ji Ning was speechless.

Indeed, the Dao Alliance was rife with internal conflict, mainly because the other five sides were relatively weak and only occasionally provoked the Dao Alliance, not daring to start a large-scale war.

…

"Whoosh."

A flying boat traveled through the chaotic void.

On the boat were the white-robed youth Ji Ning, Su Youji, and Danbao Dao Lord.

They had already left the Heavenly Cang Palace and embarked on a long journey.

"Master, it seems we're not heading to the Dao Alliance sacred city?" Danbao asked in confusion.

"Let's take a detour first and visit my homeland," Ji Ning said with a smile. "It's not far; then we'll go to the sacred city."

"Master's homeland?" Su Youji asked curiously. "Where is it?"

"You'll know when we get there," Ji Ning said with a smile. "But don't reveal the location of my homeland to anyone."

"Yes." Su Youji and Danbao both replied.

Ji Ning nodded.

Going to the Dao Alliance sacred city would take over a thousand years, but returning to the Three Realms at their current speed would take only a little over a hundred years.

"My master and Windfiend plan to break through and leave the Three Realms to explore the endless territories," Ji Ning frowned. "The vortex passage between the Da Mo Domain and my homeland is unstable, full of spatial rifts. If unlucky, one could fall into a spatial rift and be teleported to some unknown place."

"I haven't heard any news of Nuwa in all these years. Perhaps she fell into a spatial rift back then and was teleported away," Ji Ning speculated.

That unstable vortex passage was very dangerous.

With Ji Ning's current strength, he could suppress the void with his sword intent and maintain stability. But how could菩提 and the others have Ji Ning's power?

"It seems I need to open up some wasteland."

"Open a safe path from the Da Mo Domain to the Three Realms," Ji Ning thought.

Many safe routes in the endless territories were discovered by countless cultivators through trial and error.

"My second true body is in the Three Realms. I can sense its location from outside," Ji Ning mused. "As long as I advance all the way and finally reach my second true body, this path will be successfully opened. With my current strength comparable to a Fourth Step Dao Lord and the Dominator Armor, opening up wasteland is not difficult for me."

…

Over a hundred years later, at the edge of the Da Mo Domain.

"Forward."

In the desolate, unknown chaotic void, the flying boat advanced.

Opening up wasteland was very dangerous; Ji Ning only dared to do it after greatly increasing his strength.

Ji Ning sat cross-legged on the deck of the flying boat, sensing dangers over vast distances. Having mastered the ultimate sword dao, he could be considered a 'Sword Dao Master.' The source of the universe's sword dao radiated everywhere, becoming Ji Ning's 'eyes.' The stronger his soul and the higher his sword dao realm, the farther he could sense.

Now, nurtured by the power of the blueflower mist, Ji Ning's soul had grown to rival that of a Fourth Step Dao Lord.

Ji Ning looked into the distance: "Six trillion li away, there's danger. Even an ordinary Dao Lord might die there."

A star chart lay on Ji Ning's lap, and he marked it.

He marked all notable chaotic stars and dangerous places so that he wouldn't get lost during the journey.

…

The distance from the Da Mo Domain to the Three Realms was indeed great. Over three hundred years had passed since Ji Ning started opening up wasteland. Only one place had made him feel extreme danger; elsewhere, he only felt slight caution. But those places were death zones for World-level cultivators.

"Haha, almost there, almost to the Three Realms," Ji Ning could sense his second true body's position and smiled. "Probably a few more decades and we'll reach the Three Realms."

Opening a safe path would benefit the Three Realms for endless ages.

As long as the path was kept secret, outsiders wouldn't know how to enter. Even a Fourth Step Dao Lord would find it hard to sneak in. Ji Ning, with his 'second true body' as a reference, could constantly sense its position and not get lost.

"Master, in these three hundred years, we've discovered so many dangerous places," Su Youji couldn't help but say. "Isn't the area around your homeland a bit too dangerous?"

"It is a bit much," Ji Ning nodded.

Ji Ning also felt that the density of dangerous places was relatively high.

"The universe is vast and mysterious; anything is possible," Ji Ning said with a smile. Suddenly his expression changed, and then he looked strange.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning turned to look in a distant direction.

"Master?" Su Youji and Danbao noticed something was wrong with Ji Ning.

Ji Ning stared into the distance, and a blueflower mark faintly appeared on his forehead. At that moment, the mark resonated with something far away, and the blueflower space within him also resonated.

"It actually triggered a resonance with the blueflower mark," Ji Ning was both surprised and cautious.

He had encountered many opportunities—the Danzun, the Great Dominator—all at the Dominator level. He had also received the legacy of a deceased Sword Dao Dominator. Ji Ning's knowledge was vast. But the Nine Chaos Seals, which created the blueflower space and the blueflower mist power, were beyond his imagination.

Moreover, the Nine Chaos Seals were obtained by Lord Sanqing near the Three Realms long ago. Ji Ning had always believed there were secrets in the chaos around the Three Realms, but he had never found them.

Now, while opening up wasteland on his way back to the Three Realms, the blueflower mark resonated.

"Let's go take a look over there," Ji Ning said.

With a whoosh, the flying boat flew toward the direction Ji Ning sensed.

"What's wrong, Master?" Su Youji couldn't help asking.

"From now on, you two must follow my orders," Ji Ning said solemnly. The closer they got, the stronger the resonance of his blueflower mark.

After flying for over ten days.

The endless chaos ahead suddenly dissipated, revealing pure void. The void contained no other energy, and even the power of the universe's sword dao source was suppressed and couldn't approach. Not only the sword dao source, but other source powers of the universe also couldn't cover that area.

"That is…" Ji Ning looked at the vast void before him. At the end of the pure void were some golden mists. Seeing those golden mists, Ji Ning felt a strong sense of threat.

"Youji, Danbao, wait here. Don't come close," Ji Ning commanded.

…