Chapter 277: The Realm Gate
With the top sects all besieged by zombies, a Nascent Soul sect like Hundred Flowers Sect naturally could not escape being surrounded.
Fortunately, there were only a limited number of Soul Formation–level zombies at the moment, and all of them had gone to blockade the mountain gates of the top sects. As long as the Nascent Soul sects did not encounter a Soul Formation zombie, they could still hold out for a time by relying on their mountain-protecting formations.
But as time dragged on, no matter how strong a formation was, it could not withstand the endless consumption from countless Nascent Soul–level zombies.
Watching the barrier grow dimmer and dimmer, the disciples of Hundred Flowers Sect all wore grim expressions. At this moment, the sect master and the grand elder, Mei Qiuyuan, both Nascent Soul True Monarchs, had already steeled themselves to lead their disciples in a bloody breakout.
Yet with so many Nascent Soul–level zombies outside, no one could say how many would survive. What was certain was that the losses to Hundred Flowers Sect would be devastating.
"Crack!"
A faint sound of rupture echoed. Though soft, it was like thunder in the hearts of the disciples—proof that the protective formation was on the verge of shattering.
"Boom!"
As expected, barely ten breaths later a fissure appeared in the barrier, and at once a flood of zombies poured in.
Seeing this, the two Nascent Soul True Monarchs of Hundred Flowers Sect charged forward to cut down the intruding zombies, while the other disciples formed up to support them.
At first the situation was still manageable. The zombies lacked intelligence, and since the barrier had only one breach, the enemy could only funnel through that single point. That made things easier to handle.
But as time passed, the ceaseless zombie tide drained everyone's spiritual power, and the breach steadily widened. More and more zombies poured in.
Facing the endless horde, the sect master and Mei Qiuyuan realized how laughable their earlier idea of leading disciples out had been.
In this situation, let alone breaking through, they were being crushed so hard they could not even take half a step forward.
Granted, part of it was that Hundred Flowers Sect's disciples were not adept at battle, but to be suppressed this badly was beyond anyone's expectations.
If it were normal times, with Hundred Flowers Sect's connections they might have asked for aid, but now every sect was struggling to survive. Who could they call for help?
"Junior Sister, take the true disciples and go." The sect master summoned a smoke-beast to shield the disciples, but the zombies were tearing it apart, and soon it would collapse.
Once this final defense crumbled, the women of Hundred Flowers Sect would be thrown directly against the zombie tide. The sect would face annihilation. In such a moment, the sect master chose to let Mei Qiuyuan take a few true disciples and escape, preserving the sect's lineage.
"Senior Sister!"
Mei Qiuyuan opened her mouth several times but could not bring herself to speak. For the sake of the sect's inheritance, the arrangement was logical—but in her heart, she could not abandon her senior sister.
"Go!"
The sect master's voice was firm. "Don't forget Feifei. She still needs your protection."
Yet before the words had even faded, a far larger pink smoke-beast in the form of a rabbit descended, enveloping both the sect master's smoke-beast and all the sect's disciples.
"What!"
The sudden change startled everyone. But the sect master and Mei Qiuyuan quickly realized what it meant—there was only one other person who could summon a smoke-beast: their disciple, Chu Feifei.
"That girl—why is she here!"
Mei Qiuyuan's heart leapt, but then she noticed something strange. Why was her disciple's smoke-beast so enormous?
"Master, are you all right?"
Chu Feifei stepped out of the smoke-beast and appeared before them.
"Feifei, you broke through!"
Mei Qiuyuan stared in shock. The girl had gone out only to return as a Nascent Soul True Monarch. Such a major breakthrough—and she had not even consulted them!
"Mm."
Chu Feifei nodded.
"Now's not the time for this. Let's cut our way out first." The sect master interjected, cutting short their reunion. Chu Feifei's arrival gave her new hope.
As a fellow Nascent Soul True Monarch, she knew full well that with the Hundred Flowers Sacred Body, Chu Feifei's power far surpassed her own.
"No need. We'll wait."
Chu Feifei waved her hand. She had not come alone this time.
"Hm?"
At her words, the sect master sensed something unusual—the density of death qi outside was rapidly thinning. That could only mean the zombies were being reduced.
With doubt in their hearts, the sect master and Mei Qiuyuan rushed out of the smoke-beast, only to be stunned by the sight before them. Outside Hundred Flowers Sect's gate, rows of purple, man-eating flowers stood like a wall. Any zombie that approached was swallowed whole.
The endless tide of corpses could not breach that wall of flowers. And behind it stood a familiar figure—Gu Mo.
Sensing their gaze, Gu Mo turned his head and nodded slightly, then refocused on the zombie horde before him. If this wave could be completely devoured, the spiritual energy within his pocket realm would rise another level.
Of course, after swallowing prey, the Bigmouth Flowers were very fragile during digestion, so Gu Mo had to watch them constantly.
After a few hours, the horde besieging Hundred Flowers Sect was nearly all consumed. With no Soul Formation zombies present, the process went smoothly.
Feeling the richness of spiritual energy in his pocket realm now, Gu Mo realized that even without the Heaven and Earth Nascent Infant, he could maintain that small plot of fifth-tier spirit fields with only the supreme spirit stone meditation cushion.
If he swallowed a few more waves of zombie tides, he might not even need the cushion—his realm alone could sustain the fifth-tier fields.
But Gu Mo's goal was not a small patch of fifth-tier fields. He aimed for vast expanses, and to achieve that, he needed to keep cultivating the Bigmouth Flowers and keep feeding them zombies.
By the time Gu Mo had finished clearing the horde, Hundred Flowers Sect had also packed up their belongings. Clearly, Chu Feifei had already explained the situation.
The Tianyuan Realm was too dangerous. For Hundred Flowers Sect, leaving for the Qinghe Realm was the wisest choice.
Yet not every sect chose to leave. Some, upon learning that cultivators from a Greater World would soon descend and that hunting zombies might yield immortal treasures, decided to stay behind.
In the Tianyuan Immortal Realm, many sects saw their inheritance cut off after Nascent Soul, but if they could establish connections with cultivators from the Greater Thousand Worlds, perhaps they might obtain stronger inheritances.
Apart from that, the immortal relics left behind were equally enticing. Though fraught with peril, they also promised tremendous opportunities.
Gu Mo did not insist on anyone's choice. Those who wished to leave—he would personally escort them to the Qinghe Immortal Realm. Those who wanted to risk their lives in pursuit of fortune could follow their own path.
Many cultivators were already strongly inclined toward risk-taking; fighting and dying for opportunities was commonplace for them.
One giant ship after another carried countless cultivators away from the Tianyuan Immortal Realm.
After Gu Mo's tour, in the end, fewer than thirty percent of the sects chose to leave. The majority chose to remain and gamble on opportunity.
Still, even thirty percent of the sects represented no small number of cultivators. With these sects joining, the strength of the Qinghe Immortal Realm would see a tremendous boost.
"I'm heading out for a bit."
As the fleet sailed into a certain sea, Gu Mo said this softly to Chu Feifei, then swiftly departed.
Moments later, Gu Mo appeared above a crab-shaped archipelago—this was the Giant Crab Archipelago where he had once lingered.
Because the archipelago stood alone in the sea, it had escaped the zombie tide.
Reaching the central ring island, Gu Mo sensed Shi Yuwei cultivating there. Without disturbing her, he entered the island directly, replacing some of the plants he had left behind.
Since the ring island's spiritual vein was only at the third rank, he didn't replace plants like the Peashooters that demanded higher-grade fields. Instead, he buried a few rank-four Potato Mines that didn't require spirit fields.
In addition, Gu Mo left behind a rank-four Chomper. With that in place, as long as no cultivator at the Soul Formation stage appeared, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would be swallowed in a single bite.
Finally, he left a rank-four top-grade Cherry Bomb, then slipped away silently.
With these defenses, even a rank-five beast emperor at the Soul Formation level would not dare make a move lightly. In this miniature world, Soul Formation was already the peak.
Much later, when Shi Yuwei finished cultivating and came to tend the fields as usual, she immediately noticed the changes.
"It was… it was…"
In that instant, she knew who had come. Yet no matter how long she searched, she could not find Gu Mo.
She returned to her hut at once and began cultivating anew. She had to grow stronger—only then could she keep up with that man's footsteps.
From the plants Gu Mo had left behind, she could already discern his current realm. If she wished to follow him, she too had to become stronger.
Once Gu Mo had escorted the cultivators to the Qinghe Immortal Realm, his task was considered complete. The matter of settling those sects would naturally fall to Qinglu Sect.
The Qinghe Immortal Realm was no smaller than the Tianyuan Immortal Realm. It could easily accommodate those sects. Moreover, with the great array that would soon enshroud the realm, its spiritual energy density would reach the level of the Tianyuan Immortal Realm.
Thus, the arrival of the Tianyuan sects would not disrupt Qinghe's order. On the contrary, they would even enhance its heritage.
In the future, Qinghe Immortal Realm was bound to become another Tianyuan Immortal Realm.
As for the Tianyuan Immortal Realm itself, with the Corpse Immortal breaking free of his seal and endless zombie tides surging forth—once the realm gate opened and outside cultivators poured in, no one knew what shape Tianyuan would take. At the very least, though, Qinghe would remain a sanctuary for native cultivators.
After staying several days in the Qinghe Immortal Realm, Gu Mo returned once more to Tianyuan.
During this brief stay, Yuan Niya finally took that crucial step and became a Nascent Soul True Lord. Her breakthrough did not summon any special heavenly tribulation. With her foundation, passing it was no problem.
This time, Gu Mo returned to Tianyuan alone. Chu Feifei and Ruanruan both chose to remain in Qinghe, joining the work of arranging the grand array.
After all, Tianyuan was no longer safe.
Not only them—those cultivators from Tianyuan also received tasks related to the array. With so many helping hands, its construction sped up dramatically.
The realm gate was about to open, and with Qinghe's great array unfinished, many felt uneasy. Now, with so many working on it, there was hope it could be completed before the gate's opening.
As for Gu Mo, he needed to enhance his cave-heaven's spiritual density. That required him to return to Tianyuan and continue using Chompers to devour zombies. At present, his top priority was cultivating a patch of fifth-rank spirit fields.
That was the foundation for his step into the Soul Formation realm.
Time passed. When Gu Mo had gathered enough Solar Essence to nurture a second rank-five Chomper, a soul-shaking roar suddenly erupted.
In the sky, a phantom gate appeared.
"The realm gate has opened!"
Seeing the illusory gate above, everyone recognized it at once—the matter had long since spread.
With the realm gate's opening came a merit board. From now on, slaying zombies would earn merit points, exchangeable for treasures.
At the very top were none other than immortal relics. Even the most ordinary item left by an immortal was an unimaginable treasure to common cultivators.
"Ridiculous!"
The remnant soul gazed at the realm gate in the heavens, not alarmed in the least, even faintly expectant. After all, he needed vast amounts of souls to recover. One cultivator's soul was worth hundreds or even thousands of mortals. A Nascent Soul True Lord's soul could equal tens of thousands.
Naturally, he hoped more cultivators would arrive, so he could harvest them.
As for the idea that these outsiders could suppress him? Laughable. Though he could not control his body, that body was still an immortal's corpse—how could mere ants subdue it?
"Then let's give them a little welcome gift."
The remnant soul's gaze fell on the towering headless corpse. In the next moment, the corpse gave a faint tremor, and a surge of abyssal death aura burst forth. From within that aura, zombies of late Nascent Soul, and even Soul Formation level, emerged one after another.
"Kid, the body is yours for now."
The remnant soul's weary voice echoed in Yao Shifeng's mind. Even a slight use of the body's power left him drained, forcing him to rest. This only deepened his craving for more souls.
Only by strengthening his soul power could he command more of the body's strength. If he could wield even one percent of it, he could crush this small world with ease.
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