<h4>Chapter 187: The ck Turtle Approaches</h4>


    "Kid, Emerald Lake is too dangerous; you''d better not stay here. Find another ce to hide," Huang Qi said after a long-winded exnation. "Don''t worry, these invading foreign race warriors won''t be able to cause trouble for long.


    "If you can hold out for a few more days and they haven''t left the Primordial Wilderness, thebined forces of the five major sects will crush them.


    "Oh, and if you''ve begun cultivating the Grand Providence Sacred Body, then keep at it."


    After giving a few more pieces of advice, Huang Qi finished his pipe and thoroughly examined Emerald Lake. He did not notice anything unusual.


    "I''m heading to the First Peak now. I hope those foreign race warriors manage to breach it. I just want to see Cao Mang''s and Lady Hua''s miserable states." Before leaving, Huang Qi put away his pipe, gave Pang Jian a deep look, and said, "Kid, you''re right to be cautious of me.


    "Remember, you should be wary of anyone who knows you. A million spirit stones are enough to make even the elders of the major sects envious. It''s not hard for them to kill you."


    With that, Huang Qi flew away.


    Pang Jian did not hesitate to dive back into Emerald Lake.


    Burying himself in a muddy corner at the bottom of theke, he held a piece of spirit jade in each hand and continued to develop his brain using his spiritual power and life energy. The life energy gifted by the little tree in Misty Swamp was immensely helpful and he felt he could soon advance to the Profound Abode Realm.


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    The green spiritual power and life energy flowed into the nerve fibers in his brain as well as the acupoints at the top of his head. Arge area of his brain, including several acupoints, seemed to be transforming into a hazy sea of clouds.


    <i>First, form the sea of consciousness, then manifest the divine sense,</i> Pang Jian recalled.


    He knew that the hazy sea of clouds was the embryonic form of the sea of consciousness and would soon develop into his divine sense. The formation of his divine sense would signify his advancement to the Profound Abode Realm, and his perception and insight would undergo an instant qualitative transformation as a result.


    <i>Having advanced to the Innate Realm by bing one with the world, and with the little tree''s dense life energy on top of that, I should break through quickly! </i>


    Pang Jian''s spirit soared.


    <i>Qi Qingsong also advanced to the Innate Realm by bing one with the world. He then broke through to the Profound Abode Realm within a few months. If Qi Qingsong can do it, so can I!</i>


    The mysteries hidden within his body were even more wondrous than Qi Qingsong''s and the little tree in Misty Swamp could provide him with endless support. The life energy and bing one with the world meant that Pang Jian was undoubtedly close to breaking through to the Profound Abode Realm.


    <i>The Profound Abode Realm.</i>


    Pang Jian suddenly recalled Sun Bin''s words before he had taken his sister, Pang Lin, away.


    Sun Bin had told Pang Lin that if she could prove her abilities and reach the Profound Abode Realm within a century, she could return to the Solitary Mountain Range and bring Pang Jian to the upper worlds.


    Now, looking back, reaching the Profound Abode Realm within a hundred years seemed like child''s y!


    <i>If I advance to the Profound Abode Realm...</i>


    With his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea, as long as Pang Jian could advance to the Profound Abode Realm, even those in the same cultivation realm like Yang Rui and Qi Qingsong would not be his match.


    <i>When breaking through to the Profound Abode Realm, will I also endlessly draw in the surrounding spiritual qi like when I broke through to the Innate Realm?</i>


    With this question in mind, he established a connection with the ck turtle.


    To his surprise, the ck turtle had not only awakened from its slumber but had also grown several timesrger!


    The ck turtle was now a hundred zhang long, surpassing even the Giant Abyssal Serpent in size!


    <i>That ce...</i> Pang Jian was startled when he noticed the nameless fragmentednd the ck turtle was residing in had drifted to a familiar area.


    The nameless fragmentednd was now between the Three Immortal Inds and the Primordial Wilderness. The ck turtle had controlled it to cross the Three Immortal Inds and was now heading straight for the Primordial Wilderness.


    <i>This guy...</i>


    In his daze, Pang Jian also noticed that the nameless fragmentednd had expanded. The newly added area was teeming with life, with its valleys, forests, and streams.


    There was only one exnation for the nameless fragmentednd''s growth—it had merged with other fragmentednds!


    The nameless fragmentednd could actually absorb other fragmentednds and make them part of its own!


    <i>Those valleys and forests seem familiar...</i>


    Pang Jian was once again taken aback. His acute intuition told him the newly added area in the nameless fragmentednd was from Cloud Ind of the Three Immortal Inds. It resembled the Cloud Wilderness from the era of the one-eyed giants!


    The ck turtle had somehow absorbed the core area of the Cloud Wilderness and Cloud Ind and integrated into the nameless fragmentednd. The spiritual qi in the nameless fragmentednd had also be much denser and was now several times richer than when Pang Jian had first stepped foot there.


    <i>This ck turtle is continuously growing by absorbing more fragmentednds and mineral veins. At this rate, won''t that nameless fragmentednd eventually berger than the Primordial Wilderness? Is it possible for that nameless fragmentednd to rival a continent once the ck turtle bes strong enough?</i>


    Pang Jian''s mind wandered and countless ideas shed through his head. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.


    He dared to stay behind alone in the Primordial Wilderness because of the bronze pendant. With it, he could go to Divine Fortune in the Fourth World or the ck turtle''s nameless fragmentednd.


    As long as he was not instantly killed, he could disappear in the blink of an eye. The ck turtle''s quiet approach toward the nameless fragmentednd only increased his confidence.


    Another three days passed with Pang Jian cultivating diligently at thekebed when he was awakened by something outside theke.


    <i>Who is it now?</i> He frowned.


    Pang Jian''s divine sense had not yet manifested, so he could not use it to identify the neer. All he could sense from the aura fluctuations of the approaching individuals was that they were also humans from the Primordial Wilderness.


    While he wondered about the neers'' identities, several cultivators from the Star River Alliance nervously entered theke. One of the disciples, upon entering the clear water, was startled at the sight of Pang Jian sitting up and hurried back to the surface.


    <i>Ssh!</i>


    Rushing out of theke, he shouted to Liang Ying, "Elder Liang, there''s someone at thekebed!"


    "Human? A human like us?" Liang Ying anxiously sought confirmation.


    "Yes! A human like us, not a foreign race!" The disciple confirmed.


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    Pang Jian reluctantly flew out of theke andnded on the shore. He frowned at the dozen or so Star River Alliance disciples and asked, "What are you guys doing here?"


    "Pang Jian!" Xie Xiwen and Liang Ying simultaneously eximed.


    "What are you doing here?" Liang Ying asked Pang Jian coldly after getting over her initial shock. "Foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts emerged from theke. You shouldn''t be here!"


    Meanwhile, the young, beautiful Xie Xiwen stared at Pang Jian with curious eyes.


    "I heard your sister managed to escape," Xie Xiwen said.


    Pang Jian was stunned at herment. He then recalled how this attractive Star River Alliance disciple had spoken up for Luo Hongyan at the trading hall, only to be rebuked by Liang Ying.


    "Why are you hiding here?" Liang Ying repeated coldly.


    "This is the safest ce." Pang Jian gave her the same excuse he had told Huang Qi. "I was cultivating in a nearby cave when the foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts emerged, so I hid there and didn''te out. Since they didn''t return to theke and no other cultivators dared approach, I decided to stay at thekebed as it seemed like the safest ce."


    "How long have you been here?" Liang Ying asked skeptically.


    "A few days," Pang Jian casually answered. Taking in Liang Ying''s bloodstained clothes and Xie Xiwen''s and the other disciples'' disheveled appearances, he could not help but ask, "What happened to you?"


    Liang Ying did not answer immediately. ring Xie Xiwen and the others into silence, she then took a moment to study Pang Jian, monitoring his heartbeat and breathing to ensure he was not lying.


    Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, she let out a long sigh. "We left the First Peak early on, nning to head to the Sixth Peak to see if we could reim our Gilded Chariot. On our way, we encountered a group of Ghost Race warriors, were ambushed by the Wood Race, and finally battled a one-eyed giant. We were just about to reach the Sixth Peak when we saw our Gilded Chariot take off."


    "Elder Qin died, and all the disciples on the Gilded Chariot perished in battle against the foreign race warriors," a petite female disciple in the Qi Refining Realm softly added.


    Liang Ying shook her head and sighed. "The ones who suffered the most were us and the Sinister Soul Temple as we were the closest to Emerald Lake."


    The members of the Star River Alliance started talking all at once and Pang Jian learned that the invading forces had left the Sixth and Seventh Peaks after sessfully taking control of the Gilded Chariot and the Divine Spirit Pagoda.


    This area now had neither foreign race warriors nor rogue cultivators.


    After escaping from the one-eyed giant, Liang Ying and her group had ended up here partly because the foreign race warriors had not returned and partly to investigate what was happening at Emerald Lake.


    In the end, they only found Pang Jian.


    "Like you guys, I''m hiding from the foreign race warriors. The difference is, I was already nearby, so I got here earlier," Pang Jian said.


    Liang Ying was no longer suspicious of Pang Jian and asked if he had noticed anything or anyone suspicious near Emerald Lake.


    Pang Jian pretended to think for a moment before mentioning that a rogue cultivator named Huang Qi had been there.


    "Huang Qi?" Liang Ying knitted her brows in thought.


    <i>I vaguely remember him. He has the appearance of a weasel and is not a good person. His cultivation level isn''t high, but he had a lot of spirit stones. Lady Hua and Old Monster Cao also found him suspicious, saying his background could be problematic. Could Huang Qi be connected to this invasion? </i>she wondered.


    With these thoughts in mind, she then asked Pang Jian, "Where did he go?"


    "The First Peak."


    After answering her questions, Pang Jian decided not to stay with the Star River Alliance. He cupped his hand and bade his farewell, "You all can keep watch over Emerald Lake. I''ll find another ce to hide."


    The fact that the foreign race warriors had taken control of the Gilded Chariot and killed a Star River Alliance elder made him feel slightly...guilty.


    “Pang Jian, the entire Primordial Wilderness is in chaos, with foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts still attacking human cultivators,” Xie Xiwen said in concern. “It’s too dangerous for you to be alone. Why don’t you stay with us?”


    "No need," Pang Jian firmly rejected.


    Without another word, he turned and made his way toward the edge of Emerald Lake.


    "Xie Xiwen, you stay here for now. I still have some questions for him," Liang Ying instructed as she turned to follow after his disappearing figure.


    "Elder, what about us?" a timid disciple asked.


    "I won''t be long. I just have a few more questions," Liang Ying reassured with a smile before hurrying after Pang Jian.