Swallowed Star 2: Origin Continent-Chapter 287 : Each One’s Cultivation

Chapter 287: Each One’s Cultivation

Luo Feng and Emperor Qing carried the spoils from their second hunt, piloting the Black Flying Boat as they began their return journey.

Along the way back, the two remained as cautious as ever.

“There’s a flying boat approaching. Be careful.”

Invisible and vast fluctuations covered the region. Within this area, three concealed figures were hidden, already having detected the flying boat through their Formation Array.

“Let them continue forward. Wait until they go deeper into the formation before we make our move.”

The three hidden figures waited patiently.

Suddenly—

“Hmm?”

Inside the Black Flying Boat, the Simulated Eye of Life and Death at Luo Feng’s forehead had been open the entire time. Ever since both the Origin Path of Life and the Origin Path of Destruction reached the Early-Stage God Emperor, the Simulated Eye of Life and Death had naturally advanced further, greatly strengthening its observational ability.

“Something feels wrong nearby.” Luo Feng immediately transmitted a message to Emperor Qing. “Retreat immediately at maximum speed.”

“Oh?” Emperor Qing had not sensed any danger, but he trusted his companion.

In truth, Luo Feng had only sensed something unusual. He had not discovered any enemies, and the surrounding void appeared completely normal. However, Luo Feng’s Simulated Eye of Life and Death detected that the operation of the surrounding laws of heaven and earth was slightly abnormal.

A type of shadow law had infiltrated the natural laws of heaven and earth. The deeper one went, the stronger the influence of those shadow laws became.

Whoosh!

The Black Flying Boat suddenly reversed, retreating along its original path at extreme speed.

“We’ve been exposed.”

“They actually discovered us?”

“Trap them!”

Dense shadow power descended. In an instant, a vast area spanning billions of kilometers turned into a dim gray color. Luo Feng’s flying boat was also within the range covered by the shadow power.

However, they were not far from the boundary.

Yet now the endless shadow power had become dense and viscous, completely restraining the flying boat.

“Heaven and Earth as One!”

“Opening Heaven and Splitting Earth!”

A towering figure appeared, naturally mobilizing the vast Power of Heaven and Earth. His right hand resembled a gigantic axe as it struck down furiously. Where the axe fell, it seemed as if the entire world was split into two, forcibly tearing open a massive rift between heaven and earth.

After Luo Feng’s Life and Destruction paths reached the Early-Stage God Emperor, he created this forbidden move based on the characteristics of the Heaven-and-Earth Form—

Opening Heaven and Splitting Earth!

Once the enormous rift appeared, even the shadow power was temporarily cleaved open.

Whoosh.

The Black Flying Boat immediately followed the rift, its speed surging as it shot out of the shadow-covered region. The towering figure also moved along the rift, escaping in an instant.

Only after leaving the vast shadow-covered region did Emperor Qing finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Brother Luo Feng, those should be experts from the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft,” Emperor Qing transmitted. “If we had been trapped inside their formation, it would have been extremely troublesome.”

“This formation is very powerful. Even the forbidden move of my Heaven-and-Earth Form could only split open a single gap.” Luo Feng also sensed how difficult they were to deal with.

“Hahaha…”

Laughter echoed.

Three distorted shadows descended nearby and condensed into three figures.

Each wore gray robes and masks, with invisible power spreading outward.

“So it really is the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft.” Luo Feng and Emperor Qing confirmed it completely.

Within Rainlan City, three forces constantly engaged in theft and plunder: the Insect Nest, the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft, and the Trick Workshop. All three belonged under Hall Master Wei Yang. The forces under Hall Master Wei Yang were the largest faction in Rainlan City.

Within the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft, those responsible for theft held relatively ordinary status.

Those responsible for plunder were the true mid-to-high-level members. These plunderers generally concealed their aura and hid their appearance. After all, robbery easily attracted enemies.

“Those responsible for plunder in the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft are usually Mid-Stage God Emperor Comprehenders. Those weaker wouldn’t dare to rob others,” Emperor Qing transmitted to Luo Feng.

“From the brief clash earlier, we can already estimate their strength.” Luo Feng understood clearly.

“Hahaha, Emperor Qing and Luo Feng?”

The three gray-robed figures looked at the pair. One of them laughed.

“No wonder the two of you dare to go hunting together. You do have some strength. You should understand the rules of plunder, right?”

“Of course.” Emperor Qing said, “We are willing to offer a sum of Primordial Crystals.”

“We won’t ask for much. Leave behind one corpse of a Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform, and we’ll let you go,” said the gray-robed figure.

Emperor Qing and Luo Feng exchanged glances.

“Alright.” Emperor Qing agreed.

He waved his hand, releasing a corpse of a Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform—the cheapest one among their spoils this time, worth about 800,000 Primordial Crystals.

“Very straightforward.”

After the leading gray-robed figure collected the corpse, the three figures distorted and disappeared like shadows.

“Let’s go.”

Emperor Qing and Luo Feng piloted the Black Flying Boat, avoiding the range of the shadow formation before continuing toward Rainlan City.

Inside the flying boat—

“When hunting outside, aside from Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms, other cultivators are also a threat,” Emperor Qing said, shaking his head. “Those ordinary robbers don’t matter to us—we could even kill them instead.”

“But if we encounter powerful ones, it becomes troublesome.”

“If we can escape, we escape. If giving some Primordial Crystals works, we give them.” Emperor Qing sighed. “But if the robbers don’t want Primordial Crystals and insist on killing for treasure… then we can only fight for our lives.”

Luo Feng nodded.

From the earlier exchange, those three were likely Mid-Stage God Emperor Comprehenders, possibly veterans who had accumulated strength for a long time and lacked no secret treasures. Even with Emperor Qing working together with him, Luo Feng wasn’t confident they could defeat the three.

Whoosh.

After flying for a while, the Black Flying Boat finally arrived at Rainlan City.

Emperor Qing smiled. “Our luck is actually quite good. During the first hunt, we encountered a Late-Stage God Emperor Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform but still managed to escape. On the second hunt, we ran into robbers on the way back, but offering one corpse helped us avoid disaster.”

“This is considered good luck?” Luo Feng asked.

“Very good luck.” Emperor Qing replied. “After you hunt more times, you’ll understand. Sometimes during a hunt, a terrifyingly powerful Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform suddenly appears and half the team dies. Or during the return journey, robbers ignore the rules and simply slaughter everyone for treasure…”

Luo Feng listened and nodded.

“For Early-Stage God Emperors like us, this is how things are in Rainlan City. We risk our lives fighting, yet may still be robbed,” Emperor Qing said with emotion. “Fortunately, I come from a Source World and possess a clone technique. Otherwise, life would be much harder.”

“Cultivating in Rainlan City isn’t easy.” Emperor Qing glanced at Luo Feng. “Of course, you’re different, Brother Luo Feng. You already have the strength of a Mid-Stage God Emperor Comprehender. As long as you buy a few suitable secret treasures and enrich your methods, you could join any force in Rainlan City.”

“Within Rainlan City there are many factions. But Mid-Stage God Emperor Comprehenders are already the backbone,” Emperor Qing said. “Anything higher belongs to the Elders’ Hall, and their numbers are quite small.”

Luo Feng smiled.

In Rainlan City, there were 723 cultivators with Late-Stage God Emperor Comprehender strength. Among them, 327 served as elders. Many of them had clones adventuring in the Dark Holy Realm, and their clones in Rainlan City rarely took action.

Whenever elders acted, it would become intelligence that drew the entire city’s attention.

Mid-Stage God Emperor Comprehenders were the true backbone supporting many factions.

“Do you plan to join any faction?” Emperor Qing asked.

“No need.” Luo Feng shook his head lightly.

Right now, what Luo Feng cared about most was pushing the Path of Life and Death to the Early-Stage God Emperor as soon as possible.

“That makes sense. You haven’t been in Rainlan City long, so focus on cultivation first,” Emperor Qing said. “But if the opportunity arises, becoming a high-ranking member in a major power has many benefits.”

Luo Feng simply smiled without replying.

During their conversation, the Black Flying Boat had already arrived at the towering Primordial Hall.

“Let’s sell the spoils first.” Emperor Qing and Luo Feng flew toward the hall together.

---

This time, the remaining eight Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform corpses, together with the war merits, were sold for 8.6 million Primordial Crystals in total. Luo Feng and Emperor Qing split the amount equally.

After dividing the Primordial Crystals, they went off separately to purchase supplies.

“This time I’ll mainly buy Mid-Stage God Emperor Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform materials.”

Luo Feng carefully visited one merchant after another in Rainlan City, asking about prices for any materials suitable for the Life and Destruction paths.

He spent an entire day comparing prices and bargaining.

In the end, he purchased around 1,000 portions of Mid-Stage God Emperor Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform materials, each costing about 3,300 Primordial Crystals. Across the entire Jiugang Holy Realm, he had likely gathered at least ninety percent of the materials suitable for him. The remaining ones were extremely rare.

Afterward, Luo Feng bought 900,000 Primordial Crystals worth of auxiliary cultivation pills and other items.

“What a coincidence—the official flying boat is arriving soon?”

Luo Feng was delighted. On the third day after finishing his purchases, one of his clones carried the storage treasure Illusory Realm Labyrinth, transporting all the purchased items back to the Origin Continent.

The storage treasure Illusory Realm Labyrinth had to be brought every time—Luo Feng feared theft.

With different cultivation systems, sometimes it was truly difficult to guard against such methods.

“On the Origin Continent, with the Eye of Life and Death, cultivation efficiency is more than ten times higher than in Rainlan City.”

Luo Feng had already planned that during the first few hunts, he would travel back and forth to the Origin Continent each time.

In the future, once he became wealthier, he might return only after several hunts.

---

“Emperor Qing and Luo Feng have returned from their second hunt?”

Since they lived in the same cave residence and did not conceal their actions, Emperor Ming and Emperor Fu naturally learned about it.

“It seems they did quite smoothly.”

Emperor Ming sat cross-legged in his cave dwelling, his expression complicated.

“I’ve been in Rainlan City for some time and hunted once… but the result was a complete disaster.”

There was a reason normal hunting teams in Rainlan City refused Early-Stage God Emperor bloodline cultivators like them.

During hunts, their positive contribution was minimal—and they could easily become burdens.

“This time there were 32 members, all Early-Stage God Emperor bloodline cultivators. We studied strategies for a long time and discussed cooperation methods. But the result?”

Emperor Ming felt extremely discouraged.

Their group of thirty-two had piloted a flying boat outward. Their luck seemed good—they encountered a Early-Stage God Emperor Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform.

If they had met something stronger, the team might have been completely wiped out.

Even against the weakest type, the thirty-two members executed their prepared coordination tactics, surrounding and attacking together.

However—

Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms had extremely powerful bodies and terrifying vitality.

Their cooperation was exquisite. They successfully executed seven sets of coordinated attacks, launching consecutive assaults that gave the creature no chance to counterattack.

But after enduring all seven waves, the Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform was only severely injured—not dead.

When it launched a desperate counterattack near death, it killed seven members, severely injured more than ten, and forced the rest to flee in panic.

“Thirty-two members couldn’t kill a single Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform. No wonder hunting teams refuse us,” Emperor Ming sighed. “I should rely on Rainlan City’s resources and cultivate properly to improve my strength.”

On the surface, he appeared poor.

But because he possessed Infinite Space reward, Emperor Ming was actually quite wealthy. He simply had to be extremely cautious when using his wealth.

After all… he was too weak.

He had not even cultivated a clone technique yet.

---

“The inheritance of the True Witch lineage within the Nine-Ring World Tower is truly extraordinary. The teachings regarding the Void branch have given me great insight. I feel closer and closer to comprehending the complete Origin Path of Space.”

Emperor Fu was very satisfied working inside the Nine-Ring World Tower. Although he was doing miscellaneous tasks and basic work, the gains were immense.

After all, even though the cultivation systems differed, their essence was still the Dao.

“If I comprehend the complete Origin Path of Space, I’ll have the qualifications to live until the next era on the Origin Continent.”

Emperor Fu smiled brightly, full of confidence for the future.

If he had remained on the Origin Continent, stuck at his bottleneck, he might not have broken through even by the time the great destruction of the Origin Continent arrived.

But in Rainlan City, he had access to many cultivation systems and resources, greatly reducing the difficulty of breakthroughs.

“Coming here was the right choice.”

Emperor Fu felt fortunate.

With Luo Feng and Emperor Qing looking after him, he didn’t need to worry about residence in the city and lived rather comfortably.

---

“Brother Luo Feng already has the strength of a Mid-Stage God Emperor Comprehender. He’s even surpassed me.”

Emperor Qing sat cross-legged in a quiet chamber, looking at the jade bowl in front of him.

Inside it was an amber-colored liquid.

“I’ve been stuck at this final bottleneck for too long.”

“Eighty million Primordial Crystals. I sold many treasures to obtain this single portion of Void Heart Marrow Liquid—all for this one attempt.”

Originally Emperor Qing had not been in such a hurry. But the imbalance in their team’s strength made him decide to gamble now.

The wealth he had accumulated over countless years had all been exchanged for this treasure.

“Come.”

Emperor Qing opened his mouth.

The amber liquid within the jade bowl floated up and all flew into Emperor Qing’s mouth.