In the vast land of the Mortal Realm, the Human Race occupied the largest expanse of territory. Based on certain geographical features, they divided this rich land into Nine Provinces and Ten Territories. Each province spans tens of millions of miles; even the smallest area covers several million miles, an endless expanse.
After flying along the river for a whole day, Bai Qiuran and Huangfu Feng finally arrived at the location of the stele he mentioned. From a distance, the Soul Severing River stood tall, with a gigantic stone tablet rising hundreds of meters into the sky. The surface was inscribed with ancient, mysterious characters from the last era, and a faint blue light emanated from below the stone tablet.
"Master of the Sword, that stone tablet I saw the first time was only a few meters tall, and there was no light beneath it," Bai Qiuran said. He casually thrust out his palm, unleashing unmatched True Qi that transformed into a palm print as large as the sky. It met the surge of beasts charging from the wild, obliterating them like smoke in an instant. The force continued onward, creating a hundred-mile-wide shockwave on the ancient, mysterious land.
To the west and east of the Nine Provinces and Ten Territories, there were vast lands comparable in size, but they brought dangers aplenty. Each year, crazed giant beasts would burst forth from these wild territories, wreaking havoc on the western lands. Huangfu Feng halted in the air, staring in surprise at the stele.
"The east is the Demon Realm, a space separate from the Nine Provinces and Ten Territories. It was cut off from the original lands by the first Demon Emperor using great powers many years ago," Huangfu Feng explained solemnly. "Though far from the Nine Provinces, it cuts off the path eastward, forcing cultivators who want to explore the far eastern seas to take a long route from the north or south."
Huangfu Feng's face turned grave as he continued, "It is growing!"
Bai Qiuran looked at him as if he were mad, answering nonchalantly, "Fight? Forget that, let's hurry to the Soul Severing River!" Even without the demon clan, this place bordering the Nine Provinces and Ten Territories was fraught with dangers.
Here in the vast land of the Mortal Realm, the Human Race dominated a fertile land that they categorized into Nine Provinces and Ten Territories. However, entering the wilderness dimmed the sky, as if it were covered by a layer of thin black gauze. Sunlight still shone through, but at noon, the light felt gloomy, similar to twilight. It was as if they had entered a time between worlds where humans and aberrations met.
This was Bai Qiuran's second arrival at the Soul Severing River. Both he and Huangfu Feng flew just above the river's surface, but without any place to land, Bai Qiuran had to follow Huangfu Feng, standing atop the spine of the Broken God Blade. Under Huangfu Feng's control, the blade moved like a white fish, cutting through the air and racing downstream along the Soul Severing River.
"Huh?" Bai Qiuran called out.
"Sword Master!" Huangfu Feng exclaimed as he looked down. The river's waters flickered with countless aquatic beasts, swallowing each other whole. Occasionally, enormous creatures leaped from the water, attempting to attack Bai Qiuran and Huangfu Feng, but controlling the blade still made Bai Qiuran envious.
Bai Qiuran looked down. The river was tumultuous, filled with countless water beasts that feasted on one another and often jumped out of the water to attack the two in the sky.
However, Bai Qiuran didn’t venture too deep; he merely traced the riverbank of the Soul Severing River for five hundred miles. From his observations, the air on the other side was more corrosive and the surge of beasts even fiercer. Since the demons retreated at the end of the last era, cultivators had never ceased exploring the wilderness. Yet, mysteriously, the demon clan seemed to appear and disappear without a trace, eluding even the keenest of cultivators.
"What's wrong?" Bai Qiuran asked.
"Huh?" Huangfu Feng questioned, noticing the energy-filled atmosphere—poisonous and malevolent to humans. Those with lesser cultivation would slowly be corroded and turned to bones within.
Bai Qiuran and Huangfu Feng steeled themselves. As they advanced, terrifying roars echoed in the distance. Huangfu Feng couldn’t help but shout joyfully, "Let us have a good fight today!"
But even if there were no demons, this land was filled with dangers every year. The giant beasts surged from the wilderness, causing severe destruction in the western territories. Bai Qiuran unleashed unmatched force again, transforming it into a massive palm print that shattered the oncoming beasts as if they were mere bubbles.
"Sword Master!" Huangfu Feng's eyes lit up. Yet across the Soul Severing River, only Bai Qiuran had ever entered; in three thousand years, no one else, not even those of the Great Ascension stage, had returned.
Bai Qiuran glanced sternly at Huangfu Feng, saying coolly, "I’m suppressing my cultivation; I’m using less than ten percent of my strength."
Despite the warning, Huangfu Feng's excitement seemed unaffected. He leaped forward brandishing his long blade, energy soaring a hundred miles, splitting the incoming tide of beasts like a knife through butter.
The two fought bravely against the tide of beasts, forging a bloody path toward the Soul Severing River. They would face whatever lay ahead, for the thrill of battle and the treasures that awaited were worth the peril.
As Bai Qiuran unleashed his sword qi, they confronted the monstrous surge fearlessly, all for the sake of their destination.