Chapter 679: Vast Expanse
"He didn’t concoct pills?" Hui Yue frowned, but Little Green just nodded her head. "It is him," she said decisively. "He changed to a green robe when he departed my herb field, and even back then he would hesitate to concoct pills because of his injuries."
"I had hoped that he would be healed when he reached the location he was seeking, but it seems that I was wrong."
Little Green was sad as she shook her head, "How long has it been since you met him?" she asked as she turned to look at the ghost once more who hesitated for a short while and seemed as if he was really thinking about it.
"I think it was between five hundred and a thousand years ago," he said doubtfully. It was clear that it was impossible for him to come up with an exact number. Time flowed fast, especially when one was stuck inside the Archaic World. Nobody counted the days or years that had gone by, and all one could do was make a rough estimate of what they assumed the time frame to be.
Hui Yue was happy to hear that it was not too long ago and he pressed for more details.
"Could you tell us where this world was located when you were on it? Was it in the middle area? The innermost regions? Where was it?"
"At that time, It was on the border to the innermost region," the ghost answered truthfully. "It would be impossible for any human to ever make it into the innermost regions of the Archaic World. There is simply far too much Ancestral Worldpower and your bodies are incapable of refining it at a speed fast enough. If you were to enter you would be able to stay there for a day or two, but if you forcefully stay within for longer, your body will simply explode from the excess Ancestral Worldpower."
"This world was just on the border, and although it was filled with Ancestral Worldpower, it was at a point where the old man's body could keep up with refining it."
"I don't know if the world has moved since. If I remember correctly, there have been quite a few tidal waves in the last thousand years, and although this world was very firm and steady, it might have been swept up by one of the large Ancestral Worldpower waves and been moved further into the middle area. As for returning to the innermost region, that is impossible. When a world leaves the innermost region, it will never return."
"Thank you for telling us," Hui Yue bowed to the ghost with gratitude, but the ghost just waved his hands. "This is a business transaction. You have information I want, and I have information that you want; sharing like this is only fair."
Still, Hui Yue felt elated. A thousand years ago the world that he was looking for existed. It was stable, and it showed no signs of collapsing. Even if it had become unstable in the time that had passed, it would still not be on the verge of collapse after only a thousand years. Thus he knew that the world he was looking for was out there, safe and sound.
Even better was that the Alchemist God was truly there. Although Little Green confirmed that the Alchemist God was within the Archaic World, it was hard to determine which world he was in, and if he ever succeeded in finding the world he had been searching for all this time. Though now they had a source that informed them of all the things they needed to know.
"In this case, you have answered all the questions we had," Hui Yue smiled as he looked at the ghost. "Now it is your turn. What do you want to know about our world?"
The ghost was excited. His eyes were glistening when it was his time to ask, and he asked questions about the current factions in power, about the way one lived in a sect, about everyday life as a human, and about the Archaic World's middle and outer perimeter.
It was clear that he was trying to imagine the entire galaxy in his mind as he listened. He wanted to hear stories of every single world that they had visited not only in the Archaic World but also in the outside galaxy. Three days quickly went by as Hui Yue and the others talked about the outside world.
When the third day came to a close, it was hard to say who had benefitted the most from the exchange of information. Hui Yue had gotten some sorely needed information that could point him the right way, but when it came to the amount of information, the ghost had gotten the most information, and he had also benefitted greatly.
"Traveling alone in the middle area is dangerous," Hui Yue said as a parting sentence to the ghost. "Why don't you try and find some more spirits that wish to see the galaxy? Here is a shuttle, if you travel with others on this one you should be able to make it safely to the outside galaxy. Although you will encounter many experts and bandits along the way, they should not prove to be too troublesome for you to deal with."
The ghost nodded his head. It was clear that he was not the only ghost with a longing for the outside world, and even within this small world there were quite a few ghosts who had previously listened to his stories with great interest and felt the longing resonate within this ghost.
Even nymphs and other spirits felt their blood boil as they were eager to enter the outside world. Only the sylph could be relatively indifferent to it, as although they might be curious, they had loyalty towards the world that had birthed them. To the sylph, nothing was more important to them than the world that they were a part of.
"Well, it is time for us to get going," Hui Yue smiled and got ready to leave, and none of the spirits stopped him. The ghost was deep in thought over the suggestion that Hui Yue had given him, and the sylph was just smiling slightly.
Hui Yue felt that he had paid back what he owed them from the war. He had helped them get information which was something they needed badly, and it was clear that they were more than satisfied with what they had gotten.
As they left the world, Hui Yue and the others glanced down one last time at the world. They had not expected much when they came here, and they had not expected to stay for long either.
Although their stay had been short, and they had benefitted greatly. Not only had many of them gained breakthroughs in their cultivation, but they had also gained more information about their destination.
Even so, none of them felt like lingering here any longer; they were eager to head deeper into the middle area and find the world they were looking for; they were eager to find the Alchemist God.
Leaving the world, they once more entered the vast Archaic World, and traveled from one world to another. Just as before they decided to enter every single stable world that they could see, and those that were collapsing they would observe through the cracks in their protective layer.
The further into the middle area they went, the more spirits they saw thriving on the worlds. There were still many beasts, but more and more spirits were starting to appear on the worlds as the density of the Ancestral Worldpower increased greatly.
These spirits were all born from the immense amount of Ancestral Worldpower that the surrounding air contained. The density of the Ancestral Worldpower made it so that it felt like being submerged underwater, and although they had gotten used to it, they were slower now than before. Their movements were not as fast as they had been and they were constantly feeling as if there was something that was obstructing them.
Although some of the supreme experts traveled in the middle area to gain enlightenment and increase their strength, they never ventured too deep into the middle area as they knew that the deeper one went, the more dangerous it became.
Not only this, but it also became more and more dangerous to enter the worlds. The beasts were all used to the density of Ancestral Worldpower, but although they tried to adjust to the density, it was not possible to do so at a fast enough pace.
Fortunately, most of the spirits they came across were friendly towards human cultivators.
If they entered a world and were noticed by spirits, they would have to stay for some time to tell tales of their lives or adventures. If they were seen by beasts, they would either flee as fast as possible or gather together to fight for their lives after which they would flee the world.
It was after all not needed for Hui Yue’s group to stay in the worlds for long. All they needed was a simple glance at the world to know if it was the place they were looking for.
They experienced many different worlds as they traveled deeper into the Archaic World. Some were deserts while others were freezing mountainous regions. Some had spirits while others had beasts. Everywhere they went was somewhat different from the rest, but even so, nothing could make the group stay for long.
Every time they entered and every time they left a world they would bow to the world in gratitude for allowing them a safe journey. They had long since understood that these worlds were knowledgeable about them entering and leaving.
Days went by, one after another, and soon it had been months since they had left the ghost. Despite this, they were still all feeling filled with excitement and positive emotions about the possibilities of finding the Alchemist God.
The further into the Archaic World they traveled the more energy it required just to move around, and for some of the weaker Gods, this was the most challenging. Just refining the Ancestral Worldpower was something that required all the energy of the expert, making it hard to move and help with the battles, but even so, they continued forward.
They had been in the Archaic World for a full four years when they broke through another golden protection barrier around a world, and what they found was a vast expanse filled with the world’s various herbs.
There were herbs everywhere they looked, and every single kind of herb they had ever heard of seemed to be present. As they looked at this vast expanse, everyone was stunned. No one dared say anything; no one dared to move as if they feared that this world would suddenly vanish from their eyes. That it was but a Fata Morgana, a simple illusion in front of them, yet as they descended they found that the herbs were real.
A strong medicinal scent assaulted their nostrils, and no matter how far they flew all they saw were herbs everywhere.
Within these herbs fields were a few pathways, and as they followed these paths, they saw the ruins of an old sect. This was the only place within the entire world that was not already completely covered by medicinal herbs.
"I guess we found it," Hui Yue said, stumped for words, and the others nodded their heads in agreement. As they looked at the old sect, all of them were rather restless. Should they enter or should they wait for someone to come out? They did not know, but they were aware that this was the place where the Alchemist God would most likely be.