"In the process of martial cultivation, one has to be even more down to earth as one proceeds to higher tiers. By making sure each step is made the right way, anyone can eventually reach the final path to the heavens!"
After finishing the two books, his mental realm had increased substantially. Undoubtedly, these books were greatly beneficial to him.
In fact, they could each be considered as a type of precious treasure.
It was no wonder they were given as an entry gifts.
For people like Wu Yu, who had come from a land with poor resources, knowledge, experiences, and history were of utmost importance.
Wu Yu had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. The remaining Orientation Log and The Lore of the Divine Continent were very thick, and Wu Yu chose to start with the Orientation Log.
The Orientation Log had a detailed introduction about the various places and settings of the entire Shushan Immortal Sect. It was just like a directional guide for the disciples. After reading the Orientation Log, Wu Yu finally realized how complicated the Shushan Immortal Sect was. For him, just the list of restricted areas alone was enough to overwhelm him.
After which, there were introductions about various methods and places to obtain dao techniques, immortal essences, talismans, and other objects.
There was also a list of various training grounds for sword cultivators of various ranks.
Lastly, there were several very important ranking boards. Each ranking board was a symbolism of honor. Currently, Wu Yu was just an unknown nobody. As for the people on these rankings, they were all well-known people.
Wu Yu took approximately 10 days before he finished digesting the knowledge in the Orientation Log. Together with The Rules of Shushan Sect, he finally had the most complete understanding of this superb training ground for sword cultivators that had been passed down since ancient times.
Everything Zhang Futu had previously told him was recorded in the Orientation Log.
Other than the boundless Common Sword Domain, there was close to a million ordinary dan disciples that were similar to him. Above them were the disciples of the four major sword ranks of the Clear Sky of Shushan. Going further up were superpowered existences that could remain in the Shushan immortal domain. They were commonly referred to as "Sword Sages" and no longer as disciples.
Every Shushan Sword Sage was a highly influential character in the entire Dong Sheng Divine Continent.
Wu Yu had a rough understanding. Shushan Sword Sages should be similar to the elders in the Heavenly Sword Sect. However, the elders of the Heavenly Sword Sect were a far cry from even the lowest rank ordinary dan disciple, let alone be compared with the Shushan Sword Sages that ruled over a region on the continent.
"I wonder, how many Shushan Sword Sages are at the peak of the Clear Sky of Shushan?"
Wu Yu couldn't help but sigh emotionally. Everytime he pushed open his door and saw the Clear Sky of Shushan, he would have a burning desire to be there. However, he would also feel a little inferior.
The door of his wooden hut was facing the Clear Sky of Shushan.
However, what attracted him the most was another group of people.
They were commonly referred to as the Seven Immortals of Shushan.
Wu Yu vaguely remembered Zhang Futu mentioning these four words.
According to the records in the Orientation Log, the Seven Immortals of Shushan were the ultimate rulers of the entire Shushan Immortal Sect.
What he didn't know was whether anyone among the group had the opportunity to truly ascend to become a real immortal....
These were the four words that Wu Yu was most inclined to. He didn't know if there would be a day when the Seven Immortals of Shushan would get to know about him.
Within the Orientation Log, there were large amounts of introductions. Among which was a rule called "merit." This was crucial to each and every Shushan disciple.
Wu Yu dove deeper to understand it and realized it was as followed.
Each and every Shushan disciple would have a "merit scale." For example, it was zero for Wu Yu currently.
With each merit, one could exchange it for a "Sword Core" with the immortal sect. The number of Sword Cores would also be equivalent to one's merits.
The Sword Core seemed to be a token-like object and couldn't be replicated by external parties or ordinary people.
On most days, the disciples could obtain merits through various methods. They could then exchange them for Sword Cores. There were many ways to get merits, but the common ways included the following:
First - Hunting demons and ghostly cultivators. Oe could trade the corpses of demons and ghostly cultivators for merits and claim Sword Cores.
Second - Getting through various challenges set by the sect. If one succeeded in the challenge, he would be able to obtain merits too.
Third - Accept missions issued by the sect. If one succeeded, he would obtain merits too. Clearly, Zhang Futu had accepted this mission to assist the Heavenly Sword Sect. Now that he had returned, he should be getting some merits.
What could merits be used for?
Within the Shushan Immortal Sect, merits could be used to exchange for anything, such as dao techniques, immortal essences, talismans, and many others. One could also trade them for immortal medicines like Golden Essence Pills.
If one accomplished a major achievement for the sect, he would not need to ask for gifts. With the merits he would obtain directly, he could exchange them for items.
"These merits are similar to a form of currency, with Sword Cores as the unit basis. However, merits would only be useful within the immortal sect. When one is not within the sect, Golden Essence Pills would be more useful," mused Wu Yu.
Nonetheless, the areas outside the immortal sect wouldn't have the vast resources like the immortal sect.
Luckily, one merit could be exchanged for one Golden Essence Pill. Therefore, obtaining one merit within the immortal sect would be equivalent to getting a Golden Essence Pill.
Wu Yu had to admit that the merit system was clear, fair, and stable. It was also a much better system than the one in Heavenly Sword Sect where one would get a Spirit Concentration Pill each month.
This was the kind of straightforward and clear system a superpower should possess.
"Once I reach the Jindan Dao Realm, I can start earning merits."
For Wu Yu, the most important thing right now was to reach the Jindan Dao Realm. That was a very crucial rank for him.
After finishing the Orientation Log, Wu Yu spent an additional 15 days before finishing The Lore of the Divine Continent.
Indeed, he had spent a month's time on them.
Although he hadn't been cultivating over the last month, he couldn't deny that the knowledge he had gained during this time was much greater than cultivating. It was especially so for The Lore of the Divine Continent, which he read the last. Reading the book was almost equivalent to pulling Wu Yu out of the well he had been in. It had broadened his view of the vast world!
It covered information regarding the entire Dong Sheng Divine Continent!
History, literature, events, and almost all kinds of information were recorded within The Lore of the Divine Continent.
For example, Wu Yu had learned that the Clear Sky of Shushan of the Shushan Immortal Sect was located at the extreme west. It was also the number one superpower in the west.
As for the east, there existed a Shangyuan Immortal Mountain, where the Shangyuan Dao Sect was. The Shangyuan Dao Sect was unlike Shushan, where there were only sword cultivators. Instead, they encompassed all schools. As a result, they were regarded as the core area of orthodox cultivation of the entire Dong Sheng Divine Continent.
The word "dao" in their sect's name was enough to explain everything.
Based on the introduction, Wu Yu felt that the Shangyuan Dao Sect should be stronger than the Shushan Immortal Sect. In fact, it should be a lot stronger as the Shushan Immortal Sect was situated rather far away. The relationship between the two sects wouldn't be similar to Heavenly Sword Sect dominating over the Zhongyuan Dao Sect.
However, what really caught Wu Yu's interest was that to the east of the Shangyuan Immortal Mountain lay the Endless Sea Region. There were countless islands in this region, and at the extreme east, they were commonly referred to as the Place of Dawn. There were over 10,000 islands there, and the largest four of them were known as the Four Islands of the East Sun.
The land area of these four islands together equalled approximately one-tenth of the Dong Sheng Divine Continent and was the Place of Dawn. However, this area was occupied by ghostly cultivators. Although this place had the brightest sunrise, it was, in fact, the closest to hell in the mortal world. This was also an area the cultivators of the Dong Sheng Divine Continent couldn't control. Therefore, catastrophe happened frequently, and the citizens there were tougher than those from other areas. On the Four Islands of the East Sun, there were various ghostly cultivator sects. Among them, the strongest was Emperor Yan's Hall.
Emperor Yan's Hall was the leader of the ghostly cultivators. There weren't a lot of records on them and details were lacking. However, looking through the history, there were records of them fighting with the rest of Dong Sheng Divine Continent. Obviously, with several orthodox superpowers joining hands, Emperor Yan's Hall was basically always at the losing end.
The Shushan Immortal Sect, the Shangyuan Dao Sect, and Emperor Yan's Hall were just among the top tier cultivation sects on the Dong Sheng Divine Continent.
Wu Yu also noticed three other unique existences that could be considered as superpowers.
At the North-East of the Dong Sheng Divine Continent, there was a region known as the Crimson Flames Furnace. As its name suggested, this area was filled with endless mountain ranges. Below the mountains, lava flowed and volcanoes were common. The scorching flame spiritual qi in the atmosphere strengthened the Tianyi Race. The Tianyi Race was a clan. They did not establish sects and existed in the form of a tribe. However, this clan was arrogant and overbearing. Despite claiming to have the most authentic bloodline of the gods and of an orthodox lineage, they were unwilling to interact with the other orthodox superpowers in the Dong Sheng Divine Continent. Even so, the Tianyi Race's capabilities weren't inferior to the Shushan Immortal Sect. Just a clan alone would rival a superpower.
The second existence was naturally the demons. They were located to the north of the Shushan Immortal Sect and the north-west of the Dong Sheng Divine Continent. Over a large region, poisonous miasma covered the skies like tumultuous clouds. Over the last tens of thousands of years, not a single ray of sunlight had shone on this region, and darkness enshrouded the area. However, this was heaven to strong and powerful demons. Within which, there were various restricted areas where orthodox sects wouldn't enter. This area, which was enshrouded in darkness, was commonly known as the Gloomy Dreams Seas. This was a name that the demons had come up with. It referred to the endless poisonous miasma in the skies that formed the seas. Besides that, there were areas where one would see illusions just like one would in a dream. Mortals and martial cultivators would commonly refer to it as the Endless Demon Seas. Naturally, not all the demons were fond of darkness. There were also large amounts of demons who were gathered in other areas, or even amongst the mortals.
This was the main base of the demons. The orthodox powers on the Dong Sheng Divine Continent weren't able to kill off the demons because of this Gloomy Dreams Seas. As long as the Gloomy Dreams Seas existed, demons would not disappear.
The last one wasn't a clan or demons. It was also not martial cultivators or even ghostly cultivators. This was also the most intriguing place for Wu Yu as it was a city in the central region of Dong Sheng Divine Continent.
This city also possessed the densest spiritual qi region of the entire Dong Sheng Divine Continent. Because of its unique attributes, it was referred to as Ancient Spiritual Qi. The name of this city was: Yan Huang Imperial City.
Yan Huang Imperial City was a mysterious and strange superpower to the entire Dong Sheng Divine Continent. It was stationed within the Yan Huang Imperial Region and was situated on a piece of bountiful land. Not only did they not stop others from approaching, but one could even cultivate in it or even receive protection by the Yan Huang Imperial City if one paid a certain amount of valuables and treasures. Yan Huang Imperial City could be divided into the inner and outer city. The outer city was known for its trading and gathering grounds. It was the busiest place on Dong Sheng Divine Continent. The inner city was small, but those unaffiliated with the city were forbidden from entering. Under normal circumstances, Yan Huang Imperial City wouldn't dabble into the conflicts of the Dong Sheng Divine Continent. In fact, they rarely left the city.
However, the entire Dong Sheng Divine Continent wouldn't deny the fact that they were strong and weren't weaker than any superpowers. This was because throughout history, many immortal sects had tried to occupy the location where Yan Huang Imperial City was. However, they had all ended in failure. In fact, even demons had launched massive attacks on Yan Huang Imperial City, but they ended up in failure.
"How could one city go against a superpower sect that had millions of years of history?"
Wu Yu couldn't come out with an answer.
Other than these six superpowers, there were also many other factions. Among which, the strongest of them all did not even have strength equivalent to one of the Seven Immortals of Shushan. However, being in Shushan, Wu Yu wasn't interested in them. After roughly going through them, the one that left the strongest impression would be Yan Huang Imperial City.