Shi Lang arrived in the upper realm and stood inside a hall. The hall was made of white marble. It was pristine and flawless. Not even a speck of dust could be found. The most significant change was the purity of spiritual energy.
The energy rushed through his pores and entered his body. It was completely new, and the young man felt he had never known what spiritual energy was like. He tried to access his space ring but sensed a weird restriction. At this moment, a calm voice sounded, “You will need to be at least in the realm of a Spirit Immortal to access your space ring.”
Shi Lang was confused and looked around. Suddenly, he spotted a figure waving at him from behind a door. Shi Lang was surprised but quickly walked through the door and said, “Senior, can you please tell me where this is?”
He was addressing a middle-aged man. The person smiled and said, “Well, that is why I am here. This place is made for all the humans who ascend to the lower realms. This is the ascension hall. This place is where we tell you all the rules of the immortal realm. The basics that is.”
Shi Lang nodded, and the man pointed his finger at the former’s forehead. A golden light shot directly inscribing the things Shi Lang needed to know. The terran sighed and said, “I did not expect it to be so complicated.”
The man before him chuckled and suddenly asked, “Say, kid. Did you deal with a demon before you came here?”
Shi Lang nodded surprisedly, and the man said, “No wonder I sense them lurking around the place.”
The terran frowned and said, “This will be troublesome. I am just an ascended mortal. If I meet someone one realm ahead of me, I will be splat on the floor like a mix of bone and flesh.”
The man nodded and said, “It is good to be self-aware. However, do not think that you are alone. The humans in the upper realm might be going at each other’s throats. However, except for a few scums, most of us still understand the value of kin. I can get you out of here, but the place might make you suffer a lot of hardship.”
Shi Lang sighed and said, “When has the way to the peak been easy?”
The man nodded and said, “I shall send you to the far east of the Longtian continent. That place may be filled with righteous people, but it is a barren land. The spirit energy there is the shallowest.”
Shi Lang asked, “Why not send me to where I was supposed to go?”
The man shook his head and said, “Every ascended person gets to be sent to the central plains. That place is a covert battlefield where demons and humans fight in shadows. Any west of that is the western barrens. Only the places in the far east have the natural restriction to keep the demons away.”
Shi Lang found it odd, but the man said, “Kid, you ought to decide quickly. Every cultivator can stay here for a limited period.” 𝐎𝐕𝑙xt.𝗇𝓔t
The terran sighed and said, “Then I shall follow your advice. After all, I have no other option, but can you take a heavenly oath that you will not sell me to the demons? If it is humans, I can deal with them.”
The man rolled his eyes and recited an oath. Shi Lang confirmed no loophole and agreed to go to the eastern wasteland to escape the demons. The man took Shi Lang to a teleportation array formation. The array worked up hard, and Shi Lang vanished from the spot.
The middle-aged man sighed and said, “Emperor Tian Long, that is all I can do for him.”
…
Shi Lang appeared over a patch of green, and he was falling from the sky. The young man tried to mobilize his spiritual energy but could not. Looking at the ground closing in fast, he said, “Shit.”
Boom!!
A loud explosion sound rocked the surroundings. The place where Shi Lang fell had a human-shaped crater, and the terran was lying on the ground, his face pale and his eyes dazed. The man had no energy to move. Sensing the collision, he thought, ‘Jenkin’s kick was a tickle compared to this.’
Soon, he sensed footsteps rushing in his direction, and Shi Lang closed his eyes. However, he seemed to have misunderstood. The footsteps did not come close but stopped a distance away.
Then he heard a voice, “Ling, you better not chase me now. I have already called for my sister, and you know what she can do to you and your cronies very well.”
The voice belonged to a girl. On the other side, she seemed to be followed by a group of enemies. Just as Shi Lang was speculating, the other side replied contrary to expectation, “What the heck. You, Shi Ting, how dare you call for that demoness over. Fuck you. I will get you the next time.”
That said, the young man rushed away with his cronies. Shi Lang did not let out a breath. The girl was still present in the place. Shi Lang was weakened, but his skills were still there. The girl mumbled, “Thank god they fear her, or I would have lost a lot of money.”
As her voice dropped, a rich voice sounded, “Have you had enough fun, Third Young Miss?”
The girl replied flusteredly, “Big sister, forgive me. I did not do anything intentionally.”
Then a smack sounded in the void, and Shi Lang grunted. The girl had fallen over him. The two sets of eyes matched. While Shi Lang was thinking about what to say, the girl jumped up and yelled, “Pervert!!!”
Shi Lang closed his eyes and sensed a piercing gaze on his face. He opened his eyes and matched the gaze of another young lady. She held a sword, and the blade tip was pointed towards him. Shi Lang sighed as the girl asked, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Shi Lang tried to get up, but the Lady shoved the tip of the blade at him. His temper flared up, and a rage flashed through his eyes. The Lady was forced to take a step back. Shi Lang sighed and said, “I am Shi Lang. I ascended a few minutes ago.”
The Lady furrowed her brows and said, “You better not try to fool me. Say, who are you? The people from the lower realm go to the central plains and not this wasteland.”
Shi Lang sighed. It was a good thing that she did not trust people easily. However, this also showed the ferocity of this world. He said, “I swear in the name of heavens that my name is Shi Lang and that I have just ascended from the lower realm. Due to some situation, I was forced to come here till I was strong enough to go out and fend for myself. If I am lying, may the heaven smite me and destroy my dao heart.”
His oath shocked the Lady but affirmed that he was not lying. She slowly removed her sword and asked, “Why are you lying here?”
Shi Ting peeked from behind her sister and said, “What else can he do? He must be trying to do something bad to me.”
Shi Lang rolled his eyes and said, “Lady, I am a married person with a child and a grandchild in the lower realm. Please respect yourself.”
Shi Ting stepped back and pointed her finger at Shi Lang as she said, “Old pervert.”
Shi Lang almost wanted to cough up blood. The cold goddess said, “I apologize for my rash behavior. I am Shi Yua.”
The terran nodded and stood up from the ground. Shi Lang stretched his arms and legs as he said, “It’s okay. Now can I ask you a few questions?”
Shi Yua nodded, and Shi Lang asked, “Can you tell me where I can find some work to earn a living and if there are a few things I need to be cautious about in this region?”
Shi Yau said, “That is easy…”
However, before her words could finish, she turned and said, “Ling Tian, come out, do not hide.”
A young man in a brocade robe emerged from the trees in some distance and nodded to Shi Yua. He cast a gaze on Shi Ting and nodded. As for Shi Lang, he was ignored. The young man said, “Lady Shi, can you please tell your younger sister to return Ling Shan’s artifact? I will compensate her with an appropriate amount of Spirit stones.”
Shi Yua cast a gaze at Shi Ting. The young lady let out a sheepish smile and said, “Young Master Ling, I do not want your spirit stones. You can take the artifact, but please tell Ling Shan not to bother me in the academy. I am not interested in courtship. Please.”
Ling Tian nodded and the transaction was finished. He did not forget to cast a gaze at Shi Lang before he left. Shi Yua said, “Would you like to come to our house? Since you are new, and have the same last name, let us play host.”
Shi Lang sighed and said, “The first day and because of a sophisticated scumbag I have to hide.”