Chapter 1342 - 396: We Loose Cultivators Have No Status! (6k)
Zhou Qing took a deep breath, and the long-lost fresh air made his whole body feel comfortable.
He patted the bloodstains on his sleeves, sensed the other party’s Spirit Severing Realm aura, and respectfully cupped his hands in a salute.
"Many thanks, Daoist friend, for saving my life!"
...
As for the power structure of Nanhuang State, aside from the many cities ruled by the Fortune Dynasty, the most top-tier among the sect forces are the so-called "One Palace, Two Temples, Three Sects, Four Races, Eight Families."
Celestial Phoenix Palace, as the oldest inheritance in Nanhuang State, shares its name with the state itself, which shows just how deep its foundations run.
The two Buddhist Holy Lands—Jiyuan Temple and Wuxiang Temple—stand side by side, the former suppressing evil spirits, the latter contemplating karma. Though both belong to the Buddhist path, each has its own strengths.
Among the Three Sects, Scarlet Firmament Sword Sect is filled with Sword Cultivators, Thousand Puppet Sect is skilled in the art of Puppets, while Ten Thousand Thunder Sect commands the Thunder’s Might.
The Four Ancient Races—Medicine Race, Flame Race, Ink Race, and Yu Race—have all been passed down since ancient times, and the Secret Techniques within their clans are never passed to outsiders.
The Eight Great Families—Su, Zhao, Yan, Han, Shen, Liu, Lu, and Zhou—are slightly inferior, yet each has its own backing.
Besides these, there are also many low‑profile hidden sects in Nanhuang State.
Some of these sects focus on the Dao of Alchemy, some specialize in Arrays. Though not widely known, they have experts as numerous as clouds, and their heritage is in no way inferior to the top forces on the surface.
It’s just that they act in a low‑key manner and are unknown to ordinary Cultivators.
At this moment, the place where Zhou Qing stood was a barren region in the western part of Nanhuang State, not too far from both Jiyuan Temple and Wuxiang Temple.
The old man before him, named Li Wusheng, was a professional Void Hunter at the Late-stage Spirit Severing Realm.
In the cultivation world, for a Cultivator at Spirit Slash Realm Perfection to break through to Supreme, they must undergo the incomparably perilous Supreme Tribulation.
Even if they succeed in advancing to Supreme, from then on, every time they break through a minor realm, they will have to face an even more terrifying Celestial Tribulation.
Cultivators either gamble with their lives and forcibly withstand it, or find ways to refine a "Tribulation Transformation Map" to increase their chances of surviving the Tribulation Crossing.
Therefore, starting from the Spirit Severing Realm, Cultivators begin all sorts of preparations for Tribulation Crossing.
The refinement of the Tribulation Transformation Map is extremely harsh: in addition to needing to imprint a personal Five-Color Restriction, it also requires gathering many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
The most crucial among them, the Void Crystal Core, can only be found inside a small portion of Void Beasts.
It is precisely for this reason that the special profession of professional "Void Hunter" was born.
However, hunting Void Beasts is by no means an easy task.
Just the methods to open specific spaces are extremely complex, not to mention that one also needs a rare Spirit Medicine like the "Five Prisons Soul-Guiding Grass" as bait.
Even if everything is prepared, should one accidentally draw out a terrifying existence like a Void-Tuo Turtle, the hunter will instantly become the prey.
Even if they’re lucky enough to succeed, they may still encounter black‑on‑black robbery during the transaction.
After all, sometimes the one you’re dealing with might be a hidden Supreme Realm.
Cultivators with sect or family backing can still maneuver around such things; but a Loose Cultivator hunter like Li Wusheng walks on the edge of life and death with every step.
"Zhou Qing? Could you be from the Zhou Family, one of the Eight Great Families?" After briefly understanding the ins and outs, a trace of surprise flashed in Li Wusheng’s eyes.
Among the Eight Great Families, although the Zhou Family ranked last and had far fewer Spirit Severing Realm experts than the others, they were still clan scions, far beyond someone like him, a Loose Cultivator, to compare with.
Zhou Qing sighed inwardly. He hadn’t expected that a hundred and fifty years of drifting in the void would send him directly to his destination.
It was just that Lu was still waiting in Celestial Wave City; he had to hurry there as soon as possible, so as not to make her worry.
Now, facing the questions of his lifesaver, he calmly shook his head. "You misunderstand, Daoist friend. I am but a mere Loose Cultivator."
"Oh?" Li Wusheng narrowed his eyes and smiled meaningfully. "That’s a pity then."
With that, he turned around and began dissecting that Divinity Transformation Realm Void Beast.
As the sharp blade cut open the beast hide, he rummaged inside for a moment, only to pull out a clump of sticky viscera.
"What bad luck!" He flicked the blood off his hand and spat in disappointment.
He then straightened up, patted the bloodstains off his robe, and turned his gaze to Zhou Qing.
There was a touch of mercantile shrewdness in his smile. "They say a life‑saving grace should be repaid with a spring. Though this old man acted on a whim, in the end, I did bring you out of the void."
"We Loose Cultivators have no standing; it’s far too hard for us to obtain even a bit of cultivation resources. This point... you should understand better than anyone, right?"