After settling matters regarding the Taoist and his old master, Bao returned to the city. Although he got to know how they trained array techniques, he still was clueless about the old man's master and the kellari desert arena.
So after entering the city, he directly went towards the clear sky pagoda. As they were one of the most influential organizations with branches all over the world, in hope of them knowing something about this kellari desert arena Bao went there.
Bao went straight to the pagoda from the front entrance, after entering the first floor, he started to climb up towards the second floor. The last time when Bao came here, he was with old Feng, and with old Feng's membership card they were allowed to climb higher floors, but now he was alone without the membership card. He was expecting the guards to stop him and ask for a membership card, but to his surprise, nothing like that happened, he climbed to the second floor without being asked.
Other people who saw the behavior of the guards were also surprised, after all in front of them, he entered without a membership card and the guards didn't even bother to stop him.
Originally Bao wanted to create some commotion, to bring out the other people with the higher status inside the pagoda. But now it looked like there was no need for that, he straight climbed to the third floor, even the guards there didn't stop him.
On the third floor, Bao went to the stall where he previously received a moon-stone from an old man for free, that old man looked like someone with high status inside the pagoda. So he wanted to meet him, the old man was in the same place selling several items.
"Oh this little brother is back, what do want to buy?" the elderly man asked
"Today I am here for a different reason; I want some information"
"What do you want to know little brother? I am all ears" the elderly man said
"I want to know every information regarding THE KELLARI DESERT ARENA"
After the elderly man heard it, he stood up and became alerted.
"This is not the place to chat, follow me," the elderly man said in a low voice
Then the old man and Bao started to climb towards the higher floor, the guards didn't stop them from going towards the fourth floor. Bao guessed that the old man was some bigshot of this pagoda.
"Why did the guards let me in when I was climbing on the second floor?" Bao asked the elderly man
"Powerful people are welcomed in this pagoda, in the last arena battle you showed your strength, so you're qualified to enter" the old man replied
"Does that also mean powerful people could pick anything they wish in the pagoda for free"
"No, everything inside the pagoda costs, if we allowed others to pick for free, how would we make a living"
"oh, then what is your status on this pagoda?" Bao asked
"I am just one of many elders of the clear sky pagoda,"
While chatting they reached the fourth floor, only a few people were there. On this floor, Bao saw pills and herbs, which were all spirit grade low to high. This was indeed impressive, to be able to concoct spirit grade pills and grow spirit grade herbs, although it was hard to grow spirit grade herbs in this isolated world with thin energy but if the herbs are extremely old, they might form a spirit. Then again they begin to climb towards the top floor.
"Do you know where those herbs come from?" Bao asked the elderly man
"I am just an elder of a branch, how could I know such information, even if I knew I wouldn't be allowed to speak about it" the old man replied
The clear sky pagoda had branches all around the world, and the old man was only an elder from a side branch. it was to be expected.
"How do you people receive the order from higher-ups, have you ever met the founder of the clear sky pagoda?"
"No, we haven't met the founder, we receive the orders from the messenger who comes every 10 years" the old man replied
Soon they reached the fifth floor, it was empty without any people. It was to be expected only platinum membership holders were allowed and not many were in this city. On this floor only martial skills and techniques were there, although all of those were low grades in Bao's eyes, it was still really precious in this isolated world, to be able to create own martial skill and to pass it to others was not something anybody could do, one needed to completely master that technique to pass it.
Then the old man took Bao to a room on the fifth floor when Bao entered the room, he saw array formations were laid there and two-man were sitting opposite to each other near the array. Bao knew this array was the laid to interfere with others peeking inside the pagoda.
"Greetings Elder!" those two men bowed to the elderly man
"Rise, you two go outside, I have some important matter to discuss with this little brother," the elderly man said
Those two men followed the elderly man's command and went outside, this room was also protected by an array. So no sound gets outside nor anyone can peek with their sense.
"Now can you tell me what the kellari desert is?" Bao asked
"I will tell you about it, but first tell me how did you know about it?"
"I was informed by that old man, I fought last time in the arena" Bao said
"so you were contacted by the other party first, did you agree to what they said?"
"No, I didn't agree on anything and what do you mean by other parties?," Bao asked
"you must have already heard, that our organization is one of the biggest in the world, but other organizations are trying to climb up to our level,"
"by any chance are they also an organization of martial artists?" Bao asked
"correct, that old man you fought in the arena was from another organization formed under the name of Aztec, that day he was here to challenge me" the old man replied
"What is the relation between clear sky pagoda, Aztec, and the kellari desert arena?"
"Both organization's goal is to recruit strong people and train them, but the founder's main goal is still not known, and the kellari desert arena is the place where it is all decided" the old man replied
"say it clearly,"
"The kellari desert arena is a fighting arena which opens once every 100 years, but the rules there are different from normal arena"
"If someone dies while fighting inside the arena another party won't be held accountable, use of special treasures are allowed"
"But the main attraction of this arena is that the winner gets to directly train under messenger and may even meet the founder " the old man said
After listening to old man's explanation of the kellari desert arena, Bao got the gist of it. This competition was similar to sects disciple recruitment process in the immortal world.
"How powerful is this founder you speak of?" Bao asked
"I don't know how powerful the founder is, but I once asked the messenger to spare with me, it was a one-sided battle, I wasn't able to block any move"
"Ohh who won the previous kellari desert arena battle?"
"the messenger told me, it was a draw 100 years ago and they didn't find any good fighter who can use spirit energy" the old man replied
"When will this kellari desert arena open again? and When will this messenger arrive?"
"I don't know when it will open again, but the messenger will tell us beforehand, the messenger arrived 3 years ago, now maybe in the next 7 years the messenger should arrive again"
"little brother, I have something to say if you will listen," the old man said
"speak"
"I was wondering if you would be willing to participate in the kellari desert arena on behalf of our organization. I know it will dangerous but you can surrender if it gets too hard" the old man said
"Why do you think I would participate?"
"Of course because you are strong and you specifically came here to inquire about that arena so you must be interested" the old man replied
What the old man said was false, Bao was not interested in such games, and had no intention to train under someone. He only wanted to meet that mysterious master from Aztec, he had matters to settle with him.
"I will consider it, if I have free time then I will tag along"
"I am leaving now,"
"Wait little brother, here take this card, if you ever went to other cities you can enter the pagoda freely," the old man said and gave Bao a Platinum card
After taking the platinum membership card Bao left the pagoda, it was late evening. He returned to the mansion, Yue and her parents were already there before him.
Time flew by, and the seasons changed constantly. Bao was peacefully living the life of a mortal, he would cultivate sometimes or going to a lab to aid others. He would take Yue out on dates on the weekends, Five years have gone. Bao refined the spirit energy in the stone he acquired from the old man over the course of five years. That old man returned for the ceremony and took whatever was remained in the cup. When Bao and Yue went to the orphanage, they had a reunion with other friends who used to be in the same orphanage. Chen Luo celebrated his 60th birthday with his entire family, including Lu Feng and his daughter. old Luo's friends were also invited; it wasn't grand, but the atmosphere was upbeat. Old Luo also announced Bao as his daughter's fiancée to everyone, which old Feng and other family members were not startled by because they previously knew. Old Luo did this to inform other guests. The kellari desert arena's opening was also approaching. One day, Bao received a call
The next morning, Bao landed in Japan. Last night, when Bao ordered the flight pilot to change the heading to Japan, other martial artists on the airplane were not pleased with his choice. At first, they vocally argued, but then the old man from the clear sky pagoda convinced them. They were over 35,000 feet, so they didn't fight inside, and they were not in a rush. They still had a month until the opening, so they agreed and headed to Japan. They flew back to their destination after landing BAO in Japan. When Bao arrived in Japan, he covered the entire country with his divine sense. As someone who previously had quasi-immortal soul, he already had a divine sense after breaking through to core-formation stage, tho it was nowhere compare to his peak state. He noticed that there were many martial artists in the country, yet none of them were capable of harming her. with his energy embedded on the runes, He searched for the jade pendant but couldn't find it. as if it vanished from this p
___At the center of the room was a giant stone lab, on top of that stone slab was a silver-haired sleeping beauty___ Bao moved closer to the stone slab; he had sensed the jade pendant and Yue's presence before entering this room. "Was she already in this state when she came here?" Bao asked the princess "No, she was fine, she just passed out near the transmission gate, changes occurred after she entered this hallowed area." The princes replied [How could I be so careless, I should've noticed that the jade pendant didn't lose its energy but was absorbed by Yue] The change in her body was most likely caused by the absorption of a large amount of spirit energy when she entered this area, which caused her hair to turn silver white and some minor changes in her inner body. Bao sensed Yue's inner world, and there he saw things he had never seen before: all the absorbed energy was gathering at the center, where a vortex was formed and a core was forming on its own without anyone's inter
Bao was alone in the room after the princess and her disciple had left, staring at Yue's sleeping face. "Fate cutting," Bao cautiously lifted his three fingers. Although he couldn't entirely sever her fate with his current strength, he could at least momentarily delay it. If she took the path of immortality, she would truly become someone respected as supreme. But Bao didn't want to see her hand stained with blood. The path to supremacy is a treacherous and long one. With the passage of time and the loss of family and friends, one's feelings will fade. Everything must be abandoned, including family, friends, and feelings. These things will just develop a heart demon and obstruct their progress. Bao didn't want Yue to go through all of that, therefore he intended to save her from such a terrible fate. He wanted her to die naturally rather than endure a long life of suffering. Time passes slowly. In the end, he didn't change her fate; he simply couldn't harm her in any way. He sat ne
While they were conversing, Bao asked a question that caught Princess Kaguya's attention. "If you existed from long ago, you must have heard of the Aztec organization." Bao asked "I'm aware of them, but are you a member of the Aztec organization?" The princess asked back "No, I don't belong to any organization." "As one would anticipate from someone like you, you will not tolerate another boss," the princess added. The princess was not a mortal or a ghost; she was a unique entity capable of sensing and seeing one's true nature. As a result, she concluded that Bao was someone revered; it wasn't his arrogance or pride. It was Bao's very existence that warranted the utmost respect, that was evident in him. "Have you met the founder of the Aztec organization?" Bao asked "Yes, I've met him before." "What kind of group is the Aztec?" "They are similar to our organization with a certain goal."the princess replied "Do you mean the clear sky pagoda?" "Yes, You must have heard of it b
It was late summer and extremely hot outside. A patient lay in bed, unconscious, in a white room. To keep the patient's interior body safe, the temperature within the room was kept cool and maintained. For three months, he had been in a coma. He was in the intensive care unit. The doctors were unable to determine the cause of his coma and therefore gave up hope of him recovering, but someone was still visiting and caring for him, someone he knew well. It was a Saturday, and there were few people about. Only the emergency room was available, and the majority of the doctors were absent. They were enjoying a day off. Only a few staff members and doctors from the emergency room were present. He regained consciousness abruptly, but he was unable to move or talk. His entire body felt shaky. He looked like a someone who hadn't eaten in months. He couldn't even open his eyes. He had no idea where he was or why he had arrived. His thoughts were a jumbled mess. He had lost his ability to thin
Their embrace lasted for hours. Yue slept out after sobbing for a long time in his hug. It was getting close to nightfall outdoors. It was starting to grow dark. She was still resting in his lap. He was caressing of her hair. He eventually woke her up. "It's getting late, Yue'er. You should return right now. Uncle and aunt may be concerned." She rushed here without informing anyone. She was the only one who knew of Bao's reawakening. "I don't want to be too far away from you. I'll spend the night here. What if you leave me again?" Yue said He was moved when he heard her say that. He had no idea how she felt when he was in a coma. For her, It had been three months of separation, yet it seemed like an eternity to him. He searched all ten thousand worlds for her. For this day, he cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years. He desired to spend this life time with her. He wanted a hundred years of romance with her. He wanted to offer her all of the happiness till the end of her, t
It was a tranquil night, and the moonlight shone brightly. Inside a hospital, in a corridor, a man walked slowly; he was Bao, and after gaining enough energy, he was able to move properly. At midnight, as he was gathering energy, he began to hear cries. So he was curious and went in that way, but as he got closer, he heard more cries. Soon after reaching the source of the cries, which was somewhere near the basement, he was surprised for a moment and displeased with what he saw. There he saw an array, and in the heart of that array was an old porcelain that was gathering surrounding spirit, and because soul and spirit are in some ways connected, surrounding mindless Soul were also being gathered. Souls are separated into several grades, and humans living in this isolated world did not possess the complete mortal soul, thus calling them souls would be improper. It was known as the pre-mortal soul, which is lower to the mortal soul above that was Spiritual sense and Battle soul. Th