Dual Cultivation God Returns Chapter 7: Fractured World

Sects, essential for cultivators who demand vast amounts of Spiritual Qi for their practice, are never founded haphazardly. They occupy natural spiritual lands overflowing with Spiritual Qi. These spots offer sects multiple advantages. The most evident is the plentiful Spiritual Qi that accelerates cultivation.

Moreover, these spiritual lands yield plentiful resources like medicinal herbs, spirit trees, rare ores, and the like. Disciples not yet powerful enough for tougher missions can gather them.

Sects obtain these materials, while disciples earn achievement points to trade for cultivation aids.

No one fretted over disciples keeping the gathered items, since nearly all required special refinement for safe and effective use.

Mighty sects possess Alchemy Halls and Forging Halls that transform such materials into ready-to-use cultivation treasures like pills, elixirs, medicinal fluids, as well as implements such as talismans, spiritual treasure weapons, non-combat spiritual treasures, and more.

Smaller sects like the Yin Yang Unity Palace barter raw resources with merchant groups for practical cultivation items, which they distribute via monthly rations or point exchanges.

Senior disciples tackling challenging quests bring in sect revenue to purchase additional supplies and essentials. They also boost the sect's fame, drawing more folks to commission missions from disciples.

A third boon from spiritual lands is the natural demonic beasts dwelling there, perfect for disciples to hunt—sharpening battle prowess while yielding valuable corpse materials.

Finally, a spiritual land serves as a clear boundary marker for the sect's domain of control.

Indeed, spotting an outsider scavenging treasures in a sect's spiritual land counts as a grave violation, sparking countless brutal clashes when disciples stray into rival territories.

Thus, no two sects ever claim the same spiritual land.

In the ruthless cultivation realm, resource rivalries turn savage and unforgiving. Superior spiritual lands draw fierce pursuit, demanding immense sect power to claim and defend. Innumerable sects have crumbled over such prizes. Every faction casts covetous gazes, as these sites, though numerous, remain scarce and unable to meet endless hunger.

This sparked Wu Long's bewilderment. How could a sect so minuscule, weak, and underpowered hold a spiritual land? It suggested tame rivalry and a serene cultivation scene nearby.

Equally baffling was its true status as a spiritual land. Spotting the sparse, poor-quality Spiritual Qi within the sect, he figured such a modest group couldn't claim one and settled in a barren spot. Yet confirming the indicators proved that guess false.

So the Spiritual Qi beyond this spiritual land must be nearly nonexistent. Meaning this wasn't the world he recognized.

'A minor world?'

He pondered inwardly.

Beyond the Seven Boundless Worlds lay myriad minor worlds housing most mortal realms. But he dismissed this swiftly, as all minor worlds link to the Seven Boundless Worlds in a vast, pulsing network. No minor world could show such a drastic Spiritual Qi disparity.

"It can't be… … a …a fractured world?"

Disbelief hit him at the thought, and he voiced it aloud.

Fractured worlds were minor worlds ravaged by catastrophes teetering on annihilation's edge. This sealed them shut, blocking all entry or exit.

Sure, no calamity ever truly obliterated a minor world—such total ends were rare enough for one hand. Yet the devastation severed their connections temporarily.

This cleared up some of his earlier doubts, yet he remained uncertain, opting to seek more details before issuing any rash statements.

After rising from his short break to press on with his journey, he sensed a presence drawing near from the distance. Its aura marked it as a mid-level 1st tier demonic beast.

A chill smirk crept across his face.

Though weakened at present, he was far from intimidated by a creature of such caliber.

Out from the bushes burst a larger wolf cloaked in black fur etched with lava-like patterns, emitting a deep growl.

It lunged at Wu Long without delay, jaws wide for his throat.

Wu Long's right hand settled on his sword hilt; he stepped forward and right, drawing the blade in a fluid, angled sweep.

Without pause, he brought the sword down from its peak, as if merely tracing a curve through the air. At the motion's close, steaming blood droplets scattered from the edge to the earth, and he smoothly sheathed the weapon as the wolf collapsed in two pieces behind him.

The wolf's blood boiled hot, evaporating swiftly upon contact with the open air.

"Hmm, Scorching Heart Wolf, sadly lacking a core. And quite young too—a mature specimen would reach high-level 2nd tier." he remarked, a hint of regret flickering in his eyes.

He pivoted toward the beast's origin and dashed there with agile strides.

"Let's see what you abandoned to come welcome me, hmm?" he murmured with a faint grin.

The agile beast hadn't journeyed far, yet it still took Wu Long roughly 15 minutes to reach the spot.

Unsure of the precise path due to his weak cultivation limiting spiritual sense to nothing, he followed the general bearing until the surrounding air grew warmer. Pressing ahead, he pinpointed the heat's source, corrected his path, and hurried over. Vegetation soon thinned out, giving way to heat-tolerant flora closer to the intense warmth.

Finally emerging from the treeline, he spotted giant boulders amid a treeless expanse in the distance.

Embedded in one boulder glowed an orange crystal radiating fierce heat, surrounded by 12 wolves akin to his kill, lounging on and around the rocks.

Among them, one mid-level and four low-level 2nd tier stood out, the others being 1st tier Scorching Heart Wolves.

They had locked eyes on him ages ago, and he wasn't startled, having picked up their auras en route.

"Haa… Sorry to interrupt like this, I get your predicament" he sighed with a wry grin.

The sight of one male with his harem stirred reluctance in him to shatter the moment, all too familiar with such untimely disruptions.

But the next scene first arched his brow, then drew a scoffing snort from his lips.

The male wolf, instincts sharp for survival, betrayed fear in its gaze and dispatched the females toward Wu Long with a snarl, while it edged back, poised to flee the other way.

Wu Long exploded from stillness, deftly dodging claws and teeth from the females. He charged the male, unleashing a precise iaijutsu strike in an odd curve. The beast dodged, only to veer right into the blade's path, offering its head willingly.

With a heavy thud, head and body hit the dirt apart, as Wu Long swept past, pivoting on one foot to face the now-leaderless 'harem'.

The females whipped around to witness their leader decapitated.

"Go"

Wu Long commanded in an icy tone. Demonic beasts grasped no speech, even advanced ones relying on instinct alone—yet like all life, fear ruled their survival drive. His single word conveyed the intent beyond words, sending the furry group bolting in panic any direction but here.

Truth be told, mercy played no part; Wu Long simply found slaying them a chore, knowing only the male held a demonic core. Chasing the pack offered zero gain.

His cultivation remained fairly low, with an untrained body that lacked the stamina to slay them all without draining nearly two-thirds of his reserves.

He shook off the fiercely steaming blood from his blade, sheathed the sword, and drew his dagger instead. Nearing the Scorching Heart Wolf's head, he carved with expert precision and extracted a flawless, round, faintly translucent crimson core, hazelnut-sized and warm in his palm. Turbulent energy churned visibly within, swirling in a cryptic and profound rhythm.

"Haha, fortune still favors me even in this life—a fine harvest just half a day after setting out, not bad at all," he chuckled with a smile that soon twisted wry as he mused 'Haa, to think this passes for a good find now'.

His cultivation technique enabled him to absorb this core completely, free from the side effects typically plaguing direct ingestion of demonic cores.

With its Yang attribute, the core offered scant aid to his cultivation base. Yet it proved ideal for tempering his body.

He knew endless methods to enhance his Yang Qi and the Yang Root, which governs the pace of Yang Qi production in his body along with the volume it could store and unleash. Naturally, this core fell short of impacting his Yang Root, but it sufficed to mildly improve his state, heightening the future efficacy of his broken sword's treatment.

Boosting stamina, endurance, and physique would also let him tap into slightly greater strength.

Those two strikes felling the pair of Scorching Heart Wolves appeared effortless, yet they taxed his current untrained and unrefined body heavily, leaving him sore throughout.

He eyed the crystal embedded in the boulder and shook his head.

"It might be a treasure, but it's useless to me since pulling it from the boulder—tied to its deep underground power source—would strip its effects," he muttered, showing little regret.

"Well, I can at least tap its effects a bit while I'm here."

Wu Long settled into the lotus position, swallowed a fasting pill, then pulled out his leather waterskin for several sips.

"Heh, hunger," he laughed at his mortal urges.

With thoughts of bodily needs banished, he retrieved the demonic core, gave it a light cloth wipe despite its pristine state, and gulped it down whole.

Blazing heat surged from his stomach right away, racing through his entire body as he began to cultivate.

His skin ignited into a vivid red, releasing wisps of faint steam.

For roughly five hours he endured in that pose, inhaling the crystal-augmented Spiritual Qi from above while maintaining the demonic core's fiery warmth.

Slowly his inflamed skin cooled to normal, and as the last traces faded, he parted eyes flashing with deep luminescence.

"Good, now I don't have to fear my arm dropping off from a little swordplay," he said with a grin.