The Big Dipper, also known as the Lesser Immortal Realm.
The vast and boundless Eastern Wasteland.
Beautiful mountains and rivers, clear skies for thousands of miles, dense vegetation, resembling the idyllic scenery of Earth lost to time, or like the primordial world of myths and legends.
Peaks that pierce the clouds are common, and desolate lands are rife with fearsome demonic beasts.
Cloud Ridge Mountain Range.
Dongtian Sect.
"The Lesser Immortal Realm is divided into five major domains: the Eastern Wasteland, Southern Domain, Western Sea, Northern Forest, and Central Continent."
"The Eastern Wasteland is vast, with a human population of no less than ten billion, occupying one-tenth of its territory. Further east lies the Great Wilderness, where no one has yet established a sect."
"Even with a lifetime, cultivators at the God Transformation stage cannot leave the Eastern Wasteland domain."
"Mortals cannot leave a single mountain range in their lifetime."
"Martial artists at the Venerable Realm can reach the Eastern Wasteland domain within their lifetime."
"Martial artists at the Emperor Realm can traverse domains, and Great Emperors can roam the Lesser Immortal Realm."
"Human Great Emperors, roaming the Lesser Immortal Realm, established teleportation arrays…"
Chen Jiuyang, clad in white robes, perused ancient texts in the Dongtian Sect's library. With each page turned, his shock grew, his heart trembling, much like the Pure Yang Tribulation Crossing Great Immortal when he first arrived in the Lesser Immortal Realm, awestruck by the vast Beidou cultivation world.
The nine realms of martial artists, passed down through the ages.
Yellow, Profound, Earth, Heaven, Venerable, Emperor, Great Emperor, Immortal, and Dao were recorded differently on the Beidou Star.
At the peak of the Venerable Realm, one could shake cultivators at the Dao Integration stage of the Immortal Path.
Martial artists at the Emperor Realm were equivalent to Tribulation Crossing cultivators and Mahayana cultivators.
As for martial artists at the Great Emperor Realm, they were on par with Mahayana, or even rogue immortals in the Immortal Realm!
The cultivation realms of the Immortal Path also differed from Earth.
Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, God Transformation, Void Return, Dao Integration, Tribulation Crossing, Mahayana, Rogue Immortal, Mystic Immortal, Golden Immortal, Grand Unity, Immortal Lord, Immortal King, Immortal Emperor, Epoch.
Among these, Great Emperor realm martial artists were equivalent to high-level immortals.
As for Immortal realm martial artists, the ancient texts provided no record.
What surprised Chen Jiuyang was that the methods of the Lesser Immortal Realm were entirely different from Earth's.
On Earth, martial artists transitioned to the Immortal Path after reaching the end of their martial journey, seeking longer lifespans and opportunities.
However, in the Lesser Immortal Realm, most people first pursued the Immortal Path, and only when the Immortal Path proved hopeless did they switch to martial arts…
The reason for this, Chen Jiuyang, who had only been in the Lesser Immortal Realm for a month, did not know the truth.
"The Eastern Wasteland Great Domain has thirteen main cities, each with a teleportation array. Each use consumes one thousand six-pattern Qi Origin Pills."
"The cost of refining a single six-pattern Qi Origin Pill is ten spirit stones, even for me."
"Teleporting once costs one hundred thousand spirit stones."
"One hundred thousand spirit stones. Although I have millions, I cannot easily reveal my wealth. My Venerable Realm cultivation is truly insufficient in the Lesser Immortal Realm."
"Otherwise, before I can even gather information on Zixuan's whereabouts, I will fall into trouble. At the very least… I must not act rashly this time in the Lesser Immortal Realm, or it will delay my return to Earth."
Chen Jiuyang took a deep breath, put down the ancient book, and walked out of the library.
He headed towards the Dongtian Sect's Alchemy Hall.
"Greetings, Elder Chen."
"Good day, Elder Chen."
As he walked, many disciples of the Dongtian Sect greeted him with respect.
A month prior, after descending to the Lesser Immortal Realm, he had arrived near the Dongtian Sect. By chance, he became the Alchemy Hall Elder of the Dongtian Sect, the hundredth-ranked sect in this Cloud Ridge Mountain Range.
The Dongtian Sect was merely a small sect within the Cloud Ridge Mountain Range, established just over a thousand years ago. Its sect master was a cultivator at the peak of the God Transformation stage. The entire Dongtian Sect had thirty cultivators at the God Transformation stage, over a hundred disciples at the Nascent Soul stage, five thousand disciples at the Golden Core stage, and countless outer disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage. It governed three mortal dynasties.
Its core foundation was a powerful being at the Void Return stage.
Chen Jiuyang estimated that if he unleashed his full combat power, he could likely kill a Void Return stage cultivator.
This strength was utterly incomparable to the True Demon Sect that Chen Jiuyang commanded.
According to the ancient texts, the entire Eastern Wasteland's Cloud Ridge Mountain Range was as vast as several Asian continents.
It was no exaggeration that mortals could not leave a single mountain range in their lifetime.
And the Cloud Ridge Mountain Range, in the grand scheme of the Eastern Wasteland, was merely an unremarkable place, akin to a mountain in a remote western county on Earth, known only to the locals.
The vastness of the Lesser Immortal Realm truly exceeded Chen Jiuyang's imagination.
Chen Jiuyang intended to search for Yao Zixuan's whereabouts in the Lesser Immortal Realm, which would necessitate joining a local power to obtain a legitimate identity.
He had perused ancient texts and discovered that there were not a few outsiders in the Lesser Immortal Realm, but most were drained of their essence by local sects and divine demon families.
Although the Dongtian Sect in the Cloud Ridge Mountain Range was small, it had its advantages. Most of its members were dedicated to cultivation, and there were fewer disputes compared to Earth.
There were only two Alchemy Hall Elders in the Dongtian Sect.
One was Chen Jiuyang, and the other was an elder at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.
The path of alchemy was exceedingly difficult and consumed immense resources. Even a lifetime of effort yielded little achievement, a typical case of "three years without a sale, but a sale that sustains for three years."
Had Chen Jiuyang not possessed the inheritance of the Pure Yang Medical Immortal, he would not have succeeded so smoothly.
After his Tribulation Crossing, the Pure Yang Medical Immortal had spent tens of thousands of years immersing himself in the path of alchemy.
His alchemical attainments, even in the vast Lesser Immortal Realm, were considered exceptional.
"Elder Chen is visiting the library again? Truly a learned scholar."
Elder Shu Caiyi of the Alchemy Hall, holding a wine gourd, said to Chen Jiuyang with a flushed face.
"Alas… I come from humble origins and lack understanding of the Great Dao of cultivation. I have by chance stepped into the Venerable Realm, with hope for longevity. Why should I not strive harder?"
Chen Jiuyang replied calmly.
In the worldview of the Lesser Immortal Realm, only when the Immortal Path reached its end did people switch to martial arts, enhancing their strength to gain more opportunities for breakthroughs.
In Shu Caiyi's eyes, although Chen Jiuyang appeared young, his mindset was like that of a man over five hundred years old.
Shu Caiyi smiled and said, "Elder Chen is so learned and possesses exceptional talent in alchemy. I believe you will surely break through to become a third-grade alchemist, refine Tribulation Pills, and change your fate against the heavens."
Pills were categorized into Mortal Grade, Spirit Pattern Pill, Tribulation Pill, Dao Rhyme Pill, Immortal Pill, and Heavenly Pill.
Both of them were second-grade alchemists, capable of refining Spirit Pattern Pills for cultivators at the God Transformation and Nascent Soul stages at most.
Chen Jiuyang chuckled and said, "Then I shall borrow your auspicious words, Elder Shu."
"Since Elder Chen has arrived, I shall go to the front courtyard to teach the disciples."
"Please, Elder Shu."
Shu Caiyi's every movement exuded an indescribable natural grace, resembling the immortal figures imagined by every person in the Dragon Country.
Free, unfettered, acting according to their will, possessing long life.
It was not just Shu Caiyi; Chen Jiuyang discovered that most cultivators were like him after arriving in the Lesser Immortal Realm.
In the Lesser Immortal Realm, the Immortal Path flourished, but martial arts stood at the very apex.
The Immortal Path offered longevity, while martial arts provided combat power.
The Immortal Path granted long lifespans, but each cultivation breakthrough saw strength increase like pouring water, unlike martial arts where breakthroughs led to exponential increases in combat power.