Dual Cultivation God Returns

Chapter 727: Game-changing revelation



"But... weren't there troublesome people around that area?", Fen Baihu belatedly remembered that the sealed World Stone to the Great Wilderness was guarded.

"Yes, the guardians who protect the seal from tampering are not someone we'd want to deal with for now, but it's not like we will have a choice soon", Wu Long nodded, "For now we should be fine as long as we don't approach too close to the World Stone"

"Are they someone you can't beat?", Hong Yue asked.

"Can't say for sure until I see them, but there's always that chance", he chuckled.

"That's new from someone usually so confident", she noted with light surprise.

"Haha, confidence is simply trusting your own abilities. On the other hand, assuming you'll always win no matter what is not confidence, it's a paved path to an early, possibly very dumb, death", his expression became amused.

"That's rich coming from someone who's interested in Battle God's title", Fen Baihu snorted, since that title entailed exactly not experiencing even a single defeat.

"Aspiring to be undefeated is different from assuming you'll always be unconditionally undefeated. The former makes you work harder and motivates you to get stronger, not to mention it commands you to push your limits, the latter makes you careless and leads you to make stupid decisions. If that attitude is taken to the extreme, you'll lose even those fights that you should have won", Wu Long continued with the same amusement in his tone.

There were countless enemies who were by all metrics stronger than Wu Long, who died by his hands. They came from all walks of life, and varied in almost every possible way. But there was a certain trait that a significant portion of them had in common, it was overconfidence. "But their strength aside, it's their affiliation that's more troublesome. There's only one organization that manages such things as seals on civilizational threats, it's the Martial Alliance", Wu Long then noted.

"Uh", Fen Baihu made a sour face hearing that name, which awoke curiosity in Hong Yue.

Seeing that questioning gaze, Wu Long chuckled, "They are one of the largest collectives in the Seven Boundless Worlds, and the amalgamation of all the Righteous Path Cultivation Sects, but at the same time they are a separate entity that have their own hierarchy. The power and influence they wield is quite massive"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Fen Baihu grumbled in a sour tone, "A bunch of corrupt and power-hungry bureaucrats that put their nose everywhere"

"Hahaha, but as you can see their reputation could use some improvement", Wu Long wryly smiled.

"But if it's them, its likely the guardians here really are not a big deal", Fen Baihu added, understanding why Wu Long said their background was more troublesome than their potential strength, "there's no way they would actually put effort into something like this"

"Hmm, I can't really disagree with that assessment, after all, this 'protection from a civilizational threat' is basically just a good excuse to receive resources and funding", Wu Long wasn't so sure about dismissing the guardians without really knowing anything about them, but couldn't argue with her logic.

"Isn't protecting this seal quite important from their standpoint?", Hong Yue raised her eyebrow, since if it was basically the organization representing Righteous Sects, it had to put some importance into such tasks.

"They don't really have a reason to", Wu Long shrugged, "They claim that they're protecting the seal from tampering by Evil Path, but the latter has better things to do than try to undo a seal to unleash indiscriminate destruction. Evil Path is just a different cultivation path, acting when they stand to profit, they don't just do evil for the sake of it. At most, the Martial Alliance sends a Formation Master to check if the seal is still intact every few hundred years, but their guards are there mostly for formality"

Hearing that explanation, Hong Yue started to understand the gist of how the so-called Martial Alliance operated. By using Evil Path or the good of the world as pretext, they receive resources and support from the various member Sects, and then use a fraction of those to operate their so-called protection.

"They do have an important role in mediating conflicts between Righteous Sects and 'uphold justice' among them in general, which is why Sects put up with it even while knowing all that, but that function also made them a structure that is corrupt beyond measure", Fen Baihu added.

"But, well, their most annoying part is that they're prone to use 'if you're not with us you're with the enemy' posture quite often to get what they want. That's why there are not that many Sects that can stand independent of them", Wu Long sighed.

"So the reason you don't want to deal with them is..."

"Yes, they like to meddle in other people's business, so I'd rather delay being entangled with them for as long as it is physically and otherwise possible. Though we won't have much choice when the conflict over the World Stone will properly start", Wu Long made an expression of light annoyance.

"Hahaha, that's right, you never were on good terms with the Martial Alliance...", Fen Baihu started laughing as his face said plenty of how he felt about once more being around this organization.

"Considering they declared me to be a criminal with a hefty bounty on my head in every Boundless World except for the Mortal one, several times in each one, I would say our relationship is mildly put not the best", a light grin appeared on his face.

"They retracted it every time though, no?", Fen Baihu's voice was full of amusement as if she forgot her own annoyance at the mention of that collective, as his annoyance far outweighed hers.

"After their member Sects incurred enough losses, yes, they did", Wu Long snorted, "Though much later they had to back down because they were pressured by those who supported me"

They soon reached the general region of the World Stone to the Great Wilderness, proceeding to examine Spiritual Lands much like in the days before.

But after three more days, Wu Long stopped in an area abundant with Spiritual Qi, which was not a Spiritual Land, but rather a Spiritual Spot that was on the stronger side.

And after examining it, a triumphant smile appeared on his lips.

"Found it!", he proclaimed with a satisfied look, "I knew that my luck couldn't be so bad"

"It's definitely a case of a 'Blood Poodle', I'm certain", Fen Baihu sighed, shaking her head, "What do you mean 'found it'? Anyone can tell this is just a Spiritual Spot. I know you're shameless, but there's should be a limit! Yes, it's a bit stronger, but still nothing in comparison to even a Mortal-grade Spiritual Land"

"Haha, Fen Baihu, this is not a Spiritual Spot. I don't know if you ever witnessed it in person, but I suppose the name 'Dragon Root' should be familiar to you", he lightly laughed.

"Y-You mean the birthplace of a new Dragon Vein? Do you mean you've discovered an unborn Spiritual Land?", Fen Baihu gasped, more closely examining what she believed to be a normal

Spiritual Spot.

"Haha, I told you that there are always opportunities to take advantage of. But I didn't say that those opportunities were limited to existing Spiritual Lands", Wu Long chuckled as both beauties looked at him with widened eyes.

Hong Yue might not be familiar with that concept, but Fen Baihu's exclamation was more than enough for her to grasp the vague meaning of it.

She then looked at him with narrowed eyes, "Were you searching for this specifically?"

She recalled that while they were investigating Spiritual Lands, he always took some time to put a hand on the ground and stay still for a prolonged time, seemingly examining

something.

It did not mean much to her then, especially since the first five days they spent in the previous area, and the first two days in this region as well, they seemingly were wandering without

much direction.

But the last Spiritual Lands they checked were definitely different, as the time he took to examine each one was getting shorter, and the way he chose direction became slightly unnatural, as if he was following a path, culminating with Wu Long leading them here with

certainty.

"Haha, I thought there might be one, but I only got a real clue not long ago. Before that I was really checking if there were any already existing Spiritual Lands available", Wu Long

chuckled.

"Unbelievable, isn't being able to find Dragon Roots before they manifest a very rare talent?", Fen Baihu spoke with incredulousness, still not sure if he spoke the truth as she didn't seem to notice anything different about this 'Spiritual Spot'.

"Tracing it is definitely a delicate process, but it's a skill rather than talent. Though, if not for my connection with the Spirit God Sovereign, it would have been impossible for me as well",

he replied.

"So a new Spiritual Land can be born...", meanwhile, Hong Yue was surprised by the very idea of a new Spiritual Land, as she also turned to look at the spot that Fen Baihu was intently

examining.

"Of course, there is a natural lifecycle to Spiritual Lands too, and just as new ones come into

existence, old ones can run out of time as well. Though the time scale for it is immense. A Sect which Spiritual Land is in decline is said to be experiencing the most dire crisis, in which they usually have no choice but to fight another Sect for their Spiritual Land", he nodded. "So... it was you who found a new Spiritual Land for the Heavenly Flowing Mist Pavilion...", his words reminded Fen Baihu of a famous incident, during which a Great Sect in exactly this crisis miraculously found a new Spiritual Land, which caused an uproar at the time.

Wu Long didn't reply, but his silence was already an answer in itself. "But...", Fen Baihu then turned her gaze to him, "...if it was close to awakening it would have

manifested already. Come to think of it, there was much talk about the Spiritual Land that the Heavenly Flowing Mist Pavilion found appeared so abruptly that it resembled magic... don't

tell me you can also..."

"Haha, I guess you know one more of my secrets", Wu Long chuckled, as Fen Baihu gulped at the mild way he said it. This 'secret' was too dangerous for that description.

Of course, it wasn't like Wu Long had few enemies, so adding that target to his back would not

have truly changed his life. But that was when he was at the peak of his strength. Now, when he was once again more vulnerable in personal strength, and cut off from most of his connections and allies, it was a potentially game-changing revelation.