Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Deciding to head back to the sect to avoid the chaos that had spread through the Eastern Central Region during his seclusion, Chu Yang had found himself moving through the territory of the Fleeting Cloud Empire for the simple reason that it was the fastest and safest path leading back to the Northern Central Region. Going through any other major power's territory would come with several risks from wandering into an unknown dangerous location to stumbling onto an active battlefield.

The risk remained when making his way through the Fleeting Cloud Empire, but it was far lower, as he at least knew far more about the layout of the Fleeting Cloud Empire given it was the place he had ended up spending most of his time wandering through during his time in the Eastern Central Region.

Because of this, Chu Yang ended up finding himself being caught completely off guard by the collapse of the Fleeting Cloud Empire. Not at all having expected a major power to collapse overnight.

Although he understood that there was great unrest through the Eastern Central Region and more than just two major cities had ended up being destroyed, he hadn't expected the situation to have grown to the point where even a major power could collapse and be forced to retreat into their ancestral capital where they would be able to rely on their foundation to hold on and stay alive.

The situation was far more dire than he had imagined and from the looks of things, he had ended up finding himself directly in the middle of it.

The first three days wandering through the territory of the Fleeting Cloud Empire had been fine and any major movements by outside major powers rushing in to grab land and resources mostly ignored a small wandering cultivator like himself, but after those three days, chaos began to sweep through the recently captured territory of the Fleeting Cloud Empire.

The chaos came from the left behind forces of the different major powers who had each taken out a chunk of the Fleeting Cloud Empire starting to eye others who had done the same as them. Wanting to take a larger piece of the Fleeting Cloud Empire, as they all understood just how hard it would be for them to expand under normal circumstances.

Though the battles in question were limited to the Dao Seed Realm as the different Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators had to return back to their own territories to ensure continued stability during the chaotic time that was on the horizon for the entire Eastern Central Region when the true loss of life from the spiritual tree became known to everyone, it was still far from anything Chu Yang could participate in with his current strength.

The thing was… Given his strength being comparable to someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, the different major powers who noticed him wouldn't ignore him like they had done in the past and would instead try to recruit him to join them. After all, the battle was now mostly between Dao Seed Realm and Soul Ascension Realm cultivators. Meaning that, wandering cultivators and mercenaries wandering through the Eastern Central Region had once again entered the view of these different major powers.

But… Even though the rewards offered this time around was far more luxurious than the past, everyone, Chu Yang included, understood that it would be a bad idea to join the current chaotic battlefield that was the old territory of the Fleeting Cloud Empire.

Not just because there were so many major powers gathered in a relatively small area, but also because siding with any of the major powers could risk becoming enemies with everyone else… And that was not even mentioning that the number of Dao Seed Realm cultivators present in the Fleeting Cloud Empire was so high that almost every battle that broke out now included at least a handful of Dao Seed Realm cultivators.

In other words, the risk of death had become far higher, as there was no way to say if the Dao Seed Realm cultivator on the other side would suddenly decide to target the weaker cultivators.

Because of this, mercenaries and wandering cultivators alike all refused to join the chaotic battle for the Fleeting Cloud Empire and tried to leave.

However, the different major powers now in partial control of the Fleeting Cloud Empire, fearing they might join their enemies, blocked the wandering cultivators from moving through their territory. Declaring them enemies if they entered what they now considered part of their own territory without permission… And with almost the entire Fleeting Cloud Empire now under the control of the different major powers, the different wandering cultivators and mercenaries were forced to either join one of the different major powers or remain stuck inside the Fleeting Cloud Empire where death was easy to come by with the countless battles taking place throughout the territory.

In the end, because of this, the different mercenaries and wandering cultivators who had enough decided to just sneak out when they had the opportunity.

After all, at the end of the day, the ones being affected by the lockdown were all at least in the Soul Ascension Realm and there wasn't anything the different major powers could do to stop them if they really intended to leave.

Threateningly declaring them enemies was one thing, attacking wandering cultivators and mercenaries who were neutral was another thing.

Attacking them for no reason would end up ruining their own reputation in the eyes of these normally neutral cultivators, something that none of the major powers could afford to do… Or at least that would be the case under normal circumstances, but now that the entire Eastern Central Region was slowly descending into chaos starting with the collapse of the Fleeting Cloud Empire, some restraints that had been in place in the past ultimately faded away as each major power began to enforce their territorial claims by dealing with anyone they saw as potentially enemies inside their new territories.

First, starting with just expelling before moving to eliminating anyone they saw as invading their territory, wandering cultivators and mercenaries included.

By the end of the first week since the Fleeting Cloud Empire descended into chaos, Chu Yang found it difficult to avoid the constant patrols of the different major powers that could be seen wandering throughout the Fleeting Cloud Empires.

Although he was more than strong enough to deal with most of these patrols, as they only compromised of someone in the Earlier Stages of the Soul Ascension Realm, he also understood the second he took action, it would end up attracting a Dao Seed Realm cultivator over to deal with the situation, something he had ended up learning the hard way after killing a patrolling Soul Ascension Realm cultivator trying to capture him on the fourth days since he stepped inside the territory of the Fleeting Cloud Empire.

Back then, he hadn't thought much about it and had continued on his way after killing the other party.

Only when he suddenly sensed a terrifying divine sense sweeping through his surroundings did he realize that he was being chased by someone in the Dao Seed Realm… And although he prided himself on being stronger than his peers, he understood very well that he was no match for someone in the Dao Seed Realm.

Luckily, the other party didn't notice him immediately. Giving him the opportunity to hide underground before he could be found. Allowing him to just barely slip away. After which he had ended up encountering a wandering cultivator who had helped him understand the current situation and the fact that the different major powers no longer bothered upholding past traditions of neutrality with wandering cultivators like them.

During the conversation, Chu Yang had found himself asking about the reason for this boldness from what he now realized wasn't just the actions of one or two major powers, as it would end up making the entire Eastern Central Region an enemy of wandering cultivators throughout the continent. Including some more powerful wandering cultivators and more importantly the Explorer Union that could be considered the core power behind wandering cultivators and what had given them most of the leverage they had to stay independent from the different major powers.

In the end, the answer he got was rather depressing, as the current Eastern Central Region could be considered to be in a state of internal struggle with all the major powers participating.

For this reason, it was unlikely that the Explorer Union would interfere before the internal struggle came to an end… And even after the struggle ended, it was unlikely that it would do much to the different major powers, as the death of wandering cultivators during such a major ordeal could be seen as an unfortunate but inevitable thing.

The only recommendation from the Explorer Union in this kind of situation for wandering cultivators was to lay low and wait for things to blow over if they couldn't leave the affected region…