Episode 8: The Magical Yuanwu World
The tinkling bell sound wafted through the ears of Duan Tianyi and Yang Mufeng. They felt themselves lying on soft things, and a cool breeze blew across their faces. Yang Mufeng subconsciously reached out and grabbed Duan Tianyi's hand. Muttering indistinctly, "Is this heaven? Aren't we just dying here?"
Duan Tianyi was also in a daze, feeling extremely hungry and thirsty, his body bouncing around on the soft thing.
"Two young brothers have finally woken up."
A rough voice startled the two, and they suddenly opened their eyes. In an accident, they bumped into each other. With a thump, they fell to the ground solidly.
A group of smiling eyes stared at the two, all of them wearing veils. Some were riding camels, some were holding camels, and the two had just fallen off the camel beside them. A man over two meters tall, only wearing half a piece of animal skin on his upper body, revealing strong and explosive muscles, with a gray veil covering his mouth, was staring directly at the two.
Seeing the two's astonished expressions, the man thought they were afraid of him and laughed, "We are passing travelers. Just now on the way, we saw you two lying in the desert, barely alive. Our boss was kind-hearted and helped you two on the spot."
Duan Tianyi and Yang Mufeng were even more astonished. Judging from the appearance of these people, except for this strong man who looked like a hunter, the others were basically dressed like Arabs. Why would they speak Chinese? They were extremely surprised in their minds.
The man saw that the two still didn't speak, stepped forward and helped them up. He handed them water bottles respectively. The two hadn't eaten or drunk for ten days. The hunger was bearable, but the thirst was truly life-threatening. Their throats were almost smoking, and they didn't care about the strange looks of the others. They raised their necks and gulped down the water happily.
"I see your attire is strange. You can't be the Yuanshi of Yunmeng Kingdom, right?"
Yang Mufeng was the first to recover and looked at this man, who was half a head taller than himself, with a surprised expression.
"Yunmeng Kingdom? Isn't this the Taklamakan Desert?"
"Brother, you're joking. This is the Demi-God Desert. The Taklamakan Desert you mentioned is in the far south of the Moro Empire, more than hundreds of millions of miles away from here."
Duan and Yang immediately felt their heads go blank. Demi-God Desert? Moro Empire? The first image in their minds was that they had traveled through time, and this time they had traveled to a completely unfamiliar world. However, the two were also people with extensive knowledge and experience. All their astonishment was secretly hidden in their hearts. Since they came here, they had to find a way to go back. If they couldn't go back, they could only obediently live here.
Duan Tianyi stepped forward and handed the water bottle back to the man, bending slightly and bowing politely, "We are not the Yuanshi of Yunmeng Kingdom. My name is Duan Tian and my brother is Yang Feng. This time, my brother and I were out for training and accidentally ventured into this Demi-God Desert. We ran out of food and water and couldn't find a way out. Thanks to your help, we are extremely grateful. Please tell me your name."
The man nodded slightly, took off his veil, revealing a full beard, and smiled slightly, "You can call me Wild Wolf. Get on the camel. It's getting late, and the Demi-God Desert has many dangers at night. After setting up camp, I'll take you to meet our boss."
The two put their backpacks on and placed the big dragon and the small dragon swords on their backs. They jumped onto the camel.
Duan Tianyi, due to his poorer physical condition than Yang Mufeng, had only recovered to about 10%, and could only walk. He sat on the camel, closed his eyes, and secretly channeled the "Inherent Divine Power". Yang Mufeng, however, had recovered to about 60-70 percent of his strength, looking very excited. It seemed that he didn't take this time-traveling seriously at all. In fact, this was related to his personality. He had always been fond of novelty and excitement. This time-traveling experience, to some extent, satisfied his long-held preferences.
Yang Mufeng was sitting on a camel, supporting Duan Tianyi with one hand and turning his head to address the Wild Wolf, "Wild Wolf brother, my two brothers and I are new here and are not very familiar with this Yensen Desert and Yunmeng Kingdom. Could you please introduce it to us?"
Yang Mufeng had an appearance of being humble and seeking advice, and the Wild Wolf felt quite comfortable with his questions. Back and forth, you ask and I answer, and the conversation was quite congenial. Through the Wild Wolf's introduction, the two of them gained a general understanding of this world.
This world is called the Yuanwu World. The Yuanwu World has a vast continent that stretches for trillions of miles. The continent is surrounded by a starry ocean. There are three major empires and countless small countries on this continent. The three major empires are the most eastern Yuanwu Empire, which is the largest empire and basically occupies half of the Yuanwu continent; then the Southern Moro Empire, and the Western Northern Istank Empire. At the junction of the three major empires are countless vassal states, deserts, monster forests, inland seas, swamps, etc. The Yensen Desert where they are now is the northernmost junction of the Yuanwu Empire and the Moro Empire, and it is a small country called Yunmeng Kingdom, which is an country of the Yuanwu Empire.
The reason this world is called the Yuanwu World is because all the people in this world have a kind of energy called Yuanwu Power, also known as Yuan Qi. And among them, some people have more Yuanwu Power, so they can become Yuanwu individuals. If they continue to train, they will progress to Yuanshi, Yuanshi, Yuanwei, Yuanxu, Yuanxiang, Yuanju, Yuanshen, Yuanzun, Yuanzong, Yuanzong, and Yuanzun, ten levels in total. Those with some achievements are called Yuanshi, which is the most honorable title in this world.
Among the first eight levels of Yuanwu individuals, each level has nine grades, while the experts at the Yuanshen and Yuanzun levels are divided into five grades. As for the Yuanshen and Yuanzun-level experts, they are legendary figures. Even the Yuanwang and Yuanhuang are extremely rare. The Moro Empire covers several billion square miles and has a population of over a trillion. Among the experts above the Yuanwang level, there are very few.
The improvement of the cultivation level of Yuanshi mainly depends on Yuanzhu. Generally, only when the cultivation reaches the Yuanxu level will Yuanzhu condense. Yuanwei was previously called a sub-dimensional Zhu because the Yuanzhu had not yet formed a complete shape.
The pearls would exhibit different colors and sizes depending on their attributes and the elemental power contained within them. The Master of Elements could condense the pearls to the smallest size of just a drop of water, but the maximum size was unknown. The attributes of the pearls could be classified into seven types: purple pearls representing attack, yellow pearls representing defense and healing, silver pearls representing speed and lightning, black and white dual-color pearls representing control, gray pearls representing space, cyan pearls representing time, and golden, green, blue, red, and earth-colored pearls representing the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Each level of the pearls had at least one, and the maximum number was unknown. If theoretically speaking, the most powerful Master of Elements should be able to possess forty-nine pearls simultaneously.
Of course, more pearls are not necessarily better. The quality of the pearls is more important. For the same level of Master of Elements, having a high-quality pearl is even several times more powerful than having seven low-quality pearls. The quality of the pearls is highly related to the elemental power of the pearls. The purer the color of the pearl, the higher its quality.
Duan Tianyi and Yang Mufeng were like humble students seeking advice, learning a lot about this world from Wolf. This was no world that the two could understand. If not for their extraordinary intelligence and the ability to adapt to new environments, they might have been at a loss.
From Wolf's description of this world, the two gradually felt that the way back home was already distant. Now they could only take one step at a time. Although they were not afraid of death, giving up their journey and dying without reason was still very reluctant. In their world, they lived a colorful and flavorful life. Coming to this world, they still had to live up to the principles of the zodiac signs, otherwise it would be too inconsistent with their personalities.
Now, apart from the backpack full of crystals, at that time, they had also made room in the backpack to store crystals to facilitate the breakthrough of the array. Besides, there were only two books of secrets and two weapons left.
They knew that no matter what kind of world it was, money would be needed. Without money, one could not move forward in any world. Now the two were worried about what currency was used in this world. If they asked Wolf directly, they might reveal their weakness and make them suspicious. They didn't know what to do for a moment.
The three of them chatted happily all the way. Wolf seemed not to suspect them. The sun had completely set, and a full moon the size of a grinding stone rose in the desert. The dozens of camels in the caravan began to slow down and enter a low-lying area. They made a fire and set up a tent. All the camels surrounded the camp and lay down. Wolf prepared a small tent for Duan Tianyi and Yang Mufeng and instructed them not to move around. They would come and take them to meet the big boss in a while.
The two entered the tent and sighed. This unexpected event was even more astonishing than the dozens of adventures they had experienced. They chatted casually for a while, and the curtain was lifted. Wolf smiled and walked beside them.
"Two young brothers, how are you recovering? Let's go and see the big boss together?"
Yang Mufeng took an egg-sized green crystal from the backpack and said to Wolf, "Thanks to the big boss's rescue, my two brothers have no way to repay. Do you think this thing has some value? It should not be too stingy as a greeting for a meeting."
Wolf was astonished, "I didn't expect that you, Yang brother, have such a large piece of wood elemental essence. I only saw a similar-sized golden elemental essence at the auction in the Golden Mansion of the Shaman City once. At that time, it was bought for 200,000 stones. For a low-level Master of Elements like us, it would take at least four or five years of hard work to afford it. I didn't expect that you would be so generous. The big boss will surely be very satisfied with this essence." Yang Mufeng and Duan Tianyi were also slightly startled. They never expected that the crystals they had randomly collected would have such high value in this world. They were secretly delighted and thought that at least they wouldn't have to worry about lacking money in the future.
"Ha ha ha... That's great. Just so happen that I have another crystal here. This one will express my gratitude. Thank you, Wild Wolf Brother, for taking care of you two for this period of time."
Yang Mufeng, with an extremely heroic tone, took out another crystal from his backpack and handed it to Wild Wolf. Wild Wolf was overjoyed and hurriedly accepted it. He happily led the two of them towards the central tent of the camp, which should be the residence of the unknown big boss.
"The third team leader, Wild Wolf, brings along Duan Tian and Yang Feng to pay their respects to the big boss."
A very gentle and melodious female voice drifted into their ears. "Come in."
The two Yang and Duan were extremely surprised. It turned out that this mysterious big boss was a woman.
The three of them entered the tent. They saw a woman in splendid clothes sitting on a beautiful cushion, with colorful lights constantly flashing on her body. It was obvious that she was currently practicing.
Yang Mufeng stepped forward and slightly bowed, "Youngster Yang Feng and my brother Duan Tian are here to thank the big boss for your generous rescue. This is a small token, please accept it with a smile."
Yang Mufeng took out the green crystal and saw a faint green aura flowing out of the crystal and flying towards the big boss. The big boss's slender body slightly trembled, and then, the green crystal suddenly floated towards the top of the big boss's head. The soft voice rang out again.
"I accept this essence energy crystal. As for rescuing you two, it was just a small favor. Don't worry about it too much."
"Youngster, I have one more thing to ask. Please consider it."
"Go ahead."
"We two newcomers to Yunmeng Kingdom are quite unfamiliar with this place. We hope to join your caravan to head to the Shaman City. After entering the city, we will leave on our own."
"Originally, according to our caravan's rules, it is not convenient for outsiders to accompany. Wild Wolf Captain has already told me about your situation, and I have accepted your generous gift. If you want to follow, then go ahead. But I must explain in advance that in my caravan, we must abide by our rules. If there is the slightest violation, I will not forgive you."
"Of course. Since that's the case, we won't disturb the big boss's cultivation."
After coming out, Yang Mufeng said in astonishment, "The big boss's cultivation is so profound indeed."
Wild Wolf replied nonchalantly and proudly, "Yes, our big boss has already reached the level of a fifth-level Yuanwei. And he has condensed nine high-quality dimensional pearls. Just after refining the wooden element Yuanspirit of Yang Brother, it is very likely that he will reach the sixth-level Yuanwei and rank among the top ten in the Shaman City."
Yang Mufeng pretended to look envious and said, "My two brothers have just reached the rank of Yuan Shifu. I wonder when we can reach the level of the Grand. "
The wolf comforted him, "Don't think about it too much. Our Grand is a natural Yuan entity. He broke through to the rank of Yuan Wei at the age of twenty. Such a genius figure, even in the Shaman City, or the entire Yunmeng Kingdom, there wouldn't be more than a handful. Don't be too self-deprecating. I'm almost forty years old, but I'm only an eighth-level Yuan Shifu. But with the Wood-element Yuan Essence given by Yang Brother, I should be able to break through to the rank of Yuan Wei within this year. You two should go back and rest. Don't think too much. There are still many roads to cover tomorrow."
The two felt that everyone in this world was so powerful. At no time had their yearning for strength been so intense. They returned to the tent and sat cross-legged, practicing the "Inherent Divine Skill". They originally wanted to practice the "Six Meridians Divine Sword", but they found this secret book was obscure and difficult to understand. They couldn't practice it for the time being. They felt a bit depressed. Fortunately, there was still the "Inherent Divine Skill" book. Otherwise, the two would really have no idea what to do.