Rebirth as God

Chapter 5 Luo Zuo

Two years had passed, and Xuan Xing had traveled to many places. Initially, he hoped to find some good refining materials on this planet, but after all this time, he hadn't found anything of value. All he found were a few pieces of low-quality Xuan iron, which could only be used to forge mid-grade artifacts at best. Thinking back to his previous life, where he had nearly ten spirit artifacts, it felt quite pathetic to be in such a state now. He also wanted to make a storage ring, but crafting one required Voidstone, a rare material even in the cultivation world. It seemed he would have to make do with basic equipment for now. In over two years, he hadn't encountered a single cultivator. Xuan Xing had many questions he needed to ask them, and sometimes he even began to doubt whether there were any cultivators on this planet.While walking along a mountain path, Xuan Xing suddenly noticed a streak of light in the sky. Squinting, it seemed to resemble a cultivator flying on a sword. Excited to finally encounter a fellow cultivator, Xuan Xing chased after the light. Upon closer inspection, he saw a young man in a blue robe anxiously looking around. Xuan Xing approached and overheard him muttering, "How did it disappear here? I'm in trouble now; I bragged to my senior brother that I would catch a white marten. This is bad." He even stomped his foot in frustration. Xuan Xing found it amusing that a Golden Core stage cultivator would act like a child, stomping his foot in anxiety. That was his first impression of the young man. "Fellow Daoist, what are you doing?" Xuan Xing asked.The young man, startled, broke into a cold sweat. He hadn't noticed anyone approaching. Fortunately, Xuan Xing meant no harm. If it had been an enemy... he dared not imagine the consequences."Oh, brother, I was chasing a white marten, but I lost it here. You might laugh, but I bet my senior brother I'd catch one. Now I'll have to owe him a month's worth of wine. I swear, next time I'll win. I've almost lost everything to him lately," the man said with a bitter smile.Though the man's chatter was tiresome, Xuan Xing patiently listened."Oh, I tend to talk too much. Brother, don't mind me. I'm Luo Suo. What's your name?" the man asked, laughing.Xuan Xing almost laughed out loud at the name, which matched his loquacious nature perfectly. Even in the vast cultivation world, few would have such a fitting name."My name is... Xuan... Xing," Xuan Xing replied, stifling his laughter.Seeing Xuan Xing's flushed face, Luo Suo understood why. Everyone reacted similarly upon hearing his name for the first time. Some even doubled over in laughter. Xuan Xing's reaction was relatively mild.Luo Suo was used to this reaction by now. "Oh, Xuan Xing, nice name. You don't seem to have been cultivating as long as I have. If you don't mind, call me elder brother. How about it?" Luo Suo said, looking expectantly at Xuan Xing."Okay, I'll call you Brother Luo then," Xuan Xing agreed. Since he had reincarnated, his past life was behind him. In this life, he was just over twenty years old, so calling Luo Suo 'brother' was no big deal. Besides, he wanted to gather some information from him."Ha! I finally have a brother! Brother, you must chat with me. My senior brothers never want to talk to me; they're always busy cultivating. Do you think cultivating is that important? Look at me; I don't cultivate much, but I'm still at the Golden Core stage. They don't know how to enjoy life. Instead of cultivating all the time, they should drink and look at beauties. There are so many beautiful women out there. Look at their figures and skin. It's wonderful. Oh, by the way, why are you here?" Luo Suo finally asked a serious question.Xuan Xing, already sweating, replied, "I'm a solitary cultivator, always training alone. I just arrived here and you're the first cultivator I've met, so I came over to check it out.""Oh, you've been in seclusion. I admire you guys. Always in seclusion. You probably don't know much about this planet. Why not come back to my sect with me? You can be our guest, and I'll tell you all about this place," Luo Suo offered."Sure, I'll visit your sect," Xuan Xing agreed readily."The white marten is lost. Let's go." Luo Suo summoned his flying sword and stood on it.Xuan Xing had no flying sword, so he said, "Brother Luo, I don't have any magic treasures. Let's walk back."Luo Suo stared at him, wide-eyed. "Brother, you're worse off than I am. I only have this flying sword. Magic treasures are rare. Let's walk."Xuan Xing was confused by Luo Suo's words. Good magic treasures were rare, but low-grade treasures like Luo Suo's flying sword were common in the cultivation world. He had owned many spirit artifacts in his previous life. Why did Luo Suo say magic treasures were rare? However, they had to hurry, so he decided to ask about it later at Luo Suo's sect.Both of them were at the Golden Core stage, so even walking was swift. Each step covered several meters. After nearly three hours, they reached Luo Suo's sect."We're here. This is Xuanling Sect. Come, I'll take you inside," Luo Suo said as they stopped at a cliff. Now, Xuan Xing knew the sect was called Xuanling Sect.Xuan Xing used his spiritual sense to scan the area and found a maze formation, but it wasn't very advanced.Following Luo Suo, they quickly entered Xuanling Sect. The sect's territory was quite large, with a mountain range covering hundreds of acres protected by a sect-guarding formation. The spiritual energy inside was ample, though slightly inferior to the valley Xuan Xing had discovered."Xiao Liu, who did you bring today?" A man's voice called out as they entered."Master, I brought a guest. This is my brother Xuan Xing. Brother, this is my master," Luo Suo introduced. Xuan Xing noticed the speaker. Given his advanced cultivation, he instantly saw that the man's cultivation was at the late Nascent Soul stage."Ha, welcome to Xuanling Sect, Xuan Xing. I'm Qingsong, the sect master. Let's chat in the main hall," Qingsong greeted warmly, leading the way."Thank you," Xuan Xing replied, following Qingsong with Luo Suo. Xuan Xing found it strange that a sect master was only at the Nascent Soul stage, but expected to find answers soon.**Chapter 6: The Decline of Biyuan Star**In the main hall, servants served tea and snacks to their guest, Xuan Xing."Xuan Xing, don't be polite. Try these fruits; they're Xuanling Sect's specialty, not found elsewhere," Qingsong smiled.Xuan Xing didn't hold back and grabbed a crimson fruit the size of a baby's fist, popping it into his mouth. A cool sensation spread through his body, filling his mouth with a delightful fragrance. The fruit was indeed excellent, even better than anything he had before. He quickly ate five more before feeling embarrassed.Luo Suo watched enviously and finally grabbed one for himself."Sorry, the fruit is too good. I couldn't help myself. My apologies, Sect Master Qingsong," Xuan Xing said sheepishly."No problem. These Ganlin fruits are indeed special. They take a hundred years to mature and are beneficial for our cultivation, helping stabilize our cultivation levels," Qingsong explained, still smiling."Yes, brother, you're lucky. The Ganlin fruits are just ripe. Stay a while and enjoy," Luo Suo added, clearly hoping to eat more himself. His master rarely let them have the fruit, and Luo Suo was much more reserved in front of Qingsong.Xuan Xing understood the Ganlin fruit's rarity now. Fruits that increased true essence were scarce but obtainable in the cultivation world. However, fruits that stabilized cultivation were extremely rare."Thank you for such a precious gift, Sect Master," Xuan Xing said, appreciating Qingsong's generosity.They chatted about trivial matters for a while."Sect Master Qingsong, I have a question. Are there many cultivators on this planet? What is the highest cultivation level achieved?" Xuan Xing asked, curious about the low cultivation levels and the fact that Qingsong, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, was the sect master."There are only three major sects on this planet, including Xuanling Sect. The highest cultivation level is the early Out-of-Body stage, and there is only one person at that level. There are less than ten Nascent Soul stage cultivators," Qingsong revealed a shocking truth.A cultivation planet with less than ten Nascent Soul stage cultivators and only one Out-of-Body stage cultivator!"How did this happen? Was it always like this?" Xuan Xing wondered.Qingsong sighed and continued, "It wasn't always like this. This started ten thousand years ago. Biyuan Star is in a remote location in the cultivation world, but it wasn't this bad. Many cultivators ascended from here. The change came from an incident ten thousand years ago. According to records, three super sects existed back then: Qingxu Sect, Xuanming Sect, and Tianling Sect. Our cultivators were united. The event that changed everything happened ten thousand years ago. According to ancient records, there were three great sects in the cultivation world at that time: Qingxu Sect, Xuanming Sect, and Tianling Sect. Back then, the cultivators on our Biyuan Star were very united, but one person unexpectedly obtained an immortal artifact, and it was discovered by an elder of Tianling Sect. As a result, he was pursued to our Biyuan Star."Why should we, the people of Biyuan Star, hand over the immortal artifact to Tianling Sect? So, our experts on Biyuan Star joined forces to defeat and drive away that person. However, not long after, Tianling Sect sent more people, including two rogue immortals. At that time, we only had one rogue immortal, so they had an absolute advantage. All our Nascent Soul stage disciples fought against Tianling Sect. Even though we were only short of one rogue immortal compared to them, rogue immortals are incredibly formidable. Our forces were nearly wiped out.In the end, the immortal artifact was taken, and our strength on Biyuan Star plummeted by ninety percent. The remaining disciples were all below the Nascent Soul stage. Due to the death of the elders, the cultivation techniques of various sects were lost. We only have techniques up to the Nascent Soul stage, and anything beyond that we must figure out ourselves.Originally, this wasn't fatal, but Tianling Sect went too far. Before they left, they destroyed all the teleportation arrays connecting Biyuan Star to other planets. Since then, we have been unable to leave Biyuan Star and cannot obtain complete cultivation techniques."After listening to Qingsong's explanation, Xuanxing finally understood why the cultivation level on Biyuan Star, where he currently resided, was so low.Usually, when cultivators take in disciples, they first teach them techniques up to the Nascent Soul stage and only continue with the advanced techniques after that. This is to prevent unstable foundations from continuing to cultivate recklessly. The teachings are often delivered orally or imprinted directly into the disciple's mind by a high-level cultivator. Few people record their cultivation techniques, which has led to Biyuan Star's current situation of having no advanced techniques.Understanding all this, Xuanxing felt renewed hatred towards the three great sects!Setting aside his personal grudges against the three great sects, in the cultivation world, it is absolutely forbidden to destroy teleportation arrays, especially interstellar ones. There is an unwritten rule in the cultivation world that if someone destroys a teleportation array, anyone in the cultivation world can unite to attack them! Even rogue immortals dare not easily destroy a teleportation array.Yet, Tianling Sect did exactly that!However, upon further reflection, Xuanxing understood why Tianling Sect did it.An immortal artifact! In the cultivation world, such high-grade items are extremely rare. Even rogue immortals would fight desperately to obtain one. If a Nascent Soul stage cultivator acquired an immortal artifact, even a Master of the Fusion stage wouldn't be able to harm them.It is said that each of the three great sects possesses a sect-protecting treasure, which is an immortal artifact. The presence of these artifacts is inseparable from their long-standing dominance in the cultivation world, highlighting the immense value of immortal artifacts.It's normal for some people to die for an immortal artifact. As one of the three great sects, Tianling Sect has many experts but only one immortal artifact. Acquiring another one would be immensely beneficial to them, so they did not hesitate to become enemies with the entire Biyuan Star.Furthermore, regarding the destruction of the teleportation arrays, if they hadn't destroyed them, the news of Tianling Sect obtaining the immortal artifact would quickly spread through the cultivation world, bringing them trouble. The other two sects would certainly take an interest.Destroying the teleportation arrays of a peripheral star in the cultivation world wouldn't attract much attention because such planets rarely have visitors from other worlds. By destroying the arrays, no other planet's cultivators could reach Biyuan Star. Only a tribulation-transcending expert has the ability to establish a teleportation array, and at that time, Biyuan Star didn't even have Nascent Soul stage cultivators, let alone tribulation-transcending ones.By the time someone reaches the tribulation-transcending stage, it will be at least a few thousand years later. Even if the news spreads by then, no one will believe it—who could tell the truth from falsehood after thousands or tens of thousands of years?So, from a different perspective, Tianling Sect's actions are understandable.But Xuanxing would never see it that way. Destroying the teleportation arrays is an unforgivable crime!