Little Gian was not as smart or knowledgeable as Kunzi and the man knew this too. But at times, he had a presence of mind that many would not grasp.
"Of course!" Lin Mu said, almost forgetting that there was this option too.
"I've heard of the Teleportation arrays too, there is one each in the three empires. But using them is very expensive." Immortal Taegu spoke up.
"How expensive?" Lin Mu questioned.
"I don't exactly know, but I've heard from travailing merchants that some immortals spend a thousand years or so just to accumulate enough fortune to pay the fee." Immortal Taegu answered. "Compared to that, it is often more profitable to simply sail across the ocean." He added.
"Hmm… a fortune that takes a thousand years to accumulate?" Lin Mu furrowed his brows.
"Ahahah!" Elder Niji laughed at this time. "Don't worry Noble Lin Mu, the Haima Tribe still has enough fortune to sponsor you."
"Alright… let's see what we can work with after reaching the Safe haven of the tribe." Lin Mu nodded his head.
They continued their journey while eagerly talking about the future. Lin Mu was conversing with Senior Xukong too and the topic finally came to a very dear companion of Lin Mu.
"Senior, have you taken a look at Little Shrubby?" Lin Mu asked.
"I have, yes. You don't need to worry about him, he's fine." Xukong replied.
"Then why is he still in the seed form?" Lin Mu questioned.
"It is due to the fact that he used that innate ability fully for the first time. Vitality Reversal in itself a plant ability. There is no telling what kind of effects it would have on beasts.
Little Shrubby could use it to reduce his size, but using it to recover fully might take longer. Thankfully, it is very stable and I don't see any problems." Xukong answered making Lin Mu feel a little better.
"I've also been giving him wood spirit Qi from the Sleepscape." Lin Mu added.
"That is good. It'll help him recover fast and he might even breakthrough by the time he wakes up." Xukong replied.
"Really? That's great." Lin Mu felt pleased.
"You should also start to expand your scope of strength. I will now start your lessons on higher leveled formation arrays…" Xukong stated. "Let's go to the Sleepscape."
"Yes senior!" there was nothing more that Lin Mu could ask for more than this.
Sleeping was now instinctual to him and a mere second was all it took for him to enter the Sleepscape.
There the teacher and student met in person once more and began their lessons.
And while this was happening in the middle of the ocean, something else was occurring in the continent close by.
Dao Wind Continent, the Great Capital of Dao Wind Empire.
A vast city was spread for nearly a thousand kilometers. There were endless buildings all over the place, covering both hills and plains similarly. Eighteen rivers could be seen coming from the outskirts of the city and merging at the very center.
This merger of rivers formed a large lake, that was about a hundred kilometers in radius. In the center of this lake, there was a large platform covered with complex patterns and runes.
If anyone knowledgeable about runes and arrays were to see it, they would realize that this was a teleportation array. And not just any teleportation array, but a Great Teleportation Array that could take one to a different world!
This was also the official Teleportation array that linked the Rust Sky world to the Northern Immortal Court!
Hundreds of cultivators were currently present on the platform with over half of them wearing the Royal Guard armor of the Dao Wind Empire.
But that was not all, as the cultivation base of all these guards was at the fourth Tribulation Stage of the Immortal realm!
Such a group of cultivators would be the elites of an army and yet they were doing guard duty here. This alone showed the importance of the array.
Other than the guards though, there were other experts present too.
They were dressed differently than the guards, wearing various kinds of cloth robes. They also held several different tools, seemingly working on the array.
A man stood near the center of the array. He had the highest cultivation base in this entire platform and seemed to be at the sixth tribulation stage of the immortal realm. And not just that, he also seemed to be the head of this place.
"All formation masters ready!" The man called out.
"READY!" they all replied.
"The next batch will be arriving soon, start the array!" the man ordered.
~SHUA~
Upon that command all the formation masters activated their immortal tools. These were tools that were specially used to control arrays and formations. Any of them could easily be sold for hundreds of immortal stones in the market.
And yet there were several hundred of them present here and being used all at once. This was not a scene that would be seen often.
~HONG~
A humming sound was heard as all the formations that composed the array activated. Multi-colored runes floated around the air and various patterns appeared. For a normal person the sight would be rather beautiful, but to a cultivator it would be filled with numerous profundities.
Strong energy fluctuations spread from the formation, and threated to affects the area outside the lake. But just as they reached the border of the lake, another barrier appeared, keeping them contained within.
A massive amount of immortal Qi was consumed by the array in that moment and this triggered a change in the space.
~HUALA~
Several circular discs made from runes appeared on the platform while space rippled around it. If someone proficient in spatial Dao were to see this scene, they would realize that there were movements in the void.
~SHUA~
Finally, the spatial fabric tore open and the Great Void behind it was revealed!
Several such tears appeared on the platform, with each being located on the discs. Some tears were as nearly a hundred meters wide while some were just a meter wide. The discs on which they appeared were also of a matching size.
If one looked at this from the sky, they would see that it actually formed a large pattern.
The largest discs in the center formed a flower like pattern with the interweaving arrays, while the smaller discs outside it formed a large corona that looked like a large bouquet.
The multicolored runes and formations only made it that much more dazzling.
This dazzling scene lasted for a minute during which several people appeared from the spatial rifts. Some people were alone, some were in groups and some had brought along goods with them.
The goods were stacked up in large boxes that were easily hundred cubic meters in size. Just from this, one could tell that these were the extremely rich merchants that could afford inter-world travel!
"Power it down!" The formation master leading it all, ordered.
~WOOOO~
A low blowing sound was heard as the immortal Qi concentration in the area rapidly fell. And along with that, the glow of the formations and runes also faded away, letting the Great Teleportation return to its inactive form.
Once all this was over, the appearance of the people could finally be seen. It was safe to say that they were all a mixed bag of people. Some were dressed like nobles, some were dressed in Daoist robes and some were even dressed in tattered robes.
Their cultivation bases were also varied, with the weakest among them being at the third tribulation stage of the immortal realm. But the strongest among them was at the seventh stage of the immortal realm!
The man leading the formation masters noticed this and approached the said person.
"The Head of the Great Teleportation Array of the Dao Wind Empire welcomes the guests to the Rust Sky world!" The man said according to the etiquette.
He cupped his hands perfunctorily before turning to the rest of the people that had arrived.
"All Independent travelers are to register before leaving and present their identifying tokens!" the man announced. "And the merchants are to declare the goods that have been brought at the merchant union right away." He added.
Done with his work, the man turned back to meet the seventh Tribulation stage immortal.
"My Prince…" The man bowed this time.
"Master Suzi, I didn't expect you to be here today." The prince replied.
"How can I not be here to receive the prince? It is my duty as the Head Formation master of our empire." The man stated.
"Mmm… Though I see that there are quite a lot of people this time around?" The prince looked around.
"Ah yes… many cultivators are arriving in droves for the tournament next year." The man replied. "Though why did you end your training early prince?" he asked.
"I heard that a certain trash prince of the Holy Topaz Empire has rise in status? I felt interested so came to take a look."
