Chapter 52: Wrapping Up the Work

"What! Sister Qiao, are you leaving?" Tears immediately welled up in Feng Ting's eyes as she grabbed hold of Qiao's hand. "Then I'm coming with you!"

"I am going to leave this continent, and I have no set time for return. Perhaps I will never come back," Qiao Xi said earnestly.

That was right; she intended to leave the Linyuan Continent. The system had previously stated that the second Star-Blue base lay far beyond this continent, and the Beast City happened to be the location of the barrier sealing the continent. This meant that as long as one stepped past that barrier, they could reach a new continent.

Now that the affairs of the beast race were basically resolved, she could set off to continue her search for the Star-Blue base.

"The outside world is different from the Linyuan Continent. The dangers are unknown, and even I cannot guarantee that I can protect you." Although her cultivation had reached the Soul Formation realm, that level of cultivation was only invincible within the Linyuan Continent. This continent was sealed, which capped the upper limit of cultivation, but the outside world was not. Once she stepped outside, she might truly just be a primary school student. Before finding the new base, she would have to keep a low profile and survive.

"Then I'm still going!" Feng Ting was unexpectedly firm. As if afraid that Qiao Xi might truly vanish, she gripped her hand tightly, the rims of her eyes turning red. "Sister Qiao, don't leave me behind." She was an orphan to begin with, and Sister Qiao was practically the only person she felt close to. Feng Ting did not care about any dangers; she simply did not want to be separated from Sister Qiao.

"Uh... Alright then!" Qiao Xi ultimately agreed. Worst come to worst, she still had the spiritual energy mecha; self-preservation should not be a problem.

"If Feng Ting is going, then I'm going too!" Zhen Yi, standing nearby, panicked and hurriedly raised his hand to declare his stance, "We climbed the mountain together, so naturally we leave together."

Even the remaining socially anxious Jing hastily added, "Count me in."

"—" No, wait, why are the two of you joining in the excitement?

Qiao Xi sighed and had to explain the situation once more. "Do you know what leaving the Linyuan Continent means? Once you step outside, you might never be able to come back." The innate talents and cultivation they prided themselves on might become utterly worthless out there, and due to their bloodlines, they might even attract covetous attention from others. All of these things were entirely possible.

"Cultivation has always been an act of defying the heavens," socially anxious Jing said earnestly. "Senior, since we know there is a broader world outside, naturally we are no longer willing to be confined to a single corner. Mere risks—we are not afraid."

In truth, the decision of these few to leave was not merely to follow in Qiao Xi's footsteps. Ever since they learned that the Linyuan Continent was merely a sealed land and that a much vaster continent existed beyond it, they had harbored the thought of going out to take a look—to see what cultivators outside were like and what kind of soaring peaks they possessed.

Although the isolation barrier was meant to protect the Linyuan Continent, what was it if not a layer of shackles? Since they now had a chance to shatter it, they naturally wished to enter a wider world. As for whether there would be dangers in the outside world?

Where on the path of cultivation were there no risks?

"That's right, we are not afraid!" Zhen Yi also said firmly.

"—" Only Feng Ting silently tightened her grip on Qiao Xi's hand. *No, I just wanted to follow Sister Qiao. What kind of grand ideals are you two trying to attach to this?*

Qiao Xi did not continue to persuade them, as these were ultimately their own decisions; forcibly interfering might even shake their spiritual foundations. She simply explained the situation regarding the barrier in detail.

Although once the Beast City was repaired, they could leave through the isolation grand array, there was no guarantee they could return. One had to understand that this continent was not simply enclosed by a barrier; rather, it was sealed within an extra spatial pocket, and the exit point was not fixed.

In other words, it was one-way: out, but not in! Once they went outside, they might never be able to return unless the continent's barrier was completely shattered to allow Linyuan to merge with other continents.

Given that Linyuan's current level of strength consisted solely of herself as an elementary school graduate, it was clearly unsuitable to plunge into the greater environment. Keeping a low profile and developing steadily was the absolute truth.

She explained all of this, and seeing that the three of them still insisted, she stopped objecting. Perhaps having a few companions along wouldn't be a bad thing.

However, she could not simply leave on a whim. Not only was the Beast City not yet fully repaired, but the Immortal Alliance's lingering affairs had not been completely dealt with either. Furthermore, if the three of them were really going to follow her outside, their cultivation was simply too low. Aside from socially anxious Jing, whose Golden Core was barely passable, Feng Ting and Zhen Yi were still basically kindergarten toddlers.

Cough. Of course, she had also promised a certain light bird that she would help him solve his pants—oh right, her mistake, she meant the issue of his feathered bloodline manifestation.

Thus, in the time that followed, Qiao Xi split her time between repairing the Beast City and helping to elevate the strength of the sect, striving to raise the overall level of immortal cultivation across the continent, while occasionally sparing time to guide the three of them.

In truth, the issue of bloodline manifestation was very easy to resolve. The people of this continent were originally born with complete Dao bodies; it was merely that after awakening their bloodlines, they had overly unlocked the potential of the beast race's bloodline.

Those with awakened bloodlines could obtain a portion of the beast race's original power. For instance, a water-type bloodline made one closer to the water, a wood-type made one more sensitive to spiritual plants, and a feather-clan bloodline allowed one to learn wind-control techniques much faster.

If one looked closely, these were actually the original innate talents of the beast race. Their ancestors were originally spawned by the beast race through incubation pools, so it was normal for such characteristics to exist within their bloodlines.

However, in the long run, letting the bloodline awaken was actually a case of putting the cart before the horse. The human form had always been known as the Dao body and was naturally the most optimal form for cultivation. Bloodline awakening could temporarily grant bloodline abilities, but in the long run, it was detrimental to cultivation.

This was also the reason why the speed of cultivation in this world was so slow.

Moreover, Yu Xuan had also mentioned that the higher the cultivation, the fewer ancestral regression traits remained, which proved that ultimate cultivation still had to return to the Dao body. The so-called bloodline awakening was entirely wasted effort that merely increased the difficulty of cultivation.

Once she figured this out, solving the feather problem of a certain light bird became very simple: she just needed to directly seal or suppress the influence of the bloodline within his body and guide him back to his original Dao body as much as possible.

Qiao Xi shared all of these deductions and thoughts with Qi Hong, advising him that in the future, they should no longer awaken any bloodlines, but merely test for spiritual roots. They could even lower the age limit for cultivation—after all, cultivation naturally had to be nurtured from childhood.

Naturally, she also knew how shocking her assertions were, as they completely overturned the previous cultivation system. The bloodline awakening in the Linyuan Continent had lasted for thousands of years; how difficult would it be to reverse it overnight?

However, this was not something Qiao Xi needed to worry about. She had already told them the method; whether they believed it or not was up to them.

Having resolved this matter, Qiao Xi began copying cultivation manuals. She had to admit that although the Immortal Alliance was insidious, over the years they really had collected quite a number of cultivation textbooks. The first time Qiao Xi saw those rows upon rows of Chinese books in their treasury, she had the illusion that she had stepped into some sort of library.