Chapter 00195: The Changing Tides
# The Changing Tides
Chapter 195
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 195: The Changing Tides
"Thank you, Brother Jiao. I won’t disturb you any longer."
Lan Xiaobu cupped his hands in thanks, feeling there was little more to ask.
Jiao Yu had shared what he could.
"Senior, why don't we go to our resting place? It may be simple, but it's quiet," Jiao Yu suggested eagerly, sensing that Lan Xiaobu was at least a Gold Core master.
In today's world, such masters were few and far between, standing at the peak.
Jiao Yu had his own desires; he hoped his son could gain some insights from Lan Xiaobu.
Lan Xiaobu pointed to a dilapidated and desolate village nearby.
"I will be resting here for a few days."
"There’s something sinister here," the young man said quickly.
Although he had witnessed the power of the ancient path, he was afraid that no matter how strong one was, could they face a ghost?
"It’s fine. Goodbye," Lan Xiaobu said dismissively as he stepped into the abandoned village with the ancient path behind him.
He needed to recover his strength quickly, first going to investigate Luo Caisi at Wuyuling in Beihai, then heading to Qiyin Mountain.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu enter the village, the boy wanted to say more but was pulled back by Jiao Yu.
"What kind of person is that senior? Can he really face ghosts? Let’s go and not disturb his rest."
...
Lan Xiaobu found a small two-story building.
As he and the ancient path stepped inside, a cold and eerie feeling swept over him.
Without any hesitation, the ancient path conjured a fireball.
A chilling scream echoed, and a shadow burst from the building.
The fireball was too weak, allowing a wraith to escape.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t care.
He took out several array flags and set up a Level Three ensnaring array outside the building.
With Earth’s spiritual energy becoming denser, some wraiths had begun to appear.
Given the scarcity of cultivators, these wraiths would have a place to thrive.
In Yuan Continent, even a low-level cultivator could easily dispatch one with a fireball.
The furniture on the second floor had decayed.
Lan Xiaobu instructed the ancient path to clear the belongings away and tidied up the place a bit.
His first task was to use the Five Mushroom Liquid and the Five-Colored Immortal Mushroom for healing.
External wounds were manageable; he had plenty of Yulin Pills for that.
However, the damage to his dantian, spiritual network, and purple palace required something different.
The Five-Colored Immortal Mushroom and Five Mushroom Liquid were treasures from Yuan Continent, each with its specific use.
While the Five Mushroom Liquid had some restorative effects, it was not specialized for repairing the spirit.
Fortunately, Lan Xiaobu had the Spirit Tempering Technique.
At the Fifth Stage, he used it after consuming the treasures, and his sea of consciousness rapidly recovered.
While the Five Mushroom Liquid and Five-Colored Immortal Mushroom failed to restore the spirit, they effectively healed his dantian and spiritual network.
Previously, every time he practiced the Spirit Tempering Technique, he had to tear apart his own spirit.
Now, thanks to the technique's influence, his sea of consciousness began to heal despite its prior injuries.
Since Lan Xiaobu hadn’t set up a Spirit Binding Array, the aura from the Five Mushroom Liquid and Five-Colored Immortal Mushroom leaked out, attracting a horde of wraiths to the small building.
However, before they could approach, they were all swiftly eliminated by the ensnaring array.
As half a month passed, Lan Xiaobu fully healed.
The once desolate village was now devoid of any wraiths.
His divine sense expanded swiftly after entering the True God Realm, covering nearly fifty thousand miles.
The entirety of Earth lay beneath the sweep of his perception, with each city fortified against feral beasts and monsters.
The beasts couldn’t be exterminated entirely, but they could be contained behind protective walls.
Some cities even had laser walls to fend off beast tides.
As the number of feral beasts increased, so did the number of powerful warriors.
This seemed to be the balance of nature.
Diverting his focus from the cities, Lan Xiaobu directed his divine sense toward Kunlun Mountain.
He quickly discovered traces of array formations there.
A teleportation array had been used recently.
Then, he recognized a few familiar faces.
Zhang Meixun was apparently now the dean of a hospital, and his best friend, Qiu Zhan, had opened an outdoor equipment store in Huzhou, likely because it was close to Kunlun Mountain.
Regardless, Lan Xiaobu planned to visit this old friend when he went to Kunlun Mountain.
Though Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense could cover Earth, it couldn’t penetrate every location.
He noticed some areas had barriers that blocked divine perception; some were natural, while others were manmade.
Most of the barriers were easily torn apart by him, but he chose not to.
One barrier emitted a wave of vaguely familiar energy.
Although it was strong, he was too far to break through it.
This place was on the edge of Yue Country, not Huaxia.
Though he didn’t know who was inside, he suspected it to be a palace.
Aside from that, he estimated there were at least fifty Gold Core cultivators living on Earth, with the majority in Huaxia—around thirty.
However, the strongest was not in Huaxia.
This individual had entered the Spirit Refining Realm and resided on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean, likely of mixed heritage based on his skin tone.
Lan Xiaobu failed to locate Luo Caisi, yet another woman caught his attention—Su Cen.
To Lan Xiaobu's surprise, Su Cen was also in the Gold Core realm, and her cultivation had reached the mid-phase.
She was now sitting in a teahouse in Huyishi, chatting with several men and women.
The tranquility in her demeanor suggested she was living a much better life than in her past.
The weakest among those with her were at the Foundation Building stage, and from the fluctuations of their auras, Lan Xiaobu deduced that Su Cen was likely their senior sister.
His thoughts drifted back to the past, recalling the girl who had burst through the nuclear shield, collapsing before him while he felt utterly powerless.
After some time, Lan Xiaobu retracted his divine sense and wiped his eyes.
He spoke in an even tone, "Who are you looking for?"
At the entrance stood a middle-aged woman with a scar across her face, radiating a murderous aura—one forged from years of violence.
"Did you find a top-tier spiritual item?" the woman fixed her gaze on Lan Xiaobu, her voice carrying an edge.
Realizing she sensed the aura of the Five-Colored Immortal Mushroom, he understood her intent.
He assessed the woman; she had not yet reached the Gold Core stage.
Nevertheless, those at the Nascent Soul stage were considered strong on Earth.
It was no wonder she dared to venture into the wilderness alone.
She seemed different from Jiao Yu, who had fled into the wild to escape pursuers, while this woman hunted feral beasts and monsters for survival.
She possessed a natural instinct; otherwise, she would have barged into the building and likely fallen prey to the ensnaring array.
"Indeed, but I used it all up," Lan Xiaobu replied, standing and swiping his hand, gathering a few array flags.
The woman hadn’t seen through his ensnaring array—her intuition had kept her from entering the building.
Now, as he reached for the flags, her eyes widened in shock.
She instinctively took a step back, realizing he was a true top-tier powerhouse.
Lan Xiaobu ignored her and stepped outside with the ancient path.
He noticed two enforcers from Zhenghu blocking Jiao Yu and a thin man while asking them something.
Jiao Yu looked terrified, unsure how to handle the situation.
"Friend, I have a deal to discuss…" The woman began, but before she could finish, Lan Xiaobu and his unusual pet suddenly vanished.
She broke out in a cold sweat.
She realized there were some wraiths around.
Had she misjudged and was she not facing a man but a wraith instead?
That was impossible; wraiths couldn't possess such a solid body.
She quickly became agitated.
She had to find him.
...
Upon entering Shujie City, Lan Xiaobu felt a mix of emotions.
In his past life, he yearned for a blue sky, and in this life, he entered the vast universe with that same yearning, hoping one day to return to Earth and see its sky turn azure.
Years later, he returned.
The once gray sky had vanished, replaced now by an increasingly blue expanse.
This was due to the eruption of spiritual energy on Earth, with plants growing wildly.
The emergence of feral beasts and monsters reduced pollution from industry.
Perhaps this was nature's way of self-regulating.
"Are you looking for me?" Lan Xiaobu landed beside Jiao Yu, addressing the two men.
One had just entered the Foundation Building stage, while the other was in the Inner Qi stage.
"Uh…" Jiao Yu gasped upon seeing Lan Xiaobu.
Then, he called out, "Senior!"
Lan Xiaobu handed Jiao Yu a manual.
"Take this to your son for cultivation. Thank you for the water."
"Yes, thank you, Senior."
Jiao Yu immediately bowed deeply, tightly gripping the manual before hurrying away with the thin man.
The Zhenghu enforcers moved to seize Jiao Yu, but upon hearing Lan Xiaobu, “That Shenyutao was killed by me. Go back and tell your Zhenghu head that I’ll be visiting the Qiyin Building in Haiyang tonight…”
Haiyang.
Lan Xiaobu recalled his time at Haiyang Medical University, returning now to find everything had changed.
Had he not seen the Qiyin Building with the Zhenghu Trading Company outside, he would not have known Zhenghu was located in Haiyang.
"You…" began the Inner Qi warrior, but before he could finish, Lan Xiaobu delivered a slap across his face.
Several teeth flew out, and then he heard Lan Xiaobu's voice, "Scram, and remember to relay my message."
Even the dimmest of minds would recognize how outclassed they were before Lan Xiaobu.
The two hastily helped each other out of the scene.
This was Lan Xiaobu’s first time in Shujie City, and he had no interest in exploring.
After sending his message back through the Zhenghu warriors, he made his way directly to the Dajie Teahouse in Huyishi.
Perhaps because it was close to Wuyi Mountain, there were more feral beasts here, giving Huyishi a stronger atmosphere of a warrior city, with modernity feeling noticeably weaker.
(End of Chapter)