Unlimited employment

Chapter 190, Page 189: [Mending the Sky]

In the vast void, everything appeared enormous.

As Chen Sheng got closer to the world of Bei Ke, the enormous, emerald-green fruit gradually obscured most of his vision.

Although he was used to observing the fruit up close, he was still deeply shocked when he approached this breathtaking behemoth with his tiny body for the first time.

"The main world is already quite large, nearly ten times the size of Earth in my previous life, but it's only one level smaller. The size of the Bei Ke world is about the same as Jupiter in my previous life."

The size of a third-grade fruit is already terrifying, while in Fufengzi's memory, the size of a second-grade fruit is equivalent to the sun in my previous life.

The only first-class fruit on the Jambudvipa tree in the Central Great World was hanging on the tree in a size and manner that ordinary cultivators could not comprehend.

Although the cultivation systems of life and spirit within the Jambudvipa Tree show a widening gap as one progresses, the sheer scale of this world still makes me increasingly anticipate the power of the sixth, seventh, and eighth tiers.

When Chen Sheng arrived near the North Ke World, he began to deliberately reduce his speed and eventually hovered in the middle of the five-colored gate, which was tens of thousands of miles long and wide.

Yanfu Chongzhi has the ability to penetrate the membrane of heaven and earth, but he came here to do serious business and needed to use Fufengzi's identity, so he could only enter and exit through the main gate in a proper manner.

From Chen Sheng's position, one could see that on the nearby Five-Colored Heavenly Gate, there was another small gate with a diameter of more than ten miles, and at this moment, there were many cultivators of varying cultivation levels waiting outside the gate.

These are cultivators from the side branches of the Ren-character lineage. They came to the Bei Ke World to seek apprenticeship, trade, work, or stay in this world for a long time.

The vast void looked utterly desolate, so desolate that even after Chen Sheng was reincarnated several times, he had never encountered many living people in the void.

However, as the trading center on an entire branch of a tree, the Bei Ke World can still gather a considerable number of visitors every now and then.

Perhaps due to the different ranks of the fruits and their varying capacities, aside from the unfortunate souls who were expelled from the void and died by low-rank fruits at the first or second rank, those gathered outside the gate were all cultivators at the third, fourth, or fifth rank who were able to survive in the void.

Kind-faced Taoist priests, solemn monks, wicked young masters, warriors with surging blood and qi, phoenixes with gorgeous plumage, yang spirits transformed from Gu worms, girls carrying giant swords... all kinds of cultivators exist, and all kinds of cultivation levels exist.

However, due to the long distance traveled in the void, there were more cultivators of the fourth and fifth ranks outside the gate, while the fewest were of the third rank.

The few third-tier cultivators were also scattered far away in the surrounding area, clearly unwilling to have too much contact with the fourth and fifth-tier cultivators.

The void is a place without order. If someone dislikes you and kills you, you've died for nothing. No one will stand up for a stranger.

The cultivators who can ascend from within the fruit are all heroes within their respective fruits, and are definitely not as simple as they appear on the surface.

Just as the eerie aura surrounding Chen Sheng doesn't necessarily mean he was truly wicked, those who appear benevolent aren't necessarily truly kind.

A monk's temperament cannot be simply judged by his appearance.

In this deathly silence, half a month quickly passed.

Only when the small door below burst open with a "boom" did the cultivators, who had been suspended in mid-air like statues, come to life. They lined up according to their cultivation level and filed into the small door.

Actually, the so-called small door is just relatively small.

The enormous cavity, several miles in diameter, was like the maw of a colossal beast, swallowing up all those who entered.

As the group of cultivators flew among them, Chen Sheng could sense that some of the lower-level cultivators were emanating an uncontrollable sense of fear.

boom!
When they flew dozens of miles and arrived at the second gate, the gate behind them slammed shut, trapping them in a closed space.

Then, a harsh voice rang out in the space.

"Fellow Daoists, I am the spirit of the Gate of Mending Heaven, responsible for the safety of the Northern Ke World."

You come from other fruits, so you may know that in recent thousands of years, a large number of demons have been causing trouble on the side branches of the Ren character, seemingly trying to take the opportunity to invade the Bei Ke world.

The Heaven-Mending Sect has a strict decree: For the sake of world peace, starting a thousand years ago, all those entering or leaving the world must have their identities verified and be examined by the Demon-Suppressing Mirror before they can enter or leave.

The [Bugian Sect] is the organization that rules the world of Beike.

It is said that this was the sect founded by the Holy Maiden who mended the heavens. Because of her merit in saving the world, it developed over millions of years and naturally gained the power to rule the world.

In the present world of Bei Ke, the Butian Sect is the legitimate successor of heaven and earth, high above all others, yet it governs but does not rule. Below it are numerous sects, large and small, founded by disciples throughout the ages, forming a celestial palace that governs the world and holds most of the power.

Meanwhile, other sects that also inherited from ancient times have degenerated into unorthodox sects, mixed with sects that migrated from other fruits and rogue cultivators with little profound lineage, and are able to lord it over in a corner of the land.

Chen Sheng mentally reviewed the information about the Butian Sect and had no objection to the rigorous inspection he was facing. On the contrary, he felt that the style of this world was quite strict.

"...Fellow Daoists, please place your hands on the gate in front of you, and I will automatically recognize them..."

The voice of the spirit of the Heaven-Mending Gate continued.

Chen Sheng flew forward a short distance as instructed, then placed his Yang God hand on the five-colored gate and pressed it down. The gate, as smooth as a mirror, then displayed information about Fu Fengzi:
Surname: Li

Name: Tianpeng
Character: Xiuzhi

Nickname: Fufengzi

Brief description: The original information in Yang Shen is that of a native of the Central Great World, who cultivates the Daoist art of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, a secondary Daoist art [Yanluo Suppressing Prison Technique], and is a fifth-level cultivator of the Dao of Nature. Currently, his remaining lifespan is five to six thousand years.

Fu Fengzi's surname, given name, courtesy name, and pseudonym were information he filled out when he last came to the Beike World. Although it was real information, it was of little value.

Only the following brief description was obtained by the Butianmen through contact and investigation.

Cultivators never judge people by their appearance. Although Chen Sheng now has his own face, the new counterpart created by copying Yang Shen's information using the authority of the world's sovereign is, in the eyes of the Butian Sect, the genuine Fu Fengzi.

After this step of testing, the inspection work was not yet over. Soon, another mirror as blue as water appeared above the passage, shooting out a hazy beam of light that swept towards the cultivators.

This is the [Demon-Suppressing Mirror], a seventh-tier magic artifact left over from ancient times in the Northern Ke World. Although it was not transformed into the Yama's Secret Treasure by the fruit, it still has the power to see through the disguises of all cultivators below the seventh tier.

Even if demonic thoughts lurk in a cultivator's mind, body, or memories, they will have nowhere to hide.

The demon-suppressing light shining down on him at this moment naturally did not cause any problems for Chen Sheng's newly created Yang God; he was simply illuminated as if he had become a crystal.

Indeed, a few cultivators did have various hidden demonic energies revealed within their bodies, and some overly dangerous memories were erased. The Demon-Suppressing Mirror is a treasure for exorcising demons; its properties only target demonic energy. The reason it could detect the cultivators' memory problems was simply because those memories formed corresponding coordinates for guiding the Heavenly Demon. Ordinary memories cannot be stolen by it.

Just as this round of light was about to end, a fourth-level cultivator was suddenly illuminated by a demonic shadow.

Both the human and the demon were frozen in place, unable to move, and were desperately purified and annihilated together under the concentrated impact of the beams of light.

To the Butian Sect, a fifth-tier Heavenly Demon who could easily destroy the world with a fruit of rank four or below was nothing more than a minor character.

"This test has been passed. We have successfully killed a fifth-tier Shadow Demon. Fellow Daoists, you may continue forward."

After the demon-slaying mirror disappeared, the gate in front of them opened, and the solemn cultivators fled into the deeper part of the passage.

However, their journey became much smoother after that, and they no longer had to worry.

As the gate in front opened and closed again, after flying for about a thousand miles, the light of natural light appeared before us, and we entered the world of Bei Ke.

As Chen Sheng flew down from the gate, he saw hundreds of cultivators waiting nearby, clearly heading into the void.

Further away, there are palace buildings that stretch all the way to the horizon.

Among the pavilions and towers, rare birds soar, exotic beasts lie coiled, immortal herbs flourish, and spiritual roots abound.

The rich spiritual energy in the air transformed into thick fog, and the power of the sun, moon, and stars absorbed from outside the boundary by the membrane of heaven and earth transformed into beautiful colorful clouds hanging in the sky.

Beautiful maids floated through the mist carrying fruit platters; strong warriors carried wine vessels from the palace; and exquisitely crafted boys cooked dragon liver and phoenix brain in the kitchen.

These scenes together constitute a magnificent celestial palace, full of an aura of grandeur.

But before Chen Sheng could take a closer look at his surroundings, he felt a spatial teleportation force acting on him.

He did not resist, letting his body spin around and then arrive in a new world.

What you see is a beautiful landscape of clear waters and lush vegetation. Above you, the clear air descends, while below you, the turbid air of the earth is hidden deep within the veins of the earth.

The spiritual energy here is still very rich, about twice as high as in the main world, making it easier for those below the third rank to break through. However, the quality and quantity of the spiritual energy are not as high as the magnificent immortal realm we just visited.

Chen Sheng took a deep breath, feeling the spiritual energy enter his Yang Shen and be transformed into magical power imbued with a sinister aura, and sighed.

"Unfortunately, cultivation levels above the fifth rank can no longer be advanced by simply absorbing spiritual energy. No matter how good the environment is, it's meaningless for my cultivation."

Chen Sheng recalled the scene he had just witnessed and knew that it was the most exquisite place in the world—the Outer Heaven.

The fruit structure in the Bei Ke world is not the common fruit shape where the outer membrane of heaven and earth wraps around the spherical earth. Instead, it is a three-layered pyramid space with the area increasing from small to large from top to bottom.

Once you enter this realm through the Heaven-Mending Gate, you can see the outermost heaven. That space is the smallest in size, but the environment is the most favorable. It enjoys the highest level of spiritual energy supply in this realm and is the headquarters of the Heaven-Mending Sect.

Below the outer heavens, passing through a thick spatial barrier, one arrives at the middle layer of the pyramid—the celestial realm.

The celestial palace that rules the world is located in the central region of the heavens, and there are vast lands surrounding this realm that serve as the celestial palace's sustenance.

The lowest level of the world is the world Chen Sheng is currently in—the mortal realm. Because outsiders from unorthodox sects govern their territories according to their strength, this space is the most expansive, but also the most sparse in spiritual energy.

This is a world with extremely strict governance. The Butian Sect welcomes any cultivator to enter and trade, but in essence, one cannot place too much trust in these outsiders.

Therefore, even powerful fifth-tier cultivators can only move around, trade, study, or settle at the lowest level, and are not allowed to enter the core area.

Thinking about the unique openness of the Bei Ke world, Chen Sheng couldn't help but let his mind wander, wondering how powerful the world's master could be if this fruit also had an owner.

Not to mention the native powerhouses who are born from the fruit, all the powerful outsiders who enter will gradually reveal their secrets to the Lord of the World.

To what extent can the cultivation level of a Realm Lord be raised?

Moreover, the time flow rate between this world and the main world is 1:10. Although it is not particularly exaggerated, this ratio is not low either.

Fortunately, the original body has already achieved immortality, so it can afford to use its endless lifespan.

Furthermore, it is said that the Butian Sect has opened its doors wide to outsiders, allowing them to exchange various divine skills and wondrous techniques collected by the sect, as long as they can afford the price.

Now that I'm here, I expect to stay in this realm for a long time. I must take the opportunity to learn more cultivation techniques to support the development of my main body's fruits.

……

Chen Sheng mentally reviewed his plan to enter the world of Beike.

After waiting in place for a long time, he saw a streak of light descend from the horizon, transforming into a kind-looking middle-aged man who landed in front of him and laughed loudly.

"Fellow Daoist, you've finally returned. If you hadn't come back in a few years, I might have been tempted to open the location information of the fruit you mortgaged."

The person who came was the third manager of the Sihai Trading Company, who was in charge of managing Fufengzi's debts.

Previously, in order to set up an array capable of breaking through the main world, Fu Fengzi borrowed a large sum of money in the Bei Ke world to purchase materials related to breaking through boundaries.

However, borrowing money requires collateral.

Fu Fengzi placed the location of the main world inside a secret-guarding conch shell, then entrusted the value of the information to the absolutely ruthless and impartial god of secrecy in this world, and mortgaged the conch shell to the Four Seas Merchant Guild.

The promise is that if the owner returns within a hundred years, the previous loan will be repaid with interest. If the owner fails to return, the Guardian Conch will automatically open and reveal the location of the main world to the current holder.

Chen Sheng disguised himself as Fu Fengzi and came to the world of Bei Ke with one important goal: to redeem the conch shell.

Now that he is the ruler of a world, he naturally cannot be short of money.

He took out a sea eye stone directly from the Myriad Souls Banner, which had been collected from the depths of the ocean in the main world and had been nurtured for countless years, and stuffed it into the Third Manager's hand.

"Third Manager, look, this stone is worth the principal and interest of the loan I borrowed!"

(End of this chapter)