Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

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The group walked around the riverbed hills and then saw in the jumble of rocks behind them the wreckage of a ship submerged among the disordered waterweeds.

"How strange," Xu Yinglian spoke up, "Wood should float according to reason, why would it sink to the bottom of the water?"

She picked up a fragment of wreckage and examined it closely:

"It's light, not some kind of heavy wood, and it doesn't have metal nailed to it."

"Is there a possibility," Qiu Changtian spoke slowly, "that this is the very ship Xu Zhi boarded?"

"Traveling through here, it was suddenly swept into a secret realm, which is why no subsequent art calculation could detect it."

"It's not out of the question," Xu Yinglian answered, "If we can find the entrance to the secret realm, then this speculation will naturally be proven; if we cannot find the entrance, then the true nature of this wreckage of the ship will also be meaningless to us."

"Indeed, allow me some time to think," Qiu Changtian pretended to ponder, while inwardly calling out, "Ah Jing, quickly scan and see how we can enter this secret realm."

"Just dive into the river from above and you can enter," the Kunlun Mirror responded.

"Alright," Qiu Changtian pretended to think hard, then as if struck by a revelation, said, "Could it be that according to that legend, we need to 'sink into the river'?"

"Sink into the river?" Luo Baiyuan asked, puzzled, "Aren't we already sunk at the bottom of the river?"

"Senior brother is talking about performing the 'sinking into the river' motion," Xu Yinglian understood and explained, "not actually being at the bottom of the river."

"Oh," Luo Baiyuan murmured, half-understanding.

The three of them directly controlled their swords to rise, breaking through the water's surface, and then released their sword control, falling straight down from the air.

Falling heavily into the water, Qiu Changtian only felt water pressure from all directions rushing at him, quickly swallowing him completely.

After staying still in the water for a moment, he confirmed that Junior Sister Xu and Sister Long were beside him, then he broke through the water's surface again.

Far away, it was no longer the banks of the Xiang River, but a vast expanse of underwater houses. The lower halves were completely submerged in water, while the upper halves were topped with lotus leaf-shaped roofs.

"Who goes there!" Luo Baiyuan suddenly called out.

She lifted her right leg, stomping down forcefully, and a large number of ice spikes shot out rapidly from the water.

Two figures quickly retreated, dodging the dense thorns of ice.

Qiu Changtian focused his eyes and saw, coincidentally, that they were both acquaintances.

The two, one tall and one short, with the shorter one being the familiar face of Long Xiaoqi, known to Wei Dongliu, now looking like a drowsy and confused little girl.

The taller one was Shi Yao, known to Long Long, serving as an elder in the Azure Dragon Clan, but secretly the leader of the Eastern State branch of the Jiaolong.

But why had these two dragon ladies entered this secret realm?

Qiu Changtian then remembered that before entering the secret realm, he saw the shadow of a water snake flash by, which must have been the two of them quickly descending to the bottom of the river from the air.

"Eastern Emperor Path?" Luo Baiyuan frowned.

"Kunlun Cultivators," Shi Yao chuckled, appearing both friendly and adversarial, her attitude ambiguous, "Or should I say, the renowned Han Yuan, Changgeng, and Qiong Ying... This secret realm has not yet been explored. Do you really want to waste time here, battling with us?"

Luo Baiyuan didn't respond, but secretly transmitted a message to the two:

"If my memory serves me right, she is Shi Yao, the sect master of the Eastern Emperor Path. Her power is not something ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivators can compare to."

"In a direct confrontation with her, at most, I can only protect you from dying but stand no chance of defeating her."

"It's just uncertain why, she doesn't seem to bear us any malice, but it's also hard to tell if she's pretending to lull us into complacency... do you want to continue exploring?"

"Since the other party doesn't plan to make a move, then let's just mind our own business for now," Qiu Changtian pondered for a moment, and replied, "Let them search for what they want, and we'll do what we came to do."

Others might see Shi Yao as the sect master of the Eastern Emperor Path, but he knew her true body was actually that of a Jiaolong, and her focus had always been on the Eastern Emperor Realm.

As for the Three Pure Orthodox Sect here, perhaps only Shushan would harbor a bit more enmity due to the Demon Locking Tower... but in the end, she wasn't like a typical Demon Path Cultivator who would cry out for battle upon seeing Orthdox Sect Cultivators.

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As long as we're careful, it's not that we can't deal with her.

"Since that's the case, you two stay close to me at all times later and don't stray," Luo Baiyuan instructed, "If she shows any hostility, we must escape immediately without delay."

"Of course," Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian replied in unison.

On the other side, Long Xiaoqi was also quietly having a conversation with Shi Yao:

"Master, aren't we going to forcibly keep them here?"

"Luo Baiyuan's cultivation level is profound, he can't be taken down quickly," Shi Yao answered indifferently, "Qiu Changtian holds the Polar Thunder, which is too much of a restraint for our race. If it really comes to a fight, I can't ensure your safety."

"Oh," Long Xiaoqi said lightly, "Then, if it really comes to a fight, who will those two empresses inside help?"

"I don't know," Shi Yao shook her head.

To prevent the two dragon empresses from having second thoughts, Qiu Changtian led the two into the Immortal Realm town first.

Inside the town, there were quite a few little demons, all being aquatic demon race members, fishes, shrimps, turtles, crabs. Seeing strange cultivators invade their place, they scattered in all directions, returning home and not coming out again.

Qiu Changtian looked around at ease, noticing that these houses were all luxurious and splendid, with coral for walls and pearls for lamps, while the streets were paved with purple clamshells, all very extravagant.

Soon, two small demons rushed over and said to the three in trepidation:

"Noble guests, the Lady of the Xiang invites you."

"Who is the Lady of the Xiang?" Xu Yinglian probed.

The two little demons fumbled their words, saying "The Lady of the Xiang is the Lady of the Xiang" over and over in confusion, without being able to clarify anything.

"Never mind, let's just go," Qiu Changtian persuaded her, "These little demons haven't yet transformed, and their bloodline ranks are low. Their spiritual wisdom is no different from a few years old child, you won't be able to get a clear answer from them."

"Fine," Xu Yinglian then gave up on further questioning.

The three followed the little demons further, quickly arriving at a bamboo forest in the middle of the water.

Deep within the bamboo forest, there was a simple but imposing imperial palace. Although it appeared magnificent and grandiose from a distance, upon closer inspection, there were not many details - the carvings were rustic and casual.

A few fish maidens emanated gracefully from the palace, laughing and smiling as they led the three guests inside.

"Be careful," Luo Baiyuan suddenly said.

Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian both knew what he meant: the demonic aura deep within the palace had become so dense it was almost tangible.

Upon entering the main hall of the palace, the three saw two gorgeously dressed and stunningly enchanting women sitting high on the jade throne.

On the left sat a girl with short hair and an oval face, her smile fresh and radiant, possessing a youthful and lively beauty; on the right was a woman styled as a young wife, with long hair and a melon-seed face, a languid and charming demeanor, exuding a mature and alluring aura.

With many years of experience in discerning demons, Qiu Changtian quickly identified both of the women as Jiaolong.

To be precise, they were of the Qiulong rank, with cultivation levels roughly equivalent to the high rank of Nascent Soul.

Suddenly, Xu Yinglian subtly glared at him.

Qiu Changtian was slightly taken aback before he realized that both dragon ladies on the throne had already focused their smiling gazes on him.

"Sister, is this the human Qiu Changtian?" the long-haired dragon lady asked languorously.

"Indeed, he has a fine appearance, gentle and refined like jade," the short-haired dragon lady giggled, "I think he'd make a good 'Lord of the Xiang'."

"Do you think so too, sister?" the long-haired dragon lady's face brightened with delight, "This First-Grade Golden Core, with Daoist Heart Clarity, if he became our Lord of the Xiang, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing!"

"It's a pity, I heard that the Lord of the Xiang already has a lady," the short-haired dragon lady then looked towards Xu Yinglian, "and she's a little Phoenix, no less."

"What force does a Phoenix have compared to a Jiaolong?" the long-haired dragon lady said disdainfully.