Chapter 2248: Changed Iron Sky Kingdom
Chapter 2248: Changed Iron Sky Kingdom
Getting off the flying ship that they had spent the last few weeks on alongside the little monk they had picked up in the Western Central Region, Qing Yi and Chun Hua, both found themselves somewhat surprised that their journey through the Southern Central Region had been completed so smoothly without any major mishap beyond the ambush towards the end of their trip through the Southern Central Region taking place.
Although the merchant caravan had already established itself and this wasn’t the first journey through the Southern Central Region, the two of them had expected something to go wrong along the way. For nothing to happen in the end was both reassuring and disappointing.
Reassuring because they were able to make it through the Southern Central Region safely and disappointing because the two of them had been looking forward to witnessing a battle between Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators in person.
Still, though their feelings about the situation were mixed, the two didn’t linger around the merchant caravan as it began unloading the different cultivation resources and other trade goods it had been transporting from the other part of the Northern Central Region. Dragging the little monk along with them as they left the major power they had ended up in before starting the final stretch of their journey back to the sect. A journey that so far had taken months thanks to their master’s safety measures.
Speaking of which, both Qing Yi and Chun Hua might feel grateful for the safety measure left by their master, but at the same time, they had also silently decided to complain to their master about this unique safety measure of his that had ended up throwing the two of them all the way to the Western Central Region.
Sure, the two of them were safe in the end, but the journey back to the sect was far from easy and made them silently wish that this safety measure left by their master wouldn’t have thrown them so far away.
Of course, Xuan Hao had no idea about these complaints that were about to arrive at his doorsteps from two of his disciples- and even if he knew, he wouldn’t change the different safety measures he had left inside his disciples.
Not because he wanted his disciples to end up somewhere extremely far away, but instead because the distance itself was needed in case they were really attacked by someone in the Celestial Immortal Realm.
After all, while a central region like the Northern Central Region might be unimaginably large to someone like Qing Yi and Chun Hua, it wouldn’t be that difficult for someone in the Celestial Immortal Realm to lock onto the direction they had travelled and reach them before they managed to successfully escape.
The distance that these two unfortunate disciples of his ended up travelling, was to give them time to get out of the way on their own even if he couldn’t rush over to save them.
In fact, with his mastery of the Dao of Space having broken through to the Origin Realm, there was a far better chance that he ended up upgrading those safety measures left behind within those disciples of his.
Ensuring that if another situation like the one Qing Yi and Chun Hua happened again, they would get flung even farther away, to make it even harder for stronger cultivators, who might target them, chase after them.
The only real hard limit he had placed on the restriction was that it couldn’t move his disciples to somewhere outside the Ewaria Continent.
Unaware of any of this, Chun Hua, Qing Yi and the little monk found themselves travelling through three different major powers over the next few weeks before the small group finally found themselves reaching the borders of the old former Sky Empire that had by now started to become part of the Star Shattering Sect’s territory.
Although the entire territory was still far from being fully devoured by the Star Shattering Sect, it was at least not hard to find a branch sect of the Star Shattering Sect within the boundaries of the old Sky Empire.
A fact that had also ended up making the current ruler of the Iron Sky Kingdom, Yi Min, feel a hint of sadness faced with the reality that she could no longer be considered the bulwark of the Star Shattering Sect facing the Northern Central Region.
Still, because of the vast quantity of spirit metal and other rare minerals and ores produced within the borders of the Iron Sky Kingdom, the place didn’t drop in importance over the years but had instead slowly started to become an important part of the Star Shattering Sect, with the Blacksmithing Hall even going as far as to establish a branch independent of the main hall within the Shattered Star Peak.
Using the Iron Sky Kingdom to expand beyond the main sect and start training and recruiting promising blacksmithing talents that would later see a chance to become members of the Star Shattering Sect.
Something that the Alchemy Hall wanted to copy, but found itself unable to do, as there was no Iron Sky Kingdom equivalent for the alchemists of the Alchemy Hall to take advantage of to start expanding beyond the boundaries of the Shattered Star Peaks for now.
"This... Is the Iron Sky Kingdom!? Just how much changed since our last visit to this place..." And it was this Iron Sky Kingdom Qing Yi and Chun Hua saw for the first time in a long time as the two of them arrived through a teleportation formation from one of the smaller newly established branch sects within the territory of the former Sky Empire. Having been forced to first go through this place because of how the branch sect they visited hadn’t yet connected to the wider teleportation network because of its recent construction and only remained connected to a larger node in the network, that was the Iron Sky Kingdom, for now.
"I feel like I have been gone for far longer than just a year or two... What in the world did those fellows from the Blacksmithing Hall get up to while we were gone!?" And feeling the change to the Iron Sky Kingdom was a little too much, Qing Yi couldn’t help voicing her inner thoughts out loud.
Earning a quick nod from Chun Hua, who was similarly taken aback by the changes that had taken place throughout the iron Sky Kingdom following the two of them getting thrown to the Western Central Region.
After all, the Blacksmithing Hall hadn’t just established a branch in the kingdom but had essentially transformed the entirety of the capital along with the area outside of it into a gathering place for blacksmiths all over. Welcoming both wandering blacksmiths looking for somewhere to expand their knowledge and those intent on settling down.
In simple terms, the Iron Sky Kingdom had been transformed into the sect’s external trading hub for anything to do with artifacts.
Unsurprisingly, this also meant that countless wandering cultivators and cultivators belonging to different powers that were not the under the Star Shattering Sect had gathered within the Iron Sky Kingdom seeking blacksmiths who could refine the artifacts they wanted or just to look for good artifacts already put up for sale.
Turning the Iron Sky Kingdom itself into an important source of spirit stones and cultivation resources for the Star Shattering Sect itself and the different disciples who ended up selling their artifacts within the kingdom.
At the same time, also ensuring that the Star Shattering Sect gained another important source of these important resources, as relying on only the Explorer Union and Bright Stone City to sell off the excess artifacts produced by the blacksmithing elders and disciples during their practice wasn’t anywhere near enough. Especially with the Explorer Union paying what could be considered close to nothing for the different artifacts sold to them compared to that of the wandering cultivators and other cultivators buying them within the Iron Sky Kingdom.
If not for the fact that they still ultimately brought some profits to the star Shattering Sect and the production volume of the Star Shattering Sect’s increasingly large number of blacksmiths were simply too great for the sect to handle on its own, Elder Song would have loved to cut off the Explorer Union entirely.
Still, one important aspect of the Explorer Union artifact trade was the simple fact they could pay in spiritual metal and other resources that the blacksmithing disciples used for practice.
Not that Qing Yi and Chun Hua had any idea about any of this, as the two of them were just left shellshocked at the transformation that had taken place throughout the Iron Sky Kingdom while the two of them had been absent.
"Is this the Star Shattering Sect...?"
"Huh?"
"Ah? No, this isn’t the Star Shattering Sect, just a kingdom under it!" Only when the little monk nervously asked the two of them this, did they find themselves waking up from their dazed state before quickly explaining to him how the Iron Sky Kingdom wasn’t the Star Shattering Sect.