Chapter 2104: Such a Divine Realm

The Divine Realm.

It seemed to have existed since time immemorial, enduring for countless years. Countless ancient deities, as far back as their memories stretched, had always stood at the pinnacle of all heavens and myriad worlds, never fading.

The setting sun was like blood, the fierce wind like a blade.

A solitary figure walked alone through a desolate valley, trudging forward.

Suddenly, he stopped and hid behind a rock. No sooner had he concealed himself than a gray shadow hopped over not far away.

It was a gray hare.

The figure smacked his slightly parched lips, picked up a wooden stick from the ground, and flicked it upward. A sword light shot from the top of the stick, evolving into a net-like sword aura.

Pop!

It spread less than a meter before dissipating into the air.

Seeing that the sword aura couldn't reach the target, the figure made a snap decision. He released his grip, and the stick flew straight at the hare like a shot arrow.

Whoosh!

Already on guard, the hare kicked off with its hind legs, leaping five or six meters away. The wooden stick stuck into the ground, quivering.

It turned its head to glance at the figure who had ambushed it, as if mocking him, then with a few consecutive hops, vanished from the spot.

"What a pity..." Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly.

It was none other than Zhang Xuan, who had come to the Divine Realm.

The Teacher of Ten Thousand Ages on the Master Teacher Continent, the Sect Leader of the Four Clans of the Upper Firmament, the number one under the heavens—now, after arriving here, he couldn't even catch a rabbit and was even scorned by it. If word got out, it would surely make people laugh their heads off.

But that was the reality, and there was no other way.

"Looks like I'll have to make do with wild vegetables again today..." Knowing that such hunting opportunities were rare and hard to come by, and that once missed, it was nearly impossible to find another, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.

He had been in the Divine Realm for over half a month now.

After traversing that spatial turbulence, he had ended up here.

Unlike when he entered the Upper Firmament, he hadn't fallen unconscious. But on second thought, it might have been better if he had.

His "Thousand Knots" sword net was indeed powerful, but the spatial forces of the Divine Realm were too terrifying. As soon as he entered, he was severely injured, nearly torn to shreds.

If not for the pendant Luo Ruoxi had given him to protect his body, he would probably have died.

Upon entering the Divine Realm, after a brief dizziness, he found himself in this desolate mountain range.

Here, fierce winds raged all day long, torrential rains that could crush a demigod fell from time to time, and ferocious divine beasts roamed... Most importantly, there was almost no spiritual energy!

It took a full half month of recuperation just to suppress his injuries. As for a full recovery, that was still far off.

The Yuan Power Pills and many treasures he had brought from the Upper Firmament were now virtually useless. Even the little yellow chick's bathwater seemed to have little effect.

Severely injured and unable to hunt, he could only eat wild grass. Fortunately, though these plants were unpalatable, they still contained some spiritual energy, enough to sustain his daily consumption.

Of course, that was in comparison to his current situation. These worthless wild grasses covering the ground, if sent to the Upper Firmament, would be the elixirs and miraculous medicines that countless powerhouses dreamed of. Even using top-grade Yuan Power Pills on them would be a waste!

The two worlds were too different, incomparable.

For this very reason, the number one person in the Upper Firmament, once here, was not much different from an ordinary person.

It was entirely possible that an ant from here, entering the Upper Firmament, could easily annihilate a sect, and even a powerhouse like Han Jianqiu might not be able to contend with it.

This... is the Divine Realm!

The flow of time was a hundred times slower than in the Upper Firmament, and space was also a hundred times more stable!

"Not only can I not fly, but walking also becomes very tiring, and... I feel hungry!"

Thinking back on the experiences of the past half month, Zhang Xuan felt an indescribable weariness.

He had thought that after breaking through to the Divine realm, even here, he would be a local hero, able to gallop across the land. He never dreamed that in the blink of an eye, he would revert to the life of an ordinary person.

Walking made him tired, not eating made him hungry, running fast made him pant, staying awake too long made him sleepy...

Back when he first transmigrated and became that useless teacher, he didn't seem to have been this miserable.

Only now did he understand... the Divine realm was considered the lowest cultivation level in this world. To put it bluntly... he might not even be able to defeat a rabbit!

Take the wild chicken he encountered yesterday, for example. After struggling for half a day, not only was his palm scratched, but in the end, it still escaped.

This rabbit was the same.

Fortunately, it only fled and didn't charge at him; otherwise, he might have had to lie down for another half day.

Grumble, grumble!

Just as he was lost in thought, he realized that thinking too much consumed energy, and his stomach felt even hungrier.

"Let's keep looking. Maybe some stupid rabbit will run into a tree, and I can have a good meal..." Licking his lips, he suppressed his fatigue and continued forward. Rounding a mountain col, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"There's actually a fruit tree!"

Not far away, wedged in a crevice between rocks, a fruit tree slanted upward, bearing seven or eight greenish fruits.

They were only the size of a baby's fist and not yet ripe, but for someone who had been eating wild grass, they were definitely a treat.

He quickly picked them, took a sniff, and a fresh fragrance assailed his nose, making all the pores on his body seem to open.

After picking them all, he took one out and was about to bite into it, but then shook his head.

"Forget it. Their cultivation is lower; they can't handle it either!"

Swallowing his saliva, he wrapped the fruits in his clothes and turned back.

He had already broken through to the Divine realm and was getting hungry so quickly, his body barely holding up. Zhao Ya and the others he had brought up were only demigods; they would have even more trouble enduring.

These past few days, eating wild grass, everyone had nearly withered away like bean sprouts. Since he had finally encountered some fruits rich in spiritual energy, he naturally left them for his students.

"With violent air currents and sparse spiritual energy, I might have entered a fake Divine Realm..."

He shook his head as he walked back.

Back in the Upper Firmament, he had fantasized about the Divine Realm—everywhere filled with divine energy, freely absorbable, allowing everyone to break through, and then the teacher and students would unite, galloping across the land, invincible...

Now it seemed... he had been overthinking.

Judging by the current situation, he would probably starve to death before he could gallop anywhere.

On the seventh day after entering the Divine Realm, his injured body had recovered somewhat. Only then did he communicate with the little yellow chick and release everyone.

As for the folded space, after everyone came out, under the spatial pressure of the Divine Realm, it shattered directly, and all the items inside turned to ashes.

Having gone without food for seven consecutive days—which was nothing in the Upper Firmament—in the Divine Realm, everyone was already on the verge of death from hunger.

They found some wild grass to eat and only then recovered.

As for the little yellow chick, whether because its previous injuries hadn't fully healed or because it wasn't adapting to the Divine Realm, it continued to sleep in his dantian, showing no signs of waking up for now.

He had thought of letting this chick go out to lure some divine beasts, then try to hunt them for food. Now it seemed he could no longer count on it.

Before long, he returned to the cave where they were temporarily staying.

"Teacher..." Zhao Ya and the others came up to him. "We're not injured; we can go out to hunt or look for food..."

They had been hiding in the folded space of the storage ring and, when the storm hit, were inside the little yellow chick's belly, so they weren't injured.

Although the spatial suppression of the Divine Realm was too great, making them feel as weak as children, they should still be able to find wild grass or try to ambush a weak divine beast.

"No! Any random beast outside is a Divine realm cultivator. If you're not careful, you could be killed! Stay here for now and try to break through to the same cultivation level as me!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"But..." Zhao Ya was anxious.

They were students; letting their teacher risk danger every day to find food was against both reason and propriety.

"There's no 'but' with me! What, you won't listen to your teacher anymore?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"The student wouldn't dare..." Zhao Ya quickly lowered her head.

"Alright, look what good things I've brought for you..." Smiling slightly, Zhang Xuan set down the fruits wrapped in his clothes, and instantly the whole cave was filled with the fragrance of fruit.

"These are... fruits?" Their eyes lit up, and Yuan Tao and Sun Qiang's mouths watered.

After more than ten consecutive days of eating wild grass, they were already suffering from acid reflux. Seeing something like this now, how could they hold back?

"Eat up!" Zhang Xuan smiled. "But there aren't many. Everyone share them. I'll go out again later to see if I can find more! Sun Qiang, you handle the distribution!"

"Okay!" Sun Qiang came over.

Excluding Zhang Xuan, there were fourteen people in total. (Eleven direct disciples, Xingmeng Sword Saint, and Sun Qiang.)

"Eight fruits. Young Master, you eat one... and we'll each have half of the rest!" Sun Qiang counted and said.

"I already ate some outside. You all go ahead!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand. "Leave one for the little yellow chick. Even though it's still asleep, it will definitely want to eat when it wakes up. If we don't leave any, it will probably complain."

Without further ado, Sun Qiang gave each person half a fruit, distributing them.

Though the fruits were unripe, the spiritual energy they contained was far greater than that of wild grass. After eating, Yuan Tao, Sun Qiang, and the others immediately felt the fatigue of the day vanish, and they were no longer as weak as before.

"Teacher... you have my half..." Wang Ying came up to Zhang Xuan, who was standing at the cave entrance.

"You eat it. Improving your strength as quickly as possible is the real priority!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand. Just as he was about to continue speaking, he suddenly furrowed his brows. "Stay quietly here. No matter what happens, don't come out until I call for you!"

With that, he flickered and dashed straight out, disappearing into the valley before long.

Seeing him leave, Wang Ying rearranged the vines outside the cave to conceal them from outsiders, then turned back to the others, her eyes slightly red.

"What's wrong?" Noticing her expression, Zhao Ya came over.

"Nothing. Teacher told us to be careful and not go out. He must have gone out to look for food again."

Looking down at the half fruit in her palm, Wang Ying tried hard not to let anyone see, but tears couldn't stop falling.

The others might not have noticed, but she was observant and saw clearly: the teacher hadn't eaten a single bite of these fruits.

In this special situation of the Divine Realm, he was already exhausted from hunting outside all day, yet he left the good things for them, suppressing his own hunger. Thinking of this, as a student, she felt an indescribable emotion in her heart.

Having you as a teacher is such an honor!

In an instant, the bitter Divine Realm didn't seem so bitter anymore; instead, it felt a little sweet.