Chapter 130: You Vile Woman, You Have No Sense of Immortal Honor!

"Master, more of my kin have been eaten."

That day, Shen Lian released Da Hei as usual to communicate with its kin and inspect the surrounding environment. Upon its return, Da Hei reported this situation once again. This was the fifth time Da Hei had reported its kin being consumed. Ordinary Black-Horned Ants were so fragile that a single step could crush them; they had far too many natural predators.

Shen Lian kept Da Hei hidden because he feared that if someone saw the ground swarming with Black-Horned Ants, they would make the connection to Da Hei. However, releasing the demonized ants was even less safe, as the city was filled with passing cultivators who would notice them at a glance.

"Tell your kin to shrink their activity range by one block for now. When they go out to forage, tell them to move in groups and provide mutual cover and reconnaissance."

After some thought, Shen Lian decided to have the ants pull back. Although his divine sense was strong, they were within an immortal city; recklessly unleashing it would inevitably attract the prying eyes of the City Lord. There were many possibilities for why a few ants might be eaten—they could have been consumed by a cultivator's spirit pet or by natural predators.

...

In the Myriad Star Inner Sea, the sound of cranes echoed across the vast ocean. An Ice Spirit Crane spread its wings, leaving a trail of ice crystals in the void that fell into the water with a rustle, freezing a patch of the sea.

Aboard the Ice Spirit Crane, Qi Yuhuan stood draped in a white robe, her body wreathed in flowing sword qi, her eyes locked on the figure ahead who possessed flaming wings. With a gentle strike of her palm, the frost in the sky converged into a shimmering ice sword that pierced through the air.

"Defend!"

Bian Qingyun channeled his spiritual power, fueling the flaming wings on his back to propel himself further away. Feeling the icy sword qi closing in, he struck his own dantian without hesitation.

"Hum!"

A golden light erupted from his dantian, manifesting as a phantom image that enveloped him. However, the incoming ice sword moved like a swimming dragon, striking directly at him.

"Crack!"

A series of explosions rang out as red gold and white radiance intertwined. Although the shield generated by Bian Qingyun blocked the icy sword qi, it was shattered into pieces. Even the red fire feathers on his back were cracked.

Seeing this, Bian Qingyun cursed inwardly. This was his life-saving technique, the first major divine ability he had branded onto his Golden Core after reaching that stage. It was precisely because of this ability that he had repeatedly escaped pursuit. However, because his Golden Core had been severely damaged and had yet to recover, he could only rely on casting spells to manifest the fire feathers.

"Qi Yuhuan, do you truly want to fight me to the death? Are you not afraid that I will drag you down with me!"

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Bian Qingyun’s eyes. This wretched woman had no sense of "immortal morality." It was one thing to hunt him down, but she had even hired outside help, getting sects in the Myriad Star Sea to assist in tracking him. As a disciple of a Nascent Soul expert and a Golden Core master herself, Qi Yuhuan possessed many secret techniques; he could no longer evade her by simply changing his appearance. High-level cultivators identified others by the fluctuations of their spiritual power and soul; once one’s aura was locked, no amount of shapeshifting could shake the pursuit. Otherwise, with his own capabilities, how could he still be caught?

"You think you can?"

A look of disdain flickered in Qi Yuhuan's eyes. Bian Qingyun had threatened to fight to the death many times before, but it was always a bluff, just like his master. She grabbed at the air with a slender, pale hand, and her spiritual power instantly transformed into a phantom sword wave that surged forward.

Facing the attack, Bian Qingyun dared not pause. He flicked his sleeves, and a talisman shimmering with blue ripples flew out toward the rear. He had borrowed this from a Foundation Establishment family he had happened upon while fleeing across the Myriad Star Sea. There had been a small scuffle, and the family had eventually acquiesced to him taking their ancestral talisman.

As the blue light flickered, it turned into a ferocious sea beast that spat at the surging sword wave, and the two collided and exploded in the air. Yet, the talisman did not allow Bian Qingyun to gain any distance; the figure behind him remained like a shadow.

"You wret—Daoist Qi, what exactly do you want?" Bian Qingyun shouted, his voice echoing through the void. "Your master has already beaten my master into a Nascent Soul state; is that not enough to satisfy your grudge?"

While speaking, Bian Qingyun desperately racked his brain for a way to escape. If this continued, his hard-won Golden Core would crack again. He could not withstand another such blow. This sea region was too poor; he had raided hundreds of families and found not a single spirit herb capable of healing his injuries. If his core shattered, he wouldn't know where to scavenge for the medicine to repair it.

"If you are trying to get the location of my master from me, don't waste your breath. I don't know where he is either."

"Come back with me, and I will spare your life."

At that moment, Qi Yuhuan’s voice compressed into a thin line and bored into Bian Qingyun’s ear.

"Come back with you?" Bian Qingyun’s expression tightened. In his dreams. He knew exactly why she wanted him. His master had been provoking others and plundering spirit treasures everywhere, clearly plotting something. Although he didn't know the specifics, a Nascent Soul-level cultivator could surely see the clues.

Qi Yuhuan had tried to kill him on sight before, but now she wanted to take him back. Clearly, something had changed. His master's plan had been discovered. But he truly didn't know what his master was planning. If he were taken back and subjected to soul-searching by a Nascent Soul ancestor, he would end up either dead or crippled. Bian Qingyun did not believe he would survive such torture. By then, he might just become a puppet.

"Hum!"

At that moment, a resonant sword hum echoed through the world. A vast, misty ripple spread from Qi Yuhuan’s body as she stood on the Ice Spirit Crane. The ripple originated from the Golden Core in her dantian, which was inscribed with a sword pattern. The core trembled slightly, and countless light images converged, instantly transforming into transparent sword qi that pierced the void. The sword qi rapidly expanded into a surging ocean, descending upon Bian Qingyun with lightning speed.

"Ah..."

Bian Qingyun screamed as he fled. The moment the sword wave formed, his sea of consciousness was struck, and his body was encased in ice crystals, even freezing over his flaming wings.

"Explode!"

He clapped his hands together, and when he pulled them apart, a crackling thunder roared, shattering the ice around him. But the sword wave had already slammed into his back, sending him crashing down from the sky into the churning ocean below.

*Chirp.*

The Ice Spirit Crane descended, its feet breaking the surface of the churning waves. Qi Yuhuan frowned. He had escaped again!

"His Golden Core is cracked."

"Pursue!"

Qi Yuhuan tapped the spirit crane lightly. Her master had sent a message telling her to capture Bian Qingyun alive, which was why she had held back at the final moment of her core-based divine ability. Otherwise, Bian Qingyun would likely have been sliced in two. To think he could still escape in this state; he was truly worthy of being the last living disciple of the old demon Ziyang.

One day later, the spirit crane stood on the waves. Qi Yuhuan frowned. She had chased him for an entire day, only to find that Bian Qingyun had fled far away and the surrounding aura had become chaotic. She pulled out a jade talisman.

"Daoist Fuhai, please mobilize your subordinates to continue searching for Bian Qingyun’s whereabouts."

"Daoist Hai Ling..."

...

"This person's Golden Core is shattered and he urgently needs high-level spirit herbs to repair it. He will definitely head to the major immortal cities to search for them..."

...

At Xuanhai Sect, under the sunlight, a light barrier resembling white jade and glazed glass enveloped the sect's grounds. White spiritual mist shrouded the mountain peaks, waterfalls cascaded between the crags, and palaces floated in the air. In the deepest part of the sect, outside a spirit pond, stood a stone hall.

True Lord Fuhai set down the jade talisman in his hand. Not long after, Sect Master Zhenhai flew over.

"Master."

"The disciple of True Monarch Yueyin from the Xuanyin Sect has just sent a message asking us to continue tracking Bian Qingyun. They say his Golden Core has been shattered and he is in desperate need of spirit medicine, so he will certainly try every possible means to obtain high-level herbs."

Sect Master Zhenhai nodded. "I will send word to the families under our jurisdiction and the major immortal cities later. As soon as there is news, I will report it immediately."

"How is the situation on the front lines?" True Lord Fuhai asked.

"It has stabilized, but the key depends on the attitude of the Cloud-Ascending Sect." Sect Master Zhenhai sighed, a suppressed anger flickering in his eyes. "Master, should we contact them? For so many years, we have helped them keep an eye on the Profound Corpse Sect; even if there is no credit, there has been hard work. They should give us some benefits."

"No." True Lord Fuhai shook his head. "We don't even know who they really are. It's better not to invite trouble. The ones occupying this sea region could be our Xuanhai Sect, or it could be another sect. In their eyes, it makes no difference who watches the Profound Corpse Sect. Do you understand?"

"The farce of the Heaven-Supporting Alliance should end soon. As for the Cloud-Ascending Sect, I will give them the result they want."

"The future of our Xuanhai Sect, the first generation of Nascent Soul ancestors, lies with you. I will never reach the Nascent Soul stage myself."

"Search for Bian Qingyun carefully. Forming a good relationship with a Nascent Soul True Monarch's disciple would be of great benefit to our sect. Moreover, I observed that Daoist Qi has great talent and may well reach the Nascent Soul stage in the future. Remember, only look for Bian Qingyun's whereabouts. We cannot get involved in other matters. Just relay the information well; do not take action yourselves."

"Also, if the Cloud-Ascending Sect sends a message asking for news of Bian Qingyun, inform them as well."

...

Cultivation knows no time. In the blink of an eye, two years had passed since Shen Lian arrived at Cape Immortal City. His "Peace of Mind" grocery store was now ninety-eight years away from becoming a century-old shop.

On the second floor of the shop, as spiritual light flickered around his body, the last traces of the Spirit Gathering Pill's medicinal power were assimilated into his spiritual energy, converging into his dantian. After completing his session, Shen Lian opened his eyes, a flicker of light within them.

[Insight Points: 28,142]
[Divine Enlightenment Points: 7]

After advancing to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment, he had begun the path of dual cultivation of body and magic. Currently, his physical strength was comparable to a high-quality second-tier low-grade magic tool. He was still some distance from the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment, not because he lacked pills—he was consuming top-quality pills in a way that even inner disciples of Nascent Soul sects would envy—but because he was simply overwhelmed from taking too many high-quality pills.

During this period of closed-door cultivation, Shen Lian felt a sense of mental restlessness, and the flow of spiritual energy within his body didn't feel as smooth as before. After much deliberation, he concluded it was likely because he had been sequestered for too long. Even mortals feel restless; for a cultivator, the desire to move after a long period of stillness was a common phenomenon.

Shen Lian thought about going out to roam, to find some desolate sea area and hunt some sea beasts to stretch his muscles and relieve the frustration of long-term confinement. In the past two years in Cape Immortal City, he had saved 500,000 low-grade spirit stones and acquired a batch of resources, including five items of second-tier high-grade quality. This place was truly a treasure trove.

With the idea of going out, Shen Lian didn't rush. Instead, he began studying the nautical charts of the sea near Cape Immortal City, planning to find a desolate area to hunt some sea beasts—not using talismans or puppets, but by his own hand.

One day, while Shen Lian was carefully studying the charts to choose a place for his trial, his house suddenly shuddered violently. He was instantly alerted and, just as he was about to check what was happening, he realized the entire immortal city was trembling.

It was the city-protecting formation!

The Cape Immortal City's defensive barrier, known as the Black Water Profound Mystery Formation, was a third-tier mid-grade array.

*Rumble!*

He heard the ocean outside the city churning with towering waves, as water pillars were drawn from the sea and converged above the city. Within the city, the earth veins trembled, and eighty-one black water pillars rose from the ground, forming a black water dome with the water above, sealing the entire city.

The sudden activation of the formation shocked the cultivators in the city, especially those with strange auras, who began to panic and scramble about.

"Hum!"

The formation, like a giant inverted black bowl, hummed softly as countless runes lit up and drifted down like snowflakes.

"Ah... no, I can't hold it!"

A cultivator in the city screamed first; the spell he was using to mask his aura failed instantly, and thick, bloody demonic energy erupted from his body.

"Run! These runes can... can..."

Before he could finish, the aura he had been concealing burst forth. He was a demonic cultivator. For a time, every cultivator in the city hiding their aura felt they could no longer endure the pressure under the black snowflakes.

Including Shen Lian.

He felt an invisible pressure descending from the array above. He had used a concealment formation to suppress his aura to the ninth layer of Qi Refining, but the array seemed to have eyes; after a ripple of water swept over him, it locked onto him. Meanwhile, other cultivators in nearby shops who were at their true cultivation levels were not targeted.

Seeing that he could no longer hide, Shen Lian allowed his concealment spell to dissipate, restoring his strength to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment. After a few black ripples swept over him and dissipated, the sensation of being locked by the formation vanished.

"What are they looking for?" Shen Lian wondered. He understood that the full activation of the formation must be to search for someone.

"In the future, I must be more cautious when staying in immortal cities."

He looked up at the black profound formation and sighed slightly. His horizon was still too narrow. The third-tier formation had functions he hadn't anticipated; if he had the chance, he would need to find a higher-level concealment technique. Although he was not the target this time, Shen Lian secretly took note of the event.

At the mountain peak in the center of Cape Immortal City, True Lord Heixuan performed hand seals, and black water gathered around him. Standing beside him was a middle-aged cultivator in a black brocade robe, watching quietly as True Lord Heixuan operated the formation.

"Any discoveries?"

"No. It seems this Bian fellow isn't stupid; he knows better than to enter the city."

Hearing this, the man in the black brocade robe showed a look of regret, but quickly returned to his indifferent state.

"It was just a casual attempt; it doesn't matter if we don't catch him."

True Lord Heixuan descended from the sky. "Brother Yunlan, could it be that this Bian Qingyun carries a secret treasure of the Old Ancestor Ziyang, worth you, the third-ranked elder with real power in the sect, personally traveling to the Myriad Star Sea?"