Chapter 79: Aftermath, Cause and Effect

Suspended in midair, Shen Lian’s body swayed precariously.

Within his sea of divine consciousness, the faint purple apparition of a ghostly demon surfaced once again, plunging into the scattered remains below to inspect them anew.

He exhaled deeply.

With a wave of his hand, a swarm of demonic black-horned ants scuttled over from afar, overturning the broken bones and seizing the storage rings and bracelets.

A low hum sounded.

Shen Lian produced another Heavenly Gang Thunderfire Talisman and smashed it down, the thunder and fire consuming the remnants. Tilting his head, he found the result insufficiently thorough. He quickly formed a spell, and a golden-red firebird let out a cry, diving into the thunderfire.

The remains blazed with golden-red flames, swiftly reducing them to a heap of ash and bone-white dust.

A cluster of black-horned ants scrambled up again, gnawing at the ashes before the residual warmth had even faded.

Yet Shen Lian did not pause. Several talismans shimmering with black light appeared in his hand; he activated them and cast them upon the sites where fire spirit arts had just been unleashed.

These were Oceanic Surge Talismans.

Once activated, they transformed into massive water serpents, surging over the battlefield’s ruins. Water and fire clashed, rocks exploded across the mountainside, and boiling torrents let out a constant hum. The landscape of the ruins was utterly transformed.

This duel was an exchange of talismans and forbidden beads—both sides flung spirit stones as weapons.

Too many surprises, too many variables.

After hastening his cleanup, Shen Lian made his way beyond Blackrock Island.

No sooner had he left than a rumble echoed from beneath the island. The safe cavern where he had hidden collapsed in a thunderous crash, a mass of stones and earth sinking away.

The secure cave that had endured three years vanished beneath the rubble.

Outside the island.

He connected with the surfaced Three Thousand and sped toward Black Whale City.

Though he had several caves outside Black Whale City, the city itself, guarded by both Gold Core cultivators and formations, offered greater safety.

Black Whale City.

Serenity Pill Shop.

Shen Lian drew a long breath after swallowing a handful of first-grade Qi Restoration Pills.

It was a relief.

Matters had not turned out as disastrously as he feared.

At the final critical moment, the Soulbinding Seal proved invaluable, not only capturing a wealth of Pei Huoyu’s memories, but also snaring most of the divine consciousness stored within the Soul Borrowing Gu.

From those memories, he learned the cultivator he fought was named Pei Huoyu—indeed, a stone nurturer under Ancestor Ziyang.

The cultivator who implanted the Soul Borrowing Gu in Pei Huoyu was Ziyang’s disciple, Bian Qingyun.

Bian Qingyun, though a Gold Core adept, could only manage a limited amount of divine consciousness within the Gu, comparable to Pei Huoyu’s own Foundation Establishment fifth layer.

When Pei Huoyu was gravely wounded, the Gu was affected as well.

Moreover, after a cultivator splits off a strand of divine consciousness to merge with the Gu, communication with the main body requires special Gu techniques and proximity.

Until then, the divided consciousness is cut off from the original.

In other words, Bian Qingyun might sense the Gu’s demise but would not know the specifics.

Within the separated consciousness, Shen Lian also captured fragments of Bian Qingyun’s memories.

“Those who forge treasure are seldom those who reap it; there’s always someone coming after. Truly a warning for the ages.”

Repeating Pei Huoyu’s words in a daze, Shen Lian shivered and managed a bitter smile.

He thought he’d stumbled onto a windfall, but the windfall was too vast—from Foundation Establishment, to Gold Core, to Nascent Soul.

What kind of mess was this?

No wonder, upon completing Foundation Establishment, he immediately encountered an ascension ritual—the omen had been forewarned.

That Qi Refining cultivator who failed Foundation Establishment had harbored a deep resentment.

Had Shen Lian not prepared extra contingencies, he might have been dragged into ascension himself.

“The main issue was insufficient preparation; I failed to account for unexpected developments. I must remember this lesson: from now on, I’ll need at least ten sets of talisman sequences…”

He reflected on the shortcomings of the battle.

It was his first encounter with a Foundation Establishment cultivator; having only just advanced, he still operated at the Qi Refining level.

Now, he had a clearer understanding of Foundation Establishment cultivators’ abilities.

Their resources, too, could not be underestimated.

The primary issue was his lack of ready saturation-level defense and offensive techniques.

He spent most of the day sorting through the chaotic memory fragments seized by the Soulbinding Seal.

But the pieces were too scattered and fragmented; much was incoherent. He sifted out the useful bits first.

He managed to piece together the cause and effect of this incident, which began within the Five Elements Immortal Palace.

Before the palace emerged, there were always omens—a mirage-like illusion would manifest in the area, drawing spiritual energy from the world.

This process lasted at least a century.

As a result, many Nascent Soul-level factions, even at great distance, could prepare in advance.

Decades ago, the palace’s entrance appeared near the South Sea region of the Tiannan Cultivation Realm, and many Nascent Soul-level groups entered to seek fortune.

Ancestor Ziyang naturally went as well, and having foreseen the palace’s appearance, he captured many five-element-root cultivators in both the mortal and cultivation realms.

Pei Huoyu was one of them.

Moreover, Pei Huoyu possessed a mid-grade five-element root, with his fire root of superior quality.

Among those Ziyang captured, Pei Huoyu and two others, under the Nascent Soul ancestor’s dedicated nurturing, advanced to Foundation Establishment.

When the palace opened, Ziyang brought them inside, and within the multicolored earth, they unearthed five-colored stones, barely surviving their exit.

Pei Huoyu had so many forbidden beads because Ancestor Ziyang entrusted him with them to break the palace’s restrictions.

Inside the Five Elements Immortal Palace, Pei Huoyu expended third-tier and even second-tier high and mid-grade forbidden beads.

The remaining lower-grade second-tier beads were nearly spent over the years in various battles.

Thus, at the critical moment, he ran short of forbidden beads.

Ancestor Ziyang was a figure of both righteousness and devilry. He rarely did good, yet often meddled with the affairs of others.

He gained the five-colored stones from the palace, only to be targeted by an old adversary.

After a great battle, Ziyang vanished, rumored to be in hiding to heal.

Yet Ziyang had anticipated trouble and arranged for his disciples to escort Pei Huoyu and others to a remote cultivation site.

But no matter how hidden, the clash of Nascent Soul ancestors became widespread news.

Upon hearing that Ziyang had fled with serious injuries, Pei Huoyu, as a stone nurturer, developed new ambitions.

Unexpectedly, he managed to escape, fleeing from the Tiannan Cultivation Realm to the Desolate Domain.

Pei Huoyu believed himself fortunate, unaware that everything was orchestrated by Bian Qingyun—the sea of his divine consciousness had long been seeded with the Soul Borrowing Gu.

“No wonder rumors of Gold Core techniques surfaced in Ninefold Immortal City—it was the Gu’s subtle influence at work.”

Bian Qingyun intended to exploit Pei Huoyu’s Foundation Establishment greed, weaken him, then seize control via the Gu.

But Pei Huoyu’s luck held; he never gave Bian Qingyun the chance to dominate his body.

This time, poisoned and gravely injured, Bian Qingyun’s divine consciousness hidden in the Gu finally awakened.

Yet he failed to anticipate Shen Lian’s initiative, enveloping Pei Huoyu in a storm of wind, fire, and lightning.

Furthermore, as he had suspected, the different attributes of the five-colored stone could be selectively removed by secret techniques, allowing them to match a cultivator’s spiritual root.

“Immortal Ascension Opportunity.”

From Pei Huoyu’s memories, Shen Lian also gleaned more about the five-colored stone’s aftermath.

A life-bound artifact forged with the five-colored stone as its main material, once refined and carried into the palace again, could help its master pass through a void region into an immortal hall.

Legend has it that there lies the chance for ascension.

Additionally, a spirit treasure with growth potential exerts tremendous allure for cultivators.

A third-tier artifact, fourth-tier spirit treasure—if it achieves fifth tier, it becomes a sentient spirit treasure, possessing terrifying power.

For some sects, through generations of Nascent Soul ancestors refining it, there may one day be a sentient treasure, enabling the sect to leap in status.

Shen Lian only felt a toothache—where did all these legends come from? Couldn’t there be some stable, prosperous activities in the cultivation world?

The promise of ascension, combined with a growing spirit treasure, was decidedly unfriendly to him—a near-perfect five-element-root candidate, owner of a five-colored stone artifact, and newly Foundation-established minor cultivator.