Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

Just as Guu Xinglan was collecting his storage bag to take stock of his loot, a fist suddenly shot out from behind him.

Five fingers, lustrous as jade, curled into a fist. The protruding knuckles looked like tempered blades.

The skin on the back of the hand stretched taut, faint, web-like veins rising to the surface, as if the fist held the very world in its grasp.

Boundless power lay deeply hidden within.

The fist touched Guu Xinglan’s back without a sound, not even activating the Protective Spiritual Light of his Magical Robe.

Until...

BOOM!

The savage Fist Force erupted in an instant.

The clothes on Guu Xinglan’s back instantly disintegrated into dust, and his skin, flesh, and bone were torn asunder by the sheer Giant Power.

A mist of blood filled the air.

"Aargh!"

He let out a wretched scream as his body twisted and contorted.

Zhu Ju’s figure materialized, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

’A Body Refining Hard Skill?’

He had unleashed his full Fist Force with that punch. Logically, it should have been enough to shatter his opponent’s Physical Body.

But he hadn’t succeeded.

Just as the Fist Force erupted, a remarkably resilient power had stopped his fist from advancing any further.

Guu Xinglan...

...had also cultivated a Body Refining Method, and a rather impressive one at that. He had already reached the Body Refining First Realm.

’I never saw any signs of him practicing a Body Refining Hard Skill before. Could this also be something he gained last time?’

But even so, having been ambushed by Zhu Ju completely off-guard, he was still grievously wounded.

"Who is it?"

His body grievously wounded, Guu Xinglan’s heart seethed with a mixture of shock and fury. He flicked his sleeve, sending his Flying Sword slashing behind him as he shot forward.

’Flee!’

’That last blow must have come from a Body Cultivator at the Body Refining Second Realm. If I weren’t injured, I’d have nothing to fear.’

’But right now, the Fist Force is still rampaging through my body. My flesh is torn, my bones are broken, and my Vital Organs are damaged. If this drags on, I’m dead for sure.’

SWOOSH!

As expected, the Flying Sword sliced through empty air.

Instead, hundreds of palm-sized blades materialized all around him, converging to form a cage of Flying Sabers that trapped him within.

Wind and Thunder Blade Wings!

Converge!

Zhu Ju formed a Seal Technique and pointed forward gently.

VMMMM...

The hundreds of Flying Sabers vibrated in unison, then transformed into streaks of light that shot toward the figure trapped within.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Guu Xinglan roared furiously, his body flickering like a phantom while his Flying Sword spun around him, intercepting the Flying Sabers.

He hurled out Spirit Talismans and Magical Artifacts one after another, launching a frenzied counterattack against the storm of incoming blades.

For a moment, the Wind and Thunder Blade Wings were unable to advance a single inch.

"Who are you?"

"I am a Cultivator from the Yunjing Commerce Association! Aren’t you afraid of their retaliation for attacking me?"

Guu Xinglan yelled, his words shifting from threats to pleas:

"Stop!"

"Fellow Daoist, if you leave now, I can swear I will not retaliate!"

"Heh..." Zhu Ju chuckled. As he urged the Wind and Thunder Blade Wings to press the attack, his figure flickered and appeared within the cage of blades.

SWISH!

The Five-Colored Divine Light swept through.

Most of the items Guu Xinglan had thrown were swept away by the divine light. Immediately after, a vast and immense power descended from the heavens.

Heaven-Toppling Five Fingers!

His left hand stretched out, deceptively slow.

Space itself seemed to freeze as immense power erupted. Horror filled Guu Xinglan’s eyes as he stared, transfixed, at the descending palm.

’A Magical Treasure!’

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to move.

But in the face of that boundless, incoming power, he was too grievously wounded to even move a finger.

’Forget being injured; even at my full strength, I doubt I could have resisted at all.’

’No!’

He roared in his mind. In the final moment before his Physical Body disintegrated, a familiar face entered his vision.

’Zhu Ju?’

’It’s him!’

’How could it be him?!’

BOOM!

As the left hand pressed down, Guu Xinglan’s entire body exploded into a shower of gore.

The Five-Colored Divine Light swept in, collecting the storage bag and Flying Sword, before a Tunneling Light vanished from the spot.

’Since I’ve already made an enemy of him, it’s better to just kill him now and be done with it. That’ll save me the trouble of constantly looking over my shoulder.’

In a matter of moments, Zhu Ju had killed his target, plundered the goods, and fled, disappearing without a trace.

*

*

*

Yunjing Commerce Association.

Fang Zhenghao, Patriarch of the Fang Family, swept a grim gaze across the room.

As itinerant merchants of the East Sea, their recent attack on the Xiangg Family of Cuihu Island had broken the rules the Commerce Association had upheld for centuries.

Naturally, there had to be an explanation.

"Master Tang is the Commerce Association’s only Tier Two High Grade Array Master, and he possesses the complete Array Map for the Association’s Array. If he escapes and leaks that Array Map, the Commerce Association will likely face a great catastrophe."

"Brother Yann."

His voice was ice-cold.

"Your Yann Family swore up and down that you would never lose control of Master Tang. Only then did we agree to let him view the Commerce Association’s Tier Three Array. Now that this has happened, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

"Furthermore, we destroyed the Xiangg Family and broke our own rules. Who will dare to do business with the Commerce Association now?"

"Hmph!" Yann Weiran snorted.

"Everyone understands Tang Yuanshan’s importance. As long as we can find him, destroying the Xiangg Family was worth the price."

"He escaped from the Commerce Association... Do you think the Yann Family isn’t heartbroken by this?"

"Alas," someone sighed.

"The Yann Family never mistreated him."

"Back then, Tang Yuanshan was just an unknown Tier One Array Master, an Innate who had only opened Four Acupoints."

"His parents were killed and he had nowhere to turn. It was our Yann Family that took him in, helped him establish his Dao Foundation, gave him all sorts of array-related resources, and even provided him with a wife and family. Who would have thought that even after all that, he would remain discontent? He’s nothing but an ungrateful, untamable wolf."

"None of that matters now," a Late-Stage Dao Foundation Cultivator from a different family interjected in a low voice.

"We need to find Master Tang immediately. Even if we can’t take him alive, we must kill him. Otherwise, the consequences of the Array Map leaking will be endless."

"And another thing, Yann Family!"

"Because of you, the Yunjing Commerce Association mobilized its forces and broke its own rules to attack Cuihu Island. You will have to answer to the other families."

"That’s right," Fang Zhenghao nodded.

"This should never have happened in the first place. Perhaps... the Yann Family’s power within the Commerce Association needs to be curtailed."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of many people in the room flickered.

The Yann Family currently held unilateral power in the Yunjing Commerce Association. Even the Fang Family was relegated to a corner.

’If they could take this opportunity to weaken the Yann Family, it would be a good thing indeed.’

"Fellow Daoist Fang."

Yann Weiran’s gaze was profound.

"Our Yann Family placed several hidden restraints on Tang Yuanshan. Without outside help, it would be absolutely impossible for him to escape our grasp."

"Lately, we have been distracted by your Fang Family’s business with the Profound Ice Flame, which is what gave Tang Yuanshan this opportunity..."

"What are you implying?" Fang Zhenghao slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, his face livid.

"Are you accusing my Fang Family of orchestrating this?"

"The Yann Family will find out exactly who is responsible," Yann Weiran said, his icy gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"The Yann Family has suffered one calamity after another these past few years. We even lost a Late-Stage Dao Foundation Cultivator, and now Tang Yuanshan has escaped..."

"I know some of you are dissatisfied with the Yann Family’s position, but if I find out anyone has been playing games behind our backs..."

"...I will show no mercy!"

BOOM!

The oppressive Divine Intent of a Dao Foundation Perfection Cultivator descended upon them, crashing down on everyone’s minds like a sledgehammer.

In that instant, the color drained from everyone’s faces.

The Yann Family was enraged!

It was to be expected. The Yann Family had suffered many deaths and injuries among its Dao Foundation Cultivators over the past few years. Now, Tang Yuanshan had escaped with the Array Map, and they had failed to acquire the Core Formation Spiritual Object. With nothing going their way, how could Yann Weiran, the Patriarch, not be furious?

Fang Zhenghao’s eyes darted about. He wanted to use this opportunity to rally the others and weaken the Yann Family’s authority in the Commerce Association, but now was not the right time.

...

Underneath Yunjing Island.

A pitch-black tunnel stretched down into the earth, its destination unknown.

Yann Weiran followed the tunnel to an area glowing with a faint Spiritual Light. With a wave of his sleeve, he lit the surrounding torches.

WHOOSH!

The flames surged to life.

A massive iron cage came into view.

The cage’s surface was covered in a dense web of countless runes, ensuring that the figure within could not escape.

He was not alone.

Several other core members of the Yann Family were present, including Yann Nanshuang, whose talent for Arrays was astonishing. All of them stared silently at the figure inside the cage.

And inside the cage...

"Tang Yuanshan."

Yann Weiran began, his voice slow and deliberate.

"For all these years, the Yann Family has treated you well. Not only did you fail to repay our kindness, but you even tried to betray us and escape."

"Have you no conscience?"

The person locked in the cage was none other than the "escaped" Yann Family Guest Minister, the Tier Two High Grade Array Master, Tang Yuanshan.

The Yann Family had captured him long ago and had been holding him here all this time.

"Heh..." The old man, his hair disheveled as he knelt in the center of the cage, sneered contemptuously.

"If the Yann Family truly trusted me, you would have let me cultivate the Great Derivation Heart Technique. With my talent in Arrays, my Cultivation of that technique would have been twice as effective. Do you think I’d still be in the Early Stage of the Dao Foundation after more than two hundred years?"

"If I’d had the Great Derivation Heart Technique, I would have reached Dao Foundation Perfection long ago, perhaps even formed a Golden Core!"

"Hmph!" one of the family members sneered.

"Your greed is insatiable."

"For two hundred years, the Yann Family gave you resources, helped you establish your Dao Foundation, and gave you a family. We gave you everything you were owed, and still, you weren’t satisfied?"

"Of all the Yann Family’s Guest Ministers, is there anyone else who holds such a high position and hasn’t changed their surname to Yann?"

"Tang Yuanshan," another member of the Yann family said.

"Hand over your Array Insights. For the sake of our two-hundred-year relationship, we’ll grant you a peaceful death."

"And we will be kind to your descendants."

"Bullshit!" Tang Yuanshan’s face suddenly became contorted with rage, and he thrashed his arms, roaring.

"My family’s destruction all those years ago—that was your Yann Family’s doing! The ruin of my Dao Body was because of you!"

"The Yann Family only ever wanted to exploit my talent for Arrays to line your own pockets! When have you ever truly cared about me?"

"I hate you!"

"My only regret is that I was too weak to kill you pack of dogs! You can forget about ever learning anything from me!"

His expression was frenzied as he roared like a madman, his words sending a chill through his audience.

Yann Nanshuang looked on, stunned.

’The Yann Family...’

’Did they really treat Master Tang this way?’

"Who told you that?" Yann Weiran’s expression was grim.

"Not many people know about... that business."

"Heh!" Tang Yuanshan snorted.

"The only way to keep a secret is to not do it in the first place. Sooner or later, the Yann Family will pay the price for its evil deeds."

"Naive," Yann Weiran said, shaking his head.

"This world is survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle. There’s no such thing as ’good is rewarded and evil is punished.’"

"That’s all just nonsense to fool children."

"You won’t talk?"

He gave a cold smirk.

"It’s not up to you anymore."

Before, Master Tang was the Yunjing Commerce Association’s foremost Array Master, so the Yann Family naturally couldn’t touch him.

At least, not openly.

Now, Tang Yuanshan was a traitor to the Commerce Association, a stray dog with no one to protect him. The Yann Family had countless methods of torture, even a Soul Search technique. They were confident they could get what they wanted out of him.

However, the side effects of performing a Soul Search on a Dao Foundation Cultivator were severe. It would very likely damage the Divine Soul and lead to fragmented memories, so it was a method of last resort.

Fortunately, now that they had him, they had all the time and methods in the world. They would surely pry out everything the Yann Family wanted.

"Why?"

Tang Yuanshan suddenly asked.

"Why did my Teleportation Array bring me here?"

"Nanshuang," Yann Weiran said, turning his head with a cold smile.

"You tell him."

"Yes," Yann Nanshuang replied, stepping forward.

"Master Tang, you are merely a Tier Two High Grade Array Master, yet you managed to repair a Tier Three Teleportation Array. That is truly remarkable."

"However, that was only a simplified, non-directional version, not a true Teleportation Array. And the Yann Family has done its own research on Teleportation Arrays—research that you, Master Tang, are unaware of."

She sighed.

"The Void Bone, the Cloud Marrow..."

"The few items you acquired, Master Tang, were all tampered with by us. That’s why your plan to teleport thousands of miles away was doomed to fail. You were always going to be transported to this secret prison."

"From the moment we knew you planned to leave, the Yann Family began making arrangements. There was never any chance of you escaping."

"..." Master Tang looked up, his expression shifting rapidly. He gave her a long, complicated look.

"Well done."

"Your talent for Arrays is no less than my own was in my youth. It is no injustice to have lost at your hands today."

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