Whoosh!
A streak of black light swept across the sea surface, radiating the pressure of a Core Formation cultivator. Whether cultivators or demon beasts, none dared show the slightest disrespect before it.
Within the dark radiance was none other than “Heiyuan True Personage.”
At this moment, however, his expression was gloomy to the extreme.
‘Lingxiu, that fool, is utterly incapable of accomplishing anything. Failing to make progress against the Blue Sea Sect for years would have been one thing, but for a Core Formation phenomenon to erupt right in his own backyard without him noticing? Having his nest hollowed out without even realizing it, what an absolute laughingstock!’
Originally, he had been supervising the front lines. The moment news arrived that someone on Taibai Island had formed their Core, he immediately realized the campaign would once again end in failure. Worse still, his own position might now be in danger.
Without hesitation, he abandoned the army and prepared to flee to one of his hidden cave dwellings to lie low for a while.
‘Unlike that idiot, this True Personage placed restrictions on all my disciples. Even after years away from my cave abode, everything remains secure and stable.’
‘The harvest from this secret realm was immense. I truly cannot accept this outcome… But with the Blue Sea Sect’s strength surging, they will likely target me next. I may have no choice but to head deeper into the Eastern Sea Cultivation World and invite a few old acquaintances back with me.’
Though he walked the demonic path, he still had several dubious friends. If he gathered them together, exterminating the Blue Sea Sect from top to bottom would not be difficult.
Unfortunately, demonic cultivators were selfish and treacherous by nature. Scheming against those old monsters might prove no better than his current predicament.
By the time Heiyuan arrived at the desolate island housing his secret cave dwelling, he had already decided to wait a few years and observe how the winds shifted.
A breeze suddenly swept through the air.
A figure lifted the Heaven-Shrouding Curtain draped around his body. One moment he stood far away, the next he seemed to traverse space itself, riding the wind directly before Heiyuan as he threw out a punch.
Boom!
Buddhist radiance erupted around the attacker’s body while surging blood qi roared like that of a third-rank Demon King.
The punch shattered Heiyuan’s Core Formation protective qi instantly before slamming into his body, only barely blocked by the soft armor treasure he wore beneath his robes.
Even so, Heiyuan let out a furious roar as black flames burst across his body.
At the same time, his natal magical treasure appeared in his hand.
The Black Heaven Ge!
Whoosh!
The figure flickered once more, merging into the wind itself as it avoided the Black Heaven Ge’s devastating strike.
Only then did Heiyuan finally gain the chance to spit out a mouthful of stagnant blood as he stared uncertainly at his attacker.
It was a blue-robed youth with eyes bright as morning stars, radiating the aura of an early Core Formation cultivator.
“A completely unfamiliar True Core aura… So you are the newly advanced Core Formation cultivator from Taibai Island? Why are you making an enemy of this True Personage?”
Fear rose in Black Yuan’s heart.
‘How did he find me?’
More importantly, this enemy was terrifying.
That wind movement technique was practically ghostlike. Combined with such monstrous body refinement, an ordinary early Core Formation cultivator would likely suffer heavily the instant they met him.
Even an old devil like himself had been forced to cough up blood.
“Enough nonsense!”
Fang Qing raised the Sea-Transformation Pearl.
The instant the magical treasure appeared, boundless Mountain-and-Sea Heavy Water surged forth, crashing downward like an overwhelming tidal catastrophe.
More terrifying still, Fang Qing’s mana surged again, instantly climbing to the level of a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator!
“Impossible!”
Heiyuan’s eyes nearly split apart in shock. His Black Heaven Ge crumbled at the first clash, letting out a mournful cry as it was smashed backward by the Sea-Transformation Pearl.
“This True Personage will fight you to the death!”
His hands rapidly formed seals as he pulled out a pitch-black command token, preparing to activate the restriction upon it.
Suddenly, however, his expression changed drastically.
Transparent flames exploded inside his body without warning.
It was Ignorance Illuminating Ashes.
Fang Qing had deliberately tracked down this hidden cave abode and concealed himself beneath the Heaven-Shrouding Curtain to launch a sneak attack. He had not gone to such lengths merely to make this demonic Core Formation cultivator cough up a mouthful of blood.
After all, he had once killed the man’s eldest disciple and read the complete Black Profound Scripture. He already understood most of this demonic cultivator’s methods.
And that understanding showed itself throughout the battle. At every turn, he restrained and countered his opponent perfectly.
He already held the advantage of a higher minor realm. On top of that, he had struck from ambush while suppressing the enemy at every point.
From the very beginning, this battle had been utterly unfair. It even carried the feeling of dimensional suppression.
And yet, what Fang Qing loved most was fighting above his rank.
“Hmph!”
He gave Heiyuan True Personage no chance to react. With a cold snort, the divine sense secret art within the Demon-Subduing Vajra Pestle erupted as well, causing the Core Formation cultivator to freeze for an instant.
At the same moment, a jade flute dharma treasure appeared in Fang Qing’s hands.
He raised it to his lips and blew fiercely.
The invisible soundwave attack ignored most forms of defense and struck directly at Heiyuan True Personage’s internal organs and sea of consciousness.
In fewer than several exchanges, Heiyuan True Personage had already suffered grievous injuries.
‘Today, I may truly die here for no reason at all… I originally thought this newly advanced Core Formation cultivator would join forces with the two Core Formation experts of the Blue Sea Sect to surround Zhong Lingxiu. After all, that is the true blood feud!’
‘No… this newly advanced Core Formation cultivator absolutely carries some tremendous secret!’
Countless thoughts flashed through Heiyuan True Personage’s mind. Suddenly, madness appeared in his eyes as he tore off his own left arm.
He muttered an incantation beneath his breath. The severed arm exploded instantly, transforming into a streak of bloody escape light that wrapped around his entire body and shot toward the horizon.
“The Celestial Demon Blood Escape Secret Art of Body Dissolution? I’ve been waiting for this.”
Fang Qing burst into laughter. His figure seemed to merge into the wind itself as he pursued relentlessly with continuous flashes.
This was not true teleportation through space, but rather the afterimage effect of a wind escape technique cultivated to the great perfection stage.
After only a few flickers, Fang Qing caught up to the streak of bloody light.
Under Heiyuan True Personage’s despairing gaze, the Sea-Transformation Pearl came crashing down, smashing his body into a puddle of mangled flesh. Only his head remained barely intact.
A moment later, Fang Qing casually beckoned with his hand, collecting the Black Heaven Ge and Heiyuan True Personage’s storage bag. After inspecting them briefly, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
“With this, nearly two-thirds of the profits from this secret realm expedition have fallen into my hands.”
“Not to mention, once I return to the Blue Sea Sect, there should be another generous reward waiting for me.”
Fang Qing weighed the severed head in his hand.
“After all, this ‘gift’ carries quite a bit of weight.”
“And now, if I enhance my mana using the Tide-Birth Pearl, I’m hardly inferior to an ordinary mid-stage Core Formation cultivator.”
Crash! Crash!
Beside a seaside cliff, the endless sound of waves striking the rocks echoed without cease.
Within a hidden crevice in the cliff rested a strange pitch-black coffin.
Yet inside the coffin was not a corpse, but a peculiar spirit tablet.
At this moment, the tablet was suddenly enveloped in a layer of bloody light, as though possessed by some sinister evil spirit.
“Damn it… damn it all…”
Heiyuan True Personage’s furious roar echoed from within the spirit tablet.
The Black Profound Scripture he cultivated was an ancient demonic art of profound and mysterious depth, containing numerous life-preserving secret techniques.
Severing limbs earlier had been one such method.
And this technique of splitting the soul and feigning death to escape was the second.
The price of this secret art had simply been too great. Heiyuan True Personage had been reduced to a mere remnant soul. Even if he found a suitable body for possession, who knew how many years it would take before he could cultivate back to the Core Formation realm?
‘At this point, I can only use the possession secret art to control the Iron Corpse I prepared beforehand. Then I’ll use the restrictions tied to those disciples to make them search for a suitable body for me… or perhaps directly seize one.’
‘Sigh, what a pity about my eldest disciple. His cultivation method and spiritual root aptitude matched my lineage perfectly. He was originally cultivated as my future possession vessel…’
Heiyuan True Personage lamented inwardly as the sound of bells echoed from within the coffin.
Click!
A hidden mechanism activated, and a figure slowly approached the side of the coffin.
This too had been one of his prior arrangements.
‘Something’s wrong!’
Just as Heiyuan True Personage was about to activate the possession technique, he realized he could no longer sense the corpse refinement at all. Shock instantly flooded his heart.
Then he saw a snow-white hand gently pick up the spirit tablet.
What entered his sight was an incomparably beautiful face, gorgeous as a venomous serpent.
“You? Yu Xiang’er… you betrayed your master?”
Heiyuan True Personage’s eyes nearly split apart from fury.
“No… even if you betrayed me, you still shouldn’t have been able to find this place. Don’t you want to live anymore? Once I die, the restriction within your body will also erupt.”
“Hehe, you old fool are shallow and ignorant. How could you possibly understand Young Master’s abilities?”
Yu Xiang’er leaned intimately against someone beside her.
It was Fang Qing.
Obtaining Heiyuan True Personage’s corpse and then using divination to locate his remnant soul had been effortless for Fang Qing.
He did not waste words. He directly grabbed the spirit tablet and activated the “Soul-Splitting Search Technique.”
This soul-searching technique also came from the Black Profound Scripture. One could say Heiyuan True Personage had brought this upon himself.
“AAAH!”
Heiyuan True Personage let out miserable screams before finally falling silent forever.
Fang Qing casually flicked out a strand of core power toward Yu Xiang’er, whose face had already turned pale and whose lips were stained with blood.
“He’s dead. I’ll first suppress the backlash of the restriction inside you, then use the method I obtained through soul-searching to remove it completely.”
“Many thanks, Young Master. From now on, this servant finally belongs entirely to Young Master alone.”
Yu Xiang’er beamed with delight, as though that was what mattered most to her. ‘She’s been brainwashed even more thoroughly now…’
Fang Qing felt a chill crawl across his scalp at the sight before speaking again.
“You know what to do next.”
“This servant will hide within the shadows and continue controlling the remnants of the Sea-Destroying Alliance, cooperating with Young Master’s plans.”
Yu Xiang’er replied softly.
In truth, this had merely been one of Fang Qing’s idle moves. Since he had casually laid the piece down, he would simply wait and see what fool might bite the hook in the future.
…
Verdant Jade Island, Blue Sea Sect.
Array Island.
The great battle had only just ended. Qin Ruxue immediately led numerous disciples in jointly repairing the formations.
“So that is Martial Aunt Qin of Array Island? She truly possesses peerless grace.”
Many Qi Refining disciples stared at her with admiration in their eyes.
Yet hidden away in one corner, two Foundation Establishment female cultivators looked toward Qin Ruxue with unconcealed jealousy.
“This woman merely got lucky back then and attached herself to Fang Qing. Otherwise, how could someone who barely managed Foundation Establishment even after consuming three Foundation Establishment Pills have reached this point?”
“Hmph. Back then, Junior Sister Qin was famous for a time. Later, Fang Qing acted as head of Pill Island while she controlled Array Island. The two of them practically covered the sky with one hand. But karma came in the end. Fang Qing was captured by the Taibai Island Master and reduced to a servant-slave. I heard she even knelt before the cave abode of the Core Formation ancestor, begging bitterly for help, only to be coldly rejected.”
“With her dao companion ending up like that, she naturally suffered the consequences as well. What if she betrays the sect for the sake of her dao companion? In my opinion, the sect’s Core Formation should still remain in the hands of our own people.”
“Now that Array Island has produced several second-rank array masters at the Foundation Establishment stage, we should push for a sect resolution next time and replace the Island Master of Array Island altogether.”
At that moment, a deep azure Core Formation-level streak of light descended outside the Blue Sea Sect, revealing Fang Qing’s figure.
His voice rang out loudly across the sect:
“Fang Qing of the Blue Sea Sect has returned after forming Core Formation. I present the head of Heiyuan True Personage as a gift of celebration. Might I ask where Senior Sister Ruan and Senior Brother Shi are?”
“Core Formation… Fang Qing?”
The two Foundation Establishment female cultivators who had been gossiping stared at each other in shock.
At the same moment, the same thought surfaced in both their hearts:
‘Junior Sister Qin is about to rise again.’
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