Chapter 100: Oh No, Ancient Black Cliff, Do You Believe This Is a Misunderstanding?

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Why did they chase me all the way to the Ao Stone Blessed Land and get so close? Shen Lian was somewhat displeased. He was reluctant to let the old demon apply eye medicine again, but Qi Chengzan’s behavior was overly rude. After completing his body checkup and calming his sea of consciousness, Shen Lian began to ponder deeply and quickly took stock of his equipment.

He had ten sets of ordinary Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend thunderfire talisman arrays, plus two hundred various second-tier talismans—enough to ensure smooth incineration for cultivators below the seventh foundation stage. There was also one great Tianyan jade talisman, capable of assisting those below the Golden Core stage, and one ordinary jade talisman. Additionally, he possessed three unrefined great Tianyan jade talismans.

After careful selection, he had a minor Tianyan jade talisman set that, based on the internal spiritual fluctuations, could form a thirty-six-talisman Three Fires Returning to the Mountain array. He also had two twenty-four-talisman Four Pillars Thunderfire arrays, plus an extra forty-three small jade talismans.

Both the Three Fires Returning to the Mountain and Four Pillars Thunderfire arrays possessed power comparable to that of the pseudo-Golden Core level. Pseudo-Golden Core cultivators, depending on the demon pills they refined, ranged from half the combat power of early Golden Core cultivators to rivaling mid-Golden Core strength. Most pseudo-Golden Core cultivators in the Ten Thousand Star Sea were of the weakest variety.

His ordinary jade talisman and minor Tianyan jade talisman arrays were sufficient to contend with such pseudo-Golden Core cultivators. Qi Chengzan, however, was at the eighth foundation stage and definitely had a second-tier superior talisman on hand. Having made up his mind, Shen Lian was not in a rush; he wanted to prepare an escape route.

The old black cliff demon was different from Bian Qingyun, who was hiding somewhere unknown. The ancestor Ziyang was also in hiding, but the Black Cliff was right here in the Ten Thousand Star Sea waves. Shen Lian had to prepare accordingly.

Then, Shen Lian began purchasing supplies in the city, noticing a slight price increase in herbs and materials. Fortunately, the materials for the Joyful Pill had not risen; buying in bulk saved him some money. While acquiring spiritual items from the Grand Merchants’ Guild, he also purchased their spiritual ship tickets in all four directions—east, south, west, and north.

Back in his cave dwelling, Shen Lian toyed with the tickets. One ticket was for a ship heading northeast, terminating at Wan Zu Island, where the Mysterious Corpse Sect was located. Among all the tickets, this was his prepared retreat.

Why head to the Mysterious Corpse Sect? According to intelligence he bought from the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, the old demon had caused chaos in the Ten Thousand Star Sea for many years but rarely meddled in the Mysterious Corpse Sect’s territory. The most disturbances occurred in the Mysterious Sea Sect’s domain.

The ship’s departure date was the day after tomorrow. Shen Lian planned to conduct his business tomorrow afternoon, rest overnight in the city, and leave early the next morning.

Putting away the ticket, Shen Lian produced a jade talisman containing the intelligence from the Mountain and Sea Pavilion. He had already sensed the strength of their intelligence network, which even included gossip about Nascent Soul elders, but news about the Black Cliff Ancestor was scarce.

It was said the Black Cliff Ancestor first appeared 160 years ago, initially causing trouble in the Mysterious Sea Sect. Bold and reckless, he stormed the sect’s gates while only at the early Golden Core stage but was beaten up and fled. It was terrifying that an early Golden Core cultivator could escape a sect guarded by a perfected Golden Core master.

From then on, the name Black Cliff Sect began to spread. There were many theories about the old demon’s origins: some said he was a demonic ancestor from another region, others claimed he was a corpse puppet that escaped from the Mysterious Corpse Sect—rumors abounded.

Thinking of the intelligence on the Black Cliff Ancestor, Shen Lian rubbed his head. After finishing this business, he planned to retreat to a remote place and bring joy to people. He wouldn’t return to the Mysterious Sea Sect’s territory anytime soon; this time, he intended to go even farther.

...

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The next day, Shen Lian woke from cultivation, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and realized it was already afternoon. Once he finished his tasks, it would be evening.

He loosened his cultivation robe, then with a wave of his hand, attached ten spiritual talismans to both shoulders—five on the front and five on the back—ensuring they would not fall off. Five-Thousand-Mile Divine Walking talismans were affixed to the inner thighs and two on each calf. After removing his shoes, he placed talismans on the tops and soles of both feet.

Redonning his robe, Shen Lian took out a medicine bottle and poured powder into his mouth, using spiritual power to transform it into a cluster embedded between his teeth. This was an antidote capable of neutralizing most second-tier poisons or at least mitigating symptoms. Since Pei Huoyu could concoct forbidden-breaking pearls, who knew if Qi Chengzan might resort to poison? Better to be cautious.

...

Inside the Ao Stone Blessed Land, Qi Chengzan suddenly awoke with a start. After so much effort, he had finally forced the target out. As expected of a pill master, the man had remarkable endurance. These days, Qi Chengzan had been on edge, fearing his prey would escape via a spiritual ship from Ao Stone Immortal City.

He was not concerned about the blood bean bugs he had crushed; after all, the tracking bugs would latch onto the residual aura left by the originals and continue tracking. As predicted, the small foundation-stage cultivator could not detect the tracking bugs Qi Chengzan had released, let alone the subsequent phasing bugs that interfered with the sea of consciousness.

After waiting so long, the man had finally emerged—a blessing from heaven.

...

Outside Ao Stone Immortal City, Shen Lian piloted his spirit boat, accelerating its array as he monitored the tracking blood bean bugs on himself. The tiny bugs, previously dormant, began to stir. He increased the array’s speed, searching for a suitable ambush site.

Once the spirit boat flew a thousand li away from Ao Stone Immortal City, Shen Lian reduced speed to normal. No other cultivators appeared nearby. A flash of spiritual light emitted from beneath his feet as the Five Elements spiritual puppet merged under the boat and then submerged underwater.

Soon, the distance to the puppet stretched to fourteen hundred zhang—approximately eight and a half miles. At this range, Shen Lian felt his control weaken; an eighth foundation-stage cultivator’s spiritual perception could not reach this far.

Shortly after, an additional image appeared in his perception: a burly middle-aged cultivator surrounded by flowing water light, skimming the water’s surface at high speed. No one else was around; the direction was correct. His aura resembled that on the Qingyang spiritual ship—definitely an eighth foundation-stage cultivator.

The man held a second-tier superior talisman, the Giant Whale Canglang Talisman, possessing the power of a ninth foundation-stage cultivator. At the last auction, he had vigorously competed for the Emperor’s Extreme Bu’e Pill and the Giant Whale Canglang Talisman, showing urgent need for these items.

It was unclear if he had purchased additional combat talismans since then. As a water elemental cultivator, the open sea was his battlefield. Shen Lian could not allow him to counterattack.

For safety, Shen Lian summoned the Four Pillars Thunderfire Minor Tianyan talisman array.

Regarding the tracking mark left in the sea of consciousness after killing Qi Chengzan, Shen Lian was not too worried. He had personally tested that the Tianyan Fire Domain could easily erase such marks.

...

On the sea, Qi Chengzan chased swiftly with a tracking blood bean bug flying ahead. “Almost caught him,” he murmured. When an eight hundred zhang distant spirit boat appeared in his spiritual perception, Qi Chengzan whispered softly. Though its appearance had changed, the aura of the blood bean bug remained.

He then formed a spell seal, causing ripples on the water’s surface to swallow his figure.

...

On the water’s surface, the spirit boat cut through waves, with Shen Lian sitting cross-legged holding a scroll. Suddenly, a splash erupted below, and a water sword shot skyward, piercing beneath him.

The spirit boat exploded. Shen Lian was caught off guard as the spiritual force from below pierced through him, tossing him midair.

“You little second foundation-stage pill master, making me wait so long, you truly should—”

Qi Chengzan emerged from the water, but mid-sentence he sensed something was wrong. The figure struck by his water sword radiated a deathly aura. Not right—it was a puppet!

Qi Chengzan tried to dive back into the water but sensed another watery phantom fused with the surface. The phantom spread its hands, stirring a whirlpool that dragged Qi Chengzan into its center.

Within the vortex, irregular jade shards shimmered with spiritual light, forming four columns of light emitting a destructive aura—the Four Pillars Thunderfire Minor Tianyan talisman array!

“You—”

Qi Chengzan felt surrounded by annihilation. Hands forming seals, he struggled. Above water, Shen Lian’s figure slowly surfaced. Within his sea of consciousness, two ghostly demon shadows appeared in succession—the Soul Capture Seals!

The sinister spirits crashed into Qi Chengzan’s sea of consciousness. His eyes trembled with divine light as a scream escaped his lips, and his struggles faltered.

Boom!

Terrifying thunderfire forces exploded underwater, instantly evaporating the turbulent waters within several hundred zhang. Countless bolts of lightning and fire serpents writhed fiercely, as if a volcanic eruption beneath the waves unleashed destruction that swallowed all nearby.

A dark, cracked figure rose into the air, scattering debris. After a brief burst of energy, it stirred giant waves sweeping in all directions.

Within the waters, five phantoms darted through the waves like fish. Before the waves settled, the five merged into a single black spiritual puppet before Shen Lian’s feet, half immersed in the water.

Before the puppet lay Qi Chengzan, picked up from the water, along with the puppet Qi Chengzan had struck.

The puppet clawed through a pile of blackened charcoal, revealing a cracked black bracelet.

Looking at the broken bracelet, Shen Lian sighed.

In practice, the Four Pillars Thunderfire Minor Tianyan jade talisman array’s power was sufficient—it shattered Qi Chengzan, even destroying his storage bracelet.

This time, he had lost.

On the bright side, Qi Chengzan’s death was thorough; the annihilating force penetrated his divine body inside and out, instantly extinguishing his sea of consciousness, unlike the lingering cases such as Xiang Jingying’s.

The death mark was obliterated—no one could track him now, saving him the trouble of using the Tianyan Fire Domain.

With a flick, red-gold flames flared and consumed Qi Chengzan’s remains, turning them into ashes that dissolved into the ocean.

The puppet then submerged, and Shen Lian merged into the water.

Relying on the puppet’s power, he headed toward Ao Stone Immortal City.

Based on his previous experience killing Xiang Jingying, the Black Cliff Demon only sent out demonic seeds and instructed disciples to track his targets.

Staying one night in Ao Stone Immortal City, guarded by a Golden Core master, posed no major risk.

By the time the disciples arrived, he would have already left aboard a spiritual ship. Tracking marks were nonsense.

Returning to the Turtle Stone cave dwelling, Shen Lian sat cross-legged and circulated fire spiritual power through his body, checking every part.

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He confirmed no tracking marks remained. The Black Cliff Demon’s disciples should no longer be able to pursue him—that would be impolite.

Before dying, Qi Chengzan had cast the Soul Capture Seal twice to spy on his memories. But Qi Chengzan was blasted so quickly by the Four Pillars Thunderfire array that his sea of consciousness severed abruptly, only part of his memories extracted before the rest were lost.

After meditating in his cave, Shen Lian began sorting through the fragmented memories, discarding the irrelevant and focusing on recent matters involving the Black Cliff Demon.

“Foundation stage two, pill master, single, no helpers... fat sheep.”

“Bought a broken escape technique for sixty thousand spirit stones—crazy!”

“First an incomplete scroll, then fragmented stones, you…”

“Black market... broken talismans... seventy thousand spirit stones…”

...

Among the trivial memories, Qi Chengzan’s most vivid ones surfaced. Shen Lian was stunned reading about himself.

As he suspected, Qi Chengzan coveted his body. His urgency to act was to gather spirit stones for the talisman.

“Black Cliff Demon… master…”

“Ao Stone… Blood Demon Arrow… causing chaos…”

Soon Shen Lian’s smile froze as he found out why Qi Chengzan came to Ao Stone Immortal City.

He was stunned for a long moment before snapping back to reality.

He was wrong—terribly wrong.

Damn!

The Black Cliff Demon wanted to slap the face of the Vuhai Perfected.

The old demon had gone mad.

Coming back to himself, Shen Lian skimmed the remaining memories, but none were clearer. The memories captured by the Soul Capture Seal were the clearest parts.

One old demon.

One Shen Lian himself.

The demon wanted Qi Chengzan’s life; Qi Chengzan wanted his spirit stones.

That was why the memories were so clear and could be extracted.

This place was no longer safe!

The old demon was scheming here; this had become a den of thieves.

Qi Chengzan’s memories held no precise timing for the demon’s plans, only that he was to await the Blood Demon Arrow.

Right now, Shen Lian could only say this was truly... asymmetrical information kills.

If he had known Qi Chengzan would be stuck in Ao Stone Immortal City, he would have left earlier by spiritual ship.

He thought Qi Chengzan would relentlessly pursue even if he left by ship; otherwise, why would he cling so stubbornly?

But reality played a cruel joke.

Even Xiang Jingying’s sea of consciousness retained demonic seeds that led to the Black Cliff Demon’s curse.

Qi Chengzan, foundation stage eight, died so swiftly that his sea of consciousness was obliterated, but that did not mean no demonic seeds remained.

There was also the possibility that the seeds were destroyed along with him.

This time, Shen Lian had been ruthless—deploying a jade talisman array matching pseudo-Golden Core attack power, aiming to eliminate tails cleanly and escape.

But it had backfired.

The old demon was now stirring up trouble in Ao Stone Immortal City. Killing one pawn might raise suspicion.

Shen Lian’s expression fell; he had no grudge against the demon’s schemes but had not intended to interfere.

He wondered if the Black Cliff Demon would believe it was a misunderstanding.

Yet, if he hadn’t killed Qi Chengzan and only crushed the blood bean bugs, Qi Chengzan setting up a pill shop in the city would inevitably cross paths with the demon’s schemes.

Sighing, Shen Lian left his cave and headed out.

No, he had to leave the city immediately—at worst, intercept a spiritual ship outside and demand a toll.

Ao Stone Immortal City was unstable; it was a turtle in appearance only.

...

“Hmm!”

When Shen Lian returned to the city, in the northern corner of the largest immortal palace cluster, there was a side hall.

Inside, Elder Lu Ya slowly awoke from cultivation.

Strangely, his eyes sprouted with withered yellow bud-like illusions, slowly revolving within his pupils.

He seemed confused for a long moment before reacting.

“Someone died?”

“Could it have been discovered?”

Then the withered yellow buds intertwined, flickering with eerie mysterious light.

“A minor foundation-stage pawn.”

“No, the demonic seed was directly extinguished—that was the Golden Core’s doing…”

“Trouble, they’ve been found…”

...

Elsewhere, Shen Lian, just leaving the Turtle Stone cave, looked towards the distance.

Near sunset, a dazzling blood-red light shot into the sky, outlining a blood-red flower.

At the flower’s center was a strange, mocking smile, emitting an ear-piercing, eerie laughter.

Damn—it was the Blood Demon Arrow!