Chapter 52: Spilling the Dog Food Bowl—No One Gets a Taste!

It had to be both high-quality and worn-out.

In Shen Lian’s eyes, these two conditions were not mutually exclusive.

He had his eye on the speed of the Flying Fish, but the spirit vessel was simply too ornate. Once it took to the skies, it would stand out like a sore thumb among the many standard-issue spirit vessels. That would inevitably draw the attention of other cultivators.

They were all spirit vessels, but his was a limited edition. In his previous world, at most he would have been mocked as a nouveau riche. But in the world of cultivation, the likelihood of others coveting his wealth would soar.

Though Shen Lian was not afraid of trouble, he still found it tiresome when complications clung to him.

Rather, it was the manager of the Sea Spirit Pavilion who was momentarily stunned.

But years of business experience prevailed, and after a moment’s hesitation, the manager recovered his composure.

“Fellow Daoist, our Sea Spirit Pavilion does not deal in second-hand spirit vessels, but you can repaint it yourself.”

…

A day later.

On a remote, rocky shore northeast of Thousand Leaf Island.

Waves churned on the water’s surface. A spirit vessel, shrouded in a dim blue glow yet covered in pitch-black, grimy streaks, spun in place atop the water.

Its surface was smeared with dried blood, fissures visible from afar, and plastered with the scales of low-ranked fish demons.

It looked for all the world like an old fishing boat battered by decades of storms—rough, battered, and anything but sleek.

Shen Lian stood at the prow, familiarizing himself with the vessel’s controls.

The Flying Fish was twelve feet long, with a power array etched midship, where a spirit stone could be embedded as its energy source.

After a quarter-hour of splashing about, he mastered the technique and steered the vessel toward deeper waters.

Within the bounds of Thousand Leaf Island, countless boats and spirit vessels crisscrossed the watery expanse. Everyone took care to avoid each other’s courses.

Shen Lian piloted his spirit vessel just above the surface, traveling at a speed similar to any ordinary craft.

Only when he’d reached the deep sea and Thousand Leaf City was out of sight did the vessel’s blue light flare brilliantly, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

He had managed to disguise the vessel’s appearance, but its core could not be changed. Once at full speed, the brilliance of the power core was still dazzling.

“If I want a truly inconspicuous spirit vessel, I’ll have to build one myself in the future.”

Now far from Thousand Leaf Island, with no other vessels in sight, Shen Lian no longer bothered to hide. He unleashed the spirit vessel at full speed, heading toward the White Sand Archipelago.

…

In the south of the Chu Kingdom, at the ruins of Poison Cloud Mountain.

A resounding dragon’s roar echoed through the wilds, silencing all the insects and demonic creatures in the mountains.

A black ink dragon loomed half-concealed in the miasma, each breath setting off towering waves of toxic mist that crashed against the surrounding mountains and sea.

Its body, nearly a hundred yards long, swept up gale and rain, battering the mountains with thunderous force.

In the rain-lashed ruins of the forested mountains, several figures lay prostrate at a distance, trembling all over.

The grand elders, styled as immortals, their robes now wrinkled and muddied, dared not lift their heads to meet the ink dragon’s gaze.

The sect master, crowned with jade, his coiffure undone and his hairpin lost, was spattered with mud and dared not utter a word, his expression wretched.

The black dragon roared several times more before coiling atop a mountain peak, the surrounding miasma surging back to veil its form once more.

The battered forest finally revealed its true appearance.

All around Poison Cloud Mountain, the land had become a maze of ravines and hollows, with flickers of spiritual light faintly visible beneath the surface.

From three directions, three groups of figures crouched low in the muddy ruins, as meek as ordinary Qi Refining cultivators.

In a green robe, with hair in disarray, Master Biyu of the Emerald Water Sect glared viciously at the distant golden-robed Master Tianyang of the Sunlight Sect.

Though both were sect masters and mighty Golden Core cultivators, Master Tianyang looked just as disheveled.

Meeting Master Biyu’s furious gaze, Master Tianyang rolled his eyes toward the sky and sneered coldly.

Elsewhere, Master Hualing of the Bamboo Grove Valley sat with a gloomy face, as though beset by endless troubles.

Beside each sect master were one or two Golden Core elders, all seething with barely suppressed rage.

Yet at the sight of the ink dragon lurking in the miasma, none dared voice their anger.

A near-fourth-rank ink dragon could crush them with ease.

Not to mention the dragon’s master—a genuine Nascent Soul grand elder.

Though the Wildlands were remote from the main cultivation world of Southern Heaven, they were still part of it.

The cultivation world of Southern Heaven was vast, divided into hundreds of regions.

The Wildlands and the Myriad Star Sea were both part of the Southern Sea Domain of the Southern Heaven cultivation world.

And within the Southern Sea Domain stood the Cloud Summit Sect, a Nascent Soul sect.

Nominally, the Cloud Summit Sect was the overlord of all sects in the Southern Sea.

Whenever one of their cultivators advanced to Nascent Soul, even the distant sects of the Wildlands would send elders to attend the grand ceremony.

At present, the ink dragon before the three sects had been brought by the Nascent Soul grand elder of Cloud Summit Sect.

Though the Wildlands fell under Cloud Summit’s jurisdiction, the distance was vast, and their communication was closely guarded. By rights, Cloud Summit should not have learned of the recent discovery of ancient ruins so quickly.

As for how they had learned of a mid-fourth-rank ruin in this remote southern region…

At the thought of this, Master Hualing of Bamboo Grove, Master Biyu of Emerald Water, and their Golden Core elders could not help but glare daggers at the Sunlight Sect’s Golden Core cultivators.

Their eyes blazed with hatred, as if they wished to gnaw the Sunlight Sect alive.

Master Tianyang either rolled his eyes at the heavens or met their glares coldly, showing not the slightest guilt.

Blame me, will you!

If you want to blame someone, blame the Emerald Water and Bamboo Grove sects for lacking immortal virtue.

The three sects had worked together to break the fourth-rank ruin’s seal and found two treasures inside: both were Purple Sun Nurturing Jades.

These could nourish Golden Cores, briefly enhance the quality of a cultivator’s core energy, and allow their power to surge. When breaking through to Nascent Soul, they even increased the chance of success by ten percent.

One jade went to Master Hualing, the other to Master Biyu. Master Tianyang didn’t even touch a scrap.

Ordinarily, this wouldn’t have mattered—the ruin was vast, and this was only the first layer of the seal; there might yet be greater treasures within.

But having missed out on the Purple Sun Nurturing Jade, Master Tianyang’s heart was uneasy.

None of the three sect masters were close to the Nascent Soul stage, so there was little need to worry for a century or more.

But the jade could boost a Golden Core cultivator’s power in the short term, giving Biyu and Hualing a chance to surpass him.

If both grew stronger, how could the Sunlight Sect resist the combined might of Emerald Water and Bamboo Grove?

Who could guarantee that, once their strength was secured, Biyu and Hualing would not conspire to cast Sunlight Sect out?

Why split the fourth-rank ruin among three when two could take more?

So, Master Tianyang made his decision.

If I can’t have it, no one can.

The three sects of Chu had been united for a thousand years—would it not be best to stay on equal footing?

If you lack immortal virtue, don’t blame me for lacking immortal brotherhood (even if it was only bad luck that kept me from seizing the jade).

Thus, Master Tianyang secretly sent word to Cloud Summit Sect.

“Elder, fourth-rank ruin, come quickly.”

Of course, he was thorough in his scheming. He knew that if only Sunlight Sect reported it, and Cloud Summit learned the truth, his sect would be left in the cold.

So, when he sent his message, he also notified Emerald Water and Bamboo Grove.

As expected, after a brief outburst of fury, Masters Biyu and Hualing, while wishing to strangle Master Tianyang, made the same choice.

“Honored Sect, we have found a fourth-rank ruin.”

“Honored Elder, our sect has discovered a ruin, suspected to be fourth-rank.”

And so, the news of the three sects’ joint discovery reached Cloud Summit Sect.

In the end, the Purple Sun Nurturing Jades were handed to the Nascent Soul grand elder, and the three sects found themselves once more on equal ground.