Chapter 95: What, Starting Again? Is This Never-Ending?
Inside the cave dwelling, Qi Chengzan’s heart trembled.
Ao Stone Immortal City was one of the five great immortal cities under the Xuanhai Sect.
It was guarded by a False Dan cultivator and protected by a third-tier formation. Even a Golden Core cultivator might not be able to break through its defenses.
He began pondering how to conceal his identity and accomplish this task.
He dared not disobey the orders of the Black Cliff Demon; by now, he was no longer in control of his own fate.
Previously, he claimed to be taking possession of the Blood Soul Pearl that Xiang Jingying and the other two had seized, all the while monitoring them.
The Black Cliff Demon’s disciples were scattered throughout the Ten Thousand Star Sea; perhaps other cultivators would be watching him, and if he made no move, his death would be certain.
Every scheme of the Black Cliff Demon was deeply calculated; as a mere pawn, Qi Chengzan was only one move in a much larger game, unable to perceive the demon’s full plan.
Just like the three deceased Xiang Jingying and companions— the demon paid them no mind, but was instead intrigued by the cultivator who had eliminated Xiang Jingying.
...
Three days later, at dawn.
The Azure Sheep set to sail once more.
Wan Yan Zhenren of the Azure Sheep Island Alliance stood on the deck, eyeing the storage sacks hanging from the ship’s railing, his expression sour.
This was a sign he no longer wished to reconcile.
Shen Lian ascended to the deck and noticed that of the original five Foundation Establishment cultivators, only he and Elder Lin remained.
Observing Wan Yan Zhenren and Jin Zhao along with the other cultivators on deck, all tense and alert, Shen Lian initially found it amusing, but soon the smile faded.
Suddenly, he was startled awake.
The taut expression of Wan Yan Zhenren slowly merged with the image he had in his memory.
He was laughing at himself.
Today’s Wan Yan was, in many ways, no different from his former or future self.
In Yunmeng Market, Black Whale City, Thousand Kings Island...
When facing the unknown, everyone was the same.
The path of cultivation allowed no luck.
As the spirit ship departed, a streak of light shot across and landed on the deck.
“Pardon the delay, honored seniors,” Qi Chengzan said, bowing toward Wan Yan Zhenren and the others, then smiling and nodding slightly at Shen Lian.
Instantly, Shen Lian’s heart skipped a beat.
Why the hell are you back again?!
On the deck of the spirit ship.
Shen Lian nodded in acknowledgment to Qi Chengzan, a faint smile crossing his lips, though inwardly...
He wanted nothing more than to check himself once more, to see if any slip-ups had been exposed.
Fortunately, after a brief moment of suspicion, Shen Lian calmed down.
The Azure Sheep’s route through the northwest sea made it perfectly normal for anyone to board the spirit ship.
Boom!
The spirit ship roared and soared toward the distance.
Due to the incident with the demon cultivator, the number of cultivators aboard had decreased by a third.
After arranging for his Foundation Establishment disciples, Wan Yan Zhenren turned to Shen Lian, Elder Lin, and Qi Chengzan.
“For safety, would it be agreeable for you all to rest in the loft?”
Though phrased as a suggestion, his tone left no room for refusal.
“We shall follow your arrangement, Zhenren.”
“Good.”
The three nodded in unison and flew to the loft at the highest point of the spirit ship.
Though Shen Lian’s cultivation was only Foundation Establishment second stage, his divine sense was no weaker than those at seventh or eighth stage.
While entering the loft, he casually observed Qi Chengzan.
With a False Dan cultivator guarding the ship, safety was assured.
---
Taking advantage of this close proximity to a False Dan cultivator, Shen Lian compared Wan Yan Zhenren’s external aura with his own ordinary jade talisman.
He confirmed once again the ordinary jade talisman’s power was at a quasi-third-tier level.
In front of the False Dan cultivator, Qi Chengzan acted completely normal.
Since the Black Cliff Demon no longer cared about the trio of Xiang Jingying, Qi Chengzan need not waste effort tracking them.
Previously, he had exerted great effort only because his task was incomplete and he feared punishment from the Black Cliff Demon.
But now, Qi Chengzan felt troubled.
Had he known earlier, he would have preferred to accept punishment rather than wade into the murky waters of Ao Stone Immortal City.
What kind of place was Ao Stone Immortal City? Even with his Foundation Establishment eighth stage cultivation, escape would not be easy.
Yet, he couldn’t refuse; his life and family were firmly in the Black Cliff Demon’s grasp.
You think he’s being proactive for no reason?
He needed a plan.
One that both appeased the Black Cliff Demon and ensured his own safety.
But such a perfect outcome was difficult.
Qi Chengzan’s divine sense slipped into his storage bracelet, sensing the resources inside.
He had seized the family headship of the Qi clan through the Black Cliff Demon’s ancestor and had already subdued the other Foundation Establishment elders of the clan, turning them into his lackeys with sacrificial bean refining techniques.
About eighty percent of the family’s resources were carried by him, the clan head. Now was not the time to be stingy with spirit stones.
“When we reach Ao Stone Immortal City, I must buy some high-grade talismans and pills in advance.”
“Not sure if these spirit stones will suffice; might have to sell a few spirit artifacts.”
...
On the other side, Shen Lian refined spirit stones while internally inspecting his body thoroughly.
He even used his divine sense to check the storage ring, confirming nothing gave away any hint of a tail.
Judging from Qi Chengzan’s expression, Shen Lian’s own assessment was confirmed.
The islands along the route were remote; Qi Chengzan naturally wanted to take the spirit ship to Ao Stone Immortal City.
Though his judgment was preliminary, Shen Lian remained cautious.
The Azure Sheep continued along its designated course. Whenever the ship docked at an island, Shen Lian disembarked to conduct his business as usual.
Qi Chengzan and Elder Lin remained on the ship, meditating and cultivating.
As for Wan Yan Zhenren and the others, they dared not leave the ship, fearing that the only major asset of the Azure Sheep Island Alliance might be sabotaged by demon cultivators.
With time, everyone grew familiar while resting in the loft and exchanged their family names.
Shen Lian learned that the cultivator tracking him was Qi Chengzan, head of a Foundation Establishment clan.
During the fifty-plus stops along the route, Shen Lian’s frequent disembarking sparked curiosity among several Foundation Establishment cultivators.
He did not hide his identity, claiming to be a second-tier alchemist traveling in search of a rare medicinal herb.
It was normal for an alchemist to roam in search of herbs.
In the blink of an eye, nine months passed.
Under Wan Yan Zhenren’s personal command, the Azure Sheep finally caught sight of Ao Stone Immortal City from afar.
Shen Lian stood on deck, gazing at the enormous turtle-shaped island resting on the sea.
Ao Stone Immortal City.
Finally, he had arrived.
Along the way, he had brought joy to cultivators on various islands and received a large number of spirit stones as gifts.
Now was the time to give back to the cultivation world.
After circling the islands on the Azure Sheep’s route, Shen Lian gained a profound insight.
The Joy Pill held immense potential.
Even in places starved of spiritual energy, joy still endured.
This made him somewhat amused and exasperated; he had intended to bring joy to fellow cultivators, but after his journey, he ended up accumulating spirit stones from lower-tier Qi cultivators instead.
The pile in his storage bracelet was not merely spirit stones, but the lifeblood of countless cultivators.
A total of 160,000 low-grade spirit stones.
The reason for such an amount was that Shen Lian had precisely located his partners in places like the Red Beauty Houses and Immortal Entertainment Pavilions on each island.
Gathering a group of celestial beauties and charming young men to conduct import-export business, these were typically local power brokers.
---
However, the islands along the Azure Sheep’s route, located in the remote northwest of the Ten Thousand Star Sea, were dominated at best by Foundation Establishment forces.
Through all these islands, he had never encountered a madam of a Red Beauty House who was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Ding San was responsible for purchasing materials, Ding Si for selling Joy Pills.
Under the pressure of Foundation Establishment puppets, business transactions were generally amicable.
Still, not all went smoothly; there were a few unexpected incidents.
As a result, over 30,000 spirit stones in the storage bracelet came from additional earnings.
...
Ao Stone Immortal City lay like a colossal immortal turtle crawling in the sea, with the city built on its back.
Legend said someone had wanted to build the city on the turtle’s head, but others deemed it inauspicious, so the back was chosen.
Like Black Whale City, it was a flourishing metropolis guarded by a third-tier formation, its overwhelming pressure felt even from a distance.
At the city’s center was a vast plaza, dominated by a gigantic stele borne on the back of a stone tortoise, radiating immense pressure.
Surrounding the stele was a broad square where spirit ships docked, with a designated place to process entry jade talismans.
This was quite different from Black Whale City.
Around the plaza stood tall and imposing guild headquarters, one after another; the plaques of the Mountain-Sea Pavilion and Xuanhai Hall shimmered with spiritual light amidst the mist.
From afar, one could see seven-colored rainbows glimmering within the clouds.
This was the third-tier grand formation— the Heavenly Screen Water-Shield Formation— connected to the spiritual veins beneath the city.
Once the spirit ship landed, Shen Lian leapt down and exhaled deeply. He had finally arrived.
After more than nine months since leaving Thousand Kings Island, the journey matched the length of the last time he had angered Bian Qingyun.
Counting this time encountering the Black Cliff Demon, he had effectively provoked two Golden Core Zhenren.
Sharing a confined space with a hidden demon cultivator who once tracked him was a strange sensation.
Nine months of constant travel, especially having to face a False Dan Zhenren and an uncertain Foundation Establishment cultivator, meant his insights were limited and cultivation intermittent.
His current insight points had only accumulated to 8,814.
Looking around at the bustling scene of cultivators coming and going, Shen Lian felt he could easily replicate the Black Whale City model in Ao Stone Immortal City.
Back then, life in Black Whale City was stable, protected by a third-tier formation and guarded by a Golden Core ancestor.
Compared to Black Whale City, Ao Stone Immortal City was no worse— in fact, it was even stronger.
The Xuanhai Sect was the largest sect in the Ten Thousand Star Sea.
To make a move here would not be to offend him, but to insult the entire Xuanhai Sect.
The Xuanhai Sect had a Golden Core Grand Master ancestor; who dared to slap the face of such a figure?
...
After obtaining his identity jade talisman, Shen Lian glanced toward the Mountain-Sea Pavilion nearby.
Since it was within sight, he decided to first purchase some resources there.
“Hmm!”
But just as he approached the pavilion’s entrance, the divine sense talisman hidden inside his robes reacted.
Immediately, the shadow of a soul-sealing ghost demon appeared within his divine sense sea.
“What’s going on?”
Shen Lian remained calm and kept walking.
Damn it, why was he being targeted again?
Under divine sense scrutiny, a faint blood-colored particle was found attached to a strand of hair beneath his bun.
It was the Blood Bean Worm.
Hadn’t he already identified and eliminated them during the journey from Yushan Island to Ao Stone Island, over a hundred thousand li of sea route?
Why was this starting again? Was it never going to end?
It was enough to make Shen Lian feel completely lost.