Deep beneath the sea's surface, a beam of shadowy light sped along, seemingly slow yet startlingly swift.
The turbulent undercurrents had no detrimental effect on this figure whatsoever. If anything, they only quickened his pace.
From time to time, the dim light paused, and he tilted his head up toward the sky.
To an ordinary glance, the sky above appeared empty, yet under his scrutiny, one could clearly make out a man and a bird.
Even though the gull was flying at tremendous speed, the beam of dim light easily kept pace by stopping and surging in rhythm.
Were a discerning human cultivator present, they would instantly recognize that the technique in use was none other than one of the famed Five Elements Escape Arts—the Water Escape Art!
Among the Five Elements Escape Arts, the Water Escape Art was second in difficulty only to the Earth Escape Art.
As long as one had the corresponding manual, Foundation Establishment cultivators could learn it.
Even exceptionally gifted Qi Refinement cultivators had a chance of grasping it.
However, like the Earth Escape Art, it was easy to learn but difficult to master.
In terms of fleeing speed, it could not match the Metal Escape Art; in explosive power, it fell short of the Fire Escape Art; and in stealth, it lagged behind the Wood Escape Art.
Yet clearly, the figure executing this art had cultivated it to a consummate degree, summoning and dismissing it entirely at will.
Furthermore, situated above the boundless ocean, he was like a fish in water, his speed astonishing.
Even the Tianxuan Battle Gull, renowned for its swift flight, could not shake off the master of this light.
Gazing at the silhouette of the Tianxuan Battle Gull, thoughts churned within his mind.
*If I haven't tracked down the wrong person, he must be the mastermind behind Tianxuan Island.*
*Not only did he act with utter impunity across the Xuanyan Sea Domain, he even brazenly took part in the battle on Xuanyan Island!*
*If I kill him and seize his fortune, perhaps his wealth can help me break through to the Form Transformation stage so I can cultivate the Great Dao in human form!*
*Heh, the Demon Spider Crab clan wants to capture him to reclaim the Demon Emperor's husk, but did they bother asking what I, Yuan Yin, think?*
Time passed slowly. After a day and a night, the Tianxuan Battle Gull seemed to tire, its flight speed slackening.
Beneath the surface, Yuan Yin held his breath, collected his spirit, and slowed down as well, maintaining a distance of ten li from the gull.
Ten li was the closest safe tracking distance.
Any nearer, and despite his Hidden Dust Sand clan's natural talent for concealment, he would easily be discovered—especially by a human Golden Core cultivator, a breed renowned for powerful divine souls.
Watching the Tianxuan Battle Gull gently flap its wings and the small figure standing atop its back, Yuan Yin's faint glow trembled slightly.
*One time!*
*I only have one chance!*
*Though this man is merely at the mid Golden Core stage, he moved unhindered throughout the Xuanyan Sea Domain and even enslaved two Tier 3 Demon Kings. His methods are bound to be extraordinary.*
*As for my Hidden Dust Sand clan, we are merely parasitic spirits gifted with nothing beyond innate stealth. Even though I have reached consummate Tier 3, I have only comprehended two arts: the Water Escape Art and Myriad Pearl Shahua. If they are neutralized, I will certainly be no match for him.*
*Therefore, I have only one shot. I must strike when he least expects it and kill him in a single blow!*
Continuous, cautious deliberation made Yuan Yin, a rare consummate Tier 3 demon of the Hidden Dust Sand clan, acutely aware of the tremendous risks involved in his endeavor.
He had already prepared himself mentally: if the blow failed, he would flee deep into the boundless ocean.
He could see clearly that the Golden Core cultivator's aura was fluctuating, a telltale sign of unhealed injuries.
To undertake a long journey across the Demon Sea, where great demons roamed in abundance, such a state was utterly unsustainable.
Thus, he only had to wait for the man to stop and tend to his wounds, then quietly infiltrate and deliver a fatal strike!
The husk of the Xuanyan Demon Emperor, and a human Golden Core cultivator ripe for parasitism.
The thought of both prizes set Yuan Yin's heart ablaze!
One day passed, then two...
Yuan Yin's mood began to sink.
Not once did he see the man stop to heal; in fact, the cultivator looked poised to fly all the way back to human territory in a single stretch.
If that happened, Yuan Yin would have no opportunity to launch a sudden ambush.
*Am I truly going to watch him leave with my own eyes?*
Yuan Yin was loath to accept it. He even found himself wishing that one or two formidable Demon Kings would suddenly emerge along the route to intercept the man.
Of course, not too formidable—it would ruin everything if they killed the cultivator outright.
Conflicted desires rose and fell within his imagination.
Then, abruptly!
On the fourth day, over a stretch of ocean known as the Sheluo Sea Domain, the Tianxuan Battle Gull began descending slowly from the sky.
At this sight, Yuan Yin's spirits soared!
*They're finally stopping.*
Perhaps four days of nonstop travel had exhausted the Tianxuan Battle Gull, or perhaps the Golden Core cultivator could no longer suppress his injuries.
Whatever the reason, they landed on a small island that faintly radiated thin spiritual energy.
*My chance is here!*
Thrilled, Yuan Yin crept toward the island.
Instead of entering directly, he slowly diffused his dim glow, reaching out to nearby Hidden Dust Sands.
Deep beneath the sea, faint lights flickered and pulsed in response.
At his command, several low-tier Hidden Dust Sands floated up into the shallows to scout the human Golden Core's movements.
Around midnight, when the moon hung high, Yuan Yin finally made up his mind.
The opportunity was here—he could not afford to miss it!
With a tremor of shadowy light, he rose from the water's surface, drifting toward the nameless isle like a firefly.
Yet just as he drew near, he halted abruptly.
*Something's wrong!*
*Something feels completely off!*
Yuan Yin could not pinpoint what was amiss, but an instinctual twinge of foreboding caused him to hover outside the island, hesitating.
After a moment of vacillation, he decided to exercise patience.
*In any case, I have already memorized his aura. I can continue tailing him, discover his foothold, and make my move then.*
He placed immense trust in this premonition.
It was this very instinct that had enabled him to evade countless calamities across centuries of cultivation.
It had allowed him to rise step by step from the humblest, weakest kind of Hidden Dust Sand—prey for any human or demon beast—all the way to consummate Tier 3.
If he threw his life away here for this prize, it would not be worth it.
His form began to retreat slowly.
However!
A clear, resonant voice sounded from the island.
"Is it not delightful to have friends visit from afar? Fellow Daoist, since you have come, why not show yourself?"
Beneath the moonlight, a man clad in a loose white Daoist robe came into view, his long hair draped down his back, pinned only with a single wooden hairpin.
Walking as though stepping upon the moonbeams, his eyes were piercing and cold, like bottomless frozen abysses, staring frostily at Yuan Yin from miles away.
Yuan Yin's heart hammered violently as an extreme sense of mortal danger engulfed him.
Without wasting time trying to speak, he plunged directly toward the sea.
The instant he touched the water, he moved to activate the Water Escape Art.
Yet in the very next instant, a cascade of flowing light swept over the surface like a torrential waterfall, instantly blanketing the area.
From the east, south, west, and north, four pillars of light soared straight into the clouds.
Vaguely visible beneath the beams were a flood dragon, a battle gull, and a ghostly shadow, each occupying a cardinal direction. The final beam of light was anchored by the man standing upon the island.
With the four forces converging, the ocean seemed to turn into solid, unyielding earth in an instant.
No matter how Yuan Yin channeled his spiritual power, he could not muster an ounce of swift burst.
In other words, his Water Escape Art was broken.
*What kind of array is this? Why does it feel like it has sealed the entire sea?!*
Yuan Yin was scared out of his wits. Being stripped of his greatest specialty, the Water Escape Art, was a blow far more desperate than the sky collapsing.
This was the very foundation he had relied upon to cultivate in seclusion across the Xuanyan Sea Domain for centuries!
Yet at the precipice of life and death, no matter how desperate he felt, he would not sit and wait for death.
Without hesitation, he shot upward.
If the sea was barred, then the sky was his way out.
However, the man on the island merely nudged the compass in his hand, and four more pillars of light erupted into brilliance.
From every angle, they sealed off his path of escape.
Yuan Yin froze in midair, his voice emerging as a muffled, slurred human rasp.
"Fellow Daoist, to forgive where one can is true virtue. I haven't done anything to harm you—I merely stumbled upon this place by chance. Why not let me go?"
Luo Chen's lips twitched into a sneer.
"You trailed me for days on end and skulked around my resting place. What, must you actually harm me before I have the right to have a word with you?"
Yuan Yin's heart sank.
Though he did not know when his tracks had been exposed, it was clear that today's matter would not end amicably.
If that was the case...!
A ruthless streak flared in his heart, and a majestic aura abruptly washed over the area.
It resembled demonic qi, yet also carried the vigor of flesh and blood, while faintly exuding a cool, ethereal, spiritual vitality.
Sensing this boundless aura, Luo Chen's expression shifted slightly.
Such an aura was hardly inferior to the clan patriarchs of the five Royal Demon Crab tribes.
A consummate Tier 3 demon beast?
"This old man is Yuan Yin, an expert of the Radiance Clan! Do you truly wish to fight me to the death?"
The Radiance Clan!
Hearing that name, Luo Chen instantly tensed.
That was an exceptionally powerful breed of demon beast in the boundless Northern Sea.
Born of the ocean and dwelling in ethereal, mist-shrouded skies, they fed upon auroras of every hue.
Rumor had it that in the Arctic Yama Heaven, near regions of Origin Magnetic Divine Light, vast numbers of Radiance Beasts gathered.
Ordinary cultivators dared not provoke such creatures in the slightest.
Looking at Yuan Yin's round body constantly emanating shadowy light, it truly bore some resemblance to the legendary Radiance Beast.
Demon beasts of this caliber were formidable beings fully capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with human cultivators of the same rank.
If they truly clashed in a fight to the death, victory would be far from guaranteed; moreover, if the commotion grew too vast, the powerful demon beasts inhabiting this Sheluo Sea Domain would not simply sit by and watch.
With an inscrutable expression, Luo Chen pressed down on the compass.
Instantly, the pillars of light in the sky dimmed.
Seeing this, Yuan Yin inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, though his tone remained forceful.
"At least you know what's good for you, kid. This old man still has business to attend to, so I won't lower myself to argue with you."
With that, he bolted straight for the sky.
Yet before he could clear the array, a blazing sun detonated violently overhead!
*When did he...?!*
Yuan Yin was aghast and had no choice but to dive back down.
From the sea below, several water dragons surged straight up to meet him.
Pincer-attacked from above and below, he was cornered on all sides.
Yuan Yin roared in fury, "Scatter!"
Instantly, tens of thousands of luminous motes blasted outward from his body.
The fury of the detonating sun was broken head-on, and the surging water dragons collapsed into disarray.
Not only that, but the dense storm of light specks swept out toward the four figures anchoring the array.
The giant flood dragon opened its maw, swallowing the incoming barrage of motes whole. With every swallowed mote, it let out a stifled grunt.
The battle gull flapped her wings frantically, whipping up gale-force vortices to deflect the rain of light as best she could. Even so, several motes struck her body, punching bloody holes through her flesh.
On the island, Luo Chen's expression turned solemn.
One hand held the compass.
With the other, he traced a circle through the air and pushed it slowly forward.
Instantly, layers of crimson and azure rings materialized in the night sky.
The rings operated independently yet were linked head to tail; upon closer inspection, there were five in total.
Azure flames coiled around them, inspiring dread in anyone who looked upon them.
It was none other than Luo Chen's self-created fire-attribute defensive spell: the Blazing Heavens Sevenfold Rings.
He had cultivated this spell to the Master level, yet this was the very first time he had formally deployed it in combat.
The moment the technique manifested, it met the densest cluster of light specks head-on.
*Hiss, hiss, hiss...*
In a flash, the first ring shattered.
As the motes pushed forward like splitting bamboo, the fire shield formed by the second ring also broke apart.
Yet by the time they reached the third ring, magic power surged across its perimeter; alongside a fire shield, swarms of crimson moths fluttered forth.
The moths hurled themselves toward the dense storm of light.
Upon impact, the moths disintegrated one by one, yet as soon as they vanished, new ones materialized in endless waves.
It was a relentless display of moths darting into the flame, advancing wave upon wave.
Under this barrier, the momentum of the incoming light motes was largely extinguished.
Although the third ring was ultimately breached, by the time the attack reached the fourth ring, its power was thoroughly spent.
Azure flames flared violently, bringing forth an aura of growth and decay.
Beneath the scorching azure fire, the specks of light involuntarily shed their glow, revealing themselves to be dull stone beads.
Luo Chen's vision was exceptional, and he recognized their true nature at a single glance.
"Pearls?"
Just as he was caught off guard, Yuan Yin caught his breath, believing he had found an opportunity to break out.
Abandoning both sky and sea, he charged straight toward the presence with the weakest aura—the shadow.
He had seen clearly: that was merely the soul of a Tier 3 ghost king.
And his Hidden Dust Sand clan feared ghosts least of all!
Yet the moment he drew near, the ghost king cracked open a wide maw and let out a teasing chuckle.
"What Radiance Beast? It's just a single grain of Hidden Dust Sand!"
Amidst the chuckle, the rushing winds abruptly died.
In the night sky, within the confines of the Sea-Sealing Bagua Array, a pearl the size of a fist lost its luster and hung silently in midair.
*Drip!*
A water droplet fell. Luo Chen walked across the sea, arriving before the colossal pearl.
A look of astonishment crossed his face.
"This is a Hidden Dust Sand?"
The ghost king spoke in Han Zhan's voice. "The true form of a Radiance Beast curls into a sphere, but when unfurled, it looks no different from a butterfly. It isn't a plump, round pearl like this. Hidden Dust Sands are also known as Pearl Demons or Sea Demon Children, perfectly matching this appearance."
Realization dawned upon Luo Chen, though doubt quickly followed.
"Yet rumors say that Hidden Dust Sands possess negligible combat strength, practically having no fighting capability to speak of. The methods this demon unleashed just now were not inferior to a late Tier 3 Demon King in the slightest."
Han Zhan chuckled. "Be that as it may, there are always exceptionally gifted anomalies. Besides, though this demon displayed the consummate Tier 3 realm, the power of that myriad-pearl barrage was not even half that of the five Demon Crab patriarchs. Doesn't that match the rumors to a tee?"
Luo Chen nodded; framed that way, it made complete sense.
Even if this Hidden Dust Sand had extraordinary talent, the desperate counterattack it mustered amounted to only that much.
It had failed to breach even the fifth ring of his Master-level Blazing Heavens Sevenfold Rings.
Earlier, he had indeed been somewhat startled by the bluff.
"Putting it that way, everything fits."
"No wonder over the past few days, I constantly felt eyes on me, yet couldn't pinpoint the source."
"From the moment they awaken spiritual wisdom, the Hidden Dust Sand clan excels at concealing their aura, slowly absorbing the vitality of their host to safely grow into an entry-rank demon."
"Having reached consummate Tier 3, this demon's concealment methods were likely superior even to my full deployment of the Yinwei Formation!"
Ever since Luo Chen had refined his pair of spiritual eyes, his vision was not only extraordinary, but his sensitivity to the gaze of others had also sharpened dramatically.
Thus, two days ago, when he sensed something was amiss yet could not locate his pursuer, he had asked Han Zhan to investigate.
For such a minor matter, Han Zhan naturally did not refuse.
With the inherent nature of a Nascent Soul divine soul, deliberate scouting quickly revealed the enemy's presence.
Then, landing here tonight, they had used the Fengshen Compass to lay out the Sea-Sealing Bagua Array.
While Luo Chen could not match the Demon Spider Crab's feat of using eight legs as array eyes, he could still have Black King, Tianxuan, and Han Zhan coordinate with him.
With Han Zhan, an array master, assisting, the power of their Sea-Sealing Bagua Array was by no means inferior to that of the Demon Spider Crab.
Consequently, the Hidden Dust Sand, entirely unaware it was walking into an ambush, was left completely at their mercy.
Luo Chen shook his head. "To think that even as I'm about to leave, such troubles still crop up."
Han Zhan laughed. "What did you expect? Why do you think human cultivators prefer choosing spiritual grounds to establish sects, found clans, and band together for cultivation? When roaming alone in the wilds, spiritual lands may be plentiful, but great demons naturally gravitate toward them by instinct. Inevitable friction means unending turmoil."
Luo Chen nodded with deep sentiment.
Indeed, cultivating out in the wilds might seem carefree, but until one reached absolute supremacy, it had nothing to do with peace and quiet.
It ran entirely counter to the superficial ideal of 'serene cultivation' professed by Dao seekers.
Just then, the faint wails of conch horns began to echo in the distance.
This was no place to linger!
Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen recalled the injured Black King and Tianxuan, summoned a cloud of magic power, and soared into the night sky.
Chapter 559