"Senior, I have made up my mind."
Standing on the green lawn outside the sinkhole, Sang Jinghe bowed deeply toward the young man ahead.
"Mm. What have you decided?"
"I am willing to follow at Senior's side and serve you wholeheartedly."
Upon hearing this answer, Luo Chen did not turn around, merely chuckling softly.
"Very good. Having such resolve is commendable."
Hearing that chuckle, Sang Jinghe breathed a sigh of relief.
Making this decision had been truly difficult. It meant giving up everything his Third Grandfather had left behind, including the Tusang Sect—a faction that had begun to gain influence within the Myriad Immortals Association.
Yet he had weighed the situation carefully. Though the Tusang Sect currently boasted many disciples, it possessed no heavyweight figures.
Even if he went back, putting aside whether he could form a Golden Core, merely trying to make the sect flourish would be an uphill battle; at best, he could only preserve what already existed.
On the contrary!
If he remained by the side of Qingyangzi, a renowned Golden Core cultivator, the benefits would be boundless.
In the end, Sang Jinghe finally understood his Third Grandfather Sang Jiugong's dying intentions when he refused to let him return to the Tusang Sect and instructed him to stay long-term on Purple Spirit Island.
It was to cling tightly to Qingyangzi's coattails!
"I didn't mention this to you before, but during this journey into the Sunken Sea, I offended Moon Hermit, Master of the Myriad Immortals Association."
"With her petty nature, she will pursue me relentlessly. Anyone within the Myriad Immortals Association connected to me will likely suffer innocent collateral damage. The Tusang Sect is no exception."
"If you had not intended to follow me, I would have advised you to wait and observe rather than rashly return to the Tusang Sect. Mindful of my friendship with Fellow Daoist Sang, I would at most have gifted you a protective measure or two..."
Listening to the Taoist's indifferent words, cold sweat silently drenched Sang Jinghe's back.
If that was truly the case, the Tusang Sect was likely already gone in all but name!
Trembling, Sang Jinghe gazed down into the sinkhole at the Purple Monkey Flowers swaying in the wind, awaiting transplant, feeling an uncanny pang of shared sorrow.
From this day forward, he too would leave his homeland behind and become a rootless wanderer!
***
The black city stood majestic, banners fluttering in the wind.
Pedestrians wove past in dense streams, carriages and mounts flowing like water.
Towering, magnificent white buildings rose across the city in undulating waves.
Shouts and solicitations echoed incessantly in every ear.
A peerlessly beautiful woman stepped alone into the black city.
Gazing at architecture starkly distinct from the Northern Sea cultivation world, the woman sneered coldly.
"Do the cultivators of Shenyuan City also hide their heads and skulk about, daring only to pry in secret?"
Her cold scoff was spoken in a low murmur, yet amplified by her divine sense, it rippled in all directions, blanketing the entirety of Shenyuan City!
Every True Person who heard it wore a look of utter horror.
"Late Nascent Soul!"
"She truly broke through!"
"Incredible... Within three generations of the Penglai Immortal Sect, the one to attain the Great Cultivator realm wasn't the Sect Master upon whom all hopes were pinned, but this traitor."
"The rumors were true; Moon Hermit really possesses the Late Nascent Soul realm. But if so, is the talk of a spirit treasure also real?"
***
As one of the top five immortal cities in the Northern Sea today, Shenyuan City saw no fewer than five Nascent Soul True Persons coming and going year-round.
Particularly in recent months!
After the Myriad Immortals Association returned triumphant from the Sunken Sea secret realm, the number of experts flocking to Shenyuan City—which bordered the association's domain—had suddenly multiplied several times over.
The Nascent Soul True Persons among them, both in the open and in the shadows, easily exceeded double digits!
One had to understand how astonishing it was for so many Nascent Soul True Persons to gather in Shenyuan City amidst the white-hot phase of the righteous-demonic war.
They had come to Shenyuan City to network, exchange intelligence, and form covenants, each harboring varying degrees of intent to spy on the Myriad Immortals Association.
Yet no one had expected that Moon Hermit herself would disregard this gathered force and step directly into Shenyuan City.
She had even uttered words of mockery right to the faces of all those prying eyes.
Such conduct spoke either of magnanimity or of absolute confidence and backing!
Those prying gazes timidly withdrew.
A figure drifted over like a phantom.
"Moon Hermit, I trust you have been well!"
Moon Hermit narrowed her slender eyelashes, sizing up the newcomer.
"Shen Wandou, do you come to meet me as the Grand Elder of the Northern Sea's Tianyuan Business Alliance, or as an elder of the Tianyuan Dao Sect's Star Gate?"
White-haired Shen Wandou frowned.
"What difference does it make? Though I reside leisurely in the Northern Sea, I remain a disciple of Tianyuan."
A slight curve formed at Moon Hermit's lips. "The difference is immense. If you greet me as the Grand Elder of the Business Alliance, then I require you to honor the promise made when the Myriad Immortals Association and the Tianyuan Business Alliance established ties—allow me use of Shenyuan City's teleportation array. If as the latter... I don't trust outsiders from other provinces."
Shen Wandou fell silent.
After a long pause, he stepped aside and extended an inviting hand.
"Please!"
Moon Hermit smiled. Her robes fluttering, she glided forward with light steps.
Two incense sticks later.
Within Shenyuan City's central grand hall, a pillar of light suddenly surged into the heavens.
Seeing this light, many Nascent Soul True Persons paled drastically.
That was the sign of a teleportation array activating!
Furthermore, one could tell at a glance that it was no short-distance transit, but an ultra-long-distance teleportation array capable of spanning the Northern Sea from north to south.
"Fellow Daoist Shen, why did you let Moon Hermit leave so easily?"
"Has she even abandoned the Myriad Immortals Association she built with her own hands?"
"Damn it! With Moon Hermit gone, weren't all our calculations here in vain?"
Facing barrage after barrage of divine sense transmissions, Shen Wandou stood in place with a bitter smile.
He gave no answer. Instead, he left the teleportation hall and made his way deep into the subterranean depths of Shenyuan City.
A Nascent Soul cultivator had been waiting for a long time.
Seeing Shen Wandou, the young Taoist made a one-handed salute. "Liu Yuan greets Martial Uncle."
Shen Wandou waved his hand dismissively. "Since you have already attained the Nascent Soul stage and share no clan ties with me, dispense with past seniority. We may address each other as peers."
Liu Yuan, who went by the Daoist title True Person Longyuan, could not help but smile.
"Senior Brother Shen."
"Mm, Junior Brother Liu."
Having reset their relationship, both felt much more relaxed.
True Person Longyuan pointed upward. "That woman has left?"
Shen Wandou nodded. "She has, but from the looks of it, she will likely return."
"Still returning?" True Person Longyuan frowned slightly, though his brow soon smoothed out. "Returning is fine as well. I see that the seal on the Yama Heavens is teetering on the brink of collapse, and that desolate beast Ghost Immortal Tower has barged in. The vile beast within will almost certainly break free. When that time comes, with the Myriad Immortals Association led by Moon Hermit holding the front lines, it can buy sufficient time for our Tianyuan Dao Sect."
Shen Wandou shared that thought, then sighed.
"These Northern Sea cultivators, without the Yuan Demon Sect as a sky hanging over them, have grown utterly reckless. Deluded enough to scheme against a Great Cultivator—they are simply courting death."
True Person Longyuan asked with a chuckle, "Could it be Senior Brother had no such thoughts as well?"
Shen Wandou looked slightly embarrassed, but quickly waved his hand. "I wouldn't dare! Unless Junior Brother Fu and the other two return, and with you, this rising star, joining us to form the Five Tribulations Killing Formation, we might have a thirty percent chance of defeating Moon Hermit."
"Thirty percent? That's a bit high, isn't it?" True Person Longyuan said softly. "I have crossed paths with Moon Hermit several times. Her cultivation is unfathomable, her methods legion, and now she has a spirit treasure holding down her foundation. A Five Tribulations Killing Formation formed by five Early Nascent Soul cultivators likely couldn't touch a single hair on her."
Shen Wandou was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Moon Hermit to receive such high praise from this junior brother.
She was merely a Penglai outcast!
One had to remember that the Penglai Immortal Sect was nothing more than an idle chess piece planted in the Northern Sea by the Tianyuan Dao Sect.
Could Moon Hermit, having betrayed Penglai, truly surpass her origins?
"Forget it. In any case, we have no chance against her, and that spirit treasure is not ours to covet. Let's speak of you first!"
Shen Wandou's expression turned solemn. "Have you truly decided to participate in the once-in-five-hundred-years Dao Sect Grand Tournament and enter the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven?"
True Person Longyuan set aside his smile, his face growing serious as well.
"Disciples from humble backgrounds like us rarely catch the sect's eye; we can never touch the opportunities of the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven in our entire lives. Only upon advancing to Early Nascent Soul do we get this single chance."
"I abandoned a comfortable life in the Central Plains, left my family and clan behind, and came alone to carve out a path in the Northern Sea. Step by step, from the sixth layer of the Golden Core, I fought my way to become a Nine-Star Demon Hunter. Only by relying on the resources of the Myriad Immortals Association did I luckily attain the Nascent Soul stage."
"All of that was for what, if not to seize that chance for Soul Formation in the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven that opens once every five hundred years?"
Shen Wandou frowned deeply. "Possessing such lofty ambition, why not borrow the power of the Land of the Fallen Demon?"
"Heh, does Senior Brother Shen not know that the Land of the Fallen Demon was the temporary palace of the Heaven Refining Demon Lord? Even if there is an inheritance directly leading to Soul Formation within, nine times out of ten it is deeply entwined with him. That demon is said to be disfavored by the Great Venerable; I would never dare touch his karmic ties."
True Person Longyuan spoke measuredly, revealing secrets unknown to outsiders.
Including Shen Wandou!
"Where did you learn such things?" Shen Wandou asked in shock.
True Person Longyuan shook his head. "That is inconvenient to say. All I seek now is to return to the sect soon and have my name inscribed on the Dao registry, so that I may enter the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven."
Seeing his reluctance to say more, Shen Wandou could not press further.
Even so, he asked one more question.
"The Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven is fraught with perilous danger, formed from the ancient Great Desolation. The Dao Sect Grand Tournament is held every century, but this five-hundred-year iteration is the most brutal because the arena is set inside the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven. Competitors usually travel in groups and support one another. Do you have someone in mind?"
"I do!" True Person Longyuan answered without hesitation, a desolate, sorrowful figure surfacing in his memory.
"Very well! Since you possess such resolve, your senior brother won't spoil your spirits. However..." Shen Wandou pointed outside. "The array leading to the Central Plains is the very same ultra-long-distance array spanning the Northern Sea. Moon Hermit just used it, depleting its energy. You will likely have to wait a few days."
"No matter. I have waited a hundred years; what is a mere few days?"
True Person Longyuan said with a smile.
Beneath his seemingly calm exterior, a restless excitement stirred.
A century had passed. Those former sect peers who had once looked down on him had now been surpassed—he had achieved the Nascent Soul stage.
Now was the time to return home in glory!
***
High above Beiye Island, deep within the clouds, radiance suddenly bloomed.
A graceful silhouette slowly emerged from within.
She stumbled slightly, then instantly steadied herself.
Looking around with a slightly pale face, turbulent emotions churned in her heart.
"The Tianyuan Business Alliance's cross-sea teleportation array can actually reach this far? The Business Alliance... no, the Dao Sect! What exactly does the Tianyuan Dao Sect want to do?"
Murmuring to herself, Moon Hermit picked a direction.
She shot away like wind and lightning.
Ten days later, her figure appeared above an empty, desolate stretch of sea.
She glanced left and right, then sneered coldly.
"A mere optical illusion, and you think to fool this Hermit?"
With a casual point of her finger, towering waves surged up immediately.
As the spray crashed back down, billows of purple mist drifted out from an island.
Sensing the highly toxic purple mist, Moon Hermit breathed a sigh of relief.
"So this is Purple Spirit Island?"
"Let me see if that Qingyang brat has arrived yet."
Her divine sense swept outward, blanketing the entire island in an instant.
Suddenly!
"Foolish. You actually dare linger without leaving."
"All the better. It saves me considerable effort."
The woman smiled faintly, a cruel glint flashing in her eyes.
Taking a single stride, she reappeared directly on the ground of Purple Spirit Island.
Her delicate hand reached out, clawing toward a figure deep within the earth veins.
Rumble...
Boundless magic power shattered stone and split earth, breaking the seal in an instant to seize the black-robed Taoist seated cross-legged deep within the subterranean veins.
Right at that moment.
Bloody light surged across the black-robed Taoist's body as it began to swell.
"Not good!"
Moon Hermit's expression shifted drastically. She moved to shoot into the sky.
However, it was already too late.
Boom!
A destructive power erupted from the earth veins.
In merely a breath, channeled by the formations laid down over decades, the entirety of Purple Spirit Island was pulverized to dust.
Terrifying energy unleashed outward alongside towering clouds of shattered rock and splintered earth.
Such an explosion meant instant death for any Golden Core cultivator caught in it.
Even a Nascent Soul True Person, with a single lapse in vigilance, would be severely wounded.
Yet before the dust and smoke could clear, Moon Hermit strode out from the endless shockwaves. Judging by her aura, she was completely unscathed.
Her expression was dark. Pinched between her fingertips was a sliver of wood that seemed neither gold nor iron, bearing an aura so faint it was nearly imperceptible.
As she examined it, the aura dissipated entirely.
With a surge of magic power, the sliver of wood crumbled to dust.
Moon Hermit sneered coldly. "Using a Nascent Soul-grade puppet avatar as bait to lure me onto the island—quite daring. This certainly isn't the Qingyang brat's handiwork; it must be the work of that black-robed figure who controlled the White Tiger Puppet to attack me back then."
"However, you underestimated me after all."
Taking a deep breath, she turned her back to the towering tidal waves churned up by the shattered island and summoned an ink-wash chart.
Phantoms of birds and beasts swirled across its surface.
Forming a hand seal, she uttered a soft shout.
"Star-Chasing Demonic Beast, come forth!"
In the next breath, a colossal beast resembling a moth strode out from the Myriad Beasts Chart.
Facing Moon Hermit, the Star-Chasing Demonic Beast let out wave after wave of roars.
"Vile beast! Even the artifact spirit has recognized me as master; how dare you show such insolence!"
Though she scolded it, Moon Hermit still squeezed out a drop of blood essence and fed it into the demonic beast's mouth.
Having received the blood essence, the beast instantly grew docile.
"Devour the aura of all living things here, find the strongest among them, and track it down!"
The moth let out a screech, then opened its maw.
From the catastrophic explosion behind them, streams of air gathered and flowed directly into its mouth.
Seeing this, excitement surfaced on Moon Hermit's face.
The more she refined the Myriad Beasts Chart, the more boundless its miraculous uses proved to be. The myriad demons and bizarre beasts within were either ferocious or overwhelmingly powerful; even the weaker among them possessed extraordinary innate gifts.
With this spirit treasure in hand, let alone tracking down a mere Golden Core junior, even sweeping across the Northern Sea unhindered would be well within reach.
Suddenly.
Crack!
A fracturing sound rang out from her waist.
Moon Hermit took out a broken jade token with a puzzled frown. "Has something happened to the Myriad Immortals Association?"
Unless a critical juncture had arrived, Zihou would not dare crush this jade token.
Only when the Myriad Immortals Association faced life or death...
For a moment, Moon Hermit hesitated.
After a long pause, she made her decision.
She intended to return to the Myriad Immortals Association first. That was the foundation of her rise, as well as the sharp weapon she needed to destroy Penglai and seize hegemony over the Northern Sea!
As for Demonic Lord Qingyang...
"With this Star-Chasing Demonic Beast, which rivals the Late Nascent Soul realm, the Qingyang brat won't escape."
Murmuring softly, she flicked her sleeve. A dark gleam surfaced between her brows and poured into the Star-Chasing Demonic Beast.
With a ferocious roar, the Star-Chasing Demonic Beast immediately surged into the boundless sea.
Chapter 704