Inside the flying boat, Guan Xingxiu spoke with fluid eloquence. At first, he sounded a bit rusty, but the more he spoke, the more confident he became, as though what he had comprehended was an inherent truth of the starry sea itself.
"The laws of the starry sea can almost be considered a superior replacement for the laws of Xuanhuang. Thus, the key to our breakthrough lies in finding the 'Starry Sea Dao' within this dead, silent starry sea that corresponds to our cultivated paths. Every one of us has achieved Dao Integration, so our aptitudes cannot possibly be lacking. As long as we cast aside our inner dread of the starry sea, maintain a calm mindset, and perceive in quiet contemplation just as we once did in the Xuanhuang Realm, achieving this shouldn't be too difficult."
Guan Xingxiu went on to describe in detail how he had sensed his own Starry Sea Dao. Just as he spoke with rising enthusiasm, a voice filled with utter terror abruptly cut him off.
It was Zimu, one of the survivors. "Old Guan, what if... I mean, what if the corresponding Dao I cultivated no longer exists in the starry sea? What then?"
Zimu stared fixedly at Guan Xingxiu. "Does that mean the road ahead is severed, and I can never take another step forward?"
Guan Xingxiu fell silent.
Hearing these words, the other Dao Integration cultivators present showed varying expressions. Some turned pale as paper, while others felt immense relief.
For they, too, had discovered that perhaps due to the various calamities that had annihilated the Immortal Realm in the past, the laws of the starry sea were shattered and incomplete.
It wasn't that their aptitude was insufficient to sense their corresponding Starry Sea Dao.
Rather, within the starry sea, that Dao had already perished.
"Perhaps you could try sensing other laws instead. After all, all paths under heaven lead to the same destination," Guan Xingxiu hurriedly suggested after a moment's contemplation, seeing despair begin to spread.
However, he was ruthlessly rebuffed. "Cultivators below Dao Integration, or perhaps cultivators from other worlds, might be able to do that. But we Xuanhuang Dao Integration cultivators have all devoured an anima of Heaven and Earth, merging body and law into one! Hmph, switching to another path—how could that ever be easy?"
"Speaking of which, among all of us, the one who could achieve the highest is probably none other than Senior Brother Blue Feather," the Dao Integration cultivator named Qingshuang suddenly remarked out of nowhere.
The flying boat instantly plunged into silence. Everyone's gaze gathered upon Blue Feather.
And Blue Feather himself did not refute it.
For among all the Dao Integration cultivators present—or rather, in the entire Xuanhuang Realm—he alone was truly unique.
He was the sole ancient-method Dao Integration cultivator.
Without being bound to the principles of Heaven and Earth of Xuanhuang, it meant that within this silent, desolate starry sea, Blue Feather could use any law to comprehend the Dao and make a breakthrough.
"Senior Brother Blue Feather, could it be that you've shown no sign of breaking through simply because you have too many choices and can't make up your mind?"
"Congratulations in advance, Fellow Daoist Blue!"
"Sigh! The new method! Sigh! The Heavenly Venerables!"
For a time, the crowd reacted with a flurry of different emotions.
Blue Feather maintained a solemn expression, merely offering casual pleasantries to placate the crowd. Yet inwardly, he was genuinely bewildered.
Because he had not sensed any Starry Sea Dao in the void at all.
*Could my aptitude truly be this dreadful? Or is it that I have simply grown too old, and my spiritual perceptiveness has withered away entirely?*
For a moment, Blue Feather grew somewhat dazed.
*Oh, I seem to remember now.*
*I, Wu Fuqiu... my aptitude really was never anything special.*
Blue Feather stared blankly as his thoughts drifted back to his youth.
In those days, the immortal dao flourished, and the Ten Sects stood supreme. He had been nothing more than one of the countless ordinary cultivators living under their dominion. With mediocre natural talent and no miraculous encounters, the Golden Core realm should have been his ultimate ceiling.
Yet on that day, a fleeting moment of curiosity completely altered his fate.
"Fellow Daoist, with such an immense commotion ahead, did something happen?" Wu Fuqiu had asked out of curiosity, gazing at the blocked skyway ahead and the city-sized flying boats of diverse designs sailing overhead one after another.
"Shh, keep your voice down! If you disrupt the Ten Sects' Master Reverence Ceremony, you won't even know how you died!"
The onlooker's hushed terror and awe-filled gaze only piqued Wu Fuqiu's curiosity further.
It took a full half-day for the Ten Sects' massive flotilla of procession ships to pass and for the skyway to reopen.
Yet Wu Fuqiu stood gazing in the direction they had gone, reluctant to leave for a long time.
After asking around, he learned that this so-called Master Reverence Ceremony was a grand festival held once every century by the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao to give thanks for the grace of the Dharma bestowed upon them by Archmage Tiandu. Important figures from all ten sects attended.
Who Archmage Tiandu was, Wu Fuqiu had no idea.
Yet the illustrious renown of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao that ruled the cultivation world was thunderous to his ears, even as an itinerant rogue cultivator roaming the wilderness.
*If the Ten Sects are already so magnificent, just how terrifyingly formidable must that Archmage who bestowed the Dharma upon them be?*
*If I were fortunate enough to win his favor...*
Wu Fuqiu's heart was shaken. Simultaneously, an unprecedented ambition abruptly surged within him.
After pondering over and over, he ultimately failed to shake off this obsession coiling around his heart.
He set out toward the legendary Tiandu.
After enduring countless hardships to arrive outside Tiandu, his hopeful heart instantly dissolved into foam.
There was no trace of Tiandu; only an Origin Dao Palace perched among the mountains, faintly visible amidst the clouds.
And at the foot of the mountain, it was packed with young cultivators like him—clinging to a sliver of illusion, trekking across mountains and rivers to seek a miraculous encounter here.
Wu Fuqiu was thoroughly confused.
He knew of Tiandu—it was the Archmage's traveling palace. But what was this Origin Dao Palace?
"You don't even know about the Origin Dao Palace? What country bumpkin are you! The origin of all dharmas, the head of all daos! Even legacy disciples of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao have to line up obediently here!"
"Think carefully! What kind of existence is the Archmage? Is he someone ordinary mortals like you can meet just like that? If you want to behold the Archmage's heavenly countenance, you must first enter the Origin Dao Palace and pray devoutly! If you catch the Archmage's eye, he will naturally guide you up to Tiandu."
"What, you want to enter too? Easy—hand over a thousand superior spirit stones, and you can go line up over there!"
Wu Fuqiu was shoved out in a daze by the swarming newcomers.
A thousand superior spirit stones was enough to purchase a decent Nascent Soul technique. If he had possessed that many spirit stones, would he have needed to travel thousands of miles just to beg for a chance here?
Though penniless, Wu Fuqiu had no intention of leaving just like that.
For he realized there were many others who, like him, could not afford the fee and were barred from going up the mountain.
Wu Fuqiu spent half a month mingling and getting acquainted with them, from whom he learned an important piece of news:
That so-called Origin Dao Palace was merely built later by the Ten Sects. It had no real connection to the true Tiandu.
The genuine land of the Dao's origin referred to this entire vast expanse beneath Tiandu. It was just that the Ten Sects had cordoned off the vast majority of it to erect the Origin Dao Palace.
Yet they had not been entirely ruthless, leaving behind this patch at the foot of the mountain.
"The Archmage hasn't shown himself in who knows how many years. They say it's easier to catch his eye from the mountaintop, but really, that's just looking for comfort."
"Indeed. The Archmage is suspended high in the nine heavens. In his eyes, what difference could there possibly be between the mountaintop and the foot of the mountain?"
Amidst the idle chatter of the people crouching curled up on the ground, Wu Fuqiu settled down at the foot of the mountain below the Origin Dao Palace.
He remained there for a full twenty years.
Some came, some went. Some died with regret, while others, harboring resentment, cursed the Archmage aloud and were beaten to death on the spot.
Wu Fuqiu also weathered the passage from a young lad into a middle-aged man.
Even he did not know what had kept him holding out here all this time.
Perhaps for a mediocre person like him, anywhere was much the same.
During those years, while waiting, he had not abandoned his cultivation. Yet without a source of spirit stones, he could only exhaust his reserves. Although the land of the Dao's origin had dense spiritual energy, it could not withstand so many people absorbing it simultaneously.
Not only did he make no progress whatsoever, but his cultivation even showed faint signs of regressing.
Things having reached this stage, Wu Fuqiu resigned himself to fate, no longer harboring any unrealistic fantasies.
In any case, he had been an orphan since childhood, drifting without anchor or support. Having stayed at the foot of the Origin Dao Palace for over twenty years, he had long grown accustomed to the sights, inwardly coming to view this place as his home.
Whenever young people arrived full of hope, begging for the Archmage's grace, he merely smiled without speaking.
It was as if he were looking at his past self.
Yet he never shattered those youths' illusions.
For anyone who did so had been thoroughly purged by the Ten Sects.
Yet the miraculous wonder of the world lay precisely in this:
Just when Wu Fuqiu had completely cast all thought of the Archmage's grace from his mind...
On that day, ten thousand zhang of seven-colored auspicious radiance suddenly burst across the sky.
At the foot of the Origin Dao Palace, thousands of cultivators froze on the spot.
No one knew who shouted first: "The Archmage has manifested!"
And amidst overwhelming excitement and dread, the dense sea of cultivators fell to their knees across the entire ground.
Only Wu Fuqiu stood dumbly in place, his mind completely blank.
"Insolent! How dare you show disrespect to the Archmage!"
A sword light flew from afar, accompanied by a furious roar.
Just as Wu Fuqiu was about to be decapitated, a single blue feather drifted slowly down from the sky.
The white sword light had launched first, blindingly fast.
The blue feather drifted after, swaying gently and impossibly slow.
Yet a bizarre scene unfolded. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the blue feather somehow drifted down upon Wu Fuqiu a step ahead of the white sword light!
The sword light arrived a moment late, but did not sever Wu Fuqiu's head. It simply passed through his body without touching him, instantly slaying the three kneeling cultivators behind him instead.
As for Wu Fuqiu himself...
Enveloped in the glow of the blue feather, he floated uncontrollably into the sky.
Amidst the gasps of the crowd, he ascended higher and higher.
Passing the Origin Dao Palace at the mountaintop and piercing through the clouds, he arrived before the gates of a purple-gold dao sanctuary in the blink of an eye.
Wu Fuqiu felt as though he were in a dream. Only after standing there for a long time did he come to his senses.
Trembling with excitement, he even forgot propriety and pushed open the doors to enter.
Unlike the sacred Tiandu he had imagined, there was no one here.
It was quiet and deathly still.
Only a faint chanting sound drifted from deep inside.
Following the direction of the sound, Wu Fuqiu made his way cautiously to the deepest part of the dao sanctuary.
A purple-gold wooden pavilion of archaic design emanated wafts of fragrance.
Wu Fuqiu knelt to bow. After receiving no response for a long while, he summoned his courage and pushed open the door.
The scene inside the pavilion came into view.
A blurred figure sat cross-legged, murmuring words under his breath.
Behind him stood a youth in blue-and-white daoist robes, eyes closed.
The youth had red lips and white teeth, with delicate features that made it impossible to tell whether he was male or female.
Yet Wu Fuqiu noticed that this youth appeared to have engaged in a battle; the daoist robe he wore was slightly damaged, stained with faint traces of blood.
Not daring to act rashly, Wu Fuqiu kowtowed once more.
Yet neither the blurred figure nor the youth made any reaction.
*This figure must be Archmage Tiandu.*
After a long time, Wu Fuqiu plucked up the courage to rise. Emulating the shadowy figure, he sat cross-legged.
He listened intently to the incessant chanting.
Gradually, he seemed to understand something.
The blue feather that had vanished after landing on him suddenly materialized inside his dantian.
"The Feather Transformation Technique..."
"Infinite eons of heaven and earth, countless worlds born and annihilated, drifting like feathers through the void."
"Transforming the body into a feather, attuned with the world, moving with the cycle of eons, unbound by life or death, traversing catastrophes, attaining eternal transcendence..."
Wu Fuqiu listened, utterly enraptured, now furrowing his brow, now beaming with joy.
This Ten Thousand Tribulations Feather Transformation Technique was far too profound for a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator like him.
Yet even glimpsing a mere fraction of it felt like an epiphany, and the cultivation realm within his body climbed continuously.
Immersed in this state, Wu Fuqiu lost all track of time.
Suddenly, a flicker of light and shadow before his eyes startled him awake.
He saw the youth, who had been standing with eyes closed, waving a hand at him.
Though no words were spoken, Wu Fuqiu understood that he was being dismissed.
Despite his profound reluctance, Wu Fuqiu had no choice but to retreat quietly.
Before stepping away from the purple-gold pavilion, he even politely closed the door.
Just before the doors shut, a streak of light flew out from within.
Wu Fuqiu caught it instinctively, discovering it was a miniature ring-shaped structure.
"A dharma treasure, a Martial Arena."
"And it has a storage function."
After a brief inspection, Wu Fuqiu broke into a smile of joy.
He kowtowed toward the interior three times before finally departing Tiandu.
Only then did he realize that once he left the purple-gold pavilion, he could no longer hear the voice of the seated figure.
A twinge of desolation and loss welled up in his heart; Wu Fuqiu even felt a sudden urge to turn back.
Yet that was, after all, the Archmage who was teacher to the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao. In the end, he dared not overstep, leaving the bounds of the celestial capital.
When he returned to the mortal world, he was startled to find that the Origin Dao Palace below the mountain had vanished for some unknown reason.
Even the surrounding terrain had undergone tremendous upheaval, as though a cataclysmic battle had once erupted here.
Wu Fuqiu searched for a long time before finding any living cultivators in the vicinity.
From their deferential, reverent demeanor, Wu Fuqiu discovered to his horror that, without realizing it, he had already become a supreme powerhouse of the Xuanhuang Realm—a cultivator of the Dao Integration realm!
And hundreds of years had already passed!
The dominion of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao was no longer impregnable, and an organization called the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had risen abruptly to power...
"Fellow Daoist Blue Feather?"
Guan Xingxiu's voice shook Blue Feather awake from his reminiscence.
*Yes, I was originally just a mediocre fool who reached Dao Integration purely through dumb luck.*
*Over all these years, the flattery of disciples and subordinates nearly made me forget that fact.*
Blue Feather felt an abrupt wave of relief wash over him.
*If not for my abysmal aptitude, the grand Ten Thousand Tribulations Feather Transformation Technique wouldn't have stalled under my cultivation at mere Dao Integration.*
*Without the Archmage preaching the Dao, I haven't made an inch of progress across thousands of years.*
Blue Feather shook his head secretly. Bringing his thoughts back to reality, he looked at Guan Xingxiu. "I trust your judgment. Since the murderer is hiding among us, as long as we gather in one place, we can simply wait for him to reveal a flaw."
Blue Feather paused, then continued, "Having just broken through, this person couldn't wait to strike. If not due to mental derangement, then his cultivation technique requires a blood sacrifice of other cultivators following a breakthrough. Going forward, he will certainly not stop."
Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement with Blue Feather's assessment.
To protect themselves, this group of Alliance Dao Integration cultivators subsequently remained within the main hall of the Wangzun flying boat at all times, keeping watch over one another.
Yet the killer's cunning completely exceeded their imagination.
Nine days later, after the group steered the flying boat to safely weather a remnant tribulation in the void, another corpse appeared aboard the vessel.
Blue Feather and Guan Xingxiu exchanged a glance, confirming Zimu's demise.
The pressure weighing on their hearts surged once more.
"Old Guan! This time we were all together, weren't we? You're the strongest among us—did you notice which son of a bitch made a move?!"
Faced with everyone's expectant gazes, Guan Xingxiu could only shake his head helplessly.
An uproar broke out in the hall.
"Calm down, everyone! Just now, all our attention was focused on dealing with the void tribulation, so through a moment of negligence, that killer struck again from the shadows."
"What do we do now? If we don't evade the tribulations, we die; if we do evade them, we get assassinated..."
"Hmph! In my view, we shouldn't bother wasting effort trying to dodge any tribulations next time. At worst, we'll perish together!"
"Brother Xu, don't speak out of anger. Aren't there still so many of us left?!"
"No! I want to leave this ship!"
While everyone argued fervently, a shrill shriek suddenly drowned out all other noise.
Blue Feather and the others looked over, only to see the Dao Integration cultivator Qingshuang—who had remained relatively composed until now—suddenly look as if his mind had collapsed.
His expression was unhinged, a manic glint flashing in his eyes.
Muttering to himself, he prepared to bolt out of the hall and abandon the flying boat.
"Stop him!" Guan Xingxiu roared.
Only Blue Feather and a few others moved.
Inside the flying boat, terrified of causing damage to the vessel, they were constrained in their movements.
For a moment, they were utterly helpless against the crazed Qingshuang.
Just as they reached an impasse, Qingshuang's movements suddenly froze.
The expression on his face stiffened, and he stood blankly in place.
Before anyone could react, Guan Xingxiu's expression changed, and he immediately dashed forward to examine him.
"He's dead," he turned around after a moment, his face ghastly pale.
A sudden chill enveloped everyone.
Compared to the initial murder, the killer's methods seemed increasingly practiced.
Dealing with the void tribulation earlier could serve as an excuse, but just now, everyone had genuinely been focusing their senses and watching with their own eyes.
Yet the killer had still struck with brazen impunity...
How could they guard against this?
Inside the flying boat, a deathly silence fell.
"I actually think what Qingshuang said before he died wasn't without merit," Sun Luchang spoke up, breaking the quiet.
"Judging by the current situation, the killer's strength is growing too rapidly. Perhaps before long, after slaughtering a few more, he won't even need to act from the shadows. He could simply step out into the open and slaughter us one by one. Staying aboard is an absolute dead end. It would be better to abandon ship and seek survival individually in the void."
Sun Luchang's words met with the agreement of other Dao Integration cultivators. "Indeed. This Wangzun flying boat travels exceedingly fast. As long as we leave separately at regular intervals, the relative distance between us in the starry sea will be enormous. In the boundless starry sea, even if he possessed heaven-defying abilities, he could never wipe us all out!"
"Furthermore, we are still within the range of the Immortal Ruins' gravitational pull. As long as we follow the direction of that pull, we can return to the Xuanhuang Realm. On top of that, each of us carries a Void Clarity Flowing Crystal magical artifact distributed by the Alliance. Returning safely won't be an issue."
...
One spoke after another, gradually arriving at a consensus.
In the end, more than half chose to give up and disembark halfway.
Guan Xingxiu looked toward Blue Feather, seeking the opinion of this most veteran Dao Integration cultivator.
Blue Feather sighed faintly. "Heaven and earth are vast, but life is paramount. Their choice is entirely understandable.
"To prevent further casualties, let us proceed as decided."
"Elder Blue, you aren't leaving?"
Blue Feather shook his head. "My lifespan is nearing its end anyway; returning would only mean waiting for death. I might as well seek a sliver of hope in the void."
Hearing this, everyone was astonished. After voicing their well-wishes, they left the flying boat one after another to return to the Xuanhuang Realm.
To have their voyage of exploration across the starry sea collapse midway was humiliating, to be sure.
Yet it was far better than losing their lives.
After all the commotion, only five people remained aboard the flying boat:
Blue Feather, Guan Xingxiu, Sun Luchang, Xu Guanhai, and Zimei.
Guan Xingxiu looked at Xu Guanhai in surprise. "You actually didn't leave?"
Xu Guanhai chuckled. "I actually think that now that a large crowd has left, the flying boat is safer instead.
"Besides, no matter what, I still want to lay eyes on that Xuanshang Immortal Boat for myself."
Xu Guanhai looked toward Sun Luchang. "Brother Sun, you're the strange one, aren't you? Earlier when everyone was clamoring to leave, didn't you shout the loudest? How come you ended up staying instead?"
Sun Luchang looked somewhat embarrassed. "My strength is too weak. If I were to leave the flying boat and rely solely on my own cultivation, I fear I would struggle to make it back to the Xuanhuang Realm. Staying here is actually safer."
Everyone was rendered speechless.
They could tell Sun Luchang was telling the truth.
Unlike those who had volunteered, Sun Luchang had been forcibly assigned to the flying boat by the Alliance, and his strength was dead last among them.
Sun Luchang leaned closer toward Guan Xingxiu and Blue Feather. "Sirs, tell me... do you think the killer is among the few of us?"
The other four looked at one another, their expressions subtle.
Before the killer's identity was exposed, no one dared vouch for anyone.
"Since everyone has decided to stay, our original route remains unchanged," Guan Xingxiu announced after a silence. "We can contract the Wangzun flying boat's interior space to accelerate our speed."
"By the way, Xingxiu. Why is this flying boat named 'Wangzun'? I cannot shake the feeling that the name sounds ominous."
Hearing Guan Xingxiu's words, Blue Feather frowned and asked, seemingly reminded of something.
Guan Xingxiu was taken aback, then answered, "I do not know either; it was a decree issued personally by the Dharma Transmitters. My guess is that it means 'journeying to meet the Heavenly Venerables.'"
Hearing this, Blue Feather's brow furrowed even deeper.
Looking up to scrutinize the flying boat, he posed a question that sent shivers down the spines of the other four: "On this Wangzun flying boat... is there anyone else besides us?"
"There shouldn't... be," Guan Xingxiu said hesitantly.
At that moment, Zimei, who had remained silent all along, suddenly spoke: "Could it be... that this ship is alive?"
Sun Luchang jumped in fright and quickly asked, "Fellow Daoist Zi, why do you say that?"
Zimei said softly, "I meditated on the Starry Sea Dao and watched the Dao Integration lives on this vessel wither like ants, through which I had a breakthrough.
"In my perception, this flying boat...
"Feels as though it possesses a life of its own."
Zimei's words sent a collective chill down everyone's spine.
Guan Xingxiu hesitated. "If that were true, then before our departure, the Alliance would surely have..."
At that point, Guan Xingxiu broke off sharply.
The golden Falling Star Divine Sword above his head flared with golden radiance. Guan Xingxiu gathered all the black threads extracted from the assassinated Dao Integration cultivators together.
Like living worms, the threads merged into one, growing notably thicker.
Previously, he had brought this murder weapon into contact with every cultivator present, and none had elicited any resonance.
Yet the only thing they had overlooked was the ship itself.
The final five aboard the flying boat exchanged glances, instantly reaching a consensus.
Forming a formation, they enclosed the black thread in their center.
"Old Guan, head to the flying boat's control center," Xu Guanhai said solemnly.
These words seemed to enrage the black thread; it slammed frantically against the seal confining it.
With the five Dao Integration cultivators combining their strength, they kept it firmly locked down.
Together, they proceeded to the center of the Wangzun flying boat.
Guan Xingxiu took a deep breath and activated the flying boat's main control array.
In the center of the array, a phantom projection of the Wangzun flying boat floated quietly.
As though drawn by some unseen guidance, the black thread trapped by the crowd drifted uncontrollably toward the phantom projection in the main control array!
All five turned deathly pale at once.
*Boom!*
At that exact moment, the flying boat shuddered violently.
The thick black thread suddenly erupted with several times its previous force, tearing free from the group's restraint in an instant.
It plunged back into the phantom projection of the flying boat.
At this point, the truth was laid bare!
The culprit slaughtering multiple Dao Integration cultivators was none other than the very flying boat they were riding!
It was a conclusion defying all imagination.
Even with the facts laid bare before his eyes, Guan Xingxiu still found it difficult to believe.
"Why...?" he gritted out through clenched teeth.
As the nominal commander of this expedition, appointed by the Alliance with control over the Wangzun flying boat—
this creation, supposedly under his command, had been murdering his colleagues right under his nose!
It was an unadulterated humiliation!
*Clang!*
The Falling Star Divine Sword unsheathed, pointing straight at the flying boat's phantom projection.
In the next instant, Guan Xingxiu was about to cleave the flying boat in two.
Just then, a cold voice suddenly echoed through the space:
"Ultimate mission objective of this voyage: Meet the Heavenly Venerable."
"Deduction result: Probability of mission success, low."
"Searching for solution..."
"Deduction result: For every Dao Integration cultivator aboard converted into vessel energy, mission success probability increases by one—"
The vessel's flickering voice made everyone feel as though plunged into an abyss of ice.
And what followed in the projection—dozens of corpses drifting out one after another—caused their eyes to almost split with fury.
They were none other than the Dao Integration cultivators who had already "disembarked"!
Chapter 1280