Piaomiao Peak.
In a cultivation room, ten zhang wide, a purple-clad girl sat cross-legged. In front of her, on a small table, rested a white porcelain bottle, inside which sat a single Foundation Establishment Pill.
"Brother Lin, ever since you seized the Heaven and Earth Qi, thereâs been no more word from you... I really hope youâre safely hiding somewhere, quietly cultivating!"
Gao Ziyue picked up the porcelain bottle, gazed at the Foundation Establishment Pill inside, and sighed softly. She silently circulated her cultivation technique, regulating the magical power in her meridians, preparing for Foundation Establishment.
......
Demon Evil Sea.
Many islands scattered like stars across the water.
In the southwest of the Demon Evil Sea, thirty thousand miles from the Southern Domain Cultivation Realm, atop a massive floating island.
Immortal cranes circled above, the air was saturated with spiritual energy, like a veritable Immortal Realmânothing like an island at sea.
At the islandâs center, inside a resplendent great hall.
A woman, appearing about thirty, stunningly beautiful, clad in purple, eyes filled with a cold gleam, sat in the center of the hall. Flanking her were three Nascent Souls; below them, nearly ten mighty Golden Cores.
"Elders, weâve just received newsâthe Beimu Immortal Race is preparing to invade the Southern Domain Cultivation Realm!"
"Originally, our Demon Evil Sea and the Southern Domain had agreed to a ten-year duel, but by the looks of it, we wonât be waiting ten years!"
"I estimate that before long, us Celestial Demon Sect cultivators will be able to walk straight into the Southern Domainâno more sneaking about!"
Jiang Yuyanâs beautiful eyes swept over the three Nascent Souls and the many Golden Cores present, her voice grave.
"The Demon Evil Seaâs bizarre storms are becoming more frequent. The most dangerous placesâeven a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator would be doomed if caught in one! Itâs no place for cultivators at all!"
"To be able to enter the Southern Domain to cultivateâwhat a blessing! The Southern Domainâs resources are far better than those here!"
"Let the Southern Domain and the Beimu Immortal Race battle like clams and egrets; our Demon Evil Sea reaps the spoilsâexcellent!"
"......."
Upon hearing Sect Leader Jiang Yuyanâs words, all the present Nascent Souls and Golden Core Elders revealed looks of eager anticipation in their eyes.
"Pass down the message: focus on cultivation, and be ready to enter the Southern Domain at any time!"
Jiang Yuyan spoke in a deep voice.
........
One month later.
Liuyun Immortal Sect.
Beneath Celestial Secret Peak, at the outer sect disciplesâ quarters.
[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Stage (Third Layer 1 /4000)]
"I canât believe itâjust like that, I broke through so easily!"
Lin Changâsheng sat inside his room, looking at his own panel, surprise flashing in his eyes as he hurriedly suppressed the aura of Foundation Establishment Third Layer.
Just nowâ
He wasnât even running the Five Elements Soul Refining Technique when suddenly, his magical power surged, and he naturally broke through to Foundation Establishment Third Layer!
"That just nowâhopefully nobody noticed, right?"
Lin Changâshengâs heart pounded uneasily. He hadnât expected such a natural breakthrough.
Howeverâ
His concerns were unnecessary. Apparently, no one noticed his Foundation Establishment Third Layer aura just now, which flickered for an instant and vanished. After all, Foundation Establishment disciples flying sword in the skies above were plentiful.
"That demon cultivator stalking me must be at least Fifth Layer Foundation Establishment or higher!"
"Screw himâheâs seriously still waiting there for me!"
Lin Changâsheng looked at the black light flickering from the skull tattoo on his wrist, his expression grim.
A month had passed and the dark light still hadnât faded, which meant the demon cultivator stalking him was still waiting outside Liuyun Immortal Sect!
During these two weeksâ
Lin Changâsheng hadnât cultivated much at all. Heâd just kept giving himself massages with Vajra Indestructible Body, nearly reaching perfection!
Itâs not that he didnât want to reach perfection, but he was worried a breakthrough would cause a commotion and attract the higher-upsâ scrutiny. So he deliberately left nearly a hundred experience points unspent.
And yet, he hadnât expected his cultivation to break through to Foundation Establishment Third Layer anyway.
As for watching the fellow sect girls breakdance, still no luck.
At this moment, footsteps sounded outside in the courtyardâa few fellow disciples of Qi Refining Fourth and Fifth Layer walked in.
"Hmm? Jin Buhuanâs back from his mission?"
Hearing the footsteps, Lin Changâshengâs gaze flickered and he immediately opened the door.
"Senior Brother Yu, you didnât go take a mission? Has your injury gotten better?"
Seeing Lin Changâsheng, Jin Buhuan stepped forward right away, asking with concern.
Behind him, three other fellow disciples of Qi Refining Fourth and Fifth Layer all looked at Lin Changâsheng.
"Thank you for your concern, Junior Brother Jin. Iâm much better now. Greetings, everyone!"
Lin Changâsheng thanked Jin Buhuan and cupped his hands toward the other three.
This manner of greeting Lin Changâsheng based on Yu Xiaochangâs personality and prior habits.
Since Yu Xiaochang used to be a prince in the secular world, he tended to be rather aloof in his dealings. He avoided specific titles; those with lower cultivation heâd call âjunior brotherâ, those a bit higher âeveryoneâ, and only called others âsenior brotherâ if their cultivation far surpassed his own.
The other three fellow disciplesâtwo at Qi Refining Fifth Layer, one at Fourth Layer Perfectionânodded to Lin Changâsheng and turned to go into the house.
Jin Buhuan also bid farewell and returned to his room. After tidying up, he came to Lin Changâsheng to show off, boasting how courageous heâd been fighting demon beasts on his last mission, how skilled his magic was, and finally, changing the subject: "Senior Brother Yu, did you know? I heard the Beimu Immortal Race is invading our Southern Domain Cultivation Realm!"
"What? The Beimu Immortal Race is invading? How do you know?"
Lin Changâsheng was startled by Jin Buhuanâs words.
This was definitely not good news.
Originallyâ
The demon cultivators from Demon Evil Sea were already invading the Southern Domain, and now the Beimu Immortal Race too? Like pouring oil on fire!
"The sect just posted a notice at the Task Hall, telling all disciples to go out and train, strengthen ourselves, so weâll be ready to face the coming Beimu invasion and the impending Righteous-Demon war!"
Jin Buhuan said anxiously.
"This..."
Lin Changâsheng frowned deeply. Heâd intended to just hide away in Liuyun Immortal Sect, lying low to avoid the demon cultivator. But now, the sect wanted everyone to go out and train and gain experience for the coming crisis.
How was he supposed to hide now?
"With both demon cultivators and the Beimu invading, us low-tier outer sect disciples really lack real combat experienceâwe do need to go out and train. Iâm leaving this afternoon, Senior Brother Yu. Are you going to train as well? Want to team up?"
Jin Buhuan asked seriously.
"Iâll see about it. Iâm not fond of these training trips, just want to cultivate in peace. Besides, the sect didnât actually require everyone to train."
Lin Changâsheng shook his head.
He was determined to keep hiding as long as he could.
"Thatâs true as well. My combat experience is too poorâIâll go train for a bit. Senior Brother Yu, Iâll take my leave then!"
Jin Buhuan cupped his hands to Lin Changâsheng.
"Very well, farewell!"
Lin Changâsheng nodded and cupped his hands in return.
"Beimu Immortal Race, Demon Cultivators from Western Demon Evil Sea, both closing in on the Southern Domain Cultivation Realmâitâs chaos! Damn it, all I want is a quiet place to cultivate. Why is dodging the demon path so hard?"
Watching Jin Buhuanâs departing back, Lin Changâsheng frowned harder than ever.
........
Liuyun Immortal Sect.
Inside a grand hall.
"Fuhu, as your master, I advise you to focus on advancing your cultivation and honing your magic, not on divination and that sort of thing... Divination is hard to master, very time-consuming, not worth it!"
"The recent Yu Kun Divine Monarchâs Cave Mansion was seized by an alchemist named Zhang Hanâyou know that, right?"
"Master Celestial Yang of Yin Yang Dao Sect used Retrospection Technique; his cultivation plummeted from Middle Stage Nascent Soul to Early Stage, his essence nearly depleted, the hope of ever reaching Great Cultivator gone for good!"
"I donât want you to repeat Master Celestial Yangâs mistakes!"
An elderly man, a wine gourd at his waist, looked earnestly at the white-robed youth before him, lecturing patiently.
Hearing his masterâs words, Zhao Fuhu fell silent.
Indeedâ
Lately, heâd been scouring the sect for books and techniques on divination, pouring over them, all to master divination and find the killer of his elder brother!
That unavenged grudge had already become his heart demon!
"Master! This hatred fills my heartâitâs already my heart demon!"
"Please believe me, Master, I wonât neglect my cultivation for thisâI wonât let you down!"
Zhao Fuhu suddenly knelt before Li Jiantang, an unshakeable look in his eyes.
"Fuhu, I know whatâs in your heart. Such a grudge festers as a heart demon. But why not consider this: with your dual spirit roots, focus fully on cultivating; in the future, should you reach Divinity Transformation, you can simply find an expert in divination to divine for youâwonât it be the same result?"
"Why bother with something youâre not skilled at?"
Li Jiantang frowned, dissuading him again.
"Iâve been chasing the wrong priorities! Thank you for your guidance, Master!"
"Iâll concentrate on cultivating, and strive to break through to Golden Core soon!"
Zhao Fuhuâs body trembled as he listened, as though enlightened by a bucket of cold water. He knelt before Li Jiantang in deep reverence.
"Good. Uncut jade cannot be carvedâsince you just broke through Foundation Establishment, take these elixirs and this spiritual artifact. Go out and train!"
Li Jiantang waved his hand, and five porcelain bottles and a long sword floated before Zhao Fuhu.
"Thank you, Master!"
Zhao Fuhu accepted the elixirs and artifact, joy shining in his eyes.
.........
Celestial Secret Peak.
At the foot of the mountain, a small courtyard.
"So many Foundation Establishmentsâall gone out for training."
Lin Changâsheng sat at the door, watching Foundation Establishment cultivators flying out through the sky, worry etched on his face.
Heâd just checkedâthe skull tattoo on his arm was still flashing with dark light.
"No wayâI canât just wait here to die!"
"The demon cultivator tracking me is east. Iâll head in the opposite direction. While Iâm at it, try to find a brothel girl in a secular city so I can perfect Three Thousand Thunder Movesâonce I do, Iâll be even faster and able to escape!"
"Also, the Little White Fox can instant teleport for a thousand miles. That will come in handy."
"If the demon cultivator gets too close, Iâll retreat back to the sect. He wouldnât dare follow me into Liuyun Immortal Sect!"
Staring up at the sky, Lin Changâshengâs eyes were thoughtful as he calculated his next move.
With this settled, Lin Changâsheng summoned Little White Fox and took out a pear.
"Ying ying ying!"
Little White Fox blinked her big eyes at Lin Changâsheng, took the pear, and began munching.
"Xiaobai, right now Iâm being hunted but I have to leave the sect for something. If someone comes after me, you have to instant teleport and help me escape, just like when we grabbed the Heaven and Earth Qi before, okay?"
Lin Changâsheng looked at Little White Fox and spoke.
Upon hearing Lin Changâsheng, Little White Fox silently set down the pear, shook her head, and scurried off to the side to lie down.
"Xiaobai, whatâs that supposed to mean?"
"You donât want to? Or is it just too exhausting?"
Seeing Little White Foxâs reaction, Lin Changâsheng was confused.
Little White Fox nodded, then shook her head.
"Xiaobai, Iâve raised you all this timeââraise troops for a thousand days, use them for an hourââdonât be like this, Xiaobai!"
At this, Lin Changâsheng said in dissatisfaction, "If you wonât help me, then go ahead and leave!"
He waved his hand at Little White Fox.
"Ying ying ying! Ying ying ying!"
Seeing Lin Changâsheng trying to drive her off, Little White Fox immediately looked aggrieved, scurried up, and clung to Lin Changâshengâs trouser leg with both front paws, crying âying ying yingâ nonstop.
"So will you instant teleport for me when the time comes?"
Seeing this, Lin Changâsheng asked.
"Ying ying ying!"
Little White Fox nodded again and again.
"Thatâs more like it. Letâs get out of hereâI canât cultivate staying here, I have to go outside. If anyone hunts me down, you have to help me escape!"
Seeing Little White Foxâs promise, Lin Changâsheng looked satisfied.
He immediately packed up, went to the Task Hall, picked up Yu Xiaochangâs monthly assignment, and headed for the sect gate.
Once past dozens of li outside the sect, Lin Changâsheng used his body technique to fly low on his sword, heading straight for the nearest secular cityâYu Ci City.
He planned to find a brothel girl there first, perfect his Three Thousand Thunder Moves, and then deal with the rest.