Not long after, the giant whale seemed to stop swimming, and Lin Changâsheng pried open its mouth and leapt out.
When he reappeared, he was already back at the shoreline from just moments ago.
The Giant Whale Gangâs mountain range up ahead was blindingly dazzling.
Clearly, the grand array had been broken.
"This array is quite magical. Ordinary people could never break it!"
Lin Changâsheng thought to himself, since the array foundation and plates were laid upon the sea demons, always shifting.
"How is that possible? He... he broke the array?"
Ao Chengfeng sensed that Lin Changâshengâs presence had vanished from within the array.
His eyes immediately widened in shock.
This grand array had never failed before!
How could it have been broken by a mere Golden Core cultivator?
In the next instant, a figure charged into the cave mansion. Every would-be defender was slaughtered by Lin Changâsheng one by one.
Blood red as a rose stained the cave floor.
Lin Changâsheng stood in front of Ao Chengfeng, a cold glint radiating from his eyes in all directions.
"Your days of comfort in the Giant Whale Gang are over!"
With that, Lin Changâsheng proceeded to massacre all the members of Giant Whale Gang.
In an instant, the Giant Whale Gang was bathed in blood.
Their ranks were filled mostly with Qi and Foundation Establishment cultivators; Ao Chengfeng was their only Golden Core. How could they possibly stand against Lin Changâsheng?
It was like a tiger in a flock of sheepâthe Giant Whale gang scattered in terror as Lin Changâsheng cut them down.
Seeing things were dire, Ao Chengfeng tried to escape too.
He was only at Golden Core Early Stage cultivation, and knew full well he was no match for Lin Changâsheng.
If he fought, it would be a death sentence.
Bamâ
But he didnât get far before Lin Changâsheng smashed a palm into his back, making him spit a mouthful of old blood, nearly killed on the spot.
This was only because Lin Changâsheng had held backâhe could have killed him instantly.
After all, if Ao Chengfeng died, thereâd be no one left to take Lin Changâsheng out to sea.
"Spare me, Immortal Master! I was blind, didnât see your level, please let me live! Iâll gather a crew to take you out to sea right away!"
Ao Chengfeng saw there was no escape, and started begging desperately.
He also realized Lin Changâsheng had spared him intentionally.
Otherwise, how would he even have had a chance to beg for his life?
If he didnât do exactly what Lin Changâsheng wanted, he was as good as dead.
"How long will it take to get ready?"
Lin Changâsheng asked coldly.
"Th-three days!"
Ao Chengfeng stammered.
But his eyes kept darting around, clearly scheming something.
"My patience is limited. Youâve got one day. This time tomorrow, if you arenât ready to set sail, not a single one of you will be left alive."
Lin Changâshengâs voice was like iron.
"Y-yes, yes! Iâll get on it right now!"
Ao Chengfeng nodded frantically.
If he refused, he would surely die right here.
So saying, Ao Chengfeng tried to slip away.
"Stop. Leave it to your men. You have other business to attend to!"
No way was Lin Changâsheng letting Ao Chengfeng escapeâif he got away, how would he control the Giant Whale Gang?
"Yes, sir!"
Ao Chengfeng waved over a subordinate. "You, go prepare the ship for sailingâmake sure itâs the biggest one you can find! The Immortal Master must have comfort! Remember, only the biggest. Move!"
Ao Chengfeng reminded his subordinate twice about "biggest."
He even signaled with his eyes, and only then did the man scramble off.
Lin Changâsheng noticed the little code, of course.
But he wasnât worried. He had a corpse puppet in his storage bag, on par with a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Plus, his own body matched Nascent Soul level; even if he met a Nascent Soul middle stage cultivator, he could still go toe to toe.
Lin Changâsheng then told Ao Chengfeng to hand over all the valuables heâd plundered over the years.
This guy was clearly no good, probably waylaid a fair few loose cultivators in his day.
With the grand array, few could ever challenge him.
"Immortal Master, this way please!"
Ao Chengfeng was oddly cooperative, personally leading Lin Changâsheng to the treasury.
When Lin Changâsheng reached the Giant Whale Gangâs treasure vault, his eyes widened in pleasure.
This stone cavern was at least the size of a football fieldâand packed to the brim.
Spirit stones were stacked into several little mountains; there were hundreds of magical artifacts and treasures, plus a trove of rare herbs and secret manuals.
Lin Changâsheng didnât bother being polite to Ao Chengfeng about any of it.
He swept everything up into his storage bag in one go.
"Huh? Why is there another sheepskin scroll here? Looks exactly like the two I found before!"
In a corner, Lin Changâsheng found a sheepskin scroll just like the ones heâd acquired previously, and grew curious.
He quickly pulled out the older sheepskin scrolls.
When he pieced them together, they matched perfectly!
"But itâs still not completeâthereâs still a piece missing!"
After piecing them, Lin Changâsheng realized there was still one last piece left.
He didnât dare scan it with his divine senseâthe aura from the old man within was far too powerful.
Yes, it could be a stroke of fortune for him, but he didnât dare accept it blindly.
There was a good chance some old monsterâs soul lay hidden inside, and if he slipped up, he could be possessed.
"Better to wait till Iâve got all four pieces and hit Nascent Soul before checking inside. Safer then!"
Lin Changâsheng calculated.
Next, Lin Changâsheng had Ao Chengfeng stand guard at the door, warning that if he stepped out of line, heâd be killed.
He himself entered the treasury to examine his haul.
Heâd scored over 150,000 spirit stones and a total of 268 magical artifacts.
There were three immortal secret techniques that caught Lin Changâshengâs eye.
First, the Breath-holding Breathing Technique. Master it, and you can go three days underwater without breathing.
Definitely a must for ocean voyages.
If you fell in and got tangled by sea demons, you could handle it without fear.
Otherwise, no matter how strong your cultivation, a watery grave in the deep was always a risk.
Next was a body-strengthening secret technique called Dragon Tiger Golden Body Technique.
When mastered to perfection, your body would rival that of a flood dragon, strength like a fierce tigerâtough and unstoppable.
The last was a Light Body secret technique, named Surprise Wave Ocean Crossing Technique, blindingly fast, like a hurricane itself.
All three techniques could level up Lin Changâshengâs abilities, so he decided to master them all within the day.
On the road here, Lin Changâsheng had already perfected the Blood Demon Disintegration Technique.
This technique was powerfulâa quick escape as a cloud of blood mist.
But it drained a lot of magical power.
And left you weak for a while after, so unless it was life-or-death, best not to use it.
Lin Changâsheng had also perfected the Soul Control Technique.
If Xuan Gu refused to give up the whereabouts of the Myriad Ghosts Pulling Technique, he could just devour his soul and seize the memories.
An hour later.
[Breath-holding Breathing Technique: Entry Level!]
[Dragon Tiger Golden Body Technique: Entry Level!]
[Surprise Wave Ocean Crossing Technique: Entry Level!]
All three secret techniques were now at entry level.
[Breath-holding Breathing Technique detected. Spend 2,500 spirit stones to simplify?]
[Surprise Wave Ocean Crossing Technique detected. Spend 2,500 spirit stones to simplify?]
[Dragon Tiger Golden Body Technique detected. Spend 2,500 spirit stones to simplify?]
"Simplify!"
Lin Changâsheng selected all of them one by one.
[Great Dao is Simple: Simplifying Breath-holding Breathing Technique... Simplifying... Simplification complete... Breath-holding Breathing Technique == Breath-holding!]