When Patriarch Ji Yin heard the Taoist’s words, he couldn’t help but inwardly frown and silently curse “old fox,” though not a trace of it showed on his face.
“Brother Qi, you’ve asked this question more than once. I, Wu, have long said that the surnamed Han lad suddenly launched a vicious attack in the Void Palace, murdering my grandson. That’s why I must capture him alive to extract his soul and refine his spirit,” Patriarch Ji Yin said coldly, his expression turning fierce.
“Heh heh! When Brother Wu first said this two years ago, I naturally believed it without doubt. But now, after all this time has passed, Brother Wu has stayed here without even caring for his Xuanyin Island, unwilling to divert attention even from the great battles of your alliance. If it’s truly just to avenge your grandson, do you think I, Qi, would believe it?” The Taoist shook his head lightly, speaking dismissively.
“Moreover, over these two years, aside from your sudden visit to our island, the Wanfa Sect has also quietly sent an elder, Xuan Ji. Besides that, at least two or three other fellow Daoists of the Nascent Soul stage, with unclear identities, have disguised themselves and infiltrated the waters of our island. When did our Qiyuan Island gain such great charm to attract so many esteemed figures to jointly focus on this place? It wasn’t until two days ago that I received definite news—these people, like Brother Wu, are also searching for that surnamed Han lad who drives insects. Brother Wu, don’t tell me these fellow Daoists also want to avenge some grandson’s death!” The Taoist surnamed Qi seemed intent on laying his cards on the table, staring directly at Patriarch Ji Yin with a faint, ambiguous smile.
A chill ran through Ji Yin’s heart; his face turned cold, and he fell into silent contemplation.
“Brother Wu, why continue this pointless concealment? Whatever great secret the surnamed Han lad holds, now that so many fellow Daoists know of it, one more or one less makes no difference. If you speak frankly, it might actually be more beneficial! Besides, in these waters, aside from your disciples appearing as the Insect Demon, there are other cultivators impersonating him in various places, clearly trying to muddy the waters.” The Taoist seemed to sense Ji Yin’s wavering and continued to persuade him indifferently.
“Hmph! Since Brother Qi already knows so much, why not figure out the mystery yourself instead of asking me?” Patriarch Ji Yin finally replied with clear displeasure.
“I believe that even if Brother Wu refuses to speak the truth, I, Qi, will likely uncover the whole story in at most half a year. But by then, I’m afraid it won’t just be my Biyun Sect that knows of this matter. I do not wish to see that happen. If that’s the case, it would be better to join forces with you first.” The Taoist surnamed Qi showed no intention of hiding his plans.
Upon hearing this, Patriarch Ji Yin’s expression shifted uncertainly for a while. Lowering his head in thought for another moment, he finally let out a long sigh and said with a bitter smile, “Cough! It’s not that I, Wu, intended to deceive, but at the time, to prevent this secret from leaking, I and several other fellow Daoists swore by our inner demons not to reveal it to outsiders. However, since the Wanfa Sect’s Xuan Ji has also tracked his way here, regardless of how much Wan Tianming disclosed, the oath has already been broken to some extent, so I have nothing left to fear.”
“That’s more like it. Does Brother Wu truly care about such oaths? I, Qi, never bother with such things. If inner demons were truly so effective, most of us cultivating unorthodox and demonic arts would have long been dead.” The Taoist laughed heartily, clapping his hands in delight upon hearing Ji Yin’s words.
“Though I also don’t care about inner demons, if too many people learn of this, I’m afraid we won’t even get a taste of the leftovers.” Patriarch Ji Yin said with a hint of helplessness. Then, his face stiffened, and he began to transmit his message with moving lips.
The Taoist surnamed Qi initially seemed indifferent to Ji Yin’s caution, but after hearing just a few sentences, his expression abruptly changed, his eyes shining with a mix of shock and delight.
“Are you speaking the truth? That thing has truly appeared?” The Taoist asked, his face full of excitement, his voice trembling slightly.
“If not for this treasure, do you think so many Nascent Soul stage cultivators would gather here?” Patriarch Ji Yin retorted faintly.
“Indeed! It seems Brother Wu speaks true! You’ve hidden this matter deeply enough! This object has been in the world for so long, yet not a single rumor has surfaced outside. I, Qi, truly admire that. However, if you had told me earlier, I would have certainly sent more people, and we might have found that lad already.” In his ecstasy, the Taoist couldn’t help but voice a hint of complaint.
“Brother, you speak too lightly. Can such a matter be casually revealed? If I hadn’t felt that after keeping it hidden for so long, the others might have also leaked some hints, I, Wu, wouldn’t easily speak of it even now. The fewer who know of this, the better.” Patriarch Ji Yin said with clear annoyance.
“Brother Wu speaks sense! If I, Qi, knew of this, I also wouldn’t want an extra person to share the treasure.” The Taoist nodded, actually agreeing without any hesitation.
“However, it seems now that this news can’t be suppressed much longer. The news of this treasure’s appearance will eventually spread.” Patriarch Ji Yin’s face twitched, showing a trace of unwillingness.
“Heh heh! Brother Wu should know that there are no walls in this world that don’t leak. Then I, Qi, will take my leave first. I’ll go and send more people immediately, striving to find this person before others.” The Taoist surnamed Qi offered a slight consolation, then stood up to bid farewell, a hint of excitement hidden on his face.
Patriarch Ji Yin did not press him to stay. With a clasped fist, he watched the Taoist exit the door and disappear.
Patriarch Ji Yin sat back down in his chair, not moving an inch, a cold smile appearing on his face. It seemed that once profit was at stake, the other party became even more anxious than himself. It appeared that choosing to disclose the matter of the Void Heaven Cauldron was the right move. That lad Han Li, who knew where he was hiding, had left no trace to be found. If not for his earlier slaughter of the Biyun Sect’s cultivators, he might have thought the boy had pulled a golden cicada shedding its shell trick and gone to another demon beast island. Now, with time pressing, he could only rely on the local influence of the Biyun Sect and take one step at a time.
After silently weighing the pros and cons, Patriarch Ji Yin let out a long sigh, and the room fell into silence.
…
Above a certain stretch of sea, a young man in blue robes with an ordinary appearance coldly watched several pale-faced low-level cultivators before him. Above his head buzzed a large cloud of gold and silver insects.
“The Insect Demon!” one of the middle-aged cultivators cried out in despair.
Upon hearing this, the young man let out a few cold laughs and, without a word, pointed at the men before him. The insect cloud above rumbled and surged forth overwhelmingly.
Though the low-level cultivators desperately tried to block with their protective spiritual tools, in the blink of an eye, they were completely engulfed by the flying insects. Within moments, they had vanished without a trace from the world.
“With such meager cultivation, still struggling pointlessly before death—how overestimating!” the young man remarked dismissively to himself as he collected the storage bags left behind by the men. Then, after casually glancing in a certain direction, he transformed into a blue light and flew away.
After a good while, a white flash appeared in the air, revealing an early Core Formation stage cultivator with a pale face, his expression extremely grim. Gazing in the direction the young man had disappeared, he gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and flew off in the opposite direction.
…
Half a month later, Han Li finally returned to the misty sea island. Though he had been away for years, everything in the cave abode was safe and sound, allowing him to finally set his somewhat anxious heart at ease.
Han Li first rested in the abode for several days, then sorted out the various rare materials and demon cores obtained from his journey, categorizing them one by one in preparation for future pill concoction.
Over ten days later, feeling that all his fatigue had been washed away, Han Li finally entered the alchemy room with all his materials.
In previous years, after concocting the previous batch of pills in his Heavenly Star City abode, he had faintly felt that he had reached a certain bottleneck in his alchemy skills, as if with a little more effort, he would enter a completely different realm of pill concoction. Therefore, Han Li had no intention of immediately using the sixth or seventh-grade demon cores. Instead, he first took out a batch of fifth-grade demon cores and placed them on the floor nearby.
According to Han Li’s own assessment, although his innate talent in alchemy was rather mediocre, his actual skills were not far from those of a true pill refining master. After all, who else could afford to extravagantly use so many demon cores for hands-on practice? The path of alchemy relied most crucially on accumulated experience and technical proficiency. Therefore, he planned to begin practicing with fifth-grade demon cores first, to see if he could genuinely achieve a breakthrough in the art of pill concoction.
With this thought in mind, Han Li looked at the cauldron before him, beckoned, and a fifth-grade demon core automatically flew above the cauldron as the lid moved aside on its own.
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