Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 43

Volume 7 Chapter 43: The Journey Far Away (Part 2)

"I am Huangquan Baigui from Yaoguang Camp, seeking to meet my Taoist friends Huang Xuan and Niu Meng."

As this eerie voice entered the room, Huang Xuan and Niu Meng were suddenly startled. They had heard that the six masters of Yaoguang Camp were far stronger than the other cultivators of Seven Star Camp. Among them, Huangquan Baigui was the strongest, but they never expected his power to be so great. He had already been standing outside for a long time, yet they were completely unaware. From Huangquan Baigui’s words, it was clear that he had seen Niu Meng come to meet Huang Xuan.

Something has happened.

With Huangquan Baigui suddenly coming to see them, even the slowest person would understand what this meant.

Huang Xuan and Niu Meng exchanged a glance and could see the tension in each other’s eyes. They nodded to each other, gathering their Spirit Qi as they prepared to take action. Then, Huang Xuan took a deep breath to calm his nervous heart and slowly said, "Please come in."

As Huang Xuan finished speaking, the door creaked open, and Huangquan Baigui stepped inside.

As Huangquan Baigui entered, the already-prepared Huang Xuan and Niu Meng suddenly sprang into action, launching their attack on Huangquan Baigui.

Niu Meng raised his hand, and a golden net immediately fell toward Huangquan Baigui, trying to trap him.

Huang Xuan quickly formed hand signs, and immediately a mist spread in front of Huangquan Baigui, trying to block his thoughts and vision. Then, with a wave of his hand, three transparent needle-like tools shot towards Huangquan Baigui.

Everything happened silently; if someone were outside the house, they would not notice that a fierce battle was taking place inside.

Both Huang Xuan and Niu Meng were skilled fighters, their actions were quick and their cooperation was quite good, but…

Huangquan Baigui sneered at Huang Xuan and Niu Meng’s attack, remaining still. Suddenly, a chilling ghostly wail echoed around him. Unknown to them, dark shadows had appeared around him, continuously swirling. Both Niu Meng’s golden net and Huang Xuan’s misty tools were blocked by these shadows.

"You are overestimating yourselves."

As Huangquan Baigui coldly uttered these four words, green ghostly flames suddenly appeared around him, flickering ominously.

The ghost flames didn’t seem very powerful, but with the passing time, the golden net and needle-like tools lost their shine and fell to the ground under their burning, while the mist in front of him completely vanished under the ghost flames.

After finishing all this, Huangquan Baigui took out a list of spies from his sleeve, crossed out the names of Huang Xuan and Niu Meng, and then turned to leave.

Inside the house, Huang Xuan and Niu Meng had unknowingly fallen to the ground, their bodies glowing with eerie ghost flames, and moments later, they turned into nothingness.

In this situation, there have been a total of ten incidents in the past three days; some were killed, while others were captured and imprisoned somewhere.

…

Since the end of that great battle, the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands have been very busy for three days.

Especially the Old Beggar, Scholar Beihai, and other alchemists have not had a moment’s rest. They spent two whole days removing the bodies of the demon beasts from the East Sea and placing them on Tianquan Island. However, there were simply too many and too large, so when Tianquan Island was full, they began to take up space on the other six islands, even invading Yaoguang Island, home to Dark Crow and the Yaoguang Camp. While others avoided the Dark Crow and Yaoguang Camp cultivators, these Medicine Pill Masters and Alchemy Masters paid no attention, only focused on their various materials.

Starting from the third day, these Medicine Pill Masters and Alchemy Masters began to deal with the bodies, collecting useful materials that could be used for both alchemy and crafting. This inevitably led to disputes between the two groups, resulting in countless fights.

Yaoguang Camp worked very efficiently; by the third day, all the spies on the list had been dealt with, leaving only two.

In fact, if it weren’t for the busy Medicine Pill Masters and Alchemy Masters all over the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, and the need for their actions to be secretive, it wouldn’t have taken more than two days. Otherwise, given the strength of these spies, Yaoguang Camp could have dealt with them in less than an hour.

"Everyone has been dealt with except for that person?"

On Yaoguang Island, Chou stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the distant tides without turning around, and coldly asked.

Behind him, Huangquan Baigui stood with his hands down, hesitated for a moment, and replied, "Besides Wang Bo and the one you need to deal with personally, the others have either been killed or captured, and everything is taken care of."

Chou slowly turned around, faint blood glimmering under the hood, and gently asked, "Wang Bo, why hasn’t he been dealt with yet?"

After hesitating for a moment, Huangquan Baigui answered, "Wang Bo has been with those Tianji Camp cultivators these days. I am not sure I could secretly kill him without the Tianji Camp cultivators knowing. Even in a normal match, with our strength, it would be a 50-50 chance of winning."

Chou snorted coldly and did not say anything else. Although he was dissatisfied with Huangquan Baigui, he was not the kind of person who could not see the truth. In this battle, the strength shown by Tianji Camp was indeed not weaker than Yaoguang Camp.

"However…" Huangquan Baigui continued, "I found out that Wang Bo will meet that person at Billow Cliff tonight."

After a moment of silence, Chou said, "I understand. You can go down now. Leave Wang Bo and that person to me."

"Yes."

Hearing Chou’s words, Huangquan Baigui sighed with relief and quickly bowed to leave.

…

Time flowed by like a river, and before they knew it, another night had fallen.

On Yaoguang Island, Chou’s eyes suddenly opened wide as he stood up and transformed into a dark shadow, flying towards Billow Cliff on Tianji Island.

"Senior Beihai, my master asks you to come over; he needs to discuss something with you."

As he flew past Tianshu Island, Chou was momentarily shocked to see his second elder martial sister Zhang Ningmei inviting Scholar Beihai to meet Xu Qingfan at his residence, which puzzled him.

Scholar Beihai was a bit unhappy about being interrupted while collecting materials, but he was not Old Beggar, so he had to give Xu Qingfan some respect. While muttering in dissatisfaction, he followed Zhang Ningmei as she led him towards Yuheng Island, completely unaware of the silent figure of Chou passing by.

"Why did my master suddenly want to find Scholar Beihai at this time?"

Chou was confused but did not think too much about it; he continued flying towards Billow Cliff.

At the top of Billow Cliff, two dark figures stood at each end, communicating with each other.

"All the hidden pawns have been dismissed by the Island Master; what should we do? Has he discovered us too?"

A voice, filled with panic, asked.

"After that great battle ended, did you not inform the master right away about the new situation?"

Another voice sounded calmer and asked softly.

"Yes, isn’t that what you wanted?"

"Hmph, then you have been discovered. Xu Qingfan took advantage of our mistake, thinking he didn’t know we existed, and while we were busy sending messages afterward, he found out everything about us."

"What? What should I do now?"

"The reason Xu Qingfan hasn’t acted against you yet is probably because of your special identity, but he will come for you sooner or later. I advise you not to reveal me. Xu Qingfan can kill you, but the restraints the master has placed on you will make your death very painful; your soul will shatter, and you will never be able to return!"

"You… you…"

Upon hearing Wang Bo’s threat, the other person was completely speechless.

"I really don’t understand why you are in such a hurry to deliver a message to the master. Don’t you know this will reveal your identity? Don’t you know that others can also send messages? If you send messages with them, the master will only hear the same information twice? Hmph, this is not the right way to win favor. This is all I have to say. From now on, do not contact me, so I won’t be suspected. Do you understand?"

At that moment, a cold and eerie voice that did not belong to either of them suddenly resonated.

"Wang Bo, it seems I underestimated you before. I didn’t expect your position among those spies to be even higher than Dongfang Quan’s."

Wang Bo’s body shook, and he suddenly looked up to see Chou hovering above the two, coldly gazing down at them.

The other person was none other than Dongfang Quan, the leader of the five protectors from Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands. No one expected that this Dongfang Quan, who had been loyal since Xu Qingfan was a Jiuhua caretaker, and who stood next to Xu Qingfan, second only to Wang Zegang, was actually one of Zhang Xusheng’s people.

Upon seeing Chou suddenly appear, both Wang Bo and Dongfang Quan became flustered. They both knew Chou’s strength well; being able to defeat two heavenly-level demon beasts by himself demonstrated a power that even in the entire cultivation world, was among the top. They were far from being able to resist it.

Especially Wang Bo, who felt a shiver in his heart as he recalled Chou’s terrifying figure during the great battle and the world-destroying aura. He looked at Chou in fear, completely losing the calm he had shown in front of Dongfang Quan before.

After examining Wang Bo for a moment, Chou suddenly spoke, "As far as I know, Zhang Xusheng’s followers are divided into three types. One type consists of members from an organization called ‘Dark’ that he founded a thousand years ago, who are the most intelligent and powerful. The second type is cultivators that he has modified, and they are the most numerous and loyal. The third type is the least known, consisting of new humans created by him, hidden in various organizations, the most secretive, but with the greatest potential. And you, must be one of those humans created by Zhang Xusheng, right?"

"What do you want?"

Wang Bo simply stared at the mysterious Chou in front of him, his "Qixia Sword" already drawn, his body feeling dizzy, as if he might turn into smoke at any moment.

When Dongfang Quan saw Wang Bo’s motion, he suddenly understood and quickly took out his own magic weapon.

Dongfang Quan’s magic weapon was a long, blue sword, created by Old Beggar and other Alchemy Masters over nearly forty years, using countless rare materials to mimic the "Qingyun Yixian Sword" from the Five Elements Sacred Tool. Although it wasn’t as powerful as the "Qingyun Yixian Sword," it was still a highly refined magic weapon, strong enough to match an ordinary treasure.

However, both Wang Bo and Dongfang Quan understood that no matter how powerful their abilities were or how wonderful their magical tools, they had no chance against Chou, not even a chance to escape. Their resistance was simply a natural instinct of not wanting to die so easily.

Noticing that Dongfang Quan was also ready to strike, Chou frowned slightly and turned to look coldly at Dongfang Quan.

Looking at the faint red glows in the darkness under Chou’s cloak, the terrifying and violent aura spread everywhere. Dongfang Quan was startled, stepping back three or four times, losing all courage to fight.

Chou seemed like the natural enemy of all living beings; just by meeting him, even those with a little weakness in their spirit would lose the courage to resist.

Clearly, Dongfang Quan was one of those people.

Thinking about how Dongfang Quan was usually known for his strength, never backing down even against Liu Ziqing, it was surprising to see him act so helpless now. Chou slightly frowned, realizing that Dongfang Quan’s toughness came from knowing that Liu Ziqing would never harm him, and that he had Xu Qingfan, Wang Zegang, and four other protectors fighting alongside him.

However, once he lost these supports, Dongfang Quan completely changed into a different person, which was truly disappointing.

"Anyway, you are still one of the guardians of Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands. Don’t act so helpless and embarrass us; come with me, the master wants to see you."

Dongfang Quan did not respond; instead, his body shook even more.

On the contrary, when Wang Bo heard Chou’s words, his eyes lit up and he said, "In that case, I will go meet Island Master Xu. Speaking of which, ten years ago, when Island Master Xu sent Senior Wang Zegang to the Human Alliance, he formed an alliance with my family master."

Chou turned to Wang Bo and coldly said, "I’m sorry, the master only wants to see Dongfang Quan, and you are on the list of people he wants to eliminate."

Upon hearing Chou’s words, Wang Bo involuntarily took a step back, but he remained calm and said, "Your master does not know my position is above Dongfang Quan’s; otherwise, he would not have ordered my death. Chou, I know what you desire. Xu Qingfan can give it to you, and my family master can give you even more…"

Before he finished speaking, Wang Bo’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and his body transformed into a cloud of smoke, as he was about to speed away into the distance.

But Chou did not wait for him to finish and struck first. With a wave of his hand, thick black mist filled the area, rushing toward Wang Bo. Wang Bo, however, used the "Cloud Separation Technique," transforming his body into several clouds of mist that shot out in all directions. As long as one of them could escape, he would have a chance at rebirth.

Unfortunately, in the face of absolute power, any extraordinary ability was just a joke.

After Wang Bo transformed into smoke, he moved quickly, but Chou’s black mist moved even faster. Just as Wang Bo had escaped a few steps, he found himself surrounded by endless black mist. Although he tried to break free by rushing left and right, he could not escape at all.

As the black mist gathered, a faint scream echoed on Billow Cliff.

The battle was dull, with Wang Bo fleeing from start to finish while Chou attacked. It lasted only a moment and had no excitement, but it only emphasized Chou’s great strength. The way Chou acted after killing, without any reaction, as if it was just an extremely ordinary task, seemed even more terrifying.

"Let’s go. The master has probably been waiting for a long time."

With the black mist withdrawn, Wang Bo had already vanished without a trace, and Chou turned to Dongfang Quan and said.

Dongfang Quan’s face was full of fear.

…

"Island Master, your body…"

Scholar Beihai frowned after checking and said hesitantly.

"Please speak frankly, sir."

Although Scholar Beihai’s expression was not optimistic, Xu Qingfan remained calm and softly said.

Scholar Beihai sighed and then said, "Island Master, over the years, the two forces within you have been constantly battling, resulting in repeated injuries. Each time you are hurt, it is worse than before. After many times, this has damaged the very foundation of your body. Your meridians and energy center have become extremely weak, and your life energy is almost depleted. You have finally managed to balance the two forces within, and if you carefully nurture yourself for a while, you could recover. Unfortunately, just as you achieved this balance, you had a fierce battle with the Azure Dragon, which drained your Spirit Qi greatly. Later, you were caught in that whirlpool, and under the immense water pressure, your meridians and energy center cracked in many places. Because of the lack of life energy, recovery will be very slow."

After hearing Scholar Beihai’s words, Xu Qingfan nodded and said, "I noticed these things during my inner reflection, but I did not know what the solution would be."

Scholar Beihai pondered and said, "There are two methods. First, Island Master, starting today, you must limit your cultivation progress. Otherwise, even if you have plenty of Spirit Qi, if your meridians and energy center expand again before they recover, your cultivation level may rise, but your injuries will worsen."

"What is the second one?"

Xu Qingfan asked.

"In my early years, I obtained a recipe for a pill called Recovery Pill. This pill can help ease the injuries you have, Island Master… but…"

"But what? Is it a lack of materials?"

"No." Scholar Beihai sighed and said, "The Returning Yuan Dan is indeed a life-saving elixir, but it is also a type of poison. Once taken, the Island Master will become dependent on it and must take another one after a period of time. If not, his Original Soul will become unstable, and the Spirit Qi inside him will go awry, leading to very serious consequences."

After thinking for a moment, Xu Qingfan looked up at Scholar Beihai and said, "In that case, please allow me to consider it for a few days, and I will give you an answer then. As for my injuries, please keep it a secret."

"Of course."

When Xu Qingfan escorted Scholar Beihai to the door, he looked up just in time to see Chou flying slowly towards him with Dongfang Quan.