r18novel Chapter 65 The Old Tortoise's Misjudgment, Qin's Daughter in Urgent Situation
Chapter 65 The Old Tortoise's Misjudgment, Qin's Daughter in Urgent Situation
Chapter 65 The Old Tortoise's Misjudgment, Qin's Daughter in Urgent Situation
Zhao Jingwu was hiding underwater, three miles from the bottom of the Ice Spirit Mine. He had come to test his concealment technique and the strength of his physical defenses.
His pores closed, and even his heartbeat was reduced to a tremor of half a breath. His newly mastered breath-concealing technique transformed into an invisible membrane that enveloped his body. Only a faint trace of breath-concealing fluctuation was dispersed by the flowing water.
The divine sense of the Jade Dragon Sect's pseudo-core cultivator above swept across the lakebed like moonlight, yet slipped away silently beneath this disguise.
Zhao Jingwu's lips curled up slightly; the newly learned breath-concealing technique was indeed useful.
just,
Faced with the spiritual attack of the third-order formation, he relied on the unique method of body cultivation—dispersing the spiritual impact throughout his bones and flesh, and forcibly withstanding it by utilizing the toughness of his body.
Although this method of enduring the attack can prevent direct damage to the soul, the shockwaves from the spiritual attack will still penetrate into the body, like countless fine needles piercing the bone marrow, causing intense pain.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to swallow the power.
At this moment, we have received a happy result, and the verification in our hearts has been positively reflected.
"As expected, this place is the most suitable for body cultivators to infiltrate."
With his ability to conceal his breath and his physical strength, he only needs to wait on the sidelines until the sect opens the cave's formation. Then, when the formation unleashes its strongest burst of divine sense and everyone else is hiding, he can be the first to rush into the cave, take the greatest benefit, and then quietly escape using his ability to conceal his breath.
however,
Just as he was feeling happy...
Inside the formation of the cave at the bottom of the lake, a thousand-year-old stone tortoise suddenly opened its eyes and looked in Zhao Jingwu's direction.
Just now, under the attack of the divine sense range,
A fluctuation of his innate aura, originating from the same source, appeared outside.
The old tortoise sensed through its divine sense that the aura there belonged to a human, not its descendant, the tortoise-snake beast.
The old tortoise recalled that a human cultivator had once obtained a piece of its ancestor's armor, learned the concealment technique, and then disappeared.
This person has now reappeared.
However, it has its own plans and cannot reveal itself to personally take action against this person for the time being.
The old tortoise secretly launched a transparent water bullet. The water bullet was silent and did not leak any spiritual power. It was a solid object formed purely by water pressure, and it shot towards Zhao Jingwu like a meteorite cutting through the dark current.
"puff!"
Zhao Jingwu felt as if his chest had been struck by a giant hammer, and by the time his protective aura automatically erupted, it was already too late.
He crashed into the rock behind him like a thrown stone, and in that instant, his inner energy erupted, allowing him to withstand the attack of the water bubbles.
But his aura still emanated from him.
"Um?"
On the island in the middle of the lake, Xu Tianyue, a fake Core Formation cultivator from the Jade Dragon Sect, suddenly changed his expression and looked down into the water.
His divine sense covered an area of over five hundred feet, allowing him to vaguely perceive the movements below.
He snorted coldly:
"A small fry has infiltrated our ranks. Tieshan, go and deal with him. He should be a strongman. See if he's the one who escaped from our sect. If so, clean house while you're at it."
After saying that, he closed his eyes again to rest.
He's only in the early stages of breaking through the cave's defenses; such petty thieves aren't worth his time.
He needs to devote all his energy to figuring out how to break the formation.
Initially, he thought that by relying on external energy to wear down the formation, he could eventually break through and infiltrate it.
But over the past year, he has discovered that things are not so simple.
After each spiritual attack, the formation's defenses become as solid as iron, extremely strong, allowing it to launch another attack.
Moreover, the energy within seemed inexhaustible. Xu Tianyue could sense that this third-tier formation was connected to the spiritual veins of the cave below; as long as the spiritual veins remained, the formation's energy would not run out.
The key magical artifact within the formation seems to absorb the power of moonlight to transform and accumulate divine consciousness. Thus, it is activated monthly, and once its accumulation is full, it releases its energy, overflowing with divine power.
They will also defend themselves if attacked on ordinary days.
Xu Tianyue suspected that if they desperately attacked, it might trigger the magic treasures inside the formation to self-destruct, unleashing a divine sense attack exceeding the third rank, which could potentially kill all the cultivators on the periphery.
So he didn't rush into a forced attack and kept thinking of ways to counter it.
Meanwhile, he was also waiting.
In the world of cultivation, the emergence of a new cultivation cave is always preceded by omens. Either it signifies the arrival of a successor, or an opportunity is about to appear.
Now that this cave has appeared, it might open automatically within a few years.
At this time, he had already reported to the sect leader, who would invite several Core Formation cultivators to come and check when the sect leader had time.
Zhao Tieshan stood on his flying sword, the blade slicing through the sky, the sharp sword energy tearing a white mark on the lake surface.
His divine sense locked onto the figure speeding across the water ahead, a cold glint flashing in his eyes—the opponent's concealment technique was indeed exquisite; if it weren't for the old turtle's bubble attack that had leaked his aura, even he would have had difficulty detecting it.
Zhao Jingwu sensed the approaching killing intent from the sky and thought to himself, "This is bad." He had been tricked by the old man in the formation today and would definitely seek revenge later.
Then, he turned and fled in the direction away from the fake Dan Zhenren on the island in the middle of the lake.
Zhao Tieshan's flying sword from his sleeve slashed three streaks of blue light in succession.
Zhao Jingwu, who was ahead, moved like a ghost. When he took the Golden Step, the soles of his feet gleamed with a metallic luster, forcefully dispersing the aftershocks of the sword energy throughout his bones.
A piece of flesh was shaved off his right shoulder, but the impact propelled him forward. The muscles at the wound twitched, and the blood and qi surged, causing the wound to begin to heal.
"Thick-skinned and tough! It really is him?" Zhao Tieshan snorted coldly, looking somewhat surprised.
The two chased and fled, and after a hundred breaths, they appeared in a dense forest twenty miles away.
As Zhao Tieshan unleashed four array flags, the soundproof array rose. Suddenly, Zhao Jingwu turned around and clasped his hands in a fist salute, his rough fingers still stained with undried blood.
"Second Uncle." His voice was hoarse, like grinding iron.
"Hmph, it really is you. Instead of staying in your demon beast mountain range, you've come here to die?"
Zhao Tieshan stared at his nephew—who had been full of youthful spirit when he betrayed the sect, but now had a scar on his brow left by a demonic beast's claws, and his left arm had been replaced with a prosthetic.
"No, I recently acquired a new concealment technique, and my body refinement of the copper bones is nearing perfection. I want to attempt to break through to the gold bones."
Therefore, they thought that since physical cultivators have high defense, they could infiltrate this formation without using their magic power and attracting attention, making it suitable for them to gain benefits.
"What nonsense about concealing your breath! Master just doesn't want to touch you. Otherwise, you would be dead already."
However, since you're here, it's a good opportunity for us to cooperate. In a few years, if even a corner of this great formation can be opened, I'll provide cover while you go in and reap the benefits.
The lion's share goes to Master; the rest we'll split 50/50.
"Okay, Second Uncle."
"Hmph, these are some second-tier Qi and Blood Pills. There's also a set of armor here that can enhance your defense. I was originally planning to go to the Monster Beast Mountain Range to deliver them to you in the next few years, but since I've come across this, you should just accept it."
"Thank you, Second Uncle. Please take these spirit stones."
The two tossed each other a storage bag.
"By the way, there's a cultivator with a bronze-boned body in this market. Did you teach him the Vajra Skill?"
"Yes, a mortal martial artist. I failed to silence him back then."
Zhao Jingwu recalled the hardness of refined iron that came from Chen Yi's palm when he blocked his probing palm strike—it was indeed very similar to the copper bone characteristic of the Vajra Skill.
"Okay, you don't need to tell me the specific details. I just want to ask you, is it possible for you to find him?"
He killed Dong Chang'an some time ago. I examined the details of the battle, and he may have already reached the Bronze Bone stage.
This person might have some kind of special opportunity; you could keep an eye on them.
"I've had some contact with him recently, but his ability to conceal his presence and disguise himself is far superior to mine; I haven't been able to find out his true identity."
If I were to follow the clues, I would likely have to search through numerous leads bit by bit. Even if I found the person, my own identity might be exposed.
Second Uncle, I don't think it's a matter of luck, but rather that the sect has always underestimated the [Diamond Skill].
Both physical and magical cultivation have their talents. For example, some ordinary martial artists, like myself, and others who have risen through the ranks and possess the talent of the metal element, will indeed find cultivating the [Diamond Technique] much more effective.
He may have had the means to acquire monster resources in recent years, so it's normal that his progress was faster before the Copper Bone incident.
However, in the path of body refinement, one cannot even reach the threshold of a third-tier body cultivator without first achieving the Golden Bone realm.
For now, let's focus on this underwater cave and leave it for the time being.
"Okay, it's good that you understand. Later, give me a copy of your experience cultivating the Vajra Technique. You can also tell me what resources you need to break through to the Golden Bone realm."
I'll help you find a solution within the sect.
"Do less of this kind of robbing and plundering outside. But if you really have to resort to desperate measures, keep this to save your life."
Zhao Tieshan tossed Zhao Jingwu a jade tablet, which emanated terrifying magical energy.
It was actually a talisman treasure, with power reaching the near-third tier!
"Thank you, Second Uncle. Please also convey my message to Father: Your son is incompetent and unable to fulfill his filial duty!"
Zhao Jingwu knelt down, kowtowed, and then turned and disappeared into the woods.
Zhao Tieshan then unleashed several powerful spells in another direction, causing a great deal of destruction. After a while, once Zhao Jingwu had gone far away, he turned and flew back.
"Xiao Wu's concealment technique is quite good. Even at such close range, I can't tell what's real from what's fake. The body cultivator hiding in the market has an even better concealment ability than him."
Who could it be?
On the flying sword, Zhao Tieshan's eyes flickered slightly as he pondered.
After returning, he secretly discussed some matters with the fake alchemist, and also let bygones be bygones the day's events.
Traitors to sects exist in every faction, but how to deal with them depends on the circumstances.
Even a True Immortal who has reached the Core Formation stage lives for five hundred years. Surely he has no family or relatives to take care of?
As for those who undergo tribulation cultivation, the cultivation world is inherently a dog-eat-dog world, and the distinction between good and evil has never been clear.
The unwritten rule has always been that those who do not use a large number of ordinary people or low-level cultivators as raw materials to improve their cultivation are not considered evil cultivators.
As for minor matters like fighting, vendettas, and robbery in the wild, they are generally not considered problems unless you provoke truly important figures.
After Chen Yi returned, Qin Chengcheng called him over again.
Chen Yi assumed he had another task to set up a second-tier spirit-gathering array for the temporary cave dwelling. He entered Qin Chengcheng's room and habitually groaned:
"Fairy, which family is setting up an array? Why don't you just leave me behind?"
Since I went out with you a few times a few days ago, I've unknowingly been targeted by a lot of people. I've been receiving a lot of strange messages these past few days.
Some threatened to keep their distance, others challenged me to a duel, and still others called me a toad lusting after a swan, but not a single one asked me to set up an array.
As usual, Qin Chengcheng would offer Chen Yi a few words of comfort and mention something about the handling fee, and Chen Yi would then go along, half-heartedly.
But today, Qin Chengcheng looked somber, and his voice lacked its usual cheerfulness:
"No. Chen Yi, my sect has something to do and they want me to go back."
"Hmm? How long will it take? It'll probably delay the activation of the soul restriction two years from now, right?"
"You wish! I'll be back within a few months."
An elder from the Jade Dragon Sect presented me with betrothal gifts that my master couldn't refuse, urging me to return and discuss the marriage!
Chen Yi was also taken aback. No wonder Xu Shixian hadn't been sticking to him like glue all this time; it turned out he had taken the elder's approach.
"That's wonderful! Then I, Chen, wish Fairy Qin a happy marriage in advance!"
Chen Yi clasped his hands in a fist salute.
Qin Chengcheng glared at Chen Yi, then slapped him on the arm.
"Hiss—, are your arms made of iron? How come they're so hard!"
"I'm not joking with you anymore. You should make thorough preparations recently. I suspect the sect won't give me much time."
This time, however, I must return to the sect because the communication talisman my master gave me contained a corner of my spiritual sense restriction.
Do you understand what this means?
Upon hearing that it was serious, Chen Yi's expression became much more serious.
"Fairy, does this mean your master is aware of this restriction? Then I'm afraid I can't help you. I'll be on my way now."
What a joke! He can barely help with a Foundation Establishment stage matter, but he absolutely dares not get involved when it comes to Core Formation stage matters.
"No, he probably doesn't know. In his letter, he only said that the symbol was left to him by his grandmaster, and that I need to go back before my wedding to find my master, who might have a solution."
Qin Chengcheng replied.
"Grandmaster?"
"Yes, my grandmaster was a pseudo-core cultivator and the former head of the Miaoyin Pavilion. He should have had several decades left in his lifespan, but he suddenly disappeared more than ten years ago. My master also advanced to the Core Formation stage later and then took over the leadership of the Miaoyin Pavilion."
Perhaps my grandmaster knows the origin of the restriction in my soul.
"Oh, I see. Then hurry back. If there's any danger, send word in advance and tell me about your enemy."
I'll run away first, and when I'm strong enough, I'll help you get revenge, depending on the circumstances.
Chen Yi gave very serious instructions.
Qin Chengcheng rolled her eyes at her. "Don't worry, this won't involve you. Even if something goes wrong, I'll make sure you don't die."
"Um... could you advance the Foundation Establishment Pill you promised?"
Chen Yi was worried that something might happen to Qin Chengcheng, so he decided to take what he could get first, thinking that there would be benefits.
"You're not even at the eighth level of Qi Refining, what's the rush!"
Besides, I don't have any on hand right now. I'll help you arrange it when I go back to the sect this time.
Besides, I haven't even resolved the issue of the restriction yet, how could you possibly ask for the Foundation Establishment Pill?
Those things cost several thousand spirit stones each at auctions, and even if you have the money, you might not be able to buy them!
After being scolded by Qin Chengcheng, Chen Yi could only sigh and say he would wait a few years before making a decision.
Qin Chengcheng flew back to the sect that same day, and the Miaoyin Pavilion was temporarily managed by the deputy pavilion master, Liu Jinjin.
After Liu Jinjin took over, Chen Yi could no longer have a moment of leisure.
First, Liu Jinjin threw her into the main kitchen, where, under the management of head chef Fatty Liu, she prepared spiritual food for the entire Miaoyin Pavilion, and sometimes also had to prepare spiritual food banquets for guests.
"Chef Chen has really 'condescended' to come to our filthy place. Hehe, from now on, you'll be in charge of handling the malevolent parts of these monster meats."
Fatty Liu assigned Chen Yi tasks in the kitchen, throwing the most harmful parts to cultivators at him.
He had been taught a lesson by Young Master Xu before, and was so badly beaten that he couldn't cultivate for half a year. He had only recently recovered, and he was still resentful but dared not vent his anger on Young Master Xu. Now that Chen Yi was under his command, he was naturally going to torment him to death.
In the days that followed, Xu Shixian frequently visited Miaoyin Pavilion to listen to music.
Liu Jinjin abused her power, using Chen Yi's superior culinary skills to prepare a special monster feast for Young Master Xu, and also had to listen to all sorts of requests from Xu Shixian.
In Xu Shixian's private room, Liu Jinjin personally presented a gilded wine pot: "Young Master Xu, please try this. This soup is made with the Frost Python you hunted."
She glanced sideways at Chen Yi, who was slicing meat. "Chef Chen deliberately left some firmness in the meat, just like the food that Pavilion Master Qin usually eats, right, Chef Chen?"
Chen Yi remained silent, his blade making a gentle cut into the python's flesh. The system quietly activated, removing the unpleasant smell from the beast's surface aura, but preserving the essence of its malevolent energy. If a cultivator consumed it, it would affect the quality of their magical power, reducing their success rate when breaking through to higher realms in the future.
Then he handed the python meat to Liu Jinjin, who examined it and then personally fed it to Xu Shixian.
Xu Shixian enjoyed the meal and repeatedly commented, "Not bad. Chef Chen's cooking is indeed excellent."
These days, Chen Yimo keeps quiet and does his job well, focusing on avoiding trouble.
But he had already mentally noted down Liu Jinjin and Fatty Liu's actions.
Especially Fatty Liu, who has become increasingly smug these days, inadvertently let slip that he had previously informed Young Master Xu about Chen Yi's secret handling of the second-tier demonic beast.
Chen Yi then learned that more than a year ago, Zhao Tieshan went straight to Miaoyin Pavilion to investigate the body cultivator because this fat man had done something bad behind the scenes.
"very good."
Chen Yi silently made a note of it.
A month later, on the night of the full moon, all the independent cultivators without any power in the market fled to a place thirty miles away.
External organizations of sects like the Myriad Sounds Pavilion, for the sake of appearances, have no choice but to expend spirit stones to set up second-tier defensive arrays against divine sense attacks.
If they all run away, it will damage the sect's reputation.
In the Myriad Sounds Pavilion, as midnight approached, the second-tier divine sense defense array activated, and everyone hid in their rooms, waiting for the divine sense attack to pass.
Chen Yi's spiritual sense has now reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and his use of spiritual sense techniques is superb. When Qin Chengcheng is not around, Liu Jinjin, the only Foundation Establishment cultivator, cannot see through his little tricks.
The glazed tiles of Miaoyin Pavilion gleamed coldly under the moonlight, and the pale blue light screen supported by the second-order divine sense defense array rippled like water.
Everyone in the pavilion kept the doors and windows tightly shut, and even their breathing was extremely quiet.
In the secret room, Chen Yi sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed, his fingertips silently twirling on his knees as gently as if playing a zither.
His divine sense surged within his ancestral aperture, and two light blue divine sense needles quietly condensed, their tips gleaming with a cold, eerie light, mirroring the divine sense attack waves coming from the outside world.
The divine sense needle pierced through the wall like a swimming fish, silently sliding to the outside of Fatty Liu's room.
One of the needles lightly touched a node in the array, precisely locating the weak point in the array's operation, and gently pricked it—
"Pop".
With a sound as subtle as a bursting bubble, a pinhole-sized crack was pierced in the second-tier divine sense defense array.
The surging tide of divine consciousness from the outside world immediately found a breakthrough and poured in like a flood.
At the same time, the second divine sense needle mixed into this violent torrent of divine sense, and with a flash of cold light at the tip, it pierced straight for Fatty Liu's brow!
"ah--!"
Fatty Liu was curled up in the corner of the bed when he suddenly trembled violently, his eyes bulged out, and two lines of blood trickled down from the corners of his eyes.
He clutched his head with both hands, his fingernails digging deep into his scalp, and a horrific scream escaped his throat.
His consciousness was like tofu being shredded by an icicle, and his soul was instantly shattered.
The next moment, Chen Yi quietly withdrew the divine sense needle, leaving no trace.
At the same time, he felt a slight sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of mixed emotions, including regret and amusement). When he first arrived, even a mortal martial artist who had just advanced to the Innate Realm was able to crush him.
In just six years, he can now crush a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator as easily as crushing an ant, without making a sound and without anyone noticing.
When Liu Jinjin and her men broke down the door, they found Fatty Liu slumped on the ground, bleeding from his seven orifices, his pupils dilated to a deathly gray.
A spiritual light emanated from Liu Jinjin's fingertips as she probed the sea of consciousness. Her expression changed drastically: "The sea of consciousness is completely destroyed... It was caused by a spiritual attack."
The female cultivators standing nearby turned pale: "But...but we clearly activated the second-tier defensive array..."
Liu Jinjin scanned the room, her gaze lingering for a moment on a barely perceptible trace of frost on a certain spot on the wall, and said coldly, "With Pavilion Master Qin absent, the great formation is left unattended, so naturally there will be flaws."
"Liu Lingchu was a bit unlucky; she just happened to be in the weakest position in the formation."
The chief spiritual chef died from a large-scale spiritual attack, a fact confirmed by Zhao Tieshan and Dong Changqing, who came to check the next day.
Chen Yi naturally took over the kitchen.
When all the spirit chefs thought that Chen Yi would bully them like Chef Liu after taking office,
Chen Yi proactively took on the most dangerous task of processing monster meat, just as before.
This made others think more highly of Chen Yi, and their attitudes towards him became much more sincere.
"Chef Chen is not as selfish and exploitative as Chef Liu."
"Yes, Chef Chen, if you ever need anything, just let us know, and we'll be happy to help!"
Of course, the most arduous task of processing monster meat is different when you do it yourself versus when Fatty Liu assigns it to you.
He took it upon himself, and no one dared to supervise his work. How to dispose of the demon beast, which parts were discarded, and which were served to guests was entirely up to Chen Yi.
By this point, Chen Yi had chopped off at least half of the "demonic and malevolent energy" parts of every monster that passed through the kitchen. Even the parts possessing spirituality had been handled by Chen Yi.
As a result, the rate at which the golden light accumulated within his body began to increase rapidly.
As for Liu Jinjin's use of him as a pawn to build her network, Chen Yi will make a note of that for now.
It's not appropriate to deal with her now, especially since Chen Yi doesn't think her actions warrant death.
Three months later, Qin Chengcheng returned, looking travel-worn.
She went to Chen Yi's room immediately to look for him, only to find that he wasn't there.
Qin Chengcheng's expression changed. "Oh no! This coward, he wouldn't really run away, would he!"
Her heart skipped a beat. She dispersed her divine sense, about to summon Liu Jinjin for questioning...
But in the west wing, a familiar presence was detected—Chen Yi was dissecting an ice crystal armadillo, while Liu Jinjin sat to the side with her legs crossed, her bright red fingernails tapping the edge of a jade cup intermittently.
Anger flashed in Qin Chengcheng's eyes. In a flash, she flew over, and her powerful magic force shattered Liu Jinjin's door.
With a wave of her jade hand, her powerful magic, nearing the late Foundation Establishment stage, erupted and transformed into an invisible palm print that struck out!
"Snapped!"
Liu Jinjin had no time to react. She was thrown away like a rag doll. A purplish-red handprint instantly swelled up on her left cheek, and blood from the corner of her mouth stained her clothes.
Qin Chengcheng's magical power was like Mount Tai pressing down on her, causing her internal organs to tremble.
"Who gave you permission to order my people around?" She didn't even look at Liu Jinjin, whose face was covered in blood, and grabbed Chen Yi's wrist to walk out.
Liu Jinjin huddled in the pile of broken wood, covering her burning cheeks, until the two figures disappeared into the corridor, only then did she dare to let a trace of resentment and venom show in her eyes.
(End of this chapter)