Chapter 528: Flowing Undercurrents
When Zenith Yin heard Daoist Priest Qi accuse him of hiding something, he inwardly frowned and cursed, ‘Cunning old fox’. However, none of this was betrayed on his face.
Zenith Yin’s expression grew stern and he coldly said, “Brother Qi, you’ve asked this more than once before. And each time, I’ve answered that this Youngster Han treacherously killed my grandson in Heavenvoid Hall. That is why I must capture him alive, so that I may refine his soul.”
The Daoist priest shook his head and said, “Hehe! Brother Wu had been saying this for the past two years, and I do believe it. However, Brother Wu has spent such a long time here, unwilling to be distracted by both his Profound Yin Island and the Starfall Coalition’s battle on the other side. If it were only for the sake of avenging your grandson, then wouldn’t I alone be enough?”
Then as if checkmating him, the Daoist priest stared at Zenith Yin with a mysterious smile and slowly continued, “Moreover, in addition to Zenith Yin, the Thousand Gates of Enlightenment has secretly sent over their Elder Breakwater, and three other unknown Nascent Soul cultivators had arrived in the Outer Star Seas with disguised appearances. Just when did our Wondrous Depths Island become so attractive that it would capture the attention of so many high grade cultivators? And in the past two days, I’ve acquired concrete information that they’re looking for the same person as you, the youngster surnamed Han. Brother Wu, please don’t tell me that they also wish to avenge their grandsons!”
Zenith Yin’s heart trembled and his face grew icy, but he remained silent.
The Daoist Priest saw that Zenith Yin’s heart was wavering and he calmly continued to persuade him, “There is no need for Brother Wu to pointlessly continue to conceal this. Regardless of what great secret this Youngster Han may possess, since so many fellow Nascent Soul Daoists have already figured it out, there is no harm in having me and only me know about it. If Brother Wu were to calmly tell me, it could work to your advantage. Moreover, in the current seas, in addition to my own disciples masquerading as the Insect Devil, there are other cultivators that have also taken up that identity in other locations. It is clear that they’re interfering with our scheme.”
Zenith Yin eventually replied with a gloomy tone, “Humph! Brother Qi, since you already know so much, then what mystery is there to clear up? What point is there in asking me?”
“I am convinced that even if Brother Wu is unwilling to tell me the truth, I will be able to find the clear truth of the matter by the year’s end. By that time, it won’t just be me or the Jade Cloud Sect that knows of the matter. I don’t want things to reach that point. Wouldn’t it be better to join hands now?” The Daoist Priest spoke of his inner plans without the slightest attempt at concealment.
Zenith Yin’s expression fluctuated for a long while. After lowering his head and muttering to himself for a moment, he eventually sighed and bitterly smiled at the Daoist priest. “It’s not that I wished to deliberately fool you. But in order to ensure that the secret wouldn’t be divulged, I along with several other Fellow Daoists have all made a heart demon pact to not speak of it to outsiders. But since the Myriad Gates of Enlightenment has sent their Elder Breakwater here, then Wan Tianming has more or less broken the pact, regardless of what he said. Hence, I no longer have anything to fear from divulging the secret.”
The Daoist priest heartily laughed upon hearing him, “Great. Brother Wu actually cared about a heart demon pact? I’ve never taken them to mind. If heart demon pacts were truly effective, most heretical and Devil Dao cultivators would already be dead.”
Zenith Yin said with a helpless tone, “Although I don’t care about the heart demons, if too many people come to know of it, I’m afraid there will be no rewards left to reap.” Soon after, his face stiffened, and he started to speak through voice transmissions.
The Daoist priest was completely unconcerned with Zenith Yin’s carefulness. But after only a few words were spoken, his expression greatly changed as rapt excitement flickered in his eyes.
“Is what you said true? The item has emerged into the world?” The Daoist Priest’s voice shivered from excitement.
Zenith Yin indifferently replied, “If not for this treasure, do you truly believe so many Nascent Soul cultivators would have gathered here?”
While the Daoist priest was ecstatic, he couldn’t help but grumble, “That’s right! It seems Brother Wu was correct in entirely concealing the matter! I admire you for having kept this secret for so long, but if Fellow Daoist had spoke of it sooner, I would’ve certainly sent out more men. Perhaps we might’ve found the youngster already.”
Zenith Yin gloomily explained, “Fellow Daoist says that quite easily. Do you think I could just divulge this matter as I wished? If I hadn’t concealed the matter for so long, the others might have leaked the information as well. Even now, I am unwilling to casually speak of it. The less people who know of this, the better.”
The Daoist priest nodded his head and agreed without thinking, “Brother Wu’s words make sense! If I had known about this, I also wouldn’t have wanted to divide the treasure with anybody else.”
“However, it seems that now, the information won’t be hidden for much longer. The truth of the treasure’s emergence will finally be spread.” Zenith Yin’s cheek twitched and he revealed a trace of bitterness on his face.
“Hehe! Brother Wu should know that no news truly stays hidden. Now, I will be taking my leave first, since I need to send out more men. Let us be a step ahead of the others in search of that youngster.” The Daoist priest stood up and bid goodbye with a trace of excitement on his face.
Zenith Yin didn’t do anything to stop him. After standing up and cupping his fist to him, he watched the Daoist priest as he left the room.
Zenith Yin then sat back down in his chair and remained motionless with a bitter smile on his face. Ever since the word “advantage” was uttered, Daoist Priest Qi had become more energetic while Zenith became anxious. But it seemed that telling him about the Heavenvoid Cauldron was the right move. That Youngster Han had fled to some unknown location and had left no trace of himself. Had Han Li not exterminated the Jade Cloud cultivators, Zenith Yin would’ve believed that Han Li had successfully executed a crafty escape plan, and actually escaped to another demon beast island. But since he no longer had the time to wait, he could only draw support from a local power, the Jade Cloud Sect. He could only take this one step at a time.
Zenith Yin pondered about the benefits and drawbacks of this alliance before letting out a long sigh, returning the room to silence.
…
In another portion of the sea, an azure-robed youth with an ordinary appearance was coldly glancing at some low grade cultivators with utter disdain. There was a swarm of gold-silver insects buzzing above his head.
“Insect Devil!” A middle-aged cultivator among the group shouted out the name in fright.
When the youth heard this, he coldly chuckled and wordlessly pointed at them, causing the insect cloud to immediately spread across the skies.
Although these low grade cultivators did their utmost to protect themselves with magic treasures, they were completely covered by the flying insects in an instant. After only a moment of time, the cultivators completely disappeared without a trace.
The youth picked up the storage pouches that were left behind and disapprovingly said, “You dare to struggle for your lives with your meager cultivation? You overestimate yourselves.” He then casually picked a direction and flew off into the distance as a streak of azure light.
A short moment later, white light suddenly flashed from somewhere in the air to reveal an early Core Formation cultivator with a pale face. He glanced in the direction that the youth had disappeared with an unsightly expression. Then with gritted teeth, he flew in the opposite direction.
…
Half a month later, Han Li eventually returned to the small island in this mist. Although he hadn’t returned in many years, everything was how he had left it. This finally relieved the worry that he had always carried in the back of his mind.
Han Li first took a few days to rest in his cave residence before arranging the many rare materials and demon cores he had acquired during his recent excursion. After organizing all of them, he then started to prepare for refining pills.
Ten days later, when Han Li felt completely refreshed, he brought all the materials into his pill refining room.
Years ago when he had last refined medicine pills in his cave residence in Heavenly Star City, Han Li felt he had reached a bottleneck in his pill refinement techniques. It seemed he would have to put quite a bit more effort into it if he were to break through into a higher realm of pill refinement. As such, Han Li didn’t immediately start refining grade six and seven demon beast cores. Instead, he lined up the grade five demon cores he had acquired by his side.
In Han Li’s mind, although his talents in pill refinement were quite ordinary, his pill refinement techniques weren’t too far away from that of a pill refinement grandmaster. After all, who else aside from him had the opportunity to practice refining pills with such a luxurious amount of materials. As the Dao of pill refinement mostly relied on experience and skill, Han Li decided to first use the grade five demon cores to see whether or not he could break through his bottleneck in pill refinement techniques.
With these thoughts in mind, Han Li gazed at the furnace before him and waved his arm, causing a grade five demon core to fly into the cauldron. At the same time, the cauldron distanced itself from him.
