Chapter 27 Yanghua Cloud Sea (XIV)
Mount Muchi is an isolated island at the westernmost end of the Pingze Continent. It is named after the Muchi clan, a celestial-rank beast, which lives here. The inner core of the Muchi beast is a top-quality material for refining magical artifacts. Now, all the Muchi beasts have been captured and raised by the Jiang family. For convenience, the Jiang family moved their weapon-refining headquarters directly here.
Jiang Gu spent two days and one night traversing the magic array without sleep. As soon as he came out, he stepped on something soft and slimy, and a pungent smell of blood hit him. He looked closely and saw that it was the hide of a red ox that Zhang Gang had just peeled off and thrown out.
Looking up, all that could be seen were the remains of red-horned beast hides, piled up in layers like mounds of graves. Some young beasts had only their inner cores dug out, their flesh and blood worthless, and were left here to die, their weak cries like the wails of infants.
Because he entered the mountain without permission, Jiang Gu deliberately changed the exit of the magic array, but unexpectedly, he ended up at a slaughterhouse.
He took out a disguise artifact, put it on, and instantly changed his appearance. He swept across the bloody corpse dump like a ghost and made his way to the entrance of the treasure pavilion on Mount Muchi.
However, the array in front of the gate blocked him in place. This array covered the entire treasure pavilion, and its structure was strange and ever-changing. It was set up by a powerful being at the True Immortal Realm. It would take an unknown amount of effort to break it.
Jiang Gu cautiously withdrew his divine sense. Hearing several hurried footsteps behind him, he slipped into the nearby warehouse.
"Hurry, hurry, the young master's flying boat is almost here." The middle-aged man in the lead urged, a dark mole on his cheek standing out prominently.
Jiang Gu remembered this person, who was Fan Jing, the weapon-refining elder of the Jiang family. Although his cultivation was not high, his weapon-refining skills were superb. Many elders in the clan refined their natal magic weapons from him, but ordinary disciples could not even see his face.
Judging from his tone, Jiang Xiangyun would be arriving soon.
Although he set off a day earlier, the flying boat was far slower than crossing the formation alone. This is why Jiang Lin knew he would come to snatch the magic weapon, but only told him at the last minute that he would have to suffer some hardship.
Jiang Gu glanced coldly at the torn flesh on his body.
Just as the group was about to turn the corner of the connecting corridor, and the last person was about to leave, Jiang Gu silently appeared behind him, reached out and decisively snapped the other person's neck. Enveloped in spiritual energy, the corpse instantly turned into a small cloud of mist. When the person in front seemed to realize something and turned around, Jiang Gu had already transformed into the other person's figure and followed.
The person in front of him glanced at him, noticed nothing unusual, and then turned and continued walking.
In the spacious courtyard, a discreet black airship slowly descended.
Jiang Gu, disguised as a weapon refiner, lagged behind the group, pretending to keep his head down like everyone else, but his peripheral vision fell on the young man who had disembarked from the flying boat.
Jiang Xiangyun looked somewhat listless, but Fan Jing, standing beside him, greeted him warmly, "Young Master, we've been waiting for you for so long, you've finally arrived."
"Is everything ready?" Jiang Xiangyun's attitude was much colder in comparison.
"Everything is ready. The best red-tailed beast on the mountain is reserved for you." Fan Jing leaned closer and whispered, "It has been raised to the point where it can transform into human form. Once you get the Fire-Separating Pill and refine the soul of this red-tailed beast into it, your natal magic weapon will be a unique heavenly-grade magic artifact in the world."
Jiang Xiangyun said, "You're good at fooling people. There's still no sign of the Fire-Separating Pill."
“That’s right. We’ve already finished modifying the magic weapon that we sent you a couple of days ago. Once you’ve bound it to your master with blood, you’ll not only be able to find the whereabouts of the Divine Kite Shark immediately, but you can also find out the whereabouts of any living creature or treasure in the future.” Fan Jing smiled somewhat obsequiously. “Young Master, please follow me.”
Jiang Xiangyun nodded perfunctorily, followed by an old Taoist priest with a white beard and a young cultivator wearing a bamboo hat, subtly keeping the others away from him.
"He's a guest elder invited by the Jiang family. He's at least at the True Immortal Realm in cultivation, and he's here specifically to protect the young master," a weapon refiner whispered.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a brown shadow flashed past him and plunged deep into the nearby pillar.
"Uh..." The weapon refiner who had spoken stared wide-eyed in shock, raising his hand to cover his neck, but before he could do so, his head slowly slid off his neck and rolled down to Jiang Gu's feet.
"My men are ignorant, ignorant, please calm down, young master." Fan Jing smiled apologetically, sweating profusely. "Please forgive them, Mr. Yao."
The young cultivator had a fair complexion and an effeminate appearance. Upon hearing this, he gave him a strange smile, raised his hand to take back his bamboo hat, and put it back on his head.
Jiang Xiangyun was already used to this and even seemed somewhat amiable in comparison. "Let's go, Master Fan."
Fan Jing wiped away a cold sweat, the mole on his cheek trembling slightly, and said with a forced smile, "Please, go ahead."
Jiang Gu followed behind the group without making a sound. The young cultivator called Mr. Yao turned around and glanced at him, lingering on him for a couple of seconds before turning back as if nothing had happened.
The protective array that had previously left Jiang Gu helpless was easily opened, and Jiang Gu entered the treasure pavilion without any trouble. The moment he stepped across the threshold, the ground outside suddenly began to shake violently, and a series of explosions were heard.
The two experts beside Jiang Xiangyun almost simultaneously shielded him in the middle.
In that instant, Jiang Gu seized the opportunity to send out a tiny wisp of spiritual energy to envelop the heart's blood and attach it to Fan Jing's hand. This wisp of spiritual energy was so minute that it was no different from an ant passing by, and no one noticed it.
This was inspired by Wei Feng.
Fan Jing ordered an investigation with a stern expression. To avoid trouble, he quickly went to the place where the magic artifact was kept. The clasp of the exquisite pagoda was opened, revealing a Gouchen Ruyi inside. Perhaps because it contained Jiang Lin's fox clan bloodline, it had an eerie red color.
"Young Master, this is the magic weapon for finding lost items." Fan Jing respectfully handed over the magic weapon with both hands. The moment his fingertips touched the magic weapon, the trace of his heart's blood melted into the Ruyi.
Jiang Xiangyun pricked his fingertip, and the bright red blood fell onto the Gouchen Ruyi. However, to everyone's surprise, the blood did not penetrate the ruyi.
"What's going on?" Jiang Xiangyun frowned in displeasure.
Fan Jing panicked immediately. "This shouldn't be happening. No one touched this magical artifact before you arrived. How could this be?"
"You're asking me?" Jiang Xiangyun looked up at him.
"Young Master, please forgive me!" Fan Jing was so frightened that his hands began to tremble. After all, Jiang Xiangyun was already at the Mahayana stage, and he had two True Immortal realm protectors by his side. Crushing him would be easier than crushing an ant. Although top-notch weapon refiners were few, he was not the only one. "I... I will examine it carefully and will definitely give Young Master an explanation!"
Jiang took a half-step back without making a sound.
He didn't need to steal the magic weapon; he could simply use some underhanded methods to destroy it, or even not destroy it at all, just mix something in to ensure it wouldn't find the Divine Kite Shark.
Those two old guys around Jiang Xiangyun are too troublesome. If he makes a big show of it, he can't guarantee he'll escape unscathed.
But even the slightest tricks were discovered.
The moment Yao Li looked over, Jiang Gu knew he had been exposed. He decisively used all his Heavenly Rank magic treasures to block the opponent's attack, quickly dispersed his physical body, gathered his primordial spirit, and sank into the Mermaid Bay Ruins in his Purple Mansion. Taking advantage of the opponent's confusion, he slipped into the small teleportation array that he had just carved on the door frame, quickly connected to the exit of the corpse dumping factory array he had come from, and then escaped into the endless teleportation array.
And all of this happened in the blink of an eye.
"Young master, I'll go after them!" Yao Li said, then gave chase.
Jiang Xiangyun narrowed his eyes. "To be able to infiltrate Muchishan, one must be no ordinary person."
"Young master, could it be Jiang Gu?" the white-bearded old man asked in a deep voice.
"He's already given up the Divine Kite Shark Scale, and he still wants the Blazing Fire Pill—" Jiang Xiangyun laughed, "Isn't he being a little greedy?"
The white-bearded old man bowed his head and said, "You are too lenient with him. Be careful not to raise a tiger that will turn on you."
“It might not be him.” Jiang Xiangyun looked at the name list in his hand. “Hmm, he just entered the clan meeting, and his name stood out.”
The white-bearded man was immediately relieved. After all, Jiang Gu was quite troublesome, and the clan had recently been paying more attention to him. They had even let go of the matter of him embezzling the Divine Kite Shark Scales. If he were to obtain the Fire-Separating Pill and forge his natal magic weapon, his status in the Jiang family would probably rise even further.
"It seems this Ruyi is useless now." Jiang Xiangyun looked at the magic artifact that was slow to absorb blood and casually tossed it back into the box.
The white-bearded man said, "This person's cultivation level is not high. Yao Li can kill him with ease."
Jiang Xiangyun lowered his eyelids listlessly, showing little interest in people who were destined to die. "Let's go, it's a good opportunity to visit the clan association. I wonder if Seventh Brother has missed me."
"..." The white-bearded man was silent for a moment, thinking to himself, "What kind of seventh brother is he? He's from a distant branch of the family, not even a cousin."
Unfortunately, this young master was capricious and unpredictable, so he could only patiently accompany him on his whimsical wanderings.
——
The distorted magic circle swept past Jiang Gu's body at lightning speed. The powerful and terrifying spiritual energy, like a blade, tore through the protective barrier and slashed into his body. The wounds that had begun to heal were reopened, and the dripping flesh was instantly annihilated by the magic circle.
Yao Li continued to relentlessly pursue them from behind.
Jiang Gu barely managed to block a True Immortal's attack with all the Heavenly Rank magic treasures he possessed. He used the rest of the magic treasures to increase his speed. However, the faster he fled in the teleportation array, the greater the damage to his meridians would be. If he continued to flee, he would only face certain death.
He hastily swallowed a handful of pills to heal his injuries, looked at the Mermaid Bay ruins that he had refined within his Purple Mansion, and made up his mind to take a gamble.
"Let's see where you can escape to!" Yao Li rode his sword and blocked his way, the terrifying pressure around him like a tangible force that twisted him into the distorted teleportation array.
The moment Jiang Gu's physical body was annihilated, he formed hand seals and summoned hundreds of Nascent Soul stage merfolk from the Merfolk Bay ruins. These merfolk had dragon silk blindfolds and long, black claws, and roared as they pounced on Yao Li.
Yao Li was stunned for a moment by the scene before him, then asked, "Who exactly are you?!"
It can summon so many merfolk!
"I am Qingdu, the protector of Qingchangxi." Jiang Gulian perfectly mimicked the resentment in Jiang Gulian's voice. "The Li Huo Dan was stolen by Zhou Xiuyuan long ago, yet you still refuse to let our young master go!"
Yao Li's mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts, yet his actions were swift and decisive. Hundreds of Nascent Soul stage merfolk couldn't withstand more than a few moves from him. He quickly discovered the clue: "They're all just resentment?"
Jiang Gu had already escaped through dozens of teleportation arrays while he was making his move.
"How dare you play tricks on me!" Yao Li roared, and his natal magic weapon, the Blood-Soaring Fork, suddenly surged, shattering dozens of magic arrays and piercing through Jiang Gu's shoulder blade, pinning him to the void.
With a gloomy face, he flew forward, about to reach out and uncover the magical artifact that concealed his identity, when the person he had pinned down suddenly turned into dust and disappeared.
"Not good." Yao Li's effeminate face twisted for a moment, and his surging divine sense spread out in the teleportation array, but Jiang Gu had already disappeared without a trace.
"Who dares to be so insolent!" An unpleasant voice suddenly exploded in his ears, followed by the pressure of a Taiyi Realm expert forcing his divine sense back.
Clearly, a powerful being was passing through the teleportation array, but his mood was disturbed.
"Senior, please calm down." Yao Li immediately dared not continue probing and decisively withdrew his divine sense, disappearing into the formation.
——
Jiang Gu grabbed a handful of hemostatic talismans and smeared them on his pierced shoulder blade.
A sharp pain shot through his broken collarbone. He glanced down at the protruding bone, then reached out and forcefully pressed it back in without even blinking.
He spent most of his time running away, and couldn't even withstand half a move from Yao Li. If it weren't for the fact that the Mermaid Bay Ruins he had subdued temporarily confused Yao Li for a moment, and Yao Li wanted to capture him alive to ask about the whereabouts of the Divine Kite Mermaid, he would probably have been destroyed by now.
This is the difference between him and the True Immortal Realm.
He forced himself to stay awake and found a secluded cave to meditate and regulate his breathing for half a day. Suddenly, the jade pendant at his waist flashed.
"Jiang Qi, Jiang Qi!" Jiang Lin's voice came.
"Did Jiang Xiangyun go to the clan meeting?" Jiang Gu asked coldly.
"How did you know?!" Jiang Lin asked in surprise. "I just received the news too, but Jiang Xiangyun likes to travel by flying boat, so he probably won't arrive at the Jiang family headquarters for another two days. How's it going on your end? Did you manage to snatch Gou Chen?"
“I’ve ruined it,” Jiang Gu said. “I’ve tampered with the nameplate. Jiang Xiangyun probably thinks I’m from the same family. Help me stall for a couple of days.”
"Wait, what do you mean you tampered with the identification document? How can I help you drag Jiang Qi out of this?! Jiang Qi!"
Jiang Gu extinguished the communication talisman on the jade pendant and slowly opened his palm.
The perfectly intact Gou Chen Ruyi appeared before him.
Of course, he did not destroy the Gouchen Ruyi. He originally subdued the Mermaid Bay Ruins only because he coveted the spiritual veins beneath it, but he did not expect that the tombstone at the bottom of the lake would have the function of teleportation. Just now, he escaped from Yao Li's hands by relying on that tombstone, and then, as if by divine inspiration, he used a wisp of his own spiritual power on the Gouchen Ruyi to get the magic weapon into his hands through the tombstone.
The magic weapon personally modified by Fan Jing is equivalent to ten Heaven-rank magic artifacts.
Jiang Gu bit his fingertip, completely accepting the Gouchen Ruyi as his own, and put it into his storage bag.
Just as he was about to continue healing, a familiar aura suddenly appeared out of nowhere, urgently wrapping around his neck. However, this aura was much fainter than before, carrying a sense of weakness that suggested he was about to die.
Jiang Gu's eyebrows twitched slightly. Just as he was about to use his spiritual energy shield to isolate it, the aura suddenly clung to his injured collarbone with a pitiful expression, weakly rubbed against his chin, and then completely dissipated.
It's like he's dead.
Jiang Gu frowned slightly, formed a hand seal, and a red rope appeared on his wrist. This red rope was connected to Wei Feng's primordial spirit, and now he could feel Wei Feng's life gradually slipping away.
He had only been away from Yanghua Sect for three short days when Wei Feng was already on the verge of death.
The excitement of escaping death was still lingering in his blood, but the frustration of his possessions being destroyed welled up inside him, and he stared coldly at the red string on his wrist.
——
Yanghua Sect, Criminal Law Hall.
The cramped and dark cell was airtight. Wei Feng couldn't stretch his legs and could only curl up into a ball. His fingers were in excruciating pain. Although it wasn't the first time he had been locked up in such a place, he was still instinctively terrified and uncontrollably scratched at the wall. His chest felt tight and he couldn't breathe. He was half asleep, his head tilted to the side, when he was about to lose consciousness when a lightning talisman on the wall struck his back, forcing him to open his eyes and sit up.
"Wei Feng, I'll ask you one last time, where did you hide those stolen magical treasures?"
Wei Feng gasped for breath and said in a hoarse voice, "I didn't steal it."
"You still dare to argue! Last time you stole the magical artifact from the treasure pavilion, the sect leader already gave you a lenient treatment, yet you keep making the same mistake!" It was another elder's voice.
“I admit it was me last time… this time it wasn’t me at all…” Wei Feng weakly rested his head on his knees, clutching his trembling hands from the electric shock. “Besides, this treasure vault… it belongs to my father. If I don’t open it for you… you can’t use it at all…”
The sounds outside the black cage paused eerily for a moment.
Wei Feng twitched the corner of his mouth. This time, he had been imprisoned for an unprecedentedly long time, and the punishment was much more severe than for his previous offenses, as if the authorities were eager to torture him to death.
It seems that his becoming Jiang Gu's disciple has really made them restless. They'll take advantage of Jiang Gu's absence and torture him until he can't take it anymore, then they'll finally get what they want.
But Wei Feng refused to budge, because he knew that if he really gave it all away, he would truly be facing death.
"Stubborn to the end!" the man outside shouted. "If you don't confess, we'll have to search your soul!"
Wei Feng suddenly raised his head, his face deathly pale. "The sect has rules that strictly prohibit soul searching!"
Soul searching can obtain all of a cultivator's memories, but after being searched, one may become mentally impaired at best, and at worst, their primordial spirit may dissipate. Moreover, the blood pact was formed by his father, Wei Mingzhou, and Wei Feng had never even seen his father's face in his memories, let alone knew how to break the blood pact. These elders understood this, which is why he had never had his soul searched before, but now they were—
Wei Feng suddenly realized that since this group of people saw that he was close to Jiang Gu and could not harm him, they simply turned him into an idiot. Jiang Gu would naturally not want an idiot disciple, and an idiot would be easier for them to control.
He felt a chill run down his spine instantly.
"Rules are made by people." An elder's sinister voice reached his ears. "Wei Feng, the entire sect has fed and clothed you well, allowing you to live a life of pleasure for so many years, yet you are ungrateful and insist on being a traitor. Blame your master if you have to. If it weren't for him, you would still be Young Master Wei of Lianyun Peak."
Wei Feng instinctively stepped back, but ended up bumping into the cage wall. He was struck by lightning and let out a wail before curling up and collapsing into the black cage.
A sinister spiritual force entered his brow without any obstruction, tightly binding his primordial spirit. Wei Feng immediately struggled violently, letting out a scream. However, the spiritual force showed no mercy, directly piercing his primordial spirit in an attempt to extract his memories.
Not long after, Wei Feng's hands, which had been gripping the edge of the cage, fell limply to his sides, and his gaze gradually became unfocused. But his instincts made him grit his teeth and refuse to give up. He didn't want to be subjected to soul-searching! He didn't want to die! He didn't want to become an idiot!
There must be a way... Someone please save him!
For a moment, his unfocused pupils transformed into the vertical pupils of a kite, then soon began to unfocus again, reverting to the long, greyish-white pupils of a mermaid. He struggled repeatedly like this until he finally caught a glimpse of a familiar presence in the vast mountains and seas. He struggled with all his might to cling to it, calling out to the other person in despair and pleading, trying his best to grab onto it with his breath. In the end, he could only weakly touch the other person's chin before completely losing his strength.
The fierce and powerful spiritual energy finally broke through the barrier of his primordial spirit, preparing to annihilate his consciousness.
However, the next second, an even more powerful and ruthless spiritual force swept over, carrying the spiritual force along its direction and attacking the opponent's dantian. Before he could resist, it directly devoured the opponent's primordial spirit, twisting his three souls and six spirits into fragments.
Outside the black cage, the elder who was conducting a soul search on Wei Feng suddenly changed his expression, opened his mouth wide in terror, and made a hoarse cry for help. But before the people around him could react, he lay back and stopped breathing completely.
"His spirit, his soul has been annihilated!" Someone was the first to react, hastily taking two steps back to protect his primordial spirit, and shouted, "His primordial spirit has been devoured!"
The seven or eight elders around them all stepped back, and in a flurry of activity, they took out their magical treasures and began to form hand seals and arrays to protect their primordial spirits, while keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.
"May I ask who you are? And why did you suddenly attack and injure my sect's elder?" Ruan Keji calmed himself down and boldly asked.
The high doors of the Discipline Hall swung open with a roar, and a tall, slender figure appeared in their field of vision, accompanied by an intense killing intent.
"I also want to ask you, why did you attack my disciple?" Jiang Gu's face was frosty as he scanned the panicked crowd, his gaze finally settling on a dark box less than half a person's height.
“Elder Jiang, you are unaware of this, but Wei Feng stole hundreds of high-level magical artifacts from the Treasure Pavilion. We are merely conducting a routine inquiry,” Ruan Keji said, forcing himself to remain calm.
"Is the routine questioning of Yanghua Sect just soul searching?" Jiang Gu glanced at him. "Why don't I also ask you what you did to my disciple?"
Everyone fell silent, but they all simultaneously added another layer of protection to their primordial spirits.
"Elder Jiang," one of the elders said with an embarrassed smile, "why did you suddenly come back?"
"Come back and collect my disciple's corpse." Jiang Gu flipped his wrist, and a long sword appeared in his hand. He cleaved open the narrow, low black cage, and a blood-covered boy curled up in a ball rolled out of it. His eyes were unfocused and his breathing was weak. Every part of his body was torn open by lightning spells.
I wasn't struck like this when I was undergoing tribulation a few days ago.
Jiang Gu's eyes were cold and deep. He picked up Wei Feng from the ground, glanced at Ruan Keji and the others, and said with a smirk, "You all taught me today, and I will repay you all in due time."
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