Chapter 455: Undercurrents and the Discarded Pawn's Sharpness

Chapter 455: Undercurrents and the Discarded Pawn's Sharpness

The Jade Sea remained calm and peaceful as usual, and the many Immortal Revereds on Cloud Heaven Island gradually relaxed, their initial worries melting away.

The monstrous talent who had slain twenty Immortal Revereds was perhaps just passing through the Jade Sea and not looking for trouble.

As for the Heaven Shadow Guild, there had been no movement from them thus far.

They had neither sent powerful experts to investigate nor declared any intentions of retaliation, as if the lives of their members meant nothing.

This caused the Immortal Revereds on Cloud Heaven Island to wonder if the Heaven Shadow Guild had lost their nerve.

Had they realized their foe was undefeatable?

After these few days of investigation, the Immortal Revereds had also learned the identity of the person who had slain the Heaven Shadow Guild's expert.

It was none other than Sword God Xu Yan!

There was no other person capable of such a feat.

The Heaven Shadow Guild had been targeting him, and Xu Yan had been hunting them down in return, crushing many of their branches and slaying numerous Immortal Revereds.

In all of the Divine Realm, there was only one other person who could match his fame – the Heavenly God Meng Chong.

Of course, if one were to compare their battle records, Xu Yan's achievements were clearly more impressive and striking.

In a certain part of the Jade Sea, a gigantic blood-red shadow flashed by and paused outside an island. A pair of faint scarlet eyes gazed at the people on the island.

After a long while, the blood-red eyes shifted to another area of the sea.

There lay a Heaven's Den.

"If I devour the warriors on that island and then enter the Heaven's Den, will I be able to escape?"

"No, I must not let momentary greed ruin our grand plan. Continue lying in wait. The time to strike is almost upon us."

The gigantic blood-red shadow plunged into the deep sea and made its way towards a particular destination – the Grand Heaven's Den of the Jade Sea.

"Once I seize this Heaven's Den, I'll have a foothold in the Jade Sea. The rest will be much easier from there."

The blood-red shadow lurked outside the Grand Heaven's Den, hiding its presence beneath the seabed as it waited for the opportune moment.

Not long after, two Sea Spirits patrolled by, unaware of the powerful presence lurking beneath them.

...

In the Earth Cloud Realm, the massive Heaven's Den continued to expand.

Boom!

Within the den, pink light flickered, and Mei Wu's voice echoed.

"Wasn't it agreed that you would lure Xu Yan to that place?"

A powerful expert outside the den replied helplessly, "According to Tian Shi Qi's message, that Xu Yan fellow isn't taking the bait. He seems to have become more cautious. The Heaven Shadow Guild took the initiative to capture him, but we ended up losing over twenty Immortal Revereds.

"We're just one step away from our plan, so please be patient, Senior. We can't afford to make any noise now."

The Heaven Shadow Guild expert was filled with helplessness.

Mei Wu didn't know what had happened, but she was insistent on capturing that Xu Yan fellow.

The Earth Cloud Heaven's Den had been expanding continuously, and they were just one step away from their goal. If Mei Wu caused a commotion and attracted the attention of powerful experts, all their efforts would be for naught.

"Hmph!"

Mei Wu coldly hmphed and eventually left.

The Heaven Shadow Guild expert heaved a sigh of relief.

The Dragon Mountain Realm derived its name from its mountains, which resembled dragons.

There were also rumors that one could sense the presence of true dragon qi at the peak of Dragon Mountain Realm.

Some even whispered that a true dragon had once fallen here, and its dragon qi had influenced the shape of the mountains.

It was said that even the blood of true dragons could be found here.

Many of the Dragon Mountain Realm's legends were related to true dragons, and it was undoubtedly the most favored place of powerful spirit beasts in the Divine Realm. They often sought treasures related to true dragons in this realm.

Dragon Abyss was located on True Dragon Peak in the Dragon Mountain Realm, and its shape resembled that of a true dragon. It was said to be the place where a true dragon had fallen, and its current master was a green dragon.

The green dragon was extremely powerful and was one of the Twelve Spirit Beast Kings of the Divine Realm. It dwelled within Dragon Abyss, seeking the opportunity to evolve and transform into a true dragon.

A man and a tiger approached True Dragon Peak.

"Tian Shi Qi, you're not planning to make me fight that damned serpent, are you? That serpent is no weakling, and fighting it would exhaust me. You have to compensate me properly, or I won't lift a paw!"

The Wind Spirit Tiger grumbled loudly.

Beneath Tian Shi Qi's mask, his face twisted in annoyance. This damned Wind Spirit Tiger was taking advantage of him! Not only had it been dragging its feet during the entire journey, but it had also been finding all sorts of reasons to demand treasures. And now, it even refused to move if he didn't give it what it wanted!

Along the way, he didn't know how many treasures he had been extorted out of.

But for the sake of the grand plan, Tian Shi Qi could only endure.

"When you die, I'll keep your tiger skin and use it as a chair cover!"

Tian Shi Qi's heart was filled with malicious thoughts.

"Rest assured, I'm not asking you to fight the green dragon. Besides, the green dragon has already left this place," Tian Shi Qi said calmly.

"That damned serpent left?

The Wind Spirit Tiger glanced at Tian Shi Qi, realizing that the Green Flood Dragon had been lured away by someone from the Heaven Shadow Guild.

"Then why did you bring me here?" The Wind Spirit Tiger asked, puzzled.

"To activate your bloodline. Your bloodline will serve as a trigger to summon a certain object," Tian Shi Qi explained as he hovered above Dragon Abyss.

"Is it related to my bloodline?" The Wind Spirit Tiger asked, intrigued.

"Somewhat," Tian Shi Qi replied vaguely.

By now, in order to gain the Wind Spirit Tiger's trust and ensure it followed his plan, Tian Shi Qi knew he had to reveal some information. Of course, what he would share was not the entire truth but a carefully crafted version of it.

"Tell me more," the Wind Spirit Tiger urged, its interest piqued.

For spirit beasts, the strength of their bloodline determined their potential power. Each advancement in their bloodline represented a true increase in strength, and once their bloodline reached its peak, there was no further room for improvement.

Human cultivators, on the other hand, could continuously improve through their martial arts cultivation, and theoretically, there was no limit to their progress, as long as they had the talent and understanding.

Spirit beasts did not have this luxury; their bloodline had a limit, and when they reached the point of reverting to their ancestral bloodline, they could not progress any further.

This meant that the strength of a spirit beast's tier was closely related to the tier of its ancestral spirit beast. The stronger the ancestor, the more powerful the descendants would be.

The ancestors of all spirit beasts originated from true spirits beyond the heavens, and even these true spirits varied in strength.

The earliest spirit beasts were called True Spirits, a name that differentiated them from the true spirits beyond the heavens.

True Spirits possessed sentience and the ability to cultivate combat techniques or innate talents.

In contrast, true spirits beyond the heavens lacked sentience and were no different from wild beasts, relying solely on their instincts in battle and defense, unable to harness their abilities to their full potential.

The ultimate aspiration of all spirit beasts was to become True Spirits!

Naturally, the Wind Spirit Tiger was intrigued when it heard that this concerned its bloodline.

Tian Shi Qi continued, "Wind Spirit Tiger, your bloodline traces back to the True Spirit Heavenly Tiger, although it has become extremely diluted over time. Nonetheless, there remains a trace of that bloodline within you, and all tiger-type spirit beasts in existence descend from the Heavenly Tiger.

"You are the number one tiger in the Divine Realm, and your bloodline is purer than any other tiger's. You are here to activate the trace of Heavenly Tiger bloodline within you and use it to summon a certain treasure."

The Wind Spirit Tiger, failing to notice the subtle change in Tian Shi Qi's tone, widened its eyes and nodded vigorously, elated. "I always suspected that I might possess the legendary Heavenly Tiger bloodline, and it turns out I was right!"

"Of course it's true," Tian Shi Qi said, his tone indifferent. "Activating your bloodline will benefit you as well. It will unlock the restraints on your bloodline, allowing you to progress further. So, in this collaboration, both of us stand to gain..."

Tian Shi Qi glanced at the Wind Spirit Tiger and nodded inwardly. Since the Wind Spirit Tiger hadn't sensed anything amiss, there was no need to force it to comply; as long as it cooperated willingly, that would suffice.

Once it realized the truth, it would be too late for it to escape.

Standing atop Dragon Abyss, Tian Shi Qi explained his plan and their upcoming collaboration, his tone a mix of truth and deception. At the same time, he looked up at the sky and murmured to himself, "Whether a true dragon fell in Dragon Mountain Realm in the past is unknown, but soon, a true dragon will indeed fall here."

...

Li Xuan, immersed in his pursuit of martial arts, looked up at the sky and then out towards the four corners of the Divine Realm. He muttered, "The undercurrents are stirring. Something big is about to happen."

Shaking his head, he chose not to pay it any further attention or intervene.

With several of his disciples breaking through in their cultivation, he had also made significant gains. In particular, Meng Chong and Xu Yan's victories against numerous Immortal Revereds had brought him substantial benefits.

"I wonder when Xu Yan will be able to comprehend the Standalone Realm," Li Xuan thought, filled with anticipation.

Once Xu Yan entered the Standalone Realm, he would truly have the upper hand.

With his innate Grand Dao Body and numerous divine abilities, even the former master of the Grand Tao Heaven might not be able to defeat him.

"The Standalone Realm is still not enough," Li Xuan mused. "Only by progressing further will I have true confidence."

And so, Li Xuan continued on his path of martial arts cultivation.

Meanwhile, the Green Lotus Sect underwent rapid changes. With the successful deployment and enhancement of the Green Lotus Grand Array, the speed of cultivation increased significantly while the difficulty decreased.

As a result, the number of cultivators breaking through to the Immortal Realm soared.

After all, the long accumulation of time had resulted in a large number of cultivators who had reached the pinnacle of the Refine True Realm and spent a lengthy period refining their foundations. Now, with the Heaven's Spirit becoming more active and the assistance of pills to break through bottlenecks, an Immortal Realm cultivator was being produced almost every few days.

"At this rate, the Green Lotus Sect will soon be filled with Immortal Realm cultivators," Li Xuan thought.

Li Xuan didn't bother himself with such matters.

Although he bore the title of Qinghua Dao Zu, he didn't involve himself in the affairs of Qinghua Zong. Those were matters for the sect leader, Fang Hao, to handle.

There was an increasing number of warriors specializing in formations, restrictions, artifact forging, and pill concoction, and the martial arts system of Qinghua Zong was also undergoing a gradual transformation.

Newly recruited geniuses were now being taught the Dahuang martial arts instead of the Taicang martial arts.

It was said that these arts were passed down by Qinghua Dao Zu himself.

"It's been a while since I last visited Tianzi. That guy must be waiting eagerly. Next time I see him, I'll have to feed him some convincing lies."

Li Xuan secretly felt proud. With the Dao Zu halo boosting his credibility, deceiving Tianzi would be much easier.

"With more and more Immortal Revereds appearing, I should give another lecture on the Dao soon."

Li Xuan had made up his mind.

Another lecture would likely bring about some gains, such as making his Dao Zu halo even more intimidating.

"Your disciple, Jiang Buling, has killed an Immortal Revered, and your experience in the Extreme Soul martial arts has increased."

The feedback from the Great Dao Golden Book had arrived.

Jiang Buling had started killing Immortal Revereds.

"The discarded pawn is about to make his move."

Li Xuan looked up in a certain direction and smiled.

Jiang Buling was beginning to reveal his sharpness, and another formidable figure was about to emerge in the Divine Realm.

And this one was a discarded pawn of the Taikun family.

As expected, more than half a month later, Cailing excitedly shared news from the Divine Realm, which included information about Jiang Buling.

By now, the entire Divine Realm knew about the Taikun family's discarded pawn, Jiang Buling, and his rise to prominence.

Once a proud genius who had been discarded after suffering an unexpected disability, his resurgence naturally became the hottest topic in the Divine Realm's martial arts community.

Many warriors were waiting to see how the Jiang Clan of the Taikun family and the Yunshang Zong would react.

Jiang Buling was revealing his sharpness, and all signs indicated that his disability had been caused by a secret scheme. Now that he had risen again, he would undoubtedly seek an explanation from the Jiang Clan.

In the following days, news about Xu Yan became less frequent, and he gradually faded from the spotlight. There were no more reports of him slaying Immortal Revereds.

Meng Chong also remained quiet in the Dayan Realm, as the Wanbao Alliance had stopped pursuing him, perhaps biding their time for a decisive strike. During this period, reports of Meng Chong killing powerful foes also decreased significantly.

The attention of the Divine Realm's martial arts community was now focused on Jiang Buling.

The news kept updating. For example, three Immortal Revereds from Yunshang Zong had attempted to assassinate Jiang Buling but were all killed instead!

In another instance, the Jiang Clan had sent an elder to meet with Jiang Buling, offering to reinstate him in the clan and even promising him a higher position as one of the clan elders.

However, Jiang Buling had flatly refused.

Furthermore, the Jiang Clan elder who had gone to negotiate with Jiang Buling was later found dead, his body returned to the Taikun Jiang Clan with only an empty shell remaining.

What had transpired during the negotiation process remained a mystery to outsiders.

Jiang Buling's actions were undoubtedly a provocation against the Jiang Clan.

Moreover, by this time, many powerful beings had realized that Jiang Buling had cultivated an extremely powerful soul secret art.

Soon after, a piece of news spread throughout the Divine Realm, shocking everyone!

It turned out that the reason for Jiang Buling's disability was the contamination of his soul by the Unchanging Qi. Surprisingly, not only had he retained his sanity, but he had also become stronger, having cultivated a powerful soul secret art.

This surely held a heavenly secret, perhaps even a heavenly opportunity!

It was common knowledge that contamination by the Unchanging Qi would result in the loss of one's sanity. No matter how powerful one was, even stronger than an Immortal Revered, they couldn't avoid this fate.

As for what level of strength was required to resist the corrosion of the Unchanging Qi, that was beyond their understanding.

Yet, Jiang Buling had broken this age-old common sense, astonishing the powerful beings and sparking greed in them. If they could obtain such a secret, wouldn't it be a tremendous opportunity?

A hunting campaign targeting Jiang Buling quietly unfolded, with many powerful beings participating.

"The Extreme Soul martial arts are inherently a path of slaughter and extremity. For Taicang martial artists, their soul defenses are as fragile as paper. It's too difficult for them to besiege Jiang Buling."

Upon learning this news, Li Xuan shook his head and smiled. The Extreme Soul martial arts were a massive drop in dimension for Taicang martial artists; their soul defenses were simply inadequate.

As long as one couldn't defend against soul attacks, no amount of people could hunt down Jiang Buling.

Moreover, Jiang Buling had already cultivated the Unchanging Soul, and no one in the Immortal Realm had the ability to erase it. If Jiang Buling wanted to escape, no one could stop him.

The Extreme Soul martial arts were about to showcase their might.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end