https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-760-The-Aftermath-of-Shu-Yu-s-Death/13466354/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-762-Hiding-in-the-Deep-Mountains-/13466364/
Chapter 761: Mastering Kaiyuan Prefecture
Chapter 761: Mastering Kaiyuan Prefecture
At the peak of Heavenly Tower Mountain, the Immortal Shrine stood as one of the most dilapidated in all of the North Continent.
There were no magical artifacts to stabilize it, nor any precious materials to enhance its grandeur. The place exuded a sense of hasty and makeshift construction.
This matched what Yun Miao had said—upon hearing of Ling Su’s demise, the person had shown no restraint in their greedy desire to seize Heavenly Tower Mountain.
Aoyao took a gentle step and walked towards the high cliff behind the Immortal Shrine. Her gaze fell on the silhouette sitting quietly at the cliff’s edge, and she easily saw through the means used to conceal his appearance.
The young man’s face was handsome and serene, giving an impression of calmness and detachment from worldly affairs.
But just like the mask he wore, Aoyao found it hard to trust this feeling. The things he had done clearly indicated that he was a person of great ambition.
Even though the Grandmaster of the Emptiness Heavens only exuded the aura of an Early Third Rank cultivator, compared to Haoming, if Shu Yu had indeed run into trouble, Aoyao was more inclined to believe it was due to this person.
“...”
She pressed her lips together, not attempting to probe him with words as she had before.
Her sleeve slightly rolled up, revealing slender fingertips. A clear light emerged from them, transforming into countless fine threads in the air, enveloping Shen Yi entirely.
A cage of clear light, each thread slowly contracting. If it touched his skin, it would result in a gruesome end.
“Come out and see me.”
Aoyao moved slightly, standing behind the young man with her hands hanging at her sides.
Shen Yi, without any reaction, found himself trapped in this deadly array. His eyebrows furrowed as he glanced back at the woman, then at the clear light threads closing in on him, his eyelids twitching slightly.
The clear light sword array sealed off the heavens and earth. Even the power of the Divine Void Dao Fruit couldn’t easily help him escape.
To break through the array, he would need to use raw Catastrophe Force to forcefully crash through, tearing open a path to freedom.
Judging by the aura of the sword array, achieving this with just an Early Third Rank or even a Triple Three Transformation level of cultivation was far from enough.
“...”
Shen Yi seemed somewhat hesitant, but he did not question her. Instead, he slowly closed his eyes.
Aoyao watched the scene calmly, her face unreadable. She did not show any intention of stopping even as the young man remained silent.
The clear light drew closer, finally touching Shen Yi’s face. His pale skin cracked slightly, leaving a barely perceptible bloodstain.
Finally, he sighed softly, “Ah.”
Instantly, a dense, almost ink-black mist surged out, enveloping Shen Yi’s entire body.
When the mist dissipated, the clear light sword array was empty.
Shen Yi stood outside the array, wiping the blood from his face with his thumb, and stared calmly at the woman in black, seemingly waiting for an explanation.
“You were indeed hiding your true cultivation.”
Aoyao retracted the clear light threads with a flick of her finger. The insect demon disciple Yun Miao had described as an Early Third Rank clearly possessed the power of the Six Six Transformation.
What puzzled her was that the young man showed no sign of panic when his true strength was revealed, which was different from what she had expected.
“Don’t you want to explain something?”
“I came here to escape. In the other three continents, it’s all Bodhi Sect territory. Concealing my presence and hiding my cultivation is normal. Who do I need to explain myself to?”
Shen Yi spoke slowly and then fell silent, continuing to look at the woman with that same expression.
His meaning was clear.
Aoyao’s face darkened. The other party had given his explanation, and now it was her turn.
“Shu Yu has run into trouble, and his Daoist hall has been divided. You are here on Heavenly Tower Mountain, closest to his Daoist hall, and you have taken his incense offerings. Now, you are hiding your cultivation. Is there a problem with me coming to you?”
“No problem.”
Shen Yi listened to her explanation, pondered for a moment, then nodded and looked back at her. “So who is Shu Yu?”
“...”
Aoyao paused, her already darkened expression becoming even more severe.
Indeed, by all logic, someone who had no support in the North Continent and had been abandoned by Yun Miao and others would not be informed of the local affairs.
But she didn’t believe that someone who could escape the Bodhi Sect and maintain composure in the North Continent, even when mocked as an insect demon disciple, would not actively seek out information crucial to their survival.
He was trying to play a game of words with her.
Her patience was wearing thin. “Shu Yu is the second disciple of Clear Light Cave and the master of the Kaiyuan Prefecture Daoist hall. Do you have any more questions?”
“Who are you?”
“Aoyao.”
Aoyao was not easily swayed by others’ emotions; otherwise, she wouldn’t have achieved her current status in the midst of the great calamity.
The young man’s deliberate act of feigning ignorance only made her more certain that the Grandmaster of the Emptiness Heavens was involved in Shu Yu’s disappearance. A chill finally crept into her voice.
Fortunately, Shen Yi didn’t press further about who Aoyao was. Instead, he turned his gaze to the mountains below. "These refugees didn’t just come to Heavenly Tower Mountain. The cultivation of the other True Lord nearby is higher than mine. Why are you so sure the problem lies with me?"
"Because before Shu Yu disappeared, he came to seek you out..."
Before Aoyao could finish, the young man suddenly turned to face her.
Shen Yi raised an eyebrow. "What did he come to see me for?"
Aoyao hesitated at the question. She could easily come up with an excuse, but as she had thought earlier, such verbal tricks were pointless.
Everyone knew what a North Continent cultivator had in mind when they privately sought out the Grandmaster of the Emptiness Heavens.
"I have been waiting for an audience with the Great Immortal of Clear Light."
Shen Yi spoke calmly. "Is this Daoist Shu Yu here to deliver a command from your master?"
At this point, Aoyao had lost the composure she had shown before Haoming and the others. She realized that the entire conversation was being led by the other party.
Now, the Clear Light Cave owed a debt to the entire Shen Xu Mountain. In this situation, not only did her master fail to grant an audience, but she, the eldest disciple, had even allowed her junior disciples to take his life and seize his Daoist grounds.
If this news spread, it wouldn’t just damage their reputation; her master would become a topic of discussion in the Three Immortal Teachings for years to come.
And if she were to act against him without any evidence, she could forget about being the top disciple among the young generation of the North Continent.
This was far beyond mere arrogance.
"Are you so confident that your actions left no trace?"
Aoyao’s eyes turned cold. She was now certain that her junior, Shu Yu, had been killed by the person before her.
"I don’t understand what you mean", Shen Yi shook his head.
"Whatever." Aoyao didn’t want to waste more words. She slowly turned around. "Enjoy the few days you have left."
In the North Continent, if she wanted to investigate someone... no, she didn’t even need concrete evidence. With her current standing in the sect, it would be incredibly easy to fabricate some "crimes" for an outsider.
Even if the Clear Light Cave owed him, they would have no choice but to take drastic action.
"By the way."
Aoyao turned back, speaking seriously. "I want Kaiyuan Prefecture."
Her calm tone made this statement sound more like a notification than a declaration of war. Even if you knew in advance, you could do nothing but accept it.
With that, she transformed into a beam of clear light and vanished.
"..."
Shen Yi stood there with his hands hanging by his sides. After a long while, once he was certain the woman had truly left, he returned to the edge of the cliff and sat down.
"Tsk, she believed it so easily. The top young cultivator of the North Continent isn’t much, is she?" The South Emperor reappeared, glancing warily in the direction Aoyao had left, but still refusing to back down.
The aura she had displayed when she moved had given even this great demon, who had reached the pinnacle of the Nine Nine Transformation, a sense of overwhelming power.
The difference between a true disciple of a sect and a mundane great demon was still significant.
After saying this, the South Emperor’s gaze towards Shen Yi held a bit more reverence. Even such a standout figure from a sect could be manipulated by its master.
"Phew."
Shen Yi sat cross-legged, gazing into the distance. There was no hint of satisfaction on his face.
There was nothing to be proud of. After all, this was a choice made out of desperation.
Given his current situation and the things he had to do next, it was impossible to completely clear his name.
If he was going to be exposed anyway, he might as well reveal a smaller flaw.
An ambitious, calculating cultivator from another region who had deliberately hidden his true cultivation level might have a chance to outmaneuver Shu Yu, the direct disciple of the Clear Light Cave, with careful planning.
If Aoyao believed this, she wouldn’t delve deeper into the Bodhi Sect.
This was also why Shen Yi had been in such a hurry to reach the Six Six Transformation. Without this foundation, no matter how convincing his act, he wouldn’t have had the strength to match Shu Yu.
"Such profound depth."
Shen Yi sighed softly. While he didn’t view Aoyao as an insurmountable opponent like the South Emperor did, even in their brief encounter, he had sensed at least three dangerous auras from her.
No wonder the chief disciple of the Immortal Lineage can carry several spiritual treasures on his person.
In contrast, I only have the Heavenly Star Mirror, which I stole from Maofeng, and it’s not even for direct combat.
This is the price one pays for being a fence-sitter.
I can’t truly integrate into the upper echelons on either side.
If I had followed the normal path in the Bodhi Sect, I would likely have earned the deep trust of a Bodhisattva of Great Liberation by now. Given my experiences, I might even have become a direct disciple of a True Buddha, like Jin Chan. With the Nine Nine Transformation in my cultivation, the number of Buddhist treasures I possess wouldn’t be any less than Aoyao’s.
Unfortunately, there’s no point in dwelling on what might have been; I can only move forward step by step.
As for the threat she left behind... Shen Yi lowered his eyes slightly and smiled.
It might intimidate someone else, but not him.
Aoyao first revealed her intent to kill, then gave a warning. Someone with a weaker resolve would likely abandon Kaiyuan Prefecture to avoid a direct confrontation, then make other plans once they were safe.
But Shen Yi knew that if he really withdrew, it would be a dead end.
After all, if he lost his Daoist academy, it would be difficult to achieve anything significant that would catch the attention of the Golden Immortals and his fellow disciples in the Three Immortal Teachings.
Losing his presence would be the most fatal thing for Shen Yi. Only if the Three Immortal Teachings remembered him would the Clear Light Cave need to show any gratitude. A person who is gradually marginalized and has no protection from a sect would be forgotten the day they die.
Moreover, Shen Yi needed an opportunity.
An outsider needed to build a significant reputation, but actively provoking others would spark the resentment of the Xiushi in the North Continent, leading to their united exclusion.
It had to be a forced situation... and the opponent had to have a notorious reputation, preferably one that had already aroused the discontent of his fellow disciples.
Aoyao couldn’t have talked her way into the Four Prefectures; the competition must have made her many enemies.
“Want Kaiyuan Prefecture? Come and take it.”
Shen Yi exhaled, slowly closing his eyes.
Meanwhile.
On the other side of Kaiyuan Prefecture.
Haoming’s face had turned extremely grim, and he remained suspended in the air, unmoving for a long time.
Sure enough, Senior Sister Aoyao made her move but then let the boy off so easily.
Apart from not avenging his own grievances, it also meant that the matter with Shu Yu was far from over.
“Let’s return to the sect.”
After a long while, a deep sense of desolation appeared on Haoming’s face.
He knew there was no such thing as a free lunch.
The Clear Light Cave not only had to reclaim the incense offerings originally belonging to Shu Yu but also had to seize the shares of others.
Truly ruthless...
“Return to the sect?!”
Huaming looked at him in disbelief. “Why? It wasn’t us who caused Master Shu Yu’s trouble! We can stay here and..."
He couldn’t imagine that just as the academy was basking in its newfound wealth, his senior brother would willingly give it all up.
But his response was another slap.
“Have you already killed the white ape, and now you want to kill me too?” Haoming’s face was cold, his teeth gritted as he hissed.
“But if we leave, won’t the vast Kaiyuan Prefecture fall into the hands of those savages from the South Continent!” Huaming, holding his face, shouted in agitation.
“Hmph, rest assured, he’ll run faster than I will.”
Haoming waved his sleeve. The sect had just witnessed a disciple die in a struggle over an academy, and the perpetrator hadn’t received any punishment, setting a dangerous precedent.
If the Grandmaster of the Emptiness Heavens had been as resolute as he had been with Haoming and refused to leave, it would have been a good thing, allowing the white ape to have a proper burial.
With that thought, Haoming didn’t linger further, soaring away. He issued a series of edicts from his sleeve, instructing the disciples to return to the mountain as quickly as possible.
Seeing this, Huaming, though reluctant, had no choice but to follow his senior brother back to their sect.
What they didn’t notice was that shortly after they left, a group of Lingxu Cave disciples, dressed in their robes, cautiously entered the academy, holding the image of the Grand Emptiness True Lord.
“Is this really safe?”
“Even if Haoming is usually calm, he would be furious about this.”
These Xiushi carefully stepped in, but two hours later, their expressions turned to astonishment.
The entire journey was smooth sailing.
It was as if the vast Kaiyuan Prefecture was now entirely under the control of the Lingxu lineage!
(End of Chapter)
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