NOVPUBBut there are some things that are best left said once, being too persistent only breeds annoyance.
Of course, he didn’t actually believe that this Junior Brother Shen was truly the bane of a holy child.
It was just a stroke of luck, nothing more.
If the other party truly had such ability, he wouldn’t have had the courage to provoke him like this—following his lead would’ve been an option.
After all, how powerful can a cultivator be, to rival the heavens themselves?
Yet he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret:
"It’s a pity… both of them are here. If I could take him down here in the Northsea Continent and cause that old man Liang Qiuyu some heartache, exposing a weakness, perhaps I might give my teacher an opportunity… No, it won’t work. Unless I can be removed from the equation, if that old man Liang Qiuyu goes mad, wouldn’t I end up in trouble too?"
As his mind fluctuated, he saw Shen Fu being subtly ostracized and a cold smile appeared on his face.
The Thief Cultivators of the Three Continents have yet to settle down; now isn’t the time...
Just as he was contemplating, he suddenly saw Bian Burang slowing his stride as if sensing something, then he said:
"To the left..."
Immediately, everyone slightly adjusted their direction, flying towards the left.
"Looks like you’re not exactly popular here, are you?"
Shen Fu, expressionless, maneuvered the Flying Artifact while a schadenfreude-filled demonic voice emerged from the side of his Nascent Soul.
"Hasn’t it always been like this?"
Shen Fu replied calmly.
"Heh, I thought they would have changed their attitude towards you after you formed your Nascent Soul."
The demonic voice said, cheery with mischief.
"It doesn’t matter. The so-called nine holy children hold no trust for each other, no, to be precise, these Demon Cultivators are inherently distrustful of each other, even in a Sect as large as the primitive Demonic Sect."
Shen Fu remained calm.
Years of experience had made him understand the true nature of Demon Cultivators.
From top to bottom, they were all the same.
Perhaps there were some whose nature wasn’t wicked.
But submerged in the Demon Sect’s dye vat, they had long been stained with the blood of the innocent.
Ultimately, they continue to fall into darkness, lured by doubts about themselves and the temptation of Cultivation progress.
Even he, to avoid suspicion, had to accept the ’teacher’s’ arrangements for repeated Blood Sacrifices and abundant Cultivation resources.
Only then could he advance further and break through to the Nascent Soul in such a short time.
However, the higher his Cultivation, the closer the day he’d be ’devoured’ by his ’teacher’ became.
And his sense of urgency grew ever more intense.
Fortunately, with the Three Continents’ main forces concentrated around Yan, even the primitive Demonic Sect found itself somewhat strained under constant pressure.
His ’teacher’, the great elder, had no choice but to lead the war effort at the frontlines.
Too preoccupied to attend to his affairs.
He took advantage of this rare opportunity, immediately heading to the North Sea to seek the ’ten-thousand-year Ice Spirit Marrow’ to completely heal Old Devil Jiang hidden within him upon just breaking through to the Nascent Soul.
Then, to find a way to remove the covert measures his ’teacher’ had laid upon him.
Thus escaping his ’teacher’s’ control.
That was the plan.
But due to Yan’s northern region being nearly overrun, he had to make a detour through Guangling State.
To his unexpected surprise, he encountered Yan Zhenyi and two others along the way.
He originally did not want any involvement with these people but ended up being dragged into their fold by Bian Burang, half-willing, half-forced, to search for a lost top-grade Fourth-Order Spirit Plant.
And it seemed they were heading to the North Sea as well; his destination was on the same path.
More importantly, the benefits promised were tempting.
"The sap of the Azure Fire Paulownia Tree can extend one’s life... I heard Senior Brother mention that the Cultivation Method he practices is highly complex. Even Senior Yao had to consume many Life-Extending Treasures to barely succeed. It might be good to prepare some for Senior Brother and Bu Chan."
"However... I must be wary of being used as cannon fodder by these people, especially Gong Xiyin. This person’s flamboyance clearly indicates he has something to rely on. Should things go awry, I must leave immediately. The measures my ’teacher’ has left in me currently serve to protect me."
Shen Fu looked ahead without a sideways glance, yet in his heart, he had already weighed all the gains, losses, and potential dangers at hand.
After all these years, he was no longer the reckless young cultivator of the past.
If he had still been that naive, he wouldn’t have made it to this day.
"Brother Bian, how much longer?"
After flying for a while, the light from the leaves everyone bore dimmed slightly, and the snow and wind ahead grew increasingly fierce.
Even with the protection of the Azure Fire Paulownia leaves, everyone began to feel a hint of cold.
Unable to bear it, Gong Xiyin asked.
Yan Zhenyi also furrowed his brows.
Although Bian Burang had promised many rewards, if the danger was too great, he naturally wouldn’t go any further.
"Almost there, almost there," Bian Burang replied hastily.
He then closed his eyes to sense carefully before showing a trace of joy on his face, pointing towards a faintly visible speck in the distance:
"Over there!"
…
"The God-Sealing Bell has moved?"
"Is it Fanming?"
"What a coincidence, it’s in the Northsea Continent too?"
Feeling the God-Sealing Bell in his Middle Dantian vibrate slightly, Wang Ba couldn’t help being a bit surprised.
More than a decade ago, during the chaos on Musen Island in Mori Country, Fanming had managed to flee by good fortune. 𝓷ℴ𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝒸𝓸𝓶
Otherwise, had it been just a little later, he might have been captured by the Immortal-Ascension Elder, Zhang Songnian, of the Longevity Sect.
At the time, though he regretted it, he did not take it too seriously.
After all, Fanming, being a divine beast with innate enormous strength, was far beyond what he, a mere Golden Core Craftsman, could covet.
Therefore, he was quite at peace about it.
Unexpectedly, more than ten years later, they would encounter each other again in the Northsea Continent, a place so detached from the mainlands, a sign that their fates were perhaps not yet finished.
