The moment the shadow leapt out, it rendered Yu Ci unconscious. This limited Yu Ci's perspective, but he also discovered that the divine consciousness starlight, which extracts information, had stimulated Lake Sea Wanderer's divine soul in some way, accelerating his return to consciousness.
Carrying Lake Sea Wanderer, the shadow darted out more than ten miles in an instant. Seeing no one pursuing from behind, it began to cautiously conceal its aura, winding and turning until it finally stopped in a valley about thirty miles away.
Just as Lake Sea Wanderer was set down, another figure emerged from behind the shadow. Bald and dressed in brocade, with a broad physique, Yu Ci felt a sense of familiarity. Upon reflection, he realized it was Fu Long, who had just crossed swords with You Gongquan. Although he hadn't seen his face clearly before, his figure was quite distinctive.
Next, Yu Ci watched as they quickly searched Lake Sea Wanderer from head to toe, not missing a single spot, including his Storage Ring. However, this object was clearly sealed with a high-level spell. After several unsuccessful attempts, they gave up.
Yu Ci watched silently, a plan forming in his mind.
Finding nothing, the two began to converse. Yu Ci only heard two vague sentences, something along the lines of "just say you saved him." Afterward, Fu Long picked up Lake Sea Wanderer and left the valley, leaving only the shadow behind.
Yu Ci initially wanted to shift his thoughts towards Lake Sea Wanderer, but then he had a sudden idea. From his sleeve, the gradually cooling Divine Bronze Mirror shot out a divine consciousness starlight. In a blink of an eye, it covered several miles, flew into the sky, and reached its destination thirty miles away in just a few moments.
This was a new progress he had noticed recently: probably because he had entered the Nature-Connecting Upper Stage, his Yin Spirit could astral project. The Divine Bronze Mirror could emit a single divine consciousness starlight, and its maximum range had greatly increased, equivalent to the distance of his astral projection. Now it could fly a hundred miles away. However, if he was to send it out in large quantities, it would still be twice the range of his Soul Sensing, which was now about fifteen miles.
Although this method had no offensive power, as long as Yu Ci wished, no one within a hundred miles could escape his lock-on. For a Nature-Connecting Cultivator and below, even the color of their underwear couldn't be hidden from him!
Like this one, for example?
The divine consciousness starlight locked onto its target, sinking into the Brain Palace, illuminating the shadow from head to toe. Observing the object of the divine consciousness starlight's dwelling was a very peculiar sensation, as if merging with it, yet observing from a detached perspective. Under his intentional scrutiny, the robe outside the shadow became transparent, revealing every inch of the body underneath.
Yu Ci was stunned.
Unexpectedly, what came into view was fragrant skin, a fair complexion, and a very familiar face.
Yu Ci pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered. This was the female cultivator who had come with Lake Sea Wanderer. He had previously noticed that she seemed to intentionally hide her Cultivation Level, keeping it from Lake Sea Wanderer, as if she had some ulterior motive. Now, it appeared his earlier speculation was absolutely correct. This female cultivator was connected with Fu Long, a Golden Elixir cultivator, and in terms of status, she even surpassed Fu Long.
What was the female cultivator's name again?
Before he could recall her name, the female cultivator made another move. Unaware that someone was observing her from afar through some mysterious means, she casually removed her outer robe, slipped off her close-fitting nightwear, revealing large areas of her creamy white skin. Yu Ci, who had noticed her almost exaggerated figure back at the Mountain Moving Cloud Boat Dock, was now viewing her from a closer angle and found it truly breathtaking.
While Yu Ci was appreciating the enticing figure of the female cultivator, he was also trying to remember her name. Suddenly, he found himself somewhat distracted, a peculiar feeling stirring within him.
It was a feeling both familiar and distant, reminiscent of the restless days of his youth when a mere touch could send a wave of heat coursing through his bones, clouding his mind with desire. This was called being bewitched by feminine charm.
However, everyone eventually matures. After his days of wandering, this feeling had never resurfaced. Now, the unexpected reaction made him somewhat embarrassed, and past memories began to flow.
He remembered many absurd things, especially those related to Purple Thunder Immortal. But this also touched upon a recently sealed area, a shadow he had personally shattered emerging from the Heart of the Lake, still clear, appearing before his eyes. He shuddered, suddenly opening his eyes.
Temporarily ignoring that, he took a deep breath to calm his mind, only feeling better after a pause. However, when his gaze fell back into the carriage, touching the dimly lit hair curtain, that charming face, he felt a heat surge within him again.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
What's happening?
Yu Ci realized something was wrong when he felt a warmth in his chest, a burning sensation on his skin. Looking down, he found that his True Purple Smoke Warm Jade was reacting. He reacted quickly, closing his eyes once again, this time opening his Inner Void of the Heart. Under the moonlight, the Fish-Dragon swam, but the boundless void was somewhat murky, and the Fish-Dragon Mental Image seemed a bit restless.
Was this the Heart Demon?
Under the most direct reflection of the "Primordial Root Qi Method", Yu Ci understood immediately and without hesitation, he used the method of "Clarifying the Void". The void rippled a few times, like a sieve or a comb, letting those murky thoughts settle down. The True Purple Smoke Warm Jade in his chest also infused a misty aura, cleansing his mind.
It was indeed the Heart Demon! This thing came without warning and once activated, it was incredibly powerful. Thanks to Yu Ci's years of experience, his firm will, and the presence of the True Purple Smoke Warm Jade, he was able to handle it effortlessly. Yu Ci couldn't help but wonder, was it due to his recent advancement in Cultivation Level, lack of preparation? Or was it what the elders said about "Sword born evil, Heart Demon entangled"?
After a long period of contemplation, Yu Ci felt somewhat fatigued, unable to grasp the gist of his thoughts. However, his mind had stabilized considerably, understanding that a conclusion was unlikely to be reached in a short time. Thus, he turned his attention back to the small valley thirty miles away.
There, a bewitching beauty had changed into a dress that was as fiery as her temperament. At this moment, however, she had only half-changed, her chest still half-exposed. A thin, translucent veil was casually draped over her, revealing large areas of enticing skin, hard to draw one's eyes away from. Seemingly remembering something, she remained in this state, her clothes half-off, her hair slightly disheveled, lost in deep thought.
Eventually, she reached into her bosom, pulling out an object from between her trembling, full curves. It fluttered in the wind as she unfolded it.
It was a large, red, delicate veil, extremely lightweight. When it moved, it seemed as if one could smell the sweet fragrance on it. However, at this point, Yu Ci was not distracted by such thoughts. He only watched as the female cultivator gently grasped the edges of the red veil, infusing it with True Breath.
A bright, red light lit up.
The female cultivator's eyes were fixed on the veil, as if something on it had caught her attention. Utilizing her perspective, Yu Ci took a quick look and confirmed that there were indeed some patterns on the veil. However, these patterns soon became blurry under the bright light.
At this moment, the veil was like a ball of surging red smoke that seemed ready to overflow from the female cultivator's slender fingers at any moment. She let go of the veil, allowing it to float in the air, while she quickly formed a spiritual seal. Her lips slightly parted as she exhaled a long breath onto it, making the red smoke of the veil even more dazzling.
It was a refining ritual! Yu Ci recognized this as a spiritual seal from the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend Refining Method, used to solidify the refining level. In itself, it was nothing extraordinary. However, through the Divine consciousness starlight, he vaguely sensed that as the spiritual seal changed, some sort of connection seemed to form between the female cultivator and the veil.
The next moment, the red smoke of the veil fluctuated, and the female cultivator changed her exhale to an inhale, as if to draw the red smoke into her belly. The red smoke merely undulated, but a few very tiny streams of energy emerged from within, spontaneously condensing into a very fine "silk thread," which entered the female cultivator's mouth.
That was the God Slaying Sting!
Thirty miles away, Yu Ci nearly jumped up and crashed into the carriage in surprise. No matter how he might have speculated, he had never imagined that the God Slaying Sting would arrive in such a manner! But what truly shocked him was not just this. At that moment, he realized: he too, had a similar red, glowing veil.
Moments later, a faint red light lit up the interior of the carriage.
Yu Ci held the large red veil in his hand, examining it back and forth. He paid particular attention to the patterns meticulously embroidered on the veil.
This veil was something Yu Ci had obtained from Nan Songzi. Originally a possession of a Yin Demon, its quality was undoubtedly high. Especially since Nan Songzi had used it as a Soul Vessel, putting in a lot of effort to refine it with his unique Demon Technique over the years, the results were remarkable.
The delicate veil has now become an ownerless object. As long as Yu Ci understands the Heart Method and refines it slightly, it would equate to a high-quality magic weapon refined nearly sixty layers through the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha refining method. Unfortunately, the "Five Aggregates Yin Demon Sutra" that Nan Songzi practiced no longer exists following his demise, leaving Yu Ci without a starting point and allowing the treasure to gather dust.
Now, Yu Ci has a new perspective, learned from that female cultivator - her name seems to be Yan Chu.
His thoughts inexplicably veered towards the bewitching curves of the beautiful woman. Mysteriously, a layer of intoxicating fragrance seemed to float in the carriage. He focused on the veil in his hand, feeling a slight warmth as he gently rubbed it.
This thing is indeed eerie.
At this moment, a very faint nasal sound lingered in his ear.
Yu Ci turned his head sharply, only to see the slightly pale, beautiful face behind the curtain. Her long eyelashes flickered before opening. In that instant, all thoughts temporarily vanished, and he exclaimed joyfully:
"Master Gan, you're awake!"
Just awakened from a deep sleep, the female cultivator was clearly still a bit dazed. She looked around until her gaze settled on Yu Ci's face:
"Where is this... is there an evil aura?"
**********
High in the sky, the cold wind howled past, dissipating a few feet away. The large bird "Hun Qiu" was recovering from its injuries and, without any burden, spread its wings wide and soared in the sky with a cawing sound.
Yu Ci looked far into the distance, the sky was clear and dust-free for thousands of miles. Turning his gaze back, he was accompanied by a delicate beauty, her eyes filled with joy:
"We're above Cliff City now."
"Mm." Yu Ci seemed somewhat distracted.
Since the day Gan Shi Zhen woke up from her deep sleep, after a brief rest, she bid farewell to You Gongquan and his group, and headed straight for Cliff City with the female cultivator. This was much faster, leaving at dawn and arriving above Cliff City before noon.
The speed of the female cultivator's flight was significantly faster than before, indicating her transformative changes.
From a bird's eye view, the only big city within tens of thousands of miles was vaguely visible. Just as the female cultivator was about to land, a flash of light below indicated someone had flown up first.
"Which fellow Daoist is here... Shi Zhen?"
The delicate female cultivator's face broke into a smile: "Aunt Qing!"
*********