novelapdf Chapter 116 Encountering Spying
Chapter 116 Encountering Spying
Chapter 116 Encountering Spying
Xuanwang Island is the key location you should focus on in this simulation.
[You sent Blood Sea Immortal to Xuanwang Island to oversee the Chamber of Commerce, partly to investigate its strengths and weaknesses.]
[As expected, Master Xuehai has not disappointed you. In less than ten years, he has gathered the information you wanted to know.]
"It turns out that a fourth-tier beast king slumbers deep within Xuanwang Lake."
"Thousands of years ago, this fourth-tier beast king made a deal with the first lord of Xuanwang Island. In return, the fourth-tier beast king would protect Xuanwang Island..."
"This is Xuanwang Island's greatest strength. The reason why other Nascent Soul True Monarchs dare not enter Xuanwang Island is because they are afraid of awakening that fourth-tier beast king..."
You suddenly realized, and couldn't help but marvel, "Thousands of years ago... the lifespan of demonic beasts was much longer than that of human cultivators."
]
The maximum lifespan of a Nascent Soul True Monarch is only a thousand years. Even if they consume many life-extending items, such as fourth-order longevity fruits, they can only live for a maximum of thirteen or fourteen hundred years.
In fact, most Nascent Soul True Monarchs have a lifespan of between one thousand and one thousand one hundred years. Top-tier life-extending items like fourth-order longevity fruits are not something every True Monarch can obtain.
At the True Lord level, most life-extending methods will become ineffective.
"However... a beast king that can live for thousands of years is rare. It is definitely a long-lived species among demonic beasts. Is it a turtle-type demonic beast, or one of those other types...?"
]
[You secretly speculate]
[Having received this information has also made you decide to increase your investment in Xuanwang Island in preparation for the upcoming Great Domain War.]
With a fourth-tier beast king protecting it, the safety of Xuanwang Island is undoubtedly guaranteed.
You wrote another letter to Master Xuehai, asking him to continue gathering intelligence on Xuanwang Island.
Xuanwang Island is a gathering place for cultivators from many nearby major regions, with diverse backgrounds.
Just follow the island's rules.
Although Blood Sea True Man is a rare ghost cultivator, there are quite a few ghost cultivators and soul cultivators on Xuanwang Island.
Beyond the simulation, Zhou Qing looked on with a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both feeling and reflection).
"A fourth-tier beast king..."
"7
Zhou Qing's thoughts were in turmoil, wondering what a fourth-tier beast king would look like.
In the third simulation, he witnessed the scene when the True Lord made his move.
The clash between True Lord Zixu and True Lord Qisha was almost a cataclysmic event in a localized area.
What about a fourth-tier beast king?
Monsters are naturally skilled in using their physical bodies, so what kind of power would a fourth-tier beast king possess!
[In the thirty-second year, you are forty-eight years old]
[Purple Bamboo Forest Cave, Underground Secret Chamber]
A puppet, entirely black and exuding a chilling aura, gradually takes shape before you.
[Place in a few mid-grade spirit stones and a specially crafted puppet crystal, and you begin casting spells to control it.]
The black puppet's eyes gleamed faintly, and an aura comparable to the late Foundation Establishment stage emerged. The black puppet vanished, and when it reappeared, it was already seven or eight meters away, where a large hand slammed onto the magical barrier in front of it, producing a hissing sound.
【"good."】
"Both speed and strength have reached the late Foundation Establishment stage."
You glanced over and nodded slightly.
Creating a late-stage Foundation Establishment puppet means you have reached the second-stage superior level in the art of puppetry.
Although puppetry is not as popular as alchemy or talisman-making, it is still sought after by many cultivators.
High-quality puppets, in particular, have numerous uses; they can be crucial for both self-defense and combat.
"Creating a third-tier puppet would be a good option for me."
What you're thinking is...
He glanced at the newly created Tier 2 high-grade puppet and casually put it away.
A second-tier high-grade puppet isn't very useful to someone like you, a Golden Core cultivator.
However, you can list it on the merchant guild's exchange list and let the merchant guild cultivators below exchange it using their merchant guild merits.
This will also motivate the merchants' cultivators to continuously serve you, strive for more benefits, and then convert those benefits into resources for your cultivation.
This creates a virtuous cycle, which not only helps you improve your puppetry skills but also provides the guild with a solid foundation.
[In the thirty-third year, you are forty-nine years old]
Li Yan successfully entered the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
[It has been eighteen years since you last took Li Yan's primordial yin energy.]
In other words, Li Yan has been cultivating her primordial Yin energy for eighteen years now.
You're itching to get back to work.
That night, on the bed in the cave, Li Yan, her face flushed with shyness, lay half-reclined, her fragrant skirt and stockings shimmering.
The undergarment was casually left nearby.
[Your strong hands hold Li Yan's smooth and delicate ankles]
[A moment later]
[After Li Yan repeatedly begged for mercy, you ended this training session.]
[Close your eyes and feel it]
The primordial Yin energy that was just taken away has already transformed into a cool aura, flowing within your dantian and continuously transforming into your refined cultivation.
[Ultimately, this improvement is equivalent to the results of about two months of arduous training.]
[Eighteen years of cultivation is equivalent to only two months of arduous practice in your life; you don't find that surprising.]
After all, Li Yan is currently only at the Foundation Establishment stage.
[To use a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator to nourish a Golden Core cultivator? Even if it's useful, it's already extremely rare.]
What you truly anticipate is the primordial Yin energy that Li Yan, in her true form, will cultivate after entering the Golden Core stage.
At that time, the primordial yin energy nurtured for ten years will be roughly equivalent to two or three years of arduous cultivation.
As for the opportunities and circumstances required for Li Yan to break through to the Core Formation stage...
Now that you are a Golden Core cultivator, your access to Core Formation spiritual items far surpasses that of the Foundation Establishment stage.
Moreover, you have a large chamber of commerce working for you.
[It's not difficult to help Li Yan prepare for a Core Formation opportunity.]
With different strengths and different statuses, things that used to require taking huge risks can now be accomplished with just a single sentence.
"Master, is Yan'er particularly useless...?"
[Li Yan nestled in your arms, her proportions almost perfect. Her late-stage Foundation Establishment Yin Body was already beginning to resemble that of an unparalleled beauty.]
[I only lasted a short while before begging for mercy, and I couldn't satisfy you. I feel extremely guilty right now.]
"How could that be?"
You shook your head slightly, comforting her, "Yan'er is only at the Foundation Establishment stage after all; it's normal for her physical body to be weak."
"Yan'er will definitely work hard in her cultivation..." Li Yan said, her face immediately turning red.
Other cultivators cultivate to gain greater strength and extend their lifespan, but Li Yan's motivation for cultivation is rather abnormal.
But this is what you wanted.
[As long as it can maintain Li Yan's motivation to cultivate, that's sufficient.]
[You predict in your heart that Li Yan is already in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and with her aptitude for the Primordial Yin Body, she will probably be able to cultivate to the peak of Foundation Establishment in about twenty or thirty years.]
[At that time, I can attempt to break through to the Core Formation stage.]
[In the thirty-fourth year, you are fifty years old]
His cultivation level is also steadily improving, constantly approaching the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.
Other Golden Core cultivators, especially those with superior Golden Cores, generally don't encounter any bottlenecks before reaching the peak of the early Golden Core stage.
[Middle and lower level Golden Elixir cultivators will generally encounter five or six bottlenecks in the initial stages of their cultivation.]
[Especially for lower-level Golden Core cultivators, a small number of them will be trapped in the early Golden Core stage for two or three hundred years.]
[You are a flawless Golden Core cultivator. Before breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, you will not encounter any bottlenecks or obstacles. Once you reach the peak of the early Golden Core stage, a short period of seclusion will allow you to advance to the middle Golden Core stage.]
The reason why the Flawless Golden Core is called the seed of the Nascent Soul is not only because it can help in the process of breaking through the core and forming the nascent soul, but also because of its terrifying ability to almost ignore the bottleneck of the Golden Core stage.
[In the thirty-fifth year, you are fifty-one years old]
[In the Purple Bamboo Forest cave, you sit cross-legged, contemplating the art of divination.]
[As the mind and spirit continue to comprehend, they slowly elevate, gradually touching upon the omnipresent web of celestial secrets.]
In a daze, you vaguely sense a gaze hidden in the shadows, subtly watching you.
"Is someone spying on me?"
You suddenly awoke with a start, your expression grim. At the same time, you extended your divine sense, and the area within a radius of more than ten miles was as clear as the lines on your palm, with every detail visible.
"Are they spying on me from a distance?"
You immediately draw your conclusion.
[You were able to perceive this vague sense of being watched because of the power of the lower trigram and the sudden inspiration you had while studying it.]
If there really is a cultivator spying on you within ten miles, you won't need to be alerted at all; you'll sense it immediately.
The spiritual sense range of a Golden Core cultivator, also known as their perception range, is extremely acute.
"Who exactly is it?"
Your expression is slightly serious.
This kind of spying is laced with malice and hostility; otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to sense it.
Divination, which predicts fortune and misfortune, cannot be guided by mere casual observation; it is impossible to obtain any warnings.
"Let's consult the oracle."
[You begin the divination.]
[Your divination skills have reached the upper level of the second tier. At the Foundation Establishment stage, the fortunes and misfortunes of people are basically impossible to escape your divination results.]
[Not long after]
You finished the divination, your expression calm.
You did not obtain a useful divination result.
This means that the person spying on you is either beyond the Foundation Establishment stage or possesses some means to obscure the secrets of heaven and hinder your divination.
Do you think the latter is unlikely?
To obscure your divination and conceal your true information, your divination skills must be at least at the upper-level of the second tier.
[There are fewer Foundation Establishment cultivators at the lower divination level than Core Formation cultivators. And you are doing divination at the level of a Core Formation cultivator. Even if there were Foundation Establishment cultivators at the same level who could perform divination, you should have been able to detect some clues.]
"Is there a Core Formation cultivator spying on me from afar?"
Your thoughts raced, and your expression turned serious.
You take anything that involves a Core Formation cultivator seriously.
[Look around. The Purple Bamboo Forest cave has long since been equipped with a third-order formation, and you are now in charge of it.]
[Unless a Grandmaster at the late Golden Core stage personally intervenes, it is impossible to breach the Purple Bamboo Forest cave.]
[In the entire Taiyuan Domain, there are only a handful of Grand True Persons at the late Golden Core stage. Even within the Taiyuan Palace, Grand True Persons represent the strongest foundation and the highest combat power below True Monarchs.]
You want to know who is spying on you with malice.
"Fine, let's sacrifice some of our lifespan and perform divination."
You've made up your mind.
Divination can involve investing one's lifespan to conduct deeper divination.
During in-depth divination, your divination skills will not only improve rapidly, but you will also be able to divine hexagrams that surpass your current level of divination.
[In the third simulation, you sacrificed ten years of your lifespan and, using your rudimentary second-tier divination skills, vaguely divined that Da Chun had already become a third-tier body cultivator.]
You are beginning to prepare for in-depth divination.
[Splash—]
Your mind and spirit rapidly ascend, merging into the vast network of celestial secrets, with countless pieces of information flowing through your mind.
[After several dozen breaths]
Open your eyes.
[You have invested two years of your lifespan in this in-depth divination.]
[Divination skills have approached the peak of the second-tier upper grade during this in-depth divination.]
Furthermore, you also received an accurate divination result.
"Is the source of this spying the Immortal Biyue?"
"But the one spying on me isn't True Person Biyue, but a True Person at the early stage of Golden Core? No, not quite at the early stage of Golden Core, but beyond Foundation Establishment... a Pseudo-Golden Core True Person..."
"Is this fake Core Formation cultivator under orders from True Person Biyue to spy on me from afar?"
You've clarified your thoughts.
Most of your two years of lifespan were used up on True Person Biyue.
Otherwise, even if a fake Core Formation cultivator were to undergo deep divination, their lifespan would likely be limited to only one or two months at most, even if their divination skills didn't reach the third level.
【"The Jade Moon Immortal..."】
You narrowed your eyes slightly.
[Since the Core Formation Ceremony, you have not accepted the invitation to visit Azure Moon Immortal City.]
【Princess Biyue has not contacted you since】
It seems that the other person hasn't completely let go of you.
[What should I do now...? You fall into thought.]
Now that the source of the spying has been identified, how should we deal with it?
Pretending not to notice, allowing yourself to be monitored and spied on?
You don't want this to happen; it puts you in a very passive position.
[Personally taking action? That's not like you at all.]
[You are naturally extremely cautious when it comes to Master Biyue, a demonic cultivator with complex connections to the Nine Nether Realm.]
[What if this is a trap set by Master Biyue, just waiting for you to personally intervene?]
In divination, the resulting hexagram is not immune to concealment or even alteration.
[In case a third-level diviner is currently interpreting your hexagram, obscuring the meaning you receive...]
2
This possibility is low, even very low, but we must be prepared for it.
"Fine, let Fellow Daoist Blood Sea return."
Your thoughts raced, and you made a decision.
You certainly cannot personally take the risk, but you can send Blood Sea Immortal.
Although Blood Sea True Man has switched to ghost cultivation, he still possesses the strength of a Golden Core True Man.
Furthermore, the Ghost Cultivator lineage lacks a physical body and excels at preserving its life. Apart from being countered by methods involving qi and blood, it has virtually no weaknesses.
With True Immortal Blood Sea taking action, dealing with that spy with the strength of a fake Core Formation cultivator couldn't be safer.
Even if there were some unexpected ambush, with Fellow Daoist Blood Sea's life-saving methods, he should be able to handle it.
[You should immediately begin writing a letter to Master Xuehai, urging him to return as soon as possible.]
Now that things have stabilized on Xuanwang Island, even if True Immortal Xuehai leaves for six months to a year, it won't have a significant impact.
During this period, you plan to stay within the third-tier array in the Purple Bamboo Forest, not going anywhere, and wait for True Immortal Blood Sea to return.
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