Chapter 64: The Third Encounter

The evening breeze blew gently as a group of Daoists stood amidst the ruins, each wearing a strange, identical smile on their faces, which looked utterly terrifying.

Listening to their conversation, Chen Xuan felt a chill run through his heart.

"Little Azure Heaven has plenty of experience, specializing in how to deal with Destinied Ones: first fatten them up, then harvest them."

The Destinied One, Ye Kui, was completely regarded by them as fish on a chopping board, enveloped by a carefully woven, invisible net. Even though Ye Kui knew something was wrong, he could only blindly burrow deeper into it... If he did not struggle, he would be captured; yet the moment he resisted, he would be forced to use his destiny, accelerating his growth rapidly.

What is called professionalism?

This is professionalism.

The tall Daoist stared at the remains of his fellow sect member on the ground and laughed, "The business of refining immortal pills is something only we in Little Azure Heaven can do properly, yielding truly top-grade immortal pills. No one else can manage it."

The short Daoist said solemnly, "The [Extreme Dao God] is of quite a high grade. If we are careless even for a moment, Ye Kui will slip out of our control... This pill refinement is a tremendous challenge for us."

"..."

Chen Xuan felt that these people were completely brainwashed and utterly mad.

They were actually willing to pay the price of their lives to "force-nurture" Ye Kui's growth—could they not use the lives of other unrelated cultivators instead? Besides, once Ye Kui was eventually refined into an immortal pill, it would only be consumed by the "Dao Lords" of Little Azure Heaven's upper echelon. What relation did that have with them, people who were already as good as dead?

The Daoists briefly inspected the scene, then conversed as they walked away.

"Ye Kui's ultimate destination in his flight must be the Yunmeng Great Marsh. Let's continue the pursuit," the tall Daoist said with absolute certainty.

"Only the Yunmeng Great Marsh, where human beings, demons, and ghosts coexist, barely has a sliver of space for a Destinied One to survive," the short Daoist nodded, quickening his pace.

"The next time we catch up to Ye Kui, we'll need to arrange for a genuine Dao-Hidden realm cultivator to feed him. You die first, or I die first? I'll go ahead a step," said the tall Daoist.

"A step early or a step late, it's all the same. For the Dao Lords' path to immortality, how could we begrudge these mortal bodies!" The short Daoist's expression was resolute, as though he were undertaking some magnificent cause.

"The [Six Desires Heaven] is also of very high grade. The further along one goes, the more formidable it becomes, and its prospects are boundless... Is Lu Zhuan's ancient Daoist arena now also embarking on the path of the Destinied Immortal Pill?"

"Who knows? There is nothing new under the sun."

"..."

Following the Black Cat with his ears perked up, Chen Xuan eavesdropped in the black mist, listening with utmost concentration.

Soon, the Daoists vanished without a trace.

Lady Black Cat crouched on the ground, a pitch-black crescent moon hanging behind her head. She licked the plum blossom-shaped pad of her paw and sneered coldly:

"This Ye Kui is quite clever. He knows that fleeing into the ancient lands of the Yunmeng Marsh is his only path to survival... Most of the demons and ghosts follow the orthodox Shanhai ancient methods, seeking to reverse their ancestry and become ancient mountain gods and divine beasts of the Shanhai era. They utterly despise the Destinied Immortal Pill path concocted by the human race."

The Mountain Ghost and the Old Turtle both belonged to the conservative faction among ghosts and demons. Therefore, although they felt suspicious of Chen Xuan's monstrous talent, it was merely suspicion and they did not take it to heart... The Dao resides within oneself, do not seek it externally.

"Yunmeng Marsh?"

Chen Xuan was stunned upon hearing this, because the map given to him by Willow Flood Dragon showed that one of Immortal Shangyang's dwelling caves was hidden near the Yunmeng Marsh, undiscovered by cultivators to this day.

However, the Yunmeng Marsh was over a million miles away from this place, a journey that would take years to complete. Could Ye Kui really persevere and walk all the way there?

Chen Xuan felt somewhat skeptical, and then muttered regretfully to himself, "Tonight, I have completely missed my chance with Ye Kui."

Ye Kui had already fled far away, and it was impossible for Chen Xuan to follow the Daoists of Little Azure Heaven and recklessly pursue him along the way.

It was not because he was worried about the two tall and short Dao-Hidden realm grand cultivators of Little Azure Heaven.

Rather, this region was extremely dangerous. The Cui and Lu families had not yet traveled far—who knew where the top-tier powerhouses of these two families were hiding? Had they truly left? Would they suddenly leap out and strike Chen Xuan with a palm to exact revenge... After all, Chen Xuan had slaughtered their undisputed Dao-Hidden grand cultivator, a blood feud that could never be reconciled.

In fact, after running fifty or sixty miles out of the Southern Wilderness and coming here to spy on the situation, Chen Xuan had already felt a faint sense of unease, realizing that this move was highly inappropriate.

"There are Destinied Ones haunting the Yunmeng Marsh, and Immortal Shangyang's dwelling cave is also hidden there. I will definitely go there in the future, and hopefully, I'll be able to encounter Ye Kui then... if he's still alive," Chen Xuan thought to himself.

Once the Daoists had completely departed, Lady Black Cat began her work as a practitioner of the Minor Underworld.

Although the Daoist who had newly entered the Dao-Hidden realm and attacked Ye Kui had exploded, leaving no bones behind, the remains of the other minor Daoists in the Feather Transformation realm were left behind, possessing "recycling" value.

"Hum!"

A pitch-black lunar arc rose from behind the black cat's head. Black mist billowed, countless square-holed circular paper money fluttered down, and prayer banners flashing with golden light drifted...

The Minor Underworld descended in an instant.

"The Little Crow Trick, a technique for practicing solar Qi..."

Lady Black Cat "recycled" a wisp of bright yellow, gold-tinged Qi from the first minor Daoist. A wisp of light and shadow flickered in the air, gradually outlining a Qi-circulation diagram.

She stared with her magnificent cat eyes, completely engrossed, and muttered, "A trick of the solar Dao lineage that has never appeared in the territory of Scarlet Crow City."

Chen Xuan quickly memorized this crow-shaped Qi-circulation diagram, imprinting it firmly in his mind.

"I now have the opportunity to cultivate the sixth Qi."

Chen Xuan was extremely satisfied. Taking the huge risk of leaving the Southern Wilderness tonight, although he did not fulfill his wish of seeing the Destinied One, gaining this special harvest meant his trip had not been in vain.

Soon, Lady Black Cat finished examining more than ten corpses one by one.

"Not all of these people are solar Qi cultivators; half of them cultivated the Azure Qi Cauldron-Tripod Dao's Little Azure Deer and Little Bear-Grizzly tricks."

Chen Xuan thought to himself, and then withdrew his divine soul and consciousness from Lady Black Cat's body, returning to his own physical body before immediately heading back toward the Southern Wilderness.

"Counting what I've gained tonight, I have five unlearned tricks, plus the second chapters of two true scriptures."

Chen Xuan pondered for a moment and told himself firmly, "Upon returning, aside from meeting Yan Yushu to cultivate, I will not step a single foot out of the Southern Wilderness until I finish practicing all these things."

Unless Lady Mountain Ghost personally stepped in to use him and demanded he do something.

Clearly, however, after wiping her red lips clean from her meal, the other party had directly relegated Chen Xuan—a mere Feather Transformation cultivator—to the cold palace. The gap in their status was too vast, placing them on completely different levels.

Seclusion.

Without reaching the Dao-Hidden realm, he would not leave the Southern Wilderness!

……

……

Amidst the night, two figures and a horse were traveling.

The sword fairy in pristine white robes wore a long sword at her waist and a veil over her face. The exposed curve of her chin was exceptionally graceful, and her chest was full and plump to an exaggerated degree, extremely eye-catching.

"We should leave the Southern Wilderness."

The large black horse was extraordinarily majestic, its body glistening with a metallic sheen that reflected the dim moonlight. It nodded: "Mmm."

A white-robed young swordsman with sword-shaped eyebrows, starry eyes, and a handsome, dashing appearance stood tall and straight like green bamboo. He spoke up:

"Senior Sister, I kept your instructions firmly in mind and did not act arbitrarily in Peach Blossom Spring."

He pointed to the long, strip-like object wrapped in cloth strips behind his back, a warm smile lingering on his face as he continued:

"The old sword-strip left in Peach Blossom Spring by my ancestors has been retrieved... Does Senior Sister want it? I'll give it to you."

He was precisely the white-robed young swordsman in Peach Blossom Spring who had delivered the letter to Willow Flood Dragon and forged the alliance!

The black cat-like horse glanced at him with a strange look in its eyes.

"No need, keep it for yourself."

The sword fairy shook her head, her tone slightly cold. Under the hazy moonlight, her body radiated a pristine, jade-like brilliance, looking supremely elegant. She continued:

"Shen Jianqing, one of your ancestors was once a sword fairy of the [Surpassing the Red Dust] level. In your generation, you are fortunate enough to have the sword fairy bloodline awaken within you, making you naturally not a person of the [Mortal World]. This is your destined opportunity."

Feather Transformation, Dao-Hidden, Cauldron-Tripod... all belonged to the people of the mortal world.

A trace of pride flashed across the eyes of the youth named Shen Jianqing, but his face still carried a smile like the morning sun. Gazing at the woman's flawless profile, he said softly:

"Senior Sister, being able to cultivate alongside an otherworldly fairy of your peerless beauty is already my greatest fortune in three lifetimes. I haven't considered things so far ahead, but if Jianqing is fortunate enough to continue the glory of my ancestors, I will never forget Senior Sister's special camaraderie forged in humble beginnings. Jianqing is willing to wield a sword across the world alongside Senior Sister and uphold the Dao of humanity..."

The youth's adoration for her beauty was written all over his face, which was quite normal.

"Creak!"

Hearing this, the black horse felt its teeth ache and tremble, goosebumps breaking out all over its body.

"..."

The white-robed sword fairy remained silent at these words, her jade fingers tightening slightly on the hilt of her sword. Her willow-like eyebrows furrowed faintly, but smoothed out a moment later, her cold face revealing no emotion whatsoever: "No need. It was merely a sect mission that I happened to take."

Suppressing her laughter, the black horse shook its head, its eyeballs darting swiftly as it looked around. Suddenly, its gaze locked onto something in the distance under the night, and it uttered, "Eh?"

On the horizon, Chen Xuan was speeding toward the Southern Wilderness. With a swish, he turned his head, caught sight of them, and his heart instantly sank:

"Meeting time and time again—is the world's path really this narrow!"

Seeing this, the black horse was startled. It turned its gaze to the white-robed woman, only to find that she was also staring fixedly at Chen Xuan, a strange brilliance flashing within her bright eyes.

The black horse wore a delighted expression, and laughing via secret spiritual transmission, it said:

"Meeting time and time again, Sword Fairy, I told you that you are fated with this martial arts kid!"

The white-robed sword fairy was equally surprised. On that snowy night when she first entered the Southern Wilderness border, she had encountered this person; now, as spring blossomed and the very last moment of her departure had arrived, she had unexpectedly encountered him once again.

The white-robed sword fairy shook her head slightly and issued a stern warning to the black horse: "Stop talking nonsense."

Yet this coincidence was indeed wondrous, causing ripples to stir within her sword-officer state of mind, which had otherwise been as calm as stagnant water.

"Whoosh!"

In the distance, Chen Xuan tightened his grip on the purple-gold jade bracelet in his sleeve and turned away as if avoiding poisonous snakes, immediately switching to a different route to leave.

"Are they... hounding me?"

Chen Xuan was immensely vigilant, secretly resolving in his heart that the moment the other party made any aggressive move, he would fiercely smash the purple-gold jade bracelet he held in his hand right at them!