Chương 155: !

Chapter 155!

Chapter 155 Return!

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, on Blackrock Island.

For the past three years, the atmosphere outside that gray-white teleportation stone house has been quite eerie.

The shopkeepers of the simple shops on the island and the cultivators coming and going could all feel an invisible pressure enveloping the area around the teleportation array.

At this moment, on a huge reef not far from the teleportation stone house, two figures were sitting quietly cross-legged.

One of them was the gray-robed old man who fought Zhou Ding three years ago and was seriously injured when he fled!

However, his face was still somewhat pale, and his breathing was slightly weak. It was clear that the damage from that "Soul-Destroying Thorn" and Blood Escape Technique from back then had not yet fully recovered. His brows were also filled with an unyielding gloom and restlessness.

Beside him sat a middle-aged cultivator dressed in black robes, with a cold and stern face, whose aura had also reached the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

A faint glint of blood flashed in the man's eyes as he opened and closed them, and he exuded a faint aura of malevolence, clearly indicating that he was not a benevolent person.

"Brother Qiu, it's been three years, and we haven't seen a single person. That kid either died somewhere in the outer sea, or he's already left through other channels. You and I, two dignified Nascent Soul cultivators, are waiting here for a mere Core Formation cultivator. Wouldn't we become a laughing stock if word got out?" The middle-aged cultivator in black robes spoke impatiently, his voice hoarse.

The gray-robed elder's face grew even uglier. He gritted his teeth and said, "Fellow Daoist Blood Fiend, be patient. That brat is cunning as a devil, and with such defensive treasures and a strange spirit beast protecting him, he won't die so easily. Although the Outer Sea is vast, he will eventually return to the Inner Sea. This Black Rock Island teleportation array is his most likely option! As long as he appears, you and I can definitely capture him by joining forces!

At that time, we will split the treasures on his body and that spirit beast equally!"

"Hmph, split it evenly?"

The black-robed cultivator, Xue Sha, sneered, "Brother Qiu, you only mentioned that the kid might have one or two decent ancient treasures and a level six spirit beast, but you didn't mention any strange armor that could withstand your full-force attack, or any secret techniques that could damage the soul of a Nascent Soul cultivator! That spirit beast is probably no ordinary level six either, is it? For this 'possible' gain, you made me waste three years of my life here. Do you think it was worth it?"

He paused, stood up, and his tone turned cold: "My patience has run out. The clues to the 'Mysterious Yin True Fiend' have been made, and I must go investigate immediately. Brother Qiu, you'd better watch yourself. If you manage to catch that brat and obtain the treasure, remember to share some with me. Farewell!"

Having said that, before the gray-robed elder could respond, the black-robed cultivator Xue Sha's figure flickered and transformed into a streak of blood-red light, soaring into the sky and disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

"You!" The old man surnamed Qiu's face turned ashen. He stretched out his hand, but in the end, it fell limply to the ground.

He knew that he couldn't keep the helper he had invited.

The other party wasn't close to me to begin with; they only agreed to help because of the promised treasure.

After three years of fruitless waiting, it's only natural that the other party has lost patience.

He stood alone on the reef, gazing at the vast sea and sky, his eyes filled with resentment and bitterness, but even more so with a deep sense of helplessness and exhaustion.

Even if I manage to catch that kid, with his terrifying defense and bizarre spiritual attacks, plus that abnormally defensive spirit beast, can I really take him down by myself?

Even if they manage to win, they will likely pay an unbearable price, and might even suffer another setback.

Should we continue waiting?

How much longer do we have to wait?

a year?

three years?

Ten years?

If the other party is determined to hide, or really leaves through other means, wouldn't I just be wasting my life here?

Various thoughts clashed fiercely in the old man's mind. In the end, his worries about his unhealed injuries, his fear of possibly failing again or even dying, and his despair at the long wait gradually overwhelmed his greed for the treasure.

"Young man—consider yourself lucky!"

The old man surnamed Qiu clenched his fists so tightly that his nails almost dug into his palms, and squeezed out these words full of resentment and unwillingness through his teeth.

He took one last deep look at the sea, as if trying to etch it into his mind, and then stomped his foot hard. His figure transformed into a much dimmer pale blue streak of light and quickly disappeared into the sea and sky in the opposite direction from the black-robed cultivator.

Blackrock Island, this remote outpost in the alien sea, has finally returned to its former "peace".

Only the gray-white teleportation stone house still stands quietly, waiting for the next, or the next batch, of cultivators to return from the dangerous alien sea with their harvest or their wounds.

The sky above the alien sea remains that eternal, oppressive leaden gray.

The dark blue sea roars ceaselessly, churning up white foam and crashing against the scattered black reefs and deserted islands.

Four years have passed since the thrilling battle with that Nascent Soul elder.

Above a desolate sea area thousands of miles away from Blackrock Island, an inconspicuous cyan light was flying at a steady pace toward the general direction of Blackrock Island.

Within the escaping light was a rogue cultivator dressed in an ordinary blue Taoist robe, with an average face, a cultivation level of about the pseudo-core realm, who looked to be around thirty years old and had a slightly weathered look in his eyes.

This person's aura was restrained, and his flight posture carried the vigilance and caution unique to cultivators who had spent years fighting for their lives in outer space— The countless monster hunters struggling for resources in this sea area are no different.

This was naturally Zhou Ding, who had changed his appearance and concealed his true cultivation level and aura.

After refining the Nascent Soul Pill, he did not go directly to Black Rock Island, but instead wandered and hibernated in the depths of the Outer Star Sea for another year.

On one hand, it was to fully digest what he had gained, stabilize his cultivation at the peak of the mid-stage Core Formation, and combine the newly acquired ancient treasures with the "..."

He cultivated the "Hidden Void Technique" to a more refined level.

On the other hand, it was also to maximize the time available, wear down the old man surnamed Qiu's patience, and increase the possibility that he had given up waiting.

A year later, feeling he was fully prepared, he quietly set off.

He did not use any flying artifacts or magical treasures that might reveal his identity; he simply flew using ordinary escape light.

My appearance was slightly altered using the rudimentary disguise techniques recorded in the "Hidden Space Technique." Although not flawless, it was enough to deceive the spiritual senses of those who were unfamiliar with me.

His cultivation level was suppressed to the Pseudo-Core stage, neither too high nor too low, so that he would not attract attention nor appear too weak and vulnerable.

He even changed his usual blue robe to the most ordinary material.

As they got closer to Black Rock Island, Zhou Ding became increasingly vigilant.

His powerful divine sense, like the most sophisticated radar, was not displayed openly, but rather transformed into countless extremely fine and almost imperceptible "threads," silently spreading forward like invisible tentacles, probing the slightest movement in Black Rock Island and the surrounding hundreds of miles of sea.

The island's outline gradually became clear.

The greyish-white rocks, the simple buildings, and the sparse human figures seemed no different from when I left four years ago. The teleportation stone house stood quietly, and a few streaks of light rose and fell in the surrounding sea, all belonging to cultivators who came and went to hunt demons.

Zhou Ding's divine sense, like mercury spilling onto the ground, covered the entire island.

He carefully sensed every building, every rock, and every cultivator's aura. Inside the teleportation stone house, there was still the same mid-Foundation Establishment Star Palace Guardian, his aura cold and indifferent, utterly bored.

The shopkeepers in the few simple shops on the island had low cultivation levels and a lazy demeanor.

The cultivators who were resting briefly on the island or preparing to teleport had cultivation levels ranging from Qi Refining to the early stage of Core Formation, and their auras varied. However, none of them possessed the vast spiritual pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator, nor did they have the unique, cold, and water-attribute magical power fluctuations of the old man surnamed Qiu.

Everything seemed normal.

But Zhou Ding did not relax.

The old man surnamed Qiu clearly possessed a secret treasure capable of concealing his aura and even isolating him from divine sense to some extent.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to get within dozens of miles of him before they noticed.

If the other party really intended to ambush, they could easily hide in some inconspicuous corner of the island or lurk in the nearby waters, concealing themselves with a secret treasure and waiting for us to appear.

"We can't be careless," Zhou Ding warned himself. He didn't fly directly to the island, but stopped in the air above the sea, a hundred miles away from the island, hovering in a thin mist.

With a thought, the opening of the spirit beast pouch at his waist opened silently, and a thin stream of dark golden light shot out, falling into the seawater below and disappearing instantly.

It is a miniature version of Xiao Jin.

Through the soul connection, Zhou Ding issued the command.

A moment later, about fifty miles away from Black Rock Island, a powerful aura of a demonic beast suddenly surged up on the sea without warning!

Its aura was violent and ferocious, reaching the level of a sixth-level demon beast!

Immediately afterwards, the head of a colossal beast, several meters long, with a dark gold body and ferocious scales, suddenly burst through the sea surface, letting out a deep roar full of wildness and intimidation. Its scarlet giant eyes seemed to intentionally or unintentionally sweep over the direction of Black Rock Island before diving back into the sea. Its presence quickly faded and weakened, as if it had just been passing by.

This was precisely Zhou Ding's probing move.

Given the formidable aura of the Level 6 demon beast Xiao Jin, if it were to appear near Black Rock Island, and if the old man surnamed Qiu were truly lurking nearby, a Nascent Soul cultivator would certainly be able to detect it.

If the other party really came to wait for the rabbit to come to the tree stump, they might take action when they see the spirit beast, one of the "main characters," appear. Even the slightest fluctuation in aura would not escape Zhou Ding's focused divine sense monitoring.

Zhou Ding hovered in the mist, his mind and spirit united, amplifying his divine sense to the extreme, like an invisible net, closely monitoring every spatial fluctuation, spiritual energy change, and even the slightest emotional ripple within a radius of two hundred miles centered on Black Rock Island.

One breath, two breaths, ten breaths — a hundred breaths have passed.

On the sea, there were only the sounds of the wind and waves, and the faint commotion of low-level cultivators coming from the direction of the islands.

The aura of the old man surnamed Qiu did not appear.

No hidden powerful aura was disturbed and revealed in the island and surrounding waters.

The sea area where Xiao Jin had just appeared was quickly dispersed by the sea breeze, except for the faint lingering demonic aura, and there was nothing else unusual.

"Once is not enough," Zhou Ding thought silently, his expression unchanged.

He controlled Xiao Jin, and in the next few hours, he changed his location three times, "appearing" in different ways in the sea areas ranging from thirty to eighty miles away from Black Rock Island.

Sometimes it would suddenly unleash its aura and quickly flee into the distance; sometimes it would deliberately create the commotion of hunting low-level sea beasts; and sometimes it would even let out a provocative roar towards Black Rock Island from afar.

Each time, Zhou Ding was like the most patient hunter, monitoring the situation with all his might.

He could even "sense" the obvious panic and commotion among the low-level cultivators on the island when Xiao Jin's aura erupted. The guards in the teleportation stone house also seemed to perk up a little, but quickly returned to indifference.

These are all normal reactions.

However, from beginning to end, no subtle or powerful aura beyond the early stage of Core Formation was triggered.

There was no sudden appearance of Nascent Soul pressure, no fluctuations from the activation of the concealment formation, and no sneak attack or probing targeting Xiao Jin.

They tried five times, from daylight to nightfall.

The night in the outer star sea is even darker and deeper, with only faint starlight filtering through the thick clouds.

Zhou Ding finally let out a slow sigh of relief, his tense mind relaxing slightly.

"It seems that old fellow—has really left." He thought to himself. Given the pride of the other party, a Nascent Soul cultivator, and his greed for Little Gold and his own treasures, if he were really lurking nearby, there's no way he wouldn't react if he saw Little Gold appear alone.

The most likely explanation is that the other party has already lost patience, or has left due to injury or other important matters.

After all, four years have passed since that battle.

No one would wait in such a remote place for four years for an uncertain prey.

However, out of caution, Zhou Ding did not appear immediately.

He waited all night until dawn the next day, and after confirming that there were no further abnormalities, he controlled Little Gold to reunite with it in the depths of the sea hundreds of miles away from Black Rock Island, and then put it back into his spirit beast bag.

He then did not remove his disguise, maintaining the appearance and aura of a rogue cultivator, and flew towards Black Rock Island on his escape light.

This time, he made no attempt to conceal himself, and like an ordinary demon hunter preparing to return home, he landed directly on the simple dock at the edge of the island.

Stepping onto the long-lost, hard, gray-white land, and feeling the thin yet familiar spiritual energy of the island, Zhou Ding felt little emotion, only a chilling sense of vigilance.

He mingled with several other cultivators who were also preparing to use the teleportation array and headed towards the teleportation stone house in the center of the island.

There were already seven or eight monks waiting in front of the stone house.

Most of them were at the Foundation Establishment stage, with one or two at the early Core Formation stage.

The group chatted in hushed tones, exchanging their findings and experiences from the demon hunt, the atmosphere unchanged from four years ago. Zhou Ding stood discreetly at the edge of the crowd, his gaze calmly sweeping over the stone house, the heavy stone door, and the Foundation Establishment guard at the entrance, still with a cold expression and dressed in the white robes of the Star Palace.

His divine sense, like the gentlest breeze, silently swept over the inside and outside of the stone house once again, even penetrating several feet underground to confirm that there was absolutely no hidden Nascent Soul aura or array trap.

Business as usual.

When it was Zhou Ding's turn, he stepped forward, nodded slightly to the guard, took out a small bag containing seven hundred low-grade spirit stones, handed it over, and said in a hoarse voice, "Fellow Daoist, teleport to Tianxing City."

The guard took the spirit stone, scanned it with his divine sense to confirm it was correct, and with his usual businesslike and indifferent expression, nodded and stepped aside to open the stone door.

Without further hesitation, Zhou Ding stepped into the familiar teleportation portal that emitted a yellowish-brown spatial light.

A brief dizziness and a feeling of being torn apart by space came over me.

After a few breaths, I felt grounded and the surrounding scenery changed.

The familiar, rich, and pure spiritual energy of heaven and earth, mixed with the elegant scent of "Mind-Concentrating Incense," wafts towards you.

Before him stood a simple stone chamber built of grayish-white spirit jade, and beneath his feet was a teleportation array that emitted a faint light. In the corner, the guard, dressed in white Star Palace robes, with a cold face and a cultivation level of mid-Foundation Establishment, was still sitting cross-legged on a worn-out futon. He didn't even lift his eyelids at Zhou Ding's appearance.

Tianxing City, Starry Sky Palace, Side Hall Teleportation Chamber.

came back.

The last bit of tension in Zhou Ding's heart finally dissipated completely.

He calmly stepped down from the teleportation platform, pushed open the stone door, and walked out.

Outside the door lies the magnificent and spacious circular hall of the Starry Sky Palace.

The enormous crystal jade wall shimmered with spiritual light, displaying information about the various monster islands.

Before the dozens of teleportation portals, cultivators moved back and forth, their auras varying in strength, creating a cacophony that was nonetheless orderly.

Abundant spiritual energy, bustling crowds, fleeting streaks of light, and a dazzling array of shop signs—all these things proclaim the prosperity of this premier city in the Chaotic Star Sea.

Yes, order.

Under the rule of the Star Palace, the ironclad rule of strictly prohibiting private fights within Tianxing City is the greatest guarantee of order.

No matter how arrogant or greedy the old man surnamed Qiu was, he would never dare to openly attack him within Tianxing City.

Unless he wants to challenge the authority of the Star Palace and face the relentless pursuit of the Star Palace's enforcement team.

Although Nascent Soul cultivators are powerful, they are still no match for the Star Palace, which has ruled the Chaotic Star Sea for tens of thousands of years.

"As for whether he will secretly monitor or investigate through other means—" Zhou Ding blended into the bustling crowd in the hall and walked towards the exit, his eyes calm and profound: "As long as I return to Cloud Mist Cave Heaven," activate all the array formations and restrictions, and live a secluded life, even if he has the means, he will find it difficult to locate me.

Once I digest what I've gained, further improve my cultivation, and perhaps even—after condensing my Nascent Soul—even if he comes looking for me, what is there to fear?"

Thinking of this, Zhou Ding felt a surge of pride.

Although his journey to the outer star sea was fraught with peril, the abundant gains he made were enough to lay a solid foundation for his path to the Nascent Soul stage.

Now that they have returned safely, it is like a dragon returning to the sea.

The following days were dedicated to cultivation, digesting what he had learned, and making a final sprint for the ultimate leap to the Nascent Soul stage.

He didn't linger any longer and followed the flow of people out of the magnificent gates of the Starry Sky Palace.

Outside the door, the vast and solemn scene of the fifty-story sacred mountain came into view. Further away, thousands of pavilions and palaces spiraled upwards and reached into the clouds, as well as various colored lights that shuttled through the sky like a meteor shower.

Zhou Ding discerned the direction, mounted an inconspicuous streak of light, and merged into the flowing light that filled the sky, leisurely flying towards the forty-seventh floor, the "Flowing Cloud Zone," the "Cloud Mist Cave Heaven."