"This godforsaken place... the Spiritual Vein was dug out and abandoned long ago. I don't know why the Sect still values it so much and makes people guard it."
"It's truly hard for us."
A patrolling Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivator grumbled as he walked.
"Shh, be careful not to be overheard. If someone reports you to the higher-ups, you might even lose this job."
"Just endure it. It's not like we'll be here forever. A new batch will replace us next year."
"I know," the Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator said helplessly. However, he didn't give up and asked, "By the way, Brother Wu, you've been here longer than me. Do you know what's going on?"
The Cultivator surnamed Wu looked at him for a moment, then scanned the surroundings. After confirming no one was around, he walked over and whispered, "I'm not entirely sure either. I only heard about it from a Senior Brother before."
"I heard it's related to Junior Martial Uncle Young Master Wang Chan."
"Alright." Wu patted his shoulder and said, "Continue patrolling. Don't let your curiosity run wild, or you won't even know how you died one day."
Knowing the Ghost Spirit Sect's methods, the young Cultivator shrunk his neck and stopped discussing the topic, patrolling honestly... After Li Feiyu separated from Zi Ling and the others, he found a place with dense Spiritual Qi and moved the five hundred-plus Cultivators out of the Void Garden Pearl, then used hand seals to wake them up.
When the crowd woke up and felt the magic power around them, they all burst into tears, speaking incoherently.
Li Feiyu let them vent for a while before speaking, "I have kept my promise."
"You haven't fought for a long time, so familiarize yourselves first. Soon, there will be things for you to do."
"Yes, Senior Li."
They all cupped their fists and bowed.
Half a day later, they left and headed for the location of the Ancient Teleportation Array.
"Who goes there? How dare you trespass into our Ghost Spirit Sect's restricted area!"
Hundreds of streaks of light streaked across the sky, arriving above the mineral vein.
They acted arrogantly and without any scruples.
The strongest person here was a Late Stage Foundation Establishment steward. Seeing so many strange Cultivators arrive, he felt a chill in his heart, hoping to use the Ghost Spirit Sect's fearsome reputation to scare them away.
Zhou Yuan, who had recovered his strength, looked about fifty years old with graying hair at his temples and a fluttering Daoist robe. At this moment, he gave off a transcendent, immortal-like air.
He said coldly, "By Senior Li's command, no killing allowed. Capture and imprison them all."
Many Cultivators around Zhou Yuan flew down, and in just a moment, they took control of all the Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators here.
The Ghost Spirit Sect Late Stage Foundation Establishment steward was terrified.
Among these people, there were over a hundred whose strength was similar to his, and more than fifty Core Formation stage Cultivators who were stronger than him.
Not counting the Nascent Soul Stage, this was already comparable to the number of Cultivators in these two Realms within the Ghost Spirit Sect.
Could it be that some Righteous Path Sect had launched an all-out attack?
"Who exactly are you people? Don't you know this is a Ghost Spirit Sect territory?"
"Our Ghost Spirit Sect has a Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse guarding nearby. If he finds out, you'll definitely suffer the consequences!"
Zhou Yuan flew down with a cold sneer on his face. "A mere Nascent Soul of Tiannan? If he dares to come, he'll be staying here forever."
Zhou Yuan was only one step away from Core Formation Major Achievement and could enter the Pseudo-Nascent Stage in a few years.
Li Feiyu valued him quite highly and had already promised him a Nascent Soul Opportunity, which made him even more willing to work for him.
Li Feiyu went deep into the mine and arrived at the location of the Ancient Teleportation Array.
Ancient Teleportation Arrays were rare. Even though they knew it might not work, the Ghost Spirit Sect was reluctant to destroy it.
Li Feiyu scanned the surroundings and tapped his Storage Pouch. Six mid-grade Spirit Stones fell into the slots of the teleportation array.
After thinking for a moment, he took out his commonly used Illusory Flickering Central Immovable Grand Formation, set it up around the Ancient Teleportation Array, and left Crimson Crow here.
This set was naturally far inferior to the Major Achievement island-protecting array on Sangxing Island, but it would have no problem withstanding the full-force attacks of an Early Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator for a day or two.
"Zhou Yuan, Crimson Crow, I'll leave this place to you. I'll be back soon."
Crimson Crow, in its miniature form, flapped its wings and said, "Leave it to me, Master."
Zhou Yuan also said respectfully, "I will guard this place well. Even if that Ghost Spirit Sect Nascent Soul Cultivator comes, I won't let him take a single step inside."
Li Feiyu nodded with satisfaction.
In fact, even without leaving Crimson Crow, with the grand array and this group of Core Formation Cultivators, the safety here was assured.
Crimson Crow was just a precaution.
Li Feiyu took out the Great Teleportation Token and silently recited something. The Ancient Teleportation Array suddenly lit up with a dazzling yellow light, and after a few breaths, his figure vanished without a trace.
Zhou Yuan asked curiously, "Senior Crimson Crow, where did Senior Li go?"
"The Chaotic Star Sea. Have you heard of it?"
Zhou Yuan's eyes lit up. "I haven't been there, but many of the Cultivators who entered the Infernal Hell were also from the Chaotic Star Sea. One of my good friends happens to be from there."
"I heard him say that the Chaotic Star Sea is a marine cultivation world, vast and boundless, with numerous islands. Most islands have Spiritual Veins, and the deep sea is filled with countless Demon Beasts and rare Materials."
"However, there don't seem to be many Great Cultivators there, only a handful. There isn't even a single Deity Transformation expert. It's far inferior to our Great Jin."
Crimson Crow also asked curiously, "Kid, what is the Great Jin like? Master said it's the center of the Mortal Realm's cultivation world."
"Naturally. Most of the top ten Righteous and Demonic Sects in the Great Jin have Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivators presiding over them. The top three even have two or more, and some even have Deity Transformation Cultivators suppressing a region."
"Not to mention others, just my former Sect, the Taiyi Sect, had over twenty Nascent Soul Stage Elders alone. The Sect has two Nascent Soul Late Stage Great Cultivators and one Deity Transformation Old Ancestor. Even among all the cultivation forces in the Great Jin, it ranks in the top five."
"In a large Sect, although the Legacy is complete, the competition is also incredibly fierce. If it weren't for the fact that the Nascent Soul Opportunity was beyond my reach, I wouldn't have gone out to travel alone to find it, and I wouldn't have fallen into the Infernal Hell, wasting these hundred-plus years."
Crimson Crow flapped its wings and said, "Kid, stop sighing. Meeting my Master is also your good luck. With my Master's help, your chances of ascending to the Nascent Soul won't be small."
"My Master is destined to be the future number one Cultivator of the Mortal Realm!"
Seeing Crimson Crow's proud and divine air, Zhou Yuan wanted to retort but didn't have the heart to discourage it.
Deity Transformation was not that simple. Not to mention that, even for the Nascent Soul Late Stage, there were over a hundred Nascent Soul Middle Stage peak Cultivators in the Great Jin stuck at this bottleneck.
"Go outside. I'll guard this place."
Zhou Yuan nodded, then flew out of the cave to take control of the overall situation... The Chaotic Star Sea.
After leaving the teleportation array, Li Feiyu utilized his wind-thunder wings, turning into a green and gold streak of light, and flew toward Sangxing Island.
In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he reached Sangxing Island.
He spread out his Divine Sense and quickly found Jin Yuan's location.
He smiled and appeared at the door of a shop called the Golden Sun Sundries Shop in a few flashes. A middle-aged Daoist was lying on a lounge chair at the door, leisurely reading a book called Detailed Explanation of Elementary Formations.
"Wonderful, truly wonderful. The Dao of Formations is indeed broad and profound!"
"Although humans do not have our powerful bodies and innate Divine Abilities, various techniques have been researched to the limit, carving out many different paths."
"Sigh, in contrast, we Demon Beasts and the Spirit Race mostly rely on our innate gifts."
Feeling a familiar magic power appear in front of the shop, Jin Yuan put down the book and looked over, a smile appearing on his face. "Fellow Daoist Li, why are you here? Weren't you out traveling with that beauty?"
"Eh, where is that heavenly-looking woman? You didn't just eat her up completely and..."
"Stop, stop, stop. What are you saying? Don't use words if you don't know how to use them. I came here because I have business with you."
Li Feiyu told him about the matters in Tiannan.
Jin Yuan was greatly shocked after hearing it. "You actually controlled a teleportation array connecting that Tiannan place and the Chaotic Star Sea?!"
"You are truly lucky!"
"There are many things to do in Tiannan. I came specifically to ask you to go and guard it for a while. As long as Fellow Daoist Jin Yuan agrees, I guarantee this teleportation array will be open to you unconditionally, and you'll be able to come and go freely."
"Although the Chaotic Star Sea is rich in resources, the center of the cultivation world is the Great Jin on the other side. Eighty to ninety percent of the Deity Transformation Cultivators in the Mortal Realm stay there. If you want to know where the most Deity Transformation Opportunities are, it's undoubtedly the Great Jin."
Jin Yuan was moved by the words, and after thinking for a while, he agreed.
"Sigh, I just have a life of toil, being arranged by you here and there. Truly a hard life!"
Li Feiyu smiled and didn't say much.
"Wait here for a moment. I'll go call a few more people."
Before long, two more people appeared beside Li Feiyu: Tianwuzi and Elder Liu.
"Let's go."
Li Feiyu took them to the nameless deserted island. Since Li Feiyu hadn't told Tianwuzi and the other about it, they were exceptionally surprised to see the teleportation array.
"Aren't you afraid that the two of us will leak the secret of this place in the future, Fellow Daoist Li?" Tianwuzi asked in confusion.
"Afraid of what? In a few decades at most, I will open it up. At that time, Cultivators above Core Formation will only need to pay Spirit Stones to travel between the two places."
A look of astonishment appeared in Tianwuzi's eyes. He hadn't expected Li Feiyu to have such magnanimity. If it were him, he would definitely never leak this secret.
Elder Liu, on the other hand, felt a deep sense of crisis from this move, a crisis for the Star Palace's future hegemonic status.
"Rest assured, after a hundred years, I will set you free. Of course, if you want to become Elders of my Sect, I will consider it."
Jin Yuan looked at the grand array around the teleportation array and praised, "Fellow Daoist Li, you set up this surrounding Formation, didn't you? Quite a grand undertaking."
"It has the effects of killing, illusion, defense, and Qi gathering, with all Five Element complete. It seems you have thoroughly mastered what you obtained from that Immortal Cave last time."
Li Feiyu gave a polite yet graceful smile.
He activated the Great Teleportation Token, and in an instant, several people arrived at the Ancient Teleportation Array in the mine.
Crimson Crow was slightly dazed. "Master, you're so fast!"
"I said I'd be back soon." Li Feiyu's mouth twitched slightly.
"Find a place to meditate and practice your Qi. I need to spend some time setting up a grand array here as well."
This place wasn't like the Ancient Teleportation Array in the Chaotic Star Sea, which only he and Han Li knew about.
This was a Ghost Spirit Sect outpost. If they found out Li Feiyu had occupied this place, they would immediately realize the Ancient Teleportation Array on the other side had been repaired and the two places were connected again.
At that time, they would certainly spare no effort to attack this place and take the teleportation array.
Even if they found their own strength insufficient, they would definitely pull in the rest of the Tiannan Demonic Path to exert pressure.
However, that shouldn't happen so quickly.
Li Feiyu was familiar with setting up grand arrays. For this side's array, he placed more importance on defense and killing power, removing unnecessary illusion effects.
Li Feiyu went all out for this grand array, paying a significant price and spending three months to finally complete the setup.
Tianwuzi and the others were alarmed. Just the killing power that the grand array had erupted with before was enough to annihilate them.
Jin Yuan sighed, "Even I probably couldn't break in without paying a certain price."
"Fellow Daoist, are you perhaps joking?"
Jin Yuan looked at Tianwuzi and smiled. "Do you think I'm joking?"
The massive pressure of a Level 10 Demon Beast fell on the heads of Tianwuzi and Elder Liu. The two suddenly felt their bodies grow heavy, as if facing a natural enemy, and their hearts were filled with extreme horror.
"Ten... Level 10... A Level 10 Demon Beast!"
The two of them had terrified expressions, their faces full of disbelief.
"Fellow Daoist Jin Yuan, look how you've scared them."
Jin Yuan laughed heartily and then withdrew the pressure. It took a long time for Tianwuzi and the other to recover.
But no matter how they thought about it, they couldn't understand how Li Feiyu had managed to invite this Level 10 Demon Beast. Looking at his previous manner, it seemed he had also stayed on Sangxing Island for a while.
Were the two of them friends?
"Let me explain the situation first. This is an outpost for the Ghost Spirit Sect, a Demonic Path Sect in Tiannan. The Ghost Spirit Sect has four or five Nascent Soul Cultivators, one at the Middle Stage and the rest at the Early Stage."
Jin Yuan was slightly surprised. "With this strength, even you alone shouldn't have anything to fear."
"How should I put it... simply put, I'm very busy."
Jin Yuan's mouth twitched. "You make it sound like I'm not busy."
Li Feiyu ignored him and continued, "It's only a matter of time before they discover this place has been taken over. They should attack soon. Of course, according to my expectations, they won't all attack at the beginning."
"You just fight according to the situation. For example, if one Early Stage Nascent Soul comes, one of you goes out. If more than three come..."
He looked at Jin Yuan and said with a smile, "Then Fellow Daoist will have to step in."
"Fine, I understand."
Li Feiyu nodded. "You don't know, but the situation here in Tiannan is more complicated than in your Chaotic Star Sea. The Demonic Path is a single entity composed of the Demon Path Six Sects, and this Ghost Spirit Sect is the weakest among them."
"They are closely linked. If they eventually find they can't take this place, they will probably notify the rest of the Demon Path Six Sects."
"At that time, the Great Cultivators on the Demonic Path side will definitely step in."
Seeing their worried faces, Li Feiyu smiled. "Don't worry, there aren't many Great Cultivators in Tiannan. There's only one in the entire Demonic Path, and that's the Joyful Union Sect's Grand Elder."
"When it reaches that stage, I will naturally step in and find a way to mediate."
Jin Yuan thought about it. "That works. With your strength, you should be able to deter them."
Tianwuzi and Elder Liu felt like they were listening to pure fantasy. Did Jin Yuan saying that mean Li Feiyu was even stronger than him?
But how was that possible?!
It had only been thirty-some years since he formed his Nascent Soul!
Li Feiyu didn't care what Tianwuzi and the other were thinking. After giving some instructions, he left the place with Crimson Crow.