C534 Once Owned
After Tong Laoqian uttered those words, he wilted like an eggplant hit by frost.
Gao Qin was unfazed.
Yet, the individual covertly observing him through the jade pendant around Gao Qin's neck demanded his attention. Only a high-ranking member of the chamber of commerce could command Gao Qin to spy on him.
He suspected Zhu Peining, but when prompted to guess higher, who else could it be beyond her?
It had to be one of the three great guardians stationed by the chamber on Celestial Isle!
Each guardian was a Solar Spirit, far beyond his league. Two of them had sustained varying degrees of injury due to Lin Zhuyun and the piercing solar flares. They were likely seething with rage, searching for an outlet.
"I truly don't know Yu Yuan's whereabouts," Tong Laoqian said as his real body soared from the depths of the sea, merging with his Lunar Spirit, and he stood atop the misty Silverwoods.
He dared not venture into the toxic mists below. Gazing at Gao Qin through the haze, he offered a bitter smile and admitted, "I can't conceal him either."
Gao Qin let out a disdainful snort.
Elsewhere on the unnamed island, a shrill scream cut through the silence.
Tong Laoqian's face paled once more.
The scream belonged to Du Jing, a figure marked by poison, a hunched back, and a bald head.
Du Jing, who had fled in terror, believed he had eluded capture by diving into the earth and then the sea. Yet, even deep underwater, he couldn't sense his pursuer and suffered a brutal blow.
Seizing the moment, Tong Laoqian glanced towards the source of the scream and recognized a familiar figure.
It was Zhu Peining, the official representative of the Sea Wanderer.
Hovering midair, Zhu Peining nodded with a smile at him and gently tugged at the water below.
With a swoosh, a net woven from golden and silver lightning enveloped Du Jing, who had just fled. Like casting a net for fish, she effortlessly captured him and drew him forth.
As a fellow Spirit Walk practitioner, Tong Laoqian, wary of Du Jing's poisonous nature and the traps left in the Silverwoods, refrained from striking with full force.
Zhu Peining effortlessly captured Du Jing, making it look like a walk in the park.
"It's maddening to compare oneself to others."
Tong Laoqian let out a sigh as he gazed upon the large net woven from strands of gold and silver light, feeling the spiritual energy pulsating within it.
Both were at the level of Spirit Walk, yet the artifacts in Zhu Peining's possession were leagues beyond his own.
Zhu Peining not only had an array of items, but they were also of high caliber, allowing her to aptly capture the poison-riddled Du Jing with the net.
"Where is he?"
Zhu Peining asked, her smile directed at both Du Jing and Tong Laoqian.
Du Jing, with toxic smog and green fluid trailing down his hunched back, surveyed the Silverwoods below and saw nothing, prompting his puzzled response, "Aren't all of us here?"
Spooked by Tong Laoqian, he had been intent on fleeing and failed to look back and assess the situation.
Yu Yuan had stealthily emerged from the sea after Du Jing's departure, slipping into its depths, causing the smoke to disperse, and quietly proceeded with the key—a sequence of events unbeknownst to Du Jing.
He had assumed that Tong Laoqian, accompanied by Gao Qin and Zhu Peining from the chamber of commerce, were the ones seeking him out.
"There's one more person," Zhu Peining declared.
Du Jing's heart skipped a beat as a tidal wave of realization crashed over him. He considered a possibility.
After more than three hundred years, a successor to that person had finally arrived!
As the herb slave privy to the secrets of this place and familiar with the temperament of his master, it seemed only logical to Du Jing that after three centuries, a chosen successor had emerged. Despite numerous challenges, the successor had made it here.
He was here, awaiting the arrival of that person's heir!
His intent was clear: to verify the newcomer's identity as the heir and then eliminate them, extracting the method to access the Mysterious Realm to seize all opportunities for himself!
Du Jing had spent his life as a herb slave, never once gaining the favor or the teachings of the true leechcraft from his master.
That person had never publicly acknowledged him as a disciple.
He was merely... a herb slave!
Because of this, Du Jing was filled with bitterness and resentment that he had harbored for half his life, unable to find peace.
"Since the Skyreach Consortium knows everything, they can search on their own," Tong Laoqian said bluntly. "You're well aware that we've left Celestial Isle without any interference from you, yet you've secretly followed us. I'm curious, what does the Skyreach Consortium intend to do? To my knowledge, the Consortium doesn't get involved in the mainland's bloodshed and power struggles. They won't provoke anyone unless provoked first, right?"
Zhu Peining's expression darkened. "With two of the three guardians of Celestial Isle injured, isn't that provocation enough?"
"Why not search for that female disciple from Winter's Bite?" Tong Laoqian suggested.
"Isn't that exactly what we're doing?" retorted Zhu Peining with a huff.
Tong Laoqian fell silent, pondering for a moment before a realization dawned on him.
The Skyreach Consortium had yet to capture Lin Zhuyun. After she had vanished into the sea, they lost track of her movements and failed to locate her.
The Consortium had numerous informants across the Sundering Isles and had installed many "eyes of the artifact" to monitor every corner of the heavens and earth.
If even the Consortium couldn't find her, other sects and forces would find it even harder to locate Lin Zhuyun in the skies or beneath the seas of the Sundering Isles.
What Zhu Peining meant by searching... was through Yu Yuan!
It was an undeniable truth that Yu Yuan could lure out Lin Zhuyun!
As long as Yu Yuan made an appearance, it wouldn't take long for Lin Zhuyun to show up as well.
However, if Yu Yuan remained on Celestial Isle, Lin Zhuyun might not reveal herself, even if she was aware.
So...
"Because the Grand Sword Immortal from Sword Island intervened on behalf of Yu Yuan, the Consortium must show respect and extend their hospitality on the island. They won't force him to leave or use him as bait as long as he stays put," Tong Laoqian analyzed. "But if he were to leave the island quietly, without the Consortium's involvement, they could easily deny any responsibility."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Peining and Gao Qin fell silent, tacitly confirming his speculation.
A Silver Rainbow Shuttle materialized silently on the far side of Celestial Isle, ghostlike in its appearance.
Above, Mo Yan surveyed his surroundings.
Tong Laoqian caught a glimpse of him and sensed the Dark Herald's vitality, a shiver running through him.
He instantly realized that Yu Yuan had stirred up quite the commotion the moment he departed the island.
"This individual practices the venomcraft of the Poison Cult but has been cast out," Mo Yan commented, reclining on the edge of the Warp Spindle. He had reached the pinnacle of the late Lunar Spirit stage, nearly on the cusp of achieving Spirit Walk, much like Gao Qin. Squinting his eyes, he spoke with a nonchalant air, "His soul is fragmented; undoubtedly, he has other hidden tricks up his sleeve."
"I'll perform the Mindflay," the Dark Herald declared impassively.
Du Jing's complexion turned the color of death.
He abruptly came to the realization that, in the eyes of the Skyreach Consortium and the Devil Palace, he was an insignificant figure who could be snuffed out at a moment's notice without any repercussions.
"Allow me to proceed."
No sooner had the Dark Herald spoken than a strand of black radiance surged from the Silver Rainbow Shuttle towards Du Jing.
With a bitter laugh, Du Jing conceded, "So be it."
Boom!
His hunched back burst open, spewing a kaleidoscope of venomous fluids mixed with bone shards and blood in a display as spectacular as fireworks.
This man, who had stood vigil in the Silverwoods for years, intent on erasing the legacy of his target and seizing his destiny, chose to end his own life on the spot.
He was acutely aware that survival would only lead to a fate more wretched.
"A husk long overdue for death, clinging to life solely through an array of poisons," the Dark Herald scoffed. "I can sense a remnant soul in the Godsblight Marsh within the Aetherius Empire. Part of him must reside in the Godsblight Marsh."
...
In the dimly lit hall at the island's base, a three-legged furnace stood at the center.
The furnace, shaped like a yellow gourd, had its walls adorned with carvings of Kylin, Vermillion Bird, Phoenix, Fire Dragon, and other ancient Emberfiends, all rendered with such realism they seemed to breathe fire and exude fiery energy.
Hidden at the furnace's base was an Eight Trigrams pattern.
The dark yellow furnace, as tall as a man, housed a Fire Crystal at its foundation, its fiery glow pulsing and occasionally flashing.
Upon laying eyes on the furnace, Yu Yuan was struck with a profound sense of awe, nearly moved to tears. He whispered to himself, "Old friend..."
The furnace was an exceedingly rare artifact, devoid of an artifact soul within its structure.
Crafting such a furnace, with its unique materials and intricately engraved fire circle, was a feat not easily replicated.
In his past life, his master had commissioned a reclusive forger from the Artifact Sect to tailor-make this furnace for him.
The reason was simple: he had not managed to embark on the path of cultivation.
Individuals like his senior brother, Zhong Chichen, who excelled as both a herbalist and a cultivator, were the norm.
With a cultivated spiritual sense and a condensed Lunar Spirit, a herbalist could communicate with an artifact soul using their remnant soul, making the presence of an artifact soul in their furnace a matter of course.
However, Yu Yuan's inability to cultivate meant that his three souls could not fully transform, rendering communication with any potential artifact soul in the furnace exceedingly difficult.
Moreover, if one's cultivation was sufficiently advanced, like his senior brother's, they could use their own flames to light the furnace and concoct pills.
Yu Yuan, on the other hand, had to rely on the heat from the earth's core or various Fire Crystals as his source of fire.
The constraints faced by a non-cultivating herbalist were numerous. Had it not been for his exceptional talent in alchemy, it would have been inconceivable for him to ascend to the position of sect master of the Order of Healing without the ability to cultivate.
His inability to cultivate meant that his furnace was distinct from those of other herbalists.
The three-legged furnace featured hollow feet, designed to draw in the Earthfire vein, using the fierce earthfire as fuel to melt and refine high-quality pills.
The Eight Trigrams Formation etched into the base of the furnace could endure the intense heat of the Fire Crystals, allowing for the continuation of alchemy when earthfire was unavailable.
Dusty cupboards stood beside the furnace, housing an array of high-quality Psicrystals, jade, and numerous vials.
Inhaling the musty air and gazing at the familiar furnace before him, Yu Yuan softly declared, "I have returned."
