C534 Once Owned
After Old Cash uttered those words, he deflated like a frostbitten eggplant.
Gao Qin, for his part, was indifferent.
But the individual secretly observing him through the crystal jade pendant on Gao Qin's neck was a different story; Old Cash had to pay attention to them.
Whoever had the clout to command Gao Qin to surveil him was undoubtedly a high-ranking member of the chamber of commerce!
He speculated it might be Zhu Peining, but when Gao Qin prompted him to guess higher, who else could it be beyond Zhu Peining?
It could only be one of the three formidable guardians appointed by the Chamber of Commerce on Babel Island!
Each guardian was at the esteemed Yang God Stage, far beyond Old Cash's ability to provoke.
Two of them had suffered varying degrees of injury due to the piercing sunlight and lightning, likely harboring a simmering rage, searching for an outlet.
"I truly don't know where Yu Yuan is," Old Cash said, as his physical form soared from beneath the sea to merge with his Yin God, perching amidst the misty locust trees.
He dared not venture into the toxic mists below. Gazing at Gao Qin through the haze, he offered a wry smile, "I'm unable to conceal him, either."
Gao Qin responded with a disdainful snort.
Suddenly, a shrill scream echoed from an unnamed location on the island, causing Old Cash's face to pale.
The source of the scream was Du Jing, a figure afflicted with poison, a hunched back, and a bald head.
Du Jing had fled from him earlier, using his stealth powers to burrow into the ground and then into the sea, thinking he had made a clean escape. Yet, even deep beneath the waves where he couldn't sense any movement, he still suffered a grave injury.
Seizing the moment, Old Cash caught sight of the direction from which the scream emanated, and there was a familiar face.
It was Zhu Peining, the ostensible manager of the "Pirate Ship."
Hovering in the air, Zhu Peining offered him a smile and a nod, then with a gentle tug at the sea below...
Splash!
A vast net, woven from golden and silver lightning, ensnared the recently escaped Du Jing. Like a fish in a net, he was effortlessly hauled out by her.
As a fellow Soul Wandering Stage practitioner, Old Cash was wary of Du Jing's toxic nature and the numerous traps left in the locust forest, so he refrained from striking with full force.
Zhu Peining had effortlessly captured Du Jing, making it seem almost too easy.
"It's maddening how some people make everything look so simple," Old Cash muttered, his gaze fixed on the large net woven from strands of gold and silver light, feeling the spiritual energy pulsing through it.
Both at the Soul Wandering Stage, yet the artifacts in Zhu Peining's possession were leagues beyond his own.
Zhu Peining's arsenal was not only vast but also of superior rank, allowing her to effectively ensnare Du Jing, despite his body being riddled with poison, with that very net.
"Where is the man?" Zhu Peining asked, her smile directed at both Du Jing and Old Cash.
Du Jing, his back hunched and oozing with toxic smog and green fluid, surveyed the locust forest below with a lifeless gaze. Finding nothing, he voiced his confusion, "Aren't we all here?"
Scared by Old Cash and intent on fleeing, he hadn't looked back to assess the situation.
Unbeknownst to him, after Yu Yuan had departed, he had stealthily emerged from the sea, delved into its depths, causing the smoke to disperse, and then quietly used the key to penetrate further—all without Du Jing's knowledge.
He had assumed that Old Cash, along with Gao Qin and Zhu Peining from the chamber of commerce, were simply there to hassle him.
"There's one more person," Zhu Peining declared.
Du Jing's heart skipped a beat, and a tidal wave of realization crashed over him. He considered a possibility.
After more than three hundred years, someone had finally sought out the legacy of that person!
As a Medicine Slave privy to the secrets of this place, and intimately familiar with his master's temperament, it seemed obvious to him that, after three centuries, a chosen successor had emerged. Despite numerous challenges, the successor had arrived.
He was here, awaiting the arrival of that person's heir!
His plan was to confirm the identity of the newcomer as the rightful successor, eliminate him, and extract the method to enter the secret realm, seizing all the fortunes for himself.
Du Jing had served as a Medicine Slave his entire life, never once receiving the favor or teachings of the true alchemical arts from his master.
To the world, his master had never acknowledged him as a disciple.
He was merely... a Medicine Slave!
Because of this, Du Jing harbored a deep-seated resentment, a bitterness that had festered for half his life, and it was something he could never put to rest.
"Since the Chamber of Commerce knows it all, they can search on their own," Old Cash said bluntly. "We left the island openly, without hindrance from you, yet you shadow us in secret. I'm curious, what does the Chamber of Commerce intend to do? To my knowledge, the Chamber doesn't engage in the mainland's bloodshed and power struggles. They don't start trouble unless provoked."
Zhu Peining's expression darkened. "With two of Babel Island's three guardians injured, isn't that provocation enough?"
"Why not seek out the Cold Yin Sect's female disciple then?" Old Cash challenged.
"Isn't that what we're doing?" Zhu Peining retorted with a huff.
Old Cash fell silent, pondering for a moment before a realization dawned on him.
The Babel Chamber of Commerce had yet to capture Lim Zhuyun. After she vanished into the sea, tracking her became impossible.
The Chamber has eyes and ears all over the Crack Archipelago, not to mention numerous 'Eyes of the Artifact' surveilling the land and sea.
If even the Chamber can't locate her, other sects and powers would find it even harder to scour the skies and depths of the Crack Archipelago for Lim Zhuyun.
Zhu Peining's reference to searching... she meant through Yu Yuan!
It was a well-established fact that Yu Yuan could lure out Lim Zhuyun.
Should Yu Yuan show up, it wouldn't be long before Lim Zhuyun followed suit.
But if Yu Yuan remained on the island, Lim Zhuyun, even if aware, might not risk revealing herself.
So...
"Since the Great Sword Immortal of Sword Island has intervened on behalf of Yu Yuan, the Chamber has to show respect and extend hospitality on the island. They won't force him to leave or use him as bait," Old Cash saw the truth. "But if he were to leave the island quietly, without the Chamber's involvement, they could easily wash their hands of the matter."
At his words, Zhu Peining and Gao Qin fell silent, tacitly confirming his speculation.
Like a phantom, a Silver Rainbow Magic Shuttle emerged silently on the far side of the island.
Above, Mo Yan surveyed his surroundings.
Old Cash cast a glance at him, then tuned into the vital essence of the Devil Palace's Devil Envoy, a shiver running through his core.
He instantly grasped that Yu Yuan had stirred a hornet's nest the moment he departed the island.
"This individual practices the toxic arts of the Voodoo Cult but has been cast out," Mo Yan remarked casually, perched on the rim of the Devil Shuttle. His cultivation had reached the pinnacle of the late Yin God Stage, on par with Gao Qin, and he was on the cusp of breaking through to the Soul Wandering Stage. With a squint, he added, "His soul isn't whole. He's likely concealing other tricks up his sleeve."
"I'll extract his soul," the Devil Envoy declared impassively.
Du Jing's complexion turned deathly pale.
He abruptly understood that to the Babel Chamber of Commerce and the Devil Palace, he was a mere pawn, easily crushed without a second thought.
"Allow me."
The moment the Devil Envoy spoke, a strand of black radiance shot out from the Silver Rainbow Magic Shuttle, heading straight for Du Jing.
With a bitter chuckle, Du Jing conceded, "So be it."
Boom!
His hunched back burst open, spewing a kaleidoscope of venomous fluids, mixed with bone shards and blood, scattering in a brilliant display like fireworks.
This man, who had stood vigil in the forest for years, intent on erasing the successor and seizing his destiny, chose to end his life on the spot.
He was acutely aware that survival would only lead to a fate far worse.
"A carcass long overdue for death, clinging to life solely through an array of potent toxins," the Devil Envoy scoffed. "I sense a soul tether reaching out to him from the Desolate Swamp in the Qianxuan Empire. His other half must reside in the Desolate Swamp."
...
Deep within the dimly lit hall at the island's base, a three-legged pill furnace stood at the very center.
Shaped like a yellow gourd, the furnace was intricately carved with mythical creatures such as the Qilin, Vermillion Bird, Phoenix, and Fiery Dragon, each depicted with such vivid detail they seemed to be alive, exhaling flames and exuding fiery energy.
Hidden at the base of the furnace was an Eight Trigrams pattern.
The dark yellow pill furnace, as tall as a man, housed Flame Crystals at its base, their fiery glow pulsating and occasionally flickering with light.
The moment Yu Yuan laid eyes on the pill furnace within the hall, he was thunderstruck, nearly overwhelmed with emotion. A whisper escaped his lips, "Old friend..."
This pill furnace was a rarity in the world, devoid of any Artifact Soul within.
Yet, its material and the intricate flame array etched upon it were nearly impossible to duplicate or reproduce.
Crafted by a hermit Refiner from the Artifact Sect, this pill furnace was a bespoke creation from his former master in a past life.
The reason was simple: he had not succeeded in embarking on the path of cultivation.
In the mainstream, cultivators like his senior brother, Zhong Chichen, excelled as both alchemists and practitioners.
With a cultivated Spiritual Sense and a condensed Yin God, one could commune with the Artifact Soul through the soul's intent. For such an alchemist, a pill furnace housing an Artifact Soul was only natural.
But for Yu Yuan, who had not set foot on the cultivator's journey, his three souls remained untransformed, making communication with any Artifact Soul within the furnace elusive.
Moreover, unlike his senior brother, whose refined realm allowed him to kindle the pill furnace with his own flames to concoct pills, Yu Yuan had to rely on subterranean flames or various Flame Crystals for heat.
The constraints were many for an alchemist unable to cultivate. Without his extraordinary talent for alchemy, it would have been unfathomable for him to ascend to the position of Sect Master of the Medicine God Sect.
His inability to cultivate meant his pill furnace was distinct from those of other alchemists.
The furnace's three legs were hollowed out to draw in the earth's fiery core, transforming the geothermal blaze into fuel to melt higher-grade pellets.
The Eight Trigrams Formation at the base could endure the scorching heat of Flame Crystals, ensuring the continuation of alchemy in the absence of earth fire.
Dusty cabinets stood beside the pill furnace, housing an array of high-quality Spirit Crystals, jade, and numerous vials and jars.
Inhaling the musty air and gazing at the pill furnace that had once been so familiar, Yu Yuan murmured, "I have returned."
