Chapter 598: The Return Journey Takes a Turn

For the past several hundred years, the remnants of the Fish Dragon Sect had kept a low profile. Even after reaching the Core Formation Realm, they didn’t dare openly reveal their identities.

In part, this was due to fear of pursuit from powers in the Outer Sea. While the Demon Race of the Star Constellation Sea couldn’t come ashore, the sects in the Ten Thousand Stars Islands—built upon the corpse of the Fish Dragon Sect—had no such restrictions.

In hunting down the Fish Dragon Sect’s survivors, they were even more zealous than the Star Constellation Sea.

A greater reason, however, was the fear of attracting greedy and envious sects.

The Fish Dragon Sect wasn’t well-known in the inland regions, but it was, after all, the only Nascent Soul Major Sect to have established a foothold in the Outer Sea.

After the Sect’s destruction, the legacies carried by the disciples of its various lineages, along with its hidden Secret Vaults, were a tempting, juicy prize to many other sects.

Moreover, the Fish Dragon Sect’s remnants lacked the power to protect what they had. They weren’t an inland sect, so they didn’t even have friendly allies who could offer them some measure of protection.

The situation didn’t change until the great war between the Human and Demon Races broke out.

All five lineage successors, with the exception of the mysteriously vanished Li Hansi, were sought out by cultivators from the Super Sects.

Only then did they discover that to these Super Sects, their whereabouts were like an open book, with no secrets to speak of.

These powers were specifically interested in the Fish Dragon Sect. Although the war’s front lines were still drawn along the banks of the Jishui River, some sects had already set their sights on the Outer Sea.

They each offered their own terms, promising to support the Fish Dragon Sect in re-establishing itself on the Ten Thousand Stars Islands.

However, these were mostly empty promises; the tangible support offered was next to nothing.

It was merely a strategic, speculative move on their part, hoping the Fish Dragon Sect still had some tricks up its sleeve in the Outer Sea that could stir up trouble and distract the Demon Race.

Regardless of their individual personalities, Chen Ze and the others had all grown up without the protection of a sect, making every one of them naturally cautious.

Not a single one of them would be foolish enough to charge headlong back to the Ten Thousand Stars Islands based on the Super Sects’ vague promises.

In contrast, Chen Ze’s proposal—to find Li Hansi and explore the Overseas Immortal Mansion together—seemed far more practical.

They even considered outwardly agreeing to the Super Sects’ proposals to squeeze some benefits out of them, while in reality, they would set off for the Outer Sea to explore the Immortal Mansion.

Another powerful temptation was the Fish Dragon Sect’s strongest Divine Technique, the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword. The key to practicing it lay with Li Hansi.

Back when they had all fled Hornless Dragon Island, the Profound Clarity Lineage had taken with them the most crucial item: the Holy Beast Essence Blood.

As a result, the other four main lineages possessed the cultivation method for the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, but they were unable to even begin their training.

Now that they had all reached the Core Formation Realm, they gradually began to harbor other ideas, setting their sights on the Holy Beast Essence Blood.

Li Hansi had taken a Qing King Medicine Pill; if he couldn’t break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, he only had a few years left to live.

Even if the Profound Clarity Lineage had a successor, their strength would surely be no match for the other lineages.

When that time came, the matter of which lineage would safeguard the Holy Beast Essence Blood would be very much open for discussion.

After all, the position of Sect Leader hadn’t always been held by a cultivator from the Profound Clarity Lineage.

Then it was Chen Ze who had spoken up, saying he knew a Demon Cultivator who was a Steward at the Celestial Listening Shop in the Midheaven Black Market. This Steward supposedly knew everything under the heavens, claiming he could even track the movements of a Great True Monarch.

The group pooled their Spirit Stones and gave them to Chen Ze, who paid the Celestial Listening Shop to find out where Li Hansi had gone.

Just yesterday, Anx Ren had finally sent word, saying he had seen a cultivator matching the description.

They had all rushed over, only for it to be another dead end. They each carried an heirloom token from one of the five main lineages; if Li Hansi had been anywhere nearby, they would have sensed him long ago.

“Nonsense! Every time I’ve gone to make a deal, one of you has been there with me… Finding Junior Martial Uncle Li to open the Immortal Mansion is our top priority. What good would hiding anything do me?!”

Veins bulged on Chen Ze’s temples as he spoke, flicking his hand away in frustration.

Ever since he was young, his master had told him that back in the days of the Fish Dragon Sect, his cultivation speed ranked among the top three in the Yuanming Lineage. He had developed a high opinion of himself, believing that reaching the Nascent Soul Realm would be as easy as turning over his hand.

But only when one actually reached that final step could one truly understand how far away forming a Nascent Soul really was.

The Pill Discussion is set in stone; there are no regrets on the path of the Great Dao.

Chen Ze could already faintly sense that there had been room for improvement on his path, but unfortunately, no one had been there to remind him at the time. He had simply pursued progress in his cultivation level above all else.

In his current state, even if he tried to force his way to the Nascent Soul Realm, he feared he wouldn’t even succeed in manifesting the nascent “infant,” let alone face the subsequent Celestial Tribulation.

If he wanted to break through this impasse, his only hope was a Nascent Soul Pill. Otherwise, he would become just another one of those cultivators stuck at the Perfect Core Formation Realm, too afraid to take the final step before dying of old age.

And considering his age—he was already past his three-hundredth birthday in what felt like the blink of an eye—he didn’t have much time to waste.

He knew full well that the Overseas Immortal Mansion was his last chance; on his own, he could never gather the resources required for a Nascent Soul breakthrough.

To make matters worse, Li Hansi of the Profound Clarity Lineage—someone he’d had dealings with in the Eastern Domain—had pulled a vanishing act again. He was completely unreachable, and they were just wasting precious time.

On top of that, Chen Ze had often been active around Lankao Mountain before, so he had been caught up in the chaos at the very start of the war.

During his flight, his two closest junior martial brothers, the Kong Family brothers, had fallen one after the other to the claws of Demon Beasts. Neither of them had made it to the Central Domain alive.

A bitter rage was simmering inside him, ready to boil over at any moment.

“That information from the Celestial Listening Shop is half a year old! And they still had the nerve to charge us fifty Top-Grade Spirit Stones for it? What an easy way to make money!”

The Guanming lineage’s successor, a man with a large head on a small, thin frame, muttered continuously as he shook his head.

“So what if it’s six months old? The contact said a cultivator who looked like Junior Martial Uncle Li appeared in the Black Market, wearing a bamboo hat to hide his face. If it wasn’t for the Banner Flag at the Celestial Listening Shop’s entrance that can see through illusions, they wouldn’t have spotted him at all! Selling information on a customer’s whereabouts is a major taboo in the Black Market. Even if the news is six months old, they’re still taking a huge risk by telling us!”

Chen Ze had no desire to argue endlessly with his fellow sect members. If it weren’t for the fact that opening the Overseas Immortal Mansion was impossible without every single lineage, he would have gladly abandoned the rest of them.

“At the very least, we have a lead on Junior Martial Uncle Li. Knowing he’s still alive is the best news we could have hoped for. I’m going to use this area as a starting point and leave a Sect imprint every hundred li to search for him. If you’re willing, then let’s do it together. If not, we can go our separate ways. Just make sure you take on a few more disciples, so the traditions of our five great lineages don’t die out completely.”