Chapter 488 489: News from Yu An, 3 Destinations

When they reached the private room on the second floor, the ever-sisterly Yu An was already waiting.

The Cyan Sky Sect hadn't implemented the tower-challenge system here. Since he didn't need to select disciples, it had simply been set up as a normal Drunken Immortal Brew House.

Chen Dong and Murong Qing took their seats. Yu An proficiently produced a storage pouch and said with a warm smile, "Chen Xingzou, this is the profit share from the last few months. Please take a look."

Without looking, Chen Dong put the storage pouch away and asked coolly, "What's Peak Master Zisang's game? She just left me here and hasn't checked in at all."

Yu An replied bluntly, "It's not that Master hasn't been asking about you. She just... doesn't want to see you."

"She doesn't want to see me? I haven't done anything to offend her, have I?"

"I'm not sure myself. Master's exact words were, 'That brat Chen Dong... Even now, I get furious just thinking about him. If he showed his face in front of me right now, I'd break every bone in his body, then rip out his tongue to polish my shoes and see if that mouth of his can still run so wild!'"

"I have no idea why Master is so fixated on tearing out your tongue, but regardless, her fury hasn't faded in the slightest!"

Yu An's imitation was so vivid it sent a chill through Chen Dong's entire being. He knew perfectly well why she wanted to tear out his tongue. 'All I did was steal a little taste, and she's held a grudge for an entire year over it.'

At the mention of this, Murong Qing also frowned at Chen Dong, her expression faintly angry.

A deeper chill went through Chen Dong. 'Women really do hold grudges!'

Then there was Mu Qingzhu in the Jade Embryo. For the past year, she'd been in a cold war with Chen Dong, with neither of them saying a word to the other.

Yu An continued, "I've also brought you some news."

Chen Dong's expression grew serious as he listened intently. 'News that Yu An has to deliver in person must be important.'

"The Demon Race army outside the Guardian Array has withdrawn. What's more, they've released a large number of humans back to our side. The sect leadership has received intelligence that many of these returnees have been swayed by the Demon Race and are returning with secret missions. The sect has already isolated them for now, but word has spread—the Demon Race has put an enormous bounty on your life!"

Chen Dong's brow furrowed. What was meant to come had finally come. According to the historical records of the Floating Shadow Realm, the Human and Demon Races were not always enemies. There had been a time of harmony, filled with stories of romances between Human-Demons. Some human families had even relied on the Demon Race to survive. Consequently, when the great war between the two races erupted, these families defected to the Demon Race. Even now, in the territories conquered by the demons, there remained numerous human cities with substantial human populations.

The internal politics of the Human Race were complex. Even with the Guardian Array separating them, many human forces from the outside had managed to infiltrate the lands within.

Chen Dong had actually expected a bounty like this to appear sooner. He was surprised the Demon Race had to physically send people in to spread the news. 'It seems the Guardian Array is quite effective at blocking information from passing through.'

Items like Communication Talismans required a raw material known as Homophone Stone. They were not only complex and expensive to create, but their transmission range was limited to a thousand miles, and they could not penetrate the Guardian Array. In contrast, the Xingzou token Chen Dong currently possessed was made with Homophone Stone Marrow, an extremely rare material, making its creation even more difficult. While it could transmit messages over ten thousand miles and pierce the Guardian Array, the entire Cyan Sky Sect possessed very few of them.

Yu An continued, "The sect's intention is for you to return at once. They'll arrange a special place for you to cultivate, and you won't be allowed to leave until Martial Uncle Tian reaches the Realm of Severing the Dao to See the Self."

As the focus of Tian Sisi's emotional cultivation, Chen Dong had to remain alive until she reached the Realm of Severing the Dao to See the Self. In fact, his only duty was to stay alive.

Chen Dong's frown deepened. The sect's offer sounded like protection, but it was tantamount to imprisonment. In the past, even the most brilliant and talented Cyan Emperors had failed to reach the Realm of Severing the Dao to See the Self within a millennium. If Tian Sisi also took a thousand years, that meant he would be stuck in that so-called cultivation ground for a thousand years.

After a moment of thought, Chen Dong asked, "Are there other options?"

It wasn't that he was unwilling to enter long-term seclusion for Tian Sisi's cultivation path—plus, he was confident that someone of her talent wouldn't need a thousand years to reach that realm. But from the way Yu An had phrased "the sect's intention," it was clear there were other options.

Yu An's friendly smile vanished. She let out a soft sigh. "Sigh... Wouldn't it be nice to stay within the sect? Are you sure you want to hear the other option?"

"There's no harm in listening."

"There are two other options. The first is to be exiled back to the Jiuzhou Realm. Likewise, you would be forbidden from returning to the Floating Shadow Realm until Martial Uncle Tian reaches the Realm of Severing the Dao to See the Self. The Demon Race's influence hasn't yet penetrated the Jiuzhou Realm, so with your level of power, you'd be completely safe there, and the sect would have nothing to worry about."

Chen Dong asked again, "And the other?"

The Spiritual Qi in the Jiuzhou Realm couldn't compare to that of the Floating Shadow Realm. For a Golden Core cultivator like Chen Dong, it was far better to stay in the Floating Shadow Realm to cultivate more effectively.

Yu An smiled coldly. "In one month, Master will be taking over as the City Lord of Lexian City ahead of schedule. From that point on, you will have to stay by her side at all times."

Chen Dong raised an eyebrow. "Did something happen to Peak Master Fu Xiao?"

Yu An was stunned. "How did you know?"

"Replacing a Border City Lord is an extremely complicated matter. You have to swap out a huge number of personnel—not just from the City Lord's Mansion and the City Army, but even the disciples garrisoning the Guardian Array. To move the handover up by an entire year, with only one month of preparation... the only possible reason is that something has happened to Peak Master Fu Xiao, making an early replacement absolutely necessary."

Yu An sighed once more. "Sigh... This is information known only to the highest levels of the sect. You mustn't spread it around!"

Chen Dong's eyes narrowed. "I'm not exactly a social butterfly. Who would I tell?"

Yu An nodded. 'That's true,' she thought. Besides, Chen Dong was already aware of some of the details.

So she explained, "Peak Master Fu Xiao... his cultivation has plummeted! He fell from the Late-stage Nascent Soul Realm all the way down to the First-Layer Nascent Soul!"