Chapter 452: Influence

"Young master!"

That voice full of joy undoubtedly came from Yunhe's maid, Zhen Zhu.

Quite obvious.

Ice Osmanthus Fairy had long suspected that Zhen Zhu's identity might attract attention from certain parties, so she had already placed Zhen Zhu inside Yunhe's cave abode's restrictions.

One reason is that Dong Ning Xuan is in closed-door cultivation, so Zhen Zhu's assistance as a dharma protector provides a good excuse.

On the other hand, if anyone tried to forcibly take Zhen Zhu away, they would first need to break the restrictions left by Yunhe.

This is completely different from merely summoning Zhen Zhu for questioning; forcibly breaking Yunhe's cave abode restrictions would almost be tantamount to declaring war on Yunhe, requiring everyone to weigh whether they could afford to offend him and what pressure and cost they would incur.

Also, due to the sealing and isolation of the cave abode's restrictions, Zhen Zhu did not know Yunhe had returned, nor was she fully aware that Yunhe had previously fought Qi Lin Chang Lan.

So when she saw Yunhe, surprise was her greatest emotion.

She hurried over in a few quick steps, her bright eyes like pearls gazing eagerly at him.

He isn't a female cultivator, so why bother making the cave abode look so nice?

To him, a cave abode only needs two conditions to be excellent.

Zhen Zhu nodded vigorously.

Young master, have you tamed a fourth-level early-stage earth demon beast as a spirit beast?

"Really?"

Studying formations, learning and refining them into Sea Clan treasures.

He patted her head and softly comforted:

"It's fine."

Upon hearing that, Zhen Zhu's eyes lit up, and she immediately muttered, "It's a shame I left in such a rush last time—I didn't bring many beautiful coral flower seeds; otherwise I could have decorated this place even more beautifully."

Faint halos of light shone on the walls surrounding the cave abode, like rippling waves, as if the entire cave abode lay beneath the sea.

Inside the cave abode.

Honestly, the spirit vein where the Ice Fairy Pavilion resides can no longer fully meet his daily cultivation needs.

However, with aids like the Condensed Fat Ice Clear Lotus and the Spirit Gathering Array, it can barely suffice.

The Cold Chant Jiao, the Gold-devouring Armored Beast, and two poisonous flood dragons appeared here.

Hearing the sound, Yunhe, seated cross-legged atop the Condensed Fat Ice Clear Lotus, slowly opened his eyes and spoke.

Aside from those two requirements, Zhen Zhu and the others could arrange things however they liked; it wouldn't affect him.

She knew that as long as Yunhe was present, she would be absolutely safe.

As for safety, they just needed to wait for him to re-establish the formations around the cave abode; there was no rush.

"See anything?"

Seeing this little maid whom he hadn't seen in a long time, Yunhe let out a quiet sigh.

Yunhe looked around and smiled, saying, "The decorations are not bad."

Yunhe narrowed his eyes slightly and remarked, "No wonder Qi Lin Chang Lan rushed over so urgently—she probably didn't want us to notice this."

"Oh."

Having said that, he slapped his spirit beast bag.

Meanwhile, his external incarnation stared at the ripples, something seeming to flicker and reflect in his eyes.

Yunhe patted her head again, without elaborating, merely instructing, "I'll be in closed-door cultivation for a while; please keep an eye on them for me."

The 'Dragon Fish Mystic Water Cover' indeed bears formation markings; I suspect this formation is likely part of the Sea Clan's Dragon Fish Vast Sea Grand Array that they currently rely on. His external incarnation spread his palm; as his spiritual power slightly circulated, the water-ball-like object in his palm began to spin.

It is obvious that the Sea Clan is unwilling to simply use the grand formation formed from the 108 treasure pearls they obtained from Blue Sky Island; they want to make greater use of this immensely powerful formation.

How to use it?

She also understood why the Predecessor Ice Osmanthus Fairy had placed her here to guard Dong Ning Xuan.

"There will be a chance to get it again," Yunhe said calmly.

His external incarnation nodded, saying, "The Sea Clan is indeed quite capable; they've already managed to make use of the Dragon Fish Vast Sea Grand Array this quickly."

"Mm-hmm!"

Saying she wasn't worried would be a lie.

But now, seeing Yunhe return, her hanging heart finally settled completely.

"Is that so? As long as the young master likes it, that's fine!"

"As expected."

Although Zhen Zhu didn't know what had happened earlier, she was aware that not long ago the Sea Clan and humanity had waged a major battle, causing heavy losses among human cultivators.

Zhen Zhu looked at the Gold-devouring Armored Beast wearing a sheepish grin and gave a dazed reply.

His external incarnation held the Dragon Fish Mystic Water Cover, slowly infusing it with spiritual power and divine sense; meanwhile, the thumb-sized azure water-ball on it emitted a faint blue halo.

Yunhe was speechless.

One is spiritual energy, the other is safety.

Zhen Zhu naturally knew the Cold Chant Jiao; the two poisonous flood dragons surprised her a bit but were acceptable, yet seeing a fourth-level early-stage Gold-devouring Armored Beast left her somewhat startled.

It can make treasures even more powerful.

But doing so also has a drawback.

That is, if human cultivators obtained these Sea Clan treasures, they might be able to trace the vine to find weaknesses in the Dragon Fish Vast Sea Grand Array, even a breakthrough point.

Of course, this is no easy task.

At least, his external incarnation has yet to find any flaw in it.

Given his mastery of formations, with the Twelve Heavenly Stars Grand Array as a foundation, he has temporarily been unable to find any flaw or shortcoming, showing its difficulty and also attesting to the not-inferior nature of the Dragon Fish Vast Sea Grand Array.

Perhaps even the Sea Clan is only utilizing a part of the Dragon Fish Vast Sea Grand Array.

Slowly ponder it; even if you can't find a flaw, this formation must have some tricks—learning a bit or two does no harm. Yunhe said.

Regarding that, the thoughts of the external incarnation naturally coincide with Yunhe's thoughts.

Besides that, even if you can't find a flaw, when facing those sea tribe magic treasures that have incorporated part of this formation, or when confronting the true "Dragon Fish Vast Sea Grand Formation," you won't be completely in the dark.

"And you, how are you?" the external incarnation asked back.

What he was asking about was naturally the "Thousand Insects Myriad Bugs Technique" cultivation method.

After obtaining an external incarnation, Yunhe had more energy to devote to his own cultivation; for example, the analysis of this magic treasure and formation could be handed over to the external incarnation to handle.

Meanwhile, Yunhe's true self, after entering this cave dwelling, devoted all his energy to the "Thousand Insects Myriad Bugs Technique."

Yunhe shook his head.

"How could it be that simple? This is the fifth layer of the 'Thousand Insects Myriad Bugs Technique.'"

The "Thousand Insects Myriad Bugs Technique" cultivation method, the more one practices it, the more one can feel its profundity and subtlety.

He had practiced for many years; though he had encountered few cultivation methods that could enhance a cultivator's divine sense, he had not encountered none.

For example, other divine sense-enhancing methods mostly increase a fixed amount of divine sense upon reaching a certain level, whereas the "Thousand Insects Myriad Bugs Technique" takes the practitioner's divine sense as a base and increases it proportionally, with the proportion increasing geometrically from layer to layer.

Moreover, Yunhe naturally possesses two bodies, so his divine sense is already somewhat unique; after receiving the enhancement from the "Thousand Insects Myriad Bugs Technique," his divine sense becomes ever stronger, far surpassing that of cultivators of the same realm.

This is also why he can, to a certain extent, cross a minor realm and have combat power comparable to a late Nascent Soul cultivator.

Otherwise.

During a duel, if the opponent forcibly suppresses and restricts with divine sense, preventing one's own divine sense from accurately and effectively perceiving every move of the opponent, then even a slight mistake will inevitably lead to great disaster.

Only when divine sense is not at a disadvantage do both sides have a fighting chance.

Otherwise, one can only remain on the defensive.

Moreover, if the side with stronger divine sense combines it with divine sense secret techniques, it becomes an even greater advantage.

Listening to Yunhe's words, the external incarnation smiled.

No one else knows, but as the true self's doppelgänger, how could he not know his true self's personality?

"So... have you found a clue?"

Yunhe chuckled, knowing there was no need to hide anything from his external incarnation, and explained:

"I'm still a bit short of entering the door, but I do have a direction now."

He had cultivated the fourth layer of the "Thousand Insects Myriad Bugs Technique" to perfection for many years; although he hadn't found the subsequent method back then, he had not failed to work out a derivation of the later method.

After all, if he couldn't find the continuation of the "Thousand Insects Myriad Bugs Technique," he would have to prepare for the worst.

Such a powerful cultivation method he naturally could not abandon, but if he truly couldn't find it, there was nothing he could do but try to create a continuation as best he could.

Fortunately, the continuation of the cultivation method was found.

His earlier self-derivation was not completely useless; it allowed him to more easily enter the fifth layer.

"I'm afraid there isn't that much time for you," the external incarnation said.

"I understand."

Since he had come to the sea tribe's battlefield, that meant a large-scale war could break out at any moment here; staying in seclusion would obviously not be reassuring.

Moreover, he came to earn contributions to exchange for the "Three-headed Insect Grass," and to quickly help the Corpse Soul Gu overcome this trouble—that is the priority.

He failed to slay the Gorgeous Scale Long Billow.

But he did stop it; surely that counts as some contribution, right?

"By the way, this."

The external incarnation tossed over a communication jade slip, "delivered from outside."

Yunhe also said nothing, infused his divine sense, and gave it a quick scan.

"That counts as good news as well." Yunhe's brows relaxed, and he rose and walked slowly out of the cave dwelling.

"Young master."

Upon seeing Yunhe walk out of the cave dwelling, Pearl immediately went up to greet him.

Yunhe glanced at the ice pavilion by the cold pond, where a thin wisp of smoke was slowly rising.

Obviously, Pearl knew he liked tea, so she had already prepared the spiritual tea.

"Drink on the way."

Speaking, Yunhe rolled up his sleeves, and the spiritual tea, Pearl, and the demonic beasts including the Cold Chant Flood Dragon all vanished.

He leapt into the air, just about to depart, but then paused slightly.

He flicked out several spell seals and set down a set of formation plates and flags, strengthening the cave dwelling's seal.

Although with his current strength probably few would dare to forcibly intrude his cave dwelling, considering that Dong Ning Xuan was still in seclusion, he added an extra layer of protection as a matter of course.

After doing these, he clasped his hands behind his back and flew off into the distance.

"Ao——"

The Cold Chant Flood Dragon, Profound Fang, and Profound Jade three flood dragons swiftly danced and swayed in the air, smoothly pulling the purple-pattern wind cart as they flew.

The small old man transformed from the Gold-devouring Armored Beast wore a coachman's attire and sat at the front of the cart.

Inside the carriage.

The well-behaved Pearl carefully poured Yunhe a cup of spiritual tea, then stood honestly to one side.

The destination of this journey is Baili City, located at the tri-border of Wu Kingdom, Yue Kingdom, and Li Kingdom, and is currently the largest immortal city near the eastern sea among the surrounding countries.

Although it cannot compare to Taixuan City, within Baili City there are several teleportation formations that can reach various places in the eastern realm; relying solely on the teleportation formation as a hub is enough to make Baili City the center of the surrounding countries.

Currently, many cultivators gather in Baili City.

For example, after Yuan Kingdom was invaded by the sea tribe, the disciples of the great and small cultivation families, small sects, and small forces that escaped have mostly gathered here.

Moreover, besides Yuan Kingdom, many forces within Wu Kingdom's territory that were affected or occupied by the sea tribe have likewise retreated to Baili City.

This has caused Baili City to become extremely lively, even crowded.

However, no matter how many low-level cultivators there are, they hardly affect a Yuan Ying Cultivator like Yunhe.

He flew straight into Hundred Li City.

Given Yunhe's current strength and status, it's hard for him not to be noticed when he enters Hundred Li City.

"Three dragons pulling a carriage—that's Old Yun, True Lord Yun!"

"No wonder he's the legendary True Lord Yun—with the grandeur of three dragons pulling a carriage. Tsk tsk, only such bearing could possibly be worthy, right?"

"I heard that not long ago, True Lord Yun clashed with the great elder of the sea clan's Qilin clan, Qilin Changlan, outside the Ice Immortal Pavilion?"

"Clashed? The entire duel lasted no longer than the time to burn an incense stick. True Lord Yun, with mid-Yuan Ying cultivation base, faced off against the late Fourth Level sea clan great elder—what do you think happened?"

"Guess? What guess! Now who doesn't know—True Lord Yun, with mid-Yuan Ying cultivation base, confronted the late Fourth Level sea clan great elder, and ultimately dealt the opponent a heavy blow!"

"."

"Nowadays, Yunhe is, in many people's eyes, almost an existence on par with those Yuan Ying late-stage great cultivators who have been famous for a long time—an existence to be looked up to, feared, and hoped for but unattainable."

"The purple-pattern wind carriage flew straight into Hundred Dawn Tower."

"Yunhe, Fellow Daoist Yun, Brother Yun! You've really kept me in the dark."

"Seeing Yunhe, Ji Liu Yun appeared somewhat excited."

"Nothing could be done."

"Only by truly reaching this level can one understand just how great the impact of Yunhe's battle outside the Ice Immortal Pavilion was."

"This not only signifies that Yunhe now possesses strength comparable to that of a Yuan Ying late-stage cultivator, but also indicates that a major upheaval is imminent in the situation of the human cultivator alliance."

"For the human cultivator side as it stands now, the appearance of any Yuan Ying late-stage great cultivator, or any existence comparable to such a cultivator, will inevitably be accompanied by a massive shift in the situation."

"Originally."

"Within the human cultivator alliance, the Dao Alliance led by the Grand Mystery Orthodox Unity Sect, the Weapon Alliance led by the Formless Sword Sect, the Demon Alliance led by the Black Water River, and the Four Capital Cities."

"Among these four forces, the Dao Alliance is strongest, the Demon Alliance second, followed by the Weapon Alliance, and finally the Four Capital Cities, which have the loosest ties."

Among them, the top-tier existences in the Four Capital Cities are the most numerous, with a total of two late Nascent Soul senior cultivators: the Yellow Springs Old Ancestor of Fengdu City and the Qingguo Old Ancestor of the Qingguo Capital City.

However, the Four Capital Cities are united in name only, and their influence within the alliance is not great.

The one with the greatest influence in the human cultivators' alliance is still the Dao Alliance led by the Tai Xu Zhengyi Sect, namely the Mystic Void Daoist who is called the foremost of the orthodox path.

Relatively speaking, the Weapon Alliance is the weakest among the three.

But now, Yunhe, who has displayed his strength, together with the already formidable Formless Sword Lord, has instantly made the number of senior cultivators in the Weapon Alliance match that of the Four Capital Cities, and their relations are even closer.

"I, Yun, also didn't expect to be able to fight like this." Yunhe smiled and said.

I truly didn't expect that Qilin Changlan would be seriously injured by him due to carelessness from underestimating him; otherwise the impact wouldn't have been this great.

Ji Liuyun: "."

He pursed his lips, looking at Yunhe.

If he didn't know Yunhe's temperament, he would think Yunhe was showing off.

(End of chapter)