Chapter 518

Under the azure sky lay an endless grassland; on both banks of the flowing stream, cattle and sheep leisurely enjoyed the afternoon.

A youth clad in wolf-hair leather armor gently stroked the horse's face, holding the reins in one hand, and introduced the scenery of the grassland to the maiden on its back.

Yunhe lay to one side, his chest rising and falling slowly, eyes closed as he savored this long-lost ease.

Since coming to this world, he had never enjoyed such leisurely life. By day he rode with the tribe's herding youths across the grassland; by night he sat by the bonfire, watching the passionate herdsmen sing and dance, and Yunhe had never felt time pass so slowly.

It would not be bad to simply live as a mortal, free from the deceit and intrigue of the cultivation world.

"Big Brother Yun, Ling'er little sister learns so fast that I have nothing left to teach her."

At some point, the boy came to Yunhe's side, bearing the sincere, simple smile unique to nomadic peoples, yet his gaze remained fixed on the radiant beauty of the girl on horseback.

Just out of the boy's sight, a reddish-brown gourd looked at him, then at her, then at her again and at him, and involuntarily shook its head and said.

"No way he wouldn't really..."

Yunhe ignored the old gourd, merely watching the boy beside him who was already somewhat intoxicated, and felt he was somewhat pitiable.

A few days earlier, when Yunhe awoke from another coma, the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was Ling'er, who had become somewhat petite compared to before, and the old gourd's somewhat lecherous old face.

"Young Master, you've finally awakened again?"

The old gourd's face suddenly loomed large before him, but fortunately Yunhe grabbed it in time and flung it aside.

"If you come out like this, mortals will see you."

"Young Master, rest assured; as long as we wish, mortals cannot see us."

The old gourd felt rather pleased, evidently having often followed the Divine Lord to wander in the mortal realm.

"Ah!"

Around noon, A Gu Xia's son, as before, entered the felt tent once more to check on Yunhe's condition; this time, however, a beautiful girl appeared inside, her face like peach petals, eyes like autumn waves, vermilion lips and white teeth, deeply attracting the adolescent boy.

Only seeing the youth's slightly darkish face flushed with a blush, he stared blankly at the girl for a moment, forgetting why he had come.

"Mutu, has that guest awakened?"

Merely going in to check, A Gu Mutu had gone and then there was no movement at all, whereupon A Gu Xia couldn't help but ask, "Ah! Father, the guest has awakened."

Hearing his father's inquiry, A Gu Mutu hurriedly turned to reply, but immediately he involuntarily turned his head to give Ling'er a shy smile, then hurriedly fled, as if staying another moment would be torment for the youth.

A Gu Mutu emerged from the felt tent still somewhat dazed, a foolish grin on his face, until he bumped into his father carrying mutton, only then regaining his senses.

"No way, who is that girl? No one told him the answer just now; all he received was A Gu Xia's raised palm. 'Thank you for your help; this is my little sister.'"

The old gourd had turned invisible, but had forgotten that little Ling'er could not control her appearance before mortals.

Seeing little Ling'er's face, which was extremely similar to his own, Yunhe could only steel himself and, like A Gu Xia and A Gu Mutu introducing her, said she was his sister.

But this provoked Ling'er's displeasure; the Five-Star Nurturing Spirit Pearl, which had arisen from the transformation of heaven and earth and was certainly older than Yunhe, dared to claim she was his sister! "Mmm."

Yunhe sealed Ling'er's speech function, then ignored her silent resistance.

Fortunately, A Gu Xia and the others did not suspect too much; after Yunhe gave a perfunctory excuse, they left the felt tent, and before departing they invited him to join tonight's bonfire gathering.

At nightfall, the grassland echoed with the wolves' howls, making people involuntarily feel a chill, yet it in no way affected the locals, who sang and danced by the bonfire; their voices were melodious and magnificent, easily dispelling the fear of the wolf packs.

During the gathering, Yunhe also learned much useful information from A Gu Xia's tribespeople.

This place is the borderland of the Martial Kingdom; although the Martial Kingdom was occupied by the Sea Clan in their great war, the Sea Clan could not fully digest the land's territory.

Moreover, although Sea Clan cultivators can live long on land, their ordinary folk cannot stay away from the sea for too long; thus, along the coast where it meets the shore, great numbers of the Sea Clan have settled, forming one Sea Clan bazaar after another.

Sea Clan cultivators, however, ventured inland, plundering the Martial Kingdom's struggling sect and dynasty forces, then bringing their spoils back to the Sea Clan bazaar to trade.

Perhaps the Sea Clan also realized they could not fully control the interior for now, so they did not indiscriminately slaughter mortal lives; instead, like human cultivators before them, they merely demanded that mortals offer tribute each month.

In this regard they actually did better than human cultivators; Sea Clan cultivators usually left after receiving the tribute, whereas human cultivators would exploit to the utmost extreme.

Yunhe asked the tribe's people about their view of the Sea Clan's occupation of the Martial Kingdom, and what surprised him was that only a handful hoped for the human cultivators to return and fight back.

Anyone who comes is the same. Those sea clan cultivators don't make things difficult for us; the immortals before caused far more trouble.

Yeah, when those sea clan cultivators attacked, they ran faster than rabbits on the prairie. Now they're probably off having fun somewhere unknown.

That's not how it is; the hungry wolves on the prairie won't be satisfied, and they might bare their fangs at us one day.

As the flames gradually died down, the evening gathering was about to end. What Yunhe didn't expect was that the tribespeople weren't very interested in his background; instead, they were more curious about his 'younger sister'.

If it weren't for Agu Xia interrupting their questions at the end, someone would probably have tried to discuss the bride price for marrying Yunhe directly.

The midnight prairie was extremely quiet; while everyone else fell into a deep sleep after eating and drinking, Yunhe alone came outside the felt tent, not minding the damp ground, sat cross-legged, and the 'Great Longevity Five Elements True Scripture' inside him automatically circulated, inhaling and exhaling the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

Not long after, Yunhe sensed a person standing behind him.

You noticed earlier?

Yunhe's tone was flat, even somewhat chilling.

Immortal Master, your physique is extraordinary; an ordinary person could not possibly survive such injuries.

Agu Xia slowly voiced his judgment, then walked to Yunhe's side, raised his head to gaze at the bright moon in the sky, his eyes seemingly filled with longing for cultivation.

What do you want to obtain?

Yunhe could sense that Agu Xia harbored no malice, so he decided to listen to what he really wanted to say.

Please forgive me, Senior. My tribesmen are mostly ignorant; today's words have likely given offense.

Agu Xia turned his body, clasped his fist in salute, bowed deeply to Yunhe, and spoke in a low voice.

Muto's child is pure‑hearted, but please, Immortal Master, sever that child's affection for the girl.

Upon hearing this, Yunhe fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded, indicating his agreement.

Although the scattered little demons hadn't found a spirit vein, they did find many spiritual plants that Yunhe needed; after piling up elixirs for several days, Yunhe gradually raised his strength from Foundation Establishment to the brink of Golden Core.

It was time to go; Yunhe looked at the boy with blazing eyes ahead and suddenly said, 'Ling'er already has an engagement—mountain birds and fish take different paths.'

Hearing that, the boy stared, the smile on his face gradually fading; he blinked twice, feeling that the maiden before him had suddenly become glaring.

Hope he can mend his ways; looking at the dejected boy before him, Yunhe shook his head slightly. One may like anything, yet he oddly took a liking to an artifact spirit. 'Young Master, you're truly ruthless—look at that child's appearance.'

Ignoring Old Gourd, Yunhe returned to the felt tent, erased every trace of his stay here; it was time to leave.

The next day, when Muto entered Yunhe's tent again, he found it already empty.

He hurriedly ran outside the felt tent, sprinting all the way in an attempt to find Yunhe and their traces.

Standing on a small earthen slope, Mutuo gazed blankly at the endless grassland before him. Two streams of tears streamed down his flushed cheeks as Mutuo tightened his grip on the flower wreath, remaining silent.

As night fell, Yunhe picked up the flower wreath from the ground and said to Ling'er.

I've given it to you.

Where did you get the flower wreath?

Don't worry about it.

—————— I am the dividing line ——————

The journey back from Wu Kingdom to the Hall of a Hundred Knowledges was not easy; at this time, Yunhe remained stuck at the half-step Golden Core cultivation base, making hardly any progress for nearly a month.

Moreover, even if he returned to the Hall of a Hundred Knowledges, it might be difficult to restore his cultivation base in a short while. He might even be targeted by his old enemies; Yunhe could not guarantee whether there were still other hidden pieces of the Heavenly Corpse Gu in the Eastern Border.

If he rashly returned like this, he would be unable to withstand any mishap.

He still remembered many acquaintances from the Golden Core Stage; if they saw him like this, they would certainly not let him off.

At this time, in the Eastern Border, the top combat forces were basically inside the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm. Moreover, the Ice Immortal Pavilion had its own mounts and a grand formation guarding it, so it should not be affected for the time being.

Thinking this through, Yunhe decided to go to the Cloud Middle Realm to seek opportunity, restore his strength, and then return to the Eastern Border.

However, to go from here to the Cloud Middle Mirror, he would inevitably have to pass through territory controlled by the Sea Clan. Yunhe did not believe that no one among the Sea Clan would recognize his appearance.

Going ahead like this would indeed be risky.

However, fate does not always go as one wishes; just as Yunhe was still calculating his route, suddenly a sound of fighting came from ahead.

Seeing the fighting sounds draw nearer, Yunhe hastily darted into the nearby woods, concealed his aura, and secretly peered at the fight ahead.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect the Merfolk tribe to have such a beautiful little mermaid..."

"Hahaha, that's right, Big Brother, today we brothers are really blessed!"

"You rascals, if you ruin it, how will we sell it? All you have on your minds is that! Be careful, once we finish this job, we'll have enough to live it up for the rest of our lives!"

The four black-clad cultivators, although their Cultivation Base was not high—only early Golden Core stage—yet the treasures in their hands were somewhat notable, which is no wonder that Sea Clan female cultivators have been appearing at the auction all along.

Yunhe did not want to get involved in their affairs; he quickly resolved the battle, and then he still had to rush on his way.

Although the four black-clad cultivators had a higher Cultivation Base than that Sea Clan woman, during their scuffle they actually gained no advantage at all.

Only then did the Sea Clan woman suddenly sprout dark green scales all over her body, her nails turning sharp, and her azure hair darkening and intertwining into a head full of snake hair.

"What the heck is this? How ugly!"

"Boss, can this still be sold for money?"

"Damn it, what a perfectly good piece of goods. How did it turn out like this? Damn it, let's kill her!"

In the midst of speaking, a black-clad cultivator charged at the Sea Clan woman, who, despite appearing as weak as a chicken, instantly pierced his throat in a flash.

"Crack!"

With one hand he pulled out the black-clad cultivator's Golden Core, then, before everyone's eyes, he directly bit it to pieces and began gulping it down in large mouthfuls.

The other three cultivators were no saints either, with plenty of blood on their hands, yet they were terrified by the sight before them—who had ever seen such a terrifying monster?

"Eldest Brother, let's run quickly."

"Big Brother, Third Brother has been killed."

"Damn it, what's there to fear? We still have three of us."

Before his words even faded, the Sea Clan woman instantly flashed to a person's side, her claws slashing across the throat, blood continuously spraying from the wound; stimulated by the blood, the Sea Clan woman even showed a hint of allure, clearly enjoying the sensation of killing to the extreme.

"Hurry up and go."

The leader of the black-clad men kicked the trembling brother's legs away, raised his treasure and attacked, but in just a moment his treasure was pierced through, his body split apart.

Looking at the last person, tears and snot streaming down his face, the Sea Clan woman actually showed a look of disdain.

"Go on, you're utterly useless."

Upon learning that the monster before him actually intended to let him go, the black-clad man instantly revealed an ugly smile, scrambling to turn and leave.

"Pfft."

Yet a pair of claws thrust out from his chest; the black-clad man, in great pain, widened his eyes and struggled to turn back, only to be ripped in half by the Sea Clan woman.

Yunhe watched the Sea Clan woman utterly enjoying herself in the blood rain, and instantly recalled the attendant of the Gorgeous Soul Clan he had met in the secret realm, as well as that strange Grand Elder.

To be frank, Yunhe currently does not want to be her enemy, after all he has previously experienced how troublesome the transformed Sea Clan can be, let alone his present self.

Only then did the Sea Clan woman gradually return to her original form. She put away the four people's storage bags, let out a light hum, and prepared to leave.

Watching the Sea Clan woman about to leave, Yunhe's hanging heart also eased slightly.

But after the Sea Clan woman had taken a few steps, she suddenly stopped, turned her head, and her dark green vertical pupils stared straight at Yunhe's direction.

(End of chapter)