Chapter 801: Master of Kaiyuan Fu

At the peak of Tian Ta Mountain, the so-called Immortal Shrine was among the most dilapidated in the entire Beizhou.

It had no magical artifact to anchor it, nor had any effort been made to arrange celestial treasures to make the place radiate brilliance.

At a glance, it gave off nothing but haste and carelessness.

It matched exactly what Bai Yun had said: upon hearing of Ling Su’s death, this person had shown no effort to conceal his greed to seize Tian Ta Mountain.

You Yao True Person took a light step forward, walking toward the high cliff behind the Immortal Shrine.

She cast her gaze upon the side profile seated at the cliff’s edge, easily seeing through the method he used to conceal his face.

The young man’s features were handsome and serene, giving the impression of detachment, uninvolved in worldly struggles.

But like the disguise on his face, You Yao found it hard to believe such an impression—given what he had done, he was certainly a man of immense ambition.

Even though the Tai Xu Dan Huang had only revealed the aura of a beginner in the third rank, compared to Hao Ming True Person, if Shu Yu had truly met with misfortune, You Yao leaned toward blaming this place.

“...”

She silently pressed her lips, no longer testing him with words as she had before.

Her sleeves slightly rolled up, her pale fingers released a clear light that split into countless fine threads, completely enveloping Shen Yi’s entire form.

A cage of clear light, each thread slowly contracting—if it touched skin, it would shatter the body into fragments.

“Come out and face me.”

You Yao shifted slightly, standing quietly behind the young man.

Shen Yi fell into the killing array without reaction; his brow furrowed, he glanced back at the woman, then at the clear light closing in around him, his eyelids twitching slightly.

This clear-light sword array sealed heaven and earth; even the power of the Shen Xu Dao Guo could not easily let him escape.

To break the array, one must first strike it with genuine tribulation force until a path of survival is torn open.

Judging by the aura of this sword array, achieving this with only beginner third-rank, or even third-rank triple transformation cultivation, was far from enough.

“...”

Shen Yi seemed hesitant, yet said nothing, simply closing his eyes slowly.

You Yao True Person watched the scene before her silently, her expression unreadable, showing no sign of withdrawing despite his silence.

The clear light drew closer, until it brushed against Shen Yi’s cheek—his fair skin cracked faintly, leaving a barely visible bloodline.

Finally, he let out a soft sigh: “Ah.”

In an instant, thick, ink-like mist surged forth, fully enveloping Shen Yi’s body.

When the mist dispersed, the clear-light sword array held no trace of him.

Shen Yi stood outside the array, wiping the blood from his cheek with his thumb, calmly staring at the woman in black, as if waiting for an explanation.

“You’ve been hiding your cultivation.”

You Yao True Person retracted the clear light with a flick of her fingers—the insect demon disciple Bai Yun claimed was a beginner in the third rank clearly possessed sixth-six transformation power.

Yet what puzzled her was that, having his disguise exposed so casually, the young man showed not the slightest panic—this was unlike her expectations.

“Don’t you want to explain anything?”

“I’m fleeing for my life. Everywhere else in the four continents is under the Bodhi Teachings’ control. Concealing my trail and hiding my cultivation is only natural. Why should I explain to anyone?”

Shen Yi spoke slowly, then fell silent, still staring at the woman with that same gaze.

His meaning was clear.

You Yao’s expression darkened slightly—he had finished his explanation; now it was her turn.

“Shu Yu met with misfortune, his Dao hall was seized. You are on Tian Ta Mountain, closest to his Dao hall, and you’ve taken over his incense offerings. Now you’ve hidden your cultivation. Why shouldn’t I come to you?”

“No problem.”

Shen Yi listened to her explanation, lowered his head in thought for a moment, then nodded and looked up again: “So who is Shu Yu?”

“...”

You Yao froze; her already dark face grew even more grim.

True, by normal logic, this man had no ties in Beizhou and had been abandoned by Bai Yun and others—no one would have told him about events around him.

But she didn’t believe a man who escaped the Bodhi Teachings, who remained calm upon arriving in Beizhou, who endured being mocked as an insect demon disciple without revealing his strength, would fail to actively seek out news concerning his own life.

He was playing word games with her.

Her patience faded: “Shu Yu is the second disciple under Qing Guang, master of the Dao hall in Kaiyuan Fu. Any other questions?”

“Who are you?”

“You Yao.”

You Yao had never been easily swayed by others’ emotions—otherwise she could never have held her current position through the great tribulation.

It was the same now.

As the young man deliberately feigned ignorance, she grew even more certain Shu Yu’s misfortune was tied to this Tai Xu Dan Huang, and her voice finally carried a chill.

Fortunately, Shen Yi did not continue asking who she was; instead, he turned to look down the mountain: “These refugees didn’t just come to Tian Ta Mountain. The True Person next door has higher cultivation than I do. Why are you so certain the problem lies with me?”

“Because before Shu Yu disappeared, he came to find you...”

Before You Yao finished speaking, the young man suddenly turned his head.

Shen Yi raised an eyebrow: “Why did he come to find me?”

Faced with this question, You Yao True Person suddenly fell silent. She could easily make up an excuse, but as she had thought earlier, playing word games was pointless.

Everyone knew that when a Beizhou cultivator secretly sought out this Tai Xu Dan Huang, his intentions were clear.

“I’ve been waiting for Qing Guang Da Xian’s audience.”

Shen Yi said calmly: “Was this friend Shu Yu sent by his master to deliver a divine decree?”

By now, You Yao had lost all the composure she’d shown before Hao Ming and others; she suddenly realized the entire conversation was being led by him.

Right now, Qing Guang Cave owed the entire Shen Xu Mountain.

Under these circumstances, her master had not summoned him, and her, as the senior disciple, had allowed her junior disciples to come and kill him, seize his Dao hall.

If this ever became public, it wouldn’t merely damage their reputation—her master would become a long-standing topic of gossip throughout the Three Immortal Teachings.

And if she moved against him without evidence, she would never again have a chance at the position of top young disciple in Beizhou.

This went far beyond mere arrogance.

“Are you so confident your actions left no trace?”

You Yao’s eyes turned cold; she was certain now—Shu Yu had been killed by this man before her.

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Shen Yi shook his head.

“Irrelevant.” You Yao no longer wished to waste words; she turned slowly: “Enjoy the few days you have left.”

On this land of Beizhou, for her to investigate someone... no, she didn’t even need to find evidence. With her current prestige in the sect, assigning a foreigner a “crime” was effortless.

Even if Qing Guang Cave owed him, they would still have to sacrifice him for the greater good.

“By the way.”

You Yao turned back, speaking seriously: “I am taking Kaiyuan Fu.”

Her calm tone made the statement not a declaration of war, but a notification.

Even if you’re warned in advance, you can only accept it quietly.

Before her words ended, she had already vanished in a flash of clear light.

“...”

Shen Yi stood motionless, hands hanging at his sides. After a long while, once certain the woman had truly left, he returned to sit on the cliff’s edge.

“Tch. So that’s it? The top young disciples of Beizhou don’t seem so sharp after all.” Nan Huang reappeared, glancing warily toward the direction You Yao had left, yet refusing to yield in speech.

The aura she revealed when she moved had made this great demon, perfected at the ninth-nine transformation, feel a sense of invincibility.

The gap between an immortal sect’s true heir and a mortal great demon was still undeniable.

Saying this, Nan Huang’s gaze toward Shen Yi held a touch more reverence—after all, even this immortal prodigy was still led by the master’s nose.

“Huh.”

Shen Yi sat cross-legged, gazing far into the sky, his face showing no pride.

Nothing to be proud of—it was a choice forced upon him by desperation.

Given his current situation and what he planned to do next, completely clearing his name was impossible.

If exposure was inevitable, better to reveal a smaller flaw deliberately.

A foreign cultivator with immense ambition, a dark mind, and deliberately hidden cultivation—only under prepared conditions could he possibly use treachery to kill Shu Yu True Person, Qing Guang’s direct disciple.

If You Yao believed this, she would not dig deeper toward the Bodhi Teachings.

This was precisely why Shen Yi had rushed to break through to sixth-six transformation—if he hadn’t reached this cultivation base, even the most convincing act would have been meaningless; his overt strength could never have matched Shu Yu’s.

“Deeply rooted.”

Shen Yi sighed softly. Though he didn’t see You Yao as invincible like Nan Huang did, even in this brief encounter, he sensed at least three dangerous auras emanating from her.

No wonder she was the senior disciple of an immortal lineage—she carried multiple divine treasures on her person.

In contrast, he had only the Tian Xing Mirror taken from Mao Feng—and even that wasn’t meant for direct combat.

This was the price of being a fence-sitter.

He couldn’t enter the true inner circle of either side.

Had he followed the Bodhi Teachings’ path normally, Shen Yi would likely now be trusted deeply by some Great Liberation Bodhisattva, and with his background, might even have become a direct disciple of a True Buddha, like Jin Chan, with cultivation at ninth-nine transformation and a collection of Buddhist treasures no less than You Yao’s.

But it was pointless to dwell on this now—only time would tell.

As for her final words before leaving... Shen Yi lowered his gaze slightly and smiled.

Someone else might have been frightened.

You Yao first showed her intent to kill, then gave a warning—someone with less courage would likely abandon Kaiyuan Fu immediately to avoid open conflict, waiting until safe to act later.

But Shen Yi knew clearly—if he truly withdrew, it would be his death sentence.

After losing their Daoist grounds, it would be nearly impossible to achieve any notable accomplishments and draw the attention of the Three Immortals Sect’s Golden Immortals and fellow disciples.

Losing visibility was the most lethal threat to Shen Yi right now—only those remembered by the Three Immortals Sect would compel Qingguang Cave to feel indebted; a gradually marginalized figure, unprotected by his sect, could die one day and no one would ever know.

Moreover, Shen Yi himself needed an opportunity.

For an outsider to establish himself, he must earn sufficient fame—but open provocation would stir resentment among the cultivators of the North Zhou, making it easy for them to unite and ostracize him.

It had to be forced… and the opponent must carry sufficient notoriety, preferably someone who had already stirred discontent among his own sectmates.

You can’t reclaim the Four Prefectures of Youyao merely by talking—this entire journey of contention must have angered many.

“If you want Kaiyuan Prefecture, come and take it.”

Shen Yi exhaled slowly and closed his eyes.

Meanwhile.

On the other side of Kaiyuan Prefecture.

Master Haoming’s face had turned utterly grim; he hovered in midair, motionless for a long while.

Sister Youyao had indeed acted—but in the end, she had let that boy go so easily.

Aside from failing to satisfy his own anger, this also proved that Master Shuyu’s matter was far from over.

“Return to the sect.”

After a long while, a deep sense of desolation slowly spread across Master Haoming’s face.

He had known all along—there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Qingguang Cave now didn’t just want to reclaim the incense offerings originally belonging to Master Shuyu—it was now seizing everyone else’s share as well.

Truly tyrannical…

“Return to the sect?!”

Huaming stared in disbelief: “Why? It wasn’t us who caused Master Shuyu’s mishap! We’re just holding this place…”

He couldn’t imagine that after this Daoist grounds had just welcomed overwhelming wealth, his brother would willingly hand it all over.

But his reply was another slap.

“You’ve already killed the White Ape—now are you trying to kill me too?” Master Haoming’s face turned icy, his teeth clenched as he spat out a low rebuke.

“But if we leave, this vast Kaiyuan Prefecture will all fall into the hands of those southern barbarians!” Huaming, clutching his cheek, shouted in agitation.

“Hah, don’t worry—he’ll run faster than I ever will.”

Master Haoming sharply swept his sleeve. He knew: just within the sect, a dispute over Daoist grounds had ended in death—and the perpetrator had faced no punishment at all. That had set a dangerous precedent.

If the Grand Void Alchemy Emperor truly had the spine to stand his ground, as he had done with him, and refused to flee—that would be ideal. He’d be the perfect sacrifice to accompany his White Ape to the grave.

With that thought, Master Haoming departed without delay, his sleeves flaring as a string of divine edicts shot out and landed in the hands of the Daoist grounds’ disciples, ordering them to return to the mountain at once.

Seeing this, Huaming, though reluctant, could only scowl and follow his brother toward their own immortal sect.

Yet they failed to notice.

Shortly after they left, a group of cultivators dressed in Lingxu Cave robes entered their Daoist grounds, holding portraits of the Grand Void True Lord, their faces filled with apprehension.

“Is this really safe?”

“Even if Master Haoming is mild-mannered, he’d surely rage at this.”

The group stepped in cautiously—but two hours later, every one of their faces had turned to stunned disbelief.

The entire journey had been utterly unimpeded.

What the hell? The vast Kaiyuan Prefecture seemed to contain only the Lingxu lineage!

(End of Chapter)