Chapter 150: Liudao Jisheng Gains a Hat

Several days later, with the help of Fan Jingmei "offering herself to the tiger," Lady Wen finally had her wish granted.

As for Yan Taibai, although he had gained a charming and alluring beauty who still retained her youthful charm—and a married woman at that—he was now locked in a life-or-death feud with Liudao Jisheng.

However, now was not the time to kill him; it would not be too late to do so after condensing a Nascent Soul and advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage.

After Lady Wen received Yan Taibai's promise, she spent a few more months of intimacy with him.

Once her cultivation base was stabilized, she set off to leave the Inner Star Sea and head to the Outer Star Sea to help Yan Taibai search for "Biling Island."

As for Yan Taibai, he naturally remained at the Miaoyin Sect to cultivate.

Or rather, he should be cultivating on one of the islands controlled by the Miaoyin Sect.

Compared to the Tiannan Cultivation World, although the Chaotic Star Sea had fewer Spirit Stones and materials, there were still quite a few to be found.

The Miaoyin Sect's strength had surged in recent years, and as a result, they had seized many islands; Zhou Yuan had naturally kept all those that possessed Metal Attribute Spirit Stones or metal material veins.

Although Metal Attribute Spirit Stones were rare in the cultivation world and the veins were few, there were still two or three of them, along with several material veins, which made Yan Taibai quite happy, so he settled down to go into seclusion.

As for Yan Ruyan, she had also been in seclusion and cultivation the entire time.

With the vast cultivation resources supported by Zhou Yuan and Yan Taibai, combined with her innate Heavenly Spirit Root aptitude, her cultivation speed was naturally advancing by leaps and bounds, almost faster than Yan Taibai's.

After all, compared to the "Glutton" that was the "White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash," Yan Ruyan required far fewer resources, so she was naturally faster.

She had already broken through to the Golden Core Late Stage Great Perfection, also known as the False Nascent Soul Realm.

Yan Ruyan was not even two hundred years old yet. However, condensing a Nascent Soul and breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage was not something that could be done in a moment; it still required sufficient opportunity.

Therefore, after reaching the Golden Core Late Stage Great Perfection and the False Nascent Soul Realm, Yan Ruyan stopped her bitter seclusion and instead began to calm her mind and nurture her spirit.

This was because the Void Heaven Palace was about to open, and Yan Taibai had told her about the opportunities there.

The Nine-Curved Spirit Pill and the Nine-Curved Spirit Ginseng were her greatest hope for advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage, so she naturally could not miss them.

As for Yan Taibai taking in Fan Jingmei, Zhuo Ruting, and Lady Wen all at once, Zhou Yuan had naturally kept nothing from her.

In particular, the sisters Fan Jingmei and Zhuo Ruting were even permitted by the two of them; the only thing that surprised the two women was Lady Wen.

After all, she was the dao companion of Liudao Jisheng and a Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivator.

Although she was no longer at the Miaoyin Sect, it still gave the two women a headache; fortunately, Liudao Jisheng did not yet know about this matter.

Fan Jingmei and Zhuo Ruting were very tight-lipped and had not told anyone; otherwise, even if Liudao Jisheng could tolerate this matter, he would absolutely not be able to endure it.

And the Miaoyin Sect, apart from Yan Taibai, had no power to resist Shengmo Island, so they naturally had to avoid its sharp edge.

They would try their best not to become enemies with it, at least not while they lacked the strength.

Regarding this matter, Yan Taibai was in seclusion and did not know that Yan Ruyan had already come out of seclusion.

Yan Ruyan only felt it was troublesome but was not angry; after all, she had already tacitly approved of Fan Jingmei and Zhuo Ruting, so adding an expected Lady Wen was nothing, it was just that her identity was a bit troublesome.

It was not a difficult matter, though!

Time flew by, and on this day, the area near an empty stretch of sea in the Inner Star Sea became lively; from time to time, cultivators would fly rapidly toward this place, followed by flying high into the sky in extreme surprise.

Because high up in the sky, a magnificent and enormous palace was floating, motionless.

This palace was about a hundred zhang tall, made entirely of flawless white jade, exquisite and gorgeous, emitting a faint glow. It was surrounded by a thick golden light barrier and hung in the sky at a height of about a thousand zhang.

It was precisely the number one "treasure land" of the Chaotic Star Sea: the Void Heaven Palace. Whether it was the number one treasure of the Chaotic Star Sea, the Void Heaven Cauldron, or other Ancient Treasures and miraculous pills, they were all things that most cultivators in the entire Chaotic Star Sea dreamed of.

But to enter the Void Heaven Palace, one must use a Void Heaven Remnant Map; this was also the minimum requirement to enter the Void Heaven Palace repeatedly.

And as long as one had a Void Heaven Remnant Map, one could enter the Void Heaven Palace regardless of their cultivation realm.

However, the lowest level was a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator, the purpose being to seek the opportunity to condense a Golden Core and advance to the Golden Core Stage.

But in reality, there were very few cultivators who could actually succeed in obtaining the opportunity and miraculous pills to break through to the Golden Core Stage.

Because it was simply too dangerous.

But for Yan Taibai, this was not a problem at all.

And over these years, he had also let Zhou Yuan collect Void Heaven Remnant Maps.

In the original plot line, even Ziling Xianzi, a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator, could obtain a Void Heaven Remnant Map, let alone the current Miaoyin Sect.

Therefore, with the unsparing efforts of the master-disciple trio of Zhou Yuan, Fan Jingmei, and Zhuo Ruting, they had collected more than ten Void Heaven Remnant Maps directly.

So! This time, the people from the Miaoyin Sect entering the Void Heaven Palace were many.

Yan Taibai, Yan Ruyan, Zhou Yuan, Ziling Xianzi, Zhuo Ruting, Fan Jingmei, Ling Yuling, and a full ten Golden Core Stage cultivators from the Miaoyin Sect, along with two Nascent Soul Stage elders, came to this Void Heaven Palace in a mighty procession.

Before long, the group from the Miaoyin Sect stepped into a hall of the Void Heaven Palace.

The area of this hall was extremely large, spanning three to five hundred zhang at a glance; let alone their dozen or so people, even several thousand would have no problem at all.

What was eye-catching was that dozens of thick jade pillars stood evenly in the hall. These jade pillars not only required several people to encircle them, but they were also finely carved and polished, with various rare birds and beasts engraved on each one, each one lifelike and full of spiritual energy, and no two were the same.

And on the tops of some of the pillars, dozens of cultivators in different attire were either standing or sitting.

When they saw the mighty group of over a dozen people from the Miaoyin Sect stepping into the hall, their expressions changed slightly, and they looked at each other; in this situation, if a conflict were to occur with the Miaoyin Sect inside the Void Heaven Palace, the consequences could be imagined.

Especially that ruthless person Yan Taibai, who had killed Man Huzi with a single sword strike; no one in the entire hall was his opponent.

Although Yan Taibai was only a Golden Core Late Stage cultivator, he was comparable to the four Great Cultivators of Nascent Soul Late Stage in the Chaotic Star Sea, so when they saw Yan Taibai among the crowd, their expressions all changed.

Even the first Nascent Soul cultivator to enter, Qingyi Jushi, was the same, but he was someone who dared to greet him.

Over these years, the Miaoyin Sect had crazily expanded its territory and occupied islands, truly offending many forces, but hindered by Yan Taibai and the Spirit Severing Stage cultivator behind him, most forces could only endure it and choose to retreat.

Zhou Yuan did not want the Miaoyin Sect to offend so many forces, but there was no other way.

After all, the Miaoyin Sect now had nearly a hundred thousand disciples; they always had to eat, and they needed Spirit Stones, pills, and materials. These things could not be sustained by just doing business as they had in the past.

This was even with the great help of Yan Taibai going out to sea to hunt demons.

"Daoist Yan, it has been many years. Congratulations to Daoist Yan for breaking through to the False Nascent Soul Realm. You have come this time, presumably to seek the opportunity to condense a Nascent Soul, right?"

Qingyi Jushi said with a face full of kind smiles.

If one only looked at this amiable face, it would be hard to imagine that this was a person of the Demonic Path.

"Senior Qingyi, not only that, I also want the Void Heaven Cauldron, so Senior Qingyi will not compete with this junior, right?"

Yan Taibai replied with a smile.

His words caused the many cultivators in the entire hall to change color and look at one another.

In particular, the smiling face of Qingyi Jushi froze instantly; after recovering, it twitched a few times, and for a moment, he actually did not know how to respond.

He and the other cultivators in the hall truly had not expected Yan Taibai to state his purpose for coming so directly.

It could even be called a warning—a warning to those cultivators who also coveted the Void Heaven Cauldron. For example, several Golden Core Stage Cultivators looked particularly ugly upon hearing Yan Taibai's words.

Clearly, they also had intentions toward the Void Heaven Cauldron, but since Yan Taibai had already announced it, they could basically extinguish that thought.

After Qingyi Jushi regained his composure, he gave a forced smile and said,

"Then this old man will first congratulate Fellow Daoist Yan on being able to fulfill your wish and obtain this number one treasure of the Chaotic Star Sea."

"Then I shall borrow your auspicious words, Senior Qingyi."

Yan Taibai chuckled and thanked him.

After saying this, he boarded the same pillar with Yan Ruyan, Zhou Yuan, Ziling Xianzi, Fan Jingmei, and Zhuo Ruting.

Although it was a bit crowded, surrounded by beauties, Yan Taibai was naturally enjoying himself.

After Yan Taibai boarded the pillar, the other Miaoyin Sect cultivators also chose stone pillars in twos and threes; in short, for a time, the Miaoyin Sect became the largest force in the entire hall.

The gazes of the others toward the Miaoyin Sect members, besides envy, were filled with wariness, fear, and hostility.

The Miaoyin Sect members were almost completely indifferent to this, and following Yan Taibai's instructions, they closed their eyes to rest and ignored worldly affairs.

Seeing this, the others did not engage in much conversation either.

For a time, there was nothing in the entire hall except for the silent sound of voice transmissions.

Many cultivators also chose to close their eyes and rest, waiting quietly for the official opening of the Void Heaven Palace.

Time flew by, and another two days passed.

Footsteps sounded once again at the entrance of the hall, and after a blue glow flickered a few times, two people walked in from outside, one after the other.

One was an old Daoist with crane-white hair and a youthful, rosy complexion, while the other was a black-skinned, thin old man dressed like a peasant with a bitter expression on his face.

As soon as the two appeared, most of the other cultivators in the hall looked at them with awe.

And their gazes fell upon Yan Taibai, who was surrounded by beauties and looking quite at ease.

Although they had long known that Yan Taibai and the Miaoyin Sect had brought quite a few cultivators this time, they had not expected so many, which was truly unexpected and highly likely to affect their plans.

Therefore, they did not greet him, but after entering, they did nothing else, clearly waiting for something.

And the other party did not make them wait long, walking into the hall with a bold and vigorous stride.

It was none other than the sect master of the number one Righteous Path sect in the Chaotic Star Sea, the Wanfa Sect sect master, Wan Tianming.

"Fellow Daoist Yan, I did not expect you to arrive so early. It has been a long time; congratulations to Fellow Daoist Yan on breaking through to the False Nascent Soul Realm."

Wan Tianming naturally noticed Yan Taibai at the first moment, and Yan Taibai opened his eyes and stood up with a smile at this time.

"Hasn't Sect Master Wan also made progress in the Tianluo Divine Art?"

"Haha, how can I compare to Fellow Daoist Yan? If Fellow Daoist Yan wanted to defeat this old man now, it would be nothing more than a wave of the hand." Wan Tianming laughed, but a thick look of wariness surged in his eyes.

According to the intelligence of the Wanfa Sect, any Spirit Stone mine or material mine that Yan Taibai stayed at would be completely reduced to a dead vein after he left, with all the Spirit Stones and materials within disappearing without a trace.

Such a terrifying cultivation art was truly shocking and hard to believe, yet one had to believe it.

And having cultivated such a terrifying art, Yan Taibai naturally could not be treated as an ordinary Golden Core Stage Cultivator.

"Sect Master Wan jokes. This junior is merely a Golden Core Stage Cultivator; how could I be a match for Sect Master Wan? Why has Sect Master Wan come here this time?"

Yan Taibai asked directly without his smile fading.

"This... just searching for some spiritual herbs and obtaining a few treasures."

Upon hearing this, Wan Tianming did not expect Yan Taibai to be so straightforward, and he raised an eyebrow as he replied.

"Treasures? Could it be the Void Heaven Cauldron, this number one treasure of the Chaotic Star Sea?"

Yan Taibai asked a question he already knew the answer to, exclaiming aloud.

And as soon as these words appeared, the cultivators in the hall who had previously heard what Yan Taibai said looked at Wan Tianming in unison, waiting for his answer.

Even Qingyi Jushi was inwardly looking forward to the good show of watching the tigers fight from the mountain.

And Wan Tianming's answer did not disappoint him.

"Correct, this old man is indeed here for the Void Heaven Cauldron. Could it be that Fellow Daoist Yan is also here for this Void Heaven Cauldron?" Having already learned from the two of them just now, Wan Tianming's smile stiffened slightly as he retorted.

"Haha, what a coincidence. I also came to the Void Heaven Palace this time for this Void Heaven Cauldron. It seems that you and I will have to rely on our own abilities."

Yan Taibai laughed loudly and admitted it straightforwardly.

The smile on his face instead made Wan Tianming feel a chill, and the smile on his own face disappeared completely.

He knew that the trouble was big; if Yan Taibai wanted the Void Heaven Cauldron and he wanted to compete for it, a fierce battle was inevitable. His only chance was the preparations made in advance, which could allow them to avoid contact with the Inner Palace Puppets and reach the Hanli Terrace where the Void Heaven Cauldron was located at the fastest speed.

This was also their only chance. As long as they obtained the Void Heaven Cauldron and left the Void Heaven Palace to return to the Wanfa Sect, they would not need to worry anymore. Unless a Spirit Severing Stage Cultivator behind Yan Taibai took action personally.

But so many years had passed, and that seemed impossible.

Therefore, as long as they returned to the Wanfa Sect, they would basically be safe and sound, and everything would be fine.

"Correct, you and I shall rely on our own abilities."

One could not fight or use techniques in this hall, only small spells for flying or floating, so there was no need to worry about Yan Taibai attacking suddenly.

"Sect Master Wan is indeed a reasonable person."

Yan Taibai nodded in approval, very satisfied with Wan Tianming's answer.

"Many thanks for Fellow Daoist Yan's praise."

Wan Tianming said with a forced smile.

Afterward, the two did not say anything more; after all, since they were destined to be enemies, there was naturally no need to say anything more.

The trio led by Wan Tianming found a jade pillar and landed on it.

"What should we do? This Yan Taibai also wants to obtain the Void Heaven Cauldron; this is troublesome now. His sword Qi was left behind by a Spirit Severing Stage Cultivator, and even Man Huzi was killed in a single strike."

Wan Tianming said with a massive headache.

(End of chapter)