Chapter 654

Brother Qian Chen stepped out of the Twelve-Story Tower, carrying Hua Hua Daier as they departed; along the way, Hua Hua Daier's spiritual sense sensed something amiss—hidden gazes seemed fixed upon them, and she couldn't help but ask Brother Qian Chen: "Uncle Li, do you feel someone's watching us?"

Brother Qian Chen replied calmly: "Those are minor players—ignore them."

"Oh!" Hua Hua Daier replied dumbly, but after a moment, she sensed something was off.

"If those are minor players, then who aren't?"

Brother Qian Chen's spiritual sense hovered in a state between illusion and reality, sensing the distant figures locking onto his vital energy.

The old witch of the Qitian Sect, shrouded entirely in a black robe, exuded a withered aura, appearing no more than a Qi Refining cultivator.

Yet Brother Qian Chen sensed the decay clinging to her—this was an ancient monster nearing the end of his lifespan, prolonging his life by granting Yin Spirits and masking their lifespans with incense offerings; Brother Qian Chen saw at a glance the karmic chains entwined around her Yuan Yang.

And the giant transformed from the Jiaolong of the Konghai Sect, expression cold, trailed far behind.

The other several were all seasoned Nascent Soul grand masters, male and female alike, some even refraining from concealment, their spiritual senses coldly sweeping over to probe Brother Qian Chen's true nature; their spiritual senses naturally brushed empty air, sinking into Brother Qian Chen's dream, yet falsely believing they had uncovered his secrets—unaware that what they saw were merely reflections of their own desires, trapped in delusion!

Hua Hua Daier had sensed the spiritual thoughts of these Nascent Soul cultivators, which was why she felt something was wrong.

The old man from Yu Jiuyou Dao was the most cautious—he did not fixate directly on Brother Qian Chen, but instead planted fragments of his demonic thought within pedestrians along Brother Qian Chen's path, a subtle thread of demonic intent observing Brother Qian Chen through others' eyes.

"Indeed, the demonic path is more cautious—they know what they shouldn't know," Brother Qian Chen mused inwardly.

At a secluded flying vessel, someone blocked their path—a man clad in the robes of a Seven Immortal Alliance official stationed at the flying vessel bazaar, his cultivation strength formidable, roughly that of a seasoned Core Formation cultivator.

He spoke coldly: "Have you purchased unverified elixirs from some heterodox cultivators? I am an enforcer of the bazaar. Recently, a band of pill bandits breached the cave-fortress of a renowned pill master within the bazaar and stole a batch of precious spirit elixirs! I received a tip that you bought an unverified batch—so I must investigate you."

Hua Hua Daier instantly flew into rage!

She didn't believe the Seven Immortal Alliance knew nothing of the pill-hunting guild's stalls—allowing black-market vendors to set up shop was merely to avoid offending the pill-hunting guild, yet now they came after them—utterly shameless!

But Brother Qian Chen held back Hua Hua Daier's retort; her outburst stemmed from believing this man was an enforcer loyal to the pill-hunting guild, hoping to reason with them.

Yet Brother Qian Chen had already seen through it—this man was likely a Seven Immortal Alliance disciple colluding with the pill-hunting guild.

This was a test, and the official was merely a pawn, used to probe them.

Even if Brother Qian Chen possessed an extraordinary background or was himself a disguised Nascent Soul True Person, sacrificing one pawn would sever karmic ties without burdening the pill-hunting guild; his appearance proved the pill-hunting guild had designs on Brother Qian Chen—justifying all the bait he had previously cast.

"Where are those elixirs you bought? Show them to me! If they're unrelated to the stolen pills, I won't trouble you!" the enforcer declared with righteous indignation, as if he held moral high ground.

Hua Hua Daier glanced at Brother Qian Chen; seeing no objection, she pulled out the spirit elixir encased in amber and shouted: "Here! Look closely! This layer of spirit amber alone took ten thousand years to form—it has nothing to do with your stolen pills!"

"Whether related or not, only inspection will tell!"

Seeing Hua Hua Daier comply, the enforcer grew even more arrogant.

He swept his spiritual sense over the elixir, revealing a faint hint of delight—no one knew how the pill-hunting guild had briefed him, but he showed no suspicion whatsoever.

The Core Formation cultivator's aura pressed down, silencing Hua Hua Daier; he easily seized the amber. Brother Qian Chen saw the face of one Nascent Soul cultivator trailing him turn black.

The other Nascent Soul cultivators sneered at him—clearly, he was a grand master from the Seven Immortal Alliance.

"The young pup has narrow vision—forgive us, fellow cultivators!" The Nascent Soul elder swept his sleeve, his spiritual voice echoing among the surrounding cultivators.

The enforcer spoke coolly: "The amber may merely be a decoy—there are too many demons and monsters in the sea market! Concealing elixirs beneath spirit amber is hardly unusual—I must inspect thoroughly. I will temporarily confiscate this elixir; if proven unrelated, I'll return it to you…"

Hua Hua Daier wanted to bite him: "Expecting you to return it? Better hope a meat bun beats a dog!"

The enforcer's expression hardened, radiating a chilling aura: "Think before you speak! I am an enforcer of the Seven Immortal Alliance—do you think I'd covet your worthless Qi-replenishing pills?"

"If the elixir is faulty, I'll compensate you with a bottle! How dare a child so young speak recklessly—you won't live to grow up…"

Hua Hua Daier fumed: "You're trying to steal my elixir right now! The spirit elixir inside the amber is a trace of the most precious primordial qi—how could it compare to those Qi-refining pills for lowly cultivators?"

"Primordial qi?"

The enforcer's eyes flickered; to Hua Hua Daier, they gleamed with greed.

He was handsome enough—Core Formation cultivators rarely had ugly faces unless their cultivation was peculiar. But face reflects heart: now, his arrogance radiated subtly, and Brother Qian Chen saw a dark aura coiling above his forehead.

This was no trick of Brother Qian Chen's—this was spontaneous manifestation of fortune and fate, signaling that the tribulation he had stirred was beginning to spread.

The Seven Immortal Alliance disciples were the first drawn into the tribulation—unaware…

"Primordial qi? You say it exists, but I say it doesn't!"

The enforcer sneered, flipping his hand—the amber vanished from his palm. Hua Hua Daier stared, eyes blazing as if spitting fire; for the first time, she suffered such injustice, biting her lower lip, a surge of fury swelling within her.

Watching the enforcer stroll away, Hua Hua Daier bit her lip, turned back to Brother Qian Chen, hesitating: "Uncle Li?"

"You're wondering why I didn't intervene?" Brother Qian Chen said calmly. "Since I already gave you this elixir, it belongs to you—why should I act?"

He smiled, patting Hua Hua Daier's small head: "Handle this yourself—but the test remains the same! Use the Divine Refinement method to refine this elixir into a primordial qi pill. If you succeed, we'll meet again."

Brother Qian Chen also wished to see how Hua Hua Daier would resolve this—did anyone truly believe refining a pill alone would earn entry into the Supreme Louguan Sect?

"Tribulation and karmic ties—no cultivator can escape them!"

"Talent and foundation are vital, but can one attain the Dao merely by cultivating? Had that been so, the Supreme Louguan Sect wouldn't have been annihilated! Let me see how well you handle trouble…"

Brother Qian Chen thought inwardly: "Use your Hua family connections to retrieve it! Forge ties with the Seven Immortal Alliance, find allies to demand justice! Or—if you can, against all odds, use your spiritual sense to sever the Core Formation cultivator's life—better still! Whether through social maneuvering or killing to sever karmic ties—I've left the seeds. Now, see your insight!"

Not far away, a Nascent Soul elder of the Seven Immortal Alliance had witnessed everything—if Hua Hua Daier earned his favor, resolving this would be effortless.

If Hua Hua Daier knew how to stir chaos, leveraging Brother Qian Chen's identity to intimidate, to cause a ruckus…

To deceive and reclaim the elixir—that would prove her ability.

If she, like Brother Qian Chen, possessed extraordinary insight into pill refinement and a demonic will to turn impossibility into possibility…

Then she could, through the Divine Refinement method, discern the technique of using living beings as crucibles to forge second-transformation external elixirs. Leveraging the pretext of "primordial qi," she could make the enforcer himself become the external elixir, delivered back into her hands—perfect!

Brother Qian Chen smiled lightly, casually setting a tribulation for the disciple he favored.

And simultaneously, he laid a tribulation upon the Core Formation enforcer!

With that enforcer's dark clouds looming over his fortune, if Hua Hua Daier couldn't overcome this tribulation, she deserved no place in Brother Qian Chen's eyes.

"Hmph…" The Qitian Sect's old witch sneered from afar: "To be bullied by a mere Core Formation cultivator—even if he hides his true level, he's no great figure!"

The Konghai Sect's head monk chuckled: "Amitabha! After all, the Seven Immortal Alliance governs this sea market—perhaps he's an elder who avoids karmic entanglements!"

"One with such insight cannot be ordinary!"

The Konghai Sect's Jiaolong monk—who had just moments ago mocked the Qitian witch—had somehow allied with her.

The bald monk rubbed his head and grinned: "Regardless, he instantly recognized the origin of the Immortal Elixir—his perception is extraordinary! And the appearance of the Chenglu Pan fragment triggered the emergence of the Gui Xu secret realm—isn't that too coincidental?"

"I asked my sect master to use the Future Star Tribulation to calculate…"

"Oh?" The old witch's eyes flickered with curiosity: "What was the result?"

The monk said gravely: "The Chenglu Pan appears to be on the verge of reformation! Decades ago, in Jiankang, the capital of Southern Jin, six Nascent Soul True Persons from Dao and Demon sects clashed; two Demon Heavenly Demons were suppressed, and at that moment, the imperial dragon aura of the Han Dynasty trembled—seemingly drawing the Chenglu Pan's fortune, granting it a chance to emerge!"

"Leaving aside other matters…" The Qitian witch's expression turned grave: "If we seize the Chenglu Pan, perhaps the one from the Master Sima family could…"

"Is the one truly trapped beyond the world?"

The Konghai monk's face showed surprise at the mention of him.

"The hidden hand behind the Han Dynasty's decline in its final years—if that old monster returns…" The monk's face darkened: "He is the strongest Nascent Soul of the Earth Immortal Realm! It seems the Master Sima family will also wade into this murky water!"

"The Master Sima family will likely ally with the Long Gong!"

The Qitian witch smiled: "And what of your Konghai Sect? Long ago, the Bodhisattva reincarnated from the Eight Heavenly Dragons founded your Konghai lineage within the Long Gong—now, will you ally with the Long Gong, or serve as the Buddhist hand extending into the seas?"

"The Shaoqing Sect has always regarded our sect as a mortal enemy!"

The monk clasped his hands and bowed: "Thus, I dare not seek more—I only hope that when Shaoqing targets us, they will restrain themselves, show caution… Then, both the Long Gong and the Buddhist sect may be utilized."