When Wen Jingshu emerged from the Shengsheng Bead, she found herself on a beach. She stood on the sandy shore, with the endless sea stretching before her and a lush, green forest behind her.
A gentle sea breeze blew over, giving her a rare sense of comfort.
Wen Jingshu was dazed for a moment before realizing that the spatial rift must have randomly transported her to some unknown location.
She had just been able to contact Wen Shuyi normally, which proved she was still on the Eastern Azure Continent, though she had no idea where exactly she was.
Wen Jingshu disguised herself as an ordinary female cultivator, displaying a cultivation level of the early stage Foundation Establishment Stage, and quietly began investigating her surroundings.
Along the way, she encountered several rogue cultivators. Instead of approaching them, she observed them quietly from the shadows.
The group consisted of two men and three women. One of them, a middle-aged male cultivator, looked anxious as he tried to persuade his companions to keep moving:
“The beast tide is going to strike in three days. Are you really not worried at all?”
A female cultivator in white replied to the middle-aged man with a bitter smile, sounding completely resigned to her fate:
“Uncle Li, it’s not a matter of whether we’re worried or not. Even if we work ourselves to the bone over the next three days, we still won’t be able to gather enough spirit stones for the city entrance fee!”
“Since we’re going to die no matter how hard we struggle, we might as well enjoy a good meal.”
The others remained silent, their expressions completely indifferent. Clearly, they agreed with her.
The middle-aged male cultivator opened his mouth to say something more, but ultimately could only sigh. “I thought our situation would improve after the Zhao family fell and the Sun family took over. If I had known it would turn out like this... Sigh...”
After he finished speaking, he fell silent. The five cultivators sat around the campfire, staring blankly into the flames.
Hidden in the shadows, Wen Jingshu was speechless.
She had hoped to gather some useful information from them, but instead of learning anything helpful, she had only absorbed their overwhelming despair.
Since they had mentioned an entrance fee, there had to be a city nearby. She quickened her pace to search the area and indeed spotted a city wall towering hundreds of feet high.
Dense, complex formations were carved into the city walls, designed to prevent cultivators from flying in on swords and to defend against the beast tide they had spoken of.
Regardless, any outside cultivator wishing to enter the city had to pass through the main gates.
Wen Jingshu, hiding inside the Shengsheng Bead, drifted over to the main gates. The entrance was built on a grand scale, with a plaque hanging at the very top bearing three characters: “Cangwu City.”
She watched as a queuing cultivator paid one hundred top-grade spirit stones before the guards allowed him through, handing him a token that was bound to a divine stone.
Wen Jingshu clicked her tongue. She had originally planned to find some wicked person to kill and impersonate once she got inside, but she hadn't expected the tokens to require binding to a cultivator's divine sense.
Wen Jingshu drifted into Cangwu City to gather information. She learned that this place was an isolated island called Cangwu Island. The surrounding waters were shrouded in white fog year-round, and the only way to cross safely was by taking specific vessels.
Furthermore, Cangwu Island suffered annual attacks from marine demon beasts, and the only way for cultivators to survive was to take refuge inside Cangwu City.
Following the trail of information, she went to the ferry crossing and discovered that two Void Refinement Stage Daoist Lords were stationed there.
Moreover, they held special magic treasures to prevent cultivators from bringing in any artifacts capable of concealing people.
In the past, Wen Jingshu would have had absolute confidence in the Shengsheng Bead. However, after being tracked down by Qian De and having her disguise exposed by Luo Yunting, she decided it was better to play it safe.
Besides, if she simply hid inside the Shengsheng Bead and fled at the slightest hint of trouble, what would be the point of her leaving the sect for experiential learning?
Wen Jingshu made another round of the city to understand the local power distribution. The current city lord belonged to the Sun family, which did not have many direct bloodline members, and they only had a single Body Integration Stage Daoist Sovereign guarding the place.
A Body Integration Stage Daoist Sovereign? That cultivation level doesn't seem exceptionally high.
Even so, Wen Jingshu did not dare to underestimate them.
Some families might appear small, but they could very well possess incredible hidden treasures. As a talisman cultivator, Wen Jingshu had suffered similar setbacks a few times before, so she dared not be arrogant.
After weighing her options, Wen Jingshu left the city, deciding to plan her next move carefully.
There weren't many cultivators on the island, and all of them were registered in Cangwu City. As a newcomer who had suddenly appeared, Wen Jingshu had only two choices: either kill someone and take their place, or reveal herself openly.
The former would require a disguise. It would be fine if she wasn't discovered, but if she were, her situation would become very passive.
As for the latter...
Wen Jingshu stroked her chin, narrowing her eyes as she watched the five cultivators battling a demon beast.
She was planning to make a massive splash.
...
The five of them had never expected to be so unlucky. They had been resting peacefully when they turned around and encountered a mid-grade third-rank demon beast.
They were merely Qi Refining Stage cultivators and stood absolutely no chance against it.
The mid-grade third-rank octopus demon beast moved freely on land. It possessed a massive body, highly flexible tentacles, and even its surface mucus was poisonous.
There was already a massive disparity in strength, and facing the most troublesome octopus demon beast made it even worse. The five of them were covered in wounds, gritting their teeth as they resisted.
The middle-aged male cultivator was the first to have his shoulder pierced. He was thrown heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood before completely losing consciousness.
With one less person to help, the remaining four found themselves in an even direr situation.
Just as the female cultivator in white was about to be pierced by a tentacle, a sudden spatial ripple fluctuated above their heads. In the next second, an exquisite and luxurious palanquin appeared before their eyes.
The palanquin seemed not to notice the battle below, landing lightly right on top of the octopus demon beast's head.
Although the palanquin was much smaller than the octopus demon beast, it pinned the creature down so heavily that it could not even roll over.
The beast wildly thrashed its tentacles, trying to attack the palanquin above it, but all of its attacks were blocked by the palanquin's defensive barrier.
After a flurry of futile efforts, the octopus demon beast had failed to damage the palanquin and had only ended up with aching tentacles.
Moments later, a little white tiger flew out from within the palanquin.
The little white tiger looked completely harmless. After letting out a cute, babyish roar, its body instantly expanded.
Even in its enlarged state, the white tiger was only about two meters tall. Compared to the massive octopus demon beast, it still looked like a tiny cub.
Although Suyao was still a cub, his innate rank was incredibly high, which meant this unintelligent demon beast stood no chance against him.
The white tiger darted nimbly across the octopus demon beast's body, its sharp claws leaving fatal wounds wherever it passed.
The octopus demon beast thrashed in agony, but no matter how hard it struggled, it could not shake off the palanquin pinning it down.
“A... a sixth-rank spirit beast?”
One of the cultivators recognized Suyao's rank.
It was precisely because they recognized it that they found it so hard to believe.
The others were equally shocked when they heard their companion's words.
A sixth-rank spirit beast! Although its current strength was only equivalent to a high-grade second-rank, once it matured, its combat power would rival a Void Refinement Stage Daoist Lord!
With the right opportunities, even a Body Integration Stage Daoist Sovereign would be no match for it!
And that palanquin atop the octopus demon beast—despite its small size, it was actually able to directly suppress a third-rank demon beast!
Demon beasts were different from human cultivators; they had incredibly thick hides, immense physical strength, and immense destructive power. Yet, it couldn't even match someone else's mere carriage?
An unidentified palanquin of unknown grade, a sixth-rank spirit beast cub... such a grand entourage was likely beyond even what the Sun family could muster!
Just what kind of sacred figure was its owner to be so terrifyingly powerful!
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