Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 554 - 552: A Difference of a Hair’s Breadth (Subscriptions Wanted)_1

Chapter 554: Chapter 552: A Difference of a Hair’s Breadth (Subscriptions Wanted)_1

Scenery of the northern realms, piercing winds slice through miles of ice like knives!

Atop a massive glacier, several Immortal Cultivators on white bears and other Spiritual Beasts, banners and spiritual instruments in hand, continuously cast spells to mimic terrifying roars.

Driven by these roars, ’Ice Beasts’, cat-sized with snow-white fur and black unicorns on their heads, fled in fear at a great speed.

From high above, one could see teams of Cultivators collaborating seamlessly, driving swarms of ’Ice Beasts’ into a white flood. Tributaries of beasts were coerced to join along the way, eventually flowing endlessly into a canyon.

Though the mouth of the canyon was wide open and the interior appeared serene, it concealed a mechanism—a Great Array laid out like an open trap waiting to be sprung!

As Ice Beasts rushed into the canyon, the Great Array was immediately activated.

Dark clouds filled the void, torrents of thunderbolts fell, each blast turning Ice Beasts into showers of flesh and blood.

In the void, two Nascent Soul Cultivators stood side by side, watching the scene unfold.

One was a man in a white robe with a square face, radiating a tough and resolute aura.

The Cultivator was enchantingly alluring, garbed in a pure white fox fur coat, further highlighting her exquisite beauty.

"Ice Wind Fairy, your Sect’s ’Five Thunder Array’ is indeed extraordinary. It seems there are no rank-four Transformed Great Demons here, saving us the trouble of making a move," said the male Cultivator with a jade flute in his hand, smiling.

"Many thanks to you, Zhang..."

Ice Wind Fairy extended her polite gratitude while a tinge of worry flashed across her brows, "I hope this blood of the Ice Beasts will satisfy the Upper Sect... They have demanded the tribute so urgently this time, I wonder why?"

Mentioning the Upper Sect caused the male Cultivator’s expression to shift slightly.

The Ice God Palace was the proverbial ’sky’ that loomed over all the Cultivation Sects of the North Plains!

"I’ve heard that the Ice God Palace had previously struck back into the Monster World and claimed numerous victories... And now they demand tributes from the lower Sects, perhaps there’s some strategy afoot..."

The two Nascent Soul Cultivators fell silent for a moment.

Right then, the weather in the nearby canyon abruptly changed!

Ripples gently swept across the void as countless silver radiance flickered, gradually shaping into a silvery arc of light.

Accompanied by the cry of a Heavenly Phoenix, two silhouettes emerged clumsily from the silvery arc, shielded by a small grey-white tower.

"Hm?"

As Fang Xi appeared, he instantly sensed the imminent Five Thunder Bombing overhead and countless ice attribute Monster Beasts around him, letting out a cold snort.

Within the Sky Demon Chant, those Ice Beasts fell one after another, lifeless.

The next moment, he raised his hand and slashed!

A Taiyi Green Wood Divine Light burst forth, transforming into a several hundred zhang long giant sword, striking straight towards the sky.

Crack!

A bolt of lightning descended, only to be split in half by the green giant sword before it even pierced the cloud cover, slashing through the dark clouds to reveal a clear sky.

One sword cleaved the thunderbolts!

Even though these were merely simulated by the Array, the display of divine power was evident!

"My Five Thunder Array..."

The Ice Wind Fairy exclaimed, while the male Cultivator with the jade flute looked at the sudden figure, his fingers tightening slightly, "An advanced Nascent Soul-stage Cultivator?!"

"Hm? You two, come over here!"

Fang Xi scanned with his Divine Consciousness, noticing the many lower-tier Cultivators and the two hiding Nascent Souls, and coldly hummed a transmission of his voice.

"This..."

Ice Wind Fairy looked towards the male Cultivator.

The male Cultivator shook his head with a wry smile, "When a powerful Cultivator calls, we should promptly attend..."

Inwardly, he was puzzled, for this Cultivator did not seem to be among the known major Cultivators in the North Plains.

Soon, however, he reflected on the strange circumstances of the other’s sudden appearance and a guess formed in his mind: ’Space Time Turbulence, perhaps?’

He rode the jade flute, transforming into a streak of white light, alighting in front of Fang Xi along with the Ice Wind Fairy.

Ice Wind Fairy also hastily dispatched several Voice Transmission Talismans, ordering Sect disciples to retreat, so as not to annoy the powerful Cultivator.

Besides, it would not do for the Sect disciples to see her, a Supreme Elder, showing obeisance to another Cultivator...

"Ice Wind, Jade Flute... We have seen the powerful Cultivator!"

The two Nascent Soul Cultivators bowed in unison.

"You two don’t have to be so polite," Fang Xi said with a slight smile, managing to understand their language, which was a benefit of the teleportation arrays connecting East Sea, West Desert, and North Plains.

"I was involved in a Space Time Turbulence during teleportation; may I know where this is?" he inquired.

Ice Wind and Jade Flute Lord exchanged a glance, feeling their speculation was correct: "This place is the Cultivation World of North Plains, the Fierce Ice Glacier..."

"So it is the Cultivation World of the North Plains?"

The climate and the Ice Beasts had already led Fang Xi to suspect as much.

He asked a few more questions and then waved his hands, allowing the two Nascent Soul Cultivators to leave.

Ice Wind and Jade Flute bowed once again and, without a glance at the corpses of the Ice Beasts, they fled in their Escape Light.

Only after traveling a thousand miles did they stop their flight.

"I was terrified, thankfully that powerful Cultivator wasn’t from the Demon Path..." said Ice Wind Fairy with lingering fear.

"To encounter Space Time Turbulence and still arrive unharmed, that senior must either possess vast divine powers, have incredible fortune, or both," the man remarked.

True Lord Jade Flute couldn’t help but sigh before asking with a flicker in his eyes, "This matter... should we notify the Upper Sect?"

Upon hearing this, the Ice Wind Fairy seemed lost in thought.

...

"How is it? Have you recovered?"

It was only now that Fang Xi turned his attention towards Shui Lingxin, the Fairy Shui beside him.

Speaking of which, the two of them were rather unlucky.

According to the Array Spirit Sea Turtle’s transmission, their destination should have been just outside the Vast Sea Realm.

But, previously, in order to deflect the attack from Black Taisui, Fang Xi released his custom-made ’Prohibition Space Talisman’, which itself had a certain disruptive effect on the Void.

After all, Black Taisui’s approach was fierce, and its dark light must also carry Void Divine Power; without interference, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

As a result, the interaction of various forces caused a displacement in their transmission.

As the saying goes, miss by an inch, miss by a mile!

With Void teleportation, missing by an inch could mean being off by tens of millions of miles!

He and Shui Lingxin immediately fell into the Space Time Turbulence, but fortunately, Fang Xi had astonishing defense and numerous methods. He found a Weak Point of Void without too much trouble, ripped through the Void, and returned to the Mortal Realm.

He also protected Shui Lingxin along the way...

’This is only the Space Time Turbulence within the Mortal Realm... To think of secretly traversing through the Void Crevice to the Earth Immortal Realm... it’s terrifying to imagine, no wonder they needed to build things like the Ascension Platform...’

Fang Xi reflected to himself, then looked back at Shui Lingxin.

This Core Formation Cultivator would have been reduced to mincemeat by the Void Force if he hadn’t protected her with the Devil-locking Tower.

Of course, she was in a rather unpleasant state right now, somewhat wounded.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior. I, I..."

Shui Lingxin had just regained some strength and was about to say something when her face veil suddenly let out a mournful cry, disintegrating into ash and vanishing inch by inch.

Underneath the veil was an exquisitely beautiful countenance, as if graced with heavenly splendor, possessing an exceptional temperament.

Fang Xi considered that since he began his Cultivation journey, he had seen many fairies and demonesses, but this woman’s beauty was certainly among the best.

"Ah!"

Startled by the destruction of her veil, Shui Lingxin couldn’t help but exclaim.

"What’s the matter, is the veil very important to the Fairy?" Fang Xi asked with a smile.

"No, my master said my appearance is captivating and easily causes trouble... thus bestowing this veil upon me. Only today did I realize it also had a protective effect. My master truly took great pains..."

Shui Lingxin replied with a hint of emotion.

"Fairy Yunxi, eh? Currently, the hidden dangers in the Cultivation World of the East Sea have need of this senior’s intervention."

Fang Xi looked at Shui Lingxin with a touch of curiosity and inquired, "You from Penglai Fairy Island actually don’t know about the records of the Vast Sea Realm?"

"It was only after my master rose to prominence that my Penglai Fairy Island gradually became the number one sect of the East Sea... Perhaps only within ancient sects like the Four Seas Sect are there records of such literature..."

Shui Lingxin’s face showed a hint of confusion: "The records of the ’Vast Sea Realm’ were found in our Sect’s Scriptures Depository, written in a notebook by an ancestor. It mentioned that the Vast Sea Realm is a treasure among Cave Heavens, and that one with the Spirit Communication Physique could refine the Heart of Vast Sea. It also came with several Secret Skills... I tried them out and found them to be incredibly effective, which is why I firmly believed them and harbored thoughts of seeking treasure in the Secret Realm."

She sighed, "Looking at it now, that demon must have been plotting for a long time, likely having bewitched some Cultivators during the previous openings of the Vast Sea Realm. It seems a senior from my sect also fell victim to its schemes..."

Fang Xi nodded in agreement, but in his mind, he recalled the fragment of the Spirit Ganoderma in his hand.

Perhaps he could take this object to Kyushu World for further study?

As for the Demon Disaster a hundred years later?

Isn’t there still Fairy Yunxi?

After all, when the sky falls there’s a tall one to hold it up, and if he hadn’t become a Transcendent God by that time, he certainly wouldn’t risk getting involved in such affairs.

"Enough now, this place is already within the Cultivation World of the North Plains... and the promise I made to protect the Fairy to the Vast Sea Realm, I suppose it has already been fulfilled, right?"

Fang Xi looked at Shui Lingxin with a smile.

"Of course, I have to thank the Senior for your protection on this journey. Otherwise, Lingxin would have died dozens or hundreds of times over."

Shui Lingxin answered earnestly and bowed deeply, "Lingxin thanks the Senior for your great kindness."

"Hmm, how do you plan to return to the East Sea?"

Fang Xi asked.

"In fact, my Penglai Fairy Island also controls an ancient teleportation array that leads to the North Plains... I can use it to return directly to the East Sea."

Shui Lingxin bowed once more, offering a jade slip: "This is the location of the ancient teleportation array. Once I report back to the Sect, you, the Senior, can use it at no cost..."

"You’re very clever. I find the scenery here rather pleasing and wish to explore for a while."

What he implied was that he definitely wasn’t going to take Shui Lingxin, the encumbrance, with him.

Shui Lingxin was perceptive. She turned into a blue Escape Light and was the first to say farewell and leave.

Fang Xi watched her departing figure for a moment in silence before he beckoned with his hand.

The spider-like ’Fortune Worm’ fell back into his palm from the Void and swiftly disappeared from sight.

This worm was just for positioning and also to prevent Shui Lingxin from using the prohibitions and Treasures in the Vast Sea Palace to harm him as a contingency.

Now that they had parted, he naturally reclaimed it.

"This woman has quite the fortune; had it not been for me, she probably would have perished in the Space Time Turbulence..."

Fang Xi pondered for a while, feeling that it was time to prepare the ’Fortune Worm’.

After all, for the endeavor to reach Transcendent God, any small increase in probability is exceedingly precious.