On his way to the White Immortal Sect, Xinzi murmured the poem that Dong Ling and Chun Xu dedicated to him and came to one conclusion: "Xihai. They left for Xihai. Might not have gotten there yet, but that's the goal."
Dong Ling and Chun Xu had no understanding of the Endless Sea's structure, so the "western seas" in the poem most likely referred to Xihai, that quite literally meant "western sea." And the "Dark Umbrella" Dong Ling mentioned meant "Dark Chamber of Commerce."
Xihai was the leftmost prefecture of Dongli, bordering the Anyue state and with a port connecting to the Endless Sea. Depending on the road and method of transportation, to go from the White Immortal Sect to Xihai Prefecture could take anything between an instant and weeks of travel. Knowing Chun Xu, Xinzi believed that she'd avoid all paths that Zi Yao could easily track, opting for stops, decoys and an overall confusing pattern just in case the matriarch figured it out as well.
But why Xihai? This choice only made sense if Guang Fanghun was on board. If he was, why did he enter a sanguine rage, nearly battling his beloved wife to death?
"Was it just a trick? Did Guang Fanghu fake a feral outburst to mislead Zi Yao and Hanxing? Well, well, we will know once I have Guang Fanghu in my hands. Father-in-law, your son is coming," Xinzi said, and underneath the blood mask, his lips curled into a fiendish grin. The Blood Beast echoed his thoughts, picking up the speed and turning into a bolt of red light that charged across the Dongli state, moving at supersonic speed on its way to the White Immortal Sect.
Thanks to the sky-high altitude and speed that the Blood Beast flew at, the Dongli citizens couldn't notice its passage. The villages neighboring the sect didn't notice anything either and in the blink of an eye, the Blood Beast brought its lord past hills and mountain ranges, reaching the towering gates of the White Immortal Sect.
Xinzi didn't bother to craft another key. Didn't bother to have his sect token sent over so he could directly walk in. The Blood Beast's unrestrained aura triggered the sect's defensive formation, and our monk raised his flag, facing the White Immortal Sect's grand energy barrier.
"GRRRRRRRRRRR!" The roar of a rank-six Mysterious Beast shook the White Immortal Sect. The earth cracked, seismic waves overturned the land, and as valleys and hills threatened to collapse, the tectonic plates moved erratically. Panic spread throughout sect lives. Outer disciples scrambled to stay on their feet, their eardrums battered by the Blood Beast's ferocious roar. Inner Disciples rode flying swords, awkwardly trying to retreat to the core zone. The elite disciples fared no better, sending distressed mental messages to their relatives and elders, who left their various tasks to fly towards the sect's gates.
Flag in hand, Xinzi watched with rapt attention, his Demon Heart feeding off the fear that clutched at juniors' and seniors' hearts. Guest and Named Elders left seclusion, and at the speed of flying arrows, reached the sect's gates, facing Xinzi from within the defensive formation. The elite disciples gathered not long after, led by the elders of the various halls.
One violet ray dropped from the sky, and a woman appeared before elders and disciples. Dressed in a long white robe, with flowing purple hair, mystifying lavender eyes, and such fair skin that one could mistake her for a doll crafted by preeminent Godsmiths, the woman oozed a chilling aloofness that kept the world at bay, preventing men from losing themselves in the salacious curves that stretched her Daoist robe. The sect masters' sword emblem proudly hung on her chest, reminding the onlookers of her status as the Yin Matriarch of the White Immortal Sect.
"Our White Immortal Sect has occupied these mountains for 6,000 years. But never in that time have we received the visit of one such eminent character. How…should we address you?" Zi Yao made her entrance, her eyes darting between the Blood Beast and slender masked man that stood on its back.
Based on that roar alone, Zi Yao could affirm that, at the very least, this creature had exceeded the limits of a rank-five Beast King—likely already a rank-six Ordained Beast. Creatures of that level rarely submitted to immortal cultivators—often forced by Slave Seals imprinted by superior formation masters. Zi Yao couldn't sense a Slave Seal from the Blood Beast, meaning that whoever stood on its back had its willing obedience.
That…was even more terrifying.
"You may refer to my humble self as the Bloodstone Patriarch, contemporary master of the Gorge of Thousand Venoms," Xinzi gave himself a random name, his head tilting as he stared at Zi Yao. The Blood Mask prevented her from seeing his face, and both his voice and physical stature didn't match the true Xinzi's. Yet, as soon as he started talking, Zi Yao felt annoyed. The type of annoyance that only our monk could trigger in her.
"Gorge of Thousand Venoms? Zhenniao is…dead?" A named elder of the Nascent Soul stage recoiled in terror, his eyes stretching at the possibility that the legendary Gorge of Thousand Venoms had finally succumbed to foreign invasion.
"Indeed, I didn't like him. And people that I don't like often face tragic ends," Xinzi said, and sensing the obvious threat in the words, Zi Yao trembled.
"Bloodstone Patriarch…what…can we do for you?" Lord Hanxing could control the defensive formation from within his cave. And with his Divine Transformation cultivation base, gave the sect elders ample confidence. Zi Yao, on the other end, didn't have any, hoping to avoid a battle at all cost.
"Simple, I've heard from my little birds that the White Immortal Sect has made massive gains in recent times, enabling you to accumulate resources of Divine Transformation, Dao Revelation, Void Tribulant, and even Integration level. Such resources are quite frankly wasted on a faction of your caliber. I could make much better use of them. So why not do the world a favor and donate your gains to the Bloodstone Patriarch. Also, each month you will send ten million spirit stones to the Gorge of Thousand Venoms, with 10 elite disciples as tributes to show goodwill. In exchange, you will have my protection and forgiveness for having a bigger appetite than what your abilities can support."
"Loads of horseshit! All those resources grew on our sect's soil. We braved countless dangers and lost many valuable disciples to safely harvest them, and you want us to 'donate' them to you? Based on what right?"
"The average Nascent Soul expert makes 3,000,000 spirit stones per year and spends 2,700,000 for their own cultivation, but you want us to offer you 10,000,000 per month? And also send elite disciples as a monthly tribute? Did your brain get kicked by donkeys?"
"Do you not know that, in the cultivation world, there is no greater sin than trying to rob a fellow daoist's good fortune? The White Immortal Sect isn't so easy to bully. If you don't get lost at once, our great elder, Lord Hanxing, will lead all the states of Yanzhou Province to crusade against the Gorge of Thousand Venoms!" Immediate backlash followed Xinzi's demands. None of the elders could see through Xinzi's cultivation base and therefore assumed that it shouldn't be too high.
In the cultivation world, cultivation base equaled status. Besides experts with things to hide, or paper tigers relying on their clans' treasures and mounts to intimidate lesser forces, no one would hide their cultivation base. Some even wondered if the so-called Bloodstone Patriarch wasn't the young scion of some heretical secret clan—relying on a borrowed rank-six beast to make a great show of force.
Zi Yao didn't speak, an ominous sensation crept up her back, and subconsciously, she reached for her storage ring.
"Oh? You won't give me your resources? That's fine. I'm sure we can negotiate. Let's try with…" Our monk's hand clenched on the flag's hoist. All noise left the air, making Xinzi's voice the sole focus of the White Immortal Sect's experts.
"Your lives!" Massive Blood Energy erupted from Xinzi's peacock-feathered robe, spreading through scarlet rays and sanguine clouds to trap the area in a world of red.
"Third-order of Blood Energy!" All those below the Nascent Soul stage felt their blood seethe, and their hearts race at dangerous speed. If not for the defensive formation sheltering them from direct influence, they'd have long burst into blood and gore. The majority of the Nascent Soul experts on the scene wouldn't be able to resist either!
Panic returned with overwhelming momentum. Xinzi didn't give the sect disciples time to indulge and waved the Thousand Soul Immolation Flag at the defensive formation. A sea of blood-colored flames rolled out, becoming an irresistible tide that slammed into the White Immortal Sect's barrier—it cracked immediately!
The names of the Fen Spirit clans' deceased flashed on the Thousand Soul Immolation Flag, boulder-sized blood fireballs surged upwards, scarlet eyes flashed on the fireballs, with loud and sinister cackles reverberating throughout the atmosphere.
In salvos of hundreds, the fireballs dropped, and like flaming meteors, they barrelled through the White Immortal Sect's defensive barrier!
