CHAPTER 568: CHAPTER 445 REVENGE AND HATRED

The vast East Sea, boundless and endless.

Gao Xuan stayed deep within the East Sea for ten days, using the White Jade Gourd to wildly absorb seawater for ten days straight.

According to Gao Xuan’s estimation, absorbing a hundred thousand cubic meters of water per second, over ten days, the White Jade Gourd roughly absorbed a hundred billion cubic meters of water.

This is just an approximate figure, give or take a few million cubic meters.

Then, the White Jade Gourd filled up. Gao Xuan could clearly feel that if he continued to pour water in, the White Jade Gourd would explode.

As it turns out, the so-called infinite capacity of the White Jade Gourd is nonsense; it filled up with just a hundred billion cubic meters of water.

Gao Xuan really wanted to return to the Wanbao Pavilion to have a word with them; this is completely false advertising!

The East Sea had a hundred billion cubic meters of seawater extracted, and nothing happened. With Gao Xuan’s keen perception, he couldn’t even see any reduction in the sea level. This goes to show how vast and immense the East Sea truly is.

Even so, the East Sea never claimed to be infinitely vast.

The only thing that satisfied Gao Xuan was that the White Jade Gourd, filled with so much water, could still hang lightly from the silk sash at his waist.

The amount of water in a hundred billion cubic meters is something that is quite hard for the average person to grasp accurately.

To put it simply, the approximate weight of a hundred billion cubic meters of water is a hundred billion tons.

A hundred billion tons is roughly equivalent to the mass of Mount Tai above the horizon. It’s one level, give or take a few million tons...

Rounded up, this White Jade Gourd at Gao Xuan’s waist is equivalent to containing a Mount Tai.

Gao Xuan, with the White Jade Gourd hanging at his waist, left the East Sea, satisfied, and headed west to the outer area of the Celestial Secret Palace.

The Celestial Secret Palace sits atop Dan Mountain, which appears crimson yellow from above, resembling a copper furnace. The mountaintop has a massive rounded depression from which a waterfall flows down the slope and gathers into a lake at the foot of the mountain.

The Celestial Secret Sect constructed a large complex of palatial buildings following the mountain’s contours, extending all the way to the lakeside at the mountain’s base, forming an entire architectural complex.

This complex is called the Celestial Secret Palace. It is said that there are 100,000 to 200,000 people living within it.

Of course, most of these people are ordinary mortals. There aren’t many true Qi Cultivators.

It was midday, and the architectural complex at the mountain’s base was bustling with people coming and going. In contrast, the many buildings on the mountain appeared much colder and quieter.

Occasionally, one could see someone flying into the sky, or a Fei He spirit bird circling and chirping. This gave the place a semi-divine, semi-human charm.

Gao Xuan observed from a hundred miles away, unafraid of being discovered by the people of the Celestial Secret Palace.

The Celestial Secret Palace had only one Sect Leader Wang Haichan, a Nascent Soul True Monarch, and below Wang Haichan, there was nothing to fear.

Although the Celestial Secret Palace was famous for divination, Gao Xuan carried the Six-winged Celestial Cicada. Calling its spirituality unparalleled may be an exaggeration, but it’s certainly not something that could be divined or predicted at the Nascent Soul level.

Gao Xuan dared to cause trouble precisely because he was sure they wouldn’t find him. He could roam the stars not because his martial arts were supreme, but because he had the extraordinarily spiritual Six-winged Celestial Cicada—he could calculate others, but no one could calculate him.

Although this world had a higher power ceiling, there were no experts in a place like Penglai Province capable of suppressing the Six-winged Celestial Cicada.

Gao Xuan looked down from his elevated position, giving the Celestial Secret Palace a broad overview.

Without a doubt, the true core buildings of the Celestial Secret Palace were hidden deep within the mountain. No matter how much one observed from the outside, it wouldn’t reveal anything obvious.

Nevertheless, the Celestial Secret Palace had an obvious cold and solemn atmosphere. The various disciples, all dressed in formal Taoist robes, had stern expressions.

Clearly, the Celestial Secret Palace had not enough confidence in the impending battle.

Even though Li Buyi just became a Nascent Soul and his power level lagged several hundred years behind Wang Haichan’s.

But the Profound Sun Sword is said to be a divine sword passed down generations from the Xuanzhen Sect, with limitless power. If the Profound Sun Sword is truly a divine artifact, then Wang Haichan will have a hard time winning this battle.

If Wang Haichan loses, the Celestial Secret Palace wouldn’t say it would be wiped out, but it would certainly have to shrink its territory and resources.

Over time, it might even fall to a third-tier minor sect, much like the Five Elements Sect.

Gao Xuan didn’t sympathize with the Celestial Secret Sect. As one of the three sects, the manner of the Celestial Secret Sect was not very admirable.

The Five Elements Sect considered the Celestial Secret Sect their big brother, yet when the Five Elements Sect encountered trouble, the Celestial Secret Sect didn’t even have a word to say.

Gao Xuan watched for two days before riding his sword light away.

After flying swiftly for two days, Gao Xuan arrived at Xuanzhen Mountain.

Xuanzhen Mountain stands three thousand meters high, entirely black, with no vegetation on it, and its surface gleamed with a metallic sheen in the sunlight.

The whole Mount Xuanzhen looks like a pyramid forged from black steel, resembling an indestructible steel fortress.

Especially the smooth, angled surfaces cut on the mountain peak, clearly modified post-naturally.

All Xuanzhen Sect’s buildings are housed within the mountain’s interior. Though inconvenient, it assures safety.

The cautious style of the Xuanzhen Sect differs greatly from the Celestial Secret Palace.

Gao Xuan hid within a cloud and observed the Xuanzhen Sect from afar for two days.

Xuanzhen Mountain appeared bustling, with people continually flying in and out. However, the mountain’s interior was completely sealed off, and no matter how much Gao Xuan observed from outside, he couldn’t see anything.

What could be confirmed is that Xuanzhen Mountain wasn’t made of cast steel but was heavily reinforced with layers of magic. In times of need, the entire mountain could be completely sealed off.

The inside of Xuanzhen Mountain must be fully connected, like a large building built within the mountain. Only in that manner can it facilitate inner-sect communication.

Gao Xuan sneered, thinking Xuanzhen Mountain is indeed solid as a rock. However, precisely because it is robust, it is ripe for sabotage.

Gao Xuan had a specific plan in mind, but he had to wait for the right moment. He turned around and left, riding his sword.

This time, he headed straight for Blazing Fire Peak.

Flame Sect had managed Blazing Fire Peak for nearly a millennium, setting up countless magical mechanisms within it.

If it weren’t for a sudden raid by a Nascent Soul level expert, Zhou Huang could have held Blazing Fire Peak with his people for some time, rather than collapsing at the first blow.

The Blazing Fire Peak is abundant with Primordial Qi, making it a good place for cultivation.

No matter what the Xuanzhen Sect does, they cannot afford to give up such a good place.

Gao Xuan had been spying on Xuanzhen Mountain for two days, and it wasn’t in vain. He could confirm that both Nascent Soul cultivators of the Xuanzhen Sect were at Xuanzhen Mountain.

The duel was imminent, and even if Li Buyi were confident, he couldn’t just wander around.

The Blazing Fire Peak still looked the same, a stretch of crimson, like burning embers.

The surface of Blazing Fire Peak had hundreds of huge cavities, some of which led straight into the depths of the mountain’s belly.

Gao Xuan didn’t hold back; he landed directly at the entrance of a passage and strutted in.

The Nine Peaks Profound Nether Celestial Robe contained a magic called Cloud Water Thousand Illusions.

When Gao Xuan activated this magic, the Nine Peaks Profound Nether Celestial Robe would transform into a faint wisp of mist. With his current cultivation level, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator standing opposite would find it difficult to notice anything unusual.

As Gao Xuan walked along, he encountered several cultivators wearing black Taoist robes.

Judging by their mana aura, they were clearly low-level disciples of the Five Elements Sect. Each of them wore a bitter expression, and resentment filled their eyes.

It was clear that the disciples of the Five Elements Sect hadn’t been having a great time recently.

"Those guys from the Xuanzhen Sect are really a piece of work; they just know how to bully us..."

"They treat us like servants, no, they don’t even treat us like humans!"

The several disciples of the Five Elements Sect were full of complaints, gathered together muttering.

One of them said, "At least Shui Qingbo and the others are doing well, all in the upper levels."

"Well, that’s bullshit, it’s just relying on beauty to serve others."

"I’ve heard that the disciples of the Celestial Water Sect have all become playthings..."

"No way, Shui Qingbo is at Qi Cultivation Great Perfection!"

"A stray dog, what’s the use of Qi Cultivation Perfection. Didn’t you see Jin Wufeng being like a dog in front of Yang Yunjun..."

"Shush, don’t say it, Yang Yunjun is a Golden Core. Think of Zhou Ye’s fate."

This sentence silenced the others. Despite their difficult lives, no one wanted to die.

Back then, the Xuanzhen Sect had killed a considerable number of people to establish their prestige. A promising disciple like Zhou Ye was directly beheaded, his Divine Soul thrown into the Divine Burning Lamp, burning for three days until it was completely annihilated.

This act was extremely brutal, yet very effective. No matter how much resentment there was in the hearts of many disciples, few were truly fearless.

When they talked about it now, fear lingered in their hearts.

Although Gao Xuan didn’t know the specifics of Zhou Ye’s situation, he roughly understood that Zhou Ye’s end was certainly tragic.

He still had some impression of Zhou Ye; his character was proud, not talkative, but he was quite upright. Zhou Ye had once saved him, and he always remembered his favor.

Gao Xuan sighed inwardly. In the world of cultivators, it was indeed survival of the fittest. There’s no room for so much benevolence and moral righteousness.

Even in the world of mortals, it’s all about the victor being king, the vanquished bandits. Only winners have the right to talk about moral righteousness.

Gao Xuan drifted past the group without engaging them in conversation. Given their identity, they weren’t privy to confidential information.

The interior of Flame Mountain had many natural passages, interconnecting with each other. After artificial modifications, the internal pathways were as complex as a labyrinth.

Gao Xuan didn’t know the way, but he was extremely sensitive to auras. He could sense Shui Qingbo’s aura from afar, and following it all the way forward, he arrived outside Shui Qingbo’s room.

The rooms inside Flame Mountain were rock caverns hewn from the mountain walls, with heavy wooden doors installed outside.

The place where Shui Qingbo lived was quite advanced, with Spirit Light Stones embedded on both sides of the door. These spirit stones could not only illuminate but also serve as a warning.

The Spirit Light Stone was very sensitive to Primordial Qi and would change color when there was a Primordial Qi reaction.

Standing in front of the wooden door, Gao Xuan noticed that even the wooden door was fortified with protective magic. But this didn’t stop him; he drew a rune in the air over the wooden door and silently passed through it.

The room was simply furnished, with just a wooden bed, stone table, wooden cabinet, and a few other basic pieces of furniture.

Shui Qingbo was sitting cross-legged on the wooden bed, cultivating, her expression peaceful and her breath calm and long.

In the Five Elements Sect, Shui Qingbo was arguably the prettiest female cultivator. Yuanbao was still young, just a girl, and compared to Shui Qingbo, she lacked a bit of womanly grace and elegance.

Gao Xuan watched Shui Qingbo cultivate, but Shui Qingbo was completely unaware.

Until Gao Xuan spoke, "You’re cultivating incorrectly here. The Divine should stay in the Divine Court, observe without use, Qi should flow in the acupoints, flowing and not solidifying..."

Shui Qingbo was startled; she hurriedly opened her eyes while also activating the Weak Water Mirror body protection technique.

When she recognized Gao Xuan, she was both shocked and bewildered.

"You, you’re Gao Xuan?"

In just a little over twenty days, Gao Xuan had changed so much. Only the faint outlines of his features remained, making Shui Qingbo unsure about her recognition.

Gao Xuan nodded, "It’s me."

Shui Qingbo’s expression was exceedingly complex, staring at Gao Xuan for quite a while without being able to speak.

Gao Xuan wasn’t in a hurry, waiting quietly.

After a while, Shui Qingbo finally reacted and whispered, "You should leave quickly. The Soul Refining Sword Yang Yunjun is here. Even if your magic skills are high, you have no chance of victory."

Gao Xuan seriously asked, "I want to kill Yang Yunjun to avenge the fallen fellow disciples. Will you help me?"

Shui Qingbo was stunned.