Chapter 1187: Infiltrating the Immortal Boat Alone
Chapter 1187: Infiltrating the Immortal Boat Alone
"It's the 'Hunger' character..."
Sensing the subtle fluctuations from the nearby Dao Integration cultivator of the Immortal Boat, Li Fan's divine soul quickly made its judgment.
He didn't approach, choosing instead to observe from within the wooden hut.
"Elder Yan..." Elder Gou, who usually wore a perpetually stern expression, was now bowing and scraping with sickeningly sweet flattery.
The others in the valley cursed him silently, but they didn't dare let it show. They kept their heads bowed, not daring to meet the gaze of the Dao Integration cultivator before them.
After all, in the eyes of mortals, a Dao Integration cultivator was practically indistinguishable from the immortals of legend.
"Gou Lang," Elder Yan's voice was grave, "I heard that five people died in the Sin Suppression Valley recently, one after another."
Gou Lang trembled and hastily replied, "Yes, that's true. But it was just a case of bad luck for those prisoners. They'd only been out on work details two or three times before their conditions worsened and they passed away. There have been no other disturbances in the Sin Suppression Valley itself..."
In an instant, his immense spiritual consciousness swept over the entire Sin Suppression Valley.
"Just as I thought. This place has been contaminated."
Elder Yan's expression darkened instantly. A speck of starlight materialized at his fingertip, and he pointed it toward the residential area of the Sin Suppression Valley—precisely where Li Fan's divine soul was located.
Endless light and heat erupted, obliterating everything in its path.
...
Outside the Immortal Boat.
Li Fan, in his Saint Embryo form, currently hidden and in secluded meditation, slowly raised his head.
"As expected of a civilization that has survived so long in the Darkest Star Sea. They're incredibly cautious."
"It seems that if I want to infiltrate their vessel, I first need to solve the problem of being a massive source of contamination. Otherwise, no matter how well I hide, I'll be exposed the moment people start dying in droves around me."
"My soul has lingered in the Darkest Star Sea for far too long. The corruption is too deep-seated to reverse. I'll have to sever a wisp of my divine sense to send in as a scout. With my previous experience, I can..."
For a full two months, no one from the Immortal Boat ventured out to collect the World-Extinguishing Relics.
But it was obvious they could never completely abandon the near-endless supply of relics in the void outside.
And so, Li Fan's patience was rewarded when a new collection team finally appeared.
Drawing on his previous experience, Li Fan's divine soul hid among the relics and was carried inside the Immortal Boat.
This time, however, the crew of the Immortal Boat handled the relics with far greater caution. The cultivators remained in full armor while near the artifacts. After moving the relics into a sealed chamber and departing, a blurry, phantom-like talisman materialized in the space above.
"What is this...?"
The talisman emitted a faint radiance that bathed the dozen or so relics below.
Though Li Fan's divine soul was also enveloped in the light, he felt no effect whatsoever.
He could only watch as the dream-like radiance drew out the fading power of the True Immortal Scripts from the surrounding relics, absorbing it into the phantom talisman above.
Li Fan's divine soul even sensed the mysterious energies lingering around him being drawn away by the talisman.
Before long, the power clinging to the relics had vanished completely, reducing them to little more than worthless junk from the Star Sea.
With a flicker of light, the talisman vanished from the chamber.
"Their ability to harness the power of the True Immortal Scripts is even greater than I imagined."
The chamber was sealed tight, leaving Li Fan's divine soul with no way out. But he wasn't worried.
Someone would surely come to deal with the leftover "junk."
Just as Li Fan predicted, two days later, two Qi Refining cultivators entered, led by someone at the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Load all this onto the ship."
"Be careful with them," the Foundation Establishment cultivator instructed. "Though their world-extinguishing power is gone, they're still genuine antiques. The fact they've survived this long in the Star Sea proves their materials are exceptional. Take them all to the Star Forging Workshop. Perhaps they can be repurposed."
The two Qi Refining cultivators were no older than fifteen or sixteen, and they had the naive look of those with little experience of the world.
After a moment's consideration, Li Fan's divine soul attached itself to one of the youths.
He followed the trio out of the sealed chamber. They boarded a small flying vessel and made their way to a place called the Star Forging Workshop.
It was a sealed, ring-shaped structure forged from some unknown white metal.
At the center of the ring blazed a scorching sphere of fire.
Terrifying waves of heat churned across its surface, a testament to the immense energy contained within.
He could faintly see tendrils of flame being periodically drawn into a small aperture in the ring-shaped structure.
The being who received them at the Star Forging Workshop was not entirely human.
It was a strange, half-human, half-beast creature, its skin crimson, with two horns sprouting from its head and a long tail trailing behind it.
The three seemed terrified of the creature. After dropping off the items, they couldn't wait to board their vessel and flee.
After the lengthy trip, they finally returned to their own quarters.
They were located in a place called the Dao Proving Academy.
It was a self-contained continent, floating in the void.
The academy itself was a towering structure that pierced the clouds.
They made their way to the academy's lower levels to report to their master.
Their master was a white-haired Nascent Soul cultivator named Zhao Wuji.
Seeing them return, he set aside the book-like artifact he was reading and asked with a kind expression, "Is your task complete?"
The three bowed their heads. "Master, everything has been taken care of."
"Do you know why I sent you on that particular errand?" Zhao Wuji asked.
All three were taken aback, unsure how to respond.
"Not long ago, the Sin Suppression Valley was razed to the ground. All survivors were taken away for quarantine and observation. The official reason is that their procedures for collecting relics were improper, leading to a spread of the World-Extinguishing Power."
"Heh..."
"Those procedures were established by the Immortal Pivot Academy and have been followed for a thousand years. Even with the occasional mistake, it's never caused a major incident. Yet this time, it created such an uproar." Zhao Wuji paused deliberately.
At that, the Foundation Establishment disciple's eyes lit up with understanding. "Master, are you saying the Broken Immortal Tower is using this as a pretext to cause trouble?"
"Exactly." A look of approval crossed Zhao Wuji's face. "And not just the Sin Suppression Valley. Soon, every sphere of influence held by the Immortal Pivot Academy aboard this vessel will come under assault from the Broken Immortal Tower."
"The Immortal Pivot Academy has held power for far too long. Those who covet control of the Immortal Boat have been waiting in the wings for just as long."
Zhao Wuji let out a faint sigh.
Upon hearing this, each of Zhao Wuji's three disciples reacted differently.
The eyes of the Foundation Establishment disciple darted back and forth as he seemed to be weighing his options.
One of the Qi Refining disciples bowed his head, carefully mulling over his master's words.
The other, however—the one Li Fan's soul now inhabited—looked completely unconcerned.
His mind was wandering, lost in thought.
(End of this chapter)
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