"Moyue."
Xu Chuan called out immediately after exiting the Xu Clan's Grotto-heaven.
A faint blue light flew out from the deep pool and landed in front of him. "Why did you call for me?"
"Come with me on a trip to Flowing Moon Prefecture."
"For what?"
"Ye Fan and Xu Deyue obtained an incredible inheritance. I heard there's even the essence blood from the heart of a Soul Formation flood dragon."
"What? The heart essence blood of a Soul Formation flood dragon?!"
"Let's go, let's go! We need to leave immediately!"
Moyue exclaimed excitedly. Although he currently had the assistance of a low-grade fourth-tier water-attribute spirit vein for his cultivation, his progress was still agonizingly slow without the aid of corresponding natural treasures.
"The Cloud Sky Realm is home to a mid-stage fourth-tier shapeshifting Cloud Roc. It is an avian overlord with speeds far surpassing mine. It won't be easy to deal with."
A flash of apprehension crossed Moyue's eyes.
"Fly higher. I will conceal your aura. While I cannot hide it completely, I can at least suppress it to the third-tier level.
A third-tier demonic beast flying past shouldn't be enough to alarm that Cloud Roc."
"Alright, I will listen to you."
Demonic power surged around Moyue, transforming into a faint blue stream of light that swept Xu Chuan up.
He then revealed his true flood dragon form, though he didn't fully expand his body, keeping his size to about forty feet long.
With a flick of his tail, he transformed into a dark blue streak of light, shooting straight into the sky and disappearing above the clouds. After getting his bearings, he sped toward the Black Wind Mountain Range.
Along the way, Moyue flew at full speed.
Although there was a shapeshifting tiger demon in the Black Wind Mountain Range, it could do nothing to Moyue, so the flood dragon didn't hold back much.
He flew with all his might, cutting straight across the mountain range.
The tiger demon in the mountains seemed to sense him, but feeling him rapidly departing, it made no move.
Having fought once before, the tiger knew that although Moyue had only recently entered the Shapeshifting Stage, his True Dragon Bloodline made him a formidable opponent.
Thus, it simply let him leave.
As time passed.
The Cloud Sky Realm grew closer and closer.
Xu Chuan sat cross-legged on the dragon's back, occasionally forming hand seals and imprinting them onto Moyue's scales. Moments later, a faint, grayish halo formed, firmly binding and diluting the outward leakage of demonic energy.
Over two hours later.
A bizarre sight appeared in the sky ahead. A sea of clouds churned like solidifying waves, refracting seven-colored radiance under the sunlight.
This was the Cloud Sky Realm, famous for its ever-changing and unpredictable cloud formations and powerful flying demonic beasts.
Dozens of mountain peaks pierced straight into the heavens here.
These were the nesting grounds of the avian tribes.
Beneath the sea of clouds lay a boundless ocean of green forests.
Moyue increased his altitude, flying so high he nearly touched the astral wind layer, and skimmed past the outermost high-altitude region of the Cloud Sky Realm.
He restrained his speed, making it appear as though he were flying at the pace of a peak third-tier demonic beast.
Within the sea of clouds below.
A few tyrannical shrieks and surges of demonic energy faintly echoed up. They let out long cries as a warning but did not attack.
As for the Cloud Roc.
Unless the aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator or a Shapeshifting Great Demon appeared, it wasn't worth its attention.
Nearly a day later.
Moyue passed through the Cloud Sky Realm, and the picturesque mountains and rivers of Flowing Moon Prefecture came into view.
"Go into the spirit beast pouch and rest for a while. I will travel the rest of the way on foot. If there's a need to fight, I'll let you out."
"Then be careful."
Moyue complied, transforming into a dark light that shot into the spirit beast pouch at Xu Chuan's waist.
Xu Chuan shifted his body slightly, his bones letting out soft pops. His facial features morphed into those of a white-haired old Daoist with long eyebrows drooping to his shoulders, possessing an immortal bearing and Daoist bones. His aura settled at the early-stage Golden Core.
He checked his bearings and immediately cast the Azure Wood Green Light Escape. His figure turned into a streak of green-red light, speeding rapidly toward the northern borders of Flowing Moon Prefecture.
Four to six hours later.
Xu Chuan had traveled deep into the northern region of Flowing Moon Prefecture.
He then ceased his evasive flight.
Shortly after, he spotted multiple patrols composed entirely of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
'It seems that over the past day or two, the encirclement web of the six top factions in Flowing Moon Prefecture has already taken shape.'
Xu Chuan understood clearly in his heart.
Dropping down into the mountain range, his aura seamlessly blended with the trees and foliage.
Like the most inconspicuous shadow, he easily slipped through the gaps in this seemingly tight encirclement without triggering the slightest alarm.
Sneaking along the way, he bypassed several search parties.
About four hours later.
Following the bloodline tracking connection, Xu Chuan arrived at Little Cold Mountain.
His divine sense was near the Golden Core limit. With a single sweep, he discovered the Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array.
Let alone him, even a late-stage Golden Core cultivator would likely spot it easily with a sweep of their divine sense.
After all, this set of Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array formation flags was inferior to Xu Chuan's own, merely reaching the peak of the second tier.
He directly intruded into the array's space.
The two people inside were startled by Xu Chuan's sudden appearance, but they hurriedly stepped forward to bow and cup their hands in greeting.
"Honored Master."
"Grandfather."
The two spoke respectfully one after the other.
Xu Chuan's divine sense swept over them, and he smiled faintly. "Not bad. In just a little over a year, you both have made significant progress. Especially you, Deyue. Give it a few more years, and you might even catch up to me."
Ye Fan's cultivation base hadn't increased much, but the aura radiating from him had grown much stronger.
Every inch of his muscles contained boundless physical power.
"Enough idle chatter for now. Let me change your appearances first."
With that said, he extended both hands and placed them lightly on Ye Fan and Xu Deyue's shoulders.
A hazy gray light swirled in his palms as a profound energy, one containing the withering and flourishing of time and capable of altering life force, quietly flowed into their bodies.
The two only felt their bodies tremble slightly.
It wasn't painful.
Rather, it was a bizarre sensation of things slipping away.
They clearly sensed their own life force continuously gathering toward their dantians.
Deprived of this vitality.
Their bones, skin, and hair all underwent visible changes under the influence of this power.
A moment later, the light faded.
Xu Deyue, who had been standing there as a bright and beautiful young woman, had transformed into a hunchbacked, withered old woman with a face full of wrinkles.
Her eyes remained clear, but her aura had grown feeble.
Ye Fan had turned into a frail, white-haired old man.
His complexion was sallow, he sported a sparse, long beard, and he carried the twilight air of someone nearing the end of their days.
Not only had their physical appearances drastically changed, but the spiritual power fluctuations they emitted were also firmly suppressed by Xu Chuan's wondrous technique to the late Foundation Establishment stage.
As long as they didn't fight, even a late-stage Golden Core cultivator wouldn't be able to find any flaws in their disguises.
Xu Chuan lowered his own aura to the late Foundation Establishment stage as well. Standing together, the three of them looked exactly like an unremarkable group of elderly rogue cultivators.
"Pack up the formation flags. Let's go," Xu Chuan said calmly.
Xu Deyue formed hand seals as instructed.
The formation flags materialized from the surrounding void, continuously shrinking before flying into her storage ring.
Without further delay, the three rode their Foundation Establishment lights, flying unhurriedly into the distance.
About two to four hours later.
They ran head-on into a six-person Foundation Establishment search patrol.
The patrol members wore a chaotic mix of robes, seeming to have been temporarily pieced together from several different factions.
Seeing the direction the trio was flying from, the opposing group immediately grew vigilant. They stepped forward to interrogate them, sweeping them with their divine sense.
"Why are you three Daoist friends coming from this direction?"
"Naturally, it's because we've finished searching that area and want to check elsewhere. Since the elders haven't given any clear instructions, we can only buzz around aimlessly like headless flies.
If we get lucky..."
Xu Chuan answered in a raspy, elderly voice, chuckling at the end.
The Foundation Establishment cultivators in the patrol nodded slightly.
They didn't find any issues with this answer, as they were thinking and acting the exact same way.
"You Daoist friends are from the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, aren't you?"
"Indeed."
"We've already searched this area. You can go try your luck over there," suggested a middle-aged male cultivator wearing a pale, star-patterned dharma robe.
"Thank you for the tip, Daoist friend. We shall head that way."
The two groups nodded to each other and parted ways.
After Xu Chuan and the others left.
A young cultivator from the Du family wearing purple robes said, "Brother Wang, you're too tense. No matter how you look at it, those three can't possibly be the young Golden Core Dao companions our superiors are looking for.
Even if they could disguise their appearances and auras, they couldn't just produce an extra person out of thin air."
"That makes sense." The middle-aged man in the star-patterned robe chuckled. "But it's better to be safe than sorry."
"If it really were them, wouldn't we have made a huge contribution!"
"That's also true," a young sword-bearing cultivator from the Green Mountain Sect agreed with a nod.
"Let's go. We'll check over that way."
The six immediately flew off in the opposite direction of Xu Chuan's group.
Successfully avoiding the correct answer.
Over the next several thousands of miles.
Xu Chuan's group encountered another seven or eight Foundation Establishment search parties.
They were even swept by the divine sense of passing early-stage Golden Core cultivators twice.
However, Xu Chuan's Secret Art merely altered their life force and suppressed their auras. It didn't utilize any illusionary spiritual power fluctuations to mask them, making it impossible for the searchers to detect anything amiss, no matter how hard they looked.
Unless someone possessed divine sense at the Golden Core limit, or was a Nascent Soul cultivator, they wouldn't be able to spot the irregularities at a glance.
The Golden Core cultivators only gave them a passing sweep.
Seeing a group of three, they naturally didn't pay them too much attention.
Had they been a duo, they might have been stopped for a more thorough inspection.
After flying for over half a day more.
Before they knew it, the three had quietly slipped out of the inescapable net set by the six top factions.
Just to be safe, the trio didn't immediately speed up, continuing to fly at the pace of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
They traveled unhurriedly for another day or two.
Only then did they completely leave the northern core region and enter the central area of Flowing Moon Prefecture.
The group stopped to rest briefly in a valley.
An hour later.
Xu Chuan waved his sleeve robe, enveloping Ye Fan and Xu Deyue in a surge of pure mana.
"Calm your minds and follow my evasion."
Before his voice even faded, he had already activated his evasion divine ability. A streak of light as faint as pale smoke swept the two up and instantly tore through the sky. Their speed was more than a hundred times faster than before!
In just four to six hours.
The three had crossed more than half of Flowing Moon Prefecture and arrived at the edge of the Cloud Sky Realm on the southwestern border.
Xu Chuan flicked his fingers, shooting two streaks of spiritual light into Ye Fan and Xu Deyue's bodies.
In an instant.
A surging power of life force erupted.
An emerald green glow lit up around them.
The life force restriction was unlocked, and their youth returned at a visible rate.
Immediately after, Moyue flew out of the spirit beast pouch on his own, transforming into a massive flood dragon measuring nearly a hundred meters long. Circling in the air, his muffled, booming voice rang out, "Hurry up and get on."
Xu Chuan and the other two instantly flew onto his broad back.
With the three of them aboard, Xu Chuan concealed Moyue's aura just as he had done on their way here.
Once again, they crossed the Cloud Sky Realm.
Their journey remained safe and sound.
After entering the Black Wind Mountain Range, Moyue began to accelerate, flying back to Cloudstream City at his maximum speed.
Over half a day later.
A faint blue streak of light tore through the heavens, and the familiar silhouette of Cloudstream City could be seen in the distance.
Moyue flew straight through the grand array, soaring into Cloudstream City and coming to a halt above the Xu Residence.
Xu Chuan, Ye Fan, and Xu Deyue floated gracefully down into Xu Chuan's courtyard.
Moyue's body swayed as he also transformed into his human form and landed.
Xu Chuan restored his original appearance.
At this moment, Moyue suddenly looked at Ye Fan and Xu Deyue with intense eagerness. "Xu Chuan said that the two of you obtained the essence blood from the heart of a Soul Formation flood dragon.
Hurry up and take it out so I can have a look.
Don't worry, I'm just going to look at it. I won't touch it."
Ye Fan glanced at Xu Chuan before saying, "Martial Uncle Moyue, I do have the flood dragon's heart essence blood with me, but..."
"But what? Hurry up!"
Helpless, Ye Fan retrieved the bottle of flood dragon essence blood and extracted a single drop of the heart essence blood.
The instant Moyue saw the flood dragon's heart essence blood, two substantial beams of light shot out from his slitted pupils. But in the next second, he suddenly froze.
This was because the drop of flood dragon heart essence blood was filled with an incomparably scorching aura. Just like boiling magma, it overflowed with violent fire-attribute energy.
"This is the heart essence blood of a fire-attribute flood dragon?!"
"Yes, Martial Uncle Moyue. I wanted to tell you just now. If you refine this blood, it will only ruin your own foundation."
Boiling with anger and looking utterly betrayed, Moyue abruptly turned to glare at Xu Chuan.
"Xu Chuan, screw you!"
"You tricked me!"
Xu Chuan flashed an innocent smile and spread his hands. "When did I ever trick you? Is this not the heart essence blood of a Soul Formation flood dragon?"
"This completely contradicts my path of cultivation! What use is it to me?"
"When did I ever say that the opportunity Ye Fan and Deyue obtained would be useful to you?"
"You... I..."
Moyue suddenly realized that Xu Chuan had indeed never said such a thing. He had simply assumed it himself.
"Damn you, Xu Chuan! Don't even think about using me as free labor ever again."
Fuming, Moyue transformed into a streak of light and plunged into the deep pool.
"Grandfather, actually, the Cold Light Liquid should be very beneficial to Moyue," Xu Deyue said.
"Keep it for your own use first. Once a demonic beast reaches the fourth tier, their growth becomes incredibly slow. He's not in any rush."
Following that, Xu Chuan told Ye Fan to put away the Soul Formation flood dragon's heart essence blood.
After all, keeping it exposed for prolonged periods would cause its spirit power to leak away.
"Yes, Honored Master."
Ye Fan nodded and complied. He then brushed his hand over his storage ring.
With a flash of dark light, several materials flew out of the ring and hovered in midair.
"Honored Master, could you help me identify the uses for these materials? Your disciple doesn't recognize a single one of them."
Xu Chuan swept his gaze over them.
Finally, his eyes landed on a spirit medicine that resembled a jointed bone. "To think it's the Thousand Bones Grass."
Xu Chuan marveled for a moment before continuing, "As for the rest, your master does not recognize them either. But regarding this Thousand Bones Grass, it grows a single joint every ten years and resembles human bones.
This spirit medicine has a thousand bone joints; it's a ten-thousand-year spirit medicine.
A thousand-year-old stalk is comparable to a fourth-tier spirit grass, while a ten-thousand-year-old one rivals a fifth-tier spirit grass.
Its only effect is causing a comminuted fracture.
It specifically targets the bones of Body Cultivators.
With your bones as a third-tier Body Cultivator, eating just ten joints will cause every bone in your body to shatter entirely.
Even a Soul Formation stage Body Cultivator would have all their bones shattered if they ate this entire stalk of Thousand Bones Grass."
Ye Fan opened his mouth in shock. "How can such a spirit grass exist?"
"What use could it possibly have?"
"It should be used for Body Cultivators to rebuild after destruction," Xu Chuan said calmly. "After all, the bones of a third-tier Body Cultivator can be used as materials for forging magic treasures.
It's very difficult to break them on your own to facilitate rebuilding.
But with this Thousand Bones Grass, it becomes much more convenient."
"The spirit liquid in that other bottle should be meant to be used in conjunction with the Thousand Bones Grass. Am I right, Senior Sister Murong Yun?"
"Xu Chuan, your divine sense is growing stronger and stronger. To think you were actually able to discover me."
A cold, clear voice suddenly rang out from thin air.
The next moment.
The Supreme Yin flying sword flew out from Xu Deyue's dantian. It spun swiftly in midair, emitting a clear and resonant sword cry.