Chapter 577: Chapter 575: Disguise (Congrats to the leader of the Evil Immortals League!)_1
Those who had become Transcendent God Cultivators all possessed excellent aptitude, temperament, and fortune, and were as crafty as old foxes, utterly unmoved by mere words.
The Bai family’s ancestor and Fairy Yunxi definitely wouldn’t become enemies with a formidable being over some intangible, illusory legends.
What significance did the grudges of ancient times hold for present-day cultivators?
What they sought after was ascension to the Earth Immortal Realm!
Ancestor Huo was currently contemplating his cultivation, acknowledging there was room for improvement, and he lacked the means to withstand the Void Storms. Otherwise, he might have already stepped onto the Ascension Platform.
Even a Nascent Soul that could injure a Transcendent God Cultivator and fight them to a standstill was, in some ways, more terrifying than a Transcendent God Cultivator!
Ancestor Huo sighed softly, his lips moving slightly, haggling with the Bai family’s ancestor.
Or rather, he was trying to persuade the other with benefits.
The Bai family’s ancestor initially startled but soon fell into contemplation, evidently greatly moved.
He pondered for a long while before speaking, "The item you’ve promised is indeed something I urgently need... However, if this trip is too perilous, I would abstain. After all, that ’Divinity of Life and Death Great Divine Skills’ is a secret of the Earth Immortal Realm. Even if that person is only a Nascent Soul, if they risk their life, they truly might inflict heavy injuries or even cause our demise."
"Sir, rest assured, the skill that person used that day was indeed the ’Kuyong Mysterious Light’... not the terrifying divine skill as the rumors suggested."
Regarding the ultimate divine skill hidden within Green Emperor Mountain, even Ancestor Huo was extremely wary.
But now he confidently declared, "If that person truly possessed the Divinity of Life and Death Great Divine Skills, they would have already used it against me... Both of you have lifespans longer than mine, and even if that person ascended to Transcendent God, they wouldn’t dare to engage in a mutual destruction with the three of us."
As sworn enemies, the Sacred Fire Sect and Ice God Palace indeed had a deep understanding of Green Emperor Mountain.
Fairy Yunxi was not yet a thousand years old, and the Bai family’s ancestor was in the prime of his life.
Even if that person ascended to Transcendent God, just relying on ’Kuyong Mysterious Light’, defeating the three of them would be impossible.
"Moreover... even if that person fought desperately, the first one they would seek out must assuredly be me."
Ancestor Huo gave a wry smile, "Moreover, if they cannot become a Transcendent God, fighting desperately won’t injure us... This is only the worst-case scenario. We can employ the many Nascent Soul disciples we have at this time."
"Indeed... how difficult is it to become a Transcendent God? I owe my own success to the great support of Ice Xuanzi and the substantial gains I made in the Monster World," hypothesized the Bai family’s ancestor. "Perhaps that person has not yet become a Transcendent God or might have perished under the Heaven Tribulation of Transcendent God."
Recalling the hardships during his own Transcendent God phase, Ancestor Huo also nodded in agreement.
Maintaining her usual composure, Fairy Yunxi stood there, while Shui Lingxin behind her bowed her head, trying to forget the deal she struck between her master and ’Yun Jiezi’ to fund the latter’s Transcendent God ascension...
"So, where is that person now?"
The Bai family’s ancestor asked the most crucial question.
"The Sacred Fire Sect disciples have already turned the Western Desert upside down... I also sought the ’Divine Calculator’, but even on the brink of exhausting his lifespan, he couldn’t divine a single hexagram..." said Ancestor Huo, his expression turning ugly.
The Divine Calculator was an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from the Western Desert with a peculiar constitution, having cultivated a Skill of Divination.
Threatened by Ancestor Huo with the lifespan of his entire sect, he tried to predict Fang Xi’s whereabouts... and then nothing...
Suppressing his frustration, Ancestor Huo voiced his suspicion: "Such an eminent cultivator cannot go unnoticed in the Cultivation World. I suspect they hail from the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm!"
"But aren’t most of the ancient teleportation arrays leading to the South Wilderness broken?" Fairy Yunxi was taken aback.
"There might still be one or two hidden," explained Ancestor Huo. "With our strength combined, crossing the ’Great Dream Marsh’ should not be difficult..."
...
Time moved slightly backward.
In the ruins of the Quicksand Region.
Atop a teleportation array, lights flickered, and Fang Xi, in his green robe, stepped out leisurely.
He arrived atop an abandoned oasis, reached out his right hand as if to grab the oncoming wind, and a bit of yellow sand appeared in his palm: "The Western Desert Cultivation World... I’ve returned!"
Fang Xi had always remembered his enemy, Ancestor Huo.
After briefly stabilizing his position as ’Fang Immortal Taoist Master’, he immediately rushed to the Western Desert Cultivation World, fearing that Ancestor Huo would be a coward and escape via the Ascension Platform, leaving him empty-handed.
Even if Ancestor Huo had fled, the Sacred Fire Sect and the fifth-order Spiritual Vein could not!
If it weren’t for the fear of making a big impact, Fang Xi would have liked to bring the entire fleet of the Patrol Sky Warship and the three late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators along with the Origin Soul magical artifact from The Nine States over to show the land turtles of the Sacred Fire Sect what technology and brutality were all about!
But then he thought that most of the disciples of the Sacred Fire Sect were innocent and decided against creating more carnage...
Yellow Sand Sect.
Lord Black Sand was sitting cross-legged in his Dongfu, meditating and cultivating.
Recently, his days had been rather pleasant, at least since the reconciliation with the Eight Desolate Sect; the Yellow Sand Sect had stabilized.
From their regular large-scale entry applications over the past few years, they had recruited a few promising Immortal Seedlings, including a pair of sisters with Land Grade Ice Spirit Roots and a boy with a Heaven Grade Earth Spirit Root, who caught Lord Black Sand’s close attention right away. He would wait for the boy’s Foundation Establishment before taking him as an in-name disciple, to observe his character and consider him as a potential successor.
"Black Sand!"
Suddenly, a voice echoed, nearly causing Lord Black Sand’s true Qi to flow in reverse.
This was, after all, a Nascent Soul Dongfu within the grand protective arrays and layers of prohibitions of the Yellow Sand Sect!
If a cultivator were to be approached in their own Dongfu without their knowledge, it would be no different from handing over their life to the intruder.
Lord Black Sand shivered all over, but once he saw the person clearly, he relaxed and his face revealed a faint, bitter smile, "So it’s Master Mu..."
The last time they met, this person was already a great cultivator, and his divine skills and magic power were beyond imagination.
Infiltrating the Yellow Sand Sect’s Great Array to enter his Dongfu seemed to be normal?
Lord Black Sand’s divine consciousness swept out subconsciously—his expression suddenly changed drastically.
In his vision, although ’Master Mu’ was standing right there, his divine consciousness couldn’t sense anything at all, as if there was nothingness before him.
An unbelievable thought suddenly surfaced in Lord Black Sand’s mind.
His voice was dry, like a traveler on the verge of dying of thirst in the desert, "Master Mu... could it be... you have achieved Transcendent God?"
Thinking about their past encounters, Lord Black Sand was lost for words.
This Master Mu, indeed, seemed to advance a whole realm every time they met.
Next time they met, would the other party have ascended to the Earth Immortal Realm?
"Correct... I fortunately advanced recently, stepping into the Transcendent God Phase."
Fang Xi gave him a tranquil and light smile.
"I pay my respects to the senior!"
Lord Black Sand immediately rose and respectfully performed a salute, "What does the senior instruct? Black Sand is bound by duty to follow, even if it means death!"
"It’s not that serious..."
Fang Xi waved his hand, "Give me the intelligence from the past twenty years, and, any movements from the Sacred Fire Sect lately?"
"The Sacred Fire Sect..."
Lord Black Sand’s complexion changed, "The Sacred Fire Sect has always been pursuing that ’Qing Hezi’ cultivator... Besides that, they have strictly ordered our sects to search for any clues about ’ancient teleportation arrays’..."
Fang Xi was aware, it seemed that the Sacred Fire Sect had started to doubt his origin and background.
But even if the ancient teleportation array in the ruins was discovered, the other end couldn’t be used anyway.
If the teleportation array was destroyed, at worst he could travel through Great Dream Marsh and take a detour through the central region to reach the Western Desert Cultivation World.
After cultivating to the Transcendent God realm, the entire Mortal World, and even the three thousand small realms, were all within his reach!
Fang Xi took the jade slip prepared by Lord Black Sand and started to scan it quickly.
And Lord Black Sand, not daring to raise his head, was furiously pondering, ’Master Mu... Qing Hezi... could they be the same person? Perhaps, only this senior would dare to provoke the Sacred Fire Sect, right?’
After Fang Xi finished reviewing the recent intelligence, he looked at Lord Black Sand and suddenly smiled, "Black Sand... there is a deal, would you be interested?"
Lord Black Sand was startled, but immediately replied, "Please command, senior..."
"I require a strand of your essence blood and magic power... To be frank, I have a secret skill that can perfectly disguise oneself as a cultivator, and this essence blood and magic power are necessary prerequisites... Once done, I shall infiltrate the Sacred Fire Sect and attempt to assassinate Ancestor Huo... After success, the East Eight Domains will be yours."
Fang Xi smiled faintly, making Lord Black Sand inwardly smile wryly, feeling like he had stepped onto a ship of thieves.
"Please proceed, senior."
But at this time, without any hesitation, Lord Black Sand immediately said.
Now that a Transcendent God was before him, even if the Sacred Fire Sect were to be outraged in the future, that would be a matter for then.
"Not bad, you’re quite good..."
Fang Xi took a strand of Lord Black Sand’s essence blood and magic power, "You’d better disappear for a while. I will implant a prohibition within you... In ten years, this prohibition will dissipate on its own, but if within ten years, I activate the prohibition, your Nascent Soul will be in trouble..."
Both the ability to change one’s appearance and the technique of prohibitions come from the ’Self-transforming Demon True Skills’!
After obtaining the complete version of the Demon Skills from Demon Lord Chi Lian, Fang Xi compared them with his own skills, identifying deficiencies and learning a few powerful secret skills.
This shape-changing technique was one of them, able to completely mimic one’s divine consciousness and magic power’s aura, almost seamless.
...
Several days later.
An Escape Light stopped before the gateway of the Sacred Fire Sect, revealing the face of ’Lord Black Sand’ in a black robe.
He was expressionless as he produced a talisman, sending it flying into the gateway.
Not long after, the mountain mist surged, revealing a narrow passage just wide enough for one person to pass through.
An Escape Light flew out—it was actually Sang Qingsong!
This Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator had previously made a grave mistake and lost the cushy job of guarding the ancient teleportation array, and now was relegated to gatekeeping here...
"Black Sand, my friend..."
Sang Qingsong had once met Lord Black Sand, confirming with a sweep of his divine consciousness that this was indeed Lord Black Sand, a forced smile appeared on his face, "May I ask what brings you to the Sacred Fire Sect today?"
"Sang, my friend..."
Fang Xi greeted with a cupped fist, "Didn’t your esteemed sect put out a bounty before, looking for ancient teleportation arrays? I have come across an intact ancient teleportation array in the Quicksand Region, but it is unusable, hence I have specially come to report this..."
As he spoke, he flicked out a jade slip.
In the jade slip was indeed the image of the ancient teleportation array under the ruins!