164: Chapter 163 A Method to Solve Problems Once and For All

Yun Ming turned around and walked to Qin Wan.

Qin Wan had already picked up the basin from the ground and was standing there waiting for him.

Her face still held that calm expression; one could not see fear, nor could one see worry.

She simply looked at Yun Ming, waiting for him to finish speaking so they could go home together.

"Let's go," Yun Ming said.

Qin Wan nodded, carrying the basin, and followed behind him as they walked up the mountain.

The mountain path was not steep, and the moonlight made it visible.

The two of them walked one after the other, neither speaking.

Upon reaching the middle of the mountain, Qin Wan's footsteps slowed down.

She caught her breath and leaned against a stone by the side of the road, standing for a moment.

Yun Ming stopped to wait for her, neither urging her nor asking questions.

He knew she was tired.

In recent years, her stamina had been getting worse by the day; she had to rest after walking just a few steps.

The beauty preserving pill could preserve her appearance, but it could not preserve her strength.

Those wrinkles had not appeared, and that hair had not turned white, but her body knew its own age.

She was over sixty.

On this island, being able to live to this age was already considered a long life.

According to Yun Ming's calculations, Qin Wan could live for about another ten years, but these ten years were ones he would have to forcefully sustain using Medicinal Pills and Spiritual Qi.

He had exhausted all the draws he had saved up over these years, yet he had not drawn a single Medicinal Pill or treasure capable of extending her life.

The lights in the small building were still on.

Qin Wan went inside to wash up, while Yun Ming sat in the courtyard, looking at the starry sky above.

The stars were very bright, even brighter than last night.

The sea breeze blew in from afar, carrying a salty, fishy scent, causing the bamboo leaves in the courtyard to rustle.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

Wanze True Mansion.

This name turned over in his mind several times.

First there was Qian Jin, then those two.

With three Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivators dead, Wanze True Mansion would not let the matter rest.

The next ones to come would not be at the Golden Core Middle Stage.

Perhaps they would be at the Late Golden Core Stage, or perhaps they would be at the Nascent Soul stage.

He did not want to kill.

He only wanted to stay here quietly and accompany Qin Wan through the rest of her days.

But those people would not let him have peace.

They would come again and again, investigating Qian Jin's death and the death of those two people.

They would investigate their way here; they would investigate the villagers, and they would investigate Qin Wan.

Yun Ming stood up, walked to the edge of the courtyard, and gazed at the pitch-black sea in the distance.

He needed to think of a way.

A permanent solution.

So, he decided to go and find out more first.

The problem was, he had no idea where Wanze True Mansion was.

This sea area was too vast, so vast that a Golden Core Cultivator could fly for ten days or half a month without seeing land.

Early the next morning, Yun Ming told Qin Wan that he would be going out for a few days.

Qin Wan didn't ask where he was going, nor did she ask what he was doing; she simply said, "Be careful," and continued with the work in her hands.

Yun Ming acknowledged her, stepped out the door, transformed into a Escape Light, and flew in the direction from which those three deacons had come.

The sea surface retreated rapidly beneath his feet.

The islands became fewer and smaller.

The seawater changed from light blue to deep blue, and then from deep blue to inky blue.

Occasionally, a few seabirds would sweep past him, startled by his Escape Light, and scatter in flight.

He hadn't flown for long before he saw an island.

It wasn't one of those barren reef islands, but an island truly inhabited by people.

There were mountains on the island, and buildings on the mountains.

There were palaces, pavilions, spiritual fields, and a pier.

A few ships were docked at the pier; they weren't large, but they were much sturdier than the fishing boats in the fishing village.

People were moving about on the island, wearing uniform blue robes; some were busy in the spiritual fields, some were unloading cargo at the pier, and some were walking along the mountain paths.

It was orderly and well-organized; at a glance, one could tell it was a Sect.

Yun Ming descended and landed outside the mountain gate.

The gate-guarding Disciple was startled.

A living person descended from the sky, standing steadily before them without a flying boat or a Magical Artifact, just standing there like that.

The Disciple rubbed his eyes to confirm he wasn't seeing things, then hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

"Senior, this is the Tianshui Sect. I do not know why you have graced us with your presence?"

Yun Ming glanced at the plaque above the mountain gate.

Tianshui Sect.

This was the place.

He nodded and said, "I am passing through your territory and would like to inquire about a place."

The Disciple asked cautiously, "Where is it that you wish to inquire about, Senior?"

"Wanze True Mansion."

The Disciple's expression changed slightly.

It was a very subtle change, looking like surprise, yet also like awe, and it even carried a hint of "as expected" relief.

He sized Yun Ming up, his gaze pausing on the moon-white robe he wore, and then pausing again on his unfathomable cultivation base, before respectfully saying, "Senior, are you going to Wanze True Mansion? That is very far.

From here, fly in the northeast direction, fly continuously across a stretch of deep sea without any islands, and it will probably... take half a day to fly.

Only a Golden Core True Person can fly across.

Those of us at the Foundation Establishment stage cannot even make it halfway."

Yun Ming looked in the northeast direction following the gesture of his hand.

He could see nothing.

There was only sea, only sky, and only a gray, hazy horizon.

"Thank you," he nodded, transformed into a Escape Light, and flew off in the northeast direction.

The Disciple stood at the mountain gate, gazing at the receding Escape Light, and muttered, "Another one going to seek refuge at Wanze True Mansion. I wonder if he will be accepted."

Another Disciple nearby leaned in and lowered his voice, "Why do you care?

Those who get accepted are all people with great capabilities.

For small, humble Sects like ours, we had better just honestly guard the gate."

The two muttered a few more words, then returned to their respective positions and continued guarding the gate.

Yun Ming flew for a long time.

The sun moved from above his head to the west, and the color of the sea surface changed from bright white to golden yellow, and then from golden yellow to dark red.

He flew into a stretch of deep sea without any islands.

The seawater was deep blue, so blue it was almost black.

There were no ships on the sea, no birds, and no traces of any living things.

There was only wind, only waves, and only boundless emptiness.

He continued to fly.

He flew for a long time more, so long that the sun was about to sink into the sea, and so long that the clouds on the horizon were dyed a dark purple.

Then, he saw Wanze True Mansion.

It wasn't the island he saw first, but the light.

That light rose from the horizon; it was not the light of the sun, but the light of a Formation.

It was gentle yet vast, like a thin veil shrouding the entire horizon.

That light was exceptionally conspicuous in the twilight, as if someone had lit a giant lamp on the sea.

He accelerated and flew toward that light.

What came into view was not an island.

It was a continent.

Wanze Island was too large, so large that one could not see its boundaries at a glance.

It was so large that Yun Ming had flown for half a day before he reached a distance where he could see its full scope from the edge of the island.

The entire island was surrounded by a circle of pristine white sandy beaches; beyond the beach were dense mangrove forests, and behind the mangrove forests were rolling hills, atop which were layer upon layer of palaces and pavilions.

In the center of the island stood a mountain that rose abruptly from the ground.

That mountain was ridiculously high, piercing straight into the clouds; everything above the middle of the mountain was hidden within the clouds and mist, with only the peak occasionally revealing a corner, gleaming with golden light in the twilight.

Around the mountain were scattered thirty-six spiritual islands.

They varied in size and shape, but each one was shrouded in spiritual light, like thirty-six bright pearls surrounding the giant island in the center.

Between the spiritual islands, there were suspended covered bridges connecting them.

The covered bridges were carved with formation patterns, shining with a faint light in the twilight.

Seventy-two reef islands were scattered in the outer perimeter, like seventy-two guards protecting this fairyland on the sea.

The mountain gate of Wanze True Mansion was built at the southernmost tip of Wanze Island.

Those were two stone pillars towering into the clouds, each one dozens of zhang thick, covered with dense, intricate runes.

Between the stone pillars was a water-like light curtain, with seven-colored light flowing across it.

Through the light curtain, one could vaguely see the scene inside—immortal cranes dancing, spiritual springs gushing, and magnificent palaces and jade towers arranged in an orderly fashion.

Outside the mountain gate was a huge plaza.

The plaza was paved with a certain type of white jade, polished to a mirror-like sheen, capable of reflecting a person's image.

Standing on the plaza were twelve dragon-coiled stone pillars, each carved with lifelike Divine Dragons, their dragon eyes bright and piercing, as if they could come alive at any moment.

At the end of the plaza was a towering main hall.

The roof of the main hall was made of golden glazed tiles, shining with dazzling light in the twilight.

The steps in front of the hall had ninety-nine levels, each covered with a crimson carpet.

On both sides of the steps stood two rows of Disciples, their robes neat and their expressions solemn.

Yun Ming hovered in mid-air, watching all of this, silent for a long time.

He had seen major Sects.

Cangxuan Immortal Sect was very large, and Qingxuan Sect was not small either.

But compared to Wanze True Mansion, they were both a tier lower.

This was not a Sect; this was a kingdom.

A vast kingdom built on the sea, self-sufficient, and possessing a complete ecological and defense system.

His Divine Sense probed outward, but as soon as it touched the periphery of Wanze Island, it was bounced back by a gentle yet resilient force.

The island-protecting Formation.

It was not the kind of Formation activated temporarily; it was a giant Formation that operated year-round, day and night, covering the entire island.

He could not determine the grade of the Formation, but he could feel the vastness of that power.

Yun Ming hovered in mid-air, gazing at the brilliantly lit fairyland on the sea in the distance, and thought for a long time.

A frontal assault was impossible.

He couldn't even see through the grade of that island-protecting Formation; to force his way in would be suicide.

Sneaking in was also unrealistic.

The coverage of that Formation was too vast; his Divine Sense couldn't penetrate it at all, and he couldn't even find the gate.

Wait for them to send more people out?

That was too passive.

Kill one if one comes, kill a pair if two come—when would the killing ever end?

He needed a permanent solution.

Not to kill them all, but to make them afraid to come again.

Yun Ming took a deep breath and made a bold decision.

He activated the Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record; not to conceal his aura, but to modify it.

This was a deeper usage of the Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record, which he rarely used because there was no need.

But today, it was necessary.

He wanted to disguise himself as a great Cultivator at the Late Nascent Soul Stage.

The aura within his body began to change.

The Spiritual Pressure of the Early Golden Core Stage was suppressed, and replacing it was a pressure as vast as the sea.

That pressure emanated from him, spreading in all directions; the waves on the sea surface lowered by a few points, and a few seabirds in the distance screeched as they flew far away.

He felt it for a moment and nodded with satisfaction.

Late Nascent Soul Stage.

Yun Ming turned around and flew toward Wanze True Mansion.

This time, he did not conceal his aura; he even deliberately amplified that pressure.

The Escape Light cut across the sea surface at an astonishing speed, dragging a long tail of flame behind it.

He flew to the periphery of Wanze Island and, instead of approaching the island-protecting Formation, hovered in mid-air. His voice was not loud, but it clearly spread throughout the entire island.

"Sect Master of Wanze True Mansion, please come out for a discussion."