228: The Holy Maiden of Azure Waves, the Gap in the Dao Heart

Tide Listening True Lord stood frozen in place. The steam from the calming tea in the secret room still rose, but he felt cold all over, his limbs numb.

Only the relief of surviving a disaster remained in his heart.

Fortunately, he hadn't harbored any improper thoughts from the very beginning.

Otherwise, Tide Listening Pavilion would surely have changed ownership today.

He gazed in the direction Shen Yuanmo had disappeared, and after a long while, finally let out the breath caught in his throat, muttering dryly to himself.

"This Endless Sea is about to change..."

...Shen Yuanmo left Tide Listening Pavilion and did not linger in the city.

All the clamor and chaos of Tide-Falling City were merely passing scenery to him.

He casually rented a secluded Immortal Cave in a spiritually rich area south of the city.

The Restriction outside the Immortal Cave was crude, but sufficient to ward off most prying eyes.

The stone door closed, separating inside from outside.

Shen Yuanmo sat down cross-legged, not immediately entering meditation.

He took out the Jade Slips one by one and immersed his Divine Sense into them.

A torrent of information was rapidly deconstructed, categorized, and constructed within his Sea of Consciousness.

Four Seas Alliance, Jade Wave Palace, Sea Overturning Sect... the power structure of the Endless Sea clearly unfolded before him.

From Sect structure to personal secrets, Tide Listening True Lord had compiled it extremely thoroughly, holding nothing back.

Shen Yuanmo's Divine Sense finally locked onto a name.

"Mid-stage Soul Transformation... Sea Overturning Sect Old Ancestor, True Monarch Fu Hai."

This person was the strongest on the surface for this trip to Guixu.

His Cultivation Technique was the Righteous Path water-elemental

His Natal Dao Artifact was the [Fu Hai Divine Seal], a Medium Grade fifth-tier item capable of overturning seas and suppressing mountains and rivers.

His temperament was erratic, and he acted as he pleased.

"A bit interesting."

Deep within Shen Yuanmo's Sea of Consciousness, [Perfect Deduction] quietly activated.

Based on the fragments of information in the Jade Slips, a towering Daoist phantom appeared out of thin air, beginning to repeatedly practice the Divine Abilities of the

Although the information was incomplete and he couldn't see the full picture.

Shen Yuanmo had already gained Insight into Origin of seventy to eighty percent of the core Law Veins of his Cultivation Technique.

This True Monarch Fu Hai held few secrets before him now.

After imprinting all the information in his mind, Shen Yuanmo took out the ancient beast skin sea chart of the Nine Nether Demon Lord.

The scroll was far older and more detailed than the one in Tide Listening Pavilion; many sea areas on it were unheard of even in Tide Listening True Lord's intelligence.

At the end of the sea chart, the area marked "Guixu" was covered by a thick, unresolvable crimson vermilion.

Around it, Ancient Demon script was filled with bloody warnings like "nine deaths, one life" and "immortals and gods fall."

Shen Yuanmo superimposed the two maps in his mind, and an optimal route to Guixu gradually took shape.

The next year would be a period of waiting.

He examined himself; the Half-step Nascent Soul prototype in his Dantian Qi Sea was becoming increasingly solid, with Dao rhyme naturally forming, just a step away from completion.

But he was not in a hurry.

What he desired was not an ordinary Nascent Soul.

What he wanted to forge was an unparalleled Nascent Soul, unprecedented through the ages, allowing no flaws whatsoever.

Just as Shen Yuanmo was about to enter deep seclusion, the Restriction outside his Immortal Cave was triggered.

A clear yet somewhat reserved female voice penetrated the Restriction.

"Luo Li of Jade Wave Palace, I apologize for my sudden visit, but I seek an audience with Senior."

Shen Yuanmo opened his eyes, his gaze calm.

Jade Wave Palace Saintess?

He was somewhat surprised.

After entering the city, his aura was as restrained as a Mortal; besides Tide Listening Pavilion, he hadn't interacted with anyone else. How did she find him?

A thought turned, and he understood.

A being who could make someone like Tide Listening True Lord bow and scrape was inherently the center of a storm.

In this Tide-Falling City, who knew how many eyes were secretly watching Tide Listening Pavilion.

"Come in."

Shen Yuanmo's voice betrayed no emotion.

The Immortal Cave's stone door slid open silently.

A woman dressed in a moon-white palace gown slowly entered.

Her figure was graceful, her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her unadorned face was exquisitely beautiful and otherworldly.

As she walked, her aura was ethereal, her skirt swaying slightly, as if water ripples flowed around her, not like someone from the Mortal realm.

Especially her eyes, clear as the deep sea, easily drawing one's mind in.

Nascent Soul Early Stage.

Her Foundation was stable, her magical power pure, far surpassing Cultivators of the same stage.

"Junior Luo Li greets Senior."

Luo Li entered the Immortal Cave and bowed gracefully to the cross-legged Shen Yuanmo, her posture extremely humble, her etiquette impeccable.

"May I ask Senior's name?"

"A Loose Cultivator." Shen Yuanmo did not reveal his name.

Luo Li didn't mind. She looked up, her clear eyes filled with just the right amount of admiration and curiosity.

"Junior dares to come because a few days ago, Junior was fortunate enough to glimpse a world-shaking Sword Intent from afar outside the Bewitching Mist Sea."

"That one sword strike split ten thousand feet of raging waves, forcing Laws to retreat. Such unparalleled splendor, Junior's heart was deeply moved and remains unforgettable."

Her voice was soft, as if every word came from the bottom of her heart.

"Junior searched for many days before learning that Senior had settled here. I specifically came to pay my respects, hoping only to form a good connection with Senior."

These words were flawless, both praising the other party and stating her intention, leaving no room for fault.

Any other Cultivator, faced with such a beautiful and high-status Saintess actively showing favor, would likely have their heart swayed.

Shen Yuanmo's eyes, however, remained like an ancient well, undisturbed by ripples.

Good connection?

It was merely a probe wrapped in honey.

[Insight into Origin] quietly activated.

The Jade Wave Palace Saintess before him was instantly analyzed layer by layer in his vision.

He saw the pure water-elemental magical power within her, vast as an ocean.

He saw every trace of energy flow of her Cultivation Technique,

He even saw that deep within her seemingly flawless and perfectly round Nascent Soul, there lurked a chillingly cold stream of Yin Qi, almost fused with her Origin!

That cold Qi was like a maggot in the bone, tightly Entanglement her Nascent Soul. Every time her magical power circulated, it stole her Origin to strengthen itself.

Luo Li saw Shen Yuanmo remain silent for a long time, only looking at her with his unfathomable eyes, and her heart suddenly tightened.

She felt as if she was seen through from inside out under his gaze, all her disguises and thoughts having nowhere to hide.

She bit her silver teeth, deciding to throw out her true bargaining chip.

"Senior's demeanor is peerless; presumably, you are also here for the Guixu Divine Palace."

"My Jade Wave Palace has researched Guixu for thousands of years and possesses some secret routes and Restriction-breaking methods that outsiders absolutely do not know."

Luo Li's tone became more earnest.

"If Senior does not disdain, Junior is willing to guarantee, in the name of the Jade Wave Palace Saintess, to invite Senior to be a Guest Elder of my palace, with status equal to the Grand Elder! For the trip to Guixu, all intelligence from my Jade Wave Palace will be shared with Senior, and Senior will take seventy percent of any Opportunities gained!"

Guest Elder!

Shared intelligence!

Seventy percent exclusive!

Such conditions would drive any Cultivator below Soul Transformation mad.

She was confident that no one could refuse.

However, after hearing this, Shen Yuanmo's face remained devoid of any expression.

He just waited quietly for her to finish speaking.

Then, under Luo Li's hopeful gaze, he calmly uttered a sentence that sent her plummeting into an ice cellar.

"The cold Qi in your body has invaded your Dao Foundation; cracks have already appeared on your Nascent Soul."

"Within ten years, the cold Qi will erupt, and your Nascent Soul will freeze and shatter."

"At that time, your body will die and your Dao will vanish."

Boom!

These few words, colder than the Nine Nether cold wind, instantly shattered all of Luo Li's composure and grace!

The color drained from her face in an instant, turning ashen white as paper!

How could this be?

This secret was her greatest fear in this life; besides her mother, the Jade Wave Palace Master, absolutely no third person in the world knew about it!

This man, how could he know?

Even... he spoke clearly about the cracks on her Nascent Soul!

"Se-Senior... why do you say that? Junior... doesn't understand..."

Luo Li's voice trembled uncontrollably for the first time. She wanted to feign composure, but the depths of her clear eyes were already filled with boundless horror.

Shen Yuanmo didn't bother to say more to her.

He flicked his finger, aiming at Luo Li.

A seemingly faint five-colored magical power, containing the rotating principles of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, ignored space and instantly entered Luo Li's body.

Luo Li only felt a never-before-experienced warm and moist power surge into her Dantian Qi Sea.

That Yin Qi, which had been entrenched above her Nascent Soul, unmovable by her myriad methods, tormenting her day and night, upon contact with this five-colored magical power... was instantly suppressed and dissolved by more than half, like residual snow meeting a scorching sun!

That feeling of smooth magical power circulation without any stagnation!

That feeling of ease, no longer having her Divine Soul pierced by cold Qi!

At this moment, it swept through her entire body!

Luo Li froze completely.

She dazedly felt the changes within her body, her eyes first bewildered, then overjoyed.

Finally, all emotions transformed into boundless awe and reverence for the man before her!

To see through her hidden ailment with a single glance was already incredible.

To casually point and suppress the Yin Qi that even her mother was helpless against, what kind of heaven-reaching Divine Ability was this!

"Thump!"

The lofty Saintess of Jade Wave Palace, the dream lover of countless young talents in the Endless Sea.

At this moment, she no longer cared about any decorum or pride.

She knelt down before Shen Yuanmo, her knees weakening, pressing her smooth forehead heavily against the cold ground.

Her voice was filled with uncontrollable sobs and pleas.

"Senior, save me! I beg Senior to save my life!"

Shen Yuanmo looked down at her, his gaze still indifferent.

"I am neither kin nor friend to you; why should I save you?"

He paused, then slowly spoke the latter half of his sentence, as Luo Li's face instantly turned pale with despair.

"However, if you can bring the Jade Wave Palace's treasured 'sea-calming divine pearl' for me to observe."

"Perhaps, I can help you completely eradicate this affliction."