51: Chapter 51 Ink Returns to Mountains and Seas

At his feet lay the corpse of Ren Wuchang.

With the heavenly demon sword strapped to his back, Shen Moyan began setting up the Demonic Cult's Ascension ritual.

Three days later, at Blackwood Cliff, the void shattered... East of Langya Prefecture, outside East Mountain City.

Wiping away the sorrowful feeling brought by those twelve words, Shen Moyan exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

“Truly miraculous. It seems that when I crossed planes, the sorrowfully wailing existence was at least at the Realm of the Nine Songs Immortal Lord.”

Even though Shen Moyan had undergone Mortal Transformation and achieved a Transforming Feather Garment Mortal Transformation comparable to an Earth Dao Foundation Establishment,

it still hadn't made his mind completely solid enough to be unaffected by the emotions of those twelve words when crossing planes.

That was an unimaginable Realm; every word and every utterance carried Dao Rhyme, bewitching the heart and disturbing the mind.

“No matter. Interfering with my form is but a breeze brushing against my face.”

Shen Moyan circulated the 《Leaving All Forms》 Cultivation Technique, completely obliterating the residual feeling of sorrow that the Twisted Immortal Path was dead.

After steadying his mind, Shen Moyan concealed his traces and slipped into East Mountain City.

“Six Senses Fireflies are indeed a good thing.”

Shen Moyan recalled his gains from his previous life; these insects had been of immense help to him.

They could track locations, share the six senses' perspectives, and were difficult to detect.

They were truly divine objects born for stealing intelligence.

Through cultivation, crossbreeding, and selective breeding during his secluded meditation, he had successfully filtered out the long-lived portion.

These insects also deserved credit for improving the Cen Family's Paper Cutting to Form Humans.

“Not here?”

Shen Moyan circled Wanbao Street three times, his Divine Sense scanning inside and out several times, but he did not encounter the old man who had come to sell the insects in his previous life.

“I remember the merchant saying they were found at the Night Moon Pool.”

Recalling the map from the Construction and Maintenance Department, Night Moon Pool should not be far from here.

“Before I leave, I'll collect what I need.” Shen Moyan's face was expressionless as magic power condensed in his palm... “Fellow Daoist He, for the sake of our plan to deal a fatal blow to that dog City Lord Chu Sheng, please...”

“I know. The tempering of the Saber Astral began yesterday.”

At the city defense office, He Qiaoer, Ni Gaoyuan, and Meng Chen were conspiring to rebel.

“Where is my gourd?”

After a brief discussion, Ni Gaoyuan touched his empty waist, his expression panicked.

The other two stared at him with surprised looks.

“No! Where is my storage ring?!!”

Having lost his valuables, Ni Gaoyuan was first furious, then his face froze as a chill ran down his spine.

If that person could steal his storage ring without a sound, they could naturally kill him... It was night, and the stars were sparse around the bright moon.

Shen Moyan restrained his aura and concealed his figure.

With the help of the [Person Outside the Formation] achievement, he smoothly blended into the city like mercury flowing over the ground.

The city's alarm Formation did not react at all.

“The yi mo gourd is in hand. Now to get some ginseng to exchange for true blood of the heavenly demon, just in case.”

Shen Moyan stepped into the void, heading toward City Lord Chu Sheng's residence.

In the air, his steps trod upon the breeze without making the slightest sound.

This was something he had realized himself by relying on the [Supreme Martial Artist] achievement, combining the Wind God Leg with the Biyang First Rising Art.

Shen Moyan named it... Azure Wave Stillness Step.

【Prompt: ‘Azure Wave Stillness Step’ has been recorded in Bookmarks】

【Moving without sound, traveling without a trace, like a gentle breeze brushing over an acre of jade waves without causing a single ripple.】

The divine technique was perfectly natural; ten thousand paths lead to the same destination, just like the second Realm of the Sword Dao, the Skill Realm.

Once the Realm is reached, it is naturally put to use.

Shen Moyan concealed his figure so carefully because he knew that City Lord Chu Sheng, as a pawn of the Wild Goose Formation True Monarch, was no saint himself and possessed significant cultivation.

A direct robbery was not the best strategy. Taking it secretly, leaving immediately, and then framing Ni Gaoyuan would prevent any trouble.

Ni Gaoyuan worked under City Lord Chu Sheng, was a half-yao, possessed a Demonic Technique, acted mysteriously, and had close ties with the Cen Family.

With so many buffs stacked, he was the perfect scapegoat to divert attention and create chaos.

“If I dig deeper, there might be more to find.”

Shen Moyan knew that so many Opportunities gathering on Ni Gaoyuan was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

In his previous life, Gao Sheng had taken an interest in him; perhaps Ni Gaoyuan's existence was inseparable from how Gao Sheng was able to establish contact with the Yao Race.

But Shen Moyan didn't want to dig. Digging further might attract the attention of Gao Sheng and the others. One must know that that beast Gao Sheng's divination arts were unparalleled.

“I'll just have to let Ni Gaoyuan suffer a bit. I, Shen, will gladly accept the ginseng.”

Shen Moyan trod the Azure Wave Stillness Step; the defensive Formations in the City Lord's residence were as if blind, treating him as completely transparent.

With [Person Outside the Formation], Shen Moyan detected tiny loopholes in the Formation caused by long-term operation.

This was the reason the Formation could not discover him.

Shen Moyan only needed to release an extremely faint amount of magic power to interfere with and induce the Formation's scanning focus to shift, thereby creating an unmonitored passage for his secret infiltration.

The entire process relied on Shen Moyan's ultimate control over timing and precise regulation of his own state.

Fortunately, these things were as easy as turning over his hand for him.

As if entering an uninhabited place, Shen Moyan entered the depths of the City Lord's mansion and, following the intelligence obtained from soul-searching Ni Gaoyuan in his previous life, swept away all the ginseng.

Just as Shen Moyan's looting was nearing its end, an angry shout suddenly came from outside the mansion:

“Biyang Sword Sect, you are truly going too far!”

Shen Moyan, laden with spoils, was startled. His first reaction was that he had been discovered.

After all, his Twisted Immortal Path cultivation Foundation came from the Biyang Sword Sect; it was normal to be mistaken for a Disciple of the Sword Sect.

Outside the door, City Lord Chu Sheng seemed to be in a bad mood, carrying a faint scent of alcohol, and his alertness was somewhat diminished.

“Damn it, I can only wait for the next three years.”

“Biyang bastards, truly f*cking shameless. This batch of Spiritual Roots, they picked and chose right in front of me and directly took seventy percent!”

“City Lord, please calm your anger...”

It seemed he hadn't been exposed.

Shen Moyan regained his composure, concealed his figure, slipped out the window, and vanished into the dark night.

Recalling Cen Zhihong's words, this East Mountain City was once a place where Yao Beasts ran rampant, but after being cleared by the inner sect members of the Biyang Sword Sect, it became City Lord Chu Sheng's nursery.

But the Biyang Sword Sect would not sit by and watch them reap all the benefits, so every three years, the Upper Sect would come to harvest Disciples possessing Spiritual Roots.

The timing of his arrival happened to coincide with the Biyang Sword Sect's routine harvest.

Shen Moyan secretly noted this time period; perhaps in a later life, he could return to this point in time and establish a connection with the people of the Biyang Sword Sect.

Three years later would be different. In three years, two idiots would come to harvest all living beings and, in their heated battle, would destroy the city.

The situation would be sensitive then, making communication difficult instead.