131: The Silent Harvest and the Fall of the Golden Elixir

Purple Cloud Reef, Outer Sea area.

Three days.

For three whole days, Zhou Wannian led his people to hide behind that reef far away from the ghost mist, remaining motionless.

The grayish-white mist in the distance was like a sated giant beast; after devouring two giant whale boats and dozens of Cultivators, it finally began to slowly recede like a tide.

That suffocating sense of pressure gradually dissipated, and the color of the seawater slowly returned from a ghastly white to deep blue.

“Old Man Han, the mist has dispersed.”

Li Feiyu, who had been staring at the sea surface, spoke in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of irrepressible tension.

“Don't be in a hurry.”

Zhou Wannian held a 'Spirit Testing Talisman' in his hand. Only when the talisman paper burned out, confirming that the Spiritual Qi in the air had begun to flow again and the magnetic field had returned to normal, did he slowly stand up.

“Put on the 'Magic-Evading Robes' and 'Isolation Gloves'. Remember, although the ghost mist has receded, the residual 'Spirit-Severing Qi' is still there. Do not touch anything on the ship directly with your skin.”

“Let's go, time to pull in the net.”

...The two massive giant whale boats were now quietly stranded on the rocky beach of Purple Cloud Reef.

The hulls were intact, but the once-brilliant talisman Formations had completely extinguished, turning a dull gray like a pile of dead wood.

Zhou Wannian's group boarded the deck.

Dead silence.

Absolute dead silence.

Over a dozen corpses lay scattered across the deck. There were no wounds on their bodies, and their faces even maintained the terrified expressions from the final moments of their lives.

“They drowned, or suffocated.”

Zhou Wannian inspected a corpse.

“The ghost mist devours spiritual power. Cultivators are used to surviving at sea using Water-Evading Spells and Protective Spiritual Light. Once their spiritual power vanishes instantly, they are no different from Mortals falling into the water.”

He shook his head, not wasting more time on those few Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

“Li Feiyu, take some people to the cargo hold. It's loaded with the purple light algae they just mined; that's hard currency.”

“Ling Yunxiao, go dismantle the Spirit Stone Cannons and the core Formation Plates on the ship. Although their spirituality is damaged, they can still be used after some nurturing back home.”

“Tiezhu, come with me.”

Zhou Wannian's gaze locked onto the luxurious cabin located on the top deck.

That was the residence of the Golden Core Elder, Gu Yunmo.

The cabin door was tightly shut.

Zhou Wannian did not use brute force to break the door, but instead signaled Tiezhu to step forward.

“Boom!”

Tiezhu's sharp claw, covered in Poison Flood Dragon Skin, tore through the hard ironwood cabin door like it was tearing paper.

A musty, decaying scent wafted out.

Inside the cabin, the light was dim.

An old man wearing a purple-gold Daoist robe was slumped in a grand armchair. His face was ashen, his eyes were tightly shut, and his chest was still slightly heaving, but his aura was weak to the extreme.

It was indeed the Third Elder of the Six-Link Palace, Gu Yunmo.

As a Middle Stage Golden Core Cultivator, his vitality far exceeded that of ordinary people. The moment the ghost mist descended, he used a secret technique to lock his life force and fell into a state of suspended animation, managing to endure until the ghost mist receded.

Hearing the sound of the door breaking, Gu Yunmo opened his eyes with difficulty.

When he saw Zhou Wannian standing at the door and that terrifying Puppet, a flash of confusion crossed his clouded eyes, which then turned into shock.

“It's you... that... Old Man Han...”

Gu Yunmo's voice was as faint as the hum of a mosquito. At this moment, the spiritual power in his body was completely empty, and he couldn't even manage to move a finger.

“You... aren't dead? The ghost mist... you lured it here?!”

He wasn't stupid. The people from Green Robe Tower were fine, while Six-Link Palace was completely wiped out. How could there be such a coincidence in this world?

“Elder Gu is indeed clever.”

Zhou Wannian stood at the door and did not enter, his hand already gripping a 'Soul-Extinguishing Talisman' that had been activated long ago.

“Unfortunately, clever people usually don't live long.”

“Don't... don't kill me...”

A longing for life appeared in Gu Yunmo's eyes. It was the extreme fear of one in a high position falling into the dust. “I am... an Elder of Six-Link Palace... I know many secrets... I can give you money... give me a way to live...”

“Secrets?”

The corners of Zhou Wannian's mouth curled slightly. “I will look into the secrets of the dead myself from their Storage Pouches. As for a way to live...”

“I'm sorry, my path is too narrow to accommodate a great Buddha like you.”

He was even too lazy to do it himself.

“Tiezhu.”

Whoosh—

Tiezhu turned into an afterimage and rushed inside.

“No—!!!”

Gu Yunmo let out a desperate roar, attempting to burn his essence blood for one last struggle. But in a spirit-severing environment, his struggle was meaningless.

Crack.

A crisp sound rang out.

Tiezhu's large hand directly crushed Gu Yunmo's throat and gave it a twist, plucking off that priceless Golden Core Stage head.

A titan of his generation had fallen just like that.

He hadn't even managed to release a proper Spell.

Zhou Wannian walked in expressionlessly, skillfully plucking the three Storage Pouches from Gu Yunmo's waist and stripping off that purple-gold Daoist robe, which, although it had lost its spiritual power, was made of top-tier Materials.

Finally, he cast a 'Corpse-Dissolving Spell'.

Destroying the corpse and removing all traces... Half an hour later.

“Withdraw!”

Following Zhou Wannian's command, the people of Green Robe Tower, returning with a full harvest, quickly retreated.

And behind them.

The bottoms of the two emptied giant whale boats had been scuttled. Seawater poured in, and the massive hulls slowly sank into the deep sea, becoming part of Purple Cloud Reef.

This scheme to exterminate the Six-Link Palace's party reached a perfect conclusion... In the abandoned mining area, underground secret chamber.

It was another exciting loot-sharing meeting.

But this time, everyone was very quiet. Because the harvest was truly too large—large enough to make one feel afraid.

“Five thousand catties of purple light algae... worth two hundred thousand Spirit Stones.”

“Eighty thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones...”

“Two Magic Treasure prototypes, thirty peak-grade Magical Artifacts...”

Ling Yunxiao read the list, his voice trembling.

This wasn't just getting rich overnight; this was possessing the foundation to establish a medium-sized Sect overnight!

“Put it all away.”

Zhou Wannian only took Gu Yunmo's Storage Pouch and divided the rest with a wave of his hand. “All these resources are to be exchanged for Medicinal Pills to increase cultivation and Materials to strengthen Formations. For the next year, all members of Green Robe Tower will enter secluded meditation to digest the spoils of war.”

He took Gu Yunmo's Storage Pouch and walked alone into the innermost quiet room.

He activated the Restriction.

Brute-force cracking.

Clatter.

The private collection of a Golden Core Elder was indeed abundant.

Aside from a large quantity of Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills, Zhou Wannian only cared about two things.

One was a Jade Slip, which recorded the Cultivation Technique Gu Yunmo practiced, the Purple Flame Heaven-Burning Art.

The other was a secret letter that hadn't been sent out in time.

Zhou Wannian picked up the secret letter and probed it with his Divine Sense.

The letter was written to the Great Elder of the Sixth Hall:

【To be opened by Senior Brother: The situation in the Outer Sea is turbulent, and Yao Beasts are appearing frequently. Junior Brother recently consulted ancient texts and found that the 'sea suppressing seal' (Senior Brother's Lifebound Treasure) needs to be nurtured with a large amount of 'Sunflower Water Essence' every hundred years; otherwise, the spatial Seal within it will loosen. Now that the hundred-year period is approaching, if Senior Brother wishes to enter secluded meditation to repair the Magic Treasure, please make preparations early. Junior Brother is willing to act as a Protector for Senior Brother...】

“sea suppressing seal... spatial Seal loosening... hundred-year period...”

Zhou Wannian put down the secret letter, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

One wears out iron shoes in a fruitless search, only to find it by chance without any effort.

He had been worrying before that the final secret key, 【Heavenly Star · Outer】, was refined into the Grand Elder's Lifebound Treasure, making it impossible to start.

But now, the opportunity had come.

“The maintenance period of a Magic Treasure is usually when a Cultivator is at their weakest.”

“Furthermore, this sea suppressing seal is a space-attribute Magic Treasure. It must not be disturbed during repair, and it even requires temporarily separating the Magic Treasure from the Physical Body and placing it upon a special spirit eye...”

Zhou Wannian took out the Heavenly Secret Dao Disk.

Midnight had arrived.

“I ask the Heavenly Secret.”

“The time and place where the Great Elder of the Sixth Hall will repair the 'sea suppressing seal', and... where is the only flaw?”

Buzz—

The Heavenly Secret Dao Disk spun frantically.

A hexagram emerged:

【Time: Three months from now, on the night of the full moon.】

【Location: Beneath Qiyuan Island, the 'Intersection of Earth Fire and Cold Spring'.】

【Flaw: During the repair process, the sea suppressing seal must leave the Physical Body and float above the Cold Spring to absorb Sunflower Water Essence. At this time, if there is 'spatial interference', the Magic Treasure will fall into a brief state of being out of control.】

【Fortune: A narrow escape (pulling chestnuts out of the fire).】

Zhou Wannian looked at those last four words, his fingers lightly tapping the tabletop.

A narrow escape.

This meant extreme danger, but it also meant... there was a silver lining of life.

“Three months...”

Zhou Wannian took a deep breath and looked toward the Puppet Tiezhu in the corner of the secret room, which emitted an ancient aura.

“Time is pressing.”

“Tiezhu still needs one last strengthening.”

“And I...”

He touched the Star Thunder Sword in his sleeve.

“It's also time to attempt to break through to the Late Foundation Establishment Stage.”

“If I win this gamble, it will be a true path to the Great Dao.”

Zhou Wannian closed his eyes and crushed a 'Dust-Shedding Pill' obtained from Gu Yunmo (it was for assisting in Core Formation, but he extravagantly used it to charge toward the Late Foundation Establishment Stage).

Within the secret room, Spiritual Qi began to gather frantically.

A shocking conspiracy targeting a Nascent Soul Cultivator was quietly taking shape in this dark basement.