A light curtain shimmering with strange colors completely enveloped the Immortal Domain Spirit Boat. Under the watchful eyes of the numerous rogue cultivators gathered around, the sails were hoisted, moving with the wind.
In the next moment, the massive flying boat charged forward like an arrow, speeding toward the line where the sea met the sky.
Set sail.
Standing on the deck, Yan Lin felt only a gentle sea breeze brushing against his cheeks—a stark contrast to the flying boat’s current speed. It seemed the formation had been activated, weakening the powerful air currents outside the vessel and making them mild.
Yan Lin did not understand formations, but he could roughly guess the principle. He couldn’t help but marvel at this magical world of cultivation. If the plot hadn’t collapsed and the protagonist hadn’t inexplicably turned crooked, with everything moving along the established trajectory, he thought he would surely be very happy.
Just as it was during the deal with the Villain System; alas, man proposes, but God disposes.
Indulging in sentimentality, Yan Lin had no mood to appreciate the magnificent waves of the ocean. He turned and returned to the courtyard arranged by the Taixu Sect. Tossing the snow-white small beast (the disguised Abyssal King) into the yard, he entered his room alone and produced that very useful formation flag to plug into the door.
The world instantly became quiet.
He decided not to step out of the door until they reached the Penglai Immortal Realm. It was absolutely not to avoid a certain protagonist absolutely not.
In the courtyard, having been tossed many times, the snow-white small beast was now able to land steadily and composedly. He glanced at the tightly shut door, then shifted his gaze to a certain someone who had also been ignored in the courtyard. His eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a look of schadenfreude.
However, in the next moment, Bai Si watched as the other man walked to the door and raised his hand. His fingertips slowly touched the doorframe; he was not excluded by the formation flag or unable to move a step as Bai Si had imagined.
It seemed that as long as Yan Li wished, he could easily push open the door.
The formation flag was refined by him in the first place, so it was only natural that he remained unaffected.
In those deep, inscrutable eyes reflecting the Abyssal King’s rare dazed expression, Yan Li slowly curved his lips and smiled.
In the end, however, Yan Li withdrew his hand. He did not push the door open as he desired, but merely gave the doorframe a deep look. His profound gaze seemed to penetrate that barrier, falling upon the figure inside who haunted his soul.
His Senior Brother…
His eyes turned dark in an instant.
Yan Li lifted his eyelids, turned, and left the courtyard. Only as he passed by Bai Si did his pace pause slightly. He tilted his head and dropped a sentence.
“Since the Senior Brother likes it, there is no harm in letting it stay a bit longer. But as for you, it would be best if you didn’t have any little schemes.”
Clearly, the Abyssal King’s nightly attempts to crawl into the bed only to be ruthlessly thrown out the door had not escaped Yan Li’s eyes.
Or rather, that formation flag he gave to Yan Lin was, in fact, used specifically to guard against a certain Abyssal King.
Bai Si, suddenly realizing this: “…”
By the time he turned around in indignation, Yan Li had already entered the neighboring courtyard. The Taixu Sect had arranged adjacent lodgings for the two.
That day, any cultivators passing by this place could see an exceptionally cute snow-white small beast—no one knew whose spiritual pet it was looking as if it were throwing a tantrum in the yard. It was quite a novel sight.
The Abyssal King, who usually enjoyed watching trouble without care, for the first time experienced the emotions of a victim. One might think he would realize his mistake and decide to turn over a new leaf… but that is impossible.
After a long while, the Abyssal King raised his head. An intense sense of malice overflowed from his eyes, as if the words “causing trouble” were written all over them.
At the same time, he made a firm decision in his heart.
A decision that would be very, very interesting.
…
Yan Lin, believing himself to be very safe, was completely ignorant of the fatal loophole in that formation flag.
He lay in his room for two days until he finally felt the flying boat sway. Stepping out onto the deck, he looked up to see the surroundings becoming grotesque and variegated. Some Taixu Sect disciples or cultivators who had been to the Penglai Immortal Realm were clearly unperturbed; they were about to pass through a special zone to enter the Penglai Immortal Realm.
Sure enough, about fifteen minutes later, the haze seemed to break away, and the view opened up, revealing an island surrounded by wispy white clouds and lush greenery.
Miraculously, this island was shaped like a mallet and stood suspended above the sea, much like a city in the sky.
The Penglai Immortal Realm.
The Immortal Domain Spirit Boat landed on a protruding platform. Everyone was eager to try. Some rogue cultivators didn’t even finish listening to the precautionary measures explained by the Taixu Sect Elder before impatiently jumping off the flying boat. Other sects were still able to restrain themselves.
Regarding this, the Taixu Sect Elder merely twitched an eyelid and ignored them. Opportunity comes with danger, but if one loses their life because of it, one cannot blame others, can they?
The Taixu Sect had done its part by giving them a ride. From here on, it was up to each person’s own ability.
The Taixu Sect Elder dropped a final sentence: the Spirit Boat would only stay for one month. If one encountered an insurmountable danger, they could crush a one-time teleportation jade talisman to be sent back to the boat. He said no more.
When everyone had disembarked, he remained on the boat, clearly being the controller of the vessel.
Watching the many disciples disappear into the lush jungle, this Taixu Sect Elder’s thoughts inevitably turned to the more serious matter of the Abyssal rifts. He wondered how the situation was progressing.
However, even by this time, the Taixu Sect disciples responsible for investigating the East Sea had still not found any traces of an Abyssal rift.
This phenomenon did not make the Taixu Sect Leader or the other several Tribulation Transcendence masters who were closely following the matter relax in the slightest; instead, they became even more solemn.
This could only mean that the Abyssal rift opened this time would surely have Monsters of a higher grade than before emerging from it. What would be higher than a High-grade Monster?
Monarch-level.
Yan Lin, who knew the plot well, thought silently in his heart. If one went higher, it would be the one currently in his arms the Abyssal King who showed no dominance at all and was instead incredibly cute.
Thinking this, Yan Lin unconsciously stroked him; at least the furry texture was quite good.
Suddenly, the snow-white small beast broke free from his hand and leaped to the ground. Without stopping his pace, he disappeared into the depths of the dense woods in a few bounds, looking as if he were an escaped prisoner.
However, Yan Lin could roughly guess what the other party was up to.
Leaving the sight of the Taixu Sect, he naturally needed to restore his true form to facilitate the work ahead.
Thus, Yan Lin did not stop him, successfully allowing this Abyssal King to complete his identity transformation. Only… he glanced sideways at the protagonist. How was he to get rid of this one so he could reach a conspiracy with the Abyssal King?
“What is it, Senior Brother?”
The corners of his lips held a smile. Noticing the escaped snow-white small beast, Yan Li frowned slightly. Seemingly thinking his Senior Brother was troubled by this, he smiled again:
“Such an untamable beast is better left alone. But if the Senior Brother truly likes it that much, the Junior Brother can go and catch it back.”
Yan Lin: “…”
Bai Si, who had changed clothes very quickly and was hiding nearby planning to find a suitable time for a “chance encounter,” unfortunately heard this sentence.
Beast? Calling him that?
Very good.
The Abyssal King narrowed his eyes, and a dangerous glint finally leaked out.
Yan Lin naturally couldn’t let the protagonist ruin the plan, so he randomly found an excuse to stop him.
“No need for trouble. Besides, I’m tired of playing with it.”
The Abyssal King, hearing this, suffered a second critical hit. He was more hurt than a moment ago. The little fellow actually said he was “tired of playing” with him… Those eyes that were always playful now naturally revealed a gaze like that of a resentful woman.
Especially when he saw Yan Li let out a low laugh looking as if he were in a very good mood because of that sentence Bai Si, who truly couldn’t stand him, could no longer resist stepping out from his hiding place and giving him a fierce glare.
But when facing Yan Lin, his face returned to a smile as pleasant as a spring breeze. It must be said that the Abyssal King’s human appearance was quite good: a refined face, eyes that always seemed to carry a smile, and a dashing, elegant air.
If he changed into luxurious clothing, it would be possible to say he was royalty.
Amidst Yan Lin’s feigned surprise, the other party snapped open a folding fan, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.
“We meet again, Lin’er~”
The final address seemed to draw out the tone, lingering between his lips and tongue, revealing a hint of ambiguity.
Glimpsing Yan Li’s slightly darkened gaze, the Abyssal King smiled even more brilliantly, like a peacock spreading its feathers.
In the end, regardless of the circumstances, the Abyssal King’s human form successfully returned to the team acting as Yan Lin’s upcoming helper, to “be in cahoots” and ruin the protagonist.
Only, Yan Lin seemed to have forgotten one point: this Abyssal King had always been one who couldn’t bear loneliness, didn’t play by the rules, and was not reliable at all.
However, Yan Lin had no other choice now.
…
Over the vast East Sea, the Taixu Sect disciples responsible for patrolling never stopped for a moment. Now they had gradually moved from the outskirts of the East Sea toward the depths to keep watch.
The Penglai Immortal Realm, which opened once every ten years, had already stabilized. For the next month, there was no need to worry about any sudden upheavals in the East Sea. Thus, these Taixu Sect disciples were able to successfully enter the deep parts of the East Sea, rather than only being able to circle the outside like in previous days.
The matter of the Abyss Seal loosening could not be false. Now they could only speculate that the rift was likely inside the East Sea eight or nine times out of ten, that was correct.
However, what they didn’t expect was that the Abyssal rift actually opened in the place closest to the Penglai Immortal Realm.
The special zone was once again being torn by a certain inexplicably powerful force. The sky grew dark, and bizarre light rippled out like a water mirror.
This anomaly undoubtedly attracted all the sect disciples or rogue cultivators who had landed on the Penglai Immortal Realm. The Taixu Sect Elder, who had been sitting cross-legged on the Spirit Boat, abruptly stood up, staring fixedly at the celestial anomaly, the beard on his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
When the pulling and expansion of power reached a certain critical point
Finally, a pitch-black rift appeared in the sky, no more than a few kilometers away from the Penglai Immortal Realm.
In the next moment, a foot stepped out from the rift. As if crossing between two worlds, a species never seen before was exposed to everyone’s vision.
It was a figure with a human-like shape, but the entire body was covered in deep black and hard scales. A bony tail extended from behind, and black, sharp horns protruded from both sides of the forehead. The entire figure stood suspended in the air.
He took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, they were full of cruelty and bloodlust.