Translator: CinderTL

Fan Kang’s divine sense spread out like a tidal wave, instantly sweeping across the mountains and rivers within a five-thousand-mile radius.

But the vast expanse of heaven and earth offered no trace of Gou Jun.

His lips twitched slightly, and his eyes deepened like a cold pool.

"Very good, very good," Fan Kang murmured, but the air around him turned frigid, as if winter had descended, the atmosphere chilling to the bone.

"Fellow Daoist Fan, do you need Fellow Daoist Wanqin and me to send people to help you track down Gou Jun?" Zhao Ce’s voice broke the silence.

Wanqin, whom Zhao Ce mentioned, was from the Myriad Swords Pavilion. The three of them had been stationed here by their respective sects, and they had jointly established the sealing formation at the entrance to the Turbid Spirit Realm.

Wanqin seemed unwilling to get involved in the two men’s squabble.

"Fellow Daoists, I have a minor matter to attend to. I’ll take my leave first."

With that, she descended into a palace nestled within a towering mountain below.

Fan Kang ignored Zhao Ce and retreated to a palace on another mountain.

Having let Gou Jun escape under the watchful eyes of so many people was already humiliating enough. He didn’t want to make a grand spectacle of pursuing Gou Jun, only to fail and lose even more face.

There was no need to rush to capture Gou Jun. Once Bai Wei emerged from the Turbid Spirit Realm, they could surely glean some information from her.

Tens of thousands of miles away.

In a narrow crevice hundreds of miles beneath the surface, Song Wen huddled motionless like a statue.

He had used a teleportation talisman to instantly cover ten thousand miles, escaping Fan Kang’s perception. Then, he activated a sixth-tier Earth Evasion Talisman, fleeing at high speed underground.

However, his subterranean speed was far slower than Fan Kang’s. Fearing that Fan Kang might have tracked him here, he concealed himself in this barely habitable crevice after discovering it.

To prevent Fan Kang from using a technique like the "Ten Thousand Mile Breath Tracking Technique," Song Wen had ensured that none of his personal scent remained on the treasures he had given Fan Kang in the storage ring.

Song Wen had expected Fan Kang to launch a massive manhunt, but instead, everything remained calm.

Thirteen days later, a Giant Flying Ship swept across the sky above his hiding place and vanished into the distance.

After learning this from shadow void, Song Wen realized that the Turbid Spirit Realm had closed, and the three great sects had begun their journey back to their respective sect headquarters.

He didn’t rush to reveal himself. Instead, he waited underground for another three months, allowing shadow void to repeatedly confirm that no one was nearby. Only then did he summon his sun-chasing spear and pierce through the rock above, reaching the surface.

He waited for dozens of breaths, observing that the commotion caused by the spear hadn’t attracted anyone. Only then did he climb up the vertical shaft created by the sun-chasing spear.

As he burst out of the shaft and soared into the air, the world before him suddenly opened up.

The area where he had been hiding turned out to be remarkably flat. Though towering ancient trees stood tall and countless vines intertwined, fragments of stone walls could still be seen in some corners.

This was clear evidence that a magnificent human city had once stood here, countless years ago.

Song Wen had no interest in pondering the rise and fall of the human city. He soared through the air, moving swiftly onward.

After a long journey, he finally returned to his cultivation cave—Cloudstream Valley.

Everything in Cloudstream Valley remained as he had left it. Guan Lin was busy tending the Spirit Field.

The Bodhi Spirit Cores in the field were thriving. Thanks to Guan Lin’s constant care and Song Wen’s generous investment of resources, a small portion of the Bodhi Spirit Cores had reached four hundred years of age, meeting the criteria for medicinal use.

Seeing Song Wen’s return, Guan Lin hurried over to greet him.

Whether it was because Song Wen had never touched her, leading her to believe he had no interest in her or no desire for physical intimacy, or because her own mindset had changed, she had long since stopped flirting with Song Wen or dressing provocatively as she had when they first met. Her attire had become modest and elegant, a stark contrast to her earlier revealing outfits.

After exchanging a few casual words with Guan Lin, Song Wen dismissed her.

Guan Lin returned to the Spirit Field, continuing her unhurried work on the Spirit Herbs.

Watching her, a complex emotion flickered in Song Wen’s eyes.

Guan Lin was imprisoned here by him, essentially his slave. Yet, despite being confined to this canyon, she lived a life of ease and leisure. In contrast, her master lived on the edge every day, rarely finding a moment’s respite. His recent journey to the Turbid Spirit Realm had nearly cost him his life several times. Had he not been ruthless and meticulously planned every step, he would surely have perished long ago.

Song Wen shook his head slightly and turned to enter his pavilion.

The path of cultivation was like rowing against the current—one could not afford to slacken for even a moment.

Even a brief pause could lead to eternal damnation, forever barring one from the Great Dao.

After setting up a formation within the pavilion, Song Wen sat cross-legged on the floor and immersed his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness.

The Remnant Corpse Divine Soul remained suppressed within his Sea of Consciousness.

Perhaps it had grown tired of cursing, for it no longer roared with the frenzied fury it had displayed when first confined. Now, it merely emitted occasional low growls of resentment, like a weary beast trapped in a cage.

But upon seeing Song Wen appear, its dull eyes flared with renewed rage.

"Roar... Release this immortal..."

Its face contorted into a grotesque mask of fury, like a rabid dog straining at its chain, baring its fangs at Song Wen.

Watching the Remnant Corpse Divine Soul’s incessant roaring, Song Wen frowned slightly.

When he had first encountered the mutilated corpse, its mind had been relatively clear. But after the Bronze Corpse Coffin was destroyed, its sanity had begun to unravel. And as time passed, its condition seemed to be worsening.

Song Wen couldn’t help but doubt whether he could extract anything useful from the Remnant Corpse Divine Soul in its current state.

"What is your name?"

To project authority, Song Wen roared in a thunderous voice.

But instead of an answer, he was met with the Remnant Corpse Divine Soul’s furious roar.

"I’ll kill you... I’ll kill you!"

Song Wen’s expression turned grim. A ball of golden essence began to coalesce before him, which he hurled at the Remnant Corpse Divine Soul.

"Aaaah... This immortal will definitely kill you!"

The Remnant Corpse Divine Soul screamed in agony, yet continued to rant incessantly.

Song Wen felt a twinge of helplessness. Perhaps his divine soul cultivation was too far above the Remnant Corpse Divine Soul’s, as the Golden Soup Curse he had cast hadn’t inflicted significant damage.

"Shadow Void, keep whipping it until it behaves!"

As he spoke, Song Wen manipulated the Sea of Consciousness Black Hole, reducing the pressure on Shadow Void to allow it to move with difficulty.

Shadow Void’s narrow eyes gleamed with excitement at the command.

Though it had been absorbing Soul Source Essence within the Sea of Consciousness, the confinement had grown tedious.

Shadow Void’s nine tentacles, like nine ferocious Flood Dragons, lashed out at the Remnant Corpse Divine Soul.

The ethereal tentacles, after passing through the void, struck the divine soul as if they were whipping a physical body. The sound of ’crack, crack, crack’ echoed incessantly.

The Remnant Corpse Divine Soul writhed in agony, but its mouth continued to spew forth furious roars.

Under the relentless lashing of the tentacles, the divine soul gradually began to weaken.

When the Remnant Corpse Divine Soul was on the verge of soul scattering and spirit vanishing, Song Wen, fearing its complete demise, was forced to order Shadow Void to stop.

Yet even then, the Remnant Corpse’s gaze remained fiercely malevolent, showing not a trace of clarity.

"Could I have to heal his divine soul first?" Song Wen murmured to himself.

The Remnant Corpse’s origins were clearly extraordinary. If he helped restore its divine soul, he could surely obtain valuable cultivation techniques and secret arts from it.

However, the Remnant Corpse’s divine soul cultivation realm was simply too high. The cost of treating its divine soul was currently beyond Song Wen’s means.

(End of the Chapter)

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