Chapter 916: Qin Yuning’s Guess, Meeting the Turtle Immortal and Zhenhai!

“Fellow Daoist Qin, since you’re ready, let’s go.”

Lu Changsheng arrived at Qin Yuning’s courtyard, saw she was prepared, and said no more.

The Spirit Treasure 【Misty Dust Banner】 bloomed in his hand, turning into a sweeping cloud of multicolored light that lifted her slender figure and carried them straight toward the depths of Da Mengze.

“Huh?” Qin Yuning watched the way Lu Changsheng traveled and her eyes filled with surprise.

She might be a Core Formation cultivator,

but her master was the head of the Divine Maiden Palace, so she’d gotten an early peek at plenty of Nascent Soul knowledge.

She knew Nascent Soul cultivators only had initial control of the power of the void and couldn’t cross it endlessly.

Using the power of the void chewed through magical energy.

Was this Changsheng True Lord not afraid of burning himself dry traveling like that?

From Da Mengze to the Starry Sea and Penglai Island there were plenty of demon kings and sea beasts along the way.

If a Nascent Soul cultivator drained too much energy and then hit void turbulent currents, astral wind and thunder, or a demon king’s ambush, danger followed.

That’s why no matter the realm, even if you could move fast, most preferred using flying boats or mounts.

It kept physical strength and magical energy from running low and cut down on risks you couldn’t control.

Still, as a Core Formation cultivator, Qin Yuning wouldn’t question a Nascent Soul True Lord.

She planned to wait until Lu Changsheng stopped to rest, then gently mention she had a top-tier third-rank flying boat that could carry them the rest of the way.

Lu Changsheng had no intention of using the Misty Dust Banner to go straight to Penglai Island.

Unless he reached late-stage Nascent Soul, even with the 【Heavenly Yuan Lotus】 as a second dantian burning spirit stones nonstop, he still couldn’t make it there in one go.

He was just used to traveling fast, planning to hit the depths of Da Mengze first and call Lu Lingjing to pick them up.

With the Golden-Winged Roc on leave escorting Lu Baixi to the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range, Lu Changsheng naturally chose the Abyssal Sea Dragon Whale as his ride.

Out on the boundless sea, a ruler of the waters like Lu Lingjing made travel easier and faster than the Roc.

Perfect for visiting the Divine Maiden Palace, then heading to the Forbidden Sea to find the Green Dragon King.

“How is this True Lord’s magical energy lasting so long? My Second Martial Uncle said void crossing drains energy like crazy. Unless it’s urgent, Nascent Soul True Lords usually don’t travel by void crossing.”

“Even if he has an escape-type Spirit Treasure, it doesn’t seem like the Six Paths Demon Concubine’s White Bone Demon Palace with a fourth-rank ghost king and thousands of specter dao soldiers powering it.”

“Could this Changsheng True Lord not be early Nascent Soul at all? Is he, like Yangming True Lord, actually a mid-Nascent Soul heavyweight?”

Qin Yuning couldn’t tell the exact speed or where they were, but she could feel the void rippling again and again.

Lu Changsheng still hadn’t paused after all this time, which left her inwardly startled and impressed.

If he really was a mid-Nascent Soul giant like Yangming True Lord, that was terrifying, almost unbelievable.

A mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was a local overlord in the Starry Sea, a top-tier power.

And this Immortal City of Damengze had two mid-Nascent Soul heavyweights?

Qin Yuning looked toward Lu Changsheng.

But the Misty Dust Banner ran at full power like a colorful cloud, wrapping them both so she couldn’t see clearly.

“What’s his true background? What’s his story?”

Qin Yuning couldn’t help growing curious about this Changsheng True Lord.

Why would a Nascent Soul master pretend to be a Core Formation cultivator?

And by what she’d learned, this Changsheng True Lord hadn’t come out of nowhere. His whole growth path was clear as day.

“A Nascent Soul remnant soul seizing a body? Or reincarnated to cultivate anew? Traveling the mortal world?”

She wondered if this Changsheng True Lord had seized the body of the Lu family’s old ancestor.

If not, then reincarnating and reaching Nascent Soul in just over a century was shocking.

Especially since the intel said he’d practically been goofing off in his early years.

Most of his time seemed spent on marrying and having children, and he’d had hundreds early on.

Only in the last few decades had he slowed down.

If not for the Talisman Lu Family and his wives and children making breakthroughs here and there, causing a stir, this Changsheng True Lord would have faded from public view by now.

While Qin Yuning’s thoughts ran wild, the ripples in the void eased and she found herself standing over a misty, fog-choked sea.

On such a boundless sea, without charts it was hard to tell where you were.

But the hazy fog suppressed divine sense and magical energy, and Qin Yuning knew they’d reached the depths of Da Mengze.

“True Lord?” Qin Yuning looked at Lu Changsheng in his azure robe, tall and straight, holding a Five-Colored Long Banner, wondering if he meant to stop and rest.

Maybe it was her imagination,

but he seemed even more refined and handsome than when she’d last seen him.

A striking face and a tall frame, with a hard-to-name air about him, like a banished immortal who’d stumbled into the mortal world and picked up a few earthly ties.

Even though she didn’t consider herself shallow and her standards had been set high by her master and two martial uncles,

she couldn’t help staring at the man beside her, a little dazed.

Before, when he said he’d take her back to Penglai Island, she’d remembered the rumors about the “Changsheng True Lord” and worried he had designs on her.

Now, seeing his face, that thought didn’t even cross her mind.

He radiated a kind of natural calm that made you relax and trust him without trying.

Lu Changsheng said nothing, just gazed quietly ahead.

Buzz, buzz—

The 【Demon Detection Disk】 in Qin Yuning’s arms suddenly began to shake madly.

It could sense demonic aura within a hundred miles.

By reading those fluctuations it could estimate a demon beast’s general level.

Her safe trip from Penglai Island to Da Mengze had a lot to do with the disk.

Once it sensed demonic aura, she would cast divine abilities to hide and slip away.

Now that it was making a scene, she knew a fourth-rank demon king was nearby.

An instant later the mist ahead heaved as waves surged like a mountain smashing through the surf toward them.

“A fourth-rank demon king!”

Qin Yuning’s body went taut. This was what the disk had sensed.

She called to Lu Changsheng beside her, “True Lord?”

For some reason, with this Changsheng True Lord here, she wasn’t that afraid of the incoming demon king.

“Don’t worry,” Lu Changsheng said softly.

Qin Yuning nodded and steadied her mind.

Still, watching the demon king draw near made her tense up.

At the end of the day she was just a Core Formation cultivator.

Facing a fourth-rank demon king sparked instinctive fear.

She’d once hunted a fourth-rank demon alongside her Second Martial Uncle Shen Baishuang and had seen how terrifying sea beasts at that level were.

They were not something a Core Formation cultivator could match head-on.

A few breaths later, Qin Yuning finally made out the demon king’s form.

It was massive, its body plated in black-gold scales.

Twin dragon horns jutted from its skull with regal force, and it wore a 【Coiled Dragon Glazed Hat】 crowning its head.

Its pupils were like swirling black vortices, and a ridge of black fins rose along its back like a mountain of blades that chilled the soul.

Qin Yuning could tell this demon king wasn’t exuding malice. It wasn’t roaring to threaten them. It sounded almost like a call.

The next moment the Changsheng True Lord stepped forward and took the glazed hat shaped like a coiled dragon from the whale king’s head.

“Is this whale king the Lord of Dameng City’s spirit pet?”

Realization flashed across her face. The intel did say the Lord of Dameng City kept a giant whale as a pet.

“Wait, why does this whale king look a lot like the one we searched for back then?”

She remembered how the major powers of the Starry Sea had searched the Black Reef Islands for the Kunpeng egg years ago.

Afterward the egg vanished, and one suspicious target had been a fourth-rank whale king.

As Shen Jianjia’s disciple, she had heard that rumor.

“Is this whale king not the Lord of Dameng City’s, but the Changsheng True Lord’s spirit pet?”

She kept guessing, still not connecting Yangming True Lord and the Changsheng True Lord as the same person.

Partly because she felt there was no need to.

And partly because reports often had them showing up at the same time.

“This whale is my spirit pet. We can rest inside it. It’ll make the trip to Penglai Island quicker and easier.”

Lu Changsheng spoke to Qin Yuning and led her into the Abyssal Sea Dragon Whale’s stomach chamber.

Qin Yuning felt uneasy but couldn’t refuse. She gritted her teeth and went in with him.

Inside, it wasn’t nearly as disgusting as she’d imagined.

The chamber was clean and tidy. It lacked a spirit vein but felt spacious and comfortable.

Like that, the two rode the Abyssal Sea Dragon Whale into the Starry Sea.

When they neared the Fuhai Sect, Lu Changsheng opened his eyes and said to Qin Yuning, “I’m stepping out for a bit.”

Before she could respond, he vanished and entered the Fuhai Sect.

Qin Yuning could only hold spirit stones, sit quietly, and wait.

Fuhai Sect.

Three years ago, after a great battle broke out at Fuhai Sect and the Turtle Immortal Patriarch appeared, Lu Changsheng enslaved him with a 【Demon Subjugation Talisman】. Since then the whole sect had been purged by the Zhenhai Patriarch and the Turtle Immortal Patriarch.

It was to keep the events of that day from leaking out.

The Turtle Immortal Patriarch’s identity was a secret known to very few in the Starry Sea.

The Zhenhai Patriarch didn’t want it known either.

Also, as one of the Zhenhai Seven Sects, news of their mountain gate erupting in a battle would draw attention and tests from other forces.

Right now the top combat strength of the seven sects was badly damaged.

If anyone tested them, they’d see the weakness behind the front.

Though with the Zhenhai Patriarch and Turtle Immortal Patriarch around, they could suppress any provocation or trouble.

But top-end strength only decided the final outcome.

Day-to-day affairs needed high or mid-tier power to handle.

Besides, the Zhenhai Patriarch and the Turtle Immortal Patriarch couldn’t personally deal with everything all the time.

“Haiqin, Cangjue greet the True Lord!”

The sect had been cleansed, moles pulled out, and the memories of low-level disciples and cultivators altered.

But when it came to their own direct line, the Zhenhai Patriarch still trusted them.

Those two women once sent as maids and eyes for Lu Changsheng were now fully arranged within Fuhai Sect, ready to serve him at any time.

“Let Zhenhai know I’m here.”

Lu Changsheng had already contacted the Turtle Immortal Patriarch through the Demon Subjugation Talisman.

But he didn’t treat the Turtle Immortal Patriarch and the Zhenhai Patriarch as one and the same.

They had different minds and wills.

“Yes.” The two women used a token to send word to the Zhenhai Patriarch at once.

The Zhenhai Seven Sects shared an emergency teleportation array.

So not long after receiving the message, the Turtle Immortal Patriarch and the Zhenhai Patriarch arrived at Fuhai Sect.

“Gui Da greets the Master.”

“Zhenhai greets the Master.”

They cupped hands to Lu Changsheng, more respectful than before.

After Lu Changsheng left last time, the Turtle Immortal Patriarch hadn’t fully resigned himself.

He had the Zhenhai Patriarch, who still had independent will and a mind to resist, try to help break the slave mark of the talisman.

But their study showed the restriction was terrifying, fused into his bloodline, spirit-soul, and demon core.

The only way out was to break through to late fourth rank at once and have help from this Zhenhai avatar.

If late fourth rank were that easy, he wouldn’t still be stuck.

Even if he consumed all the resources of the seven sects, he’d still need decades, maybe a century, to break through.

The Zhenhai Patriarch had considered taking Minghai, Zhenhai, and others with the Turtle Immortal Patriarch to the Forbidden Sea to hunt demon kings and seek opportunities to push him through.

But the slave mark required immense focus and will just to muster the thought of resisting.

And not long ago, the Turtle Immortal Patriarch sensed the soul restriction of the talisman deepen again.

Even breaking through to late fourth rank wouldn’t shake it off.

At that point he gave up completely.

He accepted he couldn’t shake the slave mark and no longer had the will to resist.

With Lu Changsheng now here, he could faintly sense the other’s spirit-soul surpassing his own.

That was unbelievable.

Back when Lu used the Demon Subjugation Talisman on him, the only reason he held out so long was because his bloodline, cultivation, and spirit-soul all surpassed Lu Changsheng’s.

And now, in just three years, the other’s spirit-soul had surpassed his?

His spirit-soul was on par with a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator’s.

How?

“Gui Da, Zhenhai, you’ve come.”

Lu Changsheng smiled at the two without putting on airs.

They were a top-tier demon king and a Nascent Soul giant. He wouldn’t treat them like pets or servants. They deserved respect.

“Have there been any major events in the Starry Sea these years? After Star King escaped, did he make it back to Starrymoon Hall? Have the Zhenhai Seven Sects run into any trouble?”

He looked at the Zhenhai Patriarch in his straw raincoat and conical hat.

He’d come mainly to ask the Zhenhai Patriarch to refine Huaying Pills and a Small Misty Dust Banner,

but he couldn’t just show up and start giving orders. He needed to ask after things first.

“Reporting to Master.”

Unlike the Turtle Immortal Patriarch, the Zhenhai Patriarch wasn’t shackled by the talisman’s influence.

He had submitted to Lu Changsheng, but he still had his pride and composure as he reported the Starry Sea’s big events.

The biggest was the destruction of Wu Demon Island and the slaying of Shi Hai True Lord.

Wherever it happened, the life or death of a Nascent Soul cultivator was a big deal.

“Star King fled back to Starrymoon Hall at once. There hasn’t been much news, but some forces have been probing Pinghai Sect, Fuhai Sect, and Tunhai Sect. I suspect it’s tied to Star King.”

The Zhenhai Patriarch continued, hating Star King to the bone.

If he hadn’t run, would things have ended this way?

With the Turtle Immortal Patriarch’s strength, he could have held out against the slave talisman for a long time.

“Since Star King ran back to Starrymoon Hall, when the time is right and we’re prepared, I’ll go with you to settle it and demand an explanation.”

Lu Changsheng knew the Zhenhai Patriarch held a deep grudge, so he spoke up.

But as a fourth-rank diviner, he knew Star King wouldn’t be easy to deal with.

As a top diviner, if he dared return to Starrymoon Hall, that meant the hall was safe.

And as a top force in the Starry Sea, Starrymoon Hall had deep roots.

They had not only Star King, a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, but Yue Zun, also mid-Nascent Soul.

Besides them were other high-level cultivators and a web of favors across the Starry Sea.

“Star King excels at divination. If we want him gone, we have to plan long.”

The Zhenhai Patriarch shook his head.

Charging Starrymoon Hall wasn’t an option.

It would kick up too much noise, and a top force’s mountain-guarding array wouldn’t be easy to crack.

“Of course.”

Lu Changsheng didn’t linger on that topic. “Zhenhai, do the Zhenhai Seven Sects have an alchemist who can refine Huaying Pills?”

“We do.” The Zhenhai Patriarch nodded.

As a top power in the Starry Sea, the seven sects had a fourth-rank alchemist.

“What are the odds on the batch?” Lu Changsheng asked at once.

“At least one pill will form, a fifty percent chance at two, and about a ten percent chance at three.”

The Zhenhai Patriarch gave the numbers.

Those odds were high and guaranteed at least one Huaying Pill.

But to the Lu Ancestor, who often produced three, it felt a bit lacking.