Chapter 1044: Yao Ri Zhen Ren

South Sea, Myriad Demon Sea Domain.

In a certain sea area, two red streaks of light streaked across the sky at high speed. Several black dots followed closely behind them, moving at a comparable pace.

A strange hissing sound echoed, and the two red streaks of light abruptly stopped. With a flash of red, Wang Mingren and Ximen Feng appeared. Both looked terrified, their clothes tattered, with faint traces of blood visible, appearing quite dishevelled.

They had arrived at the front lines to fight. The demon race, sea race, and barbarian race were all formidable. Wang Mingren had no prior experience fighting against these foreign races, so he hadn't gained much of an advantage. After forming his core, he had rarely engaged in combat, mostly overseeing matters in the market city. His practical combat skills were not high. He completed sect missions and exchanged contribution points for cultivation resources, but his real combat experience was still inferior to Wang Qingshan's.

Wang Mingren and Ximen Feng had teamed up and barely managed to slay a Core Formation stage sea creature. However, Wang Mingren found earning merits this way too slow and the achievements too minor. He volunteered to follow several Nascent Soul cultivators deep behind enemy lines to harass their rear. Ximen Feng disagreed, believing that harassing the enemy rear was too dangerous. But she couldn't dissuade the stubborn Wang Mingren. Unwilling to let him face danger alone, and hoping he could become one of the Five Elites of Taiyi, Ximen Feng accompanied Wang Mingren on the mission. Unfortunately, their first battle ended in failure: the leading Nascent Soul cultivator was entangled by a Nascent Soul stage demon, and the two of them were pursued by multiple Core Formation stage half-demons.

"Husband, if this continues, neither of us will escape. I'll cover you, you must go!" Ximen Feng bit her red lips tightly, a look of grim determination on her face.

"Fool, it's all my fault. If I had listened to you, we wouldn't be in this situation today. I'll cover you, you go quickly." Wang Mingren was filled with regret. He had assumed there wouldn't be much defensive strength behind enemy lines, which was why he had followed the Nascent Soul cultivators to harass the rear. He hadn't expected the defenses there to be almost as strong as those at the front.

"No, you go, I'll cover you."

"What a pair of star-crossed lovers. As I see it, neither of you needs to leave. Both of you will stay." A cold shout resounded from high above. As soon as the words fell, a strong gale arose. Four grey hurricanes, dozens of zhang high, swept in from all directions, blocking their escape route.

A fierce glint flashed in Wang Mingren's eyes. He pulled out a golden talisman and was about to slap it onto Ximen Feng, but she stopped him. "Husband, I told you, a wife will not abandon her husband; we are bound together in life and death. We will live or die together." Ximen Feng clasped Wang Mingren's hand tightly, her beautiful eyes filled with tenderness. Wang Mingren felt immense guilt. With such a wife, what more could a man ask for?

Just then, a somewhat desolate zither melody began. Upon hearing it, Wang Mingren and Ximen Feng felt their spirits sink, filled with extreme weariness of the world. The four grey hurricanes abruptly halted, revealing four Core Formation stage half-demons. They had black feathered wings on their backs, with hawk-like beaks and fish-like eyes. Like Wang Mingren and Ximen Feng, they too felt extreme weariness of the world, their spirits low, and had no desire to do anything.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Several extremely piercing sounds of air being torn echoed, and four golden lights shot forth, instantly piercing through the heads of the four half-demons. Their bodies plummeted towards the ground.

Wang Mingren was momentarily stunned, then quickly summoned a red rope to entangle the bodies of the four Core Formation stage half-demons. Several streaks of light appeared on the distant horizon, swiftly flying towards their location. A streak of cyan light was the fastest. Before long, Wang Mingren and Ximen Feng clearly saw its true form: a lotus seat shimmering with fluctuating cyan light. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were seated cross-legged upon the Azure Lotus Dharma Seat, both looking serene. Behind them, there were over a dozen more streaks of light.

"These are all outsiders. Uncle Mingren, you can just address them as seniors." Wang Changsheng's voice rang in Wang Mingren's ear. Wang Mingren understood immediately and bowed, saying, "This junior, Wang Mingren, greets all seniors." Ximen Feng quickly bowed, also addressing them as seniors.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan stopped, and the dozen or so streaks of light behind them also halted. In total, there were eight Nascent Soul cultivators and thirteen Core Formation cultivators. They had originally intended to attack a demon stronghold but unexpectedly encountered Wang Mingren and Ximen Feng en route. Wang Changsheng initially didn't know it was Wang Mingren and Ximen Feng; he simply detected the aura of cultivators and rescued them. Wang Changsheng and his group hailed from two different strongholds. Since Wang Mingren and Ximen Feng were here, it was likely that other strongholds had also dispatched people to harass the enemy's rear.

"Why are you here? Is there a fellow daoist leading your group?" The young woman in the cyan dress asked with a frown.

"Exactly. The leader is True Monarch Yaori, the Deputy Palace Master of the Sun Palace of the Sun and Moon Palace."

"True Monarch Yaori!" A flicker of surprise crossed Wang Changsheng's eyes. He had sent Wang Tianqi to gather intelligence on the Sun and Moon Palace. The Sun and Moon Palace was divided into the Sun Palace and the Moon Palace. Their respective Palace Masters were all late Nascent Soul cultivators, and their Deputy Palace Masters were at least mid Nascent Soul cultivators. True Monarch Yaori, Li Jiong, was a Nascent Soul cultivator renowned for many years. Wang Changsheng had not expected to encounter a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Sun and Moon Palace. He and Wang Ruyan needed to be careful to avoid revealing any weaknesses.

"Where is Fellow Daoist Li? Were they also scattered by the demons?"

"Hmph, I am the Deputy Palace Master of the Sun Palace after all. How could two Nascent Soul stage demons scatter me?" A man's voice, as clear as a bell, came from the sky. As soon as the words faded, a golden orb of light appeared in the void, revealing an elderly man in golden robes, seemingly in his early fifties. The golden-robed elder had a dignified face, exuding an aura of unspoken authority with every movement. A sun and moon emblem was embroidered on his cuffs, with the sun design being larger.

True Monarch Yaori, Li Jiong, was a mid Nascent Soul cultivator. His aura was not much weaker than that of the late Nascent Soul young woman in cyan. Over a dozen streaks of light appeared in the sky, quickly landing next to Li Jiong. Including Li Jiong, there were five Nascent Soul cultivators and eleven Core Formation cultivators.

"Fellow Daoist Li, long time no see. I didn't expect you'd still be in the mid Nascent Soul stage." A red-robed elder laughed heartily. From his words, it was clear the two knew each other. Chen Qian, a late Nascent Soul cultivator, was a high-grade Level Four Artifact Forger, with extremely high artifact forging skills. Wang Changsheng had frequently consulted Chen Qian about artifact forging during their journey. Chen Qian's attitude had been lukewarm before, but after Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan slew two Nascent Soul stage enemies, Chen Qian became much more enthusiastic.

"Hmph, that's just your good luck. Are you here to attack Golden Turtle Island? You're a step too late; we've already succeeded. We slew a mid Nascent Soul demon and severely wounded an early Nascent Soul demon. If he hadn't escaped so quickly, I would have wrung his neck."

Chen Qian laughed heartily and said, "After so many years, Fellow Daoist Li's personality hasn't changed. Allow me to introduce these fellow daoists to you." The two groups introduced their Nascent Soul cultivators to each other. Li Jiong was somewhat surprised to learn that Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan had slain two Nascent Soul stage enemies.

Li Jiong laughed heartily and praised them, saying, "The Azure Lotus Immortal Couple, a well-deserved reputation." Wang Ruyan smiled faintly and humbly replied, "Fellow Daoist Li flatters us. My husband and I were merely lucky. The enemies we slew were early Nascent Soul stage, incomparable to Fellow Daoist Li, who slew a mid Nascent Soul demon."

"Hmph, where does all this 'luck' come from? Capable is capable, incompetent is incompetent. I hate these polite formalities the most. We were five against two; if we didn't kill one, we might as well drown ourselves. You two against two, annihilating the enemy completely, that truly is impressive." Li Jiong dismissed her words. He detested such hypocritical pleasantries the most. Was it so hard to admit one's excellence? Wang Ruyan simply smiled, offering no further explanation.

Wang Mingren and Ximen Feng were dumbfounded. In their eyes, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan had only recently formed their Nascent Souls. To defeat one enemy by two was already impressive, but to annihilate enemies two-on-two? That was simply monstrous! No wonder their Nascent Soul formation had triggered unusual phenomena.

"This is not the place to talk. Since we've met, let's team up for a major operation. There's a small island ahead; let's go there to discuss." Chen Qian suggested, pointing towards the void ahead. Li Jiong and the others had no objections and agreed.

Not long after, they landed on a small island. Combined, they had thirteen Nascent Soul cultivators—two late stage, four mid stage, and seven early stage—along with twenty-four Core Formation cultivators.