Chapter 1672: Near at Hand

They had exchanged a high-grade Tier 4 Shadow Transformation Talisman using a massive amount of contribution points. This talisman could conjure an illusion whose features and aura were identical to the user's true form, making it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake.

As they pressed the Shadow Transformation Talisman onto themselves, a dazzling silver light illuminated their bodies. A Wang Changsheng and a Wang Ruyan materialized out of thin air, their features and auras identical. Even when they combined their spiritual senses, they couldn't detect any anomaly in the illusions.

Having done all this, they moved in a different direction with exceptional speed.

The Golden Moon Sword Venerable frowned. His spiritual sense detected two additional late-Nascent Soul cultivators suddenly appearing, their auras identical to those of the Azure Lotus Couple. He meticulously probed with his spiritual sense, but still couldn't find any anomaly.

"It's quite similar to our sect's Immortal Transformation Talisman," the Golden Moon Sword Venerable murmured to himself. "This is troublesome." The Immortal Transformation Talisman was one of the Sky-Blue Sect's five secret talismans. It could conjure illusions identical to the user's true form, possessing some simple divine abilities.

Just then, the Armored Dragon Beast beneath him let out a pained roar, suddenly stopping and foaming at the mouth. A spiritual sense attack of Soul Transformation level was simply too much for a Tier 4 spirit beast to withstand.

The Golden Moon Sword Venerable flipped his hand and took out a shimmering yellow talisman. Its surface was covered with countless profound runes. These runes seemed alive, twisting and distorting, resembling tadpoles; upon closer inspection, they looked like miniature snakes.

This was a Yellow Turban Warrior Talisman, a special type of talisman soldier proficient in earth-attributed spells. Its cultivation level depended on the amount of magic power injected; the more magic power infused, the stronger the Yellow Turban Warrior Talisman would become.

The Golden Moon Sword Venerable infused the Yellow Turban Warrior Talisman with his immense magic power, causing it to erupt with a dazzling yellow light. It swiftly transformed into a burly young man in yellow robes, his body covered in countless yellow runes, and he exuded the aura of a grand completion Nascent Soul cultivator.

"Go, kill him," the Golden Moon Sword Venerable commanded. A dazzling yellow light erupted from the yellow-robed youth's body, and he gave chase. Even if the Yellow Turban Warrior Talisman couldn't defeat them, as long as it could hold off the Azure Lotus Couple for a moment, he would arrive.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan moved swiftly beneath the seabed. They were enveloped in a ball of yellow light, and earth and rocks parted before them wherever they went.

"A grand completion Nascent Soul cultivator is chasing us," Wang Ruyan said with a frown. "It should be a talisman soldier." It wasn't strange for a Soul Transformation cultivator to possess a talisman soldier.

"Let's speed up," Wang Changsheng said. "I hope the Twin-Pupiled Rat is alright." Wang Changsheng's face was filled with worry. There was a significant risk that the Twin-Pupiled Rat, by drawing away the Golden Moon Sword Venerable, might perish. However, Wang Changsheng had no other option. Without a flying spirit treasure, they simply couldn't escape from a Soul Transformation cultivator. They had to buy as much time as possible.

A dazzling yellow light erupted from the Twin-Pupiled Rat's body. It continuously dove deeper into the seabed, moving with exceptional speed. Its directive was to dive with all its might, prioritizing its own survival.

Just then, the earth behind it ripped open, and an incredibly sharp golden sword energy shot forth. The Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan on the Twin-Pupiled Rat were shattered by the golden sword energy, disintegrating into specks of spiritual light and vanishing.

The golden sword energy struck the Twin-Pupiled Rat. The rat let out a pained squeak, a massive bleeding hole appearing in its body. Blood flowed incessantly. Enduring the intense pain, it continued to burrow downwards, its speed significantly reduced.

Several hundred zhang behind it, the Golden Moon Sword Venerable's expression turned very ugly. He had been chasing an illusion, while the Yellow Turban Warrior Talisman was pursuing the true forms. The Golden Moon Sword Venerable ignored the Twin-Pupiled Rat. A mere low-grade Tier 4 spirit rat wasn't worth his time. He immediately turned around.

Above a vast, boundless sea, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan transformed into a blue rainbow and streaked through the sky, moving with exceptional speed. Their faces were pale, and their magic power was severely depleted.

After shaking off the Yellow Turban Warrior Talisman by ten thousand *li*, they immediately returned to the sea surface and used the Heavenly Moon Evasion Light. While they had used earth evasion spells, they were not fast. The Heavenly Moon Evasion Light was still faster.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan each held a miniature Nascent Soul. These were precisely the Nascent Souls of True Monarch Lihuo and Zhao Junyue.

"So they were descendants of a Soul Transformation expert, no wonder," Wang Changsheng murmured, his face showing a look of sudden realization. A daring plan formed in his mind.

They performed soul-searching on the Nascent Souls of True Monarch Lihuo and Zhao Junyue, learning a great deal about the Sky-Blue Sect. The Sky-Blue Sect had sent many experts to other realms, attempting to open spatial passages through internal and external cooperation. They had opened spatial passages a total of three times; two times to the East Fringes Realm. It was unknown which realm the first spatial passage led to, and the Sky-Blue Sect's reinforcements had not yet arrived.

In addition, they also learned about Soul Transformation cultivators. According to True Monarch Lihuo, there were thirty-three Soul Transformation cultivators in the Sky-Blue Realm. The Sky-Blue Realm originally had twenty-five Soul Transformation cultivators, but after the Sky-Blue Sect unified the realm, they cultivated eight more.

The Sky-Blue Sect had over a thousand Nascent Soul cultivators and tens of thousands of Core Formation cultivators. While this sounded terrifying, most of these experts did not have extensive combat experience, with few life-or-death battles under their belts. This was not surprising. Cultivators under six hundred years old generally lacked extensive combat experience. They had slain high-tier demonic beasts, but rarely cultivators of their own level.

"Perhaps we can use this as leverage," Wang Changsheng said in a deep voice, "to buy our way out." A brilliant blue light erupted from his body, accelerating their evasion speed.

A short while later, the calm sea surface exploded, sending countless waves skyward. A burly young man in yellow robes flew out; it was precisely the Yellow Turban Warrior. The yellow-robed youth transformed into a yellow rainbow and streaked through the sky, moving quite rapidly.

After the time it takes to steep a cup of tea, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan stopped. Several *li* ahead, over the sea, lightning flashed and thunder roared. The high sky was covered in dense dark clouds, shrouding a vast expanse of the sky. Continuous rumbling thunder echoed, and thick silver lightning bolts struck down, cleaving towards the void below.

The sea where they were located was calm and the weather was clear. Yet, several *li* away, dense clouds gathered, with lightning and thunder, as if it were two different worlds.

"Is this the Myriad Thunder Sea?" Wang Changsheng murmured to himself, his expression solemn. Under normal circumstances, he would be unwilling to enter such a place; it was too dangerous. However, with a Soul Transformation cultivator chasing them, they had no choice but to enter the Myriad Thunder Sea to escape.

Specks of yellow light emerged in the void, transforming into a yellow mountain hundreds of zhang tall, which hurtled directly towards Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

Wang Ruyan's aura surged. Her fingers swiftly swept across the zither strings, and a melodious zither sound arose. A vast expanse of misty green sound waves flew out, meeting the yellow mountain.

Boom!

After a tremendous roar, the yellow mountain exploded, turning into a sky full of dust. The swirling dust suddenly transformed into a massive yellow sand curtain, enveloping Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan. Several tiny cracks appeared on the surface of the yellow sand curtain, and it suddenly ripped open.

Just then, a man's voice, devoid of any emotion, suddenly rang out: "You've fled long enough. It's time for this to end."

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were startled. As they were about to flee, eighteen gleaming golden flying swords streaked across the sky, heading straight for them. Feeling the astonishing spiritual pressure from the eighteen golden flying swords, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were terrified to their souls.

At this point, Wang Changsheng had no other option. He certainly didn't believe the Golden Moon Sword Venerable would let them go. He flipped his hand and took out a misty blue token. The words "Sea Suppressor" were carved on its surface. It was precisely the Sea Suppressor Command Token from the Flying Immortal Ruins.

This treasure was Wang Changsheng's greatest trump card. This artifact might have originated from the Spirit Realm. He didn't know if it could block this attack. The Sea Suppressor Command Token burst forth with ten thousand rays of blue light. After a shimmer, it transformed into a blue palace over ten *zhang* tall. The palace was magnificently decorated, and the large characters "Profound Water Palace" were inscribed on its plaque.