Chapter 1738: Encounter with Shangguan Tianhong

In the Tianlan Realm, a hundred-zhang blue turtle, its head resembling a qilin's, was swiftly moving forward a thousand zhang below the surface of a turbulent river. On its back was a simple stone house, the surface of which was entwined with green thorns.

Inside a secret chamber, Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a blue futon. Around him were various material refining ingredients, and the Azure Lotus Cauldron rested nearby.

The Profound Nether Cold Flame hovered before Wang Changsheng, his expression solemn. The temperature inside the chamber was alarmingly high.

After a moment, Wang Changsheng changed his hand seals. The Profound Nether Cold Flame flew into his mouth and vanished, revealing a black spherical pearl. From its appearance, the black pearl showed no abnormalities; it looked quite ordinary.

"Another success!" Wang Changsheng said happily. A year had passed since he killed Heavenly Devil Venerable. During this time, they had constantly changed their location.

The Qilin Turtle was skilled in Water Escape Art, the Twin-Pupiled Rat was adept at Earth Escape Art, and the Wood Demon possessed rare potent poison. With their assistance, Wang Changsheng and the others remained inside the stone house. All along the way, they encountered no obstacles whatsoever. They had been moving underground without encountering any dangers, and the Qilin Turtle's movement speed was remarkably fast.

Wang Changsheng made a hand gesture, put away the Underworld Moon Pearl, and walked out.

Fu Wen was talking to Wang Ruyan. Talisman-making tools were laid out beside them, and Wang Ruyan's face was full of smiles. Fu Wen had already refined two Qian Light Boundary-Breaking Talismans, enough for them to return to the East Reaching Realm.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, we haven't been delayed for too long; we need to speed up," Fu Wen said with a frown. "The Tianlan Sect hasn't caught up after all this time, and I always feel a bit uneasy. After all, this is the Tianlan Realm. No matter how fast we are, it's impossible for no Tianlan Sect cultivators to have discovered us. The Tianlan Sect could use communication arrays to inform their disciples to set up formations and intercept us. The Tianlan Sect has likely mobilized a large force, aiming to resolve us completely."

Wang Changsheng nodded and said, "I have already refined several Underworld Moon Pearls. It's time to leave."

At Wang Changsheng's signal, the Qilin Turtle moved towards the river's surface.

Boom!

The river surface exploded open, and as the Qilin Turtle floated to the water's surface, Wang Changsheng and the others walked out of the stone house. The areas on both sides of the river were open ground, with no trace of cultivators within a hundred-li radius.

Wang Changsheng flicked his sleeve, and a scroll shimmering with green light flew out. It instantly expanded to a hundred zhang, floating before them. On the painting was a green flood dragon soaring high in the sky, and beside it, a small line of text read: "Flying Dragon in the Sky Map." This was a flying spiritual treasure Wang Changsheng had acquired, which he had not used before.

"Everyone, come aboard! I hope we can return to the East Reaching Realm soon." Wang Changsheng leaped onto it, followed closely by the others. He cast a spell, and the green flood dragon on the Flying Dragon in the Sky Map seemed to come alive, moving across the scroll's surface and letting out a deafening dragon roar.

A green light flashed, and the Flying Dragon in the Sky Map carried Wang Changsheng and the others towards the sky, covering a thousand zhang in an instant. A fierce wind whistled past, causing the clothes of Wang Changsheng and the others to flutter. Fu Wen's face was full of vigilance. He extended his divine sense widely, scanning a thousand-li radius, fearing an ambush. Fortunately, they did not encounter any other cultivators for the time being.

After flying out a million li, Fu Wen discovered dozens of Tianlan Sect cultivators, most of whom were at the Core Formation stage. To avoid alerting the enemy, they ignored the Tianlan Sect cultivators, flying directly over them. Because the Flying Dragon in the Sky Map was too fast, the Tianlan Sect cultivators did not notice them at all.

Half a month later, over a vast, boundless plain, the Flying Dragon in the Sky Map appeared. Wang Changsheng and the others were all beaming with smiles.

"Finally, we can go back," Wang Yingjie said, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"This is where we came from," Fang Mu said, pointing to a certain spot in the void with an excited expression. "There's a spatial node here leading to the East Reaching Realm."

"Senior Fu, please act quickly!" Huang Fugui urged, his expression anxious. "Let's leave this place as soon as possible."

Fu Wen nodded. Just as he was about to act, Wang Changsheng suddenly spoke, "This is bad, they've caught up. It seems to be Shangguan Tianhong."

"Shangguan Tianhong!" Huang Fugui's face turned pale. Shangguan Tianhong was the foremost expert in the Tianlan Realm; he had already killed a Soul Transformation cultivator and destroyed Azure Flower Ancestor's physical body.

"We'll temporarily stop him," Wang Changsheng said. "Fellow Daoist Fu, you take our clansmen and leave first."

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan transformed into a long blue rainbow, piercing through the air and flying towards the sky. After they flew out a few hundred li, a red light flew from the distant horizon. It was indeed Shangguan Tianhong.

He was wary of the Underworld Moon Water. After he rendezvoused with other Soul Transformation cultivators, Wang Changsheng and the others had already vanished without a trace. Due to the existence of the Underworld Moon Pearl, the Tianlan Sect's Soul Transformation cultivators had to travel in groups to avoid encountering Wang Changsheng and his group. The Tianlan Realm was vast, and they didn't know where Wang Changsheng and the others would flee. After Shangguan Tianhong's analysis, Wang Changsheng and his group were likely to return to the East Reaching Realm. There were currently four known spatial nodes leading to the East Reaching Realm. They dispersed their forces, with three Soul Transformation cultivators forming a team to guard each spatial node.

During this time, a Tianlan Sect cultivator unexpectedly discovered the demon python possessed by Azure Flower Ancestor. To recover its cultivation, the demon python frequently devoured Tianlan Sect cultivators and had already grown to the fourth rank. By a stroke of luck, a Soul Transformation cultivator discovered the demon python possessed by Azure Flower Ancestor; however, Azure Flower Ancestor managed to escape. Shangguan Tianhong thought Azure Flower Ancestor was with Wang Changsheng and his group, so he mobilized forces to apprehend Azure Flower Ancestor. They successfully captured Azure Flower Ancestor, but Wang Changsheng and his group took advantage of this opening. The main force was still behind, so relying on the Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure Wind and Fire Wings, Shangguan Tianhong was the first to pursue them.

"Azure Lotus Immortal Couple," Shangguan Tianhong said, "I won't stop you from returning to the East Reaching Realm, but hand over the method for refining Underworld Moon Water into a magic treasure. As long as you agree, we can release the East Reaching Realm cultivators, including this old snake."

Shangguan Tianhong flipped his hand and took out a small, pale golden cauldron, its lid violently shaking. He cast a spell into it, and the lid of the golden cauldron flew off. A blood-soaked green giant python flew out, nearly half of its scales having fallen off, revealing white bones in some areas. A golden light flew out from inside the cauldron, enveloping the green giant python.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, please save this old one's life! I will surely repay you handsomely!" The green giant python, which spoke human language, was none other than Azure Flower Ancestor. If she didn't devour Tianlan Sect cultivators, it would take an unknown amount of time for her to cultivate to the fifth rank, let alone transform into human form. She could only devour cultivators to recover faster and never left anyone alive. Her cultivation constantly improved. After devouring more than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators and hundreds of Core Formation cultivators, she had already reached the low-grade fourth rank cultivation. Unfortunately, by a stroke of bad luck, she was discovered by a Tianlan Sect Soul Transformation cultivator. Although she escaped at that time, she was later captured by Shangguan Tianhong.

"Do you think I would believe that?" Wang Changsheng sneered. He naturally wouldn't hand over the refining method for the Underworld Moon Pearl; Shangguan Tianhong would never let them go so easily.