Chapter 1954: Red Flame Mountain Song Family, Alien Pursuit

Cultivators with true abilities will earn respect wherever they go.

"Let's rest for a bit, then set off again in an hour. It's a long journey, and I hope the rest of it is uneventful," Chen Xin said. As he spoke, he performed a hand seal, and the green flying boat slowly descended towards the small island.

"Oh, someone's coming," Wang Changsheng murmured, looking towards the distant horizon.

Chen Xin and the others looked up at the sky, but saw no cultivators. "Junior Brother Wang, are you mistaken? There's no one here!" Chen Xin asked, puzzled, as his cultivation was the highest, meaning his spiritual sense should theoretically be the strongest.

Wang Changsheng didn't reply, simply staring at the distant horizon. After a while, a red streak of light appeared in the distance, moving incredibly fast. Not long after, the red light stopped, revealing a shimmering red scroll with over a dozen cultivators standing on it. Leading them was a red-robed old man over seventy, with a high nose, piercing eyes, and a robust physique. Their garments all bore a red volcano emblem, clearly signifying something.

"The Song family from Mount Chiyan!" Chen Xin recognized the group. The Song family was an affiliated cultivation family of the Divine Weapon Sect, with a Void Refinement cultivator overseeing them.

"This old man is Song Yunxiang. Greetings, fellow Daoists," the red-robed elder said, cupping his fists politely.

"I am Chen Xin. Greetings, Daoist Song," Chen Xin quickly returned the gesture. As fellow humans, a greeting was nothing out of the ordinary.

Song Yunxiang said nothing further. He performed a hand seal, and the red scroll's light flared, rocketing into the sky and quickly disappearing from view.

Just passing by to say hello? Wang Changsheng had never seen anything like it.

"Senior Brother Chen, do you know them? Why did Daoist Song specifically stop to greet us?" Wang Ruyan asked curiously.

"When you travel, you rely on friends. It's best to greet other human cultivators you encounter. If you ever run into trouble, you can ask them for help," Chen Xin said with a light chuckle. Such occurrences were not uncommon and nothing strange.

Wang Ruyan nodded, asking nothing further.

"Junior Brother Wang, have you cultivated a spiritual sense strengthening technique? You sensed Daoist Song earlier than Senior Brother Chen?" Lu Guanghong asked, somewhat curious. A powerful spiritual sense offered many advantages, and Wang Changsheng's was clearly stronger than Chen Xin's.

"I've consumed a True Soul Fruit before, so my spiritual sense is a bit stronger than cultivators of the same rank," Wang Changsheng explained. He had cultivated the "Nine Revolutions Divine Forging Art," but due to limited auxiliary materials, he hadn't been able to cultivate it to higher levels, so the increase in his spiritual sense was limited. He had also refined a Soul Nurturing Pearl from ten-thousand-year Soul Nurturing Wood and worn it for many years, causing his spiritual sense to slowly grow. Combined with the Soul-Devouring Golden Cicada's spiritual sense feedback, his current spiritual sense was stronger than late-stage Soul Transformation cultivators. If his spiritual sense were combined with Wang Ruyan's, it could rival that of a Soul Transformation Great Perfection cultivator.

Lu Guanghong and Chen Xin exchanged glances. Even with a True Soul Fruit, a mid-stage Soul Transformation cultivator's spiritual sense couldn't be stronger than a late-stage one. They guessed Wang Changsheng had another fortuitous encounter, but since he didn't want to elaborate, Chen Xin and Lu Guanghong didn't press the matter.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan flew to the top of a high peak, both looking in the direction from which Song Yunxiang's group had come. Wang Changsheng's brows furrowed slightly; he had previously sensed an aura trailing behind Song Yunxiang, but when he tried to investigate more closely, the aura quickly vanished. A red light glowed between Wang Ruyan's eyebrows as her Black Phoenix Dharma Eye appeared, gazing into the distant void. However, she found nothing, as the Black Phoenix Dharma Eye's grade was too low.

"What's wrong? Junior Brother Wang, Junior Sister Wang? Is something amiss?" Chen Xin walked over and asked curiously.

"Senior Brother Chen, we aren't escorting something particularly important, are we?" Wang Changsheng asked, puzzled. He wasn't sure if it was a misconception, but he felt as if someone was tracking them.

"Nothing particularly important, just some fifth-tier refining materials, though there's quite a lot of them. Why? Did you discover something?" Chen Xin's expression grew serious. While Zhenhai Palace was a considerable power, it didn't mean no one dared to target its cultivators; wealth often incited greed. Zhenhai Palace's possessions had been robbed before, albeit rarely.

"I feel like someone is following us. I hadn't noticed it before, so maybe it's just my imagination, or perhaps they were tracking Daoist Song, and he stopped to greet us to use us to delay his pursuers," Wang Changsheng voiced his speculation.

Lu Guanghong and Sun Wu walked over, their expressions grave. If what Wang Changsheng said was true, they were being used to shield Song Yunxiang.

"Junior Brother Wang, are you sure other cultivators are tracking Daoist Song? Could it be a misconception?" Sun Wu asked, puzzled.

"It's impossible for it to be a misconception. They are most likely tracking Daoist Song. Before now, I never detected this aura," Wang Changsheng stated with certainty.

"Better safe than sorry. Let's change our route immediately to avoid encountering them!" Lu Guanghong proposed. Even if Wang Changsheng's sensing was mistaken, there would be no harm; changing the route would only take a bit more time. Safety was paramount.

With someone tracking them in the shadows, Chen Xin had no mind to rest. He quickly gathered his disciples, and they departed immediately. The green flying boat soared into the sky, carrying Wang Changsheng and the others in a completely different direction from Song Yunxiang's group.

On a small island over a thousand miles away, lush vegetation and dense trees covered the landscape. Beneath a towering ancient tree, a golden light suddenly flared, revealing four Soul Transformation cultivators—three men and one woman. Leading them was a golden-robed old man with white hair, a youthful complexion, and a goatee, giving him a benevolent appearance. Judging by his spiritual power fluctuations, he was clearly a Soul Transformation Great Perfection cultivator. They stood on a crescent-shaped golden flying boat, enveloped by a pale golden light barrier. The astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the golden boat indicated it was clearly a low-grade Profound Heaven Spirit Treasure.

"This person's spiritual sense is very strong. If not for the Golden Moon Evasion Spirit Boat, he might have discovered us," the golden-robed old man said, frowning.

"Who cares! If they dare to block our way, we'll kill them. We absolutely cannot let the Song family cultivators escape to the market!" a burly man in a red shirt with a scarred face said coldly, his face full of murderous intent.

"This is human territory, so don't be careless. It's always better to be cautious. The Song family cultivators can't escape; they still don't know what we've done. I'm surprised they didn't ask this group of cultivators for help. Did they not detect our presence, or are they overly confident?" The golden-robed old man's gaze was filled with doubt and surprise.

"Hmph, that goes without saying. The Song family cultivators want to monopolize that treasure. If they present it, the Great Elder will surely reward them handsomely. Let's hurry and chase them! Don't let the Song family cultivators escape!" The red-shirted man said excitedly, urging them forward.

The golden-robed old man nodded. He performed a hand seal, and the golden flying boat lit up with countless profound runes, then abruptly vanished.