Chapter 3101: Following the Green Carp Clan (None Today)

For now, the only option was to abandon his physical body. The problem was that he had been so focused on escaping that he hadn't brought a corpse with him. Without a physical body to possess, he could only survive as a Nascent Soul.

Before his physical body was completely destroyed, he had to make some preparations for the future. True Monarch Jinhong flicked his right hand, and a shimmering golden metal sphere, covered in spiritual runes, flew out. He cast a spell, and the metal sphere glowed with dazzling golden light, transforming into a brawny humanoid puppet—a sixth-tier puppet beast. This was his contingency plan; he had long prepared for this day.

A golden light flew from True Monarch Jinhong's glabella, entering the humanoid puppet. He separated a wisp of his soul, attaching it to the puppet beast to control its movements. His plan was to send the puppet beast out to deliver a message, so his fellow disciples could come to his rescue.

True Monarch Jinhong took out three golden orbs and handed them to the humanoid puppet beast. He then took out a shimmering yellow formation plate and cast a spell into it. The stone wall glowed with dazzling yellow light, revealing an opening several zhang wide. The humanoid puppet's eyes flickered, and it strode out, leaving the cave. The golden orbs were inheritance magic pearls he had crafted; the humanoid puppet would discard them at will. This way, even if the humanoid puppet couldn't leave the Myriad Spirit Ruins, anyone who obtained the inheritance magic pearls would come seeking treasure, thus providing him with a body to possess.

He shook his sleeve, and a golden mist swept across, leaving a large pile of items on the ground: heaven-reaching spirit treasures, refining materials, spirit herbs, and more. After completing these tasks, True Monarch Jinhong spat out a mouthful of blood, his face contorted in pain, as a miniature Nascent Soul flew out of his body, floating in mid-air.

If he didn't find a body to possess soon, his Nascent Soul would dissipate. Even then, he would still have his primordial spirit, which could attach itself to a treasure made of Soul-Nourishing Wood to extend the time before it too dissipated.

“If I had known this, I wouldn't have gone to join the commotion and would have just focused on mining the Azure Diamond Divine Jade,” the miniature Nascent Soul muttered to itself. They had killed two rogue cultivators at the Integration stage and, through soul-searching, learned about an Azure Diamond Divine Jade mine in a certain location. They had planned to go mine the jade, but halfway there, they were drawn by the sounds of a battle. They hoped to take advantage of the chaos but unexpectedly encountered cultivators from the Han family and the Witch Tribe fighting over a seventh-tier Nine-Colored Worm. It was too late to stay out of it.

In a forest of red peach blossoms, Wang Qingshan and six others slowly advanced, their faces full of caution. They advanced along the map left by Scattered Cultivator Qiankui, but encountered powerful restrictions along the way. They had no choice but to take a detour, which meant unknown risks, but there was no other option.

A deafening rumble, a series of earth-shattering roars, reached their ears. Wang Qingshan and the six others were startled and stopped. Wang Qingshan fully extended his divine sense, his brows furrowed. The restrictions on divine sense here were significant; his divine sense couldn't extend very far. He could only rely on Wang Tun Tian.

Wang Tun Tian's eyes glowed with dazzling yellow light as he looked towards the source of the sound. After a moment, Wang Tun Tian spoke: “It's the Azure Carp Five Evils. They are battling the Azure Carp Clan. They are no match and are at a disadvantage. The Azure Carp Clan has five Integration-stage cultivators—four at the Mid-Integration stage and one at the Early-Integration stage. Only three of the Azure Carp Five Evils remain; the other two have already been killed.”

“The Azure Carp Five Evils!” Wang Qingshan's brows furrowed slightly. They had no particular connection with the Azure Carp Five Evils.

“The Azure Carp Clan?” Wang Qingfeng took out a small green mirror and handed it to Wang Tun Tian. “Here are portraits of important members of the Azure Carp Clan. See who's leading them.” Cui Yao's Dark Hall had been collecting intelligence in the Azure Glazed Sea Region. This included information on masters from various major forces and clans, and even portraits of some individual masters.

Wang Tun Tian took the small green mirror and cast a spell into it. He carefully checked the information, finding details about the Azure Carp Clan. “The one leading them is Qing Chi, the newly appointed Protector Elder of the Azure Carp Clan,” Wang Tun Tian said, his brows furrowed. “The previous Protector Elder likely died during a great tribulation or at the hands of a powerful enemy.”

“Qing Chi, the Protector Elder of the Azure Carp Clan? Are you sure?” Wang Qingfeng's tone was hurried. Years ago, he and Dong Xueli had killed an Azure Carp Clan cultivator at the Void Refinement stage. Through soul-searching, they learned that Qing Chi was searching for Grand Monarch Wanbao's disciples or grand-disciples. Could it be that Qing Chi led this group into the Myriad Spirit Ruins to search for treasures left by Grand Monarch Wanbao? Or perhaps Grand Monarch Wanbao's inheritance?

Before Wang Tun Tian could finish speaking, another loud bang occurred, and a dazzling golden light shot skyward, extremely conspicuous. His eyes radiated dazzling yellow light as he probed again. “The Azure Carp Five Evils have all been killed,” Wang Tun Tian said gravely. “The Azure Carp Clan lost two Mid-Integration stage cultivators in the battle. There are still three Integration-stage cultivators left.”

“Qingfeng, do you know Qing Chi's purpose for entering the Myriad Spirit Ruins?” Wang Qingshan asked, looking at Wang Qingfeng's expression, certain that Qing Chi was involved in something significant. Wang Qingfeng briefly explained the situation. He hadn't expected that his accidental assistance years ago would lead him to uncover this secret. Otherwise, he would never have connected it to Grand Monarch Wanbao, and they might have simply left.

“Grand Monarch Wanbao! A Mahayana cultivator!” Duan Tongtian analyzed. “So many years have passed; Grand Monarch Wanbao's secluded cave dwelling must have been discovered long ago! Could Qing Chi be looking for one of Grand Monarch Wanbao's disciples or grand-disciples?”

“Regardless,” Wang Xiangrong stated his opinion, “the Azure Carp Clan must have some scheme for entering the Myriad Spirit Ruins. They now only have three Integration-stage cultivators left—two at the Mid-Integration stage and one at the Early-Integration stage. We have a certain opportunity.”

“Then let's follow them and see what they're doing,” Wang Qingshan said, frowning. “However, if we follow too closely, we might be discovered. If we stay too far, we might lose them.”

“Don't worry, Seventh Brother,” Wang Qingfeng said with a smile, raising his right hand as an earthen-yellow metal sphere flew out, its surface covered with spiritual runes. He cast a spell into it, and the metal sphere emitted a dazzling yellow light, transforming into an earthen-yellow python puppet beast. This python puppet beast had many God-Restraining Stones refined into it. Even if an Integration-stage cultivator used their divine sense to probe it, they wouldn't detect anything unusual.

This was a treasure-seeking puppet. The Wang family, established for over ten thousand years, had many artifact refiners and had crafted puppet beasts with various functions. Wang Qingshan used his divine sense to probe it but found nothing. It was as if the puppet beast didn't exist. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have known there was a puppet beast right in front of him.

“With this treasure-seeking puppet,” Duan Tongtian said with a smile, “and Tun Tian's mutated spirit eyes, there shouldn't be any problem.”

Wang Qingfeng formed a hand seal and cast a spell. The giant python puppet's abdomen tore open, revealing an entrance about a zhang wide. The seven of them entered one by one, and the entrance closed. The giant python puppet beast glowed with dazzling yellow light and burrowed into the ground, disappearing from sight.

Several hundred miles away, Qing Chi and two men with similar features stood in an open area, their faces slightly pale, their brows deeply furrowed. “The Azure Carp Five Evils were so troublesome,” Qing Chi said, his brow furrowed. “Fellow Daoist Chi and Fellow Daoist Lan have both been killed.”

They had received a clue that True Monarch Baiku's secluded cave dwelling might be somewhere in the Myriad Spirit Ruins. They had dispatched six Integration-stage cultivators and over a dozen Void Refinement stage cultivators. Along the way, some clan members had died due to restrictions or seventh-tier demonic beasts, but the losses weren't significant. However, encountering the Azure Carp Five Evils, they suffered heavy losses, losing three Integration-stage cultivators.

“After all, they emerged from a sea of corpses and blood, and their cooperation was skillful,” a tall, thin man in blue robes said gravely. “Fortunately, we had the upper hand. However, this means we must be even more careful now; we can't afford any more losses.”

Qing Chi nodded. They collected the valuables from the corpses, burned the bodies, and left the area.