Translator: CinderTL
After ending his communication with Du'e, Song Wen didn't immediately leave the inn. Instead, he waited until noon the next day before setting out.
However, he didn't head toward Mountain White Falls, where he had agreed to meet Du'e. Instead, he traveled west for hundreds of thousands of miles, eventually arriving at a desolate, uninhabited mountain range.
At the foot of one mountain, he discovered an earthen burrow, likely dug by some wild animal.
The burrow was narrow, barely allowing a person to crawl through. It sloped downward, extending several dozen feet into the earth.
With a thought, Song Wen summoned a figure identical to himself.
After exchanging a knowing smile, Song Wen's true body crawled into the burrow and collapsed the entrance, burying himself underground.
Meanwhile, the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation continued westward, traveling another thousand miles until it reached a raging river.
The river's current was swift, its waves crashing and roaring.
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation stood motionless above the river, remaining there until nightfall, until the deep hours of Zi hour.
Suddenly, hundreds of miles upstream, a sesame seed-sized Gu insect broke the water's surface and fluttered toward the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation, a ring clutched in its mandibles.
The Gu worm was a late fourth-tier Shadow King Gu.
Song Wen had placed it in the deep pool beneath Mountain White Falls in advance.
At the bottom of the pool, an underground river connected directly to the main river.
The Shadow King Gu landed in the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation's hand and burrowed into its sleeve.
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation rubbed the storage ring in its hand and suddenly shouted, "Master Du'e, come out! I know you're nearby!"
The voice boomed like a bronze bell, echoing far through the dark, silent mountains. Yet it sank without a trace, receiving no response whatsoever.
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation lifted its head and scanned the surroundings.
The night was as black as ink, and the surrounding mountains loomed like silent, colossal beasts, their dark silhouettes pressing down on the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation.
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation repeated the same words, but still received no reply.
After shouting three times in succession, the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation fell silent.
Its gaze slowly lowered, finally settling on the storage ring in its hand.
Inside the storage ring, jade boxes were piled high like a mountain, each filled with Bodhi Spirit Cores of various ages—exactly as Song Wen and Du'e had agreed.
In addition, the storage ring contained a jade slip.
"Young man, all the Bodhi Spirit Cores you requested are here. I trust you will honor your word and cease troubling this humble monk."
This message, recorded on the jade slip, was clearly left by Du'e.
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation gently clenched its hand, crushing the jade slip into powder that scattered with the wind.
With a wave of its hand, a black-awning boat materialized in mid-air and settled into the surging river below.
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation stepped onto the bow and drifted downstream with the current.
Meanwhile, Song Wen remained hidden in his earthen cave, still unwilling to reveal himself.
He couldn't be certain whether Du'e was still tailing him and dared not make any rash moves.
If Du'e had mastered some kind of ocular technique, he might see through the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation, allowing him to remain hidden in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Though Song Wen had escaped Du'e's clutches once before, the Substitute Puppet had been exposed. There was no guarantee Du'e wouldn't be prepared this time.
If Du'e possessed a secret art or formation to seal the surrounding area, Song Wen would be trapped. In that case, neither the Minor Teleportation Talisman nor the Substitute Puppet could help him escape.
The black-awning boat drifted with the current, following the winding river downstream. After two days of drifting, the straight-line distance between it and Song Wen had already exceeded two thousand miles.
Even with the Shadow King Gu extending his divine sense, Song Wen was nearing the limits of his perception.
Once the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation moved beyond his divine sense range, it would revert to its original form.
After a moment's contemplation, Song Wen decided to test the waters further.
With a mental command, a burst of azure light erupted from the storage ring on the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation's hand.
Instantly, the Incarnation transformed into a wooden statue and was absorbed into the storage ring.
The Shadow King Gu materialized at the same moment, seizing the storage ring in its mandibles and darting away at breakneck speed.
Half an hour later, the Shadow King Gu had already flown tens of thousands of miles, yet Song Wen, hidden in his earthen burrow, detected no anomalies.
Could it be that Du'e really isn't plotting anything behind the scenes? Song Wen mused.
Clutching a Minor Teleportation Talisman, he suddenly burst from the earth and soared into the sky, hurtling after the Shadow King Gu.
Throughout his pursuit, he remained exceptionally vigilant, his senses keenly scanning his surroundings.
Yet, even after catching up to the Shadow King Gu, no unexpected events occurred.
Song Wen retrieved the storage ring from the Shadow King Gu's mandibles and activated the Black Hole in his Sea of Consciousness to examine it. To his surprise, neither the storage ring nor the jade box containing the spirit grass within bore any divine sense imprints.
The weight that had been pressing on Song Wen's heart finally lifted, yet he couldn't shake a sense of disbelief.
If Du'e is so trustworthy, what excuse will I use to squeeze more benefits out of him in the future?
The moment this thought crossed Song Wen's mind, he felt a pang of shame at his own insatiable greed.
Just moments ago, he had been fretting about securing the storage ring; now, he was already scheming about his next extortion attempt against Du'e.
He shook his head violently, banishing these chaotic thoughts.
The immediate priority is finding a suitable secluded location for my seclusion, Song Wen thought to himself as he hurried onward.
According to Ye Bing, the strength of one's divine soul directly determined success in advancing to the Void Refinement stage. Thus, during this expedition, he had spared no expense, purchasing vast quantities of demon beast souls from the Rotting Ghost Market and Cloudveil City, spending over ten thousand high-grade spirit stones.
For this seclusion, he planned to directly break through to the Void Refinement stage. Although the Withered Desolation Marsh was remote, it lay only a few million miles from Cloudveil City, and cultivators occasionally passed through. The cataclysmic celestial phenomena accompanying a Void Refinement breakthrough would undoubtedly be earth-shattering, easily attracting unwanted attention and prying eyes.
Thus, the Withered Desolation Marsh was far from an ideal place for secluded cultivation. Song Wen needed to find a more secluded location.
At this moment, the disadvantages of being a solitary rogue cultivator became painfully clear.
If he had a powerful sect or clan backing him, they could have provided protection during this critical breakthrough to the void refinement stage.
Even without such a powerful backing, having trustworthy companions nearby to serve as Dharma protectors would have sufficed.
Instead, he was forced to rack his brains for a solution.
After fleeing tens of thousands of miles, Song Wen landed in a mountain ravine. He retrieved a jade slip and channeled spiritual power into it.
Instantly, a topographical map materialized before him, slowly taking shape.
The map was crudely drawn, with many areas sketched in only the barest detail. Yet it had been hard-won, obtained after slaying Chi Pei.
For this was a map of the entire Qicang Island, encompassing the Qicang Domain, the Qianchang Wilderness, and the Rotting Miasma Ridge.
Song Wen's gaze swept across the map, finally settling on the edge of the Rotting Miasma Ridge.
The outer regions of Rotting Miasma Ridge were rarely visited by cultivators due to the pervasive miasma. The demon beasts and poisonous insects in this area were generally weak, making it a suitable place for breakthroughs.
After studying the map for a while, Song Wen's gaze shifted upward, settling on the northern part of Qicang Domain.
There, a gray, hazy expanse stretched out, completely unmarked.
This was the infamous Primordial Qi Death Zone, an endless realm saturated with Primordial Qi. Any cultivator or living being who dared to enter risked being corrupted and transformed into a Resentful Spirit.
In addition to Resentful Spirits, Nether Foxes, and the omnipresent Primordial Qi, the Death Zone harbored unique dangers not found in the Misty Ghost Realm of the Lower Realm, such as the shadow voids.
Song Wen stored the jade slip, rose into the air, and flew northward.
The Spiritual Qi concentration on Qicang Island was limited, and the spiritual objects it nurtured could only support cultivators up to the Body Integration Stage.
Determined not to be trapped on this island, Song Wen knew he had to leave.
Based on the information he had gathered, there were only two ways to escape: the Veiled Moon Hall's Teleportation Array and crossing the Primordial Qi Death Zone.
Since the Veiled Moon Hall's Teleportation Array was currently inaccessible, crossing the Death Zone remained his only option.
Despite its legendary dangers, Song Wen was determined to see it for himself.
(End of the Chapter)
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