Chapter 576 - 521: Right and Wrong

Chapter 576: Chapter 521: Right and Wrong

Amidst the mountains and ravines, a dark gray Flying Boat shaped like half a blade hovered in the void. Though several people were in the cabin, they had no control over the vessel at all. They could only let it carry them, shuttling in and out of the Bazhou Basin.

This time, the Flying Boat had re-entered the Bazhou Basin and had been hovering for a long time among the mountains and ravines.

Then, at some unknown moment, a streak of crimson blade-light shot across the sky. The mottled hull, hidden within the void, flickered abruptly. Its blade-like prow tore through the void, sending out ripples as the Flying Boat revealed itself to the world.

Without pausing in the slightest, the streak of crimson blade-light plunged directly into the Flying Boat. The vessel’s bladed prow once again tore through space and vanished, leaving behind nothing but a residual spatial fluctuation and the faint traces of Magical Power from the light’s passage across the sky.

Less than a moment later, several streaks of Tunneling Light in various colors arrived in hot pursuit, hovering in the sky.

When they sensed the faint residual spatial fluctuation, the expressions of the pursuers instantly soured.

Soon, more streaks of Tunneling Light arrived one after another. At the sight of the residual spatial fluctuations, their expressions all visibly changed.

The searing Fire Attribute Magical Power and the sharp Sword Intent were gone. This, combined with the lingering spatial fluctuation, was undeniable proof: the target they had pursued for so long had used a Spatial Treasure to escape.

And Spatial Treasures, whether they were teleportation-like items such as a Ten Thousand Miles Flying Escape Talisman or a Space-type Magical Treasure capable of void-travel, all functioned by traversing space directly.

This meant that all residual traces would be annihilated within space itself. Besides locking onto the spatial fluctuations, there was no other way to track them!

Even if they could lock onto the fluctuations, the question remained: in a high-speed pursuit like this, could they guarantee a precise lock on every single jump the target made through the void?

A Chen Family Golden Core Cultivator activated a Compass. As his Magical Power surged into it, the needle spun wildly before instantly pointing to the southwest.

The man called out urgently, "Southwest, about a hundred li from here."

Qing Ling gritted her teeth and commanded coldly, "After them!"

"And send a transmission immediately! Tell all of our clan’s Cultivators stationed to the southwest to move in and intercept!"

The Cultivators acknowledged the order, and their streaks of Tunneling Light once again shot across the sky, resuming the chase that already felt hopeless. ℯℯ𝘭.

Meanwhile, in the void, the Sky-Breaking Flying Boat acted like an unstoppable blade that could cut through anything. It tore through space again and again, hurtling through the void. It changed direction periodically, using the Concealment and extreme speed of its spatial jumps to weave a trail of false traces.

Behind the Sky-Breaking Flying Boat, the streaks of Tunneling Light followed the spatial fluctuations left in its wake. Though they remained in hot pursuit, jumping from place to place, as the Flying Boat continued its void-travel and time wore on, the distance between them only grew. The residual spatial fluctuations also became fainter and fainter.

Until at last, not a single trace could be found in the vast expanse of the world...

But even so, the Flying Boat’s travel through the void did not cease. It continued on without the slightest pause.

The Flying Boat journeyed south, leaving the Bazhou Basin, crossing mountains and ravines, exiting Bazhou itself, and entering the Vast Sea, continuing ever outward.

Only after crossing another several tens of thousands of li did the Flying Boat finally come to a slow stop, hovering in the sky above the sea. It went into Concealment once more, vanishing without a trace.

Meanwhile, the relentless pursuers, still back amidst the sprawling mountains of the Southern Border Continent, had completely lost the Sky-Breaking Flying Boat’s trail.

Faced with a vast, traceless world, all their unwillingness and frustration could only curdle into rage with no outlet.

The massive hunt, which had consumed countless resources and manpower, was forced to an end.

"Send word back. Have the clan’s Punishment Hall immediately issue a bounty for Chu Mu and all Cultivators from the True Understanding Pavilion!"

"Also, compile a file on all of Chu Mu’s known abilities. Archive it in the clan’s intelligence pavilion and distribute copies to all of our Golden Core Cultivators."

"And spread the word. Say that Supreme Treasures from the auction—the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and the Nine Heavens Profound Gold—were all taken by Chu Mu."

"Pin the trouble caused by that youth in Bazhou on him as well. An ancient inheritance... many people will surely be tempted by that..."

Qing Ling’s expression remained calm, but with every word she spoke, her tone grew colder, and the very air around her seemed to become more frigid, more bone-chilling.

"Fairy, should we reveal his status as a Longevity True Inheritor?"

A Cultivator asked, mustering his courage.

"No. If they think he’s a Loose Cultivator, people will act without restraint."

"With the whole world as his enemy, let’s see how free and unrestrained he can be then!"

...

Meanwhile, high in the sky over that same stretch of sea, the Sky-Breaking Flying Boat remained hovering steadily, concealed within the void.

In the Flying Boat’s cabin, Zhao Shuang and two others sat facing one another, at a loss for words. With the return of their senior, Chu Mu, an indescribable pressure seemed to once again settle over them. They sat in mutual, oppressive silence.

In a Secluded Meditation Chamber at the rear of the cabin, Array Prohibitions shimmered, isolating it from the outside world. Chu Mu sat cross-legged. Beneath his tattered robes, the gruesome, bloody wounds covering his body slowly began to heal as his Magical Power circulated.

Under his meditative control, his chaotic Magical Power gradually calmed and returned to a peaceful state.

In this state, his mind was free of all distractions. The great Nascent Soul battle in Bazhou City, the hunt for him, even the utter annihilation of Bazhou City and the entire Bazhou Basin—he pushed it all to the back of his mind for now.

Day after day, the sun rose and set, and time flew by as he focused on healing and recuperating.

Nearly half a year passed. By the time early autumn arrived, bringing a bleak chill to the gentle sea breeze, the surging fluctuations of Magical Power in the Secluded Meditation Chamber finally subsided into silence.

He exhaled a breath of turbid qi that shot out like an arrow for several meters before an invisible force abruptly suppressed and annihilated it.

Chu Mu slowly opened his eyes, his consciousness gradually returning to the present.

With a wave of his sleeve, the wooden wall on one side of the Secluded Meditation Chamber rippled and transformed into a transparent screen.

The view of the vast sea and endless sky filled his vision.

The memory of the inescapable, Heaven-and-Earth-Net-style pursuit resurfaced in his mind. As his thoughts churned, he let out a soft sigh, exhaling another breath of turbid air.

’Right and wrong, good and evil... it’s truly hard to tell them apart.’

’The situation in Bazhou began with the Chen Family, but its roots lay in the turmoil in the Vast Sea, stirred up by some unknown mastermind pulling the strings.’

’And yet, that whole earth-shattering scheme in Bazhou had collapsed at his hands.’

’Of course, it was only natural that the Qing Cang Ancestor would shamelessly attack him, and that nearly twenty Chen Family Golden Core Cultivators would hound him relentlessly, vowing never to give up.’

’As for his own part in it, his entry into Bazhou and everything he did... one could only say he was a pawn of fate, his actions not his own.’

’All those rights and wrongs had culminated in the present situation.’

’It wasn’t what he wanted, nor what he intended. Or perhaps, all those rights and wrongs were simply fated to go awry.’

’That went for him, for the Chen Family, for all the different powers that entered Bazhou, and for the countless Loose Cultivators from All Over the World.’

A wave of indescribable emotion washed over Chu Mu.

’Isn’t this just what the long Immortal Path is like?’

’Smooth sailing only exists in legends.’

’Hardships, dangers, and impassable chasms are the norm.’

’Bazhou...’

Chu Mu gazed out toward the Sea Border. Tens of thousands of li away, beyond the mountains, lay the Bazhou Basin.

’I wonder,’ he thought, ’after half a year, what has become of the situation? That Nascent Soul war, that great cataclysm that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Cultivators... what has it all led to...?’

...