Chapter 580 - 525: Yunshan Archipelago

Chapter 580: Chapter 525: Yunshan Archipelago

Over the sea, the sky rippled. The prow of a Flying Boat, like the edge of a blade, tore through the void, fierce and menacing.

In the blink of an eye, the Flying Boat plunged into another layer of space and vanished, leaving only a faint, residual spatial fluctuation in its wake.

A few breaths later, a crimson gleam suddenly appeared in the sky. A figure in green robes stood against the heavens, his clothes dancing in the wind. Chu Mu surveyed his surroundings, and after briefly getting his bearings, he leaped forward. His body once again transformed into a streak of crimson saber light that shot across the sky and disappeared into the clouds.

After several days of Flying Escape across the vast sea, amidst a constellation of islands, the streak of crimson saber light finally dissipated.

Chu Mu hovered in the sky, an archipelago coming into view before him.

With a flicker of his thoughts, a projection of a Sea Chart materialized. Lifelike models of islands appeared on the pale blue chart. Directly ahead of him lay a cluster of more than a dozen islands, known as an archipelago.

Although it was called an archipelago, in truth, all the islands except for Yunshan Main Island were secular.

However, unlike the desolate secular islands elsewhere in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, these were not abandoned. The Yunshan Business Alliance, which was entrenched here, had developed them. Some islands were used to raise mortals with promising bloodlines, while others were set up with Spirit Gathering Arrays to create Low Tier Spirit Fields for cultivating the most basic Spiritual Objects in the Cultivation Immortal Realm.

With just a single Tier Two Spiritual Vein spread across a dozen or so islands, the Yunshan Business Alliance had managed to create a surprisingly vibrant and thriving enterprise.

As for this Yunshan Business Alliance, it was hardly a major power. It was overseen by only a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators, the strongest of whom was merely a Fake Pill Cultivator.

In the Inner Sea, small powers like this that survived by clinging to the Chen Family were a dime a dozen, constantly rising and falling.

Even if one was destroyed for some reason, as long as this region of the sea remained under the Chen Family’s control, a new one would seamlessly take its place.

It was just like the bestowment of Spirit Veins in the Great Chu of old, or the enfeoffment of marquises on the Demon Suppression Islands. For many Cultivators, a Spirit Vein and a foundation to build upon was an irresistible temptation.

Countless Cultivators would endlessly strive and fight for such an opportunity.

After reviewing the information on the Sea Chart, Chu Mu paused in thought. He then retracted his aura, concealing his Divine Soul Aura and Cultivation. Taking a step forward, he headed toward Yunshan Main Island like any ordinary Cultivator.

Having temporarily shed the detachment of a High Tier Cultivator who traveled high above the world, Chu Mu found himself reacquainted with a long-forgotten sight: the bloody law of the jungle.

The strict monopoly on resources and knowledge guaranteed that beyond the established order of the Cultivation Immortal Realm, the law of the jungle would inevitably prevail.

To kill or be killed was an almost unchanging refrain.

The area outside Yunshan Island was, of course, no different.

With his Cultivation aura retracted and traveling alone, Chu Mu was still over a hundred li from the Yunshan Marketplace when he clearly sensed several gazes converging on him from the shadows.

Chu Mu’s expression remained calm as he continued leisurely toward the Yunshan Marketplace, waiting for some "fated" individuals to walk right into his trap.

He still needed a way to slip into the Marketplace unnoticed.

In less than a moment, a burst of Spiritual Qi erupted. The hidden Cultivators closed in, and a scene of murder and robbery—all too common outside a Marketplace—seemed set to unfold.

This time, however, the target of this familiar tune was, for the first time in a long while, Chu Mu himself.

With a light flick of his finger, a cold glint that had been streaking toward him from the shadows froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. All of its surging, sharp momentum came to a dead stop right before him.

As this scene unfolded, an array of complex and wonderful expressions appeared on the faces of the surrounding Cultivators.

With a casual wipe of his hand, the cold glint vanished. A Flying Needle, about an inch long, now hovered in his palm.

With a flicker of his Divine Sense, all connection between the Flying Needle and its owner was instantly erased.

"S-Senior..."

The faces of the few Cultivators turned deathly pale, and they struggled to stay on their feet.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to flee, but the instant they appeared, an indescribable terror had enveloped and locked onto them.

Though no words of warning were spoken, a primal instinct screamed at them with perfect clarity: ’Don’t move. If you move... you will die!’

"A Flying Needle..."

Chu Mu chuckled, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

After toying with it for a moment, he finally looked at the three trembling figures. The flicker of emotion in his eyes was gone. With a sweep of his sleeve, the three terrified Cultivators vanished from the world.

He leaped into the air, but instead of continuing toward the Marketplace, he changed direction and headed out toward the vast, Deep Sea.

Several hours later, the soaring crimson saber light landed on a deserted island. After setting up several isolating Array Prohibitions, Chu Mu released the three captives from his Qiankun Bag, and they fell to the ground.

Before the three could even beg for mercy, Chu Mu raised his hand and formed a sign. A Technique guided down several Array Prohibition Chains, completely sealing their speech, movement, and even their Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Watching the three despair-filled faces, Chu Mu’s gaze flickered, a slight ripple of emotion appearing within it.

But this ripple lasted only for an instant before vanishing without a trace.

Then, Chu Mu raised his hand and formed more signs, casting several Techniques upon the imprisoned Cultivators. Wisps of searing True Flame began to emerge from their bodies.

Killing the living... to perform Alchemy!

As the Techniques fell one by one, under the searing True Flame, the living people imprisoned there visibly transformed into several crimson Elixir Pills—the Heavenly Deceit Pills, meant to deceive the heavens and cross the sea!

The True Flame continued to burn for nearly a full day and night before finally extinguishing.

With a thought, three improved Heavenly Deceit Pills hovered in his palm. He picked one up and consumed it. An entirely different Divine Soul Aura emerged from him as his Illusion God Mask activated, and his figure and appearance shifted.

He reached out and took an Identity Token in his hand. Brushing it with his Divine Soul, the Token rippled, and the Cultivator’s information appeared before him.

"Chen Cang..."

Chu Mu murmured the name. With a flip of his hand, the remaining two Identity Tokens and their corresponding Heavenly Deceit Pills vanished into his Storage Space.

The surrounding Array Prohibitions dispersed. The True Flame flared, incinerating all remaining traces. A streak of crimson saber light shot across the sky, once again heading for the Yunshan Marketplace.

This time, Chu Mu didn’t pause at all. Disguised as the Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivator "Chen Cang," with an Identity Token and a Divine Soul Aura that could deceive the heavens, he passed through the Yunshan Port without any hindrance and set foot on Yunshan Main Island.

Perhaps the lesson from his experience in Bazhou City had been too profound. The moment he entered Yunshan Island, before even paying attention to the Marketplace, Chu Mu circled the entire island, carefully observing its Array Prohibitions.

After confirming multiple times that there was nothing out of the ordinary, Chu Mu finally relaxed a little. He shifted his gaze and at last turned his attention to the Yunshan Marketplace before him.

The Yunshan Archipelago was in a remote location, and Yunshan Main Island itself was only a few hundred acres in size. But according to the Sea Chart, it was the only Marketplace within a radius of several thousand li.

Furthermore, it was rumored that there were several decent Spirit Ore Veins near the archipelago, so a good number of Low Tier Cultivators had put down roots here.

With a large number of Cultivators, the Marketplace naturally prospered. Coupled with several centuries of management by the Yunshan Business Alliance, Yunshan Island had become a rather famous Marketplace in the nearby seas.

It was even specially marked and described in detail on the common Sea Charts.

Chu Mu didn’t much care whether the Marketplace was prosperous or not. With his current Cultivation, it was highly unlikely that the trade and commerce at a Marketplace of this level could provide what he needed.

His needs were more likely to be met through personal opportunities, at Golden Core Level auctions and trade fairs—within a relatively small and exclusive circle.

His main purpose for entering Yunshan Island was still related to the catastrophe in Bazhou.

Regardless of the outcome, that Nascent Soul battle was bound to affect the situation of the entire Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, and even the Great Chu Cultivation Immortal World.

And he was the..."prime culprit"...in that whole affair. Everything that had happened was inextricably linked to him!

...