Chapter 784: Opportunity (II)

For a martial artist to condense a Dao Body similar to a Nascent Soul, they first had to break free of the seven shackles within their body and absorb the Dao Origin power released when those shackles shattered. For Lin Zheyu, however, this was no easy task. Thus far, he had only broken free of three shackles. As for the fourth, even he had no idea when he would be able to break it.

Time passed slowly. Cao Hongchang contacted Nascent Soul realm demonic cultivators far and wide, as well as quite a few at the Golden Core realm. During this time, he frequently lingered around Redcloud Island, gathering information and devising a plan to seize it. Meanwhile, Lin Zheyu had not emerged since entering the library. Its fourth floor had become his place of seclusion.

There's a good chance this could work... Lin Zheyu thought.

After more than ten days of contemplation and experimentation, he found an alternative approach that seemed somewhat feasible. He would begin with demon arts and the Yao Dao! Although demonic cultivators also progressed through the Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul realms, they followed a different path than the Immortal Dao.

At its core, it was the Yao Dao. This was also why demonic cultivators did not need to obtain the qualifications for advancement like traditional immortal cultivators when advancing to the Golden Core and Nascent Soul realms.

The essence of the Yao Dao lay in the demonic patterns upon a yao's body, which bore the entirety of its cultivation. The demon arts cultivated by demonic cultivators similarly condensed special runes resembling demonic patterns. These runes were a variant of the demonic patterns found on yao and shared the same origin.

When Lin Zheyu previously studied the Nascent Soul within Cao Hongchang, he had seen it densely inscribed with these variant demonic patterns. Now, he intended to begin his research with them.

I wonder how Cao Hongchang's search for Nascent Soul realm demonic cultivators is going. If I'm lucky, perhaps this trip will present me with an opportunity to master short-range teleportation, Lin Zheyu thought.

He rose slowly, then vanished from the fourth floor of the library in a slight blur. His powerful senses spread out and enveloped the entirety of Evilheart Island. Lin Zheyu's figure blurred once more before abruptly disappearing.

The surrounding demonic cultivators hurriedly bowed when they saw Lin Zheyu arrive. "Greetings, Sect Master!"

Lin Zheyu paid them no heed. Instead, he looked toward Kong Yujing and asked calmly, "Is Fellow Cao not in the sect?"

"Master, Vice Sect Master Cao has gone to investigate the situation on Redcloud Island. It may be several more days before he returns," Kong Yujing replied respectfully.

After waiting for some time without hearing any further instructions from Lin Zheyu, she cautiously raised her head, only to discover that he had already left.

"Phew..." Kong Yujing let out a long, relieved breath. Her master's presence was becoming increasingly intimidating.

***

Fierce winds howled across the Eastern Sea, whipping up towering waves. Lin Zheyu merged into the void and strode through it until he reached the waters around Redcloud Island.

After spending so long in secluded cultivation, it was time to get to work. To conquer Redcloud Island, they first needed to break its island-protecting formation. Lin Zheyu concealed himself within the void not far from the island. The Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness opened as he began studying Redcloud Island's protective formation.

A long while passed.

The cultivator who set up this formation must possess a complete Formation Dao inheritance. This formation is far more formidable than the Evilheart Sect's sect-protecting formation, Lin Zheyu thought.

This was a comprehensive fourth-tier formation integrating defensive, offensive, and illusionary functions, making it a standard island-protecting formation. Although Lin Zheyu was currently only a second-tier formation cultivator, his inability to set up formations of this level did not mean he could not break them. Breaking formations was precisely what he excelled at.

On the Path to Heaven, he had been restricted to using only his Formation Dao abilities to unravel the formations without drawing upon any external power. Otherwise, he could have easily brute-forced his way straight into the region of fourth-tier formations. He might even have been able to break through a fifth-tier formation forcibly.

Lin Zheyu shook his head slightly. "Although its creator possessed a complete inheritance, it still falls far short of the Formation Hall's inheritance. This fourth-tier formation doesn't even seem as perfect as the second-tier formations on the Path to Heaven. It has no beauty to it whatsoever."

After witnessing the flawless formations on the Path to Heaven, every other formation now seemed exceedingly crude to him. The formations on the Path to Heaven were simply too perfect. Not one of the restriction runes composing them was superfluous. Every rune served its purpose perfectly and was irreplaceable.

Three days later, Lin Zheyu let out a long breath, and the Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness slowly closed.

Eighteen flaws. That should be enough, Lin Zheyu thought. His figure blurred slightly and vanished.

On an uninhabited island near Redcloud Island, Cao Hongchang sat cross-legged upon a massive rock by the shore, watching the fierce winds churn up waves across the sea. Gusts of sea wind buffeted him, making his robes flap loudly.

"How are your preparations coming along?" Lin Zheyu asked calmly as his figure slowly materialized.

"We're nearly ready to make our move. However, Redcloud Island's protective formation was set up by an elder of the Hidden Moon Sect. It's quite powerful and won't be easy to break. I'll have to rely on you to deal with it," Cao Hongchang said.

He had spent a long time preparing in secret before Lin Zheyu arrived, and over the past ten days or so, he had stayed here almost constantly.

Lin Zheyu tossed him a jade talisman as he said calmly, "Then we can begin. These are several flaws in Redcloud Island's protective formation, along with methods for exploiting them. I'll conceal myself nearby when the time comes. If the formation undergoes any changes, I'll inform you immediately."

"So quickly?" Cao Hongchang could not help exclaiming.

Good heavens! Redcloud Island's protective formation had been personally set up by an elder of the Hidden Moon Sect. It was a genuine fourth-tier formation, far beyond anything the Evilheart Sect's island-protecting formation could compare to. Yet after only a few days, Fellow Xiao Zhe had already identified its flaws!

Suppressing his astonishment, Cao Hongchang extended his spiritual sense and eagerly read the contents of the jade slip. Disbelief deepened on his face until he finally let out an amazed sigh.

"You truly are remarkable!" Cao Hongchang exclaimed as he put away the jade slip.

"A trivial skill," Lin Zheyu replied casually. "How did it go with contacting the other demonic cultivators?"

"I've already reached several of them. Four Nascent Soul realm cultivators can arrive within ten days, while other matters have delayed another seven and may need more than twenty days to get here. Besides the Nascent Soul realm demonic cultivators, I also contacted quite a few at the Golden Core realm, twenty-three in total," Cao Hongchang said with a smile.

The subject put him in an excellent mood. If everything went smoothly, he would make a fortune from this deal and fill his coffers to overflowing.

"Well done. Once we take Redcloud Island, I'll purge the yao will from your body once for free," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

"Thank you, Fel..." Cao Hongchang was initially delighted and about to express his gratitude, but he immediately sensed that something was amiss. "Hmm? Can I save this opportunity for later?"

"No. If you pass it up, it's gone. Are you sure you don't want it?" Lin Zheyu asked with a smile.

With a Nascent Soul realm demonic cultivator right beside him, Lin Zheyu already had the ideal subject for researching short-range teleportation. However, if he stated his intentions outright, Cao Hongchang would undoubtedly become suspicious. Thus, Lin Zheyu offered to help him for free as a reward for finding the other Nascent Soul realm demonic cultivators.

Would this fellow really be so kind? Cao Hongchang narrowed his eyes and covertly studied Lin Zheyu's expression, feeling rather suspicious.

After thinking for a moment, he concluded that if Xiao Zhe intended to harm him, there would have been no need to wait until now. Cao Hongchang therefore replied decisively, "Then you have my thanks."

Lin Zheyu said with a smile, "No need for thanks. You are the vice sect master of the Evilheart Sect, after all. The sect will be counting on you to achieve great prosperity in the future. Let's go back and prepare for the attack on Redcloud Island."

"All right."