Undercurrents Stirring, Feint East and Strike West

"Those bald... ahem, compassionate masters from the Western Teachings are putting on performance art near Liubo Immortal Island?" When Xuanwei heard the message Luo Xuan had sent back, his first reaction was that absurdity had opened the door for absurdity—absurdity had come home!

He had just refuted Maitreya's "karma" theory right in front of the Saint at Biyou Palace, and the next moment those people had run off to Liubo Immortal Island, where he had made his fortune by getting beaten up and escaped with his life, to conduct a "search"? Their retaliation... no, their efficiency in "forming karmic ties" was far too fast!

The key was, aside from the Spiritual Root Seeds spewed out by the secret realm's eruption last time—the biggest and plumpest one having been pocketed by him—and an ill-tempered old turtle at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal level that probably had a bad case of morning grumpiness, what else in those waters was worth the Western Teachings' attention? Surely they had not set their sights on Kui Niu's hide, planning to catch him and make a few subwoofers so their chanting would have a better rhythm?

"System, bring up the energy records for the Liubo Immortal Island waters. Focus on analyzing abnormal fluctuations before and after the previous secret realm eruption, especially frequencies that may resonate with the Chaos Bead or the Remnant Seed of Jianmu." As he issued the command inwardly, Xuanwei pondered the Western Teachings' motives.

[Retrieving data... Analysis in progress...]

[Energy records for the Liubo Immortal Island waters show that, aside from the known secret realm eruption and the life field of the Mysterious Female Ink Turtle, there are three faint anomalies:]

[1. Residual spatial fluctuations from when the host obtained the Remnant Seed of Jianmu. (Partially absorbed by the Chaos Bead.)]

[2. Traces of spatial turbulence disturbance from when the host teleported away. (Mixed with the Chaos Bead and an unknown power.)]

[3. Suspected remnants of an extremely concealed... spatial marking? Not left by the host or San Xiao. Energy properties lean toward... conversion and guidance?]

Remnants of a spatial marking? Properties of conversion and guidance?

Xuanwei's immortal-energy body suddenly tensed!

"Damn it! Could Maitreya have secretly left some kind of 'Anchor of Fate' in that cursed place while I was teleporting away and space was unstable?!" A dreadful suspicion surged into his mind.

It was like those shady apps from his previous life, installing a background program on your phone without your knowledge, ready to track your location and spending habits at any time! Maitreya had seemed speechless after being refuted by him and had left resentfully. Could he have left this move behind in secret? His target was probably not merely the Remnant Seed of Jianmu, but more likely the Chaos Bead—the thing that resonated with the seed and whose aura was strongest on Xuanwei himself!

"They're making a big show of 'searching' around Liubo Immortal Island to draw our attention, but what they really want is to activate or exploit that hidden spatial marking and directly lock onto me—or... lock onto whatever is most closely connected to the Chaos Bead?" Xuanwei felt his reasoning gradually becoming clear, while a chill crawled up his nonexistent spine.

Other than him, the bound host, the thing most closely linked to the Chaos Bead was the mysterious Light Cocoon beneath the back mountain of Golden Ao Island, which was being "fed" by both him and the Chaos Bead!

The Chaos Origin contained within that Light Cocoon was incomparably pure and ancient. If the Western Teachings sensed it, it would absolutely provoke greed a hundred times more frenzied than the Remnant Seed of Jianmu! After all, the Remnant Seed of Jianmu still fell within the category of an Innate Spiritual Root, while that Light Cocoon was very likely the embryonic form of an Innate Chaos Being! Their value could not be compared!

"Feint east, strike west! Those bald donkeys really know how to play dirty!" Xuanwei instantly could not sit still. The Light Cocoon beneath the Medicine Garden was now his key long-term investment project. He supplied it every day with good food and drink—Chaos Spiritual Energy—hoping it would eventually hatch into some ridiculously powerful Chaos Divine Beast or Innate Dao Embryo to serve as his bodyguard, or perhaps his mount. How could he let the Western Teachings get their hands on it?

He immediately wanted to rush out of his meditation chamber and reinforce the defenses beneath the Medicine Garden.

However, just as his steps, driven by thought, began to move, he forcibly stopped.

No. He could not throw himself into a panic.

First, this was only his speculation, with no concrete evidence. If the Western Teachings truly had some other scheme at Liubo Immortal Island, then him jumping at shadows here would only make him look guilty.

Second, the Medicine Garden lay in the core region of Golden Ao Island, guarded by Master Tongtian and protected by the Myriad Immortals Array. No matter how bold the Western Teachings were, would they dare directly assault a Saint's Dojo just to "dig for treasure"? Their more likely approach would be to use mysterious methods like Maitreya's "karma" and "resonance" for remote tracking or subtle infiltration.

Finally, he was now a direct disciple of the Interception Sect, and people watched his every move. Having just become a target of the Western Teachings, if he hurried over to guard an "ordinary" Medicine Garden, would that not be an obvious giveaway?

"I need to think of a safer way..." Xuanwei forced himself to calm down as his mind raced.

Report directly to his master? On what grounds? Say that he suspected the Western Teachings wanted to steal an unidentified egg he had hidden underground? Leaving aside whether his master would think he had been hit in the head by a door, explaining the Light Cocoon's origins alone would be enough to give him a headache.

Ask Senior Brother Duobao or the San Xiao sisters for help? He would face the same problems of trust and explanation. Besides, favors were hard to repay.

"Looks like I'll still have to rely on myself, and... on this." Xuanwei sank his consciousness into his sea of awareness and looked toward the Chaos Bead, now round and profound, with Dao patterns flowing across its surface.

[Chaos Bead (Fragment), restoration progress: 5.1%. Functions: Primary Chaos Domain, Mustard Seed Space (diameter: five li, time flow rate 1:15), Primary Space Marking.]

[Hint: The host may attempt to use the Chaos Bead's essential characteristics of "Heavenly Secret Shielding" and "Law Distortion," combined with the "Primary Chaos Domain," to conceal and interfere with information in a designated area.]

Information concealment and interference?

Xuanwei's eyes lit up! Right! The Chaos Bead's greatest advantage was its ability to transcend the Heavenly Dao and conceal karma and causality! Though it was only a fragment now and its functions were incomplete, perhaps it could interfere with a spatial marking left by a Quasi-Saint who had not acted with full force...

He acted at once!

Xuanwei did not immediately go to the Medicine Garden. Instead, he first went to the Myriad Laws Tower, using the excuse that he needed to comprehend a concealment divine ability to exchange for several mid-to-high-grade jade slips on the principles of Spatial Isolation and Formation Shielding. He had to put on a complete act and could not let anyone see his intentions too clearly.

After returning to his own cave abode—a small pocket heaven assigned to him after becoming a direct disciple—he carefully studied those jade slips, comparing their principles with the Chaos Bead's functions. Then, he quietly unfolded a Primary Chaos Domain only one zhang in diameter, completely enveloping himself.

Within the Chaos Domain's coverage, he felt the karmic links between himself and the outside world become somewhat blurred. He tried to mobilize the Chaos Bead's power, imitating the shielding formation patterns recorded in the jade slips to construct an invisible, ever-shifting chaotic barrier at the domain's edge.

The process consumed an enormous amount of mental energy and demanded extremely precise control over Chaos Qi. Several times, unstable energy nearly caused the barrier to collapse. The leaking chaos aura even stimulated several ornamental Spiritual Plants in his cave abode into growing wildly, nearly punching through the roof.

[Chaos Domain application proficiency increased! Control over the Chaos Bead slightly enhanced!]

[Successfully constructed "Low-Tier Chaos Barrier" (Effect: Can interfere with detection below the Golden Immortal level to a certain extent. Has a limited shielding effect against specific karmic markings. Duration depends on the host's energy and concentration.)]

It worked!

Looking at the area before him, which seemed no different from its surroundings but secretly contained chaos and faintly distorted laws, Xuanwei let out a breath. Though it was only a "low-tier version" and its effects might be limited, it was at least an active defensive measure. That was better than waiting helplessly.

Next came the question of how to cover the area beneath the Medicine Garden with this Chaos Barrier without leaving a trace.

Running directly to the Medicine Garden and opening his domain there would be too conspicuous.

After pondering for a long while, he finally came up with a plan to openly build a road while secretly crossing the river.

First, he made a high-profile visit to the Medicine Garden, inspected the Spiritual Plants' growth, and complained to Senior Brother Ma Sui that the earth-vein spiritual energy had recently felt somewhat sluggish and might affect the sweetness of the Vermillion Fruit. Ma Sui agreed deeply and remarked that his junior brother's standards for quality were truly strict. Then, using the excuse that he needed to sort out the spiritual veins beneath the Medicine Garden to nourish the Spiritual Plants more effectively, Xuanwei applied for permission to make "minor adjustments" to the shallow underground layers.

The reason was entirely reasonable. For a direct disciple obsessed with the Dao of Spiritual Plants, tinkering with the underground spiritual veins of his own Medicine Garden to improve crop quality could not have been more normal.

After obtaining permission, Xuanwei began working diligently. During the day, he truly sorted out the chaotic tributaries of the earth veins, guiding spiritual energy to nourish the medicinal fields more evenly, looking every bit like a conscientious Spiritual Plant cultivator. At night, he quietly unfolded his Chaos Domain and seeped the Chaos Barrier, like invisible paint, thread by thread and layer by layer, toward the deeper cave where the Light Cocoon rested.

The process required extreme caution. He had to avoid any possible surveillance, such as Senior Brother Duobao's occasional sweep of divine sense, while also ensuring he did not disturb the sensitive "neighbor" underground. Progress was painfully slow, like ants moving house.

For several days in a row, Xuanwei farmed by day and "painted walls" by night, so exhausted that his immortal energy nearly turned gray. Yet he could sense that as the Chaos Barrier gradually spread, the unique chaotic fluctuations emitted by the Light Cocoon were indeed weakened and distorted considerably, as though shrouded beneath a thick fog.

"This should... be somewhat useful, right?" Looking at the underground cave, now wrapped layer upon layer in chaos aura and seemingly vanished from perception, Xuanwei felt slightly reassured.

However, just when he thought he could finally catch his breath, Senior Brother Luo Xuan, who was responsible for patrolling the East Sea, sent back more detailed and even more unsettling news.

The Western Teachings' search near Liubo Immortal Island was not random! They seemed to be moving according to a particular route and had begun setting up strange artifacts at several key points. Those artifacts emitted gentle golden light, yet faint spatial fluctuations lurked within. Judging by the formation, they were not searching for anything at all. Instead, they seemed to be... setting up an enormous formation!

Moreover, according to reports from Demon Race scouts lurking nearby, those Western cultivators had been vaguely overheard mentioning words such as "resonance," "guidance," and "Guiding the Fated" in hushed conversation. It seemed they were certain that the "thing," or person, they sought would be drawn to the formation on its own!

When Xuanwei received this news, he was watering a newly cultivated Star Orchid. His hand jerked, and the watering can condensed from immortal energy nearly smashed into his own foot.

A formation? Guiding the Fated?

Was this not a gigantic, targeted fishing rig?! They were using a formation to forcibly amplify the effect of the "Anchor of Fate" Maitreya had left behind, attempting to reel in the "fish"—either him or the Light Cocoon—directly to the West across the boundless sea!

What a sinister scheme!

If their target truly was the Light Cocoon, then once the formation activated, with the cocoon so far away and at such a crucial stage of incubation, it would instinctively crave Chaos Origin. If it was fooled by the "guiding Buddha Light" simulated by that formation—perhaps with deceptive signals carrying some chaotic characteristics as well—and resonated with it or even stirred abnormally, then things would become very interesting indeed!

At that point, the Light Cocoon's aura would likely be completely exposed! Even with the Chaos Barrier weakening it, it might not be able to conceal it entirely against amplification from a formation of that scale!

He had to stop them! At the very least, he had to disrupt the formation's construction!

But how could he stop them? He was a mere Celestial Immortal. If he went to the East Sea and fought head-on against a group of Western Teachings cultivators who were at least Grand Unity Golden Immortals, would that not be simply delivering himself to their doorstep?

Report it? The evidence was still insufficient. Based only on speculation and the fact that the other side was setting up a formation—they could easily claim they were purifying the sea and saving all living beings—it would be difficult to persuade the sect to intervene directly and trigger a war between the two teachings.

Just as Xuanwei was frantic with worry, feeling like an ant on a hot pan—a gaseous ant, at that—a crisp voice filled with eager anticipation rang out behind him.

"Junior Brother Xuanwei! Why are you spacing out? Did you also hear about those Western Teachings people causing trouble in the East Sea?"

Xuanwei turned around and saw that Fairy Bixiao had arrived at his Medicine Garden without his noticing. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking at him with an expression that clearly said, "Something fun is happening." Beside her stood Qiongxiao, looking slightly helpless, and... Yunxiao, whose expression was cool but whose eyes held the same trace of gravity.

The three San Xiao sisters! Why had they come?

Xuanwei's heart stirred, and he suddenly saw a chance to turn things around.