Chaotic Origin Energy

His gaze was sinister, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Don't rush to kill him."

The black-robed Heavenly Monarch was slightly taken aback. "What does the Elder mean?"

"Killing a Personal Disciple of the Mount Shu Sect Master would come at too high a price. Even if we succeed, Mount Shu won't let it go. If that madman, Daoist Wuzhen, really goes berserk, my Ji Clan will suffer a great loss."

"So, what are your plans...?"

"Transmit the aura and characteristics of his transformation in the Divine Pool to the Nine Provinces Darknet." The Ji Clan Grand Elder's voice was as cold as the ice of deep winter. "No signatures, no tracing. Just release the message, let everyone know— Chen Changqing's soul has undergone a mutation, and his body may contain remnants of Chaotic Origin Energy."

The black-robed Heavenly Monarch's pupils contracted.

He instantly understood the intention of the Ji Clan Grand Elder.

Chaotic Origin Energy.

Such High Antiquity- level heavenly materials and earthly treasures are a fatal temptation for any Cultivator. Even just the words "may contain remnants" are enough to make countless powerful figures on the Nine Provinces Continent green with envy.

The Ji Clan doesn't need to do anything themselves.

Once the news gets out, there will naturally be plenty of people trying to take advantage of Chen Changqing.

"High." The black-robed Heavenly Monarch uttered a single word.

The Ji Clan Grand Elder closed his eyes. On the surface of the Ten-Thousand-Mile Heart-Link Mirror, the crimson-gold light continued to move slowly westward.

"Have the Shadow Guard continue following."

"Spread the word before Chen Changqing returns to Mount Shu."

"I'd like to see if this little beast who killed two generations of my Ji Clan can withstand the greed of the entire Nine Provinces."

The snake patterns on the Bronze Mirror seemed to come alive, wriggling slightly.

The Mount Shu Warship sailed smoothly through the Void-Crossing Mists for most of the day.

As the sun began to set, the grayish-white fog gradually thinned, and the outline of the continental coastline could be vaguely seen in the distance. After a little over a day's journey, they would arrive at Falling Star City, a key border town in the Western Nine Provinces, from where they would transfer to the exclusive teleportation array of Mount Shu.

On the deck, the disciples' excitement had mostly worn off.

Luo Futian and Jian Zhenzi finished their game of chess and leaned against the ship's railing, chatting idly. The Little Black Dog, Wangcai, finished gnawing on a bone and lay down on the deck, fast asleep, its four paws twitching occasionally, as if chasing something in its dreams.

Everything appeared calm and relaxed.

Inside the core room, Chen Changqing closed his eyes again.

Over the past half day, his Divine Sense had fully adapted to the new precision brought by the Red-Gold Primordial Spirit. Precise perception within a range of 500 miles was as natural as breathing. When he deliberately pushed it to the limit of 3,000 miles, although the precision decreased, he could still clearly capture the fluctuations of Law Power of Cultivator below the Heavenly Monarch level.

The three tracking auras were still there.

Eight hundred miles away, in the void, a triangular formation.

The location has hardly changed.

"They've been following me for most of the day, they're really patient," Chen Changqing thought to himself with a sneer.

He shifted the focus of his Divine Sense to the three auras and began to analyze them in more detail.

The first aura was cold and yin, with a hint of bloodiness in the fluctuations of Law Power. It was a characteristic of the Great Chu Dynasty's Cultivation Method; Chen Changqing had remembered this scent when he fought against the True Lord Blood River on the arena.

The second aura was balanced and peaceful, yet it possessed a subtle, metallic sharpness. It was a variant of the Xuanming Yin-Yang Way True Martial Immortal Sect, inherited from Lu Changsheng's Cultivation Method, only more refined.

The third aura was the most strange. Its fluctuations were extremely weak, almost blending into the background of the void. But after careful discernment, Chen Changqing detected a very familiar frequency within it— the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion.

He and the Shadow Fiend who was pierced through the brain by his sword in the arena belonged to the same sect.

"Great Chu, Zhenwu, Heavenly Mystery Pavilion." Chen Changqing mentally listed the three names. "Only the Ji Clan is missing."

The Ji Clan couldn't possibly remain uninvolved.

Chen Changqing's Divine Sense pushed outwards again, crossing 1,000 li, 1,500 li, 2,000 li...

Two thousand three hundred miles away.

He found it.

A highly concealed mirror-like reflection wave hid behind a thick layer of clouds. It wasn't the aura of a human, but the aura of Law Treasure.

A sensory-type Law Treasure that is currently in operation.

"Someone is using Law Treasure to monitor my location." Chen Changqing's eyes narrowed slightly.

He couldn't determine the specific type of the Law Treasure, but the wave characteristics reflected by the mirror were extremely unique—it was as if a mirror had been erected in the void, constantly reflecting his aura back onto the object.

One-way perception.

It's difficult for the person being monitored to detect because the Law Treasure itself doesn't actively release detection waves. It simply "receives" the aura naturally dissipating from the target and then transmits it to the user.

"If my senses hadn't tripled after the transformation of my soul, I really wouldn't have been able to detect this thing."

Chen Changqing took a deep breath.

The situation was more complicated than he had initially assessed.

Three Half-Step Heavenly Monarch assassins were assigned to closely monitor the Mount Shu Warship's course and speed in real time.

More than two thousand miles away, there was another long-range sensing Law Treasure responsible for locking onto his aura.

This is a complete intelligence chain.

There must be an ambush point ahead.

"Interesting." Chen Changqing slowly opened his eyes, and a spot of crimson-gold light circled deep within his pupils.

He stood up, pushed open the door to the inner room, and walked towards the deck.

The evening sea breeze carried a salty, fishy smell. The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the mist orange-red, making the entire sky look like it was soaking in a vat of diluted blood.

Daoist Chen Yuan remained standing at the bow of the boat.

Chen Changqing walked to his side and lowered his voice.

"Master, change the flight path."

Daoist Chen Yuan turned his head to look at him.

Should we take the northern or southern route?

"None of them are leaving," Chen Changqing said. "There are problems on both lines."

Daoist Chen Yuan frowned. "How did you know?"

"There's a surveillance Law Treasure locking onto my aura 2,300 miles away." Chen Changqing's tone was calm, as if he were discussing what to have for dinner. "Since they're going to such lengths to monitor me, they must have already set up an ambush along the main shipping lanes ahead. The Falling Star Gorge on the southern route is narrow, making it ideal for an ambush. The Sky-Reaching Mountains on the northern route have spies from the Heavenly Gate; I obtained relevant intelligence in the Secret Realm."

Daoist Chen Yuan remained silent for three breaths.

"Your Divine Sense... can cover two thousand three hundred miles?"

"Three thousand miles." Chen Changqing held up three fingers.

Daoist Chen Yuan gave his Personal Disciple a deep look.

The limit of Divine Sense in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm is only about three thousand miles under normal conditions. This young man in the Middle True Lord Stage has already caught up with the divine soul perception of Cultivator are two major realms higher than him.

"What are you planning to do?" Daoist Chen Yuan stopped dwelling on his shock and asked for a solution directly.

Chen Changqing turned his head to look at the southwest horizon.

"We'll cross the Netherworld Trench directly through the Void-Crossing Mists and enter through the underwater tunnel. Very few people travel that route, and it's teeming with High Antiquity ferocious beasts, but our ship's combat strength is more than enough to handle them."

"The Netherworld Trench?" Bai Wuya had appeared unnoticed, his expression strange. "The seawater there is permeated with Netherworld Qi; even Heavenly Monarch wouldn't feel comfortable going down there. Are you sure?"

"Because it's uncomfortable, no one will set up an ambush there."

Chen Changqing turned around and glanced at the stern of the ship.