Subtle Ripple Intent Realm

Beyond Ten Thousand Stars Mountain,

Upon the Muddy Dragon River.

Dusk was gathering, and the blood-red setting sun dyed the broad river surface crimson.

The river wind was biting, whipping up layer after layer of muddy waves that crashed against the jagged rocks on both banks with rolling thunder.

A blue figure rode a sword through the air, skimming low over the surging river.

The sword rider's gaze was sharp as lightning, while his divine sense swept over the river again and again like ripples, seemingly searching for something.

Just then, a streak of light suddenly shot across from the opposite bank.

Looking up, he saw an old man riding a bronze-headed qilin beast, pulling a cloud carriage that radiated five-colored light through the air.

Light gauze curtains hung around the cloud carriage, fluttering softly in the wind. Through them, the silhouette of a woman seated within could vaguely be seen.

As the cloud carriage slowly came to a stop above the river, the woman lifted the curtain with her pale hand, stepped gracefully out, and landed steadily in midair.

The woman was breathtakingly beautiful. She wore a crimson strapless flowing-immortal dress, woven from an exceedingly thin gauze that clung tightly to her voluptuous, delicate body.

Her shoulders were half-bared, revealing a great expanse of snow-white skin like congealed cream. Her collarbones dipped deeply, while her snowy peaks rose high and trembled faintly with each breath, tracing a curve enough to set one's blood surging.

A dark golden soft-gauze sash bound her waist tightly, making her slender waist seem barely graspable and further accentuating her rounded, pert buttocks and long, straight legs.

Seeing the sword-riding figure halt above the river, the woman on the cloud carriage bent in a graceful bow and said softly, her bearing brimming with charm:

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Ye."

The sword rider was a valiant youth who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen. His brows carried the sharp edge of a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, and the spiritual energy fluctuations around him were exceptionally deep, far surpassing those of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The valiant youth gave a faint nod, a trace of pride in his expression, and said blandly:

"The matter Fairy Lin entrusted to me has already been settled.

That so-called number one cultivator of Silver Sand River was utterly incapable of withstanding a single blow. I crushed his heart meridians from afar, and he fell into this Muddy Dragon River."

Though he said so, Ye Shaochen felt somewhat dissatisfied.

Reflecting privately on what had happened, he felt that he still lacked experience traveling outside. He should not have attacked from so far away and given the other man a chance to flee into the water.

He knew that the so-called number one cultivator of Silver Sand River was also the patriarch of the largest local cultivation lineage. His wealth must have been considerable, and there were surely many good things in his storage pouch.

It would have been one thing if the man had fallen into the Muddy Dragon River, but the problem was that Ye Shaochen had gained nothing from it.

"Once this journey ends and I return to the mountain, it will happen to be my master's six-hundredth birthday.

I originally intended to find a high-grade precious material as a birthday gift for my master. Unfortunately, I have encountered no worthwhile opportunities since leaving the mountain, so I can only gather funds and see whether I can purchase a mid-to-high-grade precious material.

In that case, I cannot let the resources on this man slip away."

That thought flashed through the youth's mind. It was precisely because of this that he had remained here, searching so carefully.

Upon hearing this, the gorgeous Lin Wanrou immediately blossomed into a smile. Her phoenix eyes, capable of stealing souls and spirits, were filled with admiration as she lavishly praised the young man surnamed Ye:

"Fellow Daoist Ye truly possesses divine abilities beyond measure. I admire you so deeply that I am utterly convinced.

He Sheng has run rampant across Silver Sand River for years. That he met his doom at your hands today was simply a calamity he could not escape."

As the two spoke, Ye Shaochen's brows suddenly furrowed, and his formerly calm expression instantly turned grave.

His outward-spread divine sense had sensed a faint fluctuation of magical power from the riverbed several dozen zhang away.

Most crucially, that fluctuation had clearly reached the Foundation Establishment level!

Ye Shaochen's heart jolted, and he thought:

Could He Sheng still be alive?

No!

Impossible!

His heart meridians were clearly crushed. How could he still possess life?

Could it be...

Ye Shaochen's thoughts spun through countless turns, but he did his utmost to hide the change in his expression. He merely flicked his sleeve with feigned composure.

However, the beautiful woman surnamed Lin possessed an exquisitely keen mind. Those phoenix eyes that seemed so affectionate were in fact constantly watching the youth's subtle expressions, and she instantly caught the fleeting flash of shock and suspicion in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, has something happened?"

Lin Wanrou leaned forward slightly. The snowy whiteness at her neckline swayed with the movement, casting a dazzling curve of light, while her tone carried just the right degree of concern and probing.

Ye Shaochen's gaze fell upon her, and his heart stirred faintly. Yet unwilling to lose face before this woman, he kept his expression unchanged and said:

"Nothing. I merely received a message from a senior brother of my sect just now,

telling me to meet him at Shaosi Mountain, eight thousand li north of here, in a few days."

Those words were half true and half false.

This was Ye Shaochen's first journey outside his sect. His true destination was Nether Mystery Mountain in the Northern Yuan Cold Domain of the far north, a place blanketed in ice and snow all year round, where he would attend the Ten Directions Assembly hosted by the Nether Mystery Sect one year later.

Shaosi Mountain was indeed to the north and was also an unavoidable stop on the road to Nether Mystery Mountain.

He truly had an agreement with a senior brother from his sect to meet at Shaosi Mountain before continuing north together, but where would any message have come from at this moment?

The smile on Lin Wanrou's face did not fade, yet she vaguely sensed something was amiss and was about to probe further.

Who would have expected Ye Shaochen to speak first:

"Alas, this senior brother of mine is impatient. His message urged me most urgently.

I can only seek another chance to travel with Fairy Lin in the future. We shall part ways here for now!"

Before his voice had faded, blue light surged around him. He transformed into a streak of blue sword light and shot away along the Muddy Dragon River with a howl.

Watching the direction in which he left, Lin Wanrou's smile instantly froze, and her brows knitted tightly together.

"Shaosi Mountain is clearly in the northwest. Why is Ye Shaochen heading southeast?"

Lin Wanrou had always been suspicious by nature. She looked toward the old man standing quietly behind her and asked:

"Elder Xu, what do you think?"

The old man bowed deeply and lowered his head.

"This old servant dares not make reckless conjectures about a disciple of a superior sect.

However, this old servant previously used the Water Essence Treasure Mirror to observe Grand Cultivator Ye's attack. I could only feel that this disciple of the superior sect was truly formidable beyond compare. With Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation, he utterly crushed He Sheng, who stood at the peak of Foundation Establishment Mid Stage!"

The old man surnamed Xu spoke with great caution. After considering his words, Lin Wanrou instructed:

"Elder Xu, secretly return to Silver Sand River and spread rumors in Lower River Market,

saying that He Sheng clashed with the Golden Cloud Sect's Supreme Elder during Wan Chaonian's Foundation Establishment celebration and was slain beyond Ten Thousand Stars Mountain in a single stroke by this False Core cultivator.

First stir up this muddy pool. I refuse to believe that the other Foundation Establishment lineages, oppressed by the He Family for so long, can sit still!"

The old man surnamed Xu bowed to accept the order. He then put away the cloud carriage and rode the bronze-headed qilin beast southward.

As for Lin Wanrou, she looked once more toward the direction Ye Shaochen had left before riding a brocade handkerchief into Ten Thousand Stars Mountain.

The waters of the Muddy Dragon River rolled vast and mighty.

An imperceptible undercurrent raced close to the riverbed. Not even the aquatic grass was disturbed in its wake. This was He Sheng traveling by water.

Using the Subtle Ripple Water Escape he had only just comprehended, he had fled more than twenty li in the span of a hundred breaths and escaped the territory of Ten Thousand Stars Mountain in one stroke.

Yet though this water escape was swift, it consumed an enormous amount of magical power and naturally could not be maintained for long.

Thus, He Sheng stopped using the escape art and simply hurried onward with the Clear Ripple Water Control Art.

Whoosh!

He Sheng felt as though the water around him had become part of his body. It was no longer an obstacle, but instead a force helping propel him forward.

This speed... seems a little faster even than Brother Piao flying with a magical artifact!

Brother Piao had previously traveled north from Long Sun Mountain by artifact, stopping and going along the way. It had taken him nearly five days to cover the ten-thousand-li journey.

Calculating carefully, he had averaged just over two hundred li per hour.

Of course, that was the average speed of artifact flight. If one spared no magical power and pushed a flight artifact to its limit, one could reach an extreme speed of three to four hundred li per hour.

Yet such a state could not be sustained for long. After all, one's magical power could not support it.

But what about now?

He Sheng could clearly feel that traveling downstream with the Clear Ripple Water Control Art at the masterful level seemed to let him move as fast as Brother Piao did when frantically driving his flight artifact!

Moreover, after sensing the rate at which his magical power was being consumed, he discovered that it was actually lower than the consumption of ordinary artifact flight.

All of this is because of the "Water Transformation Realm"!

Under the enhancement of that mysterious realm, He Sheng felt as though his entire body had completely transformed into water. He was no longer a mortal body traveling through water, but had become water itself.

Since he was water to begin with, nothing could impede him. The hidden reefs at the riverbed, tangled water grass, and muddy silt no longer posed the slightest obstacle. He flowed as water flowed, incomparably smooth.

Better yet, he was traveling downstream. Borrowing the natural momentum of the river, he did not need to expend much magical power resisting the current. Instead, he enjoyed the accelerating sensation of pushing a boat along with the current.

It was like a mortal sailing with the wind at his back. With only a light touch upon the rudder, he could travel a thousand li in a day.

Not only that...

He Sheng's heart suddenly stirred. He closed his eyes, yet seemed to "see" even more.

His divine sense appeared to have fused with the vast river water as well.

He did not need to deliberately release his divine sense to investigate. The fluctuations of the surrounding currents, schools of fish swimming past, even the swaying of water grass a hundred zhang away—all were clearly reflected in his mind.

It was an extraordinarily wondrous state.

In the past, releasing divine sense had been like lighting a lamp in darkness. One could see wherever its light reached, but everything beyond remained black, and it was extremely easy for higher-level cultivators to notice.

But now, he seemed to have become the river water itself. Wherever water reached was within the bounds of his perception.

"According to the cultivation knowledge in Brother Piao's memories, ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, even those at Foundation Establishment Late Stage Great Perfection, can only spread their divine sense across a hundred zhang.

Yet with the Water Transformation Realm, I can easily sense all kinds of conditions within a radius of roughly one li. My divine sense perception far surpasses that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

And... this perception seems capable of going even further."

This was no illusion on He Sheng's part. When he had traveled with the Subtle Ripple Water Escape earlier, he discovered that his divine sense could even spread beyond the river water, using the moisture between heaven and earth to sense conditions farther away.

However, that perception was exceedingly vague and could not be manifested within his sea of consciousness.

That vague perception is rather similar to the spiritual intuition called the sixth sense from before I transmigrated.

Though this perception was vague, it was by no means useless.

For one thing, it could expand his sensing range far beyond the area ordinary divine sense could cover.

For another, it could provide a certain degree of feedback.

For example, earlier He Sheng had used the moisture between heaven and earth to remotely sense an extremely powerful warning sign. That was how he learned that the suspected Core Formation expert was truly waiting above the river for his corpse!

"It seems the Subtle Ripple Water Escape is not merely an escape art. 'Subtle Ripple' should be a realm far more profound than 'Water Transformation.'

I must have used the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm to extend my divine sense far outward earlier, which was why I sensed it.

Then... can I separate the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm from the Subtle Ripple Water Escape and use it independently, extending my divine sense once more to see whether I have escaped danger?"

Once that thought arose, He Sheng continued racing through the water while carefully recalling the mysterious sensation he had felt when using the Subtle Ripple Water Escape.

It was not merely the surging of magical power, but also a resonance of the mind, as though layer after layer of ripples spread across the lake of his heart, expanding from within to without and reaching heaven and earth.

"Subtle ripples... the wind rises from the tip of duckweed, and waves form amid subtle ripples."

He Sheng felt something faintly stir within him as he carefully comprehended the fluctuations of spiritual intent.

At first, his sea of consciousness was a blur. That realm was as hard to grasp as wandering silk, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Yet now that his mind had merged with the river water, using the vast Muddy Dragon River as a medium, that sensation gradually became clearer.

Gradually, he seemed to see a point of spiritual light fall into the tranquil lake of his heart, spreading ring after ring of invisible ripples.

Success!

He Sheng was overjoyed. He bestowed this separated Subtle Ripple Intent Realm upon his divine sense.

Hum!

In that instant,

his divine sense, which had already fused with the river water, seemed to be injected with an invisible thrust and spread beyond the Muddy Dragon River once more,

following the moisture between heaven and earth as it wildly extended in every direction.

Three hundred zhang!

Five hundred zhang!

One thousand zhang!

His divine sense rapidly expanded outward.

Wherever it passed, the withered grass along the shore, birds in the forest, and distant rocks became increasingly blurred fragments of information. In the end, he could no longer "see" them clearly at all.

But that did not matter. What He Sheng needed was only feedback similar to spiritual intuition.

Otherwise, if too much information flooded in at once, his sea of consciousness would be unable to bear it.

As his divine sense expanded nearly to its limit, He Sheng truly sensed it!

A faint yet heart-palpitating sense of danger abruptly pierced into his sea of consciousness.

The feeling was extremely slight, but it existed as tangibly as the fine shiver brought by a breeze brushing against one's skin!

Could that suspected Core Formation expert still be trailing far behind me?

Are Core Formation cultivators really this troublesome?!

He Sheng felt his scalp go numb.

He had originally believed with all his heart that he had escaped danger. Who would have thought that this person was still following behind like a dog!

However, He Sheng did not panic too much. Through the perception of his extended divine sense, he could at least confirm that the other party remained more than ten li away. That meant his earlier flight had been effective.

In that case, the key lies in whether I have enough magical power to keep fleeing!

With that thought,

following the memories of Brother Piao, He Sheng took several pills that replenished magical power from his storage pouch, then continued speeding downstream through the water as he waited quietly for his magical power to recover.