How did they gather a group of desperados along the way and painstakingly weaken the power of the Pill Cauldron Sect and the Rogue Cultivators Association in Blackwater City?
"... After my nephew entered the main hall of Blackwater City, he saw another cultivator Mo Yu, inside, and the item disappeared there."
"After leaving the main hall, I encountered Yuan Changwu and Chen Yuping. After a battle, a horde of Mist Beast hidden within the city erupted. The situation was urgent, and I summoned my chariot and fled in panic."
"As for Mo Yu, he's fighting the Mist Beast tide alone. I suspect he's been entangled by the higher beings and is bound to be unable to escape from the Eternity Ice Mist of the Mist Beast tide..."
"The energy core's whereabouts are also unknown, but I'm certain that Yuan Changwu and Chen Yuping didn't obtain the Blackwater City's energy core either,"
" Yuan Changwu seemed hesitant in his battles, and he also had ulterior motives regarding the Mist Beast, but judging from the scale of the Mist Beast tide, he ultimately gained nothing!"
After Deng Shouchong finished speaking, he sat cross-legged tightly beside Deng Lifu. After returning to Phoenix City, he immediately made arrangements for Ma Fang and her group.
After inquiring about Yuan Changwu and Chen Yuping in the city, he guessed some clues about what was going on after they both returned.
At this moment, he returned to the main hall of the City Lord's Manor's mansion and reported the whole story to the city lord. After the city lord's exploration and planning over the past ten thousand years, what should have been a sure thing had changed.
The City Lord's Manor suffered no losses during this trip to Blackwater City. It's a good thing that the energy core of Blackwater City wasn't obtained by the other two forces.
What puzzled him most was Mo Yu, this mysterious cultivator.
Mo Yu was the first cultivator to appear in the main hall, but he was eventually overwhelmed by the tide of Mist Beast. It seems that all the clues about Mo Yu have been cut off.
Upon reflection, it seems there's always been a veil of mystery surrounding him, and his formidable combat prowess makes one hesitant, preventing one from lifting the veil to uncover his true nature.
Inside the main hall, Deng Shouchong gazed at his uncle's face. The light from the dome enveloped the city lord's body, whose eyes remained closed.
Upon hearing Deng Shouchong's words, his face flickered between light and shadow, while an array diagram in front of him continued to slowly rotate.
After Deng Shouchong, the city lord remained silent, seemingly absorbed in the array diagram.
Deng Shouchong did not disturb his uncle, believing that his uncle's divination skills should be able to answer his questions.
This is something that can glimpse the secrets of heaven and guide the rules of the world. The mysterious Mo Yu cultivator in his presence may have his mysteries unveiled through his uncle's divination techniques.
" Mo Yu..."
"A strange phenomenon has occurred in Blackwater City, seemingly indicating the appearance of a powerful being, a being that moves heaven and earth. I have already performed a divination, but the result..."
"In the divination, I don't know whether it survived the extraordinary celestial phenomena, for that would have angered the very spirits of Heaven and Earth..."
"Perhaps this is an anomaly, an anomaly without form in the world."
The city lord remained silent for a long time before Deng Shouchong beside him, his tone carrying an air of uncertainty, and the gloom on his face became even more pronounced.
However, he kept his eyes closed, his attention still focused on the array in front of him; this was his unique ability to multitask.
While pondering Deng Shouchong's words, he also sensed the changes in the array diagram, as if something within it was firmly attracting his attention.
"A formless anomaly! How is this possible! Uncle, won't his appearance affect our City Lord's Manor's plans?"
Upon hearing his uncle's words, Deng Shouchong's face showed a look of astonishment. He simply couldn't believe that his uncle, who was at the Immortal Realm, would utter such helpless words.
The art of divination is something that can reveal the secrets of heaven. No matter what it is, there are traces of it in all the myriad realms. But Mo Yu is actually immune to the art of divination.
Was he truly an anomaly? Did he really perish in the horde of Mist Beast?
For some reason, Deng Shouchong suddenly thought of Mo Yu's upright body under the Human Python and its formidable fighting power.
He was certain that his uncle had perished in the tide of Mist Beast, but after hearing his uncle's words, he found it hard to believe his previous judgment.
He recalled the scenes of his time with Mo Yu, muttering the word "anomaly" to himself, when a thought suddenly arose in his mind.
Perhaps Mo Yu did not perish in the tide of Mist Beast!
But Deng Shouchong immediately dismissed the idea. He remembered the endless blue river that had submerged Mo Yu; could he possibly escape from it...?
"The divination results are indeed as stated. As for the City Lord's Manor's plan..."
"Hmm? Haha, interesting! Interesting! Shouchong, take my jade token and go to the barbican on my behalf to bring a cultivator into my City Lord's Manor!"
The city lord seemed to know Deng Shouchong's guess. He sighed and continued, but stopped abruptly when he got to the "city lord's mansion plan".
Something seemed to be attracting him, instantly pulling him out of his multitasking state, and then making him fully focused on sensing the changing array in front of him.
In Deng Shouchong's eyes, the array diagram in front of him was constantly changing, and after the eight gates had turned for the sixth time, the array diagram had already begun its seventh change.
The changes were crystal clear to him, unlike Xu Long who was facing a life-or-death crisis. As the Sixth Gate of the array gradually deviated, the shock in Deng Shouchong's eyes became more and more obvious.
Who is this cultivator who has already passed through the six gates of the array and is now trying to break into the Seventh Gate!
As the array diagram shifted, the Seventh Gate was about to fully open, but it vanished in an instant. Then, the Sixth Gate, which had just deviated, stopped abruptly. This meant that the cultivators in the array diagram had given up trying to break through and were going to come out from within the six gates.
After a surge of energy within the six gates, the entire city seemed to have gained something, exuding an unusual aura. Meanwhile, the seven and six gates of the array in front of them disappeared simultaneously, instantly returning to normal operation.
The city lord's closed eyes snapped open in an instant, golden light gleaming within them, and a mysterious aura emanated from him.
Countless star patterns flashed in his eyes, seemingly concealing the path to immortality and the rules of all the heavens and myriad realms.
He remained unmoved when Deng Shouchong reported on the energy core of Blackwater City, showed no emotion when Deng spoke of the Formless Anomaly, and did not open or close his eyes when considering the City Lord's Manor's plan.
But at this moment, as the array diagram changed, he actually opened his eyes, which had been closed for ten thousand years, and just like Deng Shouchong, a look of shock and joy flashed in them.
For many years, no one has passed through the Sixth Gate of the city gate barrier in the Eight Trigrams Formation Diagram. The city lord naturally knows what kind of dangers lie within the Eight Trigrams Formation Diagram.
However, today a cultivator entered the city and passed through the six layers of city gate barriers within this array diagram. How could this not shock him?
At the same time, he was thinking: if he could win over this powerful cultivator, the City Lord's Manor's plan would gain another boost. He had anticipated this, so how could he not be overjoyed!
Deng Shouchong met his uncle's gaze, and both of them saw a hint of shock in each other's eyes. Then, they simultaneously recalled what had just been said.
Formless! Anomaly!
Could it be that Mo Yu...?
Deng Shouchong into a state of turmoil. As he pondered Mo Yu's life or death, a strange change occurred in the Eight Trigrams Formation Diagram.
When he connected the two, he began to speculate about the cultivator from the Mist Beast tide. Could it be that he really hadn't perished in the Mist Beast tide...?
Deng Shouchong couldn't help but recall Mo Yu's posture when fighting the Human Python. Back then, inside the fortress, he and Ma Fang's group had already retreated, but Mo Yu was still fighting the Human Python.
Judging from their subsequent encounter, Mo Yu clearly had a way to escape unscathed from the onslaught of the Human Python, so how did he fare during the Mist Beast tide...?
The city lord naturally knew what Deng Shouchong was thinking, and his thoughts were the same as Deng Shouchong's, but the city lord was clearly more composed.
He instantly calmed his inner shock, then took out a jade tablet and gestured for Deng Shouchong over and bring back the cultivator who had passed through the six gates. At that time, regardless of whether it was Mo Yu or not, it would be easy to tell at a glance.
Deng Shouchong accepted the jade token, bowed to his uncle, and left the main hall. Then he darted towards the barbican.
The city lord is a Immortal Realm, so naturally he would not easily condescend to face a junior cultivator. Ma Fang was just boasting, but sending Deng Shouchong go at this moment already shows how much he values Xu Long.
At the southern end of Phoenix City, within a magnificent mountain gate, there are endless pavilions, and the towering mountains surround this place like a golden city.
A bluish-green mist hangs in the sky year-round here. The mist rising from the foot of the mountain has a subtle fragrance, and when it spreads in the air, it forms a persistent fog that, when viewed from inside the mountain gate, resembles a thin curtain.
Inside the alchemy chamber at the mountain gate, only two figures sat cross-legged outside a bronze furnace. One figure was in gray, and the other in black.
The gray figure stared intently at the medicinal herbs in the furnace, his body constantly condensing a vast amount of magical Magic Power. When the Magic Power surged out, it was like a gentle stream, which he controlled softly and poured into the furnace fire.
The orange-red furnace fire, infused with Magic Power, turned slightly bluish. The gray figure's expression returned to normal, but his energy was entirely focused on the furnace fire.
"... After I arrived in Blackwater City, Deng Shouchong and his group had already come out. I wanted to intercept them, but Chen Yuping interfered again. After a battle, a horde of Mist Beast suddenly broke out in the city, and everyone fled for their lives."
"By the time I found the higher being, it had already hatched its eggs. Now that it had nothing to fear, it was completely unafraid of my attacks. I could only retreat empty-handed amidst the surging tide of Mist Beast!"
The black figure inside the alchemy room was none other than Yuan Changwu, who had previously fled in disarray from Blackwater City.
As soon as he escaped Phoenix City, he saw an endless stream of blue rivers flowing. Although his speed was unparalleled in the Red Land, he still dared not compete with the innate supernatural power of the Mist Beast.
After hurrying back to Phoenix City, he reported the situation to his elder brother, Yuan Changhe, his tone filled with resentment.
When talking about Deng Shouchong and Chen Yuping, a deep sense of malice appeared in his eyes.
"So, you mean you got nothing from Blackwater City's energy core and the Human Python's Inner Core? And you even lost a lot of manpower?"
The gray-clad figure, Yuan Changhe, spoke with a calm and composed tone. When refining pills, his heart was like a deep pool, without the slightest ripple.
As if oblivious to the resentment in Yuan Changwu's tone, he focused intently on channeling his Magic Power, his True Spirit watching over the medicinal herbs within the furnace fire.
The orange-red flame had changed from a wisp of blue to a light blue, and the temperature in the alchemy room was rising rapidly.
But the flames seemed to be burning Second Master Yuan's heart. After hearing his elder brother's words, he felt even more that he had done something in vain.
Full of confidence, they went to seize the energy core and the Human Python Inner Core, but despite all their calculations, they were still a step too late and failed to obtain these two extremely important items.
Energy cores are rare and hard to come by, but the Inner Core of the Human Python is something I definitely need!
I had been stuck at the Lesser Immortal Realm for a long time, but it was because my elder brother's path to immortality was promising that I saw the light at the end of the tunnel to break through to the Earth Immortal Realm realm.
This Human Python Inner Core was the most crucial link in breaking through to a higher realm, but he failed at the last minute.
It's all Deng Shouchong and Chen Yuping's fault. If it weren't for the two of you interfering, my plan would have been perfect.
Upon realizing this, a deep regret appeared on Yuan Changwu's face, while the sinister look in his eyes only intensified.
Yuan Changhe naturally knew what he was thinking. In his opinion, the second brother's breakthrough in realm was important, but the energy core of Blackwater City was even more important.
This trip to Blackwater City was fraught with danger from the start. It was already lucky that we escaped with our lives from the tide of Mist Beast. If the plans have changed, we'll just have to figure out a solution later.
It's just a bit unfair to the second brother, who has been stuck in his cultivation realm for a long time and may have developed inner demons.
Just as I was about to offer a few words of advice to the second brother, the massive True Spirit seemed to sense something and suddenly leaped out of the alchemy room. The azure curtain in the air was instantly lifted, and the invisible will actually pushed aside the tangible smoke.
Yuan Changhe frowned; he had just sensed something unusual in Phoenix City.
The vast city has been operating smoothly for thousands of years. Although he did not have the Eight Trigrams Formation Diagram, he had already figured out some of the rules of its operation by constantly exploring inside the city.
The anomaly just now came from the city gate, the city gate...
A massive burst of True Spirit flashed, and a look of shock flashed in Yuan Changhe's eyes in the alchemy room. Had a cultivator broken through the sixth level of the barrier?
As Yuan Changhe was distracted, the flames in the furnace suddenly surged, and he quickly withdrew his Magic Power.
However, the pills in the furnace had already taken shape, but under the violent flames, they turned into waste pills, and a burnt smell filled the pill room.
"Big brother! What happened?"
Yuan Changwu noticed his elder brother's unusual behavior. He had watched his brother refine pills since he was a child, so he naturally knew how skilled Yuan Changhe was. After all, this was a " Great Sage " who had entered the path of immortality through alchemy!
Yuan Changhe was usually very successful at refining pills, but today he unusually ruined a batch of pills. Smelling the faint burnt smell, Yuan Changwu was a little worried about his brother's condition.