Combat

Hu Mang never expected that his pretext of seeking revenge to lead him to the sea would result in him encountering his very target as soon as he disembarked.

You overseas demonic cultivators are too easy to find.

In that case, I have to silence you. Otherwise, what if you tell your colleagues and they really think I'm here for revenge?

As the old cultivator coughed up blood and fled, his mind raced.

Their entire operation was controlled by the young master. Many people didn't even know what they were supposed to do until they boarded the ship. Where exactly did things go wrong, leading to the leak of information?

And who exactly is behind this?

First Holy Son?

The Second Holy Son?

The Third Holy Son?

It couldn't possibly be the newly arrived Fifth Holy Son, could it?

This fifth holy son was just promoted by the Mechanical Devil Cult, so information shouldn't be as readily available in the Immortal Dynasty.

Moreover, the methods are also different. Such a powerful foundation in demonic arts is more like the style of the Second Holy Son, also known as the Primordial Chaos Holy Son.

But isn't the Primordial Chaos Holy Son vying with the Big Dipper Holy Son for the position of the First Saint Son?

Why would they interfere in their young master's affairs?

Could it be that they know about the young master's relationship with the disciples of the Emptiness Kalpa Immortal Sect?

As the old cultivator fled, he also recalled the giant bowl treasure. The cracks on the giant bowl continued to break, and each crack produced a bell-like sound.

Ding-dong--

Ding-dong--

The sound possessed an unusual penetrating power, as if it could directly resonate into the depths of one's soul.

This is a treasure obtained from the Saha Continent.

It is a rare treasure for capturing and suppressing.

It's so badly damaged, it's probably very difficult to repair.

A hint of regret flashed in the old cultivator's eyes.

As the cracks grew, the sound of the bells and chimes became increasingly loud and clear, even vibrating the eardrums.

No, how could the giant bowl emit the sound of bells and chimes!?

The old monk's expression changed drastically.

However, by the time he came to his senses, it was too late.

The demonic figure that had been some distance behind him vanished instantly.

The next moment, a thick demonic arm emerged from the crack in the giant bowl and pierced directly into the old cultivator's abdomen. When the demonic claw was pulled out, it brought with it a bloody, still-beating heart.

"You... cough cough... which holy son sent you?" The old monk's eyes widened.

"You're about to die, can't you stop being so eager to know? Go ask King Yama."

Hu Mang casually tossed his heart aside, then grabbed everything in his hand—the broken giant bowl, the net-like Law Treasure, and the storage box at his waist.

"So that's where you put that huge 'Flood Dragon Corpse Sha'! Turns out you put it in a storage box."

"Wait a minute, this stuff hasn't even entered the market in Heavenly Gate yet, so how come you guys are using it before I, a Heavenly Gate, have even gotten my hands on it? That damned smuggling market!"

Hu Mang muttered to himself, and with a turn of the Heavenly Devil Field, all demonic aura was swept away. He removed the Sea Yaksha mask and went back to playing the role of a body-refining cultivator.

Not long after he disappeared, two Golden Core figures reappeared in the same spot.

Inside the Sea-Pacifying Divine Warship, a formation master suddenly raised his hand.

"Major Lin, demonic energy detected."

The female major surnamed Lin quickly walked to the other party's side, looked at the location marked on the screen, and revealed an expression of "I knew it."

"The demonic traitors have indeed revealed their presence. I knew they wouldn't let this opportunity pass. Keep a close watch, and if necessary, have the Sea-Pacifying Divine Warship enter the area ahead of schedule!"

A look of excitement flashed in Major Lin's eyes.

Capturing demonic forces is a hundred times more rewarding than simply carrying out routine sea-opening missions!

Hu Mang, of course, was unaware that his sudden appearance would trigger a series of unexpected changes.

If he knew, he wouldn't care at all; he came here for "revenge," so causing trouble is to be expected.

"Twenty minutes have passed. If Old Zhu asks, I'll say I was chased by a sea monster and escaped directly to the sea."

Hu Mang was trying to come up with a better excuse to get away with it. If he couldn't, so be it. He couldn't just do anything to him because he was a Golden Core.

However, to his surprise, when he arrived near the Hidden Boat, he was astonished to find that the ship had vanished.

Fortunately, with the expansion of his Divine Sense, he quickly found his target again.

For some unknown reason, the Hidden Boat surfaced, and—

Hu Mang raised an eyebrow.

There were actually four Golden Core cultivators emanating from them.

When he burst out of the water, the four Golden Core had just finished a battle.

Old Zhu held his bone knife horizontally in front of him, a deep sword mark remaining on the blade; Old Sha wasn't in much better shape, his murky Demon Eye gleaming with ferocity, half of his sleeve torn into shreds by the Sword Qi, revealing his scarred arm underneath, with a thin, bleeding wound on it, clearly left by a grazing sword.

Facing them were two human cultivators.

The man on the left was dressed in a gray robe, thin and with an aged face. He held a sword, exuding a powerful aura of swordsmanship.

The man on the right was a burly middle-aged man who held a thick, heavy sword in his hand. The sword was plain and unadorned, with no decorations or runes on its surface, but the sword intent emanating from it was like a silent mountain, pressing down on people and making it hard to breathe.

Two Golden Core sword cultivators?

However, it didn't seem like a life-or-death battle, because both the crew members on this side and the young cultivators on the other side were tense, but more than that, they seemed to be watching the show.

Hu Mang glanced at the two people opposite him again.

They discovered it was actually the Golden Core described in the records.

Azure Cloud Zi

Heavy Sword True Person

Azure Cloud Zi's original name Chen Qing. He possessed a mutated wind Spirit Root and secretly left the Middle Earth in 2011 through the New Heavenly Gate.

The original name of the Heavy Sword True Person Wang Zhong. He had an earth Spirit Root and went through immigration procedures in the 32nd year of the New Heavenly Gate, officially joining the citizenship of the Thirty-Six Islands of the Eastern Sea. He was formerly a swordsmanship instructor at the Flying Sword Academy.

Two immigrant sword immortals? What's going on here?

Hu Mang landed on the Hidden Boat, scanned the area but couldn't find Xiao Yu, guessing he was still shopping for seafood. He then randomly grabbed a familiar face and asked.

"What's going on? Did we run into another treasure hunter?"

"No, it just happened that we had a verbal argument, and then, I don't know who started it, but we just started fighting."

Did an argument occur?

You guys have time for this? Dragon Blood Tide has a time limit.

Hu Mang glanced at the Heavy Sword True Person and Old Sha with a puzzled look. This Heavy Sword True Person was not Rogue Cultivator, but a guest elder of the East Sea, or, according to Heavenly Gate, an advisor.

However, when Hu Mang's gaze swept across the two men's faces, he noticed that both of them looked somewhat helpless.

So, they weren't actually the main force in the battle?

"See that? These are the Golden Core cultivators of Heavenly Gate. Their fighting skills are utterly inferior and not worth mentioning."

Azure Cloud Zi stroked his beard as he faced his disciple, exuding an air of superiority and Daoist pride.

Old Zhu, however, didn't tolerate the other party's behavior and pointed the knife at him while cursing loudly.

"Are you fucking insane?! You attack Heavenly Gate cultivator you see! Why don't you go fight the Heavenly Gate Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators of Tianmen? Let me make this clear: someone your age who hasn't broken through to the Nascent Soul stage in modern Heavenly Gate is considered a complete waste. Stop pretending!"

That's an exaggeration. Even if there are many Nascent Soul in the Heavenly Gate, it's impossible for an old man to Nascent Soul.

However, those words were truly lethal. Azure Cloud Zi's face first turned red, then ashen, and his nose seemed to be spitting fire. He twirled his sword, which transformed into billowing sword mist, like clouds and the sea, full of killing intent. It looked like he was about to fight to the death.

Old Zhu also became ruthless, unleashing his water-based Spiritual Qi, which manifested a cloud of essence water covering several acres above his head, as if he were about to risk his life.

At this moment, it was the Heavy Sword True Person on the other side who sighed and shook his head, directly blocking Azure Cloud Zi's way, while Old Sha also pulled Old Zhu back.

Heavy Sword True Person looked at Old Sha and sighed helplessly.

"It was originally just a personal feud between the two of us, a little bickering that would have been fine, but I never expected it to escalate to this point."

Old Sha was even more blunt. "How do we end this?"

Then, Divine Sense traversed between the Heavy Sword True Person, Azure Cloud Zi, Old Sha, and Old Zhu, clearly indicating that some things were not suitable to be said directly.

So this wasn't a conflict of interest, it was just that they didn't like each other and then they started fighting?

Hu Mang looked at the old man in the sky with a puzzled expression. Logically speaking, if anyone were to break through the defenses, it wouldn't be you.

When you ran away with the bucket, Heavenly Gate was truly destitute. You, on the other hand, had enjoyed a high-quality Spiritual Qi environment overseas for decades.

The person next to you is truly unfortunate. When they left, they happened to witness a massive boom in Heavenly Gate's infrastructure and cultivation technology, resulting in an absolute loss. They bought at the peak and sold at the bottom.

So why are you even trying to break through my defenses?

Hu Mang sensed that the old man had some mental issues. Was it love turned to hate? Or was it related to the former Celestial Person class that had been purged after the founding of the People's Republic of China?

Soon, his two Golden Core cultivators landed. Old Zhu still looked displeased and didn't say a word. However, the ferocious-looking Old Sha spoke up cautiously.

"It's settled. We'll follow the rules of the East Sea duel: Golden Core cultivators won't fight. Each side will send one person to determine who is superior and who will live or die."

"Considering the risks of this duel, Old Zhu and I have decided that if we win, we'll forgo our share of the profits; if we lose, Old Zhu and I will pool together one million yuan as compensation. Who's going to step up?"

Although he was speaking to everyone, Old Sha's gaze was fixed on Hu Mang, clearly knowing who the strongest fighter was among those present.

"Alright, I'll go then. I'm also quite interested in the fighting skills of the cultivators from the East Sea."

Hu Mang shrugged, did not refuse, and stepped directly onto the sea surface, gently tapping his tiger's mouth with the black iron spear in his hand.

The opposing side had clearly also chosen a candidate: Azure Cloud Zi's disciple, a young-looking but already Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator.

"What's your name, bro?"

I can talk Hu Mang said casually.

"This humble Qingyezi," the young Daoist opposite him seemed to have little murderous intent, but rather looked at Hu Mang with a keen eye, hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help but ask.

"I heard that Heavenly Gate now has a technology for modifying Golden Core, and that it can be done by artificially wholesaling Golden Core, is that right?"