Chapter 69 – War Preparations (6)

In the lair, Lu Ping was wondering how to migrate the spirit veins to his cave-dwelling when suddenly the Parent Warning Charm vibrated, shocking him from his thoughts. Had someone discovered this lair?

He hurriedly took out the Parent Warning Charm and checked the information transmitted from the Child Warning Charm. Judging from the ripples of spiritual energy, the newcomer was a Blood Refining Realm cultivator.

But it was strange for a Blood Refining Realm cultivator to dive so deep and reach the seabed. One must know, even Lu Ping couldn’t do this back then as a Ninth Layer Blood Refining Realm cultivator who could compete with Blood Condensation Realm cultivators.

Did this newcomer have a water element treasure that enhanced his capabilities under water?

Lu Ping’s heart was filled with excitement when he thought about the possibility. He looked around the lair one more time to make sure there was nothing much left to plunder. Then, he cast an invisibility spell on himself and moved out of the lair.

He quietly exited the lair, but to his surprise, he saw no one outside. However, there was a weird-looking big fist with a mouth filled with sharp teeth wandering near the lair’s entrance. As soon as Lu Ping left the lair, the big fish immediately felt his presence, causing it to turn and flee to the east.

It’s actually a Blood Refining Realm monster. I can’t let it escape!

Unwilling to let anyone discover the lair, Lu Ping hurriedly chased after the sea monster.

The big fish was only in the Eighth Layer Blood Refining Realm, so Lu Ping naturally didn’t worry too much about it in the beginning. But soon, he realized he was wrong.

In just a few moments, the big fish had already swum more than forty yards away and left the range of Lu Ping’s divine sense. He could only track it by sight and quickly chased after its tail.

But its swimming speed was incredibly fast—being in its natural living environment, it swiftly left Lu Ping far behind. Fortunately, Lu Ping was, after all, still a Blood Condensation Realm cultivator who had also attained the art of water. He managed to follow closely behind.

In just the blink of an eye, they traveled more than a few miles out to the east. As time passed, Lu Ping grew more impatient. The sea monsters had a natural advantage in the water. If he couldn’t catch up to it soon, it would quickly escape to the sea monster race’s territory.

Suddenly, Lu Ping recalled a water-manipulation art among the [Wave Listening Eight Ultimates]. With a flash of joy, he quickly cast it.

Lu Ping controlled the waters around him and formed an undercurrent in the sea, pushing himself towards the big fish, while controlling the waters ahead.

Although he couldn’t manipulate the sea surrounding the big fish, the tumultuous waves soon affected the waters forty yards ahead.

The big fish was swimming rapidly, just a few miles away from the monster’s territory. Once it crossed the border, it could then report its findings to its master.

Suddenly, it noticed that the surrounding sea started moving tumultuously. The water undulated chaotically and greatly affected its swimming speed.

The big fish grew anxious and mustered all of its might swimming forward. It peeked backwards and was shocked to find the human cultivator already twenty yards behind it.

The more Lu Ping casted the water-manipulation art, the more proficient his technique. The faster he swam, the slower the big fish moved.

In fact, after Lu Ping closed the distance to twenty yards, the big fish had already entered the range of his divine sense. Now, he could easily take the big fish’s life whenever he wanted.

However, Lu Ping was taking pleasure in casting the water-manipulation art. The more he used it, the deeper his attainments. He decided to test and hone his water-manipulation art on the big fish.

Just like that, the big fish was close to death’s door by the time Lu Ping honed his proficiency in the water-manipulation art. The big fish rolled over and pretended to be dead, in the hope that Lu Ping would spare its corpse.

But Lu Ping was now bored with the water-manipulation art. He casually jabbed his sword out and killed the big fish, storing its body away in his interspatial pouch. Dabao would be happy to have some fish meat.

Lu Ping surfaced from the sea and was planning to return when suddenly, he heard the sounds of cultivators flying with mystic instruments coming from behind him. Vaguely, he could hear them talking.

“This way! There were ripples of arcane energy under the water when we were patrolling just now. The arcane energy was traveling to the east. Is it some kind of treasure?”

Another voice answered, “Treasure? Bah, it’s most likely just sea monsters. The monster race’s territory isn’t far away from here. It’s not rare for sea monsters to occasionally cross the border.”

The first voice replied, “That’s true. Just like that inner disciple who got killed by a sea monster recently.”

“Nonsense! Senior Martial Brother Qiao Xipeng was hunting down a sea monster that entered our territory. But those damned Zhen Ling Sect cultivators murdered him and blamed it on the sea monsters.”

“So that’s the truth! No wonder. I was wondering why the sect asked us to tighten the border patrols. Looks like it’s time to teach Zhen Ling Sect a lesson.”

The other voice said proudly, “Of course. But our sect has always been the leader of the North Ocean Alliance, so every decision we make has to be justified. Zhen Ling Sect has to admit their crime first. This will also show the other sects how noble and magnanimous our Xuan Ling Sect is. But if Zhen Ling Sect continues to remain stubborn, then we will naturally teach them a painful lesson.”

As they talked, they gradually approached Lu Ping’s location. When they saw a black-robed man standing quietly on the sea, the first guy was shocked and questioned, “Who are you!?”

Although he tried to keep his voice steady, Lu Ping could sense the flustered panic in his heart.

Lu Ping smiled. “Haha, so this is how your dear Xuan Ling Sect leads the North Ocean Alliance. But more importantly, let me teach the two of you a lesson first.”

As he finished saying his piece, a flying sword flew out of nowhere and the two Xuan Ling Sect disciples immediately turned to run. But before they could escape, the blade cut through their bodies and they lost their consciousness forever.

The corner of Lu Ping’s lips twitched as he burned their bodies into ashes. Then, he looted their interspatial pouches and flew back to Huang Li Island.

On his way back, Lu Ping felt bemused when he thought back to the conversation between the Xuan Ling Sect disciples. It seemed like the higher-ups of Xuan Ling Sect had found an excuse to explain Qiao Xipeng’s death to their disciples.

It was clear that the higher-ups didn’t want to start a war with Zhen Ling Sect. Perhaps, they didn’t have the confidence they could defeat Zhen Ling Sect entirely. But they needed an explanation for Qiao Xipeng’s death and so they came up with this reason to comfort the disciples.

However, this would only promote arrogance among the Xuan Ling Sect disciples. But then again, the cultivation world was a place where strength and violence spoke louder than words and justice.

When Lu Ping returned to his cave-dwelling on Huang Li Island, he saw a message sword spinning in front of the array formation.

Lu Ping grabbed the message sword and made a mystic hand seal. Master Immortal Liu’s voice immediately rang out.