Chapter 1691: The Upper Realm Sect (Part One)

Throughout their journey, the group occasionally stopped at various market towns to rent teleportation arrays, taking the opportunity to explore the local surroundings. The sheer abundance and variety of materials on display left the group—all of whom had possessed exceptionally high standards in the lower realm—utterly stunned.

However, with the sole exception of Li Zhaoyan, every member of the party was a seasoned “old fox.” Despite their internal shock, they allowed none of it to show on their faces, ensuring the local merchants could not discern their thoughts.

The prices in the markets of the Immortal Spirit Realm evoked a mixture of joy and alarm. Many materials, pills, manuals, and talismans that commanded astronomical prices in the lower realm—or were simply unobtainable—could be found here with ease. Moreover, their costs were so low it felt as if they were dreaming.

Yet, for the truly rare treasures, the prices served as a harsh reminder of their current standing. It was no exaggeration to say that, by local standards, they might as well have been beggars.

Li Yan informed them that if they needed anything, they should tell him directly, and he would do his best to assist them with the purchase. Ultimately, however, not even Li Zhaoyan asked him for a single spirit stone. They watched with bated breath every time Li Yan produced the spirit stones required for the teleportation arrays. The costs were staggering, and the sheer volume of wealth passing through his hands left them reeling.

Mo Qing and Wei Zhongran attempted to offer Li Yan a significant amount of high-grade spirit stones. Wei Zhongran, fearing Li Yan might refuse, explained, “If it is possible to fly, we should fly as much as we can. This level of debt is more than even I can stomach.”

Mo Qing echoed this sentiment, repeatedly telling Li Yan that he could only pay a portion for now; otherwise, he would be rendered utterly destitute. After some consideration, Li Yan accepted a partial payment, suggesting they settle the rest—along with the cost of the Immortal Transformation Fluid—once they had established themselves.

In truth, Li Yan had no intention of ever collecting those stones from Wei Zhongran. What the others did not know was that all the spirit stones used for the teleportation arrays had actually been provided by Dong Fuyi.

Dong Fuyi had adopted the mindset of “carrying the Buddha all the way to the west.” He had killed more than his share of enemies in the lower realm and had looted a massive hoard of supreme-grade spirit stones from the likes of Yu Zishu. Since he was doing a favor for his newly found disciple, he was determined to do it right. He wanted to ensure Li Yan faced no embarrassment or financial strain. Regardless of Li Yan’s own net worth, Dong Fuyi insisted on bearing the cost.

Li Yan had thanked his master privately many times and offered to repay him, as his own wealth was far greater than Wei Zhongran’s. These arrangements were, after all, for his own kin. Yet Dong Fuyi had refused every time.

This was the first time since leaving his small mountain village that Li Yan truly understood the envy-inducing privilege of having a master who was both “wealthy and martially peerless.” Never had his life been so effortless.

He couldn’t help but reflect on his past. There was a time when every step had been fraught with peril, every decision requiring meticulous calculation. A single lapse in judgment could have cost him his life. Back in the North Pastoral Realm, he had struggled for centuries just to reach an inter-realm teleportation array, and even then, he had lacked the means. At the end of each cultivation session, he could only sigh in silent frustration.

But now? Traveling between upper and lower realms, crossing major territories? He only had to voice the idea, and it was done. He no longer had to exhaust himself pondering the “how.”

Time flowed steadily. Seasons turned as they pressed forward.

Nine years later, in a stretch of void above the clouds, the middle-aged man that was Dong Fuyi’s avatar retracted the purple feather. He looked at Li Yan and the others.

“A few tens of thousands of miles ahead lies the core territory of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. You can make the rest of the way on your own. Our transaction is complete. Little Friend Li already knows the clues regarding the Hazy Moon Purity. I have other matters to attend to, so I will see you no further.”

Upon hearing this, Li Yan and the others cupped their hands and bowed deeply. “We thank Senior for his great kindness!”

Over the years, they had grown deeply grateful to this middle-aged cultivator who sometimes went months without uttering a single word. Though his price had been steep—taking far too many supreme-grade spirit stones from Li Yan—they had witnessed his power firsthand. He was worth every stone. They had encountered many cultivators on the road who would have despaired them; beings who could have crushed them with a single hand. All had fallen to this man’s ruthless and decisive strikes. He never left survivors.

Dong Fuyi merely nodded at their respect before vanishing into the horizon with a flicker of his body. He had already agreed upon a meeting place with Li Yan; once the boy settled his affairs, he was to seek him out.

‘Finally, I can rest a bit. This was far too exhausting,’ Dong Fuyi thought as he distanced himself. Spending every day with them had forced him to hold back his true speed and act out a play for Li Yan’s benefit. It had been taxing. As for the two he had to deliver later, the numbers were fewer and he didn’t have to show his face, making it much easier.

The upper-realm Malevolent Spirit Sect possessed more than one Body Integration cultivator. Dong Fuyi had no desire to invite trouble. As for whether they had a Great Ascension cultivator, Dong Fuyi didn’t know much about the sect’s specifics; his life had been focused on his own path and finding a successor. However, given the sect’s foundation, he suspected they might have had one in the past. At the very least, he sensed no aura stronger than his own during his approach. Still, he chose to depart before entering their core range.

They had landed relatively close to the sect upon their arrival in the Cangxuan Realm, which was why they had reached it within ten years. Had Dong Fuyi not been concealing his cultivation—and had he been willing to constantly modify the memories of Li Yan’s kin—they would have arrived years ago.

With Dong Fuyi gone, the group looked at one another.

“We’ve finally arrived. Let us see what our upper-realm sect truly looks like!” Mo Qing said, a smile finally gracing his face. He had grown weary of the feeling of being a “freeloader” during the long journey.

But he’d had no choice. After seeing that “Nascent Souls were like dogs and Spirit Transformations were everywhere” in the Immortal Spirit Realm, he knew that if they had traveled alone, they would have had to stop and cultivate for years in secret just to survive. He doubted they could have reached this place even in a century. This experience had silently steeled his resolve to grow stronger as quickly as possible—a sentiment shared by almost everyone in the group.

Only Li Zhaoyan, standing by Li Yan’s side, carried fewer burdens. Her face was like a blooming flower, and over the years, she had grown even more radiant, bearing a seventy-to-eighty percent resemblance to Zhao Min. She told Li Yan everything, her sentences often starting with “Father, this…” or “Father, that…”

Zhao Min felt as though her daughter was growing distant from her. It felt as if Li Zhaoyan had been raised by Li Yan, and she was the one who had returned late to the family. Yet, seeing this scene, her heart found an increasing sense of peace.

During these years, something wonderful had happened: the Nine Yang Profound Bird egg had shown signs of movement. Specifically, Li Zhaoyan could sense a faint aura from the shell’s surface, unlike the death-like stillness it had maintained before. Li Yan, after consulting Dong Fuyi in secret, confirmed that the egg possessed life. The laws of the lower realm had likely suppressed its vitality, and after a few years in the Immortal Spirit Realm, that suppression had lifted. Li Yan encouraged her to continue the hatching process but cautioned her not to pin all her hopes on it—she should simply proceed as she always had.

The remaining tens of thousands of miles were covered in no time. Wrapping Li Zhaoyan in his protective aura, the group soon approached a towering mountain gate.

This time, Li Yan did not conceal his aura. He openly displayed the strength of a Mid-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator. This left Mo Qing even more speechless; Li Yan had indeed been hiding his cultivation. He could accept being surpassed by Da Cen, but now Da Cen’s grand-disciple had not only caught up to him but utterly eclipsed him.

However, Li Yan revealing his strength was a boon for the group. A Void Refinement master—or so they thought of the “escort”—plus a Mid-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator provided enough deterrent to ward off most opportunistic trouble. Li Yan had offered a brief, apologetic explanation to Mo Qing, stating it was a decision made with the Chimera Emissary due to the unknown enemies of the sect. Mo Qing could only shake his head with a bitter smile.

As they neared the Malevolent Spirit Sect, the group’s expressions shifted to collective bewilderment.

The mountain gate before them sat nestled within a mountain range, featuring a thousand-zhang-tall archway that pierced the clouds as if reaching into the infinite sky. Mists swirled around it, and as the clouds shifted, three massive, dark-green characters occasionally appeared at the top of the archway.

The characters for “Malevolent Spirit Sect” shimmered with an eerie, demonic light, each stroke radiating an endless pressure. A single glance was enough to make one feel microscopic—lesser than an ant. It felt like being suppressed directly. Their magical power stagnated, and their breathing became labored, as if three giant cauldrons were descending from the heavens to pin down the very earth.

Behind the thousand-zhang archway, five towering peaks rose into the air. There seemed to be an invisible connection between the five, giving off a sensation of being simultaneously distant and near, ethereal and shifting…

Setting aside the different terrain and mountain shapes, the layout was intimately familiar to everyone in Li Yan’s group. What they saw looked almost identical to the lower-realm Malevolent Spirit Sect.

If not for the fact that the surrounding environment was a jagged, dark-green mountain range instead of the familiar Hundred Thousand Mountains, they might have suffered a hallucination, wondering if they had ever ascended at all.