Chapter 152: Infiltrating Longwhale Island

Liu Junhuai felt a secret shock in his heart. The cultivation world truly was a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. His Heavenly Eye Vision was already considered an anomaly in the realm, yet he never expected someone capable of peering into the most mysterious existence at the very bottom of his heart simply through divination.

It seemed that walking the cultivation world must never be taken lightly; at any moment, some extraordinary person with bizarre abilities might emerge.

Treating everything with an ordinary mindset was just a superficial insight Liu Junhuai had grasped only last night, and he knew he was still far from truly maintaining his original state of mind.

Thinking of this, he smiled and said, "The Domain Master has misjudged this time. How could I possess such great fortune to warrant the Domain Master's deep affection! Let's get down to business. In that recorded vision, I saw a bizarre young man high up in the sky. He seemed like a mere spectator of that war involving tens of millions, yet at the same time, everything appeared to be completely within his grasp. I could not see through his cultivation level in the slightest. The feeling he gave me was one of terror, and from the aura of death emanating from his entire body, I could faintly sense a trace of celestial presence.

"While observing, a wicked smile always hung at the corners of his mouth, as if he regarded the annihilation of endless living beings as a matter of little consequence, akin to an insignificant game. Furthermore, I am certain that those participating in the battle were all cultivators above the Golden Core stage."

Fang Yexu and the other man wore extremely solemn expressions. With Mu Fanghe's special parting instructions, Liu Junhuai's words commanded their utmost attention, but a profound sense of utter helplessness and powerlessness lingered heavily in their hearts.

Liu Junhuai also knew that discussing these matters now served no purpose; he merely felt that keeping these words bottled up inside was unbearable. Having spoken them aloud, his heart immediately felt much lighter.

"Very well, let us focus on solving the immediate problem. Hall Master Fang, when do we depart? Have the specific implementation steps been finalized?" Liu Junhuai changed the subject.

Fang Yexu replied, "There are no rigidly specific plans yet. I have visited Longwhale Island and King of Hell Palace a few times. Their environments are similar to Misty Peak, built within sea valley basins just like the Myriad Form Sect. My preliminary proposal is to execute a secret capture—detect the suspects' whereabouts, take the opportunity to close in, and then subdue them in one fell swoop.

"My identity should not be exposed for the time being. Solving the problem quietly is the absolute best option. Even if the operation is exposed, it matters little; at worst, we will dig deep for clues on the spot. If a large number of people are implicated, eradicating a second Swallow Floating Palace will be necessary."

Guan Chaoyong asked with some doubt, "Won't that create too much commotion? Liangqiu Tuochu will definitely be alerted."

Fang Yexu said with bitter resentment, "We cannot care about that right now. The fact that the two of us failed to return to the Western Domain Government in time has already drawn his attention. It's just that Domain Master Mu is currently operating in the shadows, and having the banner of the Sect Alliance over our heads makes things somewhat more convenient."

Liu Junhuai smiled approvingly and said, "The Western Domain was never within the primary scope of consideration for the Blood-Slaying Alliance. Our greatest enemy is Liangqiu Tuochu, and perhaps startling the snake by beating the grass this time will provoke unusual movements from him. All of Liangqiu Tuochu's movements are already under the strict surveillance of Domain Master Mu; perhaps this will be the moment he slips up. I support Hall Master Fang's proposal!"

Hearing this, Guan Chaoyong wore a resolute expression. "Then our two forces will adopt the same strategy. Whichever side succeeds first must promptly rendezvous with the other to facilitate the exchange of information before deciding on the next step of the action plan!"

Fang Yexu expressed his agreement. "After all, the overall strength in the Western Domain is somewhat lower, making it easier to resolve. Strength dictates everything! I only hope our operation can provide some assistance to Domain Master Mu within the domain government. Operating right under the enemy's noses brings too many constraints; how can it compare to the satisfying freedom of our unrestrained combat? Domain Master Mu has not had an easy time either."

Since the Blood-Slaying Alliance had not invested heavily in the Western Domain, aside from Liangqiu Tuochu's cultivation at the late Mahayana stage, virtually everyone else was below the Soul Formation stage. With the addition of two Integration-stage hall masters, the outcome of this mission was completely devoid of suspense. The only concern was maintaining secrecy. Therefore, the three of them did not spend much time deliberating before setting off under the cover of night.

The flying boat gifted to Liu Junhuai by Mu Fanghe was named River of Stars. Once refined, it felt as light as a goose feather in the palm, but upon release, it expanded to a length of more than ten zhang. Its manufacturing quality was far more exquisite than the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle, and its speed was several times greater.

Furthermore, because various arrays were deployed across the surface of the flying boat, it possessed additional stealth capabilities, and its defensive power was incomparable to that of the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle.

Longwhale Island and King of Hell Palace were located on the other side of the Endless Sea, governed respectively by the Mengze Kingdom and the Xiangyu Kingdom. Both sects were concentrated on the islands at the border of the two countries, over thirty thousand miles away from the Myriad Form Sect. Traveling there by flying boat would take just over three hours.

The primary reason Fang Yexu was unafraid of making a commotion was to build momentum for the Sect Alliance.

Most of the large and small sects currently joining the Sect Alliance were concentrated in a dozen or so medium and small nations surrounding the Fengling Kingdom. Major Western Domain powers like the Mengze Kingdom and the Xiangyu Kingdom had yet to have sects participate, and the Sect Alliance urgently needed to build momentum and expand its influence in these nations.

Aboard the flying boat, Fang Yexu and Liu Junhuai conversed continuously. Due to the timely emergence of the Sect Alliance, the dormant forces of the Blood-Slaying Alliance in the Western Domain had already been largely eradicated. Once the Blood-Slaying Alliance initiated a war, the Western Domain and several other domains would be far more composed.

This was the main reason the domain government was willing to assist the Sect Alliance, though they were unaware that this entire chain reaction had been single-handedly triggered by Liu Junhuai. His original intention was merely driven by a shred of a sense of justice—of course, if Cheng Keli hadn't been involved in the Shen family incident, exposing the Blood-Slaying Alliance might have taken somewhat longer.

The Blood-Slaying Alliance had been deeply hidden. Regardless of how powerful the forces behind their organization were, they never imagined that their astonishing grand plan would be completely upended by a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Western Domain, directly resulting in the Blood-Slaying Alliance being exposed in broad daylight.

At the midnight hour, Liu Junhuai and his party quietly arrived at Longwhale Island.

Cultivators from the Western Domain Government's Intelligence Hall had been waiting for them. This was a middle-aged mid-stage Golden Core cultivator named Pang Shichong. "Che Shangguan, the Vice Island Master of Longwhale Island, is currently at his residence on the island. This estate is located in a mountain hollow on the western side of the island, twenty miles away from the sect's garrison. This Vice Island Master is naturally arrogant, luxurious, and debauched, so the location of his residence is relatively secluded and easier to infiltrate. However, aerial restriction arrays are deployed around the estate, so infiltrating it still presents a certain level of difficulty!"

While they were talking, Liu Junhuai's divine sense had already probed into the estate. Although it was already deep into the night, the main hall of the estate was still brightly lit. Four middle-aged male cultivators were indulging in hedonism and depravity with over a dozen women. Among the male cultivators, the highest cultivation levels belonged to two late-stage Golden Core practitioners.

Due to the protection of the array, the guards within the courtyard were mostly concentrated at the entrances of the outer and inner courtyards, numbering fewer than twenty in total.

At this moment, Fang Yexu lowered his voice, a look of profound shock on his face. "Junhuai, you've already evolved your divine sense at the early Nascent Soul stage? You monster, absolutely a monster!" He had sensed Liu Junhuai's divine sense fluctuations; after all, his cultivation was three major realms higher than Liu Junhuai's, making the gap astronomical.

Liu Junhuai also replied in a low voice, "Now is not the time for explanations. Hall Master Fang, my proposal is that only you and I enter the inner courtyard, while the others wait by the courtyard wall. Right now, there are four male cultivators and over a dozen female cultivators inside, with the highest cultivation being only late Golden Core. Ensuring we do this without a sound will not be a problem!"

Fang Yexu's look of astonishment deepened even further. "It is nearly forty miles from here to the estate. That your divine sense has reached the Soul Formation stage is somewhat understandable, but that courtyard has array restrictions, and I wasn't even able to probe inside."

Liu Junhuai chuckled and said, "Domain Master Mu already said it—whatever weird things I do, you should just consider them normal."

Shaking his head helplessly, Fang Yexu looked deeply struck. "After this matter is concluded, you must tell me in detail. I very much look forward to witnessing the entire growth path of a genius firsthand."

Putting away the flying boat, Pang Shichong led the group of over forty people on a wide detour before they silently appeared outside the courtyard wall of the estate.

The aerial restrictions of the estate were only at the level of a Tier 3 array master, which was still a tier lower than Liu Junhuai. Within the span of a few breaths, Liu Junhuai breached an opening in a corner, shielded his own aura, and the two of them quietly appeared outside the room's door.

Casually casting a restriction spell at the doorway, the two of them pushed the door open and entered.

The men and women indulging in debauchery snapped out of their stupor amidst the scream of a female cultivator, and a late-stage Golden Core cultivator rushed forward entirely naked.

A cold light flashed across Fang Yexu's eyes. With a flick of his hand, he slapped the late-stage Golden Core cultivator, sending him crashing into the wall several feet away. The unfortunate cultivator slowly slid down from the wall and lost consciousness right then and there.

Following Fang Yexu's strike, the overwhelming pressure of his late Integration stage was fully revealed, leaving the remaining three male cultivators trembling at the knees with faces as pale as paper.

Liu Junhuai moved like lightning. After weaving through the area in a flash, he struck the vital acupuncture points of the dozen or so female cultivators, causing them to collapse into a heap; they would not regain consciousness for dozens of days.

Fang Yexu pointed a few fingers through the air, freezing the three male cultivators so that even their eyes could not blink.

Liu Junhuai stepped forward, delivering three sharp slaps across their faces. With a firm squeeze on their jaws, all their teeth clattered to the floor.

"Which one of you is Che Shangguan?" Fang Yexu stepped forward, releasing the restriction on the upper body of the middle man, and looked at them coldly.

The two men on either side both looked toward the man in the center. That cultivator spoke in a hoarse voice, "Senior, I am Che Shangguan!"