Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Harvesting the Talents of Demonic Beasts

Chapter 268 Mysterious Neighbor, Two Islands Attacked

"He actually...did it?!"

Bai Hengwan knew Lin Changheng's potential well, but she never expected that this day would come so soon!

A second-tier high-grade alchemist is an identity that is enough to attract the attention of the Immortal City and even many powerful forces!
After all, Master Kong had spent many years immersing himself in the second-tier high-grade alchemy before breaking through to the third tier and achieving his current status and accomplishments.

After the initial shock came rapid calculations and a barely suppressed sense of joy. Lin Changheng's skyrocketing value meant that her previous investment had yielded unimaginable returns, but it also meant that future contacts and collaborations would require more cautious and far-sighted planning.

I had hoped to meet with Master Lin again and have a deeper conversation, but I saw the last message on the jade talisman.

"left already?"

A hint of regret appeared on Bai Hengwan's face.

The second-tier superior-grade alchemy can already help her cultivation.

After all, in addition to the fixed resources bestowed by her master and distributed by the core of the immortal city, Bai Hengwan also had resources that she had fought for and sought out on her own.

This part requires the help of an alchemist for transformation.

It's impossible to ask Confucius for help every now and then; it would be inappropriate regardless of rank or seniority.

Other alchemists may also have a few second-tier high-grade alchemists, but in terms of success rate and the rate of producing high-quality products, they are mostly inferior to Lin Changheng. After all, Lin Changheng's reputation in alchemy is a living gold standard in the Immortal City, known for his high success rate and high rate of producing high-quality products!
The delivery of precious medicinal materials makes them even more trustworthy.

……

The Water Moon Pavilion on Floating Life Lake, built on the blue waves, consists of nine pavilions and is surrounded by white mist, making it no less than a fairyland.

The one belonging to Bai Hengwan is on the far left edge.

On the second floor of the crimson pavilion, two buildings to the right, two figures were currently residing.

One stands proudly, the other bows and scrapes.

A woman dressed in a deep purple palace gown, with her hair piled high and her face beautiful, yet with an air of lingering arrogance and sharpness between her brows, stood leaning against the railing.

Beneath the hem of her skirt, a section of her shapely, long, and ivory-white thigh was revealed. Her skin was so delicate that it seemed to glow, creating a strong visual contrast with the deep crimson palace dress, exuding an unintentional allure and ostentatious confidence.

She walked barefoot on the cool, smooth jade floor, her ten toes adorned with bright red nail polish, like red plum blossoms in the snow, adding to her allure.

If Lin Changheng were here, he would realize that this is a true reflection of the old saying, "Legs are longer than life, so you can play with them for years."

"Tuk, Tuk, Tuk..."

Her fingertips tapped lightly on the railing. Her gaze seemed to be admiring the scenery of the lake and mountains, but it actually swept sharply over Bai Hengwan's somewhat deserted pavilion on the left, a faint hint of coldness playing at the corners of her mouth.

This woman is Yang Ziling, one of Bai Hengwan's senior sisters and another true disciple of Qinglan Sanren.

His strength has reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment. He has a strong personality, is good at disguising himself, and is actually ruthless. His forces have been quietly developing and have become deeply entrenched. He is one of Bai Hengwan's main rivals on the path of cultivation.

Lin Changheng had dealt with this woman before, and had helped her refine a Foundation Establishment Pill, but he tactfully declined her attempts to win him over and her offer of help.

Behind him, a woman dressed as a maid, but with bright eyes and an aura indicating early Foundation Establishment, stood respectfully with her head bowed, reporting in a low voice:

"Miss, we just received news that the rogue alchemist named Lin Changheng has quietly left the island today. According to our informants, he sent messages to Elder Kong and Master Bai before he left."

Yang Ziling's fingers, which were tapping on the railing, paused slightly. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, which then turned into a deeper sense of amusement and calculation.

"Oh? You left so soon? Without even saying goodbye in person?"

"It seems our Junior Sister Bai isn't very good at recruiting people. She scared him away so quickly? Or is it that... this person is just a showy figurehead, unable to satisfy Junior Sister Bai's appetite and not worth much?"

The maid hesitated for a moment, then added, "However... there are scattered rumors in the inner lake that this person seems to have made a breakthrough in alchemy, but the news has not yet been confirmed."

"Breakthrough?" Yang Ziling scoffed, unimpressed. "A rootless rogue cultivator, who is lucky enough to receive a few pointers from Master Kong, how far can he break through? At most, he'll just be stuck in the middle stage of the second tier."

On the surface, he remained silent, but inwardly he felt a slight chill and a sense of coldness rising within him.

The maid didn't say much, she just nodded: "Miss's judgment is correct."

"Go."

Yang Ziling waved her hand, dismissing the maid.

At the same time, she took out a sound transmission jade talisman, whispered a few words to it, and then cast a seal on it. Instantly, a dense, close-fitting white light formed on it, preventing it from being spied on. Then, she raised her hand and sent the jade talisman flying away.

The direction they were heading was clearly towards the outer lake.

Moreover... it's located within the cave dwelling area.

If Lin Changheng were there, he would have noticed that the final landing point of this communication jade talisman was actually a low-altitude pass over Cave 98, which landed directly in Cave 97 next door!
That rather mysterious neighbor's cave dwelling, where they almost never leave their cave and rarely socialize.

"Buzz~"

It was directly trapped in the formation, struggling slightly and buzzing.

At this moment, a figure in black robes seemed to sense something, walked out of the cave, and looked up at the jade talisman.

At this moment, his clothes and hat were slightly pulled back, revealing a pale, bloodless face, as if he had not seen the sun for many years.

With a swift, eagle-claw-like motion, he seized the jade talisman, using a special technique to break the seal, and his divine sense surged forth to enter.

"boom!"

After a moment, his expression darkened, and with a forceful squeeze, he shattered the jade talisman into pieces.

"damn it!"

His face flashed with a complex mix of resentment, dissatisfaction, and ruthlessness!

It seemed as if someone was deliberately threatening or manipulating him.

But after a moment, he gritted his teeth and revealed a hint of reluctance followed by a helpless compromise.

That night.

The sky was deep and dark, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face. A dark figure emerged silently from the cave, disappearing into the darkness in no time.

……

Lin Changheng flew high through the sky, heading rapidly towards Jade Belt Lake. He didn't stop along the way, flying straight ahead and pushing his speed to the limit, like a streak of azure lightning tearing through the clouds.

His eagerness was not out of a desire to return home, but rather out of caution.

There were quite a few high-level cultivators who came to [Floating Life Immortal City] to witness the ceremony this time. There were more than ten old monsters above the Core Formation stage, and there were countless cultivators at the late Foundation Establishment stage and the Perfect Foundation Establishment stage. Although the ceremony has ended, the time and route of these people's departure are hard to predict.

As the saying goes, when gods fight, mortals suffer. If you're unlucky enough to bump into a high-level cultivator on the road who has a strange temper or is dealing with private matters, the other party might ignore you if they're in a good mood, but if they're in a bad mood, it's perfectly normal for them to casually kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator who has been "taken advantage of."

Although he wasn't a cultivator at the Pseudo-Core stage or higher, Lin Changheng wasn't afraid, but as the saying goes, better safe than sorry.

Lin Changheng's mind finally relaxed when he finally caught sight of the familiar outline of Jade Belt Lake in the distance.

However, in the next moment, a violent surge of spiritual energy, mixed with the roar of magic, suddenly came from the direction of Jade Belt Lake!
"what?"

Upon realizing this, Lin Changheng's expression immediately turned serious. He activated the [Concealing Breath Demon Technique] and then used the [Shadow Escape Technique], allowing him to drift away silently.

Forcing himself to remain calm, he arrived at a distance of about five miles.

It can be said that the distance of five li is extremely well-balanced.

The range of a Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense is only four miles. Even if there are unexpected events and their divine soul becomes stronger due to some factor, it is difficult for them to exceed five miles.

Therefore, it is quite appropriate to observe the situation outside this scope.

Of course, if this commotion was created by a fake Core Formation cultivator, it would have no effect even if it were five or six miles away, and the effect would be the same no matter what.

Because the range of divine sense of an ordinary pseudo-core cultivator is exactly eight li!
They couldn't escape the other party's divine sense sweeping over them.

However, this possibility can be largely ruled out. The formations on the three islands of Jade Belt Lake are all roughly the same level, either high-grade or mid-grade second rank, making it difficult for them to withstand the methods of a pseudo-core cultivator for too long.

……

High in the sky, Lin Changheng had already disappeared into a thick cloud, further concealing his figure.

At the same time, the three techniques of [Insight into Other Methods] were combined and unleashed, and three-colored light flowed quietly in his eyes. He immediately strained his eyes to look in that direction.

It was soon discovered that the fluctuation did not originate from his "Qiyue Island", but from the neighboring "Shengyang Island" of Xu Maoling!
Outside Shengyang Island, the once peaceful light barrier was now flickering violently, clearly under a fierce attack! Several streaks of light circled the island, continuously unleashing various spells. Among them, a figure with a powerful aura was fiercely attacking the array nodes, clearly possessing the cultivation level of the late Foundation Establishment stage!
Within the formation, counterattacks continued to erupt, with a high-grade spiritual weapon shaped like a scythe attacking relentlessly, clearly enraged.

Lin Changheng recognized it; it was Xu Maoling's magical artifact.

"So all we can do is hold our ground and defend?"

Upon realizing this, Lin Changheng's expression did not relax even though the target was not Qiyue Island.

What made his face darken even more was that, perhaps because Shengyang Island was quite close to his Qiyue Island, or perhaps because the aftershocks of the opponent's attack were too fierce, the dissipated energy had already reached Qiyue Island!

The island's own [Thick Earth Bearing Array] and [Azure Wave Curtain Array] have been activated, and the light curtain ripples. Although they are temporarily unharmed, they are clearly under considerable pressure.

The green-haired tiger on the island let out an uneasy growl, while Little Black and Little White stood ready on the shore, their demonic power rising.

Yan Mingyi's figure also rose into the air within the island, holding the array flag given to her by Lin Changheng, nervously manipulating the array to resist the aftershocks.

At this moment, there was also a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator who, although constantly attacking Shengyang Island, was clearly still paying attention to Qiyue Island and monitoring it, fearing that someone might come out to launch a sneak attack or join the battle.

……

Even worse, on the other side of Shengyang Island, the grand formation of "Floating Star Island" had been breached. Cheng Suling's island, which was originally perfectly integrated with nature and was quiet and elegant, was now a scene of devastation.

The natural feng shui formation surrounding the island had been violently torn open, leaving a huge gap, and the remaining light curtain fell like shattered glass. The island's rocks were cracked, the trees were scorched, and the exotic plants she had carefully cultivated were utterly destroyed.

A fierce clash of spiritual light could be faintly seen in the center of the island, clearly indicating that Cheng Suling herself was fighting the intruder. However, her aura fluctuations were obviously at a disadvantage, and she could only barely hold on by relying on her familiarity with the terrain and her control over geomancy. The situation was extremely precarious!
"They actually attacked two islands in succession?!" Lin Changheng was shocked, and his face turned completely gloomy.

This is no ordinary conflict.

The invaders were incredibly powerful, consisting of at least two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and four mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. They were ruthless and had a clear objective: to eliminate Xu Maoling and Cheng Suling simultaneously with overwhelming force.

It was clearly premeditated!

Since the opponent dared to attack two islanders simultaneously and so quickly broke through the grand formation set up by Cheng Suling using geomancy techniques, their strength and preparation far exceeded expectations. Who will be the next target? It's self-evident!

The lips are dead and the teeth are cold.

If Xu Maoling and Cheng Suling are both captured, his Qiyue Island will be left to fend for itself and will inevitably become the next target for the enemy to devour, and they will simply be eliminated along the way.

At that time, facing an attack from possibly more than one late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, even with the support of an array, his chances of survival are slim.

We can't wait and see any longer.

A murderous glint flashed in Lin Changheng's eyes. At this point, it wasn't a question of whether to help or not, but of saving himself.

The island not only housed his concubines and spirit beasts, but also a secluded garden of medicinal herbs, where a host of rare and precious plants were cultivated, making it indispensable.

His figure moved like a ghost through the clouds, quickly analyzing the battlefield situation:

On the direction of Shengyang Island, Xu Maoling is still struggling to hold on with his profound earth-based skills and the formations he has cultivated over many years, but defeat is only a matter of time.

On Floating Star Island, Cheng Suling is in grave danger and must be rescued as a priority!
Once this matter is settled, we can ask them for an explanation later.

Perhaps we can even take this opportunity to acquire some resources.

Moreover, there's the moral obligation of a defensive alliance...

In the blink of an eye, Lin Changheng had made his decision.

He first sent a brief telepathic message to Yan Mingyi in the direction of Qiyue Island: "Hold fast to the formation. No matter what happens outside, you must not leave the formation!"

"Husband?!"

Yan Mingyi, who was anxious, immediately felt relieved and had found a pillar of support!
At the same time, Xiaobai also received an order to quietly enter the water at the edge of the island where almost no one paid attention, and according to Lin Changheng's requirements, continue to sink and quietly move towards Floating Star Island.

At this moment, Lin Changheng had already pushed the [Concealing Breath Technique] to its limit. Using the cloud energy, his figure transformed into a barely perceptible shadow, circling around to the rear where the battle on Floating Star Island was most intense.

Fortunately, Xu Maoling attracted most of the attention, so Lin Changheng was not noticed.

However, the closer Lin Changheng got, the more astonishing the battle roars and spiritual pressure became on Floating Star Island.

A green lamp floated above Cheng Suling's head, casting a protective light. At the same time, she manipulated a compass-like spiritual artifact, drawing upon the remaining earth veins and vegetation to transform into resilient vines and ferocious spikes, which relentlessly attacked the two smirking enemies...

(End of this chapter)