After hearing your plan, Gu Xinyue nodded.
Her thoughts were the same as yours. At present, there was no place left for you in either Qingzhou or Youzhou.
In the end, you decided to break through from Qingzhou and head for the Central Continent.
Early the next morning, you set out for the Central Continent. Fang Jingchun wanted to escort you, but you refused.
Your reason was simple. You were afraid his identity would be exposed as well. By now, throughout all of Qingzhou, you had already been publicly recognized as part of the Demonic Path. Whoever got close to you would be branded your accomplice.
Three days later, you arrived at the pass connecting Qingzhou to the Central Continent.
Most people traveling to the Central Continent would spend spirit stones here to board a spirit boat. Of course, some also chose to fly there on their own.
The former was faster and safer, while the latter was time-consuming and exhausting, though it offered a certain degree of privacy.
This pass was surrounded by the Endless Sea, and anyone wishing to take the safest route had to pass through it.
Normally, there were very few people here, and no one conducted inspections.
But when you arrived today, you discovered that elders from the Qingyun Sect, the Wind Thunder Sect, and the Myriad Demon Sect were all stationed here carrying out inspections.
What shocked you even more was that the spirit artifact they were using for the inspection was actually the weapon of the Qingyun Sect Master. You had seen this Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure Tower before in the Qingyun Sect.
It could induce Bizarre Insects into a state of Awakening, but for a human like you, it was completely ineffective.
You told Ye Chuxue and Gu Xinyue about this at once. Originally, you had planned to try disguising yourselves and slipping through.
But you had underestimated how determined the three great sects of Qingzhou were to kill you. In the eyes of those Bizarre Insects, they did not want another existence like the Ancient Chaos Fiend Heavenly Venerable to appear.
So before you had fully grown, they intended to strangle you in the cradle.
When you reached the inspection point, you shot Gu Xinyue a look.
In the next instant, you and Gu Xinyue struck at the same time, each unleashing a strand of sword aura. The two Deity Transformation elders inspecting you were instantly splattered with blood and collapsed to the ground.
Behind you, Ye Chuxue delivered the finishing blow to the two defenseless elders, using a burst of Taiyin energy to shatter their Dantians.
Just as you were about to enter the passage, three figures blocked your way.
At the front stood the Qingyun Sect Master. Behind him were the Wind Thunder Sect Master and the Myriad Demon Sect Master.
But what shocked you most was that the Qingyun Sect Master was actually in the Void Refinement realm.
Floating in midair, the Qingyun Sect Master looked down at you with a gloomy expression and snarled,
"You humans are nothing more than nourishment for us, yet even now you still dream of changing the world?"
"Do not forget, even your own Ancient Chaos Fiend Heavenly Venerable failed to do it. And you still refuse to give up?"
"If you are nourishment, then you should have the awareness of nourishment. What is the point of this powerless resistance?"
As soon as his words fell, the Qingyun Sect Master gestured, and the other two sect masters charged at you.
The Myriad Demon Sect Master instantly released the cultivation of Deity Transformation Great Perfection. With a move called "Myriad Demons Devour," he transformed into black mist and suppressed you.
It was your first time facing an opponent at Deity Transformation Great Perfection, so you did not dare be careless. Drawing the Taixu Sword, carrying Taixu Sword Intent, you slashed at the black mist with a single strike.
After being repaired twice, the Taixu Sword was no longer comparable to the short, broken sword it had once been on Sword Mountain.
With just one slash, you dispelled the Myriad Demon Sect Master's move. But at the same time, the rate at which your own spiritual energy was being consumed increased severalfold.
The Myriad Demon Sect Master, who had only been momentarily stunned, instantly discovered your weakness. A mocking smile appeared on his face.
"Old ghost, what exactly are you laughing at?"
In the next moment, Gu Xinyue's sword aura, carrying the might of Void Refinement, came slashing toward him.
His attention had been completely focused on you, and he had failed to notice that the Wind Thunder Sect Master had already been killed by Gu Xinyue.
Even the Qingyun Sect Master in the sky, who had not intended to interfere at first, had not expected that one of your group would actually be in Void Refinement.
He shouted in disbelief, "Impossible!"
"How could Qingzhou possibly have a human in Void Refinement? What are those people in the Central Continent doing?"
But he quickly calmed down and looked at Gu Xinyue with deep, searching eyes.
"You are not from Qingzhou? You came from the Central Continent? Qingzhou and Youzhou could never produce a human like you."
Gu Xinyue sneered.
"Hmph! Why do you not guess?"
Above the Endless Sea, the Qingyun Sect Master closed his eyes, not knowing what he was thinking.
"No matter where you came from, humans are not allowed to have cultivators above Foundation Establishment!"
Soon, a fierce battle erupted between Gu Xinyue and the Qingyun Sect Master.
Faced with a battle at the Void Refinement level, you were powerless to interfere and could only wait where you were for the fight to end.
The battle lasted seven full days.
During that time, you even lent the Taixu Sword to Gu Xinyue.
With the Taixu Sword in hand, Gu Xinyue's combat strength increased drastically, and she directly shattered the Qingyun Sect Master's Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure Tower.
In the end, despite suffering some injuries, Gu Xinyue successfully killed the Qingyun Sect Master. After his death, you did not dare remain there for even a moment and fled straight toward the Central Continent.
This time, you personally used the Great Void Technique to bring Gu Xinyue and Ye Chuxue away.
Seven days had already passed since your identities had been exposed. Whether you flew or took a spirit boat, there was too great a risk of being caught up with. Only by using the Great Void Technique could you conceal your tracks as much as possible.
Three months later, you brought Gu Xinyue and Ye Chuxue to Qingshan City.
Even after arriving there, you still did not fully relax.
Your mind was still filled with the words the Qingyun Sect Master had said before.
What are those people in the Central Continent doing?
You knew the implication behind those words ran very deep.
And you had also noticed one detail. The Qingyun Sect Master had referred to you as "humans," not as members of the Demonic Path.
That meant his status among the Bizarre Insects was not low.
So the reason there were no humans above Void Refinement in Qingzhou and Youzhou was not merely due to environmental limitations.
You could now be certain that some hidden secret lay behind all this.
But it was not entirely without exceptions. In your view, the Sword Pavilion Master's strength was far beyond Void Refinement.
You decided to temporarily set these doubts aside and first follow your original plan by heading to the Imperial Capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
After asking around in Qingshan City, you learned that the city had not yet been sealed off. That meant Wei Qing had not been exposed yet.
Since that was the case, you decided to find Wei Qing first and bring him along.
But if Wei Qing had already been exposed, you would not take him with you. Gu Xinyue was currently injured, and without recovering in a secret realm first, she could not fight again.
One week later, you successfully found Wei Qing.
And when you found him, you happened to witness him killing the City Lord's son.
Seeing this, you had no time to explain and immediately took him away from Qingshan City.
...