To the white-robed youth's ears, Dong Fuyi's words meant something else entirely. It was clear the other party had come to challenge him, or rather, to kill him.
"I came to the North Ice Continent for some personal matters and have no ill intentions toward it!" Although the white-robed youth was proud, his years of traveling across various continents had worn away some of his sharpness. He was here on business and did not wish to stir up trouble.
A few days ago, four Nascent Soul cultivators had targeted him in a marketplace, trailing him with the intent to kill him for his treasures. Only then had he acted, annihilating several of them.
They were merely four initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. After his strike, he hadn't even given them a second glance.
"Kid, you're talking a bit too much. You're not going to make a move, are you?" Dong Fuyi, however, was unwilling to say more. He had already pointed a finger.
The white-robed youth's face turned cold. This old man was attacking right from the start. How could he possibly be afraid of him?
He saw the other party's finger point out casually. An illusory finger instantly appeared before him, pressing directly toward his chest.
The white-robed youth said no more. With a cold expression, he too flicked a finger, and a yellow light shot toward the illusory finger.
"Bang!" A dull, almost inaudible sound rang out. The white-robed youth's originally cold face instantly changed color. The yellow light he had shot out was like a bubble, shattered in an instant upon contact with that finger.
His counterattack had seemed effortless, but not even a Spirit Transformation cultivator would dare to casually receive that yellow light. Everything happened too quickly.
After the illusory finger shattered his technique, it had already reached the white-robed youth's chest. But in an instant, a suit of golden armor appeared on the youth's body, and the next moment, the finger was pressing against it.
At this moment, he should be called the golden-armored youth. The instant the armor formed, a long spear materialized in his hand, instantly growing to several dozen zhang. He thrust it out, his reaction time astonishingly fast.
After the gray-robed elder had crushed the yellow light, the golden-armored youth knew he couldn't dodge, but he was extremely confident in his defense. He would use this opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to his opponent.
It happened in a flash. Dong Fuyi's finger directly poked the opponent's golden armor. At the same time, with a soft "swish," the tip of the long spear also pierced into Dong Fuyi's chest. And then, a scene that shocked the golden-armored youth occurred. His golden armor, under the opponent's seemingly ordinary finger, shattered upon contact!
In a state of extreme heart palpitations, the youth, who had walked the line between life and death for years, poured all his magical power into the long spear without reservation.
But the sensation from his hand gave him a bad feeling. The tip of the spear seemed to have entered a lake, meeting no resistance at all.
At the same time, he felt a tightening around him, and then, his entire body was imprisoned in place.
"How... how is this possible!" This time, the golden-armored youth was truly horrified. He had never dreamed he would encounter such a thing.
He himself had almost forgotten how long he had been traveling. If not for the influence of the lower realm's rules, he would have already stepped into the Void Refining stage.
His state of mind and magical power were long since full and perfected. After fulfilling his wish, he would ascend to the Immortal Spirit Realm. He estimated that he could then easily break through to the Mid-stage, or even Late-stage, Void Refining.
Now, in the lower realm, even Late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivators were nothing to him. He had numerous ways to kill them, but... what was going on with this gray-robed old man?
The youth, now back in his white robes, saw that demonic finger continue to press toward his physical body after shattering his armor.
His handsome eyes narrowed. The vast magical power in his body rumbled. And just then, he suddenly felt the imprisonment around him vanish without a trace, and the illusory finger also dissipated just before touching his clothes.
The gray-robed old man opposite him, however, wore a strange smile. As he took a few steps back, the tip of the long spear was also withdrawn from his chest, but there was not a single trace of blood on it.
Moreover, the moment the spear tip left his chest, not even a single wrinkle was left on his clothes.
The white-robed youth held the long spear, momentarily stunned. Soon, he reacted. When the other party shattered his golden armor, he hadn't felt any powerful force enter his body, nor was there any discomfort.
'He has no intention of killing me!' The white-robed youth had already figured it out. And he had also thought of a possibility. If his own master could use a great divine ability to conceal the rules of heaven and earth and remain in the lower realm, then this person opposite him...
"May I ask what guidance this senior has for me?" The long spear in his hand vanished instantly. The white-robed youth immediately bowed in salute. The other party could have easily killed him.
The reason the white-robed youth had this thought was that he still had several mutual-destruction techniques he had not yet used when the other party removed the imprisonment.
However, the gray-robed elder's next words made the white-robed youth's face change drastically. With a slip of his foot, he had retreated a thousand zhang to the side, hovering in the air.
"Guidance? Hmm, the 'Kylin Golden Armor' at your realm has reached a decent level. No guidance is needed! Where did you learn this cultivation method?" The white-robed youth felt as if streaks of lightning were coursing down his spine. He, who was always calm, whose expression wouldn't change even if a mountain collapsed before him, had his face change colors several times in just this short while today.
The other party had revealed the origin of his cultivation method in a single sentence. And his greatest secret was his sect's cultivation method!
"Who... who are you?"
"I'm asking you where you got this cultivation method. Must I force you with a soul search?" Although Dong Fuyi already had his suspicions, this concerned the greatest secret of the Five Immortal Sects. He had to be careful. And the most troublesome part was whether or not to use a soul search.
But after a soul search, if it turned out the other party was not a problem, it would be troublesome to explain to his few senior or junior brothers why he had performed a soul search on a junior.
Dong Fuyi's sharp eyes stared at the white-robed youth. For a moment, the youth felt he had lost the will to resist. But at this moment, he also began to calm down.
'He revealed my cultivation method with a single sentence. Six or seven times out of ten, he also knows my sect. Yet he didn't capture me and search my soul... Since I can't beat him anyway, I might as well take a gamble!' His thoughts spun rapidly, and he instantly made a judgment. At the same time, he had another guess. Moreover, he had always been a bold and meticulous person.
"It was taught by my master, True Lord Qianchong!" After saying this, the white-robed youth also stared at the gray-robed old man before him. And the next moment, to his relief, the gray-robed old man did not attack, but nodded.
"Take out your sect token for me to see, and circulate your cultivation method a bit!" At this point, the white-robed youth was already certain of some relationship between the other party and himself. He first shook his head.
"There is only one token in the sect, and it is with my master!" At the same time, a pale yellow light flowed around his body, and an extremely thick and pure earth-attribute spiritual power spread out.
After seeing the other's cultivation method, a smile finally appeared on Dong Fuyi's face.
"Alright, it seems you have some guesses about my origin. I am Dong Fuyi! What is your name?" Hearing this, a look of great joy appeared on the white-robed youth's face. He bowed from a distance.
"Greetings, Martial Uncle Dongfu of the Gui Water Immortal Sect. This disciple is Pei Buchong!"
"Hehe... still cautious!" Dong Fuyi couldn't help but chuckle when he heard Pei Buchong's words and saw his actions.
Although Pei Buchong believed him to some extent, he probably still had doubts. At the same time, Pei Buchong had once again proven his identity.
The Five Immortal Sects had few members and were very secretive. Therefore, outsiders rarely knew how many people they had, let alone the seniority order among the cultivators of the Five Immortal Sects. The Ji Earth Immortal Sect had four cultivators back then. Besides True Lord Qianchong and two other junior brothers, there was also a Void Refining stage cultivator.
And in terms of seniority with Dong Fuyi, only that Void Refining stage cultivator was his junior brother. The other three from the Ji Earth Immortal Sect were all his senior brothers. Therefore, Pei Buchong should address him as Martial Uncle.
Don't underestimate this casual sentence. It had further proven Pei Buchong's identity as a member of the Ji Earth Immortal Sect. Otherwise, outsiders wouldn't even know the specific number of members in the Five Immortal Sects, let alone who was a martial uncle or grand-uncle.
If Pei Buchong had said "Martial Grand-Uncle," Dong Fuyi would have captured him in the next moment and immediately performed a soul search. True Lord Qianchong was his senior brother.
Although Pei Buchong bowed, he did not approach immediately. He knew he couldn't defeat the other party, yet he was still secretly observing Dong Fuyi to verify his identity.
Dong Fuyi smiled, and a dark light flickered around him. An equally pure water-attribute spiritual power was released and then retracted. At the same time, black, green, crimson, yellow, and white lights flashed in succession around his body.
"Martial Uncle Dongfu!" After seeing this, Pei Buchong no longer had any hesitation. He flew directly in front of Dong Fuyi and kowtowed in respect.
"Alright, alright! No need for so many formalities. Why are you here, and where is Qianchong?" Dong Fuyi now knew that this fellow Qianchong had finally found a disciple. He couldn't help but feel a little unbalanced, a sour feeling.
"Martial Uncle, Master has been missing for many years. I have also been searching all this time, having traveled through many large and small realms. I only found my way here a few years ago based on some clues." After meeting Dong Fuyi, Pei Buchong was very excited and immediately revealed a piece of news that shocked Dong Fuyi.
"What? Qianchong is missing? What happened? Tell me slowly!" Dong Fuyi swept his Divine Sense around and found no other cultivators within ten thousand li. So he began to ask questions right there.
After a moment of thought, Pei Buchong organized his thoughts and began to narrate... Although Pei Buchong only mentioned the most important points, he had been to too many places, so it took him quite some time.
The reason he could track him here was also due to his own speculation based on some clues. Therefore, he had to mention the clues he had found so that Dong Fuyi could make a further judgment.
As a result, Pei Buchong spoke for a full half an hour.
"So, you are also from the Desolate Moon Continent. Could that place be a blessed land for our Five Immortal Sects..." After listening, Dong Fuyi first muttered this nonsensical sentence to himself, which made Pei Buchong pause, but before he could understand, Dong Fuyi continued.
"You said you met a wisp of his divine will on the Forsaken Continent. Senior Brother left that secret realm on the Desolate Moon Continent back then to search for 'Pangu Sand'?"
"Yes, Martial Uncle. This was told to this disciple by Master's divine will himself. If Martial Uncle doesn't believe me, you should still be able to find that wisp of divine will in the 'Sacred Demon Palace'." Pei Buchong replied affirmatively. Dong Fuyi waved his hand.
"No need. It's just a wisp of divine will. The things it knows are probably just what you've said. Unless all other clues are lost, only then will I consider going back to ask in detail. You said you found clues that led you here. Have you found out anything on the North Ice Continent?"
"Reporting to Martial Uncle, after I tracked the clues here, I did get a piece of news from a Fifth-rank demonic beast, the 'Treading Water Blue Bear.' According to its ancestor, about a thousand years ago, it once saw a yellow-robed Daoist in a marketplace. That person was proficient in earth-attribute cultivation methods. And that person had also inquired about 'Pangu Sand' in the marketplace. Later, to get this news, he even secretly fought with another human cultivator. In fact, the so-called fight was just that the yellow-robed Daoist nonchalantly took a secret blow from the other party without being harmed at all. And the ancestor of this 'Treading Water Blue Bear' also recognized the cultivator who attacked the Daoist. He was a metal-attribute Spirit Transformation cultivator, ranked in the top three on the North Ice Continent, which was why the yellow-robed Daoist was so memorable. Later, that yellow-robed Daoist and another cultivator hurriedly left the marketplace and were never seen again. Later, when the ancestor of this 'Treading Water Blue Bear' was teaching his disciples, when he talked about the defense that the 'Treading Water Blue Bear' was best at, he mentioned that yellow-robed Daoist. He said that his cultivation of the earth-attribute rules had reached the peak of a Spirit Transformation cultivator... Therefore, after getting this news, this disciple could basically determine that the person was Master. He probably also came to the North Ice Continent following clues while inquiring about news. And he finally disappeared here, and his whereabouts could not be found after that." Pei Buchong replied, a trace of anxiety flashing on his face.
Dong Fuyi fell into deep thought for a moment. Pei Buchong did not dare to ask. It was only after a quarter of an hour that Dong Fuyi finally raised his head, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"This is a trap!"
"Martial Uncle, what do you mean by that?"
"Do you know why I was also able to come here?" Pei Buchong was an extremely intelligent person. He immediately thought of a possibility.
"Martial Uncle is saying that someone deliberately released news of 'Pangu Sand' to lure Master over. And did Martial Uncle also receive some news?" Dong Fuyi looked at the white-robed youth and praised him in his heart, then nodded.
"Yes, I also received news that moved my heart. And I got that news from the memories of some high-level cultivators. It was because of this that I almost died in a strange red lightning tribulation. Someone is targeting us. The killing traps they set are in many places. According to what you said, Senior Brother Qianchong has been out for so long, and only arrived here a thousand years ago. He may have encountered other dangers on the way. Besides, after I came here, I have not shown myself or interacted with others, so they couldn't always spread bait targeted at me. This was an unintentional act that bore fruit. The reason you were able to arrive here smoothly was that you followed the clues. Perhaps the order of these clues was reversed, and you appeared in other directions of the North Ice Continent, thus avoiding those extremely dangerous places. But we, in order to get what we want as soon as possible, and being confident in our skills, naturally wouldn't care about the dangers of this realm, and would instead fall into perilous lands. And in this world, there is only one sect that knows more about the Five Immortal Sects. That is our mortal enemy, a sect that constantly wants to destroy our sect. If I'm not mistaken, it should be them who set up such a targeted trap. I didn't expect them to come to the lower realm as well, and painstakingly set up a trap to deal with us. But on second thought, it makes sense. In the Immortal Spirit Realm, we are most vigilant, and it's difficult for them to set traps for us. But in the lower realm, we will lose a lot of our vigilance. According to what you said, I am sixty percent sure that it is that sect—the 'Yin-Yang Chaos Sect'!"