Chapter 124: Different Paths, No Common Ground

"Fire enters the water realm, yang transforms and yin emerges. Spirit enters the qi, and mercury and lead refine themselves." The devil-man sat silently on a reef. Having been ambushed by Qinghong and suffering significant injuries, he was in no hurry to pursue, choosing instead to remain in place to regulate his breath and heal.

After half a day, he finished his practice.

A brilliant light shot from his eyes as he slowly stood up. He gazed at the fragmented vortex before him, ripples churning within his sleeves. In an instant, the seawater in front of him was shattered by a tremendous force, and from within, a flat, circular metal disc floated out.

This disc was a treasure condensed and compressed by the vortex over five hundred years of operation, as it swallowed everything in its vicinity.

"An embryonic artifact born of heaven and earth. If it weren't for his interference, I might have forged a formidable weapon." The man’s face darkened as he meticulously searched the ruins of the vortex. He recovered several medicinal herbs and spiritual fish, such as the Seven-Fragrance Qiong Grass and the Ink-Bucket Yin-Yang Fish. Unfortunately, because the vortex was shattered too early, these items had not yet fully matured.

With this done, he spat out an inner core and began tracking the trail of Qinghong and his two companions.

Qinghong and the others were moving through the sea, carefully concealing their tracks. However, the Blood Shark had previously tampered with the Demon-Suppressing Flag. Thus, the moment the Dragon Maiden successfully refined the Sea-Suppressing Pearl, they were overtaken by the man.

"He caught up?" Qinghong and the Fairy exchanged glances of alarm, both turning toward the same direction simultaneously.

Qinghong secretly cast his Azure Tide Pearl into the water, setting a trap in the shadows.

"Who did I think it was? So it is Junior Sister Yuzhi. It has been many years; have you been well?" The man stepped across the waves, his hands behind his back, his expression one of arrogance.

Upon seeing him, Fairy Yuzhi’s face changed drastically. "It’s you?"

Observing her expression, Qinghong thought to himself, "Ever since the Senior Sister began traveling with me, I have never seen her lose her composure like this. Could it be that this man is connected to her?"

Fairy Yuzhi sighed mournfully. "I should have guessed that the Eastern Sect’s arrival in the Black Sea had something to do with you. You have been with the Eastern Sect for years, and your divine powers are top-tier; how could you not be involved in this?"

The Fairy’s demeanor was unusual, as if she were quite familiar with the newcomer.

The man laughed. "I have come by the Sect Master’s order to destroy the Azure Cloud Flag. This thing is too restrictive to our Origin Path. It is better to destroy it early."

"It is not the Origin Path, but your Demon Sect, isn't it? Cao Yu, do you really think I will let you succeed?" The Fairy took the flag from Qinghong and gave it a gentle shake, causing the azure cloud treasure light to rise in curls.

"You cannot defeat me anyway. Even if you don't give it to me, I will simply snatch it later." Cao Yu walked forward step by step, saying, "What Demon Sect or Profound Sect? These are merely two different systems of cultivation. As a practitioner of the ancient arts, you claim to embody the heart of heaven; why are you still clinging to these distinctions of good and evil?"

He was very familiar with Fairy Yuzhi and spoke with ease. "You should know that the Heavenly Dao is ruthless and selfless; how can there be a distinction between right and wrong? It is only because the human heart overthinks that such distinctions arise. This is the way of the external path! When the heart harbors notions of right and wrong, it deviates from the Great Dao. With such self-centered attachments, how can you ever hope to perceive the Heavenly Dao?"

In Cao Yu’s words, he seemed to have long abandoned sectarian biases, and even the distinction between good and evil. He exuded an air of wicked, unbridled charisma. "In my eyes, good, evil, and external paths are all drifting clouds; only the Great Dao is eternal. Within the Origin Path, I have found my own gate to ascension."

The Fairy replied coldly, "Nonsense. The Immortal Dao advocates the 'Unity of Heaven and Man.' Heaven refers to the Heavenly Dao—the order of nature, the arrangement of stars, the creation of mountains and rivers. Man refers to the pure, guileless, compassionate, and carefree heart. This human path is the very foundation of us cultivators. Without the persistence of our original intent, how could we merge with the Dao and attain immortality, pursuing the truth of heaven? Cao Yu, what you say today is completely different from what you said a hundred years ago. To fall from the Profound Sect into the Demon Sect—have you even lost control of your original heart?"

Cao Yu had originally been a member of the Profound Sect and an old acquaintance of Fairy Yuzhi. Unfortunately, he had later fallen into the demonic path, and after practicing demonic arts, his temperament changed entirely, eventually leading him away from the path of immortality.

At the mention of the past, Cao Yu frowned slightly and stopped paying attention to Fairy Yuzhi, glancing instead at Qinghong beside her. "You are the one who crossed me just now, aren't you?"

Qinghong met his gaze and was instantly swallowed by the swirling water light in the man's eyes.

Cao Yu’s cultivation was a cut above the two. With just that single gaze, Qinghong felt as if a monstrous wave had appeared before him. Beneath a pitch-black sky, he was plunged into a turbulent sea; he was surrounded by raging floods, with no path to survival.

"The Dao Capital Map!" Qinghong took a deep breath and quickly visualized the Dao Capital Map.

The celestial river sparkled, and the stars shone like pearls. The circular light radiated brilliance, and the mysterious jade glowed. Within the map, a sunlit palace and a moonlit pavilion rose, with the Supreme Emperor sitting in the center, chanting the true mantras of the Great Dao to guard his heart. Ultimately, Qinghong managed to struggle free from the man’s demonic pupils.

"Interesting," Cao Yu said with slight surprise. His eyes were naturally spiritual pupils, capable of channeling the power of a demonic soul to lure the primordial spirits of immortals. Those with insufficient cultivation who were drawn into his gaze would be lost forever in that vast ocean.

"The person beside you is quite skilled. What, is he your lover?" Cao Yu spoke without restraint, gradually seizing the rhythm of the encounter and forcing his way toward them.

Suddenly, Qinghong smiled. He wore a gentle, calm, and indifferent expression. He tapped his foot, and eight golden gates rose from beneath him, shielding Cao Yu from them. "So, you know my Senior Sister? I am Qinghong, from the same lineage as her. Our previous exchange was not quite finished—let me learn from you!" He attacked aggressively, driving the Eight Gates to form a formation, and twenty-four treasure pearls rose slowly into the air, intending to defeat Cao Yu with his usual methods.

White light flashed in the sky, and the aura of the Azure Tide Pearls surged toward the heavens. In the past, those immortals and devils could not bear the heavenly light and were forced to shut their eyes. But Cao Yu was different; he stared directly at the pearls, a mocking smile on his face.

"Junior Brother, be careful! His eyes are natural spiritual pupils; he does not fear the light of your pearls." The Fairy realized this and summoned her Yin-Yang Golden Scissors, employing the "Yin-Yang Dragon Whisker" technique to help repel the enemy.

The golden clouds of the Eight Gates swirled, and the two dragons entangled endlessly. With their combined attack, the Eight Trigrams working in tandem with the Yin-Yang, any ordinary Human Immortal present would have been unable to escape.

However, Cao Yu simply took out his own artifact without panic. "You two are only at the level of Divine Form, how can you fight me?"

Cao Yu’s cultivation far surpassed theirs, approaching that of top-tier Human Immortals like the Master of Black Pool. If not for Qinghong's ambush earlier, he could have likely defeated them in a single clash.

A streak of crimson sword light wove through the waves as Cao Yu slashed out casually.

This strike moved the heavens. The Yin-Yang technique of the two entangled dragons was instantly broken, and the twenty-four pearls shining in the air fell back to Qinghong’s feet one by one.

The Eight Gates were shattered, and the Golden Scissors were cut. The combined might of the two could not withstand a single strike from him.

Qinghong and the Fairy felt a sudden malaise. Both artifacts were bonded to their lives, and now that they had been beaten back by Cao Yu, their primordial spirits were affected, sending waves of stinging pain through them.

Qinghong clutched his head and retracted the Azure Tide Pearls. "Although his cultivation is superior to ours, that sword in his hand..."

"That is an Immortal Sword, a treasure left behind by an ancient immortal." Fairy Yuzhi felt a pang of sorrow; if it came down to it, this sword was a treasure from antiquity that she and Cao Yu had discovered together during an expedition.

Cao Yu stood with his sword, his presence fierce and imposing. "Boy, if you hadn't ambushed me when I wasn't looking, do you think your meager cultivation could have hurt me?" A giant whale emerged behind him, his Dao fruit manipulating the weather of heaven and earth, sealing off the surrounding space.

Seeing the two of them losing, the Dragon Maiden gathered her courage, activated the artifact she had just refined, and shouted, "Devil, look at my Sea-Suppressing Pearl!"

A spark of spiritual light was cast into the sea, but before the pearl could reach Cao Yu, it was sealed by the power of his Dao fruit.

The Sea-Suppressing Pearl fell into Cao Yu’s hand like a speck of dust. "Scram!" He glared, and with just a single look, he shook the Dragon Maiden unconscious, leaving her silent and motionless.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the three were either injured or knocked unconscious.

Cao Yu smiled. "Yuzhi, just return the flag to me. Given our old friendship, I will let you go."

"Since when do people of the Demon Sect have compassion? You don't kill us only because you are injured and lack the certainty to finish all three of us off." The Fairy remained cold, secretly transmitting her voice to Qinghong: "In a moment, take this girl and go."

Qinghong shook his head slightly. "If we leave, we leave together." He quickly swallowed a pill, and from his throat downward, a violent and fierce medicinal power flowed through his entire body.

It was a *Hidden Spirit and Contract Pill*, a celestial pill used to boost combat power and raise one's cultivation level. Qinghong had obtained only three such pills not long ago. He stuffed another into Yuzhi’s hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, Fairy Yuzhi also swallowed the elixir.

The two moved with great speed. By the time Cao Yu tried to block them, a celestial river and a Taiji diagram erupted from each of them.

"Dao Fruit Spiritual Manifestation? Even if you two have the cultivation of the Profound Dao, what can you do?" The giant whale behind him swam through the sea, lunging toward Qinghong.

As the celestial river swirled around Qinghong, he felt his brain buzzing, his soul stimulated by a powerful force.

His glabella throbbed, and under the influence of the pill, his primordial spirit became clearer than ever. Even his Dao fruit’s perception of heaven and earth broke through a threshold into a higher realm.

"The Great Dao is profound—is this the ultimate Profound Realm of a Human Immortal?" Before Qinghong’s eyes, the trajectories of heaven and earth appeared.

At the far end of this vast, boundless ocean, a giant demonic whale was charging toward him.

At this moment, Qinghong could clearly see the trajectory of the opponent's attack and responded accordingly: "Ice Soul Divine Thunder." A burst of lightning roared out, and the ocean before him froze inch by inch.

The next moment, a Taiji diagram emerged beside him. The Rainbow Bridge suppressed all things, churning earth, fire, wind, and water, as the Fairy’s slender fingers channeled the Taiji Yin-Yang force toward Cao Yu’s chest. Having been close for many years, the Fairy knew exactly where his weaknesses lay.

Cao Yu’s eyes flashed with a fierce light. "Vile woman, you would still kill me?" He struck without mercy, once again waving his sword to stir the waves, aiming for the Fairy’s neck.

"Taiji Dao Map." Seeing his counterattack, the Fairy immediately shifted from offense to defense. The way of Taiji combined hardness and softness, uniting attack and defense. With a twist of her fingertips, the Taiji map rose to slide along the sword blade, allowing the Fairy to escape the lethal blow gracefully.

However, the two were still unaccustomed to the "Profound Realm" and were constantly suppressed by Cao Yu. Under the barrage of his intense, storm-like attacks, the two were forced to retreat step by step.

It was not until another sword light shot in from the clouds beyond the sky that Qinghong and the Fairy were finally granted a moment to catch their breath.

Supreme Virtue, formless and nameless. This sword strike also carried the essence of the "Profound Great Dao." As it approached, it tore through the turbulent waves and joined the Fairy in attacking Cao Yu.