Grinding EXP From a Demon Hunting Ship

A powerful presence made itself known.

Above the high platform, a silver Escape Light flared.

A moment later, the figure of a tall, powerfully built middle-aged man appeared in mid-air. His robes fluttered as he stood suspended against the wind, his expression cold and arrogant.

"Han Tiantong!"

Upon seeing the figure,

Zheng Yunzhe cried out in shock from aboard the Longevity Treasure Ship.

Hearing the name, Su Ye narrowed his eyes. The intelligence he had gathered surfaced in his mind, confirming the cultivator’s identity.

Many cultivators were named Han Tiantong, but in the entire Central Sea Region, there was only one with that build and appearance who had reached Golden Core Perfection.

—The third core disciple of the Star Casting Hall, the great cultivator Han Tiantong of the Golden Core Perfection Realm!

This man was infamous throughout the Central Sea Region. Two hundred years ago, during the Battle of Mixed Element Mountain, this man, Han, had personally slain two core disciples of Mixed Element Mountain!

And back then, he was only at the Mid-stage Golden Core.

But now.

Two hundred years had passed.

"He’s actually reached the Golden Core Perfection realm?"

Feng Shaochai’s voice was tight with anxiety. He felt that Han Tiantong’s appearance was going to be a huge problem.

After all, among the nine Golden Core cultivators in the True Treasure Pavilion’s support fleet, aside from himself and Zheng Yunzhe, the majority were at the Mid-stage or early stage of the Golden Core realm.

Even including the two of them, there were only four late-stage cultivators in total.

As for the Perfection Realm, they had only one—and he was an old man in his twilight years, his lifespan dwindling and his combat prowess in decline.

It couldn’t be helped.

Cultivators who reached the Perfection Realm had the high hopes of their sects placed upon them. Normally, they had only one task: prepare to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.

All other trivial matters could be set aside for the time being.

An overlord sect like the Star Casting Hall, one of the top three, could afford to dispatch a Golden Core Perfection cultivator in his prime. The True Treasure Pavilion, however, had no such luxury.

Just then,

Han Tiantong sneered. "My Star Casting Hall claims this node. As for our friends from the True Treasure Pavilion... since you’re late, why don’t you just go home? Scram."

"How arrogant!"

"Han Tiantong!"

Hearing his words, the cultivators from the True Treasure Pavilion all glared at him in fury.

’Something’s not right.’

Su Ye, however, remained calm, observing the situation with perfect clarity.

Han Tiantong’s words were pure provocation. For a Golden Core cultivator, it seemed rather unwise.

’Unless... he’s planning to make a move?’

’He sees that the people from Profound Light Cave haven’t arrived yet.’

’The power disparity between our sides is huge, so... he wants to strike now?’

’It’s not impossible.’

A flicker of understanding passed through Su Ye, and he raised his guard.

At that very moment,

"Hmph, Han, your methods are a bit too tyrannical..."

An old man with a white beard and hair stepped forward on the deck of the Longevity Treasure Ship. He snorted coldly, a Duster cradled in his arms.

HUMMM.

Waves of Magical Power rippled outward.

The white-haired old man’s figure was stooped, but a majestic aura at the level of Golden Core Perfection roared forth from him.

Simultaneously, runes on the Longevity Treasure Ship flared to life. With the sound of grinding gears, the ship’s Array activated, unleashing a blinding radiance and a dense wave of Spiritual Power!

In an instant,

The pressure emanating from Han Tiantong dissipated.

"Mr. Guan."

The expressions on Feng Shaochai and Zheng Yunzhe’s faces relaxed slightly.

This Mr. Guan was the True Treasure Pavilion fleet’s only Golden Core Perfection cultivator. His cultivation was profound, and he was nearly seven hundred years old!

"Guan... heh. An old bag of bones like you, still running all over the place for the True Treasure Pavilion. You must be exhausted..."

"Since that’s the case, I’ll show you some respect, Guan."

Seeing Mr. Guan step forward, Han Tiantong raised an eyebrow. He paused for a moment before speaking with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

’What a shame...’

’Such a perfect opportunity.’

Han Tiantong thought, feeling a pang of regret.

His provocative words had been a test.

After all, with Profound Light Cave yet to arrive, the True Treasure Pavilion was alone against two sects, Star Casting Hall and Immortal Peak Palace. They had less than half the number of Golden Core cultivators. If a battle broke out, victory would have been assured!

If it weren’t for Mr. Guan, or the Longevity Treasure Ship, Han Tiantong would have attacked without a moment’s hesitation.

Unfortunately, while Mr. Guan’s combat power was long past its peak, the Longevity Treasure Ship made him far more dangerous. Even Han Tiantong was wary of it.

Admittedly,

Even with that, it wasn’t that his side couldn’t win, given the current disparity in power.

However, if they forced a battle, the casualties... Han Tiantong did a quick mental calculation. The gains simply wouldn’t justify the losses.

The Grotto Heaven hadn’t even opened yet.

Fighting to the death before they’d even seen any of the rewards? It wasn’t worth it.

Besides...

’The allied rogue cultivators and our friends from Immortal Peak Palace are one thing,’ he thought. ’For the great cause of my sect, they must be brave enough to make sacrifices and not fear hardship...’

’But the disciples of my own sect, my junior brothers and sisters... Since I brought them out here, I must do everything I can to bring them all back in one piece.’

Han Tiantong muttered to himself.

Setting aside their external dealings, the Star Casting Hall was relatively harmonious internally.

Or rather, they had strong cohesion—a key characteristic of sects built upon the bonds between masters and disciples.

The intense infighting and irreconcilable factions seen among many of the lower six sects were actually exceptions, a special phenomenon born from the era of the Reversed Moon War.

...

Their hands were tied.

The Star Casting Hall faction temporarily abandoned the idea of starting a full-blown war.

Of course, this restraint only extended to avoiding an all-out war. When it came to fighting over a passage to a Grotto Heaven, avoiding bloodshed? That was simply impossible.

’After all, this Grotto Heaven passage is very likely a nodal one.’

Aboard the Ghostly Flood Dragon, Su Ye extended a wisp of his Divine Sense to participate in the discussion, all while pondering the situation.

Nodal passages differed from regular ones in many ways, but the biggest distinction was that the former were almost always permanent.

So far, all the glowing gateways that had appeared in the Volcano State had been temporary—like the tide, they ebbed and flowed, vanishing in a flash.