Grinding EXP From a Demon Hunting Ship

Nameless Sea Region.

Aboard the Ghostly Flood Dragon.

"Cough, cough..."

Su Ye let out a light cough as a sweet, coppery taste rose in his throat.

He had been injured from directly facing the Sword Intent of a Nascent Soul cultivator, even with his fifth-rank Divine Sense.

Of course, the injury wasn’t severe. The real strain had come from going all-out afterward to activate his Netherworld Skill.

Otherwise, the pressure from the Sword Intent alone, even from a great Nascent Soul cultivator, would have hardly been enough to injure him.

After all, Su Ye’s body and soul were already at the fifth rank.

They were in no way inferior, even when compared to a fifth-rank Demon Emperor.

PHEW...

After meditating for a moment to regulate his breathing, Su Ye let out a long, clear breath.

He raised a hand and wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Fuyunzi..."

A cold glint appeared in Su Ye’s eyes.

A dignified Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator, a Mr. Yuxu, yet he was so shameless! Bullying a junior just because he was stronger!

"I will remember what happened today. In the future... I will pay it back a hundredfold!"

Su Ye was one to hold a grudge. He added Fuyunzi’s name to his mental blacklist... The day he reached the Nascent Soul Realm, he would be sure to repay this debt!

...

After some thought, Su Ye ordered the Ghostly Flood Dragon to set a course for Volcano State.

This part of the Nameless Sea Region was already close to Volcano State.

’We can get there in four hours. Once we make landfall, my safety will be guaranteed,’ Su Ye mused.

Volcano State had a unique environment that repelled outside Nascent Soul cultivators.

It was the Dream-keepers’ method for protecting their Grotto Heaven. Any outside Nascent Soul cultivator who rashly set foot in Volcano State would be instantly assailed by a blazing fire poison that would incinerate their body and soul.

Yuan Lan and Li Jinhua had learned this the hard way, suffering a silent defeat there due to a moment of carelessness.

’Therefore... Nascent Soul True Monarchs can’t set foot in Volcano State. And the Dream-keepers are practically allies... They might turn on me after I refine the Dao Source, but until then, those few will probably have to treat me with the reverence they’d show their own father,’ Su Ye mused, rubbing his chin.

’So... for me, as long as I hide in Volcano State, I can ignore the threat from Fuyunzi and other outside Nascent Soul cultivators for a short time.’

As for Golden Core cultivators, they were no problem for Su Ye at all.

His recent clash with Fuyunzi had not been without its rewards, either.

At the very least, Su Ye had confirmed one thing: at his current strength, if he went all out, he could be considered a weaker Early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!

He could slaughter all of Volcano State’s Golden Core cultivators combined without breaking a sweat.

’But... that doesn’t mean I can just rest easy. The defenses of Volcano State will eventually crumble...’

’And even if they don’t, I can’t stay on this damn island forever. For my future cultivation, I still need to go to the Central Sea Region.’

’Besides that...’ A grave look appeared in Su Ye’s eyes.

’I was careful to cover my tracks, and I’m certain I left no clues... but the Cultivation Realm has methods like divination and fate calculation.’

’These arts are rather obscure, and the prerequisites to cultivate them are very high.’

’But with Fuyunzi’s status, it shouldn’t be difficult to hire a diviner to take action.’

’Could they possibly find me?’

At this thought, Su Ye felt things were getting a little thorny.

He had revealed quite a few abnormalities this time: Fifth-rank Divine Sense Power and a complete rule-based skill.

Neither of these was something a cultivator in the Golden Core Realm should possess.

’Troublesome...’

Su Ye sighed.

Consider defeat before victory.

He had to consider the consequences if his identity were to be exposed.

’Normally, the nine major sects of the inner sea are relatively tolerant of cultivators with outstanding, peerless talent. Their main approach is to absorb and assimilate them.’

Since he had decided to join the True Treasure Pavilion, Su Ye had naturally spent some time learning about the nine major sects of the inner sea, he mused.

Throughout the history of the Yaoguang Islands, the proportion of exceptionally talented Loose Cultivators absorbed by the nine major sects was small, but over the past eight hundred years, the absolute number was still significant.

Many of them went on to become Golden Core deacons or Nascent Soul elders, and it wasn’t unheard of for some to even rise to the position of Sect Leader.

’But my talent seems to have surpassed that scope,’ Su Ye thought, a faraway look in his eyes.

A Dao Embryo Dharma Aspect, a fifth-rank body and soul, and mastery of a complete rule-based skill... for talent of this level to be exposed to the public before he was powerful enough to protect himself was far too dangerous.

"Tsk, tsk..."

"To be honest, if I put myself in their shoes, I’d want to snuff out a threat like me too," Su Ye said, rubbing his chin.

Once a cultivator with that level of talent reached the Nascent Soul Realm, their combat power would surely be unmatched among their peers—enough to subvert the stable order that had prevailed in the Yaoguang Islands for the past eight hundred years.

’The True Treasure Pavilion and Li Jinhua would probably protect me... They are one of the nine major sects and beneficiaries of the current order, but they are only secondary beneficiaries.’

"But the Jade Void Sword Sect... it *is* the order itself," Su Ye sighed.

How could such a long-established hegemon be willing to see such a powerful challenger to the maritime order they dominated?

’If my identity is confirmed and the full extent of my abilities is exposed... the Jade Void Sword Sect would likely lose sleep over it and stop at nothing to eliminate me.’

’Even the True Treasure Pavilion might not be able to protect me.’

Su Ye lowered his gaze, a chill creeping into his heart. Unlike in his past life, the impact a single top-tier cultivator could have in this world was immeasurable.

With his talent, to the Jade Void Sword Sect, the threat he posed was likely... even greater than that of the Star Casting Hall!

PHEW...

Su Ye was lost in thought for a long time.