The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Two days later, inside the main hall of Cyan Sword Peak, Zisang Jin stepped into a sea of flowers.

"Junior Sister, you truly are a cultivation prodigy. You broke through two layers in just two days! You've reached the Fifth-Layer Golden Core Stage before you've even finished switching your Cultivation Technique!"

Tian Sisi caressed her long saber and shook her head. "I'm still far behind you, Senior Sister. This is just the result of my past accumulation. The road ahead will still require diligent cultivation."

Her peach-colored embroidered shoes tapped lightly on a swaying flower petal, like a butterfly. "A disciple from down the peak just reported that the boy, Chen Dong, accepted a mission from the Affairs Hall and left the sect gates. New disciples like him aren't supposed to go out, but he used his connection with Fu Changyan. From what I hear, he left her fuming!"

Tian Sisi's grip on her long saber tightened, then slowly relaxed. "Senior Sister, you don't have to tell me news about him."

Zisang Jin glanced at the tassel on the saber, woven from strands of hair, and shook her head slightly.

"With a Ninth-Layer Golden Core expert by his side, safety shouldn't be an issue. Still, I've sent one of my own disciples to follow them. You can focus on your cultivation without worry."

Upon hearing this, Tian Sisi returned to her cultivation.

Zisang Jin sighed softly. 'It's a good thing this junior sister didn't join the Heart Slaying Hall, or her Dao Heart would have been utterly destroyed. To long for what you cannot have, to be unable to let go... that is obsession. She says she never wants to see him again, but in truth, she cares more than anyone.'

Meanwhile, Chen Dong was in a team of twenty led by three Golden Core disciples. Their mission was to investigate a village on the outskirts of the Cyan Sky Sect's territory, where demonic beasts were said to have appeared.

Chen Dong had originally intended to go directly to the front lines to temper himself, but it turned out the Human Race and the Demon Race hadn't had a major war in two years.

From what he had learned over the past two days, Chen Dong knew that the Human Race in the Floating Shadow Realm could only be described as barely hanging on.

Two years ago, the Demon Race and the Devil Race attacked simultaneously. The three major sects fought back with all their might, but the great war ended in a crushing defeat. Just as the Demon and Devil Races were about to press their advantage, a person appeared. He laid down the All Heaven Guarding Array, halting the advance of the Demon and Devil Races and protecting the last remaining territories of the Human Race within the Array.

The cultivators from the twenty-three Sword Peaks of the Cyan Sky Sect were the ones who perished in that great war, which is why the three sects are so eager to recruit new disciples.

And the person who laid down the All Heaven Guarding Array was none other than You. Chen Dong knew that You seemed to be bound by some sort of rule and couldn't act as he pleased. Setting up this Array was likely his limit; otherwise, he would never have stood by and watched his homeland be invaded by demons and devils.

Now, the Human Race occupied only a tenth of the Floating Shadow Realm's territory. To the east of the Cyan Sky Sect lay the lands of the Demon Race. Many of the Demon Race had been left behind within the human territories demarcated by the All Heaven Guarding Array, but over the past two years, the Cyan Sky Sect had cleaned up most of them. Now, whenever news of demonic beasts surfaced, the sect would only dispatch cultivators at the Golden Core Stage.

Aside from missions that required going beyond the Guardian Array, a task like this was the most dangerous available.

Chen Dong had wanted to take on an exploration mission, but they wouldn't let him. Even when he dragged along the highly arrogant Fu Changyan, the Elder at the Affairs Hall refused to give her face. To the current Cyan Sky Sect, newly initiated disciples were incredibly precious.

Chen Dong considered that he still had too many unknowns regarding the Demon Race and the Floating Shadow Realm. He decided to follow the sect's Golden Core experts to accumulate more experience before thinking about other plans.

The sect had a special treasure ship, with a speed comparable to that of a Mid-grade Golden Core cultivator in flight. The journey took a full twelve days. During this time, Chen Dong crammed on the common knowledge of the Floating Shadow Realm.

When they arrived, the team leader, Uncle-Master Tang Lian, put away the Flying Boat. The group hovered in mid-air. Ahead of them, several villages were shrouded in black mist. They kept a distance of several li from the mist, not daring to advance rashly.

Their Divine Sense couldn't penetrate the black mist; it was unclear whether the mist itself was blocking their Divine Sense or if there was another reason.

The three Uncle-Masters leading the team consisted of two men and one woman: Qiu Cai from Chejian Peak, a Fifth-Layer, Fourth-grade Golden Core; the brothers Tang Lian and Tang Xian from Golden Sword Peak—Tang Xian was a Sixth-Layer, Third-grade Golden Core, and Tang Lian was a Seventh-Layer, Third-grade Golden Core, making him the highest-level cultivator in the group. The other fifteen were all Late-stage Foundation Establishment disciples from various Sword Peaks, five of whom were senior sisters.

Since Chen Dong and Li Zhixuan were new to the sect, they had no choice but to address the others as senior sister and senior brother, even if their actual strength was higher than the other fifteen. On the surface, Li Zhixuan's cultivation was also only at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

Gazing at the black mist, Tang Lian's expression turned grim. "This is trouble. To be able to create a black mist that obstructs Divine Sense... what's inside might not be a demonic beast, but a member of the Demon Race. And it must have a Golden Core cultivation at the very least."

Thanks to his recent cramming session, Chen Dong knew that demonic beasts and the Demon Race were two different concepts. Demonic beasts had low intelligence and relied on innate instincts, making them relatively easy to deal with. The Demon Race, however, possessed intelligence on par with the Human Race, had long lifespans, and were capable of learning and creating. After thousands of years of development, their skills in Arrays, Alchemy, and Artifact Refining were no less advanced than those of the Human Race in the Floating Shadow Realm. Moreover, they possessed Innate Divine Techniques, making them extremely difficult to fight.

Tang Xian, however, had a different opinion. "Brother, you're being too cautious. If it really were a Golden Core Stage member of the Demon Race, the Elders would have cleaned it up long ago. It wouldn't have been left until now. This thing was hiding nearby and got discovered by the villagers. It created this black mist to scare us off from investigating, buying itself time to relocate."

Qiu Cai chimed in, "Once the All Heaven Guarding Array was set up, any demonic beasts or members of the Demon Race inside became fish in a barrel. If the thing in the black mist really has a Golden Core cultivation, it would have fought to the death long ago. Why would it wait until now? And even if it is at the Golden Core Stage, there are three of us Golden Cores. What's there to be afraid of!"