Chapter 105

Chapter 105: Borrowing the Path

More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye, yet Wang Jie still had not returned. Huai Si, unable to wait any longer, had no choice but to leave. He couldn’t afford to waste any more time on Wang Jie.

Just a few days after Huai Si’s departure, Wang Jie finally returned.

The cataclysm materials were gone. He needed to gather more.

Hmm? The ship had changed?

Wang Jie looked toward the ship that was now closer to his own. It wasn’t Huai Si’s ship, and Huai Si’s ship had already left.

Wang Jie fell silent as he turned to return to his own vessel.

At that moment, the door to the ship opened, and a man stepped out, walking straight toward Wang Jie. “Junior brother, how long have you been on Heavy Depth Star? Have you happened to find a storage ring?”

Wang Jie calmly walked toward his ship. “No.”

The man curved his lips into a smile, stepping into Wang Jie’s path. “Junior brother, a storage ring can only be opened by its owner. If you happened to find one, please return it to me. I, senior brother, will reward you generously.”

Wang Jie sized the man up. “How are you so sure that you are the senior brother?”

The man was taken aback by the question, a smile of amusement tugging at his lips. He walked toward Wang Jie, raised a hand, and placed it on Wang Jie’s shoulder. His voice was soft but carried a chilling undertone. “Junior brother, your temper doesn’t seem too pleasant. Would you like senior brother to teach you how to show respect?”

Before he could finish, Wang Jie’s fist slammed into his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. The man bent over in pain, clutching his stomach and stumbling back, his strength drained by the blow.

Wang Jie walked past him without saying another word and boarded his ship, leaving.

It took the man a long time to catch his breath. His face was pale, and he looked up at the starry sky, his eyes filled with fear and caution.

One punch. Just one punch, and not only had he failed to dodge it, but he was left weakened.

This person was much stronger than him.

Most concerning of all, he couldn’t sense this person’s cultivation level.

He was at the peak of the Star Breaking Realm, in the top ten of the inner sect.

Far in the starry sky, beyond the reach of Heavy Depth Star, Huai Si stared at his personal terminal, his face grave.

One punch?

It was over with just one punch. And he couldn’t even detect the person’s cultivation. When did Frost Radiance Sect get such a powerful disciple? He had been here for ten years, thinking he had a clear understanding of things.

Meanwhile, Wang Jie watched the dark stars rush past him as he thought back on the man’s actions.

It had to be Huai Si’s doing. The man’s excuse for seeking trouble was too obvious; he had come to cause trouble on purpose. There was no one else it could have been but Huai Si.

But why did Huai Si keep focusing on him, again and again?

Was there something wrong with this person?

With that thought, Wang Jie decided to contact Jin Chu and the others to investigate. The honored guests had authority within the sect, but that didn’t include investigating disciples. After all, honored guests were only half members of Frost Radiance Sect—disciples were the foundation.

As he scrolled through his personal terminal, just as he was about to contact Jin Chu, strange music echoed in his ears.

Where was that music coming from? And why did his body unconsciously grow cold?

Wang Jie looked at the control panel, but no sound was coming from inside the ship. However, the music only grew louder. He glanced toward the starry sky. It was deep and dark, stars flickering occasionally, just a beam of light shining through the vast distance. Even if there was music outside, it shouldn’t have reached him here.

The music grew louder still.

Wang Jie stood still. Unknowingly, an indescribable sadness began to spread within him. He looked at the back of his hand, goosebumps rising, his hair standing on end. The music grew clearer and clearer.

Suddenly, everything—the ship, the universe, everything in his sight—turned gray and white.

Time seemed to freeze.

The ship moving through space also came to a halt.

Directly ahead, a figure appeared, penetrating the ship as if it were nothing. The person wore a white tall hat, scattering yellow paper money, and held a white long rod. They walked toward Wang Jie step by step.

Wang Jie stared at the figure, but couldn’t make out any details. All he saw were blurry faces, swirling like a vortex.

Behind them, others blew various instruments.

Only one figure stood out to Wang Jie: a middle-aged man, expressionless, walking in the center. His eyes were vacant, devoid of color.

At that moment, the space seemed like flowing water. The sound of the instruments grew louder, but Wang Jie could still hear his own heartbeat, growing faster and louder.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

It felt as though his heart was about to burst out of his chest.

“Borrowing the Path…”

A deep, oppressive voice echoed in his ears. Wang Jie didn’t know how he moved aside instinctively, allowing the group to pass by, the music continuing to play. The figures passed through the ship, their presence rippling through the air like water, before completely disappearing.

When the last person passed through the ship, the world’s colors were restored. The gray-white hue vanished as quickly as it had come. Everything returned to normal.

The ship continued on its course.

The warmth returned to the air.

Wang Jie’s body went limp, almost stumbling. His entire body was drenched in cold sweat, a feeling that something extraordinary had just happened. His face turned pale, devoid of blood.

He stared at the back of the ship, but there was nothing—nothing to be seen.

The music had also completely disappeared.

He checked the ship’s monitors. There was nothing. The footage showed only him, standing still, briefly retreating, but everything else was normal. There was no grayish-white, no figures, no paper money.

What had just happened?

Was he dreaming?

Wang Jie sat in his chair, took a sip of water, his body still trembling. This was definitely not a dream. His heart was pounding fast.

But if it wasn’t a dream, then everything that had happened left no trace.

He swallowed hard, opened his terminal, and began searching for similar events based on his memory.

But there were no records.

It was as though, in the entire universe, throughout all of time, no one had ever encountered something like this except him.

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became. In that moment, he suddenly felt that reality itself was so fragile, so illusory.

This experience left him shaken for several days, during which he was completely drained of energy, as if he had been seriously ill.

This fatigue was so severe that he couldn’t even recover with his usual exercises. It was eerily unsettling.

At Frost Radiance Domain, Fog Peak, Luo Yan saw Wang Jie return and greeted him happily, “Greetings, senior. Huh? Senior, you don’t look so good.”

Wang Jie’s voice was weak. “It’s nothing. How’s the material collection going?”

Luo Yan’s face turned bitter. “It hasn’t been going well. The materials have gone up in price a lot, and now even the outer sect disciples are scrambling to buy them, which has caused the price of Slaughter Stones to rise too.”

“How did this happen?”

“The disciples have heard rumors. Apparently, someone bought up all the best cataclysm materials from the inner and outer sect markets, which has caused rumors to spread that war is about to break out. Now, outer sect disciples are hoarding materials. Forget about nine-seal or ten-seal cataclysm materials—there are even very few five-seal ones left.”

Wang Jie was speechless. He had been the one to buy the materials, but he hadn’t expected it to cause such a misunderstanding.

This was troublesome. Finding cataclysm materials would be very difficult now.

It was no longer just a matter of money.

At that moment, a voice came from the cliffside. “Disciple, Yan Zhen Zhen, visits honored guest master.”

Wang Jie asked Luo Yan to welcome her.

Soon, Luo Yan brought Yan Zhen Zhen to him.

“It’s been more than half a year. How have you been, master?” Yan Zhen Zhen smiled and greeted Wang Jie.

Wang Jie smiled. “I’m doing well. What brings you here?”

“I was passing by the artifact forging dao to take care of something, so I thought I’d drop by and check on you. But master, you don’t look well. Is something troubling you?”

“No, I just overdid it with my cultivation.”

“I see…”

Yan Zhen Zhen chatted with Wang Jie for a while, seemingly just passing through.

However, Wang Jie asked her where the most cataclysm materials could be found.

Yan Zhen Zhen was puzzled. “Master, you’ve already reached ten seals. Even if you deepen your seal color, you shouldn’t need that many materials, right? But if you need them, I can help you find some.”

Wang Jie replied, “I’m not using them for myself. I want to use the Chen Lian method to extract Lock Force and try to help Lock Force cultivators break their limits, to give them a future.”

This was the excuse he had long prepared, needing a large amount of cataclysm materials.

Yan Zhen Zhen was surprised but understood. Who wouldn’t want to aim higher?

“If Lock Force cultivators have no future, then break through that future. Although the possibility is slim.”

“Master’s dream is admirable. If you’re looking for the most cataclysm materials, the Alchemy Dao lineage surely has the most. They use cataclysm materials in their pill refining, and they’re cheap yet contain all kinds of effects, making them ideal.”

“The Alchemy Dao lineage?” Wang Jie thought deeply. He didn’t know anyone from that lineage.

If it were the Artifact Forging Dao lineage, it would be easy to approach them.

Yan Zhen Zhen noticed Wang Jie’s hesitation and smiled. “If you want to meet someone from the Alchemy Dao lineage, I can introduce you. My close friend, Yan Xiao Nian, is a high master of alchemy.”

“Oh? That’s great. Thank you.”

“Would you like to go now, or wait a bit?”

“I can go anytime, as long as it’s convenient for you.”

Yan Zhen Zhen stood up and smiled. “I’m always ready.”

Gratefully, Wang Jie followed Yan Zhen Zhen as they left. The Alchemy Dao, Artifact Forging Dao, and Formation Dao were all located at Fog Peak. Though Fog Peak was large, it wasn’t too troublesome to visit.

Luo Yan watched Wang Jie leave, envious. Yan Zhen Zhen was one of the true disciples, with a bright future ahead. He hadn’t realized that the honored guest senior knew someone so influential. He had to serve his senior well. Perhaps one day, he could be helped into the inner sect. That would fulfill his ambitions.

Just as he was thinking, someone came to visit. “This humble disciple, Yan Xiao Nian, has come to visit Master Chen Lian.”

Luo Yan was stunned. Yan Xiao Nian? The one senior had gone to find?

“Senior brother, you’re late. Senior has already gone to see you.”

Yan Xiao Nian??

At Fog Peak, Mooncrown Mountain, the home of the Alchemy Dao lineage, the vast mountain range stretched across much of the peak, far larger than the Artifact Forging Dao and Formation Dao areas combined. The Alchemy Dao was also the largest and most prestigious lineage in Frost Radiance Sect.

Disciples could choose to learn other techniques in addition to their cultivation, but most disciples favored Alchemy Dao.

“Disciple Yan Xiao Nian, greeting honored guest master.”

“You’re too polite. There’s no need to call me master. Just call me Wang Jie.”

“Master is still master. How can we address you by your name?”

“There’s no need to be so formal.”

“This is not politeness, it’s respect.”

Wang Jie was speechless. The true disciple named Yan Xiao Nian stood before him, his expression serious, his eyes filled with respect, despite being older than him. There wasn’t a trace of arrogance. He was even clearer than Yan Zhen Zhen.

Yan Zhen Zhen rolled her eyes. “Alright, Yan Xiao Nian, what were you doing earlier? Why did you show up from behind us?”

Yan Xiao Nian looked at her. “I went to see master.”

“Which master?”

“Master Wang Jie.”

Wang Jie…

“Master Luan sent for me?” Wang Jie was surprised. He hadn’t expected Yan Xiao Nian to come to him on behalf of Master Luan.