Chapter 7: Leaving Liyang City

On North Emperor Island, Qu Yi, Qing Wu Gui, and Wu Yuan sat on a mountain peak, while beside them stood a middle-aged man with golden skin, standing respectfully and watching Qu Yi and the others carefully.
This middle-aged man was actually the incarnation of the Earth-Shaking Crab. After devouring the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma, it evolved into a divine beast capable of taking human form, and has remained in this appearance ever since.
Qu Yi smiled, looking at Qing Wu Gui and Wu Yuan, then nodded at the Earth-Shaking Crab before saying, “I haven’t appeared in the Divine Realm for 100 million years. It seems the eight royal families think I’m afraid, as they boldly claim that whoever reveals my whereabouts will receive a primordial spiritual treasure. They really think that just by showing up, they can capture me easily.”
The forces of Tianfeng Fort, aside from maintaining order in the Inner Sea and collecting tolls from passersby, also extended their influence to the eight divine realms of the Divine Realm. After all, the resources of the Inner Sea needed to be transferred out, requiring exchanges for treasures from those eight divine realms.
Thus, when Tianfeng Fort’s influence spread to the eight divine realms, Qu Yi naturally became aware of the eight royal families’ pursuit of him.
“Qu Yi, how do you plan to embarrass those eight royal families?” Wu Yuan asked immediately.
“Which divine realm should we start with?” Qing Wu Gui asked simply and directly.
The Earth-Shaking Crab didn’t dare breathe loudly, standing straight as tall as he could, but his sharp eyes kept flicking toward Qu Yi and the others, clearly very interested in their plans.
Qu Yi smiled faintly and said casually, “I’ve already sent Xu Ming to the Fire-Distant Divine Realm. Over the years, he has traveled through that realm to a city near the Outer Sea—Liyang City. I plan to go to Liyang City and then venture into the Outer Sea. The sea beasts there are our targets for cultivation. As for the eight royal families wanting to find me, let them search the Outer Sea. Let’s see if their outstanding disciples have anything remarkable.”
The Inner Sea was where cultivators below the Divine General level in the Divine Realm trained, while the Outer Sea had always been the training ground for cultivators at the Divine Marshal level.
In the Outer Sea, almost every sea beast was at the Divine Marshal level, extremely powerful and operating in groups, making them very difficult to deal with. For Divine Marshal-level cultivators in the Divine Realm who wished to ascend to the Divine King realm, a good training destination was essential—hence, the Outer Sea was the favorite place for those aiming to reach that level.
It could be said that most Divine Marshal-level cultivators in the Divine Realm spent their time in the Outer Sea.

“Going to the open sea? Great! I’ve always wanted to fight those sea beasts out at sea,” Wu Yuan exclaimed excitedly.
“Alright, let’s go to the open sea,” Qing Wu Gui replied indifferently.
Meanwhile, the Earth-Shaking Crab, hearing this, trembled slightly, looking troubled, wanting to speak but not knowing how.
“Crab, do you have something to say?” Qu Yi asked with a smile after noticing it.
Upon Qu Yi’s direct inquiry, the Earth-Shaking Crab, as his pet beast, didn’t dare hesitate and immediately replied, “Master, I want to go to the open sea too. It would be even better if we could take Lei Yan, Si Bi, and Jiu Tou with us.”
Lei Yan, Si Bi, and Jiu Tou referred to the three sea beasts of dominion-level—Lei Yan the Ice Crocodile, Si Bi the Four-Armed Water Ape, and Jiu Tou the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake. Even after transforming into a divine beast by consuming the sacred spirit blood jade fungus, the Earth-Shaking Crab hadn’t forgotten those old friends and wanted to take this opportunity to help them.
Hearing this, Qu Yi laughed immediately and nodded, “Alright, go and send a message to them. If they can reach Beihai City within a hundred years, I’ll take them to the open sea.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Hearing this, the Earth-Shaking Crab shouted once and immediately reverted to its original form—a golden, glittering crab tens of thousands of meters in size. It stomped its eight legs on the ground, its massive body lifting into the air before diving into the sea.
Instantly, hundred-meter-high waves surged!
Qu Yi shook his head. With such a striking and eye-catching pet beast, it would be hard for him to keep his whereabouts hidden in the future.
“Qing Wu Gui, Wu Yuan, you two continue practicing in the inner sea for the next hundred years. I need to study the ‘Four-Dimensional Dao’ formation, hoping to craft a divine weapon at the Divine General level for you before going to the open sea,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
In group battles among Divine General-level cultivators, Qu Yi had also fought against disciples of the eight royal families. But those disciples destroyed their own Divine General-level divine weapons upon death, so Qu Yi currently didn’t have any convenient divine weapons and had to craft them himself.
Qing Wu Gui and Wu Yuan immediately nodded.
After that, Qu Yi continued to sit on the mountain, immersing himself in meditation to study the ‘Four-Dimensional Dao’ formation.
Qing Wu Gui and Wu Yuan then set out together again, heading to the inner sea to engage in a battle with the sea beast herd and further improve their cultivation.
※※※
A hundred years later.
Qu Yi opened his eyes on the mountain. His body trembled as a thick layer of dust covering him turned into countless sharp weapons, creating loud thuds and huge splashes of water.

“I have comprehended the Four-Dimensional Path. Now, I can start crafting divine artifacts,” Qu Yi said with a smile as he stood up and gazed at the vast ocean.

At that moment, a huge wave rose in the sea—waves over a hundred meters high crashed against the shore one after another. On top of those waves appeared four enormous sea beasts: the Thunder-Eyed Ice Crocodile, the Four-Armed Water Ape, the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake, and the Earth-Shaking Crab.

“Master, we’re here,” the four beasts said in unison before landing on the ground, causing deep cracks to appear in the earth.

Qu Yi nodded, looking at these four massive sea beasts. He could only smile helplessly. With these four major targets, it would be easy for the eight imperial clans to find him. By then, he would have no choice but to fight head-on.

“Wait on the island. I’ll be back soon,” Qu Yi said indifferently before disappearing.

…

The four beasts exchanged glances. Not knowing the full situation, they could only follow Qu Yi’s instructions and lie down on the ground, waiting for him to return.

The Fire Departure Divine Realm consisted of 108 cities. Liyang City was located at the edge of the Fire Departure Divine Realm, right on the edge of the outer seas. Therefore, cultivators at the Divine General level in the Fire Departure Divine Realm usually went to the outer seas by coming to Liyang City and forming teams to explore them.

At that moment, Qu Yi appeared in a valley outside Liyang City. Inside the valley, someone was already waiting—Xu Ming.

“Master, you’ve arrived,” Xu Ming said as soon as he saw Qu Yi.

Qu Yi nodded and smiled. “Xu Ming, you’ve worked hard over the years. Now, I’ll take you back to the inner seas, where you can cultivate in peace.”

Xu Ming was overjoyed. He could tell from Qu Yi’s words that he wouldn’t be sent on such errands anymore and could focus on cultivation.

Before Xu Ming could speak, Qu Yi took out the Boundless Star Cauldron. He grabbed Xu Ming with one hand, activated the cauldron with his divine energy, and they were instantly transported back to North Imperial Island.

When Xu Ming landed, he saw the four enormous sea beasts on the ground without any surprise. Without looking back, he flew deep into North Imperial Island’s interior to meditate for a while.

Qu Yi looked at the four sea beasts and said, “Alright, I’ll take you to the outer seas now.”

After saying that, he took out the lower-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Star Luo Cauldron. With a thought, the chaotic energy was activated, and the Star Luo Cauldron trapped the four sea lords in its internal parallel space.

Since the Inch Realm Ball was now in the chaotic space, Qu Yi could only use the Star Luo Cauldron to retrieve items.

At that moment, Qing Wugui and Wu Yuan also descended from the sky and arrived beside Qu Yi. Both of them were smiling happily, seemingly having enjoyed many battles in the Inner Sea over the years.
“Qu Yi, can we go to the Outer Sea now?” Wu Yuan exclaimed joyfully as he landed.
Of course, Qu Yi immediately nodded and said with a smile, “Alright, let’s head to the Outer Sea right away.”
Then, Qu Yi took out the Boundless Star Patterns and, along with Qing Wugui and Wu Yuan, headed straight to the outskirts of Liyang City in the Fire-Light Divine Realm.
“Haha, we’re back in the Fire-Light Divine Realm! But this time we’re in Liyang City,” Wu Yuan said excitedly.
“Let’s go—enter the Outer Sea right away,” Qing Wugui said, also somewhat excited.
Qu Yi smiled and said, “It’s very close to the coast of the Outer Sea. You go wait by the sea first. I need to visit Liyang City first. If I don’t inform the Yan Clan of my whereabouts, they’ll keep their eyes on the Inner Sea.”
Qing Wugui and Wu Yuan laughed, understanding Qu Yi’s plan, and then flew together toward the coast of the Outer Sea.
Qu Yi, on his own, flew toward the city gates of Liyang City.
“That guy in the sky! This is Liyang City. Come down quickly and pay the entry fee to enter. Otherwise, you’ll be suppressed and killed by our Liyang City law enforcement!”
Just as Qu Yi reached the southern city gate of Liyang City, several soldiers from the guard team saw him and immediately shouted.
Qu Yi smiled indifferently, ignored them completely, and vanished from the soldiers’ perception, already inside Liyang City.
“The Yan Clan’s main source of income is the Fire-Light Merchant Alliance. I’ll go to that alliance in Liyang City now and steal everything there,” Qu Yi said calmly as he appeared above a grand building in the center of Liyang City.
Then, he slammed his hand down—fifty million golden, wood, water, fire spirit bodies formed a giant flaming palm that struck the grand building complex.
The building’s defense formation activated, but it couldn’t withstand it for long. Qu Yi’s flaming palm struck again five times in a row, and the defense formation finally ran out of energy and collapsed.
Qu Yi broke through the formation violently. Before the guards of the Fire-Light Merchant Alliance could come out, he rushed inside the building. One after another, his sharp golden palms struck, even flipping the ground upside down and throwing countless treasures from the Fire-Light Merchant Alliance into the air.
“Fire-Light Merchant Alliance! I’m Qu Yi. I’m taking all the items in your Liyang City now!” Qu Yi shouted from the sky, his voice carrying far and wide, audible throughout the entire city.

At the same time, Xingluo Dingfei flew out of Qu Yi’s body and drew in everything in the air with a strong suction. Without taking a break, Qu Yi’s body flashed through the air again, leaving no trace behind, as if he had never been to Liyang City at all, and simply left.