Chapter 864: It Turns Out to Be a Sword Immortal?

Ji Yuan believed that if the Dragon Girl's dethronement truly had the shadow of another puppeteer, then even if that person had been unaware of Ji Yuan's relationship with the Ying family before, they would surely have realized it after making their move. It was impossible that they hadn't anticipated encountering Ji Yuan at the Dragon Transformation Banquet.

Yet, after waiting for so long, no one had come to find Ji Yuan. Could it be that this location was too sensitive, and they feared discovery?

That didn't seem quite right. Ji Yuan was no longer one to underestimate himself; it was no exaggeration to say that opportunities to meet him were few and fleeting. If one didn't seize the chance when it arose, it could vanish in an instant.

If the other party was cunning enough, they would seize every opportunity to meet. Ji Yuan believed that if the puppeteer came in person, they would be confident enough; if not, taking a slight risk would be inconsequential.

Moreover, Ji Yuan had already wandered through both the riverside banquet and the Dragon Palace. If the individual was mingling there, they should have made contact by now. Could it be the person who had previously breached the restriction to intercept him?

Unlikely.

'Am I overthinking this? Is it truly just a coincidence?'

Ji Yuan narrowed his eyes, idly manipulating the spiritual coins on the table. In truth, he was simply playing, yet no one who witnessed this would believe that Master Ji was merely amusing himself. Even if they detected no magical aura, they would assume it was because they couldn't discern the methods of such a master.

Ji Yuan now felt a degree of empathy for how some people had previously overanalyzed his every move.

As Ji Yuan's mind raced, the fish maidens, busy clearing plates and other items, had finished cleaning the nearby areas. While gathering leftover food and drinks, most of them discreetly eyed Ji Yuan, their gazes filled with curiosity. They exchanged knowing looks among themselves, but none dared to clean too close to him.

Even when in Ji Yuan's vicinity, the fish maidens did not dare to use magic to clear the tables. Instead, they tidied everything manually, bit by bit, at most applying a thin layer of clean water to their hands to wipe the surfaces.

With the rest of the main hall already tidied, only the tables around Ji Yuan remained. Although Master Ji had neither eaten nor drunk, none of the fish maidens dared to approach his immediate area.

"Sister, you go." "No, you."

"I don't dare. This sister should go."

"I don't dare either..."

Hearing the fish maidens' hushed evasions, Ji Yuan sighed, collecting his spiritual coins one by one. Just then, two fish maidens finally mustered the courage to approach, seeing him put away the coins.

"Master Ji, have you finished your calculations?"

Ji Yuan looked up at the two anxious fish maidens, smiled, and nodded. He picked up a wine pot from the table and stood, thinking that although the wine wasn't dragon's saliva incense, it was still a rare vintage that shouldn't be wasted.

"You may clean up now."

As Ji Yuan rose, several other fish maidens also approached, bending to clear the tabletop and surrounding area. Seeing how amiable Master Ji was, their courage grew slightly.

"Master Ji, we've heard that your cultivation has reached its peak, the highest in the world, is that true?"

One fish maiden asked this, and Ji Yuan shook his head.

"Cultivation is endless; how can there be a 'peak'? Even I do not know where the ultimate end of cultivation lies. I am merely a little more powerful than ordinary people."

Another fish maiden interjected.

"Master Ji is so formidable; we can't even begin to imagine your realm. Perhaps you could even poke a hole in the sky."

No sooner had the fish maiden spoken than another put down her plate and playfully hit her.

"Bah, bah, bah... How dare you disrespect heaven and earth, you girl! How could the sky possibly be punctured? Besides, no one can touch the sky... Oh, Master Ji, with your cultivation, perhaps you really can touch the edge of the sky?"

The fish maiden playfully stuck out her tongue as she spoke, but her words caused a stir in Ji Yuan's heart. His steps, already leading him out with the wine pot, paused, and he turned to look at the fish maidens behind him, taking in not just the two who had spoken, but all the others still busy.

Under Ji Yuan's gaze, the fish maidens who had been playfully teasing each other slowed their movements. They seemed somewhat uneasy, fearing they had said something to offend Master Ji.

The words of these fish maidens seemed to carry a hidden meaning, yet their demeanor was remarkably natural. Ji Yuan's spiritual eyes scanned them, but he could not discern if they were pawns.

'I'll test them!'

In that instant, a plan flashed through Ji Yuan's mind. He maintained a scrutinizing expression for a moment before composing himself, shaking his head, and smiling.

"Just now, hearing you casually mention touching heaven and earth made my heart skip a beat. In truth, throughout my cultivation, I've increasingly felt that while these heavens and earth are vast, they are also..."

Ji Yuan stopped there, smiling and shaking his head. He turned and walked away with the wine pot, as if deeming it pointless to discuss such matters with the fish maidens.

"Master Ji, does this heaven and earth truly have limits? But you just said cultivation is endless, so wouldn't heaven and earth be like a cage, perpetually constraining you?"

No sooner had the fish maiden's jesting words fallen than Ji Yuan's body froze again. The moment he turned, he took a single stride, instantly appearing before the maiden who had spoken, facing her from just a foot away.

"Where did you hear those words just now?"

Ji Yuan's tone was calm, and his expression, though not stern, couldn't conceal a hint of surprise. His gaze upon the fish maiden was full of scrutiny, as if he were quite shocked that this minor water demon could utter such words.

"I-I-I, Master Ji, I was just speaking nonsense... I just heard you say a few things earlier, and I... Please forgive me, Master Ji!"

"Master Ji, please forgive us!"

The other fish maidens, just like the one before Ji Yuan, looked terrified. They all bowed, unsettled and anxious.

Ji Yuan narrowed his eyes, observing the trembling fish maidens, and chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"Heh, I overreacted. In the future, do not utter such remarks so casually."

With that, Ji Yuan turned and moved again, this time much faster than before. The fish maidens seemed not to have reacted yet; by the time they looked up, Ji Yuan had already vanished from the hall.

The fish maidens in the hall exchanged glances, then waited by the doorway for a while before continuing to clear the last of the dishes and leftovers. After that, they each left the main hall.

Ji Yuan, concealed by the Great Void Jade Talisman and his own stealth techniques, watched from a distance as the fish maidens departed. All their previous reactions had been natural, but that last remark, though seemingly a misunderstanding or coincidence, Ji Yuan knew was absolutely intentional.

Uttering such words might not be entirely linked to another puppeteer, but it was certainly connected to certain transcendent beings from ancient times. The Dragon Girl's forced dethronement was likely eighty percent related to this.

After leaving the main hall, these fish maidens returned together to the Dragon Palace maidens' quarters. It appeared that more than twenty of them resided in the same chamber.

As Ji Yuan contemplatively observed the chamber, a Yaksha commander from the Dragon Palace, accompanied by his subordinates, rushed over. The commander's hair was disheveled, his expression terrifying, and a dense water spiritual aura emanated from him. He clutched a token, glancing at it periodically, and finally led his troops to a halt outside the door of the twenty-odd fish maidens.

"This is the place! Open the door for me!"

The Yakshas nearby didn't even bother knocking. Two stepped forward and fiercely kicked the door.

*Bang!*

The door was kicked open.

The Yaksha commander narrowed his eyes, peering into the chamber, which was surprisingly empty. But the next moment, he spun around, his long, unbound hair suddenly flying out in all directions, like fine ropes, coiling around various spots outside the chamber door with a speed that surpassed even flight.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

*Swish, swish, swish, swish...*

From seemingly thin air, several graceful women, each with a fish tail, became entangled by the long hair and were dragged out of their cloaked state.

"Ah..." "Ugh!"

"Attack!"

The fish maidens who were dragged out immediately conjured weapons and attacked the Yaksha commander, while the surrounding Yakshas also raised their steel spears to engage.

Clearly, these fish maidens were not original inhabitants of the Dragon Palace. They must have triggered some sort of early warning mechanism, leading to their detection by the Dragon Palace Yakshas, who were now there to apprehend them.

The Yaksha commander ignored the fighting around him. With a shake of his head, he violently slammed the seven or eight fish maidens, bound by his hair, onto the ground. Portions of his hair detached, transforming into dark ropes that bound them. The remaining fish maidens were also no match for ordinary Yakshas; their defeat was inevitable.

"You apprehend them here; I'll pursue the one who fled!"

The Yaksha commander stomped his foot, instantly transforming into a streak of water light and pursuing towards the rear of the palace.

Ji Yuan glanced at the battle unfolding before the chamber. The Yakshas were overwhelmingly dominant, and dealing with the remaining fish maidens posed no issue.

Clearly, the Yaksha commander did not wish to alarm too many guests and preferred to resolve the matter quietly, so he exercised restraint. Noticing that the escapee seemed to possess some cultivation, he did not press too closely during the chase, apparently intending to make his move in a less populated area.

The Dragon Palace had both front and back entrances. The Yaksha commander could barely discern the opponent's escaping light, yet he relentlessly pursued a faint scent, leading him directly to the outer restriction at the rear. The Yakshas guarding the gate seemed oblivious, but the fish maiden must have already escaped.

"Hmph, a bunch of good-for-nothings!"

The Yaksha commander cursed, then his pursuit speed abruptly increased. In an instant, he bypassed the restricted gate and burst out of the Dragon Palace, swiftly darting along the bottom of the Tongtian River. After chasing for dozens of miles through the waterway, he suddenly shot upwards.

*Bang!*

A splash erupted on the river surface as the Yaksha commander ascended into the sky, stepping on the waves, and gravely scanned his surroundings.

"You wretch, show yourself! Your aura is locked within my token; even if you can transform a thousand times, you won't escape!"

Just as the Yaksha commander was about to utter another curse, a chilling sensation suddenly shot from his spine to the top of his head. His pupils contracted as he saw a red light already at his brow. In that instant, he seemed to smell the scent of death.

In that critical moment, a pale hand suddenly appeared, pinching the red light between two fingers. It was a small, crimson sword, struggling incessantly in Ji Yuan's left hand.

Ji Yuan looked with surprise at the small sword in his hand. Its sword energy and intent were exceptionally pure, imbued with a dense immortal spiritual aura, a feat achievable only by an immortal sword cultivator.

'A Sword Immortal?'