Chapter 1177: Only One Person Sneaks onto the Immortal Ship

"It's the character for 'hunger'..." Li Fan's clone quickly made a judgment based on the subtle fluctuations emanating from the Immortal Ship's Integration Realm cultivator not far away. Instead of approaching closely, he stayed inside the wooden house to observe.

"Elder Yan..." Elder Gou, usually stern-faced, was now bowing and fawning excessively. The people in the valley grumbled inwardly but dared not show it, even lowering their heads to avoid direct eye contact with the Integration Realm cultivator. After all, to mortals, an Integration Realm cultivator was almost indistinguishable from a legendary immortal.

"Gou Lang, I heard that five people from Sin Suppression Valley died consecutively recently?" Elder Yan asked in a deep voice. Gou Lang's body trembled as he hurriedly replied, "That is true. However, it was just those few convicts having bad luck. Their conditions worsened and they died after only two or three outdoor assignments. Sin Suppression Valley itself hasn't had any problems..."

"Hmph! What luck..." A cold glint flashed in Elder Yan's eyes, and he offered no further explanation. His vast spiritual sense instantly enveloped the entire Sin Suppression Valley. "Indeed, this place has been contaminated."

Elder Yan's expression instantly darkened. A speck of starlight appeared on his fingertip, and he pointed it remotely towards Li Fan's clone and the residential area of Sin Suppression Valley. Endless light and heat annihilated everything within range.

Outside the Immortal Ship, Li Fan's Saint Embryo, hidden and cultivating in seclusion, slightly raised its head.

"As expected of a civilization that has survived so long in the Darkest Star Sea, they are incredibly cautious," Li Fan mused. "It seems that to infiltrate, I must address the issue of my own being a major source of infection. Otherwise, no matter how well I hide, causing a large number of people around me to die will inevitably lead to exposure. My divine soul has been in the Darkest Star Sea for too long. The problem is too deeply rooted to reverse easily, so I must still sever a wisp of my clone to infiltrate. With previous experience, it can be done like this..."

For a full two months thereafter, no one from the Immortal Ship ventured out to collect world-annihilation relics. However, they clearly couldn't abandon the seemingly endless relics outside. Thus, Li Fan finally awaited a new collection team.

Based on his previous experience, Li Fan's clone blended in with the relics and entered the Immortal Ship. This time, however, the Immortal Ship was noticeably much more cautious in handling the relics. Immortal Ship cultivators remained armored while handling the relics. After the relics were transported to a sealed space and they left, a faint talisman phantom appeared above the space.

"This is..." The talisman emitted a faint glow, illuminating the more than ten relics below. Although Li Fan's clone was also bathed in the light, he remained unaffected. He watched as the power of the True Immortal Seal Script, about to dissipate from the surrounding relics, was absorbed through the dreamlike light into the talisman phantom above. Li Fan's clone even felt that the various mysterious powers lingering around him were also drawn away by the talisman.

It didn't take long for the power attached to the more than ten relics here to completely disappear. They truly became worthless trash in the star sea. The talisman flickered faintly and departed from the space.

"The Immortal Ship's utilization of the True Immortal Seal Script's power is a bit higher than I imagined."

This space was completely sealed, and Li Fan's clone couldn't escape. However, he was not in a hurry. Someone would surely come to deal with these remaining "garbage" items.

Just as Li Fan expected, two days later, two Qi Refining Realm cultivators, led by a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, walked in.

"Move all these things onto the ship." "Be careful," the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator instructed. "Although their world-annihilation power is gone, these are genuine antiques. Their ability to survive so long in the star sea means their material quality is exceptional. Send them all to the Star Forging Workshop; they might be repurposed."

The two Qi Refining Realm cultivators were only fifteen or sixteen years old. They looked quite naive and inexperienced. Li Fan's clone pondered for a moment, then attached itself to one of them.

Following the three, he left the sealed space, took a small flying ship, and arrived at the so-called Star Forging Workshop. It was a sealed, ring-shaped building made of unknown white metal.

In the center of the ring was a scorching hot fireball. Terrifying heat waves constantly surged on the fireball's surface, indicating the immense energy contained within. Faintly, one could see wisps of flame being drawn into a small hole within the ring-shaped building from time to time.

The one responsible for receiving them at the Star Forging Workshop was not in a normal human form. Instead, it was a strange, half-human, half-beast entity with a crimson body, two horns on its head, and a long tail trailing behind it. The three seemed very afraid of it; after putting down the items, they eagerly piloted their flying ship away.

After some effort, they finally returned to their residence, located at what was called the Dao Proving Academy. It was a solitary continent floating in the void.

The academy towered high, piercing the clouds. They went to the lower levels of the academy to report back to their master.

The trio's master was a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator named Zhao Wuji, who was already white-haired. Seeing their return, he put away the book-artifact he was reading and asked with kind eyes, "Is everything handled?"

The three lowered their heads and replied, "Yes, Master, everything has been properly handled."

"Do you know why I made you make this special trip?" Zhao Wuji asked again. All three were stunned, unsure how to answer.

"Not long ago, Sin Suppression Valley was razed to the ground. All survivors within the valley were also taken away and put under isolated observation. It's said the incident was caused by non-standard relic collection procedures by Sin Suppression Valley, leading to the spread of world-annihilation power."

"Heh heh..." Zhao Wuji continued, "This set of procedures was established by the Immortal Nexus Court and has been followed for the past thousand years. Even if there were occasional oversights, they never caused major trouble. Yet this time, such a big commotion has been made." He suddenly stopped speaking.

At this, the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator among the trio suddenly understood. "Master, are you saying this is the Immortal Severing Pavilion taking the opportunity to cause trouble?" "Precisely," Zhao Wuji said with a look of approval. "It's not just Sin Suppression Valley. Next, every area within the Immortal Ship under the Immortal Nexus Court's influence will face an assault from the Immortal Severing Pavilion."

"The Immortal Nexus Court has held power for too long, and those envious of the Immortal Ship's leadership have also waited far too long." Zhao Wuji sighed softly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuji's three disciples showed varying expressions. The Foundation Establishment disciple's eyes darted around, seemingly calculating something. Of the two Qi Refining disciples, one lowered his head, carefully pondering their master's words. The other, the one possessed by Li Fan's clone, appeared completely unconcerned. His mind seemed to wander, as if he were lost in thought.