Transmigration: The Peerless Immortal Husband

In the latter half of the night, it was Chi Changye’s turn to stand watch. He sat cross-legged by the campfire, meditating with his eyes closed. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, dark pupils flashing with a cold light, and he stood up.

Tian Feiyang, who was also on watch, noticed the movement and opened his eyes as well. “Brother Chi, is something wrong?”

“I’ll be right back,” Chi Changye said before vanishing from the protective array in a flash. His movements were so swift that even Tian Feiyang, who was nearby, could barely catch his shadow. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Tian Feiyang immediately alerted the others to prepare for any potential danger.

Among their group, only Gu Yao was never assigned to keep watch. Everyone understood that aside from hunting sea beasts during the day, he also spent his rest time refining pills. In fact, Gu Yao refined more than just five batches of pills each day—his companions also benefited.

Although some pills were made using the inner cores of sea beasts, their effectiveness was comparable to other high-quality pills. Some people recalled how certain cultivators in the city mocked Gu Yao, claiming he was overestimating himself by venturing out to hunt beasts and would only drag his teammates down, possibly even endangering their lives. Looking back on those comments now, they seemed laughable.

The disciples from Tianhai Sect who accompanied Tian Feiyang had initially harbored some worries after hearing such remarks. Their mission was to protect Gu Yao, and they knew they’d face severe consequences if anything happened to him. Reluctantly, they had followed along. But now, they realized how beneficial it was to accompany Gu Yao. Those who spoke ill of him were simply envious.

Gu Yao emerged from his tent, rubbing his face. “What’s going on? Huh? Where’s Brother Chi?”

Tian Feirong walked over and explained, “Brother Chi sensed something unusual outside and went to check. He should be back soon.”

Gu Yao’s expression darkened. Chi Changye never acted without reason, so he must have truly detected something. As he thought it over, the only variable that came to mind was the group of cultivators who had been glaring at them with malice earlier. Could they have done something?

Suddenly, a black-and-red signal flare exploded in the night sky. Upon seeing the signal, Jiang Yan immediately ordered, “Pack up the tents! Be ready to evacuate at any moment!”

Due to the beast tide, Tianhai Sect had established a unified signaling system. Different colors signified various situations. For example, some signals indicated a call for help, which nearby cultivators would assist out of moral obligation. Others signified a beast invasion or uncontrollable danger. The black-and-red signal specifically indicated an extremely perilous situation, warning nearby cultivators to prepare for retreat.

As soon as Jiang Yan issued the order, everyone quickly began packing their belongings and storing them in their storage bags. At the same time, Chi Changye reappeared within the protective array in a flash. “Some malicious cultivators threw a substance into the beast horde, driving the sea beasts into a frenzy. It’s hard to assess the situation in the darkness, so it’s better to retreat for now.”

“Who’s the bastard behind this?” Lu Qiusheng cursed furiously. “All the cultivators here are hunting sea beasts to drive them back into the ocean, and someone actually used the beasts to cause trouble? Brother Chi, what happened to those people? If you ask me, they deserve to be hacked into pieces and thrown into the beast horde!” He was outraged, imagining the disastrous consequences if this act hadn’t been discovered in time.

Chi Changye sneered coldly. “I broke their limbs and threw them into the frenzied beast horde.”

Lu Qiusheng had been ranting out of anger, but upon hearing Chi Changye’s response, he couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of their fate. Indeed, Chi Changye was not someone to provoke lightly.

The protective array was dismantled, and the formation plate was packed away. The salty, fishy night breeze, tainted with an unpleasant stench, swept through the area. The group immediately sensed something was wrong. Even the wind carried an unsettling, volatile energy.

At that moment, other cultivators who had seen the signal rushed over instead of fleeing immediately. They descended from their flying artifacts, asking what had happened.

Jiang Yan did not hide the truth. He explained that Chi Changye had detected someone throwing frenzy-inducing substances into the beast horde and that it was impossible to predict how frenzied the beasts would become. He advised retreat as the safest option.

“So, it was Fellow Daoist Chi who noticed it? Thank goodness for his vigilance. Let’s not delay—time to go!”

“No wonder I felt an ominous sensation as soon as I left the formation.”

“Can’t you feel the surrounding spiritual energy growing restless? Hurry and retreat!”

Jiang Yan released another signal, this time indicating a retreat, urging any hesitant cultivators to leave. He then produced a large flying artifact and invited everyone to board, offering coordinated action in case of unexpected danger.

As soon as the flying artifact ascended and traveled a short distance, the sound of roars erupted behind them. From the elevated vantage point, they could see the chaos below more clearly. Even though the dense black horde was difficult to distinguish in detail, the movement resembled waves of black clouds surging forward. A faint, bloody stench wafted into the air.

The beast horde had indeed gone berserk!

The writhing mass in the distance accelerated, forming layers of black waves that surged forward. Despite the speed of the flying artifact, they could still see the relentless advance of the horde below. If they hadn’t retreated immediately upon seeing the signal, they would have been swallowed by the black tide. How many others could escape in the dead of night?

In the sky, sea birds flew in dense flocks. Some of them, before even getting close to the flying artifact, crashed into its protective shield. Jiang Yan, Chi Changye, and the others, who were well-prepared, swiftly dealt with them, ensuring the birds couldn’t catch up.

The cultivators who had been watching turned pale. Once Jiang Yan and the others returned to the protective shield, some were eager to ask about the cultivators who had thrown the frenzy-inducing substances into the sea beasts. Although those cultivators were dead, didn’t they have companions? They were eager to find out who these people were and why they had carried out such a vile and malicious act.

Chi Changye wasn’t the type to cover for those individuals. Besides, he and Gu Yao had already been watching those four, and it was easy to sketch their appearances. Therefore, Chi Changye quickly used his spiritual energy to recreate their images. “I noticed these four had been acting suspiciously while I was on watch. They were sneaking toward the sea beast horde, which seemed strange, so I quietly followed them. That’s when I discovered what they were doing.”

When he appeared suddenly, the four had been so startled that their spiritual energy had momentarily faltered, nearly causing them to fall off their flying artifacts. But even if they had regained their composure, Chi Changye would still have dealt with them. Regardless of their pleas or their attempts to reveal the mastermind behind their actions, Chi Changye had thrown them into the frenzied sea beast horde without hesitation. He was fully aware of who the mastermind was.

However, he didn’t need those four to provide any testimony. Facing the massive forces of the City Lord’s residence, especially with its backing from the Changxian Sect, such testimony would be meaningless. It could easily be overturned by the opponent’s various methods, turning him and Gu Yao into targets for the City Lord’s forces and their affiliates.

“It was them? No wonder we didn’t see them during the retreat. We were hunting sea beasts with them a few days ago, and yet they hid such evil intentions!”

“Ah, I’ve heard of them. The leader of this group is a cultivator named Ba Yuankui. He’s not particularly enthusiastic about hunting sea beasts, but he often accepts tasks secretly sent out by private employers.”

When these words were spoken, many cultivators frowned. Those who often operated outside knew exactly what these “private” tasks entailed—mostly shady, unmentionable dealings.

“So, they were trying to create chaos in order to target us among the chaos…” The rest of the sentence remained unspoken. Who were they trying to target in the confusion? Some cultivators who had been close to Ba Yuankui and had spoken with him now recalled certain suspicious details. These four seemed particularly interested in Jiang Yan’s group. In fact, it was more accurate to say that they were focused on Gu Yao.

So, someone was plotting to secretly harm Gu Yao on the battlefield, to prevent him from returning? This theory made several cultivators gasp in shock. How vicious could their methods be? Master Gu was a kind person—hadn’t they all learned that in just a few days?

The cultivators who had guessed this possibility could hardly look directly at Gu Yao for too long, afraid of revealing their thoughts. Who could have such a murderous intent against him? They thought about the people Gu Yao had offended recently, and once again, they couldn’t help but gasp in horror. Their teeth even ached from the cold.

Jiang Yan had more or less figured it out as well. He didn’t participate in the discussion, instead focusing on controlling the flying artifact. Along the way, they picked up fleeing cultivators, offering them a ride. When they returned to Tian Shui Market after dawn, the number of cultivators descending from the flying artifact had doubled.

At the city gates, the group was greeted with thanks from many cultivators. Some even left their contact information, offering that if there was anything they needed in the future, Jiang Yan and his group could feel free to reach out.

Some people in the market rushed out in a hurry. The signal had soared high into the sky, and even Tian Shui Market had received it. When they saw the first group of cultivators return, they quickly came out to inquire about the situation. Due to the signal during the night, the entire market had already entered a state of emergency preparedness.

The elder of Tian Hai Market also led the disciples to greet them immediately. They had originally planned to set off, but after receiving a communication from Tian Feiyang, they stayed behind. Knowing that Gu Yao was safe, but seeing him return unharmed with their own eyes, their uneasy hearts finally settled down.

Tian Feiyang handed over the information on Ba Yuankui and the other three to the elder. The elder had not expected this to be a case of man-made disaster. He was furious and immediately ordered his disciples to quickly capture Ba Yuankui’s accomplices and interrogate them. This matter could not be left unresolved.

“Valley Master, Valley Master, everyone is back, and Gu Master is also back! They discovered the troublemakers in advance, so there were no casualties,” a disciple from Cuiyan Valley quickly ran to report to the Valley Master after hearing the news.

“Good, good, it’s good as long as nothing happened,” Valley Master Hu said with joy.

“Everyone’s back?!” At a certain place in the market, a sharp voice screamed in disbelief, and then the items on the table were all swept to the floor with a crash. “Useless! All of them are useless!”