Mortal: Traveling Between Two Realms with Mei Ning to Pick Up Trash

That evening, Zhou Yu returned to Suihan Island.

Mei Ning's door was still closed, and occasionally a trace of spiritual energy fluctuations drifted out from the crack in the door. It was not very stable, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, but it was much more stable than before.

Zhou Yu stood at the door for a while, but did not knock. He then turned around and went back to his small house.

He set up a new formation in the room, which he had learned from the Xuanmingzi jade slip. It was not a trapping formation, but a warning formation.

He would notice anyone approaching the hut immediately.

He then took out the array flags that had been used once before from his storage bag.

A pale golden light enveloped the entire small house. Although it couldn't withstand a full-force attack from a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, it bought him a few breaths of time.

A few breaths will suffice.

Zhou Yu sat cross-legged in the center of the bed, took out the cyan jade bottle from his storage bag, and poured out a Qi-Nourishing Pill.

The drop of blue liquid in his dantian began to spin violently.

The spiritual energy surged forth like a flood, flowing along the meridians to the limbs and bones.

His meridians were stretched and throbbing with pain, but Zhou Yu did not stop. He guided the spiritual energy back, compressed it, then guided it out again, compressed it again, over and over again, refining, purifying, and strengthening that drop of liquid little by little.

He took out several high-grade spirit stones from his storage bag, held them in his hand, and continuously absorbed the spiritual power from the spirit stones into his body.

He could feel the thin membrane that formed during the later stages of Foundation Establishment.

Day three.

Zhou Yu was circulating his spiritual energy when he suddenly felt the drop of dark blue liquid in his dantian swell violently, as if something inside had exploded.

In an instant, spiritual energy surged like a tide, the meridians suddenly widened, the dantian expanded accordingly, and the circulation of spiritual energy became increasingly rapid and smooth.

The foundation building phase is complete.

Zhou Yu opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

The breath lingered in the air, transforming into a thin white line that circled the room before slowly dissipating.

He looked down at his hands. They were still the same hands, but they felt different. He clenched his fist, and a faint spiritual light condensed on it.

He stood up and stretched his limbs. His bones were a little stiff from not moving for three days, but he was in good spirits. The fullness of energy in his dantian made him feel lighter.

He walked to the window, opened it, and the sea breeze rushed in, carrying the scent of the ocean and a faint fragrance of flowers.

In the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he finally stood on this threshold; the next step was the Golden Core.

Zhou Yu closed the window, took out the Phantom Flag from his storage bag, and held it in his hand.

The flag felt incredibly light. As I infused it with spiritual energy, the patterns on the flag lit up, turning the pale gray flag into a milky white, and the image of the sun and moon rising over the sea became clearly visible.

He didn't stare at it, but instead waved the flag, and a milky white light shot out from the flag, landing in the center of the room and transforming into a figure that looked exactly like him.

The same face, the same figure, the same spiritual pressure—the spiritual pressure of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Zhou Yu withdrew his spiritual power, and his figure disappeared. He put the Phantom Flag into his storage bag, and then took out the jade slip he had obtained from Xuan Mingzi. He probed it with his divine sense, turned to the "Phantom Technique" section, and read it from beginning to end.

He needs time to digest this technique.

Hu Biao and Miss Liu won't have to wait long. They're probably already discussing how to get a share of the pie from him and how to make him spit out those "good things."

Knowing their own limitations, they would likely seek other help. Perhaps they would come directly to him, or perhaps they would ambush him on the way. In any case, he couldn't wait.

Rather than waiting for them to make a move, it's better to strike first.

Zhou Yu put away the array flags, pushed open the door of the small house, and flew up on his sword towards Qingyufang.

The sea breeze rushed towards him, making his robes flutter. He squinted, his gaze passing over the sea and landing on the distant, faintly visible island.

He circled the outskirts of Qingyu Market, spreading his divine sense from the docks to the depths of the market, from the taverns where rogue cultivators gathered to the secluded corners where cave dwellings were rented, scanning every inch of the area.

The spiritual sense of someone in the late Foundation Establishment stage is far stronger than that in the mid-stage, with its range nearly doubling and its perception becoming much clearer.

A moment later, he stopped his escape light in front of a secluded stone house on the east side of the market.

The stone house was small, built against the rocks, with an old talisman for warding off dust hanging at the door, and a rocky beach behind it.

A simple soundproof array was set up around the stone house, which could block the spying of early Foundation Establishment cultivators, but it was useless in Zhou Yu's perception.

He heard Hu Biao's voice.

"...I've inquired. That guy surnamed Zhou doesn't live in Qingyufang. He always comes with Mei Feng. Their relationship is unusual. Mei Feng is a hothead and not hard to deal with. The key is that guy surnamed Zhou. We don't know anything about him."

Then came Miss Liu's voice, "If you don't know the details, don't act rashly."

"Oh dear, Miss Liu, why do you always boost others' morale while belittling your own?" It was a strange man's voice, tinged with a sharp edge. "Brother Hu is right, you were the ones who discovered that cave, you were the ones who led the way, and yet he pocketed all the good stuff. What kind of logic is that?"

Zhou Yu stood outside the door, his expression calm.

There was another person in the room who didn't speak, but Zhou Yu could sense his aura. He was at the peak of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and his aura was calm and sustained, much stronger than that of the man with the shrill voice.

Four people, two in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and two in the early-Foundation Establishment stage.

Zhou Yu raised his hand and pushed open the door.

The door wasn't locked.

Everyone in the room turned their heads at the same time.

Hu Biao was sitting at the stone table, holding a bowl of spiritual tea in his hand, the tea still steaming.

The moment he saw Zhou Yu, his hand trembled, and the teacup slipped from his fingers, smashing onto the stone table and shattering into pieces, splashing tea all over his pants.

Miss Liu stood by the window, leaning against the wall, toying with the short dagger in her hand.

Her reaction was faster than Hu Biao's. Almost at the same moment the door was pushed open, the short dagger flipped between her fingers and was held in her palm, the tip of the blade pointing slightly outward.

The man with the shrill voice sat opposite Hu Biao. He was tall and thin with deep-set eyes. When he saw Zhou Yu, he was stunned for a moment, then suddenly stood up and reached for his waist.

The fourth person sat in the corner. He was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a robe, with an ordinary face, and was inconspicuous in the crowd.

He didn't stand up or touch his weapon; he simply raised his head, glanced at Zhou Yu, and looked somewhat solemn.

"You…" Hu Biao jumped up, the chair leg scraping against the stone floor. "How did you find this place?"

Zhou Yu didn't answer. He went into the house and closed the door behind him.

The door closed softly, but the expressions of the four people inside changed simultaneously.

Zhou Yu sat down at the stone table, right between Hu Biao and the tall, thin man.

He sat very casually, like an old friend visiting, and even reached out to move the broken teacup on the table aside to make room for it.

"What are you four discussing?" he asked.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Hu Biao's Adam's apple bobbed, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

His hand had already touched the hilt of the knife at his waist, but he didn't draw it because he was too close to Zhou Yu, close enough that he could clearly see the faint spiritual light on Zhou Yu's hand.

Late stage of foundation building.

Hu Biao's eyes widened suddenly.

He remembered clearly that three days ago in the cave, Zhou Yu was still in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

At that time, Zhou Yu's spiritual pressure was strong, but it was still within his range of perception.

Now that he was sitting in front of me, his spiritual pressure had been withdrawn, and only the faint spiritual light on his hand was like a bucket of ice water being poured over my head.

"Brother Zhou..." Hu Biao's voice was a little dry, "Why are you here?"

"I was just passing by," Zhou Yu said. "I heard people talking about me, so I came in to sit for a bit."

The tall, thin man was a beat slow to react. He saw Zhou Yu sit down and saw that Hu Biao and Miss Liu didn't dare to move. He felt a surge of irritation.

"You're the one surnamed Zhou?" The tall, thin man's fingers were already touching the storage bag, his voice becoming even shriller. "Perfect timing, we've been looking for you. Shouldn't you give us an explanation about the cave dwelling?"

Zhou Yu turned his head and looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb!" The tall, thin man's voice grew louder and louder. "Brother Hu and Miss Liu were the ones who discovered that cave, and they led the way. And you, you took all the good stuff, leaving them only a few broken stones. Is that something a human being would do?"

Zhou Yu wasn't angry; he even smiled.

How do you know I took all the good stuff?

The tall, thin man was taken aback by the question, then his face flushed red. "Is that even a question? Look at yourself! Three days ago you were in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and now you're in the late-Foundation Establishment stage! If you hadn't received such a huge benefit in the cave, could you have broken through so quickly?"

Zhou Yu nodded, as if he was seriously considering his words.

“You’re right,” he said. “I did get something in the cave.”

He reached into his storage bag, took out the Phantom Flag, and placed it on the stone table.

The flag was milky white, and the image of the sun and moon rising over the sea glowed faintly in the dim light of the room.

All four people's eyes fell on the flag at the same time.

Hu Biao's breathing suddenly became heavy. Miss Liu's eyes narrowed slightly, and the tall, thin man's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. His lips moved as if he were muttering something.

The middle-aged man in the corner finally moved. He straightened his back slightly, his gaze lingered on the flag for a moment, and then moved to Zhou Yu's face.

"This is the flag?" The tall, thin man's voice trembled, his tone distorted. "The one that can break the illusion array?"

"Yes," Zhou Yu said, "The Phantom Flag, that's the best thing in the cave."

His fingers gently brushed across the flag, and the bright moon on the flag turned a circle, while the waves surged silently.

"I also obtained two bottles of pills and some spirit stones in the cave," he continued, his tone flat.

The room was so quiet you could hear the waves crashing against the rocks.

Hu Biao's Adam's apple bobbed again; he felt his throat was on fire.

He'd been in the Chaotic Star Sea for so many years and had seen plenty of arrogant people, but he'd never seen arrogance like this.

This is not arrogance.

They simply didn't take them seriously.

The middle-aged man in the corner finally spoke.

"Fellow Daoist," his voice was neither loud nor soft, but slightly hoarse, "what do you mean by all this?"

Zhou Yu turned his head and glanced at him.

That glance was expressionless, but a chill ran down the middle-aged man's spine.

He had cultivated for over forty years, spent most of his life struggling in the Chaotic Star Sea, and had seen the blood of demons and beasts as well as human blood. He had an almost instinctive intuition for killing intent.

He read something in Zhou Yu's eyes.

When this person entered the room, he had no intention of letting the people inside leave alive.