Chapter 1571 - Uniting

Liu Wuxie listened in silence as Lady Rong explained everything with earnest care.

"Can anyone enter the Peach Blossom Cave?" Liu Wuxie asked after she finished.

If the Peach Blossom Cave truly matched what Lady Rong described, the treasure in the final cave could be worth a gamble. If he could break through to the seventh-level Earth Immortal Realm, he would be able to seize control of the Heavenly Deity Monument. That meant he could rely on the monument to crush opponents at the pinnacle of the Heaven Gaze Realm, instead of ending up helpless like before.

"Anyone can enter, and it opens in three days," Lady Rong replied. Over the past few days alone, cultivators had been flooding into Peach Blossom Island, all for the Peach Blossom Cave.

"This is for you," Liu Wuxie said, taking out one hundred astral crystals and tossing them to Lady Rong.

"Thank you, Young Master," Lady Rong replied, immediately moving as if she wanted to kneel.

"There's no need for such ceremonies before me," Liu Wuxie said, waving once to stop her.

"Young Master, it's getting late. Let me serve you to rest," Lady Rong said, stepping into the room to lay out fresh bedding. She used a Cleansing Talisman to wash herself, then removed her clothes and slipped beneath the quilt.

Liu Wuxie stayed where he was and never entered the room. He stared up at the night sky, his thoughts drifting to Xu Lingxue and the others as he wondered how they were doing.

Time flowed on, yet Liu Wuxie didn't go inside. Seeing that, a single tear quietly slid down from the corner of Lady Rong's eye.

When dawn arrived, and Liu Wuxie ended his meditation, Lady Rong had already prepared Peach Blossom Cakes for him.

"Young Master, please try the Peach Blossom Cakes that I made myself," Lady Rong said, setting several kinds of peach-blossom pastries before Liu Wuxie. The cakes looked tempting the moment they touched the table.

"Thank you, Lady Rong," Liu Wuxie said, picking up a piece and putting it into his mouth. The fragrance spread instantly, and the taste truly was excellent.

Lady Rong shot Liu Wuxie a resentful look. He would rather sit outside for an entire night than share the bed with her.

The streets had turned noticeably busier. Liu Wuxie sat on the railing and watched the crowd stream past.

The Peach Blossom Gate searched for him relentlessly. But after two days, Liu Wuxie appeared to have disappeared entirely.

In those same two days, Liu Wuxie had worried that Ruo Shui might come looking for him, but he seemed to have disappeared without a trace after that night's events. Then, without warning, Liu Wuxie's gaze locked onto a particular group.

"The Nalan Clan has come as well?!" Liu Wuxie murmured. The Nalan Clan stood as the strongest force in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain, and their distinct emblem drew attention wherever they went.

Even so, he couldn't tell whether the Nalan Clan had entered the Thousand Islands Sea Region to hunt him down, or whether they had come for the Peach Blossom Cave.

"Young Lady, we've been traveling nonstop for the past few days, and we should find somewhere to rest," the elders behind Nalan Qiuhe advised.

They had traveled for seven days straight to reach Peach Blossom Island. Along the way, they had stopped at many islands to ask about Liu Wuxie's whereabouts, which was why they had taken so long to arrive.

"Does Peach Blossom Island not have a decent inn?" Nalan Qiuhe asked with a frown as she searched along the way, still unable to find a proper place to stay.

"Peach Blossom Island is different from inland," an elder whispered behind Nalan Qiuhe, his gaze drifting involuntarily toward the brightly lit establishments lining the street. Even cultivators who had trained for tens of thousands of years still carried emotions and desires.

When they passed by the Peach Blossom Nunnery, Nalan Qiuhe finally stopped.

"Honored guests, are you here to stay or...?" the madam asked, but she swallowed the rest of her words the instant she sensed the murderous intent in Nalan Qiuhe's eyes.

"Have you seen this person before?" Nalan Qiuhe asked, producing a portrait for the madam to examine.

The madam immediately realized she could not afford to offend these people. Each of them carried a terrifying aura and was clearly from the inland. She did not dare treat them carelessly.

"He looks a little familiar," the madam said, studying the portrait carefully, as if the face had passed before her eyes.

The moment she spoke, the elders behind Nalan Qiuhe tensed. Had Liu Wuxie also come to Peach Blossom Island?

"Tell me everything you know, and these are yours," Nalan Qiuhe said, producing an interspatial pouch with a thousand astral crystals inside.

"Madam, isn't that the kid who took first place that night?" a servant said, hurrying over as he recognized Liu Wuxie's portrait.

"Now that you mentioned it, it does look like him," the madam said. They received far too many guests each day, and she had only found the portrait familiar without being able to place it.

By coincidence, the servant was the very person who had led Liu Wuxie to Ruo Shui's pavilion that night, which was why he recognized the portrait at once.

"Where is he now?" Nalan Qiuhe asked, grabbing the servant by the throat and lifting him into the air.

If Liu Wuxie had come to Peach Blossom Nunnery the day before, he couldn't have gone far.

The servant trembled violently and blurted out everything he knew. "I don't know! He vanished when he left the pavilion that night."

Liu Wuxie watched the entire scene unfold from where he sat, since the Peach Blossom Nunnery and the Peach Blossom Pavilion stood directly opposite each other on the street.

"Young Lady, that means Liu Wuxie should still be on this island. He'll show himself eventually as long as we stay here," one of the elders said.

"Young Lady, are you looking for this brat as well?" a young man asked as he stepped out from behind Nalan Qiuhe. It was Tao Xuanming.

He had been in a foul mood because one of their sect elders had died, and he had come to vent his frustration.

"You know his whereabouts?" Nalan Qiuhe asked in a flat tone.

She didn't like the look in Tao Xuanming's eyes. That lecherous gaze made her want to punch him on the spot.

Nalan Qiuhe's beauty stood on a level entirely different from that of the women in the Peach Blossom Nunnery or the Peach Blossom Pavilion. Tao Xuanming had spotted her from afar and walked over to strike up a conversation.

"He killed one of our Peach Blossom Gate's elders two days ago, and we have locked down the entire island to find him. It will only be a matter of time for us to find him," Tao Xuanming replied honestly.

Even from a distance, he could sense that these people had come for Liu Wuxie.

When they heard that Liu Wuxie had slain one of the Peach Blossom Gate's elders, the elders behind Nalan Qiuhe exchanged grim looks. They clearly hadn't expected Liu Wuxie to stir up trouble wherever he went.

"Since that's the case, do you have any leads on him?" Nalan Qiuhe asked, her expression easing slightly.

"We should have one soon. Since you all came from inland, I believe you must all be tired. As the Peach Blossom Gate's young master, it's only natural for me to show you proper hospitality. If you don't mind, why don't we go in and discuss how to capture that kid?" Tao Xuanming said, gesturing with practiced politeness.

Even so, his gaze still wandered over Nalan Qiuhe's figure.

"You're the young master of the Peach Blossom Gate?" the elders behind Nalan Qiuhe exclaimed, startled by his identity.

The Nalan Clan was powerful, and so was the Peach Blossom Gate. The only difference was the lack of an immortal in the Peach Blossom Gate.

"My apologies for not introducing myself earlier," Tao Xuanming said, cupping his fists together.

"This is our Nalan Clan's third young lady. We'll have to trouble you then," the Nalan Clan's grand elder said, introducing them.

Once Tao Xuanming learned they were from the Nalan Clan, surprise flickered across his face. Yet if he could bind an alliance through marriage, the Peach Blossom Gate would get a chance to rise into a first-tier sect.

"So, you're Lady Nalan. Since our goals align, we should sit together and discuss a plan to capture him," Tao Xuanming said, wearing a gentleman's mask.

Still, that mask couldn't fully hide the lecherous gaze beneath, because some things betray themselves no matter how carefully one acts.

"Young Lady, Young Master Tao is right. We should sit down together and discuss a plan," the grand elder behind Nalan Qiuhe urged.

There was no harm in leaning on the Peach Blossom Gate's influence to locate Liu Wuxie.

Nalan Qiuhe understood what mattered most. Even with reluctance burning in her heart, their utmost priority was finding Liu Wuxie.

Tao Xuanming had rented an entire courtyard. The moment they entered, Nalan Qiuhe drove all the women out without hesitation.

"Lady Nalan, you're saying that this brat is called Liu Wuxie? Isn't Wu Xie his name?" Tao Xuanming asked, his suspicion clear.

Their earlier exchange already proved that Wu Xie wasn't Liu Wuxie's true name.

"You have been fooled. This brat is extremely cunning, and we have to trap him here in Peach Blossom Island no matter what," the Nalan Clan's grand elder said.

He began describing Liu Wuxie's feats in detail, and Tao Xuanming drew a sharp breath in shock.

Tao Xuanming clearly hadn't expected Liu Wuxie to be such a monstrous prodigy, carrying so many staggering feats.

As the group entered the Peach Blossom Nunnery, Liu Wuxie withdrew his gaze, since he could no longer hear what they were saying.

The Nalan Clan's arrival on Peach Blossom Island made his situation even more perilous. The Peach Blossom Gate alone already kept him on edge, and now he had to worry about the Nalan Clan as well.

"Strength... I need more strength..." Liu Wuxie muttered, his head beginning to ache.

At that moment, Lady Rong walked over and stood before him, gently massaging his temples with perfect pressure until the ache eased.

He knew the truth; every problem traced back to a lack of strength.

He had hesitated before about entering Peach Blossom Cave, but he no longer could afford that. If he entered the Peach Blossom Cave, he might grasp a sliver of hope to reach the seventh-level Earth Immortal Realm. If he stayed outside, the Peach Blossom Gate would eventually find him, and he couldn't hide there for the rest of his life. With no way to escape Peach Blossom Island, he would be trapped there until death.

Since that was the case, he planned to strike first, raise his cultivation, and force his way out.

The Peach Blossom Gate’s patrols had not been particularly strong before, but once the Nalan Clan became involved, the sect master immediately mobilized additional experts to investigate unfamiliar cultivators.

That night, the Peach Blossom Gate's sect master personally went to visit the Nalan Clan's group, and that alone showed the Nalan Clan's exalted status in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain.

Liu Wuxie remained seated on the pavilion while Lady Rong sat opposite him, her chin propped on her arms as she quietly watched him cultivate.

Peace like this came rarely. Liu Wuxie spent most of his time comprehending the Dao of heaven and earth, because the commotion from circulating the Desolate Devouring Art would only draw unwanted attention.

On the third day, they finally scheduled the Peach Blossom Cave to open.

"The pirates of the Seventy-Two Caves have come!" someone exclaimed from afar.

A black warship docked at Peach Blossom Island's harbor, and a large group of experts disembarked as the crowd immediately parted. The pirates of the Seventy-Two Caves carried a notorious reputation, and no one wanted to offend them.

Yet, to everyone's shock, the pirates of the Seventy-Two Caves also began asking about Liu Wuxie's whereabouts the moment they landed, leaving both the Peach Blossom Gate and the Nalan Clan completely flabbergasted. Just how many enemies had Liu Wuxie made, for major powers across the Thousand Islands Sea Region to be searching for him?

After confirming that Liu Wuxuie was on Peach Blossom Island, the pirates of the Seventy-Two Caves left behind many people to assist the Peach Blossom Gate in sealing off all exits on this island.