Chapter 252: Chapter 251: After old friends (Requesting monthly pass)_1
Upon Thousand Island Lake.
Vast fog and waves, water mist rising.
A commoner’s black-canopied boat was cutting through waves upon the vast blue waves.
"Everyone, pay attention. We’ve now ventured deep into the waters of Thousand Island Lake and might encounter ghost creatures at any moment. Have you all taken your ’Yin Soul Pills’?"
A young man, his face as gentle as warm jade, looking exceptional and extraordinary, reminded the several people behind him.
These individuals were clad in magical robes, each with a youthful demeanor—all cultivators, though their cultivation levels were comparatively low, all at the Qi Refining stage.
The young man who had started speaking was, in fact, the one with the highest cultivation, having reached the seventh level of Qi Refining!
"Don’t worry, Brother Feng Tang, we’ve all taken the ’Yin Soul Pill’, and we’ve activated our cultivation techniques to conceal our auras. The ’Concealing Qi Talisman’ is also ready..."
A young female cultivator with large, blinking round eyes replied. She looked to be only seventeen or eighteen, but she was enchantingly adorable.
"Hmm... We deliberately avoid using spells to hasten our journey to prevent fluctuations in spiritual energy. With such precautions, there shouldn’t be any major issues... It’s just that it will take longer, probably four or five days before we reach Ling Kong Island..."
The brother named Feng Tang took out a map and scrutinized it repeatedly, his face full of caution and care.
"Sister Qin, why do we have to come to Thousand Island Lake? This place is truly dangerous. I’ve heard that those ghost creatures all have green faces and fangs, eating people without spitting out their bones..."
A young boy, who appeared to be only eleven or twelve, asked innocently.
"Because of the war..."
Sister Qin’s complexion darkened as she answered.
"We’re still in a better situation. Another branch of our family has to traverse mountains and flee to Martial Kingdom... And henceforth, they must assume new identities and cannot acknowledge the ’Long’ surname..."
Brother Feng Tang also sighed: "After all, we are from a Yue Country family. Escaping in large numbers to another country during wartime, if the Upper Sect remains after the war, we will certainly face serious questioning and might even be stripped of our Spirit Land..."
His words were ice-cold, causing everyone to shiver involuntarily.
Stripped of Spirit Land!
This was the nightmare of every Cultivating Immortal Family and Sect!
Compared to the commoners’ emotional attachment to their homeland, Spirit Land in the Cultivation World has a more tangible significance.
Without a Spiritual Vein, an Immortal Cultivator’s techniques cannot progress, and they can only become rootless Individual Cultivators!
"Yes... don’t be afraid, Hu’er. Think about the members of the Qi Family and the Xu Family. Their plight is worse; they can’t even escape to Thousand Island Lake..."
Sister Qin softly consoled.
Although Thousand Island Lake seemed boundless and offered numerous places to hide, those first-order Spirit Islands not only had scarce spiritual energy but were also often harassed by ghost creatures, making safety a concern.
Only the four major second-order Spirit Islands were the true destinations for these refugees!
Among them, Dragon Fish Island was unanimously considered the best!
Alas, after the Island Master of Dragon Fish Island made his statement, Yan Dongqing and others naturally did not dare to defy, and immediately refused the requests of the Xu Family and the Qi Family.
The cultivators of these two families, speaking of sneaking into Thousand Island Lake might be conceivable, but infiltrating the four major Spirit Islands protected by Core Formation cultivators and second-order Arrays? That was simply a joke.
The scene at the time was truly dismal.
Even the girl with the name Qin, recalling it, still felt a chill.
...
The black-canopied boat drifted quietly for three days.
Although there were occasional gusts of cold wind, it seemed that the boat, with its cultivators, was truly regarded as kindred and was not harassed.
Just when all the cultivators on the boat were secretly relieved, Long Feng secretly furrowed his brows.
Because he saw another boat.
This boat was also traveling in the water, but its surface was inscribed with array patterns, emanating a black light, clearly indicating that it was a magical instrument!
"Who goes there?"
Two young men stood at the prow of the boat, their gazes towards their own side filled with scrutiny and caution.
"We are people of the Long Family..."
Long Feng gave Long Qin, who was behind him, a meaningful look. Long Qin immediately took Hu’er and the others into the cabin, her hand still clutching a talisman paper.
Only then did he look towards the two men and announced his identity aloud.
At the same time, Long Feng was also carefully observing the two across from him. He saw that one of them held a jade flute, exuding a casual demeanor, while the other had dark skin, simple and honest features, and crucially, both had achieved the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining, which made him inwardly feel a sense of respect.
Long Feng questioned his own Spiritual Root talent, which was not bad, and he had been nurtured by his Family from a young age, and had just recently broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.
Now to suddenly encounter two peers whose cultivation surpassed his own was, for a moment, somewhat discouraging.
"Pleased to meet you, Brother Long, we are enforcers patrolling Thousand Island Lake,"
The dashing young man holding the jade flute exchanged a look with his simple-featured friend and answered aloud, "My name is Mo Guanfeng, and this is my good friend, Hai Danaiu!"
"Pleased to meet you, Brother Mo and Brother Hai..."
Long Feng promptly offered a bow.
"We have heard over the past few days that members of the Long Family from Huang Feng are soon to arrive. Are you heading to Ling Kong Island?"
Hai Danaiu offered a simple smile, revealing his white teeth, "Why not join us... We are also on our way to Ling Kong Island."
"This... All right then."
Despite feeling reluctant, Long Feng braced himself and agreed, seeing that these two seemed to truly have no ill intent, but merely led the way.
Before long, one boat trailing the other, they arrived at the waters near Ling Kong Island.
"Something’s not right..."
Mo Guanfeng inspected the thin mist over the lake and suddenly made a hand signal, stopping both boats from going any further.
"Mo, what’s happened?"
Long Feng quickly asked.
Through conversations during their journey, he had learned that both individuals were backed by strong backgrounds, originating from Peach Blossom Island and having connections with Elder Ruan and Sir Fang; they should not be taken lightly.
Especially that Hai Danaiu, whose ancestors were tenants of the Dragon Fish Island’s Lord Master. Recently, his family still offers tribute annually to Dragon Fish Island and even gets to meet Sir Fang in person and exchange a few words!
"This fog seems to be mixed with Yin Qi..."
Mo Guanfeng took out a white pearl and used his magic power to draw in a wisp of the fog from above the lake’s surface into the pearl.
The next moment, the pearl suddenly burst forth with a dismal green light.
"Not good, if the ’Qi Observing Pearl’ reacts like this, it means there is indeed ghostly qi!"
Hai Danaiu exclaimed in shock.
"It’s not only the energy of Yin Souls; judging by the strength... there might be second-tier ghost creatures around. The direction is toward Ling Kong Island... there’s probably another ghostly invasion happening."
Mo Guanfeng sighed, "During a ghostly invasion, ghost creatures will swarm around Ling Kong Island. It seems we’re completely unable to approach, let alone set foot on it..."
"Ah? What should we do now?"
Long Feng was dumbfounded.
"The only plan for now is to leave and send a message to the other three islands for help..."
Mo Guanfeng said through clenched teeth, "The four great Spirit Islands of Thousand Island Lake support each other. Even though Ling Kong is the weakest, we certainly won’t give up..."
However, Long Feng knew that the other three great Spirit Islands of Thousand Island Lake all had Cultivators at the late stages of Foundation Establishment in charge. Unfortunately, the Long Family had the best relations with the Yan Family and, in terms of the atmosphere on the islands, Ling Kong was the most relaxed, which is why he chose this island.
He didn’t expect such an ’unexpected surprise’ upon arrival!
"Don’t worry, Ling Kong has the ’Six-mysterious-tortoiseshell Array’ set up, and with Elder Yan presiding over it in the middle, although Elder Yan is only at the early stages of Core Formation, he should be able to stubbornly defend it with the second-tier arrays... The ghostly invasions have happened before..."
Hai Danaiu seemed to notice Long Feng’s unease and specifically offered some words of comfort.
But after hearing what Hai Danaiu said, Long Feng became even more inclined to move to one of the other three islands...
...
Dragon Fish Island.
Evergreen Pavilion.
Fang Xi was enjoying his drinks when he saw Zhong Hongyu hastening over, holding a jade slip in her hand.
"What happened?"
He took another drink and casually asked.
"Ling Kong Island has reported a ghostly invasion and is asking us for help!"
Zhong Hongyu replied respectfully.
"This Ling Kong Island, surely it has bad feng shui; how many times has this happened now?"
After making a jest, Fang Xi’s expression became serious.
He was well aware that it wasn’t an issue with Ling Kong Island’s feng shui, but rather that among the ghost creatures, there were those with high Spiritual Wisdom and Core Formation Ghost Cultivators manipulating from behind the scenes, naturally targeting the soft persimmons.
Moreover, with the ghostly invasion like this, there might be other motives involved!
’But no matter whether it’s a feint to draw out a rescue or some other conspiracy...’
’I am that point that remains unchanged in the face of myriad changes, no matter if the sky falls or the earth splits, I shall not leave Dragon Fish Island... This way, at least I won’t harm myself.’
After pondering for a while, Fang Xi spoke, "Send messages to Mapleleaf Island and Golden Turtle Island... order them to strictly guard the Great Array and not to venture out... Ling Kong Island ultimately belongs to us, and we should provide aid... Hong Yu, you and the Azure horn Fish Dragon will go to support them together."
After thinking it over, he patted his Storage Bag, and a jade box emerged.
On the box, there were some talismans specifically to prevent the leakage of spiritual energy.
Fang Xi gave a slight smile and handed the box to Zhong Hongyu, "This is for your protection. Be careful on your way..."
"Yes!"
Seeing the gravity with which Fang Xi regarded the matter, Zhong Hongyu solemnly accepted.
After Zhong Hongyu departed, Fang Xi tapped a small bell, summoning Yan Ying, "Ask Mr. Hong to come here!"
Although Yuan Feihong had settled on Dragon Fish Island, he had to show some consideration for the Mysterious Heaven Sect, so he changed his surname to ’Hong’ and wore a bronze mask.
Before long, the masked Yuan Feihong arrived at the Evergreen Pavilion with a smile on his face, "What’s the matter... Island Master wants to have a drink with me?"
"After this matter is resolved, we can drink an entire jar if you like," Fang Xi responded with a smile, before explaining the situation, "Consider this a trial for Hong Yu; but I’m still not entirely at ease. With you secretly watching over her, it will be quite secure..."
"Such a small task..."
Yuan Feihong readily agreed and curiously asked, "You don’t seem to disregard this young woman; why not personally follow and protect her in secret?"
"How can the master of an island move so lightly? I still need to preside over the island’s arrays..."
Fang Xi shook his head.
In truth, it wasn’t that he couldn’t; he simply wouldn’t...
His interest in the ’Longevity Skills’ naturally took precedence over his concern for Zhong Hongyu.
Fang Xi watched Yuan Feihong leave Dragon Fish Island, contemplatively staring in the direction of his Escape Light, "Those Core Formation Ghost Cultivators never leave Jade Island, and even if there are ghost creatures as strong as late-stage or even peak Foundation Establishment, this arrangement should be sufficient..."
His gaze flashed, and as he was about to return, he suddenly noticed two boats, one following the other, arriving at the edge of Dragon Fish Island, sending out distress signals.
On one of the spirit boats, the two people seemed to stir a faint sense of familiarity within him.
His Divine Consciousness spread out to overhear their conversation, and he soon smiled, "Turns out they are descendants of an old friend..."