Streaks of azure, white, black, and golden light swiftly approached, halting in mid-air above the small island.
Demon Lord Xuari swept his Divine Sense across the area, surprised. "Why is there no movement at all?"
The middle-aged demon cultivator beside Xuari pondered. "There was indeed a faint aura just now, but it has vanished."
"Humans?" Demon Lord Xuari became alert, sweeping his Divine Sense over the island again, yet a flicker of excitement stirred within him. He had grown up in the deep sea since childhood, never setting foot on land nor seeing a human.
Seeing this, the middle-aged demon cultivator smiled. "Great Prince, this is the depths of the East Sea. How could humans easily come here? Moreover, not long ago, the Second Prince led troops to attack the human sects along the coast. Presumably, the human cultivators in this area have already been cleared out."
"Is that so?" Demon Lord Xuari felt somewhat disappointed. Thinking of Xuanyue, he gritted his teeth in hatred. "Hmph, that brat thinks he can win Father's favor like this? He doesn't even consider how many demon cultivators above the Eighth Rank he brought..."
The middle-aged demon cultivator cast a subtle glance at Xiaofeng. "Why should the Great Prince worry? This mission holds no benefit for you. If you win, it's only to be expected; if you lose, it will only tarnish your image in the Monarch's eyes. The Great Prince is the rightful heir of the Southern Sea. You don't need military achievements to add luster to your position. The Second Prince is forced into this; if he doesn't act, he cannot compete with you."
"Elder Jing speaks wisely." The Great Prince seemed to place great trust in this middle-aged demon cultivator, his heart calming with just these words.
Elder Jing smiled again. "Besides, if we can get the jump on them this time, the Second Prince's efforts will be in vain. He volunteered to come here precisely for..."
He paused here, as if suddenly remembering there was an outsider present.
Xiaofeng, however, pondered inwardly. Did the Southern Sea demon cultivators' invasion have another purpose? It made sense. Unless they targeted the entirety of Kunwu, how could the plundered resources be enough to share among so many demon cultivators? Moreover, according to her masters, while the Southern Sea was perilous, it was also abundant with rare treasures.
Elder Jing then seemed to casually shift his gaze to Xiaofeng. Seeing her indifferent demeanor as she looked down at the island, he relaxed slightly.
Mentioning the purpose of their journey, Demon Lord Xuari became spirited. "Correct! We will definitely succeed in our objective this time. Let's see if Xuanyue can still laugh then!"
"The Great Prince speaks truly," Elder Jing flattered.
Demon Lord Xuari, brimming with confidence, said, "Then let's quickly solve the puzzle. The treasure is right before our eyes!"
"Great Prince, wait!" Seeing the Great Prince become infinitely optimistic after just one compliment, Elder Jing hurriedly stopped him. "Great Prince, this is, after all, the work of a Divine Monarch senior. Their divine power is extraordinary. We must be extremely cautious."
Hearing this, Demon Lord Xuari felt somewhat deflated. However, he had always respected Elder Jing, so he said, "Elder speaks wisely. In your opinion, what should we do?"
Elder Jing gazed at the island below. "Judging from the anomaly, this island is our destination. However, this holy land has been passed down for so long, yet no one has ever found it. I fear it's not as simple as it appears on the surface."
The Eighth Rank Demon Cultivator beside them hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Great Prince, Elder Jing, I haven't detected any restrictions."
Hearing this, Demon Lord Xuari said urgently, "Elder, you see..."
"We cannot let our guard down," Elder Jing emphasized again, inwardly worried about the Great Prince's impatient nature. "We demon cultivators are far less proficient in the ways of formations and restrictions than humans. We must be careful, then careful again."
"Understood." A hint of impatience crept into Demon Lord Xuari's tone. He thought, no wonder Father wasn't very fond of Elder Jing—he was simply too long-winded.
Elder Jing's gaze swept around as he ordered three Ninth Rank demon cultivators. "You three, go down first to scout the path."
The three demon cultivators acknowledged in unison, splitting into three directions as they descended toward the island.
Elder Jing turned his gaze to the sole Eighth Rank demon cultivator. "Jin Jing, from now on, you must be extremely careful. If there is even the slightest anomaly, you must speak up."
This Eighth Rank demon cultivator, blessed with extraordinary talent and exceptionally keen perception, looked like a very thin girl of fourteen or fifteen. Her appearance was ordinary, her face tinged with timidity, no different from a human girl, but her head of golden hair set her apart.
"Yes," Jin Jing replied timidly. She had only just reached the Eighth Rank, her cultivation far from meeting Elder Jing's requirements. Under normal circumstances, she would never have been chosen for this journey. It was only because of a special innate talent that Elder Jing included her in the party.
Above the island, besides Demon Lord Xuari, Elder Jing, and Jin Jing, there was also a slovenly, dark-skinned man with a thick beard. He stood lazily to the side, having not spoken a single word so far, yet no one could ignore him because his cultivation was the same as Elder Jing's—Tenth Rank.
The three Ninth Rank demon cultivators landed on the island and began searching inch by inch. The island was truly small. Even examining every blade of grass and tree took only half an hour before they finished.
The three demons flew back one after another to report. "Great Prince, there is nothing unusual."
Demon Lord Xuari turned to look at Elder Jing. Elder Jing asked Jin Jing, "What about you?"
Jin Jing shook her head dejectedly.
Elder Jing pondered for a moment, then turned and called out, "Ni Qi, you go test it."
The dark-skinned man was rubbing dirt off his body. Hearing this, he looked up at Elder Jing and grinned. "Old Jing, when you say 'test,' do you mean what I think you mean?"
Elder Jing shot him a sidelong glance. "What else would I mean? Do you know how to do anything else?"
The dark-skinned man chuckled. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."
He stepped forward, shook his body, and revealed his true form—a giant, pitch-black loach. The loach bloodline was extremely lowly; it was difficult even to become a Demon Beast, let alone take human form. Yet this black loach had not only undergone tribulation and transformed but had also cultivated to the peak of Demon Beasts—Tenth Rank. Such an achievement could not be described merely as astonishing fortune.
This black loach named Ni Qi opened his mouth and took a sudden, powerful inhale. Immediately, a fierce wind arose, air currents churned, and a tremendous suction force pulled up the flowers, plants, and trees on the island. First the dust, then the flowers and grass, followed by the trees. Finally, with nothing left to suck, even half a layer of topsoil was pulled up.
After finishing, Ni Qi closed his mouth, chewed a few times, swallowed everything in one gulp, smacked his lips, and said with dissatisfaction, "Tastes bad. Really bad."
Elder Jing couldn't be bothered to comment on that statement. He smiled at Demon Lord Xuari. "Great Prince, this subordinate now knows where the entrance is."
"Oh?" Demon Lord Xuari was baffled. He hadn't detected the slightest anomaly. How did Elder Jing know?
Elder Jing pointed at the central pool, saying gravely, "Great Prince, look. How formidable is Ni Qi's Heaven-Swallowing Art? Why hasn't this pool of water moved at all?"
Demon Lord Xuari looked and understood. "So that's it!" Even the topsoil had been sucked up, yet the water in the pool hadn't stirred. They had all seen Ni Qi perform his Heaven-Swallowing Art before. Forget a pool of water; even shallow beaches could be sucked dry by him.
"Then what next? Is this a formation?"
Elder Jing said, "We go down and break the formation!"
* * *
Counting the time, they had already been underwater for three hours, and they were still in water—freshwater, not seawater.
Mo Tiange's expression was grave. If the pool connected to the sea, she could believe it. But they had tasted the surrounding water; it remained freshwater. How could a small island have so much freshwater that they couldn't find their way out after three hours?
"Should we send Xiaofan out to take a look?" Qin Xi suggested.
Mo Tiange shook her head. "Xiaofan's cultivation is too low, and he's not clever enough. If something happens, I'm afraid he won't be able to handle it."
Qin Xi thought about it and agreed. Xiaofan was rather simple-minded. Belonging to the fierce Cang Dragon clan, yet as naive as a blank slate—sending him to scout ahead would be seeking death. If he encountered a more intelligent Demon Beast, he'd probably be tricked and sold, then help count the money.
The two stood beside the boat. Above the small boat, the water flowed slowly, calm and clear, as gentle and restrained as Amber, incredibly beautiful. Yet their hearts were heavy, for they were not admirers of Amber, but small insects trapped within it.
As far as their Divine Sense could reach, near and far, there was nothing but water. They didn't know if their Divine Sense was being misled or if it was truly all water, but they knew that continuing like this was definitely not good.
"What origin does this senior have? I've never heard of a formation like this," Mo Tiange said, her brow deeply furrowed. "The strangest thing is, I've encountered powerful grand formations before—the Guixu Sea Immortal Palace, the Far West Wind-Sand City—both were ancient grand formations, yet none were this bizarre."
"And..." Qin Xi said slowly, "those two places had flaws due to the passage of time. This place has none."
"Yes, that's what's most terrifying." Mo Tiange's expression was somber, yet she felt deeply powerless. In the past, no matter how powerful the formation, she wasn't afraid because it was clearly placed before her, something she could overcome. This time, however, she couldn't even find the door. No abnormal spiritual energy, no chaos of Yin and Yang, no signs of mind-bewilderment, nor any means of attack. From the moment they entered the pool, it was as if they had jumped into an all-consuming black hole. Everything was calm, yet the calmness was terrifying.
They still hadn't found Fengqing Fairy. From the moment she jumped into the pool, they lost track of her. How large was this pool? Even the Divine Sense of a Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't find its boundaries.
"What should we do?" Mo Tiange murmured, asking both Qin Xi and herself. This feeling of being completely in the dark was terrible.
"We can't just wait like this..." Qin Xi had just spoken halfway when suddenly, the Ten Thousand Li Solitary Boat trembled.
The two exchanged a glance, both pleased. They weren't afraid of trouble; what they feared was no change at all. As long as there was a change in spiritual energy, they could find a way to break the formation.
However, the next moment, before they could react, the Ten Thousand Li Solitary Boat suddenly began to shake violently.
Mo Tiange formed a hand seal and struck the boat's restriction, yet she still couldn't stabilize it—a powerful force was pressing toward them.
Qin Xi looked up. The surrounding water flow was no longer calm but became extremely turbulent, like the feeling of surging seawater before entering the formation, only this force was a hundred times stronger.
"Tian Ge!" he called out.
Mo Tiange barely steadied herself, grabbing his outstretched hand, and shouted, "It's no use, I can't control it!"
The powerful force pressed down on them like a tidal wave. They could only choose to stabilize the boat's restriction to prevent the protective shield from being crushed, letting the small boat drift with the current.
Gradually, a white light seemed to appear in the distance. Then, with a "splash," they were thrown out along with the Ten Thousand Li Solitary Boat.