The East Sea was far vaster than any mortal could imagine.
Even with Qiong Xiao's current cultivation, flying at full speed would take several days to cross it.
But under Lin Feng's lead, everything was different.
He summoned no magic treasure, nor did he display any earth-shattering divine ability. He merely walked ahead with the ease of a leisurely stroll.
With a single step, he crossed ten thousand miles.
The surrounding sea of clouds and raging winds seemed alive, taking the initiative to part and open a path for him.
Qiong Xiao followed closely behind him, her heart long since unable to stir even the slightest ripple.
As for her master's many miraculous abilities, her initial shock had gradually become something she took for granted.
Perhaps this was how a reincarnated Chaos Demon God ought to be.
The two held the incomplete map they had found in Huo Teng's storage bracelet.
The map pointed to the cave dwelling of an ancient Great Being skilled in arrays, a place called Three Immortal Islands.
After the Interception Sect's destruction, Qiong Xiao's two sisters, Bi Xiao and Yun Xiao, had secluded themselves here, withdrawing from worldly affairs.
As they drew closer and closer to the mark on the map, Qiong Xiao's heart tightened as well. She felt both anticipation at the prospect of reuniting with her family and an inexplicable nervousness.
Just then, a surging aura of slaughter came crashing toward them without warning.
That aura was violent and vicious, mixed with more than a dozen distinct yet equally powerful Mana Fluctuations that churned the entire sea ahead into chaos.
The once-calm sea now heaved with waves a hundred zhang high, while spiritual energy boiled in disorder.
"Not good!"
Qiong Xiao's expression changed, and she instinctively came to a stop.
A clash of mana on this scale clearly meant someone was engaged in a brutal battle!
She raised her eyes, her gaze piercing through layer upon layer of sea mist.
At the far end of the horizon stood an enormous island overflowing with immortal aura, enveloped by a massive golden barrier.
Runes flowed across the barrier, its Dao resonance seeming naturally formed. It was clearly an island-protecting array of an extremely high grade.
Yet at this moment, the array that should have been impregnable was shaking violently.
Outside the barrier, more than a dozen figures floated in the air, each wielding a magic treasure as they unleashed a torrential assault upon it.
Blade light, sword shadows, divine lightning, heavenly fire...
Countless attacks merged into a destructive torrent, battering the golden barrier again and again. Ripples spread endlessly across it as it flickered between bright and dim, as though it might shatter completely the next second.
"A bunch of Interception Sect remnants dare occupy such a Blessed Grotto-Heaven? What a waste of heavenly gifts!"
A middle-aged Daoist in a Bagua robe stood before the crowd, a fly whisk in hand. His expression was arrogant as his voice spread across the surrounding waters.
He was Daoist Qingxu, a Registered Disciple under True Lord Yu Ding, one of the Sect of Elucidation's Twelve Golden Immortals. His cultivation had reached the late stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, making him the leader of this group of attackers.
"Senior Brother Qingxu is right! Once we break this array, we'll capture the female immortals inside and offer them to Senior Brother as servants to pour his tea and fetch his water!"
A sharp-mouthed, monkey-faced cultivator beside him immediately chimed in flatteringly, drawing a burst of laughter.
Their eyes brimmed with greed as they stared fixedly at the immortal island inside the barrier.
Three Immortal Islands was an ancient hidden estate, and it was certain to contain priceless treasures.
Yet what they coveted even more was the beauty of the Three Immortal Maidens, the island's masters.
Now that the Interception Sect had fallen and their backing was gone, these three female immortals once renowned throughout the Primordial World had become lambs awaiting slaughter in their eyes.
Daoist Qingxu stroked his long beard, a pleased smile appearing on his face. Clearly, he enjoyed their flattery.
His gaze settled on the fiery red figure desperately maintaining the array within the barrier, and a lecherous glint flashed through his eyes.
"That must be Bi Xiao of the Sanxiao, yes? Her reputation does not do her justice. Once the array breaks, remember to spare her life. I will personally 'question' her."
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
The crowd answered in unison, and their offensive became even fiercer.
Within the barrier, at the heart of the array.
A fiery red figure sat cross-legged. It was Bi Xiao.
Her face was as pale as paper, a trace of blood hanging from the corner of her lips. The mana in her body was already on the verge of exhaustion.
She continuously poured the last trace of Immortal Essence in her body into the Array Core beneath her, desperately supporting the crumbling island-protecting array.
Every tremor of the barrier made her body shudder, as though her internal organs had been struck with tremendous force.
She knew she could not hold on much longer.
Though the island-protecting array was powerful, no one was presiding over it. How could she alone withstand the combined fierce assault of more than a dozen cultivators of the same realm, including a late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal?
At most, the array would break within half an incense stick's time!
When that happened, not only would she suffer at their hands, but her eldest sister Yun Xiao, who was in seclusion on the island attempting to break through to a higher realm, would also be affected. The consequences would be unimaginable.
At that thought, Bi Xiao's eyes revealed both determination and sorrow.
And her third sister, who had traveled far away and remained without news to this day...
"Third Sister, where are you..."
Bi Xiao murmured, mist gathering in her eyes.
Just as despair filled her heart, a familiar figure etched into her very bones suddenly appeared in her sight over the distant sea.
When Qiong Xiao saw the fiery red figure struggling to hold on within the barrier, her pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints.
The color drained from her breathtaking face in an instant.
"Second Sister!"
A cry escaped Qiong Xiao's lips, her voice trembling uncontrollably with shock and terror.
She had never imagined that after so many years, she would reunite with her sister in such a scene.
She could clearly sense that her second sister Bi Xiao's aura had weakened to the extreme, like a candle flame in the wind that could be extinguished at any moment.
And that island-protecting array was already on the brink of collapse.
Large patches of runes on the barrier's surface had begun to vanish, while cracks spread over it like a spiderweb.
Qiong Xiao's heart clenched instantly, hurting so badly that she could barely breathe.
At that moment, the cultivators outside the barrier who were launching their fierce assault also noticed Lin Feng and Qiong Xiao appearing in the distance.
"Hm? Two more courting death?"
"That woman's aura... could she also be a remnant of the Interception Sect?"
Daoist Qingxu raised a brow, his gaze falling upon Qiong Xiao. When he saw her face clearly, a flash of amazement crossed his eyes before turning into deep contempt.
"So it is Qiong Xiao of the Sanxiao. Perfect. That saves us from hunting you down one by one. Today, your three sisters shall reunite here and set off together!"
He did not take the suddenly appearing pair seriously at all.
To him, they were merely two more insignificant fish he could manipulate as he pleased.
He did not even have the interest to spare Lin Feng another glance.
An ordinary mortal with an unremarkable aura and no visible cultivation?
Perhaps he was simply the mortal companion Qiong Xiao had found outside. He was not worth mentioning.
"Master!"
Qiong Xiao ignored the shouting outside. She suddenly turned to Lin Feng beside her, and her beautiful eyes, usually cool as autumn waters, were now filled with unprecedented desperation and pleading.
She had nearly exhausted all her strength in that cry of "Master."
Her voice carried a sob and her last remaining hope.
She knew that if there was still one person in this world who could save her sister and reverse this doomed situation, it could only be the man before her!
Lin Feng finally withdrew his gaze from the distant immortal island.
He glanced at the dozen or so arrogant cultivators from the Sect of Elucidation, then at Bi Xiao inside the barrier, whose aura was barely clinging to life.
Finally, his gaze fell upon Qiong Xiao's little face, filled with pleading and panic.
His brows furrowed slightly.
It was as if he found this farce before him an interruption to his originally leisurely journey.
"So noisy."
Lin Feng smacked his lips and casually uttered three words.
His voice was not loud, yet it seemed to contain the Supreme Power of Words Manifest as Law.
The instant his words fell.
The entire world fell silent.
The deafening roar of magic treasures came to an abrupt halt.
The violent, raging Mana Fluctuations instantly subsided.
The expressions on the faces of the dozen Sect of Elucidation cultivators, who had been laughing wildly and attacking fiercely, froze just like that.
Their movements became fixed in midair.
Whether it was the magic treasures raised high in their hands or the hand seals they had formed, everything seemed to have been paused, utterly motionless.
At that moment, time and space themselves seemed to have frozen.
The only things that could move were their eyes.
The arrogance and greed that had filled those dozen pairs of eyes only a moment ago were instantly replaced by an emotion called fear, which transformed the next second into boundless horror and despair!
They discovered that they could not move.
They could not even move a finger, much less control the mana within their bodies, which seemed frozen into solid ice.
Their primordial spirits seemed to have been gripped tightly by an invisible hand, unable to form even a single thought.
They had become more than a dozen living statues with minds!
What kind of divine ability was this?
What kind of method was this?
Inside the barrier, Bi Xiao, who had originally closed her eyes and awaited death, suddenly opened them.
The heaven-destroying pressure had vanished.
The crumbling island-protecting array miraculously stabilized.
She raised her head blankly and looked outside.
Then she saw a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Those dozen invincible-looking immortals of the Sect of Elucidation were like a Scroll Painting hung against the sky, suspended motionlessly in midair in various poses, their faces still bearing the savage expressions they had worn while attacking.
And opposite them, her third sister Qiong Xiao was looking at the man standing before her with worship in her eyes.
That man merely stood there quietly, as if he had done nothing at all.
Qiong Xiao's mind also went blank for a moment.
She had imagined that her master would take action.
Perhaps he would set up an even stronger array, or perhaps he would summon a terrifying magic treasure.
But she had never imagined it would be done in such a way.
With just one sentence.
Before you continue