Since they had decided to travel together, no one wasted any more time.
Four streaks of light shot into the sky, leaving the nameless deserted island behind as they sped toward the depths of the East Sea.
Sea and sky blended into one, with vast expanses of turquoise waves.
The East Sea was enormous—so enormous that it was easy to lose one's sense of direction.
Everywhere they looked, there was nothing but water. Occasionally, a few gigantic sea beasts leaped from the waves, sending sprays soaring a thousand layers high.
Several days passed.
The group flew aimlessly over the sea.
Ye Xuan flew at the very front, periodically activating his Double Pupils to scan the waters below.
Bixiao had never been one to sit still. After flying for a while, she grew bored and drifted over to Ye Xuan, staring at his eyes like a curious child.
"Daoist Ye."
Bixiao blinked her big eyes. "I've been meaning to ask—why are your eyes different from everyone else's?"
"I've noticed that whenever you circulate your energy, your pupils split into two. And there's a hazy grayness inside them, as if they're hiding something."
"Is that some kind of special ability?"
Hearing this, Ye Xuan slowed his flight and turned to look at Bixiao.
He pointed to his eyes and smiled. "These are my Double Pupils."
"I was born with them."
"There's nothing particularly special about them. I suppose they're just..."
Ye Xuan paused deliberately, his tone turning teasing.
"Perhaps they let me see twice as clearly as other people. After all, with two pupils, everything should look twice as sharp."
"Pfft."
Qiong Xiao, who was beside them, couldn't hold back a soft laugh.
Her usually cool features softened into a smile, clearly amused by Ye Xuan's clumsy explanation.
Two pupils meant twice the clarity?
Would a hundred pupils make someone a hundred-eyed monster?
Bixiao rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. "Hmph! If you don't want to tell me, just say so. Don't try to fool me."
"My master once told me that, in ancient times, some living beings were born with unusual features. Those with Double Pupils were often accompanied by great calamity. I'm sure your eyes aren't as simple as you make them sound."
Though she said this, Bixiao didn't press him further.
Everyone had their own trump cards and secrets. Among cultivators, one had to know when to stop asking.
Ye Xuan smiled without offering any further explanation.
The mysteries of the Chaos Heavy Pupils would take three days and three nights to explain.
The group continued onward.
Another half day passed.
The waters ahead grew increasingly still.
The sea here was a deep shade of ink blue. There were no waves, and even the wind seemed to stop when it reached this place.
There were no birds in the sky, nor fish in the sea.
It was utterly lifeless.
Apart from that, however, there was nothing unusual about the area.
The spiritual energy was no denser than in the surrounding waters. A sweep of Divine Sense revealed nothing at all.
The Three Xiāo Fairies paid it no mind, assuming it was simply a remote stretch of sea, and prepared to fly straight across on their auspicious clouds.
But then—
The instant Ye Xuan flew over the waters—
"Hum!"
Without warning,
a searing heat suddenly surged through Ye Xuan's eyes.
The Chaos Heavy Pupils, long dormant deep within his eye sockets, began to operate on their own, beyond his control.
His normally distinct black-and-white pupils instantly split and overlapped.
Hazy streams of Chaos Qi flooded his entire field of vision like a burst dam.
The world changed.
In Ye Xuan's sight, a faint thread appeared in the empty sky above the sea.
It wasn't a line of spiritual energy, nor was it a formation pattern.
It was...
the trace of a Space Fold!
The subtle crease was almost impossible to notice without looking closely.
And beyond it, a faint aura of ancient, primordial chaos seeped through, utterly out of place in the present-day Primordial Wilderness.
"I found it!"
Ye Xuan's heart leaped.
There was no mistaking this aura!
It was absolutely a Small World formed from a Chaos Fragment!
"Three fairies, wait!"
Ye Xuan abruptly stopped and hovered in midair, his voice betraying barely contained excitement.
The Three Xiāo Fairies, who had been about to speed ahead, all stopped at his words.
"What is it?"
Bixiao turned around and stared at the surroundings in confusion.
"Daoist Ye, are you tired and want to rest?"
Yun Xiao also released her Divine Sense. Her Grand Unity Golden Immortal-level awareness swept over the sea for ten thousand miles like mercury spilling across the ground.
But to her, there was nothing here except dead water.
There were no signs of a formation, no unusual spiritual energy, not even a single sea demon.
"Daoist, the spiritual energy here is thin, and there's nothing unusual. Is there?"
Yun Xiao withdrew her Divine Sense and looked at Ye Xuan in puzzlement.
Qiong Xiao also gave him an inquiring look.
Ye Xuan took a deep breath. The Chaos Qi in his eyes had not faded; it had grown even denser.
He stared fixedly at that point in the void, the corners of his mouth slowly lifting into a confident smile.
He raised his hand and pointed at the sea, where everyone else saw nothing.
"Some things can't be seen with the naked eye."
"Even Divine Sense can be deceived."
Ye Xuan turned to the three bewildered fairies and pointed to his Double Pupils.
"But nothing can escape these eyes of mine!"
Then Ye Xuan hovered in the air, his extraordinary Double Pupils fixed on the spot ahead that appeared empty to everyone else.
In his eyes, it was no blank space. Countless intricate Dao patterns intersected there, forming a knot—the sole weakness in the entire Concealment Formation.
"Break!"
Ye Xuan gave a low cry.
He made no unnecessary movement. The overlapping pupils in his eye sockets suddenly contracted, then reversed.
Two beams of hazy gray Chaos Divine Light shot from his eyes like swords capable of splitting heaven and earth.
The beams did not spread out. They were condensed to the utmost, carrying the supreme intent of dismantling all things and returning them to chaos as they struck the spatial node.
"Boom!"
A deep, muffled blast erupted beside them.
The tranquil sea instantly surged into towering waves.
The void struck by the Chaos Divine Light cracked like a mirror hit by a sledgehammer, letting out a sharp, clear sound.
Countless fragments of space peeled away, revealing the true scene hidden behind them.
A vast expanse of roiling gray mist lay beyond.
Within it, the forces of earth, water, fire, and wind raged wildly. Countless ancient runes rose and sank, appearing and vanishing.
A terrifying aura poured through the breach, powerful enough to make even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal's heart pound.
This wasn't some ordinary stretch of sea. It was a Deadly Ferocious Formation capable of slaughtering Grand Unity Golden Immortals!
"This is..."
Yun Xiao's beautiful eyes widened. Even she, usually so composed, couldn't help crying out in shock.
"The Innate Chaos Great Formation?!"
The formation was naturally formed, without a trace of later human craftsmanship. Clearly, it had existed since the beginning of the world as an innate creation.
In the Primordial Wilderness, only the most exceptional Blessed Lands were guarded by innate formations.
"It really is the Three Immortal Islands!"
Bixiao was so excited she nearly jumped, gripping the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors tightly as her big eyes shone with delight.
"Big sister, second sister, we searched for thousands of years and never found them. I can't believe they were hidden here!"
Qiong Xiao, too, breathed a little faster, her gaze fixed on the roiling Chaos mist.
The legendary Three Immortal Islands Overseas were a land of opportunity coveted even by Sages.
"Don't celebrate too soon."
Yun Xiao quickly regained her composure, her expression grave as she studied the formation.
"This is a Primordial Formation. Though Daoist Ye has found its location, its power is boundless, and it contains deadly Chaos energy. Even if a Quasi-Saint Great Power came here, they would suffer grievously if they forced their way in without understanding its principles."
At her words, Bixiao's face fell.
Having a mountain of treasure right before her and still being unable to enter would be worse than death.
Before you continue