Elsewhere.
Having just fought Ao Hong in a fierce battle, the senior and junior brothers Cang Ji and Cang Lan immediately returned to the Taiyin Sect's stronghold in the Southeast Islands.
Their stronghold was Suspended Island, northeast of the island chain. However, Suspended Island was what outsiders called it, because countless caves covered its southern side; from afar, the entire island appeared to be suspended above the sea surface.
Moreover, the island stood alone in the northeast of the Southeast Islands, surrounded on all sides by the vast Great Sea. For more than a hundred thousand li across the northern ocean, not a single island could be seen. Thus, "Suspended" also carried the meaning of standing alone in isolation.
Yet the Taiyin Sect's Disciples never called this island Suspended Island. They called it Nine Star Island. Nine was the ultimate number, while stars referred to the stars of Jiutian, which belonged to yin.
Taiyin Cultivators were especially obsessed with ultimate numbers, hence the name. But they had never publicly announced the renaming, so even many official records still referred to the island as "Suspended."
The island's inland area was half the size of Nanlin Road. There were no ports on any side, for half its perimeter consisted of sheer cliffs, while the other half was lined with caves.
Those caves housed swarms of bats. Even if the bats did not attack them, Ordinary People who entered would be killed by the poisonous gases within. If they escaped the poison, there were still all manner of contagious diseases; not long after returning home, they would die silently. Thus, few Ordinary People came to Nine Star Island.
A thin mist shrouded the island, making it seem somewhat unreal from afar. Ancient trees towered across the island, their interwoven branches and leaves forming