Father's "Trump Card"

After Yun Jingheng finished speaking, the seven people remained silent for a while.

The sea breeze seeped through the gaps between the rocks, carrying an indescribable salty smell. It wasn't the saltiness of ordinary sea breezes; it was more like the smell of something that had rotted deep in the depths for a long time and was then turned up.

He stood at the front of the line and checked the situation in his dantian again. The Golden Core was indeed still spinning, but the spinning speed was so slow that it almost stopped. His Soul Power seemed to be sealed in an invisible membrane and could not be mobilized no matter what he did.

He tested the Moon Laurel Tree in his sea of consciousness.

The branches and leaves are still there, but they sway very, very slowly, like the powerless feeling of a drowning person reaching out to pat the surface of the water.

The Moon Palace still hung above the Golden Core, but the connection between his mind and spirit was weaker than usual.

The only remaining active entities were the two faint consciousnesses within his leg bones. The remnants of the Dark Dragon King and the Light Dragon King's divine consciousness were not suppressed on this island; instead, they seemed to have been awakened by something of the same kind, each flashing briefly deep within his left and right leg bones before sinking back down.

"I can't use my Soul Power, but the Soul Bone seems to still be reacting," he said.

Tang Wulin was observing the distant reefs with his Purple Demon Eye when he heard this and turned his head. "Which one?"

"Two leg bones."

Yun Jingheng didn't elaborate on the Dragon King's matter, but his tone carried a sense of "at least there's still some hope," adding, "There's been no reaction from anyone else."

Gu Yue remained silent for a long time.

She stood on a black rock, her fingertips lightly touching the back of her hand, as if confirming something, before saying something that reassured everyone slightly, "The Bloodline Power is still there, only the Soul Power is locked. The suppression here targets the Soul Power, not the physical body, and..."

She looked at Yun Jingheng, "The foundation for releasing Soul Bone Skill requires Soul Power..."

Yun Jingheng:...

Xu Xiaoyan's face was still a little pale. "I can't use the Star Staff. I'm basically just a burden."

Ye Xinglan placed her hand on her shoulder, pressing her thumb firmly on her shoulder blade, her tone calm but carrying an undeniable certainty. "What's so cumbersome about it? You can't stand still and output damage anymore, but your hands and feet are still there."

"Was all that footwork training I did before for nothing? You can use your positioning and dodging skills, though."

Xu Xiaoyan opened her mouth, wanting to refute something, but realized that what Ye Xinglan said was indeed true. Cai Yue'er had forced her to practice a lot of basic physical skills in the past. Although she always slacked off, at least she had laid a foundation.

"So, where do we go now?"

Yuanen Yehui stood at the outer edge of the group, his gaze sweeping across the dark vegetation. "That old man said someone was waiting for us, but we don't even have a direction right now."

Yun Jingheng stood on the highest black rock and looked around.

The island doesn't look big from the outside, but once you stand on a high point, you realize that its terrain is much more complex than you imagine. Black reefs are piled up in a staggered pattern, and the carbonized vegetation can barely be identified as shrubs and low trees, but they have all turned into a charcoal-colored, lifeless structure, like the remnants of a great fire that has been weathered over hundreds of years.

Ye Xinglan put her hands on her hips and looked at Yun Jingheng, "Jing Heng, are there really people in this ghostly place? Or are they ghosts?"

Ye Xinglan's words silenced the group for a few moments.

Yun Jingheng stood on high ground, his gaze sweeping over the island's terrain inch by inch.

There were no buildings, no cooking smoke, no roads; carbonized vegetation covered almost the entire surface, with only the dark stone surfaces exposed where the rocks were bare.

He said, with a hint of uncertainty in his voice, "Whether there's anyone there, I can't say for sure right now."

Tang Wulin stood on another rock next to him, his Purple Demon Eye pushed to their limit, a faint purple light floating around his eye sockets.

He remained silent in that position for a long time, so long that Xie Xie couldn't help but want to ask him what he was looking at. Suddenly, he stopped, blinked his sore eyes, and looked somewhat strange.

"There is not a single trace of human life on the entire island."

He said, "I scanned it three times, and I couldn't find a single bug."

"By the way... did any of you bring any food?" Xu Xiaoyan, looking at everyone.

Xie Xie took out a flat oil paper package from his side pocket, opened one corner, and inside were four slightly deformed flatbreads, with a few pieces broken at the edges, emitting a faint smell of flour.

"This is all I have. I don't have any Soul Power here, and I can't open my Storage Soul Tool."

Tang Wulin rummaged through his small backpack and pulled out a small cloth bag, from which he poured out a few dried fruits and a piece of cured meat. The cured meat was wrapped in dried lotus leaves and looked like it could last for a while. "I have a little here, but not much. I thought there would be supplies on the island."

Yuanen Yehui untied the ropes of her bag and dumped it on the ground. A water bag and two pieces of dry food hard enough to crack walnuts rolled out. She picked them up without changing her expression and put them back. "Enough for a day."

Yun Jingheng was speechless for a moment, "Your Storage Soul Tool don't have Soul Guidance Battery?"

Ye Xinglan crossed her arms and said, "Do you think everyone is as rich as you to buy those 'high-end goods'?"

He looked down at the Storage Soul Tool on his wrist. The item Yun Ming had given him was indeed not cheap. It had a built-in backup Soul Guidance Battery, so it could operate on its own for a while even if the external Soul Power was suppressed.

He tried to probe it with his Divine Power, and sure enough, it could be opened. Inside, besides the wooden box, there was a lot of food and a box of eight Soul Guidance Battery.

Hmm... my dad is still the most reliable!

He was silent for three seconds, then took out the items from his Storage Soul Tool one by one and placed them on the ground.

The ration package contained twelve tightly compressed grain cakes, ten packets of dried meat wrapped in oil paper, sixty water pouches, a small jar each of salt and sugar, a packet of tea, a small bottle of honey, and eight Soul Guidance Battery lined up in a row. They were mid-grade and appeared to be of the best quality on the market.

Six people stood around him, watching him take out the items one by one and arrange them in a small open space. Xie Xie forgot to swallow the crumbs of bread in his mouth, Tang Wulin almost dropped the bag of dried fruit in his hand, Ye Xinglan loosened her arms from her chest, Xu Xiaoyan squatted down to count the water bags.

Gu Yue stood on the outermost edge, her gaze lingering for a moment on the eight Soul Guidance Battery, a barely perceptible smile curving her lips.

"... Did your dad send you here to gain experience, or to have a vacation?"

Xie Xie finally swallowed the flatbread, his voice filled with an indescribable complex emotion.

Yun Jingheng himself was also taken aback for a moment.

He looked down at the neatly arranged supplies in front of him, then glanced at the Storage Soul Tool on his wrist, though he hadn't looked inside it closely at the time.

It now appears that the wooden box was just a facade; the real contents were all stuffed into the Storage Soul Tool.

"My dad... probably already knew there was nothing on the island."

Yun Jingheng squatted down and put the supplies back in, much more carefully than before. He placed the salt and sugar containers in the most easily accessible locations and stuffed the Soul Guidance Battery into the inner compartments one by one.

He didn't tell me when he shoved these things in.

Yuanen Yehui squatted down beside him, watching him put his things away, her voice as calm as a still lake. "Your dad is so good to you... I wonder if you'd like a half-sister?"

Xie Xie rolled his eyes. "He doesn't need it!"

Tang Wulin put away the bag of dried fruit in his hand and sighed, "Then we won't have to worry about food for the next few days."

"But salt and sugar... your dad even prepared all the seasonings for you, that's really... comprehensive."

Yun Jingheng fastened the Storage Soul Tool back onto his wrist, pressed his fingertips against the opening to confirm it was secure, then stood up and clapped his hands. "The batteries should last for a while, and if we eat the dry rations and jerky sparingly, it should last for more than a month."

"But this is only for one month's worth. What about after two months?"

"Then let's use this month to find a long-term supply method on this island."

Ye Xinglan patted her trouser leg. "Or find the person you should be looking for."

Yun Jingheng nodded, his gaze sweeping over the six people in front of him. Although he couldn't use his Soul Power, although there was nothing on the island, and although the tube of honey in his hand seemed somewhat luxurious among the pile of dry rations and jerky, at least no one would starve to death for the next seven days.

He glanced sideways at the Stone Pillar Forest. The gray stone pillars stood in the dim light, their surface carvings gleaming faintly with a silvery light at the edge of his vision.

"Let's go, let's see if there's any water."

He said, "There's food and drink; we can take our time with the rest."