Arrangements Before Secluded Cultivation!

"Whoosh~~~"

A spray of waves churned on the pitch-black sea surface as a figure burst forth from the water.

Hoo~~~

A gentle breeze swirled around Zhou Hao, lifting his body as he flew toward the shore.

Finally, I can fly. Zhou Hao felt the difference as the Xiantian True Essence within his body transformed into Purple Mansion Origin Power; even his connection to the power of heaven and earth had become significantly tighter.

Once a cultivator steps into the Purple Mansion realm, they truly depart from the mortal world and embark upon the immortal path; from this point on, they may be called a "cultivator."

With the drive of his Purple Mansion Origin Power, his secret technique, Free and Easy Wandering, had entered the second stage, "Wind Riding," allowing him to ride the wind just like a Myriad Phenomena True Person.

That Chaos Star Fragment is truly miraculous. In less than a day, it has allowed my body refining to reach the late Xiantian stage.

At this rate, in at most another day, I will be able to reach the perfection of the sixth stage.

By then, with my Qi cultivation at the early Purple Mansion stage and my God-Devil Body Refining at the peak of the Xiantian stage, even if I encounter an opponent at the mid-Purple Mansion stage, I will be strong enough to kill them with my own hands, even without the auxiliary boost of the Blue Flower Water Vapor or the mist.

Zhou Hao's eyes shone brightly, resembling a pair of stars in the night.

In just one day, from entering the sea at dawn to emerging at night, the change in his strength could be described as earth-shattering.

He had also chanced upon the legacy immortal mansion of Loose Immortal Hongchen, a loose immortal who had lived for nine hundred thousand years. Inside, there was not only a complete inheritance of a secret technique but also a Cold Fiend Vein, Chaos Star Fragments, and—once he claimed ownership of the mansion in the future—an immortal artifact, Weiyang Palace, and four Heaven-Rank Rare Treasures, the Five Elements Treasures...

Looking toward the future, Zhou Hao's heart was filled with heroic spirit; the immortal path and longevity he had dreamed of no longer seemed like a moon reflected in the water.

Zhou Hao moved with great speed as he rode the wind, covering the several miles of sea in the blink of an eye.

As the Immortal Mansion Spirit, Ou Huang could teleport Zhou Hao anywhere within the thousand-mile radius covered by the white mist, though it was never perfectly precise.

Since he did not wish to expose the secret of his discovery of the immortal mansion, he still had Ou Huang send him back to the seabed covered in statues.

Returning to the immortal mansion was simple; as long as he was within the range of the white mist, he only needed to shake the Immortal Mansion Signal Talisman to trigger the Reception Formation and be teleported back by the formation's power.

"Hm? Are those miners out for their break?" Seeing the sky ablaze with firelight on the far side of Crouching Ox Island's peak and hearing the clamor of voices, Zhou Hao turned his wind and flew in that direction.

This was the fourth day since their Fifth Squad of the Jade Dragon Army had arrived at Crouching Ox Island, and it was the scheduled time for the underground miners to emerge from the mines for a break.

"Move faster, don't dawdle!" A burly Green Flood Dragon Army soldier shouted at the miners before him. "Hurry and warm yourselves by the fire. Once your bodies are dry, hand over the Origin Stones you've dug up, and then get back to your cells!"

Dozens of bonfires burned fiercely, driving away the chill from the beach and the reefs.

Over a thousand miners, dressed in tattered coarse cloth and animal skins, their bodies and faces covered in mud, huddled around the fires. Many had blue lips from the cold and curled up together, shivering violently.

The sea area around Crouching Ox Island was extremely cold. While they were deep underground in the mines, the several-mile-thick layer of seabed rock shielded them, but to emerge from the mines and reach the island, the rock layer grew thinner as they neared the surface, making the cold air increasingly biting.

For these miners, whose strength was at most at the peak of the Post-Heaven stage, every break was a struggle between life and death.

Yet, as long as they were human, they yearned for the fresh air of the world. Even if it meant suffering or risking death from the cold air entering their bodies, they still came out one after another for every break.

Swish!

A figure appeared on a reef over ten feet high; it was Zhou Hao, who had flown in on the wind.

He looked down to see the entire stretch of reef and beach surrounded by three thousand Green Flood Dragon Army soldiers, with ten Xiantian Lifeforms from the Jade Dragon Army standing at various points, their vigilant gazes sweeping across the scene.

Hu Yong, who had been in charge of guarding Crouching Ox Island for the past seven days, saw Zhou Hao appear and immediately moved, turning into a streak of light to leap onto the same reef.

"Commander." Hu Yong stood a step behind Zhou Hao and bowed. "Weren't you cultivating in the sea? Why have you come here at this time?"

"Is everything stable?" Zhou Hao asked.

"Everything is stable," Hu Yong replied quickly. "Of the 1,162 miners scheduled for this break, 1,123 actually came out. The bodies of those who died were brought out by the other miners. The quantity of Origin Stones that should have been handed over has also been verified; there are no issues."

"Mm, that is good." Zhou Hao nodded. "Have someone arrange to boil some meat soup for them. Even though they are all pirates, they are still living beings after all; don't treat them too harshly."

"Yes, I will arrange it immediately." After Hu Yong acknowledged the order, he summoned a Green Flood Dragon Army soldier, gave a few instructions, and watched as the soldier hurried away.

Before long, over a hundred people came over to set up large pots over the bonfires on the reef beach, and the scent of meat soon filled the entire beach.

Zhou Hao watched as the miners began to scramble for the food before it was even cooked, as if they hadn't eaten meat in a long time, and he shook his head with a sigh.

He didn't exactly pity these people; after all, those who could be captured by the Green Flood Dragon Army and sent here to mine were all pirates with blood on their hands or evil cultists from the Fire Worship Sect.

It was simply that his modern-world values from his previous life meant that, when necessary, he would not be stingy about providing them with basic survival needs, such as a full meal.

The Green Flood Dragon Army soldiers responsible for guarding the area stepped forward to suppress the commotion, and after a few lashes of the whip, the pirates began to line up obediently to receive their meat soup in order.

"The way they are, it's wishful thinking for them to survive ten years here," Hu Yong remarked from the side.

To ensure the pirates would mine properly and not commit suicide out of despair, the Green Flood Dragon Army promised every pirate that if they survived ten years of mining, they could leave Crouching Ox Island and go to another place where the living conditions were not so harsh.

However, very few pirates lived for ten years. Not to mention the harsh environment, even among themselves, pirates could not avoid fighting and killing—whether for a bite of food or a single Origin Stone. In all these years, not many had left Crouching Ox Island alive.

"Commander, you should go and rest. With me here, nothing will go wrong," Hu Yong said.

"Mm, I came here to let you know," Zhou Hao said. "I feel I am about to break through in the next few days. I will be in the sea, using the dense Origin Power there to go into seclusion for a few days. I will emerge when the seven-day period is up."

"Commander is going to break through?"

The strength realm reached by a cultivator was difficult for others to discern with the naked eye unless they possessed investigative techniques or ocular supernatural abilities.

"That is a good thing," Hu Yong smiled. "A breakthrough cannot be rushed. You don't need to worry about the time; just emerge whenever you have broken through and stabilized your realm. I will handle everything on the island."

Zhou Hao had just experienced the joy of rapid cultivation in the Red Dust Immortal Mansion and had a Cold Fiend Vein and the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light secret technique waiting to be practiced, so he naturally didn't want to waste time.

He had come out this time just to inform them, so that Hu Yong and the others wouldn't think something had happened to him again like the past few days, which would have risked alerting the General far away in Jade Dragon City—the consequences of which would have been significant.

Counting the time, three days should be just about enough, but to prevent any unexpected delays, Zhou Hao nodded. "Very well. If there truly is a delay, you will hold the line first, and I will make up the extra time to you later."

Having finished交代ing the matters regarding his seclusion, Zhou Hao was quite satisfied to see that Hu Yong took it to heart and executed his orders with meticulous care.

"You are preoccupied with the island's defenses, which is bound to affect your cultivation, so take this High-Grade Origin Stone. When the mission ends, those brothers who performed well will all be rewarded. Tell everyone to remain vigilant at all times and not to let their guard down."

With five jin of Origin Liquid on his person and a steady stream of Stone Platform Water Drops to collect later, the High-Grade Origin Stones he once valued so highly were no longer that important to Zhou Hao.

Punish those who err, reward those who achieve; this was the golden rule of military management.

"Many thanks, Commander." Hu Yong was overjoyed.

As a vice-commander, his monthly military pay did not even amount to a single High-Grade Origin Stone. To receive such a generous reward for just a few days of hard work made him feel that all the toil was worth it.

Neither of them noticed a cold, sinister gaze hidden among the pirate miners, secretly sizing up the surrounding Green Flood Dragon Army and Jade Dragon Army soldiers, lingering for a long time on Zhou Hao and Hu Yong.

...After arranging the trivial matters and ensuring his absence for a few days would not cause a stir, Zhou Hao used High-Grade Spirit Stones to trade for some Human-Rank Magical Treasures he could use—such as robes and jade flasks for wine—from the storage treasure of Shang Ren that was kept with Hu Yong.

He then set out to sea again that very night, using the Signal Talisman to trigger the Reception Formation of the Red Dust Immortal Mansion.

Whoosh~~~

With a flash of red light, Zhou Hao's figure vanished into the seawater.