[It was noon, and the blazing sun hung high.]
[The floating treasure vessel hovered like a giant island, its shadow blanketing the entire sea.]
["Grandmaster, Whisperwind Island sent word to every branch yesterday, but so far only nearby Sea Withered Island has replied, agreeing to come today."]
["Unexpectedly, the Sea Withered Island Lord made an excuse this morning and sent only several second-generation disciples to attend the ceremony."]
[The one reporting was a tall, middle-aged female cultivator. Her long dress clung tightly to her body, outlining her exquisite curves.]
[Her appearance had originally been striking, her features delicate, but a scar slashing diagonally across her face stole all attention—from the corner of her left eye straight to the corner of her right mouth, like a long, narrow crack that ruined her former beauty.]
[Especially in those beautiful eyes, there lingered a trace of hostility that could not be dispelled.]
[She was Ying Yuan, one of Whisperwind Island's three Grand Elders, her cultivation already at the Perfected Dragon Court Stage.]
[She could be called Whisperwind Island's number one cultivator in the open.]
[Not a single Great Dao Golden Core cultivator presided over all of Whisperwind Island. One could see just how severely it had been suppressed.]
[There had originally been two elders who had survived the First Nine Heavenly Tribulation, but a hundred years ago, they had defected to other island branches.]
[You nodded slightly, unsurprised.]
[Before long, an old man and a young man flew over from the island.]
["Greetings, Ancestor Chen."]
[The old man in front was short and squat, wearing a Pilu cap. His brows and eyes carried a hint of mercenary, money-grubbing air.]
[This man was Whisperwind Island's "God of Wealth," Yu Shanglu, one of the three Grand Elders, in charge of all the island's financial income