Yingzhou Immortal Island

"Fellow Daoist Shi Mo, what a leisurely life you lead! I heard that your relationship with the Monster Clan was not very good. I never expected you would be willing to teach these spirit foxes that have yet to take human form," the middle-aged man in white robes said with a hearty laugh.

Shi Mo rose with a smile as well. "Hehe, Fellow Daoist King of the East, I merely had nothing better to do, so I simply taught these little ones a few cultivation methods. They do not really count as members of the Monster Clan yet."

At the same time, a graceful figure in green flew out from Qingqiu Mountain and arrived before them in the blink of an eye. She first respectfully bowed to Shi Mo, then hurriedly bowed to King of the East. "Bai Qingqing of Qingqiu greets you, Senior!"

"I did not expect little Qingqiu to have a Golden Immortal cultivator who has not gone to join the Monster Clan," King of the East said, somewhat surprised by Bai Qingqing's presence.

"It was thanks to Senior Shi Mo's guidance that I was able to attain the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit so quickly," Bai Qingqing said repeatedly.

"Your talent and comprehension are simply quite good. I did not teach you much," Shi Mo said with a shake of his head and a smile. Then he added, "Let me introduce you. This is King of the East from Yingzhou Immortal Island in the East Sea."

"Senior King of the East," Bai Qingqing said as she bowed once more. King of the East merely nodded slightly in response.

Bai Qingqing tactfully excused herself and led away the group of exceptionally spiritual foxes, some of whom could even speak.

Shi Mo invited King of the East to sit. "Fellow Daoist King of the East, did you come specifically to see me because of the Acquired Millet?"

"I would like to exchange for some Innate Millet from Fellow Daoist Shi Mo," King of the East said, making Shi Mo's brows knit.

After pondering for a moment, Shi Mo nodded and smiled at King of the East. "Certainly! I do have some Innate Millet. What do you intend to exchange for it?"

"What does Fellow Daoist want? An innate spirit treasure? Innate spirit materials? Or perhaps treasures such as even rarer innate spirit roots?" King of the East asked in return.

Shi Mo raised his brows at that. "You have innate spirit roots to trade?"

"I can give you some spirit materials that grow on innate spirit roots," King of the East said.

"However, aside from the Innate Millet, I also need a batch of Acquired Millet, as well as some spirit fruits and the like. I know you have sold spirit fruits to the Wu Clan before. You should be able to provide spirit fruits to Yingzhou Immortal Island as well, correct?"

"Of course!" Shi Mo's eyes lit up. Business had come knocking at his door, so naturally he had no reason to refuse.

At the same time, Shi Mo was rather curious. Since King of the East could provide spirit materials grown on innate spirit roots, the innate spirit root in question had to be quite extraordinary. What sort of spirit root could it be? Could Yingzhou perhaps have...

Meanwhile, within Eight Treasures Cloud Light Cave on Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain, Nebula Daoist sat cross-legged atop a jade platform and waved his hand. A large number of Innate Millet seeds immediately appeared in midair.

Nebula Daoist then flipped his hand and took out the Life-Reaping Gourd, suspending it in midair. With a thought, he activated the Life-Reaping Gourd, and wisps of life force like mist drifted out from the Innate Millet seeds and entered the gourd.

Without affecting the quality of the Innate Millet, Shi Mo directly drained nearly all the life force within them, turning them into "dead" seeds that could only be eaten and could no longer be planted.

Next, Nebula Daoist tossed out a dull gray storage bag that he had casually refined. He collected the Innate Millet into the bag, tied it shut with a cord like golden silk, and sent it away through the underground spirit vein network of Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain.

On Qingqiu Mountain, Shi Mo and King of the East were discussing the Dao and chatting quite merrily when earthen-yellow light surged from the ground nearby. Golden Flame then appeared out of thin air, carrying the small cloth bag containing the millet. "Master!"

"Give it to me, then go back!" Shi Mo took the small bag of millet and instructed Golden Flame. Only after Golden Flame sank into the ground and departed did he untie the mouth of the bag and gesture for King of the East to inspect it.

Sensing the surging, dense fluctuations of innate aura within the bag, King of the East had no doubts. He nodded with a satisfied smile. "Fellow Daoist Shi Mo, would you be interested in accompanying me to Yingzhou Immortal Island?"

"Since Fellow Daoist King of the East has invited me, I naturally ought to make the trip," Shi Mo said with a smile. Then he and King of the East transformed into two streaks of light and headed east.

After crossing the vast, boundless sea and traveling for a long time, the two finally arrived at the location of Yingzhou Immortal Island overseas.

Rather than an immortal island, it would be more accurate to call it a continent.

Strange peaks and bizarre rocks rose across the island, while mountains, forests, and lakes lay scattered everywhere. Immortal mist drifted upward, making it a place where spirit veins converged.

No wonder so many accomplished cultivators and spiritual beings from the sea had gathered here to cultivate under King of the East.

King of the East was also an oddity in the Primordial World. Occupying such an overseas immortal island, he was nevertheless willing to share it with others. He truly possessed an inborn talent and bearing for leadership.

"There really are so many cultivators and spiritual beings." As soon as Shi Mo approached Yingzhou Immortal Island, he sensed countless auras of varying strengths on the island.

However, once he truly set foot on the island, Shi Mo was somewhat disappointed, for it was entirely different from the overseas paradise he had imagined.

There were no proper immortal cave dwellings on the island, nor were there palaces or pavilions. Countless cultivators and spiritual beings occupied their own patches of land, either digging caves or living in burrows. The place was a smoky mess and utterly chaotic.

Especially since many of those cultivators and spiritual beings had not fully taken human form. They looked humanoid at a glance, yet were bizarrely misshapen, and quite a few exuded fierce, vicious auras.

This was practically an aquarium of Primordial World sea creatures, a complete paradise for monsters. It utterly shattered Shi Mo's beautiful vision of Yingzhou Immortal Island.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Shi Mo, what do you think? My Yingzhou Immortal Island can be considered a rare blessed land and heavenly paradise in the Primordial World, can it not?"

Yet King of the East beside him was still boasting about it. Shi Mo could only nod and smile awkwardly, offering a few flattering remarks.

"It is indeed a magnificent sight, worthy of the name of an overseas immortal island!"

"The island is home to fellow cultivators, and quite a few among them once went to Purple Heaven Palace to hear the Dao. Everyone gathers here to exchange insights and discuss the Dao, living freely and at ease. How delightful!" King of the East continued with a smile.

"Queen Mother of the West also cultivated here for a time. Later, she found another immortal mountain and blessed land in West Kunlun, so she moved away."

Why Queen Mother of the West moved away was probably not simply because she found another immortal mountain and blessed land to serve as her cultivation ground, Shi Mo thought inwardly with a smile on his face. Why does this Yingzhou Immortal Island sound so much like Mount Liang of the Marshes? All sorts of people are mixed together here, seeking shelter under its banner. How many are truly of one mind with King of the East?

Still, King of the East has more backbone than Song Jiang. He refused to submit to the Monster Clan, though his fate was quite miserable as well, Shi Mo thought as he flew over the immortal island with King of the East. The cultivators and spiritual beings they encountered along the way all politely bowed to King of the East.

King of the East smiled and nodded all along the way, occasionally exchanging a few pleasantries with some cultivators. At last, he brought Shi Mo to a massive valley resembling a meteor crater.

The moment Shi Mo approached, he felt a scorching, surging aura rush toward him. Then he saw a divine tree within, seemingly bathed in flames.