Fangzhang Island

Dongwang Gong's self-destruction was immensely powerful. Although Dijun and Taiyi had joined forces and borrowed the might of the Chaos Bell to stabilize earth, fire, water, and wind, it still caused considerable devastation.

The first to bear the brunt were the aquatic clans of the East Sea. Countless beings below the Golden Immortal realm were shaken to death by the blast's aftermath.

The East Sea Dragon King, Ao Tong, trembled with rage. "The Demon Race is truly hateful! They dare run wild in my East Sea like this—do they really think the Dragon Clan can be bullied?"

"Please calm your anger, Dragon King. The Demon Race is powerful now, while the foundations of our Dragon Clan are all within the sea eye. If we rashly clash with the Demon Race, I fear the losses would outweigh the gains!" the Turtle Chancellor hurriedly advised.

"Then did the aquatic clans of my East Sea die for nothing?"

"Of course they did not die for nothing. Dragon King, permit this old minister to speak a most disrespectful truth: the conduct of the Demon Race's Heavenly Court is no different from that of our Dragon Clan in those days."

Ao Tong was first stunned upon hearing this, then frowned. "Turtle Chancellor, you mean the Demon Race will also—"

"Dragon King, say no more!" the Turtle Chancellor interrupted Ao Tong. "There are some things you need only understand. Speaking them aloud would be divulging the secrets of Heaven."

"This king understands. I would like to see just how long the Demon Race can remain so arrogant!"

The second to be affected was naturally Bai Jing, who was in secluded cultivation on Yingzhou Immortal Island.

When Dongwang Gong self-destructed, Bai Jing's physical body was already on the verge of breaking through to the late stage of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm.

Over these forty thousand-plus years, Bai Jing had first spent twenty thousand years using the Creation Jade Disc Fragment and the Enlightenment Tea Tree to comprehend the Devouring Great Dao to seventy percent. He had then begun voraciously consuming immortal materials and ores.

Bai Jing spent more than five thousand years eating over half the immortal materials and ores obtained from the Witch Clan, until his physical body finally gave him a sense of completeness.

Afterward, Bai Jing took out the immortal materials and ores stained with chaotic qi. While purifying the useless substances within the ores with the Great Dao of Purification, he stuffed them into his mouth.

This time, it took only a little over two thousand years for his physical body to feel as though it were overflowing.

Bai Jing then directly swallowed the remaining ores into his stomach. The Spirit Devouring Art circulated as he began absorbing the vast spiritual qi of Yingzhou Immortal Island.

Before long, Bai Jing sank into stillness, everything devoted solely to breaking through his realm.

However, just as Bai Jing was about to complete the transformation of his physical body, an immense tremor swept over him. Even Yingzhou Immortal Island, hidden within the void and independent of the Primordial World, began to shake.

Fortunately, the restrictions outside Yingzhou Immortal Island were powerful. Moreover, Yingzhou Immortal Island had always drifted beyond the Primordial World. Though it appeared to be above the East Sea, there was in truth still some distance between them. Thus, Yingzhou Immortal Island suffered no substantive damage; only its restrictions sustained some harm and would require tens of thousands of years to repair themselves.

Yet Bai Jing was still jolted awake. Seeing that he was only one step away from a breakthrough, only to be interrupted by someone, left him deeply frustrated.

However, before Bai Jing could settle into meditation again, he suddenly sensed violent spatial fluctuations coming from the chaos near Yingzhou Immortal Island.

With a thought, Bai Jing arrived in the chaos outside Yingzhou Immortal Island. There, he saw an island likewise wrapped in innate restrictions appearing stiffly right beside Yingzhou Immortal Island.

Bai Jing was dumbfounded. Wasn't this Fangzhang Island? Why had Fangzhang Island suddenly appeared, and so close to Yingzhou Immortal Island at that?

Could it have been because of that tremor just now?

Thinking of this, Bai Jing hurriedly calculated with his fingers and learned that the explosion had actually been Dongwang Gong's self-destruction.

Dongwang Gong was a great power at the middle stage of the Quasi-Sage realm. His self-destruction had been tremendously powerful, shattering the space above the East Sea and sending its force into the chaos. It had likewise affected Fangzhang Island's innate restrictions, allowing Fangzhang Island to appear at this moment.

Bai Jing's heart jolted. Fangzhang Island had appeared just like that, and Dongwang Gong's self-destruction had damaged its restrictions. This was an excellent opportunity for him to enter Fangzhang Island!

If he could find the Xuanyuan Water-Control Banner on Fangzhang Island, he could mend more of his origin.

Moreover, Fangzhang Island contained immortal materials and ores he urgently needed. If he could obtain them as well, he would not lack materials for his subsequent breakthrough to the peak of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm.

But Fangzhang Island had once been Yangmei's cultivation ground. If he intruded without permission and encountered some contingency Yangmei had left behind, what then?

After struggling with the matter for a while, Bai Jing gritted his teeth and decided to investigate after all. He was already at the middle stage of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm, only a step away from the late stage, and had the Primordial Measure of Heaven Ruler protecting him. Even against a cultivator at the peak of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm, he possessed the strength to fight. Even if Yangmei had left something behind, he would not be utterly without the means to retaliate.

Besides, cultivation itself was an act of defying Heaven. If he remained timid and shrinking back at every turn, how could he ever attain the Great Dao?

And besides, Fangzhang Island had finally appeared. If he missed this chance, who knew when he would encounter this island again?

He could hardly find a great power at the middle stage of the Quasi-Sage realm and force them to self-destruct too, could he?

With that thought, Bai Jing no longer hesitated and flew toward Fangzhang Island.

After arriving at Fangzhang Island's perimeter, Bai Jing discovered that its restrictions and those of Yingzhou Island shared the same ingenious design. Bai Jing was already exceedingly familiar with the restrictions of Yingzhou Island.

Drawing inferences from one instance to another, coupled with the fact that Fangzhang Island's restrictions had been damaged by Dongwang Gong's self-destruction, Bai Jing actually found a loophole and entered Fangzhang Island with ease.

The moment he entered Fangzhang Island, Bai Jing was stunned by the Dao rhythm on the island.

The spatial Dao rhythm here was far too dense, as though the Great Dao of Space itself had been engraved upon Fangzhang Island. Bai Jing could even faintly sense that he was about to be assimilated by the spatial Dao rhythm of Fangzhang Island.

Could it be that Yangmei attained the Primordial Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm on Fangzhang Island? Bai Jing thought.

Though he was thinking, Bai Jing's movements were not slow in the slightest. He directly unleashed the Devouring Great Dao, isolating the spatial Dao rhythm as he began exploring Fangzhang Island.

Bai Jing roughly sensed that Yingzhou Immortal Island and Fangzhang Island were about the same size, and both were smaller than Penglai Immortal Island.

There was one and only one innate restriction on Fangzhang Island, located at its very center. The other innate restrictions across Fangzhang Island had already been broken by someone.

This was only to be expected. As Fangzhang Island had once been Yangmei's cultivation ground, how could he possibly have left its innate restrictions unbroken?

It was simply that, after Yangmei attained the Primordial Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, spiritual treasures and spiritual objects below the rank of innate supreme treasures no longer held any meaning for him. In this regard, he was the same as Hongjun.

Furthermore, Yangmei himself did not rely on such things, so Bai Jing guessed there was a high chance Yangmei had not taken them away.

And that was indeed the case. Before long, Bai Jing discovered the first low-grade innate spiritual treasure on Fangzhang Island. It was a tower-shaped spiritual treasure with ten innate restrictions, making it rather good among low-grade spiritual treasures.

Bai Jing unceremoniously put away the spiritual treasure, then continued exploring while gathering the immortal materials and ores scattered everywhere.

In less than a thousand years, Bai Jing had explored every place except for the innate restriction at the very center of Fangzhang Island.

Bai Jing collected all the immortal materials and ores, including quite a few materials stained with chaotic qi. Both in quantity and quality, they were nearly identical to those on Yingzhou Immortal Island. They should be enough for him to break through to the peak of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm.