An invitation had come from their neighbor.
Neither Lin Changheng nor Xu Maoling declined; both attended.
This was something of an agreement between them: a small gathering each year, both to exchange what they needed and to deepen their friendship.
This time, Cheng Suling was the host.
Compared with Lin Changheng's Perching Moon Island and Xu Maoling's Rising Sun Island, Cheng Suling's island was strikingly different.
Perching Moon Island, with formation light flickering faintly amid embracing clouds and water, resembled a giant turtle lying dormant, its hard shell hidden beneath misty waves. It remained grimly motionless, radiating a cold, forbidding air that warned strangers away.
Rising Sun Island, managed by Xu Maoling, presented an entirely different scene. Paths crisscrossed the spirit fields, golden spirit wheat rippled in the wind like ocean waves, and spirit plant farmers moved busily among them, their lives full and productive. Rich vitality and earth spiritual energy swept toward visitors, making it resemble a fertile, carefully tended mortal farmstead, grounded and warm.
Cheng Suling's island, however, was entirely unlike either of them.
There was no conspicuous radiance here, nor any bustling crowds. From afar, all one could see were exceptionally lush, verdant trees, arranged in layers as though they had stood that way since ancient times. An air of peace and harmony flowed naturally from the island, yet it was also deep and unfathomable. The mere sight of it soothed the mind while discouraging any careless desecration.
Lin Changheng had once quietly focused his vision to its utmost, observing it with the "divine light" formed by combining his three arts. Only then had he glimpsed its mysteries-
The island's earthly energies circulated smoothly and harmoniously, like vitality and blood flowing through a human body, forming a complete circuit without the slightest obstruction.
Every blade of grass,