At first light the next morning, Chen Ming set out on the journey home with the Vanguard Team.
The return journey went a little faster than the trip out. For one thing, they had already traveled the route and knew it well; for another, everyone's heart had flown home like an arrow, and they wanted to return to Divine Wind Island as soon as possible. In less than two days, they crossed the belt of astral wind again and reached the edge of the reef field where they had left the Spirit Boat.
The Spirit Boat remained intact where they had left it. Its concealment formation was still running, and neither creatures nor cultivators had discovered it. Everyone boarded, activated the propulsion formation, and sailed toward Divine Wind Island along the route they had taken before.
Everything went smoothly-so smoothly that Chen Ming felt a faint unease.
He had always trusted his instincts. After so many years of clawing his way through the cultivation world, he understood one truth all too well: a voyage with fair winds and smooth sailing often meant the greatest danger lay waiting ahead.
As it turned out, his instincts were right.
About four hours after the Spirit Boat left the reef field, the silhouette of a vessel suddenly appeared on the sea ahead. It was a pitch-black spirit boat, nearly twice the size of Divine Wind Island's Spirit Boat, with three long rams mounted on either side of its hull. It looked savage and menacing. No flag flew aboard it, leaving its allegiance unknown.
Chen Ming's pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately ordered, "Slow down, change course, and avoid that boat!"
The cultivator at the helm swiftly turned the rudder. The Spirit Boat traced an arc, attempting to skirt around the black vessel. But the