The moon shone bright among sparse stars. On the boundless sea, a small boat sailed onward alone.
Zhao Yi, Liu Yu, and Wang Qing sat in the cabin with their eyes closed, resting.
Outside, two islanders tended the sail, steering toward Jade Pearl Island.
The gourds at their waists held Origin-Nourishing Soup that Zhao Yi had prepared for them. From time to time, they took them down and drank a few mouthfuls to replenish their strength.
Zhao Yi had actually made this Origin-Nourishing Soup by dissolving an Origin-Nourishing Pill in water. The pill was suitable for people who had not begun cultivating; it strengthened their foundations, nourished their vitality, built muscle, and fortified the spirit.
"Old Wu, how much longer until we reach Jade Pearl Island?"
"Immortal Master Zhao, it'll take another two hours. I don't know what's wrong today, but the wind is terribly strange. Usually, we have a following wind and get there in four hours."
One of the islanders, a dark-skinned, burly middle-aged man, turned and answered.
"Mm, the weather at sea is always unpredictable. Old Wu, once we reach Red Basin Reef off Jade Pearl Island, you two can head back."
"Yes, Immortal Master!"
Looks like the Immortal Master is in something of a hurry!
At that thought, Old Wu took out his gourd and gulped down several large mouthfuls, then went to the stern and began rowing.
Silence settled over the little boat again, broken only by the sound of the oars cutting heavily through the sea.
Two hours later, the boat reached Red Basin Reef.
Red Basin Reef was actually a cluster of reefs, with forty or fifty rocks jutting above the water. It covered a small area about a mile north of Jade Pearl Island and was the landing point Zhao Yi had carefully chosen.
"Ah! Are we finally here?"
Feeling the boat come to a stop and seeing the rocks before him, Wang Qing sprang to his feet, his face full of excitement. He hurried forward in a few quick strides and jumped onto a rock.
At the sight, Zhao Yi and Liu Yu exchanged a smile.
Wang Qing had lived on Linghua Island for as long as he could remember, never setting so much as a foot beyond it in all his teenage years.
His very first trip off the island was to fight others to the death, yet he could still be this excited. Good, very good.
The other two then leaped onto the rocks. Zhao Yi and Wang Qing pointed toward Jade Pearl Island in the distance, while Liu Yu gave the two islanders a few instructions. The pair then sailed the boat back.
The moon stood high in the sky, spilling its pale glow. Waves beat against the reefs, white spray rising and falling among them.
The three stood on the rocks, the sea wind whipping around them, dressed for battle and ready to set out.
"The Yunsha Sea Region spans thousands of miles and contains countless islands. The islands fight among themselves."
"Wolves surround Linghua Island on every side, their fangs concealed. Today, we'll first kill Daoist Mu, the vicious wolf who bared his fangs first, and strike fear into the others."
"Afterward, we'll cultivate in peace and safeguard the foundation Master left us!"
With that, Zhao Yi leaped into the sea and swam toward Jade Pearl Island.
Liu Yu jumped in close behind him. Wang Qing clenched his fists, shook them hard twice, and followed them into the water.
With Zhao Yi in front, Wang Qing in the middle, and Liu Yu bringing up the rear, the three swam hard toward Jade Pearl Island.
The seawater was cold enough to pierce the bones, and strong winds were blowing. Waves crashed down over their heads; the slightest lapse could scatter them in the sea. Liu Yu therefore kept his eyes on Wang Qing the entire time.
After swimming for about two hours, they reached the foot of the cliffs on Jade Pearl Island's northern shore.
At the base of the cliffs, the waves surged among densely packed submerged reefs and broken rocks. The slightest collision could leave a bloody gash.
Zhao Yi looked up. The cliff was over two hundred feet high, its face almost vertical and smooth as a mirror.
Zhao Yi told Liu Yu and Wang Qing to wait below. Once he had climbed up, he would throw down a rope for them to climb.
Gripping the submerged rocks, Zhao Yi climbed to the cliff face, drew a dagger, channeled true qi into it, and thrust hard. Like a divine weapon, the dagger plunged straight into the rock.
He drove in a second dagger and climbed by alternating between them. Before long, he disappeared from sight.
"Second Senior Brother, are we just going to wait here? Cough! Cough!"
Wang Qing shouted at the top of his voice, only for a wave to crash over him and make him choke on several mouthfuls of water.
"Wait patiently!"
On the cliff face, Zhao Yi was not so worried. He even had the leisure to glance down at Liu Yu and Wang Qing.
Neither of them knew how long Zhao Yi had spent preparing for this day.
Zhao Yi had begun to grow suspicious when Daoist Mu visited Linghua Island for the second time. By his third visit, Zhao Yi had decided to act against him.
Linghua Island's northern shore also had sheer cliffs. Zhao Yi had spent a month practicing his climbing skills there!
A short while later, Zhao Yi climbed over the cliff top and took the bundle off his back. He pulled out a rope twisted from spirit rice stalks. As thick as his little finger, it was light, tough, and durable-vulnerable to fire, but not water.
He tied the rope to a large rock atop the cliff, fastened a piece of yellow cloth to its other end, and threw it down. Then he sat there waiting for Liu Yu and Wang Qing.
"Second Senior Brother, look! The rope's down!"
Wang Qing pointed at a patch of yellow nearby.
"Let's go!"
The two swam toward the rope.
"Wang Qing, you go first. I'll be right behind you!"
Wang Qing nodded, gripped the rope, and began climbing, with Liu Yu following behind.
They soon reached the cliff top. Zhao Yi looked them over without speaking.
Forming a hand seal, he cast two Cleansing Spells on them, instantly leaving their clothes dry and fresh.
Then Zhao Yi waved a hand and led the way down the mountain.
After walking a little over a hundred feet, Zhao Yi suddenly stopped. The two behind him stopped as well.
They saw Zhao Yi carefully part the grass at his feet. A glimmer of spiritual light shone beneath the moonlight-a talisman was actually buried in the grass.
Zhao Yi pointed it out to Liu Yu and Wang Qing, then went around it.
The distance from the cliff top to Daoist Mu's cave abode was only a few hundred meters, yet it held more than a dozen traps of various kinds, including Warning Talismans and mechanical traps.
The mechanical traps in particular were so vicious that they startled Zhao Yi into a cold sweat.
Daoist Mu really can't be underestimated. Anyone who has cultivated undisturbed for decades truly is a cautious man.
Zhao Yi thought this to himself.
Daoist Mu lived in a Daoist abbey nestled in a mountain hollow. Called Qingxin Abbey, it had two courtyards, just like Linghua Abbey.
The main hall stood in the front courtyard, with four side rooms along its flanks. No one usually stayed there.
Daoist Mu lived in the rear courtyard, which contained only a few bamboo houses.
By now, dark clouds had veiled the moon. Fierce winds blew, and the rain gradually grew heavier.
Heaven is helping me!
Zhao Yi secretly rejoiced.
After signaling to Liu Yu and Wang Qing, Zhao Yi carefully approached the abbey.
He cocked an ear and listened. There was not a sound from the front courtyard; it should have been empty. He then lightly jumped onto the courtyard wall and crouched atop it.
His gaze swept over the abbey. Only the incense burner in the courtyard still held flickering embers.
He turned to survey the surroundings, only to suddenly spot someone running up the distant mountain path.
Zhao Yi hastily jumped down and pulled the other two into hiding.
Before long, the man ran up through the rain to the gate of Daoist Mu's abbey, dropped to both knees, and shouted.
"Immortal Master Mu, for some reason, the weather changed suddenly tonight. A gentle breeze and light rain turned into a raging storm."
"A sea beast attacked the harbor tonight, too. It's already overturned three fishing boats and torn apart more than a dozen fishing nets."
"We did everything we could to spear it with our harpoons, but it rammed over several more boats and injured several people. Please help us, Immortal Master Mu!"
Having said that, he began kowtowing repeatedly.
"Immortal Master Mu! Immortal Master Mu! Please slay the monster and save us!"
His cries mingled with the wind and rain, continuing like an unbroken thread.
After a while, the abbey gate opened, and an elderly Daoist in black robes emerged.
Zhao Yi dared not look straight at him for fear of being discovered. A glance from the corner of his eye confirmed that it was indeed Daoist Mu.
Daoist Mu glanced at the man and said indifferently, "Lead the way!"
The middle-aged man's face lit up with joy.
Thud, thud, thud!
He kowtowed several more times, then rose and led Daoist Mu down the mountain.
Zhao Yi, Liu Yu, and Wang Qing did their utmost to conceal their figures and auras to avoid being discovered by Daoist Mu.
Once the pair had gone far away, Liu Yu asked, "Senior Brother, Daoist Mu has gone down the mountain. What do we do? Keep waiting here, or enter the abbey and set an ambush?"
"Daoist Mu is cautious by nature. He must have warning measures hidden inside the abbey. If we rush in, we could easily trigger a trap."
"We won't enter the abbey. We'll ambush him here. Heh, it seems Heaven wants him dead. I was just thinking about how to exhaust his true qi, and a sea beast attacks right away. Heaven truly is helping us!"
"After fighting the sea beast, he's bound to be greatly weakened when he returns to the abbey. That will be the perfect time to strike!"
"Understood, Senior Brother!"
With that, the three fell silent and waited quietly in the rain, their clothes already soaked through.
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