After leaving the Great Mirage Tower, Song Yan did not hurry onto the island.
He descended onto the sea outside Floating Jade Island and slowly spread out his Divine Sense.
Song Yan's Divine Sense had now surpassed the standard of an ordinary Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator, approaching the nascent soul middle stage.
Even if he observed Green Sparrow directly, Song Yan thought the man probably would not notice.
As Song Yan walked slowly through the surrounding waters, he soon detected a familiar presence on a secluded, rock-strewn shoal.
That presence was concealed extremely well. Had the other party not deliberately "greeted" him, Song Yan might have overlooked it.
Rounding several huge rocks, he saw a tall figure sitting cross-legged in the shadows.
The Corpse Puppet, A Yuan.
Compared with when they first met in the Chu Kingdom, A Yuan seemed almost to have exchanged his entire body.
Back then, dense Corpse Sha Qi would still surge from him. Now, he was entirely different, without the slightest trace of Corpse Sha Qi or Corpse Fire.
Had Song Yan not recognized his face, judging by Divine Sense alone, he would probably have thought A Yuan was merely a body cultivator.
Presumably, he had encountered opportunities of his own while adventuring through the Demon Ruins with Sheng Nian.
Hearing someone approach, A Yuan opened his eyes.
Although those eyes were utterly lifeless, they revealed happiness at the sight of Song Yan.
"Young Master Song," he said, his voice rasping but filled with heartfelt delight. "It's been a long time."
Since parting in the Chu Kingdom, Song Yan and Sheng Nian had occasionally run into each other in the Central Region and the Eastern Sea.
But it had truly been decades since he last saw A Yuan.
Song Yan walked forward and raised