Arrival at Kaiyang Island

Flying out of the sea, Shen Ge shook off non-existent seawater. Before he could speak, Zhang Lingyu, carrying the corpse of Demon Beast, praised, "Brother Shen's strength is indeed extraordinary! He killed this third-tier Demon Beast with a single sword strike."

"Fellow Daoist Zhang is too kind. This is not solely my achievement. Without Fellow Daoist Zhang immobilizing that insect, and without Fairy Miaoyin's zither music providing support, I would never have been able to kill that insect with a single sword strike."

"Alright, stop flattering each other," said Cang Yue, the sect leader of the Canghai Sect. "Let's go, let's leave this sea area as soon as possible."

"Fellow Daoist Cang is absolutely right. Let's leave here first." Zhang Lingyu smiled, took the demon core from the demon corpse, and tossed it to Shen Ge: "Fellow Daoist Shen, this demon core is for you. Wait for me, I'll go and deal with the corpse. I guarantee you'll all be full of praise for my skills later."

Due to geographical factors, cultivators in the Luo Heaven Sea would typically remove the useful parts of Demon Beast after killing Demon Beast and then use the remaining meat to make medicinal dishes, without wasting a single bit. Of course, the same applied to those whose entire bodies were poisonous; although they couldn't be eaten, the entire corpse would be refined to extract the toxins.

Only the most disgusting Demon Beast would be discarded, such as the ugly slime fish, which is covered in a layer of yellowish slime and has pus-filled bumps all over its body. Just looking at it is enough to give people a mental shock.

Back on the ship, Shen Ge placed the demon core on the table and looked at Fairy Miaoyin, saying, "This demon core is for you. I took some of its teeth as materials for refining weapons."

Fairy Miaoyin chuckled and said, "The essence of Demon Beast lies entirely in its demon core. Giving this most precious thing to someone who has contributed the least—isn't that an unfair distribution?"

"The only uses of demon cores are alchemy and array formation. I don't know how to refine pills, and I'm not very proficient in array formations, so it's a waste for me to have them. Although they can be exchanged for Spirit Stone, it's too troublesome. Besides, I can't leave you with nothing."

Even so, Fairy Miaoyin didn't stand on ceremony. She directly accepted the demon core, saying, "Consider the extra value as your ticket price for listening to the music."

"You have to pay to listen to a piece of music?" Shen Ge said with a resentful look, "Didn't you play it yourself?"

"If you think it's not worth it, I'll play you another ' Heaven and Earth Melody '," Fairy Miaoyin said with a smile.

"No, let's talk about it next time. I'm waiting for Fellow Daoist Zhang to start his meal."

More than a month later, the fleet arrived at Kaiyang Island, where boats of all sizes were moored for nearly a hundred miles around the Kaiyang Island's docks.

Standing on the bow of the boat, Shen Ge looked at the other boats and remarked, "It's quite lively."

"It's rare for three large islands to jointly host an auction, so this small event is nothing special. The real excitement comes from the Seven Islands Grand Tournament, which takes place once every three hundred years. That's when everything else truly comes alive."

"It seems like the next Seven Islands Grand Competition is only about eighty years away. Fellow Daoist Shen, you can go and witness it then."

Zhang Lingyu called out from afar, "Alright, you two, stop dawdling and let's go, let's get to the island first."

Once we landed on the island, the entire outer island was bustling with noise and excitement.

"Fellow Daoists, we have other matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave now," Cang Yue said, bidding farewell to Canglan.

Zhang Lingyu also cupped his hands in farewell and said, "Gentlemen, farewell for now. We'll meet again on our way back."

After they left, Shen Ge looked at Fairy Miaoyin beside him and smiled, "In that case, I'll be going too."

Fairy Miaoyin nodded and said, "Fellow Daoist Shen, you may go. I will send you a message when you return."

After leaving the group, Shen Ge did not immediately head to the place where the cultivators had set up their stalls. Instead, he followed the flow of people to a relatively large cultivator's restaurant, intending to listen to some rumors first.

As soon as he sat down, Shen Ge began to listen with his Divine Sense.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, let me tell you, there's nothing I can't handle regarding this Reef Island matter. You've come to the right person..."

"Junior Sister Li, is the medicinal food here alright? Your senior brother here has really spent a fortune on it, how do you plan to repay me...?"

"Fellow Daoist Wang, I heard that your Xuanji Island recently suffered a demonic attack. Is everything alright...?"

These messages were mostly disorganized, including conversations, boasts, and messages from people simply there for a meal; they were generally of little use.

As Shen Ge ate the medicinal cuisine made from Demon Beast meat and drank spiritual wine, a very faint voice reached his ears. "Fellow Daoist Wang, guess who I just saw?"

Who is it?

"That traitor from the Ji Household!"

The sound grew even quieter, barely audible in the noisy restaurant, like a mosquito buzzing in the night.

Shen Ge immediately perked up and listened intently, but after a while, when there was no sound, he suddenly realized that the two had started communicating telepathically, so he immediately used his magic to listen in.

Since the conversation was between two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, their telepathic communication wasn't too difficult for Shen Ge to intercept.

"Speaking of that Ji Rufeng, he's a heartless bastard. Decades ago, if he hadn't betrayed the Ji Household, how could the Ji Household Ji Household have been wiped out? Their ancestral protective formation wasn't something those people could easily break."

"I've never understood why the Ji Household, who were doing so well, were targeted. Is there something valuable at all? How tempting must it be to attract so many forces to attack them simultaneously?"

"No one knows this except those people. However, even if the Ji Household Ji Household has good things, judging from their actions, they deserve them. Every time the Outer Sea Demon Beast attack the Inner Sea, the Ji Household is always at the forefront."

"Alright, alright, stop talking. Be careful, the walls may be overhearing."

Shen Ge put down his wine glass, a smile playing on his lips. He hadn't expected to hear news about the mission target here. Since the person had come all the way here, it saved him the trouble of going to Tianquan Island.

However, we cannot rush this matter. We must proceed slowly and observe carefully. After all, the other party is now an elder of the Tianquan Sect, and there may be fellow disciples with him. He will not be easy to kill.

After that, Shen Ge left a few hundred Spirit Stone and departed. Having received this information, he saw no need to listen any further.

As Shen Ge walked along the street lined with stalls set up by various cultivators, he strolled leisurely, occasionally buying some refining materials, but most of the time he would just glance at the items on the stalls and lose interest.

After strolling down the street, aside from some refining materials, the only thing Shen Ge could find that could be considered a good item was half a piece of Black Soul Wood.

This Black Soul Wood is a valuable item; it can not only nourish the soul but also heal injuries to the spirit. This large piece is worth at least four thousand Spirit Stone.

Unfortunately, the stall owner didn't know its value and bought it thinking it was lightning-struck ebony, so Shen Ge got a bargain.

After strolling through this street, Shen Ge turned around and entered another street next to it. It was a rare occasion for cultivators to gather in such a large area, and there were quite a few stalls set up.