Because Heng Hua had a guilty conscience, he did not dare go to Panlong Hall to bid farewell. After leaving Langhuan Hall, the group headed straight for the dock.
Seeing that Xiaoyu was fully prepared, Fu Xiangfeng asked, "Xiaoyu is coming with us too?"
"That's right, Hengshou is coming too. There are only three of us at Langhuan Hall, so of course we're leaving together. Oh, the ship is ready. Hengshou is waiting over there."
Xiang Feng looked into the distance and saw a "Colorful Luan" unfurling its sails, raising five-colored clouds of rosy mist.
"Colorful-Luan Spirit Ship?" Xiang Feng's face was full of disdain. "Why did you choose this one?"
"What? It's beautiful. Five-colored sails, a painted yi-bird prow. Floating upon the water, its radiance is incomparably dazzling—perfect for traveling and sightseeing."
Most importantly, the Colorful Luan pleasure barge came with a side chamber boat, suitable for hiding Nineteenth Uncle.
As the two spoke, Deng Lan hurried to the dock.
Seeing that they were preparing to set sail, she quickly called out.
"Third Young Master, Sixth Young Master, the old patriarch has instructions. Please stop at once."
Grandfather had instructions?
Heng Hua instinctively wanted to have Hengshou set sail and flee.
But after glancing at Fu Xiangfeng beside him, he suppressed the storm in his heart and put on a startled expression. "I'm merely leaving the island with Third Brother for some sightseeing. How did it alarm Grandfather?"
Deng Lan caught up with them and smiled. "Yesterday, Second Madam went to report to the hall. Once the old patriarch learned of it, he had this old woman bring you some things."
As she spoke, she bowed to the two young masters.
Deng Lan was the steward aunt serving at Fu Danwei's side. She was at Foundation Establishment and was already four hundred years old.
The two juniors returned half-bows.
At this moment, Deng Lan saw the spirit ship Heng Hua was using and blurted out, "Why the Colorful Luan? Young Master Heng Hua, this ship is very slow."
"We aren't in any hurry. This spirit ship lacks none of its defensive formations, so it makes no difference."
The spirit vessels of the Dragonreach Waters were divided into water routes and cloud routes.
The sky vessels that traveled through the clouds were mounts for Golden Core Cultivators. Heng Hua and the others lacked the mana to operate them, and on the vast Coiling Dragon Island, only Fu Danwei possessed a Cloudpiercing Tower Ship.
There were nineteen other spirit vessels. The largest, the Azure Wood Great Sea Ship, had five decks and could carry several hundred people. It bore all manner of attack formations and could battle enormous aquatic wyrms and giant whales. The smallest, the Ink-Bamboo Skiff, carried only one person, but it was incredibly fast.
By comparison, the Colorful-Luan Spirit Ship was lavishly decorated. It was a pleasure vessel made of two boats joined together, suited for drifting about and enjoying the waters. Yet it was fit neither for battle nor swift travel.
Deng Lan looked around. At the moment, aside from the three spirit vessels used by the servants, only one Splendid Pleasure Barge was suitable for a small group traveling out.
But several young ladies had already reserved that pleasure barge; in a few days, they were to visit friends.
"Enough, Aunt Lan. This Colorful Luan will do. In a couple of days, those girls are going to visit the Yin Family."
Heng Hua knew perfectly well that the Fu Family girls' visit to the Yin Family was the old patriarch's idea. He wanted to join hands with the Yin Family to make the first probing move against the Wei Family.
This was serious business and could not be delayed.
After hearing this, Xiang Feng also gave up the idea of changing ships.
His younger sisters were visiting the Yin Family. They could not possibly lose face, so naturally they needed a top-grade spirit vessel.
"Fine, then. There's no time limit for going to Windgate Island anyway. I'll accompany Little Six while he wanders around. Once he returns to Coiling Dragon Island, I can travel by sword again."
Afterward, Xiang Feng asked about the things their grandfather had sent.
Glancing at Fu Xiangfeng, Deng Lan seemed somewhat troubled. "It is not easy for Sixth Young Master to leave the island, so the old patriarch..."
Xiang Feng nodded with a smile and said readily, "I understand. Just give them to him directly. Little Six, I'll board first."
With that, Fu Xiangfeng entered the cabin alone.
Heng Hua reproached her, "Why should Third Brother avoid something the old patriarch gave me? Just take it out in front of him."
Deng Lan gave a bitter smile but did not answer.
Once Xiang Feng boarded, Xiaoyu hurried over to receive him and led him to the second floor, to the room farthest from Fu Heyi.
Seeing this, Heng Hua quietly praised Xiaoyu for handling matters properly, then began asking Deng Lan about Fu Danwei's condition.
"The old patriarch is as he always was. Sixth Young Master need not worry; you may travel outside with peace of mind."
With lowered eyes and bowed brows, Deng Lan handed him a wooden box.
"The old patriarch prepared this for you. You may have use for it while traveling."
Heng Hua opened it, and his expression immediately changed. He hurriedly looked at Deng Lan. Deng Lan gave a slight nod and said no more.
"Thank him for me."
This item was far too precious. It could almost be called the greatest portion of wealth the old patriarch had left behind.
Heng Hua took a deep breath, bowed from afar toward Dragonhead Peak, then turned and boarded the ship.
Xiaoyu and Hengshou came over to help, taking all sorts of furniture from Heng Hua's Qiankun Ring and placing them aboard the spirit ship.
While arranging the furnishings, Heng Hua glanced toward the second floor and secretly gestured to Hengshou. Is everything arranged?
Everything was ready. Right next door.
Hengshou returned the signal and set Heng Hua's brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table.
Once everything was ready, Heng Hua went up to the second floor.
Fu Xiangfeng was standing at the front of the second floor, enjoying the sea breeze.
"Third Brother, we can set off now—what are you looking at?"
Following his gaze, Heng Hua looked toward the berth at the dock.
"The Jade Dragonfly I used to return is gone."
The Jade Dragonfly Vessel was a one-person boat inscribed with thirty-three layers of the Light-Wind Wave-Riding Formation. Its sailing speed was three times that of the Colorful-Luan Spirit Ship.
Fu Xiangfeng often used this vessel when traveling.
Xiang Feng asked in puzzlement, "The Jade Dragonfly Vessel is for our own family's use only. Could someone have left the island recently?"
Heng Hua knew perfectly well, but did not answer.
That girl had left the island. Would she be all right on her own? Still, with the immortal crane Huang Qiong accompanying her, that was a fairly good Foundation Establishment fighting force. She should be fine, right?
The Jade Dragonfly Vessel was extremely fast. Fu Liuhui had hurriedly left the island at first light, and by now she was already several hundred li from Coiling Dragon Island.
The young girl sat inside the small boat. An immortal crane stood at the prow, occasionally plucking a fish from the rushing waves.
"Huang Qiong, do you think I should wait for Sixth Brother?"
Fu Liuhui knew that Fu Heng Hua was also leaving the island. Since they would be traveling outside, perhaps they could look after one another?
But on second thought, Fu Liuhui murmured, "This journey is for avenging my parents, as well as searching for sword-forging materials. Sixth Brother's purpose in leaving must be vastly different from mine.
"And if Grandfather discovers Nineteenth Uncle's matter, he will certainly come out to catch us. We should separate for now and meet up again midway."
Though the Yuanjun Sword was good, it belonged to Fu Heng Hua. This time, Fu Liuhui wanted to forge herself a superior flying sword, to use in the future to subdue demons and defend the Dao.
Fu Danwei sat within Panlong Hall, surrounded by rows upon rows of bright, flickering candles.
The flames drifted through the air, forming a formation to suppress inner demons.
As a gust of wind blew into the hall, Fu Danwei opened his eyes.
"They have already left?"
Upon learning that Fu Heng Hua and the other had departed, Fu Danwei let out a breath of relief.
For now, he could still suppress his inner demon through sheer will. But in a few more years, perhaps he would no longer be able to control his fear of death. Manipulated by his inner demon, he might commit acts that violated all human bonds.
"They've left... and you're simply letting them go?"
Youying reappeared, its murmuring voice echoing by his ears.
Layer upon layer of illusions unfolded before Fu Danwei.
Stop them. Go, stop them!
Within the illusion, Fu Danwei saw himself slaughter his way out of Coiling Dragon Island and seize Fu Heng Hua's body. In only a few decades, he returned to the Golden Core Realm. Five hundred years later, he successfully achieved Soul Formation.
Only one grandson had to die, and the great Dao of immortality would be within reach.
As his mind wavered, that voice sounded again.
"Fu Xiangfeng is the most outstanding descendant of the Fu Family by bloodline. As long as you seize his body, returning to the Golden Core Realm will take less than a hundred years. For the sake of the Lineage, what does the sacrifice of one grandson amount to?"
The most outstanding?
Suddenly, Fu Danwei's heart jolted.
Wait—if this is my inner demon, why would it believe Fu Xiangfeng has the finest bloodline among his generation?
Among the grandchildren, the one with the greatest bloodline talent is not—
Wait, is it truly my inner demon?
The old man stared at the Youying drifting beyond the candle flames, his expression turning contemplative.
Heng Hua stood at the bow, spreading his arms wide to embrace the cool wind over the water.
He had not left the island for ten years. Now that he had suddenly come out, he felt as though the sky were vast and the waters broad, free to roam wherever he pleased.
The gloomy mood Fu Heyi had brought him, along with his urgent anxiety over reaching Foundation Establishment, was swept away in one stroke.
"Well? The scenery outside is pretty good, isn't it?"
"It's all right. The view is much broader than looking out from Langhuan Hall."
Heaven and earth stretched vast and boundless; only I was a single leaf-like boat.
Looking out at the distant seascape, Heng Hua could not resist raising his head and letting out a long howl toward the sky.
Layer upon layer of wild waves rose over the surface, carrying his cry into the distance.
Listening to the howl carried on the wind, Fu Xiangfeng's eyes flickered. "The Wind-Sound Technique? Not bad. Very good."
Wind Resonance was a secret divine art passed down through the Fu Family bloodline.
As its name implied, it allowed one to use the winds echoing between heaven and earth to transmit one's voice.
They were already more than ten li from Coiling Dragon Island, yet if Heng Hua shouted toward it, the wind could still carry his words clearly back to the island.
Xiang Feng said, "Such broad Wind Resonance—even I cannot match you."
Wind Resonance was an advanced application of secret voice transmission. The stronger one's bloodline ability, the wider the range of one's Wind Resonance.
Yet Xiang Feng thought little of this secret art.
Among the cultivation families in eastern Yanlong, the Fu Family's bloodline secret art was the most useless.
"Third Brother, your cultivation is rooted in wind. Our family's Wind Resonance divine art may seem unremarkable and serve only as assistance, but it will be of immense benefit when you forge your Golden Core in the future."
"Really? Don't tell me you also believe that claim about our ancestors having immortals among them?"
Cultivation families passed down their inheritances through bloodlines. The stronger their great ancestors, the more powerful the divine arts and secret techniques passed on to their descendants through the blood.
But the Fu Family's Wind-Sound Technique ranked at the bottom among the great cultivation families. Clearly, their ancestors had possessed no particularly powerful figure.
Heng Hua smiled and said nothing more, quietly watching Coiling Dragon Island grow ever more distant.
On the first floor, Xiaoyu quietly went to the side-chamber boat to tend to the sleeping Fu Heyi.
"He hasn't woken up. Young Master's technique is still in effect. It should probably hold for a few more days."
Xiaoyu calculated the rooms on the pleasure barge. She had placed Third Young Master at the very end. Young Master should be able to sneak over to reinforce the seal without being discovered. But judging by Young Master's plans, he would likely come clean to Third Young Master at some point and drag him into sharing the blame.
Half an hour later, the pleasure barge had traveled a hundred li and left the waters around Coiling Dragon Island.
Heng Hua could clearly sense the change in the spiritual energy in the air.
Compared with the waters around Coiling Dragon Island, the spiritual energy outside was much thinner, and it carried an added chill, dampness, and cold.
Water demons wandered about beneath the surface from time to time, stirring up clouds of demonic mist.
The winds echoing over the water fed Heng Hua the locations of the fish demons lurking beneath the surface.
"Are there this many water demons outside Coiling Dragon Island?"
Though Coiling Dragon Island lay far from the Fu Family's other islands and water demons frequently appeared around it, there should not have been so many.
Xiang Feng frowned. "When I returned, I deliberately cleared them out once. I never expected so many to emerge again in just a few dozen days."
He pointed at the water. The treasured sword on his back rang sharply and transformed into a streak of green light that plunged into the water.
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