The sun shone bright, and the colored clouds remained as before.
After forcing back the Great Sea Pavilion, Jin Xian'e sat with Heng Hua in the tower's tea room and chatted.
Even if she had only temporarily returned to her female form, Jin Xian'e's attitude toward Heng Hua had taken a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.
Heng Hua understood human nature quite well. While chatting idly with Jin Xian'e, he brought up many methods female cultivators used to preserve their looks and care for themselves, making her all the more delighted. Gradually, they grew familiar.
Fu Xiangfeng and Fu Xuanxing stood at the stern. Through the window, they watched Heng Hua and Jin Xian'e chatting merrily while carrying out their duty of protection.
With nothing to do, Fu Xuanxing leaned lazily against the ship's wall and asked:
"Brother Fu, your Yanlong Northern Domain has Watergate Island, the south has Firegate Island, and the east has Windgate Island. Is there also an Earthgate Island in the west? Earth, fire, wind, water?"
"There is no Earthgate Island. There is only Heavengate Island."
"Heavengate Island?" Fu Xuanxing said in astonishment. "Why? Shouldn't it be 'earth, fire, wind, water'?"
"Because we use the Later-Heaven Trigrams formation. Heavengate Island lies in the northwest Qian Palace. Watergate Island and Firegate Island lie due north and due south, in the Kan and Li Palaces. Windgate Island is in the southeast, at the Xun Palace position."
As he spoke, Fu Xiangfeng drew a simple diagram on the ship. "Look, these are the positions of the Four Gates."
"We're currently in the north, which puts us even farther from Firegate Island." Looking at the map, Fu Xuanxing scratched his head in frustration.
Looking at the sketch, Fu Xiangfeng suddenly said, "Tonight is Little Six's final acupuncture treatment for Senior Zhou. If Senior Zhou's condition improves somewhat tomorrow, will you be leaving?"
"Yes."
The red-clad youth raised his head and said firmly, "We can't keep dragging you down. Once Martial Uncle's condition is a little better tomorrow, we'll head for Firegate Island."
Smack—
A small dish of pastries fell from upstairs and struck Fu Xuanxing squarely on the forehead.
Heng Hua's unhurried voice drifted over. "Come with me to Turtle-Burial Reef. The method I have to save Senior Zhou's life is on Turtle-Burial Reef. There is an innate maze formation around the reef. Once inside, Senior Zhou's safety can be guaranteed for the time being."
Fu Xiangfeng looked up. "Little Six, can your friend at Turtle-Burial Reef be trusted? The waters there are infested with pirates. If they learn of Senior Zhou Xiao's situation, I fear it won't be safe."
"Don't worry. My friend is a good person. Entering Turtle-Burial Reef will be absolutely safe. There, I'll perform a rite to extend Senior's life by nine days. Once all that is done, you can leave."
Fu Xuanxing hesitated. Suddenly, Fu Xiangfeng gave his back a heavy slap. "How about this? If you trust me, we'll settle Senior and Little Six tomorrow. Then I'll accompany you to Firegate Island."
"No. You protect Martial Uncle. I'll go to Firegate Island myself. I believe Brother Fu Six would never harm Martial Uncle."
Inside the cabin, Fu Heyi was sitting with Zhou Xiao.
Since Fu Heyi had lost several sets of formation flags along the way, Zhou Xiao gave him a set of formation flags he carried with him and offered him guidance in cultivation.
Moved by Zhou Xiao's kindness, when Fu Heyi heard the people outside talking, he silently used the Wind-Sound Technique to speak privately with Fu Henghua.
"How exactly is Senior Zhou Xiao's condition?"
"Senior's condition mainly has two aspects. First, his Golden Core has shattered and his meridians are damaged. After three days of acupuncture, I can let his realm fall back to Foundation Establishment and allow his qi to circulate smoothly. But the troublesome part is that his repeated battles have left him with his oil exhausted and his lamp dry. Even if I exhaust every method, I can only extend his life for a little longer. Once that time is up, his cultivation will still disperse, and he will die."
"There's no way?"
"During the few remaining days after I finish the acupuncture, if Senior Zhou can form a Golden Core once more, perhaps he can heal himself."
That was far too unrealistic.
Heng Hua had asked Zhou Xiao about it beforehand.
Zhou Xiao himself admitted he did not have that ability. The reason he traveled with Heng Hua was to stabilize his injuries within three days. Even if he could only recover to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he would still be able to accompany his martial nephew to Firegate Island and destroy the Demonic Beast.
"However..."
Heng Hua's voice held some hesitation. "There is one person who can save Senior."
"Who?"
"Six Southern Dipper Needles govern longevity; one breath of verdant azure revives ghosts and gods."
"The one said to breathe life back into King Yama?"
One of Yanlong's five great alchemists, the Living Yama. He claimed that even if ghosts and gods came into his hands, he could force them back to life.
"An empty reputation, that's all. Reviving ghosts and gods is impossible. But if it is merely to stimulate origin and draw forth latent life, forcing Senior Zhou's potential to erupt and forcibly shape a Golden Core, it should be possible."
Fu Heyi secretly frowned and transmitted, "I've heard that the 'Living Yama' has an eccentric temper. Even if one finds him, if he is in a bad mood, he will refuse to treat anyone."
"Of course. That stubborn old man plays with poison; saving people is merely incidental. But I have a favor token from Grandfather. If we encounter him, I can ask him for help. The problem is that the old man shut down his Spirit Island and went out to gather poisonous herbs. Who knows where he is now?"
Fu Heyi fell silent.
That was right. The Living Yama's whereabouts were unfathomable. Where could they find him?
Outside, Fu Xuanxing stared at the Four-Gate Isles and suddenly said, "Why do these four islands look like some kind of formation?"
The youth matched water against fire and wind against heaven, drawing two straight lines. Pointing at their intersection, he said, "Shouldn't there be something here too? A central island?"
"The central region is a forbidden land of mist and miasma. No cultivator is allowed to approach it."
But traveling north to south through there would be the most convenient shortcut.
"Don't entertain foolish thoughts. That place truly cannot be entered. Our Yanlong Four-Gate Isles are used to suppress the monster beneath them."
"That dragon—"
Fu Xiangfeng moved with swift hands and quick eyes, immediately covering his mouth.
Rumble—
Wind and thunder erupted across the sky, and the sunlight abruptly dimmed.
Fu Heyi hurried out and cursed, "You little bastard, what nonsense are you spouting!"
Didn't he see that they kept calling it a monster, not daring to mention that "Dragon King" at all?
Upstairs, Jin Xian'e looked horrified. "The one beneath the water is actually still awake? The one in Yellow Dragon's territory has already been asleep for three hundred years!"
"Our side is special. That monster beneath the water has far too much morning temper." Heng Hua waved his feather fan, and the Calm Wind, Still Waves Incantation covered this stretch of water.
He stared at the wind and waves that had yet to subside, then at Fu Xiangfeng clamping a hand tightly over Fu Xuanxing's mouth.
"Third Brother, let him go. It has nothing to do with him. Someone spoke that one's true name."
Heng Hua waved his fan again and again. The whirlpools on the water had barely subsided in part when new whirlpools began spinning at once.
Tornadoes linked sky and water. Amid the dim heavens and blackened earth, they devoured everything madly, while countless fish, shrimp, and aquatic beasts were ground into dust amid cries of despair.
The Yansheng Dragon King truly was an immortal-level existence of legend.
Fu Xiangfeng released Fu Xuanxing. Fu Xuanxing said softly, "I'm not stupid. That is a True Dragon. One does not speak its true name upon the waters. I know that much common sense."
Hengshou secured the ship and came out of the cabin as well.
"Young Master, this—"
"Wait for now. Let's see when this monster's fury dies down."
Earthflame Island.
Ji Mingfeng was fighting the Origin Fire Altar Master.
Three scrolls of precious paintings stood in the sky.
One painting showed a clear breeze and bright moon, the Great Dao peaceful and harmonious.
One painting showed wisps of auspicious clouds, leisurely and at ease.
One painting showed a blazing sun, brilliant and upright.
With the three paintings controlled together, it was as if three magic treasures had been activated at once. Completely different heavenly and earthly Dao intents spread through the air, pressing the sea of flames beneath the three paintings.
"Mad dog, you're no good. Just this much ability, and you dare come out barking?"
The Origin Fire Altar Master suddenly grinned and shouted toward the waters below, "Yansheng, you old mud loach, when are you going to die?"
The instant those words came out, Ji Mingfeng froze.
When he came back to himself, he hurried onto Earthflame Island and used the Seven Sceneries of the Western Sea Painting to reinforce the Spirit Island's seal.
"You mad dog! If you want to die, die yourself! Don't drag all of us into it!"
The Golden Core Cultivator of the Wei Family who had just arrived had his face instantly turn black. He looked beneath the water in utter terror.
It was as though a dragon's shadow flickered in and out of sight within those pitch-black depths.
Rumble—
Rumble rumble—
Columns of water shot wildly up from beneath the sea, and densely packed tornadoes appeared from nothing across the surface.
Dragon roars sounded one after another,
Shaking island after rootless island as though the end of days had arrived.
"Bastard!"
"Who spoke that monster's royal title?"
Coiling Dragon Island, Azure Snare Island, Heavenly Serpent Island, Divine Moon Island, Watergate Island, Firegate Island...
Across Yanlong's five regions and thousand islands, countless people cursed aloud.
Immovable Reef after Immoveable Reef was battered by the wind and waves, sinking back beneath the waters one after another.
The Colorful-Luan Spirit Ship spun amid the raging swells. Everyone silently cast spells to steady themselves as they watched the scene of heaven and earth seemingly being destroyed.
Fu Xuanxing murmured, "Was the War of the Overturned Continent like this as well?"
Not one person present had lived through the battle that sank Donglai fifteen hundred years ago.
But every family had inherited traditions and knew of that past.
The Eight Dragon Kings led the sea race armies into Donglai's cultivation world and fought the immortal factions in a great battle.
In the end, Donglai Continent won by a narrow margin. Five Dragon Kings were slain, two were suppressed, and only one Dragon King escaped with the remnants of his forces.
Of the two waters that sealed Dragon Kings, one was the western Yellow Dragon Domain, and the other was the eastern Yanlong Domain.
It was precisely because these two waters suppressed Dragon Kings that the rule against cultivators fighting upon the water had been left behind.
When cultivators' corpses fell into the water and became the Dragon Kings' blood food, it would restore the two dragons' vitality.
"Don't worry. It's fine."
Heng Hua gripped his feather fan tightly and gazed up at the overcast sky.
"The Four-Gate Eight-Trigram Dragon-Suppression Formation was left behind by the final palace master of Fufeng Immortal Palace. So long as the Four Gates remain unbroken, no matter how that monster roars and rages, it cannot come out."
Very soon, a black water pillar rose north of the Colorful-Luan Spirit Ship.
The pillar of light connected heaven and earth, suppressing the wind and waves of the Northern Domain and scattering the clouds once again.
In the southeast, a green wind pillar shot into the heavens.
Bursts of Divine Wind echoed from Windgate Island, swiftly calming the wind and waves upon the water.
Due south, a crimson fire pillar blazed into the sky. Roars shook the Southern Domain one after another. As a lamp lit up on Firegate Island, the southern sky returned to normal.
In the northwest, a white pillar of light shot into the heavens. An immortal staff wrapped in seven-colored rosy clouds flew into the sky, and ten thousand rays of sunset light directly severed the connection between Yanlong and the lands beyond.
"Cultivators from beyond the domain, get the hell out of here!"
The voice echoed through the heavens. Every Golden Core Cultivator with any accomplishment in cultivation heard that shouted command.
The Origin Fire Altar Master sneered twice, took out a demonic talisman to conceal himself, and vanished into the water.
Leave? The Heavenly Demon Six-Desires Pearl had emerged into the world again. Our Demon Palace is determined to obtain it. Even if we awaken the Yansheng Dragon King beneath the water, we must seize this sacred relic back!
Near Coiling Dragon Island, the Seven Sages Heaven-Misting Illusion Art spread open once more.
Liu Yuli was also furiously cursing the bastard who had provoked the Dragon King.
If Fu Danwei noticed, would not all their arrangements come to nothing?
The Four-Gate Isles exerted their power simultaneously and calmed the Dragon King's rage.
On Coiling Dragon Island, Fu Danwei stared blankly beneath the water.
"That old mud loach hasn't even awakened, yet the curse power imposed upon his name is already this mighty? It seems the demon tide has helped his recovery greatly."
Thinking of the battle thirty years ago, Fu Danwei could not conceal the grief in his heart.
How many sons and daughters had he lost in that battle? Cypress Sovereign Hall had directly lost half its people.
And more than half of those people's corpses had fallen into the Dragon King's mouth!
"Rest assured. One day, we Yanlong cultivators will truly slay you."
He subconsciously reached for the sword at his waist, only to remember that he had given away his sword years ago.
The old man let out a long sigh. "I learned a body full of dragon-subduing arts, yet in the end, I cannot take part in this dragon-slaying battle. Ultimately, I can only place my hopes on the younger generation."
The wind and waves subsided, and the Colorful-Luan Spirit Ship continued its voyage.
Zhou Xiao watched the water pillar gradually descending in the north and said with feeling, "The Yanlong lineages' suppression of the 'water monster' makes them Donglai's greatest contributors."
The Yellow Dragon King in the west had slept peacefully for three hundred years. How could he compare to the foul temper of the one in the east?
"It is only the last command our ancestors left us, telling us to remain here and guard this place."
The Fu Family members all wore cold expressions.
Praise? Admiration? What use were they? If their ancestors had not left behind that final command, who would want to take on this rotten mess?
Who did not know that the three waters of Central Heaven, Golden Fang, and Xuanyu were rich in resources, where the immortal path flourished?
If the Fu Family had gone to those three great waters, they would absolutely not be in their present state of withering old and scant young.
But the Fu Family, and even Yanlong's five great lineages, all bore the final command of Fufeng Immortal Palace from those years.
Guard Yanlong, awaiting the day when the dragon could be slain.
Speaking of which, after mentioning Heavengate, Firegate, Windgate, and the like earlier, I thought readers might infer it according to the Later-Heaven Trigrams. As expected, I was overthinking it.
The image in the previous chapter's comments was deleted. Later, I'll repost it in the end-of-chapter comments for this chapter.
Before you continue