Chapter 372: Chapter 347: Overseas Island_1
Chu Long smiled to himself, having an inkling of what was going on.
Seven years ago, after Xiang Chongyang had returned from the ruins of Tongtian, he had brought with him six books. These books contained the sealed powers of experts from various forces. Due to this, the Mansion of King Ming had managed to gain considerable benefits through dealings with these force.
Yet, Xiang Chongyang did not reveal how he had acquired these books.
However, Chu Long knew well what kind of man King Ming was. Based on the few clues they had obtained, he could make some guesses.
For instance, both Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo had each made a move at the Wuzu Garden in Shangcheng City years ago.
Yet, both of them were magnanimous and did not speak of it, nor did anyone else broach the subject.
Next, Chu Long turned to look at Zuo Yun. He was taken aback for a moment before chuckling. "Lu Yan, you’ve hidden your abilities well. You claimed that Zuo Yun was only in the True Body Realm, but clearly, he has reached the Primordial Spirit Realm. Are you afraid the Mansion of King Ming might poach him from you?"
Lu Yan kept his composure and retorted, "Commander, you jest. The entirety of Lingdong is under the control of the Mansion of King Ming. There’s no such thing as poaching. If the Mansion of King Ming requires Zuo Yun’s services, don’t hesitate to ask."
You’re quite sly, Lu Yan, but I’ll remember your words. If there’s a real need, I won’t hesitate to ask."
Chu Long laughed.
After meeting with Zuo Yun, Chu Long only stayed for half a day before leaving.
....
When Lu Yan had some free time, he’d offer pointers to others on martial arts training while devoting the rest of his time to soul cultivation.
Of course, he would also set aside some time to understand martial arts.
For instance, he had already mastered the first level of the Asura Vajra Fist, cultivating a Martial Arts Avatar.
Moreover, he had undertaken beginner-level cultivation of the thirty-eight Top Martial Arts techniques that he had obtained from the Dagu Treasure, as well as the over two hundred premier martial arts techniques he had purchased in Shangcheng City.
However, due to a lack of Dao Food and Immortal Bones, his martial arts didn’t progress.
Around the Dao Book, hundreds of Martial Arts Avatars stood compactly.
Meanwhile, Lu Yan had also tested the maximum distance his Avatars could travel from the Dao Book after its transformation.
Now, he could summon forth fifteen Avatars at once, all of which could stray from his actual position up to three hundred li.
Within this distance, he could move freely.
Within three hundred li, his main body could remain inactive, and any task could be accomplished by his Avatars.
For instance, teaching martial arts could be done by his Avatars, which saved him a lot of time.
Just like that, three more years passed in the blink of an eye.
It had been a total of ten years since he returned to Lingdong from Guyue City.
"It won’t be long before I achieve the third level of the Primordial Spirit Realm."
As his soul flew back from the Fourth Layer Heaven into the Sense Sea, Lu Yan contemplated silently.
He felt that, given another three to five years, he should be able to advance to the third level of the Primordial Spirit Realm.
This pace was extremely staggering.
Because this time, he didn’t use a Soul Crystal, but purely the Heavenly Earth Power to cultivate.
When he broke through to the second level of the Primordial Spirit Realm, the distance his Spiritual Sense could reach reached a hundred li, equivalent to a normal fifth level Primordial Spirit.
To break through to the third level of the Primordial Spirit Realm was like others breaking through from the fifth to the sixth level of the Primordial Spirit Realm.
Under normal circumstances, relying solely on the natural power for cultivation, it would be difficult to achieve in less than hundreds of years.
And that was all under favorable circumstances.
Any complications would make it impossible to accomplish within a lifetime.
With the natural power for his cultivation, Lu Yan was dozens of times quicker than others.
After three years, the overall strength of Lingdong had increased significantly once again.
....
In Xuanzhou, east of Da Chu, bordering the endless ocean.
Apart from the six coastal counties of Lingdong, there were many other regions bordering the sea, with an extremely long coastline.
The northern part of Xuanzhou bordered Jinzhou, which was also near the sea.
One day, an island drifted in from the ocean in the area where Xuanzhou and Jinzhou met.
At first, the local villagers didn’t mind it, believing it was merely the corpse of a sea beast.
But when the island drew close to the coast, the villagers were startled.
They were shocked to learn that the island was immense, extending for a hundred li.
In the center of the island was a peak with grand buildings visible on its top.
What was more astounding was that beneath this island was a colossal turtle.
A real colossal turtle, a turtle with a shell over a hundred li wide, carrying an island of the same size on its back.
The news spread swiftly, reaching both Mansion of King Ming and the Fang Family of Jinzhou.
A few winged Alien Beasts soared into the sky, flying quickly towards the Mansion of King Ming.
Upon hearing the news, the commander of the Mansion of King Ming in Xuanzhou immediately sent people to seal off that area and prohibited outsiders from approaching.
Mansion of King Ming.
Upon receiving the news, King Ming, who was in the midst of a meeting with some higher-ups of the Mansion, immediately stood up. His aura surged as shock spread across his face.
"Father, what happened?" Chu Long asked cautiously.
He had seldom seen King Ming so out of sorts.
"You can read it for yourselves." King Ming gestured, and the letter flew towards Chu Long.
Chu Long caught it and began reading. His eyes widened in surprise.
The others in the meeting hall grew more curious. What could possibly have shocked King Ming and Chu Long?
"Let me be straightforward. We received news from Xuan Zhou that an island, about a hundred miles in radius, complete with grandiose buildings, has floated into the eastern seas on the back of an enormous turtle."
Chu Long succinctly extracted and delivered the critical information.
"An island?"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then their eyes widened in shock, hearts trembling.
The sea has always been the forbidden zone of this world--those who enter perish.
Whether ordinary people or Martial Cultivators, there were many throughout history brave yet foolish enough to enter, never to return, even at the Primordial Spirit Realm.
There are two primary dangers in the sea.
The first one is the sea beasts.
The sea hosts countless different kinds of sea beasts, some immense beyond belief, many hundreds or even thousands of meters long; beasts capable of swallowing a Primordial Spirit in one bite.
Thus, even those who sail the seas in mighty ships can be effortlessly smashed by sea beasts.
Of course, compared to the second type of danger, sea beasts aren’t much.
The second danger is the unknown and bizarre.
They say that as soon as you leave the shore and go a little bit into the sea, you can easily start hearing various horrifying sounds.
Some people hear a sad song, others hear mournful music, war cries of powerful entities, or even wailing of Immortal Demons....
Once these sounds are heard, one’s mind gets controlled leading to insanity as a minimum, or to death from their body exploding as a worst-case scenario.
Furthermore, there could be bizarre fog spreading over the sea at any time; once you’re shrouded in it, you’ll lose all sense of direction, and end up lost in the sea.
The sea, to everyone, represents mystery and unpredictability.
But now, on the surface of this sea, a hundred-mile gigantic turtle has unexpectedly appeared, carrying an island on its back, shocking everyone.
Where did this island come from?
The fact that it managed to drift across the boundless sea to this place proves one thing - it’s definitely extraordinary.
"I’ll go have a look first. Chu Long, inform Tianjiao and ask him to follow."
King Ming was decisive and swift. After he finished speaking, he took a stride forward and vanished on the spot.
King Ming moved at the speed of light to arrive at the northern coast of Xuan Zhou as fast as possible.
He stood and looked ahead while suspended in the air.
A hundred-mile island had run aground near the coast. An ominous aura, pressing down on him, made even King Ming’s face change colour.
He released his Spiritual Sense to explore the island, but as it neared the island, it got obstructed by an invisible force. His Spiritual Sense could only linger at the edge of the island, unable to penetrate deeper.
He was forced to push his Spiritual Sense below the waterline to inspect. Upon seeing the full view of the island, his expression changed again.
This was indeed a giant turtle, and although it still had remnants of life energy in its flesh, it was already dead.
The turtle’s head had disappeared as if it had been chopped off with a sharp blade. The wound was smooth and polished, covered with terrifying energy. As King Ming’s Spiritual Sense got closer to the wound, it was attacked by that energy, causing a sharp pain in his soul. He quickly retreated his Spiritual Sense, deeply shocked.
Merely the remnant energy could harm his Spiritual Sense; the person who attacked must be alarmingly capable, far superior to him.
King Ming took steps in the air towards the island, observing it closely.
"The vicinity of the island is filled with patterns. They’re not Will Power Patterns, nor do they look like Wish Patterns. They seem even more profound, forming a large Formation, which makes it difficult for outsiders to get in."
King Ming murmured to himself. He had studied Wish Patterns before, but he wasn’t very proficient at it. He carefully observed it but couldn’t find a way to break it.
Soon after, Chu Long, Chu Tianjiao, and many experts from the Mansion of King Ming arrived consecutively.
King Ming immediately warned everyone not to have their Spiritual Sense approach the wound on the turtle’s neck.
Everyone circled the island, observing it and expressing their wonder.
A creature of such an enormous size was unheard of.
"Where did this giant turtle come from? What exactly lies beyond the sea?"
Someone murmured.
But no one could answer his question.
"Legend has it that some of the peak powerhouses in the world end up leaving and heading to the boundless sea, such as the Martial Ancestor, the Demon Lord and the Great Ancestor of Da Chu, to name a few. I wonder if these tales hold any truth."
Another person chimed in.
"I believe they must be true. I can’t say for sure about others, but the Martial Ancestor is said to have transcended to the realm of Immortality; his life span is endless, he’s invincible in the world. If he is still alive, why hasn’t he shown himself for thousands of years, and let the Dagu Dynasty face their ruin without batting an eye?"
An elder responded.
"Look, some of the buildings on the island have collapsed. There must have been a great battle here."
"That’s for sure, otherwise, the giant turtle wouldn’t have died. This island was probably the retreat of a strong person, and by the looks of it, that person probably died too."
"Will there be any information about the outside sea on this island?"
The curiosity of the crowd was aroused.
"Chu Long, go back and bring all the experts who are good at Wish Patterns or Will Power Patterns, and unravel the Formation protecting the island."
King Ming ordered.
Chu Long accepted the order and quickly left.
...
Jinzhou, Residence of the Fang Family.
The same moment that King Ming received the news, Mother-in-law Wandu, the head of the Fang Family, also got wind of it.
But she didn’t rush to the island right away.
She guessed that surely Mansion of King Ming would also be heading there.
Considering her strength level, facing King Ming or Chu Tianjiao would result in certain death.
"An island floating in from the sea will definitely be extraordinary. We can’t let the Mansion of King Ming take advantage of this. The stronger they get, the less of a foothold the Fang Family will have."
Mother-in-law Wandu’s eyes sparkled as she quickly wrote two letters and had people set off riding Alien Beasts immediately, bringing the letters to the Tianque Sect and the Tianjian Sect.
The Tianque Sect and the Tianjian Sect both have their differences with Mansion King Ming, especially the Tianque Sect, which harbours deep-seated resentment towards the Mansion. They wouldn’t want to see Mansion of King Ming prosper.
As long as they get the messages, they will surely head to Xuan Zhou and compete with the Mansion of King Ming for the overseas island.
A few days later, a group from Mansion of King Ming who were best at decoding Wish Patterns and Will Power Patterns arrived near the island. They started circling around the island, searching for ways to break the Formation.
