In the distance, aboard the Black Dragon.
"Captain… all our men were completely wiped out." The bald man approached Black Dragon, his face darkened as he spoke.
Black Dragon clenched his fists, turning to him with an expression of disbelief.
"How is that possible? Three fallen Spiritual Sea Realm Gu cultivators should have ensured success. What on earth happened?" Black Dragon said, his face grim.
"The last message from Scar was that the target had offered a bounty of thousands of Sea Converging Pills on them, so they ended up facing an all-out attack from everyone on the island."
"He only managed to say that one sentence. I'm afraid his situation doesn't look good now," the bald man sighed.
"Offered a bounty with thousands of Sea Converging Pills? Did I hear that right? Who could possibly offer that many Sea Converging Pills? And yet those people believed such an outrageous lie?" Black Dragon furrowed his brows, unable to believe it.
"I don’t know why the people on the island believed he had that many pills either. Scar didn’t have time to send back more information."
"But there are no fools in this world. If everyone on the island believed him, he must truly have the means to produce that many Sea Converging Pills, and he somehow convinced everyone with absolute certainty."
The bald man sighed heavily. After this encounter, the Black Dragon Pirate Crew had only one ship left, leaving them utterly crippled.
To recover their strength, they would have to start over from scratch, and no one knew how long it would take to restore the group to its former size.
"Damn it! Ever since I crossed paths with that ship, nothing has gone right."
Black Dragon cursed, slamming his palm heavily on the railing. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, as if he had thought of something. "Does he possess an extraordinary amount of Breakthrough Pills? Now I understand why so many Gu Kings have suddenly appeared on Big Lonely Island."
"There must be a significant secret surrounding him."
"Instruct the fortune teller to conduct a divination at any cost. I must know where he's headed next."
"This time, I’ll handle it personally! I refuse to believe he can escape from me again!"
…
Ten days passed in a flash. The ruins of Sky Island were about to emerge, and all the Gu cultivators on the island hurried back to their ships. One by one, the ships left the shore and set sail into the distance.
The five grand ships—Candlelight, Surging Waves, Red Demon, Golden Fortune, and Golden Treasure—set sail as well, leading the fleet.
Long Xuan’s Shenlong ship trailed far behind Treasure. Wherever it went, he followed.
Previously, all the Gu cultivators on the island had held a major meeting, and it was decided that the Golden Treasure and Golden Fortune ships would approach the island from the east.
Candlelight would enter from the north, Surging Waves from the west, and finally, Red Demon would approach from the south.
The other ships were to choose a direction to enter the island evenly, minimizing competition over treasures.
After everyone combed through the island’s resources, they would converge at the City of Divine Mechanisms in the center of the island.
The most valuable treasures of Sky Island were all concentrated in the City of Divine Mechanisms, where each building held numerous rare items, including treasures like the Youth-Preserving Fruit and Fruit of Longevity, driving people wild with desire.
Outside the city, there were primarily spirit medicines scattered everywhere, although their value was much lower than the treasures within.
Outside the City of Divine Mechanisms, there was minimal danger; all the threats lay within the city itself.
The city walls were lined with Divine Mechanism Cannons of immense power and countless defensive machinery.
Moreover, the city was guarded by numerous puppets, whose numbers increased with each activation of the Sky Island ruins.
With the number of puppets in the City of Divine Mechanisms growing each time, the Gu cultivators who arrived had to face even greater losses to conquer it.
Therefore, before the City of Divine Mechanisms could be breached, the Gu cultivators had to unite, attacking the city together. Only through combined efforts could they hope to capture it; if everyone acted selfishly to preserve their strength, no one would be able to enter.
Under these circumstances, choosing a leader became inevitable. Without a leader, no matter how many Gu cultivators gathered, they would be as scattered as grains of sand, unable to breach the City of Divine Mechanisms.
Ultimately, five leaders were chosen in the meeting. Under their command, all four city walls would be the main points of attack.
Captain Zhu Yue of the Candlelight would lead a quarter of the forces to assault the northern gate of the City of Divine Mechanisms.
Captain Shui Juanyun of the Surging Waves would lead a quarter to attack the western gate.
Captain Qin Kai of the Red Demon would lead a quarter to assault the southern gate.
Meanwhile, Captain Cai Shao of the Golden Treasure and Captain Jiu Gongzi of the Golden Fortune would jointly lead a quarter to attack the eastern gate.
The two clans have deep-seated grievances and will never submit to the other, which is why the task of attacking the East Gate was assigned to two alliance leaders.
When assaulting Divine Mechanism City, everyone must follow the orders of these five alliance leaders, and no one is allowed to disobey.
Once Divine Mechanism City is captured, everyone is free to act as they please, and the authority of the five alliance leaders is automatically rescinded.
This was the arrangement from the large-scale meeting. Long Xuan and over a hundred others were assigned under Cai Shao and the Ninth Young Master to enter the island from the eastern side and attack the eastern gate of Divine Mechanism City.
After about a day of sailing, the massive fleet finally halted above a bottomless trench.
No one knows exactly how deep this trench is or what mysteries lie beneath it, only that it is the deepest point in the Endless Sea, as if it were an abyss without end.
Moreover, this is the region with the strongest gravity in the Endless Sea, where flight is impossible, and any vessel venturing above the trench would instantly sink.
All ships must anchor at the edge of the trench, never sailing directly above it.
The shape of Sky Island mirrors that of the trench, meaning Sky Island fits perfectly over the trench, filling it like a puzzle piece.
In a few days, Sky Island will rise from the depths of the trench, ascending until it reaches the cloud-covered heights of the sky.
The island is called "Sky Island" because it mysteriously floats in the air and, one month later, descends back into the abyss of the sea.
No one knows why this island can hover in the air—it remains an unsolved mystery of the world.
As for how to ascend to Sky Island in this restricted, no-fly area, there is only one way: to climb up the waterfalls that cascade down from Sky Island.
Four enormous waterfalls flow from Sky Island in the east, south, west, and north. The waterfalls are rapid, and only vessels with strong capabilities can ascend along them.
This journey is fraught with peril. Sky Island is immensely tall, reaching the clouds; should a ship slip from the waterfall’s surface mid-ascent and fall, the outcome is predictable.
In this region of intense gravity, the speed of descent and the force of impact are greater.
If a ship falls from such heights, it will inevitably shatter into pieces; destruction of both the ship and crew is unavoidable.
Landing outside the trench might offer a slim chance of survival, but a fall into the trench is fatal, with a survival rate of zero, regardless of talent or skill.
Navigating up the waterfall demands both high-level sailing skill and a powerful vessel. Without enough power, forget about getting a ship vertically to the skies.
It is no exaggeration to say that these four waterfalls may filter out half of the Gu cultivators.
Countless Gu cultivators may perish on these waterfalls before they even set foot on Sky Island.
The trench is vast, and Sky Island, which perfectly mirrors it, is equally expansive. It takes Gu cultivators about three days to journey from the island’s edge to Divine Mechanism City at the center.
After arriving here, the fleet split into four groups, each headed in a different direction.
Long Xuan’s Shenlong was to enter the island from the eastern side, so he followed the fleet to the eastern area of the trench and waited patiently with numerous other ships.
Several days later, movement emerged from the depths of the trench.
The surface of the sea began to bubble, as if boiling, and the waves grew larger, battering the ships with powerful surges that left them rocking.
Before long, an enormous island rose from the water, with seawater cascading furiously down its sides, crashing into the sea with thunderous roars.
As Sky Island suddenly emerged, the waves swelled even more, sending massive surges across the sea, with waves reaching immeasurable heights, rising and falling like an oceanic tide.
Long Xuan watched this scene in shock. Though Sky Island ascended swiftly, rising into the sky in the blink of an eye, it was rapidly nearing the clouds.
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Even with just a quick glimpse, he noticed numerous details on the island.
The island was vast, stretching beyond the eye’s reach. The seawater didn’t inundate this enormous land; its surface was clearly dry, with abundant spiritual herbs growing all around.
The island seemed to possess a mysterious force that repelled seawater and filtered out higher-level cultivators, allowing only Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators to enter.
Just as Long Xuan was lost in thought, the massive island had already surged into the clouds.
Once it passed through the clouds, Sky Island finally stopped, surrounded by cloud layers, like a celestial paradise.
Since the moment Sky Island emerged from the sea, water had been flowing continuously down, and it still hadn’t ceased.
Now, only four streams of water continued flowing down—broad and turbulent streams that crashed into the sea below, churning it into endless, roiling waves.
These four colossal waterfalls must be the pathways leading to Sky Island. Anyone who wishes to reach the island must navigate their ship up these waterfalls, a risky endeavor where a single misstep would mean falling off the waterfall, leading to a shipwreck.
“Nie Qingcheng, my Shenlong’s power is certainly sufficient; the question is whether your sailing skills are up to the task. Can you guarantee a hundred percent success navigating up this treacherous waterfall?”
Long Xuan cast a serious look at Nie Qingcheng as he glanced at the wide waterfall.
Simultaneously, he discreetly opened a small slit in his insect rearing bag, allowing the Integrity Gu inside to get some fresh air.
But how could Nie Qingcheng miss his little gesture? She sighed in exasperation, realizing how challenging it was to follow a captain with a Integrity Gu.
“Rest assured, I’m confident in my sailing skills—they’re the best of the era! Steering up a waterfall? Piece of cake! I’ll show you today!”
With her eyes gleaming, Nie Qingcheng rolled up her sleeves, brimming with enthusiasm.
Navigating up a waterfall was indeed a new and exciting experience, and she couldn’t wait to give it a try.