Chapter 2090: Chapter 2127: Adamantine Wood Warship
Seeing that more than half of the First Level Martial Artists from the Divine Realm had perished, the treasures and Spiritual Materials they carried were strewn all over the ground. The Second Elder and others felt utterly despairing; they had managed to bring out very little in this escape, and now more than half of it was gone. How could they survive in the future?
Fortunately, their lives were spared. Everyone was lucky to escape quickly, as the Third Stage Martial Artists from the Chuan Family did not arrive in time. If those powerful Third Stage experts had reached them, none would have escaped.
"Swim inside!"
With a command from the Second Elder, those who were still alive helped each other swim inward. For these martial artists, swimming was an easy task, and their speed was remarkably fast.
Not far ahead, they saw a small island—it was indeed small, just the size of a farmhouse yard. However, it allowed everyone to go up and rest. They swam diligently to the island and all got ashore.
Once on the island, everyone exchanged glances but said nothing. The fewer than one hundred individuals remaining each felt as if they had been reborn.
Thinking back to the Skeleton Sect, at its peak it had three to four thousand First Level Martial Artists from the Divine Realm, and close to two hundred Second Level Martial Artists and Selfless Elders. Now, barely over a hundred remained.
And when they looked at the wealth they had managed to bring, they were speechless. All together, there was less than eight sacks. The most lamentable loss was a sack containing all the Martial Techniques and Heart Method of the Skeleton Sect, which was missing, making the revival of the Skeleton Sect seem hopeless.
The atmosphere was unbearably tense. Silently, everyone took out the healing medicines they carried with them. Ding Fan also stayed silent, finding a spot to sit down cross-legged, swallowing two pills, and began to stabilize his condition.
Occasionally, more people swam over, and in the distance, more were swimming towards them. Seeing this, the Second Elder felt slightly relieved; he was a veteran of the Skeleton Sect and had accomplished much for it, truly not wishing for it to be destroyed in this way.
Finally, Elder Wu Ren also swam over, surprisingly gathering about twenty people—all formerly Wu Family Scouts—showing their loyalty to Elder Wu Ren.
"Wu Ren, how did it go? What about those two groups? Are they safe?"
Before Wu Ren even reached the shore, the Second Elder asked.
With a look of deep bitterness and resentment, Wu Ren replied to the Second Elder: "The northern group is in danger; the chances of escape are slim. The southern Fourth Elder and a few Divine Realm Second Level Elders managed to escape. As for the First Level Martial Artists, whether they can survive is up to luck."
The group fell silent once more; it seemed that the martial artists from the Skeleton Sect who successfully reached the Tianmu Sea were less than half of those who initially escaped. The rest of them would never be seen again.
"Zhong Wushang, Zhong Family! You bastards, Skeleton Sect disciples, you must remember today—remember everything we’ve experienced, those who have died, everything. If the Skeleton Sect can rise again, we must repay them tenfold and hundredfold for what we’ve endured today. On that day, we will demand blood for blood, wiping out the Zhong Family entirely."
The Second Elder shouted in grief and anger, grinding his teeth.
"Blood for blood! Wipe out the Zhong Family!"
The younger generation on the island echoed the cries, the seeds of hatred planted successfully in their hearts by the Second Elder. From this moment on, they all focused on rising and avenging themselves; as long as one of them lived, they would seek vengeance against the Zhong Family.
"Still thinking about revenge, wiping out the Zhong Family—just with these people?"
Wu Qingxia’s heart was filled with bitterness and mockery; just the people before her—surviving in the Tianmu Sea alone was challenging enough, let alone revitalizing the Skeleton Sect and wiping out the Zhong Family—it seemed to be nothing more than a dream.
No one spoke anymore; each focused on healing and resting, seizing the time to recover. They waited for a full three hours, but only three or four more people swam over. It appeared that the rest had died at the hands of those Zhong Family henchmen.
"Let’s set off!"
After waiting for half an hour more, the Second Elder confirmed that no one else would come and issued the order to depart. Everyone entered the water, swimming towards the Moon Mist Island on the west side, aware of its close proximity to the shore and fearing that Zhong Family experts would break the ban and rush in, potentially leading to their total annihilation.
Initially, they had agreed to meet at Moon Mist Island. On the map, the island seemed easy to locate, but contrary to the short map distance, they swam for nearly two hours before seeing Moon Mist Island. Fortunately, they were all martial artists, and their injuries were treated. Otherwise, they would have drowned long ago, let alone swam over.
"Look quickly, there it is—the Fourth Elder and his group!"
After swimming a few hundred meters towards Moon Mist Island, Elder Wu called out.
Up ahead was the Fourth Elder leading the group of Divine Realm Second Level Martial Artists. At last, familiar figures appeared again, stirring some excitement, but soon they calmed down because something was off about the Fourth Elder’s situation!
Their condition was grim; the thirty-some individuals on the side of the Fourth Elder were stuck in the water, while dozens of Samurai on shore pointed their weapons at them, aiming long and short bows to prevent them from landing. The situation looked bleak.
The Second Elder and his group quickly swam over. The Fourth Elder’s group saw them too and shouted. When the two groups noticed the hundred or so people, their expressions changed.
"Old Fourth! What’s wrong, why aren’t we going ashore?"
The Second Elder came to the Fourth Elder and asked him in a low voice.
The Fourth Elder knew it wasn’t the time for idle chatter, so he hurriedly told the Second Elder, "These people are from Moon Mist Island. They say that to land on the island, each person needs to pay ten Black Obsidian stones. Without the stones, we can’t go ashore."
Ding Fan had never heard of this Black Obsidian before, so he asked Wu Qingxia, "What is Black Obsidian?"
"Usually, people take gold and silver when purchasing things, but we Martial Artists prefer using a type of black ore called Black Obsidian. Simply put, Black Obsidian is used as money."
Wu Qingxia explained to Ding Fan, lowering her head.
"Oh, that’s how it is!"
Only then did Ding Fan understand. After the Second Elder listened to the Fourth Elder’s words, he took a deep breath and said to the Martial Artists on the shore, "Dear friends, I am a friend of Iron Island Master Tie Hualong. I’m here to seek refuge with him. I hope you can give us a break and let us ashore."
The Martial Artists from Moon Mist Island had a more agreeable expression upon hearing the name Tie Hualong. A Second Level, Third Stage expert from the Divine Realm put away his weapon and said to them, "Oh, so you’re from the Iron Island Master. Alright... we will give him this face. All of you can land for 300 Black Obsidian stones. This is the rule of Moon Mist Island; no one can change it, and we have to comply."
"Okay, no problem!"
The Second Elder gritted his teeth and swallowed his frustration. In this situation, he had no choice but to agree. The samurai on the shore retreated, and the people of the Skeleton Sect all went ashore, using their Inner Strength to dry their clothes and sitting down to rest.
The Second Elder glanced around and saw a pier not far ahead, with many large warships docked there. His eyes gleamed with an idea, and he walked a few steps forward to speak with the Second Level Martial Artist who had spoken earlier, "Dear friend, you have so many ships here, and we want to go to Tie Family Island but don’t have a boat. Could you help us get there?"
"That’s not a problem! But you can’t expect us to go for free. Tie Family Island is quite far from here, a two-day boat trip. How about this, give us 700 Black Obsidian stones and we guarantee to get you safely to Tie Family Island."
"Ah! That’s too expensive!"
The Second Elder gasped; they were short of Black Obsidian, but the other party was asking for an exorbitant price, leaving him speechless.
The Moon Mist Island Martial Artist sneered at him, "Don’t think I’m ripping you off. Going from here to Tie Family Island, if you swam, it might take ten days, and it’s not like the outside here. Water Bandit Pirates are everywhere; you wouldn’t make it before they’d kill you. With a ship from Moon Mist Island, the pirates flee at the mere sight of it. I asked for 700 stones because you are friends of the Iron Island Master. Otherwise, I wouldn’t move for a thousand!"
"Alright, dear friend, let’s go with your suggestion!"
The Second Elder nodded and gestured to a Martial Artist behind him, who then took out a bag. The Second Elder counted 700 pieces from the bag and gave them to the Moon Mist Island Martial Artist. After handing over these Black Obsidians, there were only a few hundred pieces left in their bag.
The Martial Leader of Moon Mist Island smiled after receiving the Black Obsidian, saying to the Second Elder and his party, "That’s right. Okay, follow me; I’ll take you to the ship!"
Everyone followed the Moon Mist Island samurai towards the distant pier where there were more armored warriors, and Second Level Divine Realm Martial Artists were everywhere to be seen. Dozens of warships were docked, each with a Moon Mist Island banner.
Ding Fan glanced at the warships, his attention captured by them because they were made from Hundred-Year Golden Steelwood. However, they could only see the ship bows, unsure if the entire ships were made of Golden Steelwood or just the bows. If the whole ship were made of it, the Golden Steelwood must be gigantic.
"Hu Feng, take these people to Tie Family Island. They’re all friends of Iron Fortress Master, so treat them well!"
The previous Moon Mist Island Martial Artist shouted to a person on a large ship. The person turned, saw the group led by the Second Elder, nodded to the previous Martial Artist, and then said to the Second Elder’s group, "Get your people on board, into the cabin!"
The Second Elder said nothing more, leading everyone onto the ship. He secretly observed, finding that apart from Hu Feng, who was the Divine Realm Second Level, Second Stage, everyone else was First Level. They wouldn’t pose much threat, which eased his mind slightly.
Quickly, the warship set sail from the pier. Ding Fan noticed no one rowing, and there was no sail when he looked up, which he found strange. But after thinking that warships and chariots in the Divine Realm could fly, it seemed less mysterious, possibly using some special energy.
The warship sailed quickly and steadily. Even a mid-level Second Stage Divine Realm Martial Artist couldn’t keep up if they tried. In just a few minutes, Moon Mist Island was out of sight.
The Second Elder told everyone not to wander off and went alone to find Hu Feng, saying, "Boss Hu, can we have some food and fresh water?"
"No problem, but you have to exchange with Obsidian stones. Your party is large, and you’ll need food and drink for two days, so give me 20 Black Obsidian stones."
Hu Feng looked at the Second Elder and spoke coldly.
