Chapter 122: The Island

Across the vast, boundless ocean, a streak of light flashed swiftly through the sky.

Liu Pan was feeling truly conflicted. The turn of events had far exceeded his expectations; he had never imagined that Li Tu would bring him to jump off the airship midway.

Having sailed for half a year, Liu Pan had gained a profound understanding of the horrors lurking within the sea. He believed Li Tu was even more aware of them than he was, yet Li Tu had still brought him down from the ship—it was simply…

Liu Pan began to understand why Li Tu had disguised them both to look so unremarkable. He was certain that no one on the airship knew they had already departed.

Where were they going? Liu Pan glanced at the directional compass in Li Tu’s hand. The principle of the compass was similar to that of a compass on Earth, but while the latter relied on the Earth’s magnetic field, the former relied on a pre-implanted spiritual mark.

Moreover, different compasses had different ranges; generally, the stronger the spiritual mark within, the greater the range. A compass capable of guiding an airship across the ocean contained an incredibly potent spiritual mark—at least, with his current True Lake Realm initial-stage spiritual power, Liu Pan could not craft such a thing.

In fact, the moment he saw Li Tu produce the compass, the stone in Liu Pan’s heart dropped. His worries had been somewhat redundant; after all, Li Tu was not insane, and under normal circumstances, he would never commit such a suicidal act.

Seeing the compass also made Liu Pan’s mind race. He did not believe Li Tu intended to fly all the way to the Northern Plains like this. Although cultivators flying on artifacts were generally faster than airships, it would still take at least a day to reach the Northern Plains.

In a single day at sea, heaven only knew what terrifying events might occur. Furthermore, looking at the sky, there would be a rainstorm later that night, likely accompanied by hurricanes and tsunamis—that would be an absolute disaster.

If Li Tu were not courting death, it meant the compass was not pointing to the Northern Plains. There must be some place on this ocean guiding the compass, and considering all factors, it had to be nearby—close enough to reach before the storm arrived.

They sped on. Li Tu would glance at the compass from time to time, adjusting their heading slightly before continuing.

There were no fixed landmarks on the ocean. Without the compass, the most likely outcome would be getting lost.

About an hour later, Liu Pan estimated they had traveled nearly a thousand miles. Finally, as the waves began to churn with a menacing trend, Li Tu slowed down. He checked the compass, sensed his surroundings, and seemingly satisfied, he stopped his sword in mid-air.

Liu Pan looked up, but it was pitch black; he saw nothing. The only thing he was certain of was that the storm would soon arrive.

Just as Liu Pan was feeling puzzled, Li Tu retrieved a sea-blue jade token from his storage ring and pressed it against the empty air before him.

A strange ripple spread out. The previously calm space suddenly tore open, and through that rift, Liu Pan saw an island.

The island was not large, less than ten miles in diameter. Liu Pan realized with a start that the rift was nothing other than a supreme array possessing illusion and concealment functions.

Could such a place exist on the sea? Liu Pan’s thoughts surged; this was never written in his books!

While Liu Pan was astonished, a black-clad figure suddenly appeared in the rift before him and Li Tu. A terrifyingly powerful spiritual sense swept over them like a tidal wave.

Li Tu’s expression shifted slightly, but he made no special move. Liu Pan’s heart raced, for the newcomer stood in the void, and his aura was even more terrifying—he was clearly a Martial Sect Realm expert, a level higher than even Li Yi, the Sect Master of the Burning Heaven Sect!

The Martial Sect Realm was absolutely terrifying in the Tianfeng Continent. After the Martial Sect came the Martial Saint, and after the Martial Saint, the legendary Martial God. It was no exaggeration to say that a Martial Sect expert was a formidable presence across the entire continent.

The man in black had his face obscured by yuan energy, making his true features indistinguishable. The only certainty was that he was male.

Soon, the man in black seemed to confirm something. He pulled out an identical sea-blue jade token and pressed it against the void.

Another wave of strange ripples spread, another restriction was opened, and the black-clad man spoke: "Come in."

Li Tu said nothing more and flew in on his sword, carrying Liu Pan with him.

Behind them, the black-clad man retrieved his token, and the rift sealed up, leaving no trace behind.

Liu Pan regained his composure and looked around. He discovered that looking from the outside of the island toward the inside was different from looking from the inside out. The former could not see the island, but the latter could see everything outside.

Furthermore, the array covering the island seemed to have powerful shielding and defensive functions. Once inside, the sensation of the wind and waves diminished significantly. Based on the surrounding environment, Liu Pan realized with a shock that this array could likely withstand hurricanes and tsunamis!

The power of a hurricane and tsunami felt world-ending even from afar. If this array could hold, then that meant…

To be honest, Liu Pan had never written about such a powerful array in his books. In this era of resource scarcity, the consumption required for such an array would bankrupt a top-tier sect in no time; no one could afford it!

Could it be… At this moment, a thought struck Liu Pan. As a young man from the 21st-century technological civilization of Earth, he immediately considered a possibility.

Perhaps the energy sustaining this array was not provided by humans, but by borrowing the natural power of the ocean!

As cultivation resources dwindled, was this world slowly transforming into a technological one?

The sudden thought left Liu Pan dazed. Yet, it was indeed highly probable.

Ultimately, Liu Pan had always harbored doubts about the legends of immortals and gods on Earth. Perhaps they had existed many years ago, but as resources vanished, cultivators disappeared, and technological civilization emerged, eventually creating the Earth he knew.

Humans were always like this; they only learned to cherish things when they realized they were about to disappear.

However, humans were also terrifying. Because of their capacity for creative thought, they could survive tenaciously in any harsh environment.

"Follow me," the man in black said, scanning Liu Pan before stepping through the air onto the island.

Li Tu hurriedly followed, landing on the island as well.

The island was desolate, with few signs of habitation. If not for the second wave of divine sense locking onto him after they entered, Liu Pan would have suspected the man in black was the only one there.

In the center of the island stood a simple pavilion. The man in black led them directly toward it.

Approaching the pavilion, Liu Pan saw the second person: a middle-aged man at the Martial Emperor Realm. He was far weaker than Li Tu or the man in black, and his facial expressions were slightly disjointed—clear signs of a disguise.

It seemed he had hurriedly applied the disguise after they arrived, simply to ensure his true appearance remained hidden.

Entering the pavilion, there was nothing but a stone table under the dim light.

"It is not your first time here, so you must know the rules. I won't say much more. The returns you get depend entirely on the person you've brought."

The man in black spoke before the stone table, his gaze once again landing on Liu Pan.

Li Tu nodded, signaling his understanding, then turned his gaze toward Liu Pan with an inexplicable look in his eyes. "The person I brought this time is a bit different from the ones in the past. You might not believe it, but why don't you check his condition yourself?"

Because of the yuan energy masking his face, the man in black’s expression was hidden, but after Li Tu spoke, one could clearly sense him furrowing his brows.

A moment later, the man in black turned to the middle-aged man. "Check him."

The middle-aged man bowed, wasted no words, and pulled a series of testing tools from his storage ring, immediately beginning to examine Liu Pan’s body.

Liu Pan was no fool. Judging from the conversation, he knew this was a transaction, and he was the commodity.

Though he did not know the exact situation, he knew that in front of a Martial Sect expert, he had no room to resist.

Liu Pan felt speechless. He was just a Martial Master Realm nobody, yet the people he encountered were getting increasingly terrifying. He could barely accept the Martial Emperor Realm, which was common enough on the Tianfeng Continent, but what the hell was a Martial Sect expert? Did they just pop up out of nowhere?

Liu Pan was now absolutely certain that the secret of the Extreme Cold Physique was not simple; there had to be top-tier forces of the Tianfeng Continent behind it. Otherwise, a Martial Sect expert wouldn't be here.

Soon, Liu Pan underwent another comprehensive examination. The results were similar to those from the Burning Heaven Sect, with the only difference being that his cultivation was stable and solid, not hollow.

"Mid-grade spirit root? Are you joking by bringing him here?" the man in black asked, his tone icy. A powerful pressure began to radiate from his body; it was clear he was not in a good mood.

Li Tu was distracted, not by the man's words, but by the fact that the bone-age test still indicated Liu Pan was a minor.

Seven or eight months ago, the bone-age test had already indicated he was nearing adulthood. After seven or eight months, it was still the same result. What was going on?

Because of Li Tu’s distraction, the pressure from the man in black grew stronger.

Finally, Li Tu snapped back to reality and hurriedly exclaimed, "That is exactly why I had you check him! You wouldn't believe it if I just told you—even though he only has a mid-grade spirit root, he truly possesses the Extreme Cold Physique!"