Wayfarer

Chapter 584: Crisis on Taiqing Island

By Taiqing Island on the Eastern Sea were a group of Dayin cultivators making a beeline straight to the island, dour looks on their faces.

"Where's Taiqing Island?" one golden-armored cultivator demanded.

"It was right here!" an ordinary Dayin cultivator explained.

"There aren't any islands here, only the vast sea itself. Are you trying to trick me?" the golden-armored cultivator demanded.

"I wouldn't dare! I can swear to the heavens that I'm not lying."

"The Immortal Emperor ordered us to catch Zhao Yuanjiao if we can't find Xiao Nanfeng. Zhao Yuanjiao's frequently around Taiqing Island, so he surely won't stand by if something happens to it. Now, however, we can't even find Taiqing Island itself! Are you sure you're not spouting nonsense because you intend on betraying Dayin?" the golden-armored cultivator demanded.

"I would never! Please let me take a closer look," the official replied.

He scouted the vicinity, then frowned harder. "This is where Taiqing Island once was. I can confirm it from the locations of those other islands in the vicinity—I left markers there. Follow me."

The soldiers headed over and indeed found a few special markings on a small, dilapidated island.

"I'm sure I'm not mistaken. Taiqing Island's right there. If it isn't shrouded by a formation, it must have sunk."

"We'll go have a look." The golden-armored cultivators, sensing that something was amiss, flew over immediately.

They hovered over where Taiqing Island should have been, narrowed their eyes, and dove into the sea.

There, they found that the seabed seemed to have cracked.

"I figured it out. Taiqing Island was moved elsewhere!" a golden-armored cultivator cried out.

"What? How? It's such a large island!"

"A particularly potent formations master must have done so. Damn it—it must be the imperial astronomer of Dazheng!"

"What do we do now?"

"Find it! We'll search all around this expanse of the sea. Taiqing Island can't be far off!"

"Understood!"

The borders of Dayin were simply too large. Despite the strongest cultivators of Dayin being mobilized in force to search for Xiao Nanfeng, Xiao Nanfeng's party was able to avoid all pursuers and reach an uninhabited stretch of the sea.

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"We've escaped. Thank you for your help, Demonic Sect Master," Xiao Nanfeng said.

The demonic sect master nodded. "In that case, I'll bid you all farewell. Take care."

The cultivators were about to bow in return when Xiao Nanfeng frowned, a serious expression on his face.

"Is something the matter?" Zhao Yuanjiao asked.

"Something has finally happened to Taiqing Island," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"What's going on?"

"I had Blue Lantern hide Taiqing Island in an uninhabited part of the sea shrouded by fog. In principle, no one should have found it, but a group of Dayin soldiers did."

"Could some sea spirits have witnessed the move and reported it to Dayin?" Zhao Yuanjiao wondered.

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "I had subordinates spread out to ensure that no one was in sight. All of Ao Zhou's dragons have been dispatched for surveillance with packs of sea spirits in their own right. I'm rather certain no one on the outside would have been able to figure out what happened."

"You mean that there's a spy on the island?" Zhao Yuanjiao narrowed his eyes.

"I don't want to admit it, but it's looking likely," Xiao Nanfeng replied, sighing.

"What? All the disciples on Taiqing Island should have been vetted! Who would dare betray the sect now? I'll kill them!" Zhao Yuanjiao cursed.

"Demonic Sect Master, take care. We'll be heading off now," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"I'll accompany you," the demonic sect master replied.

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "This is a problem I brought down on the Taiqing Immortal Sect. I've already burdened you enough."

"Nonsense. Let's go!"

"In that case, thank you, Demonic Sect Master!" Xiao Nanfeng and Zhao Yuanjiao exclaimed.

The party headed straight toward Taiqing Island.

Over a stretch of the sea, roiling fog was dispersed by a huge wave of force.

A group of Dayin cultivators suppressed the island below them with their fearsome auras.

Plenty of disciples on the island were vomiting out blood from the pressure that the Dayin cultivators gave off. They were paralyzed on the ground and glaring at the cultivators in the air.

One of the golden-armored cultivators shouted, "Disciples of the Taiqing Immortal Sect, you'd better not make a move, or I'll kill you!"

A wave of killing intent swept over the island, causing yet more disciples to spit out another mouthful of blood. Even so, they refused to submit.

Suddenly, one Taiqing elder called out, "I have an avatar in Yongding. Division Leader Xiao has ordered the disciples to prioritize their own safety rather than resist."

In the blink of an eye, the Taiqing disciples calmed down and turned to the speaking elder.

"Oh? Is Xiao Nanfeng aware of the situation here, then?" a golden-armored cultivator asked.

The Taiqing elder replied, "That's right. Division Leader Xiao wants me to inform you all not to be hasty. Otherwise, he'll retaliate against you."

"Against us? Ha!" The golden-armored cultivators laughed disdainfully. "And how will he do so?"

"Division Leader Xiao said that daring to attack Taiqing Island just because you couldn't find Division Leader Xiao and Division Leader Zhao is akin to harming the innocent and a measure of your inadequacy. If you dare hurt the disciples on Taiqing Island, Dazheng's assassins will strike at your families," the elder threatened.

"What? Repeat that!" the golden-armored cultivators cried out.

"Division Leader Xiao said that the disciples on Taiqing Island are his family. If you don't respect the rules of engagement and hurt his family, he'll do the same to yours," the elder replied firmly.

"Does he want to die? Does he think that he'll be able to do so?!" the golden-armored cultivators seethed.

"Division Leader Xiao said that Mo Shanhe and Yin Tianci's disappearance should be proof enough."

The Dayin cultivators sucked in a deep breath and reined in their killing intent. Many of the cultivators didn't know what to do. They had families themselves. If Xiao Nanfeng was able to kidnap even the prime minister and the crown prince, assassinating their families would be straightforward.

"I've already transmitted your appearances to Division Leader Xiao, who has started to investigate your identities. I'm sure he'll be able to figure out who you are in no time. Do you really want to risk it?" the Taiqing elder demanded.

The Dayin cultivators: ...

"Seal this area. No one's to leave," the golden-armored cultivators finally commanded.

"Understood!" a group of Dayin cultivators replied.

They retrieved large quantities of formation flags and began to erect a formation in the sea that would block off Taiqing Island.

"Have your avatar report on the situation here immediately and ask what our next steps should be," a golden-armored cultivator told one of her subordinates."

"Understood!"

Just then, the Taiqing elder who had spoken before flew up toward the Dayin delegation on his own.

"What do you want?" the golden-armored cultivators demanded.

"Fellow cultivators, I know that you're only acting on orders and have no choice but to carry this out. Please relax. I'll make sure Division Leader Xiao knows that you're under duress, and he won't harm your family."

The Dayin cultivators: ...

"Division Leader Xiao wants me to ask how you easily found Taiqing Island despite how well it was hidden," the elder continued.

The Dayin cultivators fell silent. They glanced at the golden-armored cultivator, their representative, and waited for him to decide whether or not to speak.

"Are there spies from Dayin on Taiqing Island?" the elder asked.

The golden-armored cultivator paused for a moment. "It's not one of our spies. Someone sent us a message describing your location. By the time we found the messenger, he had dived into the sea and vanished from sight. He was stronger than we anticipated."

The Taiqing elder was taken by surprise. "I've reported this information to Division Leader Xiao, who wanted me to relay the possibility that someone might be waiting to prey on both our factions."

"Hm?" The golden-armored cultivator narrowed his eyes and looked around.

Just then, on an island some distance away, the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost, Ao Shuai, and others were staring at Taiqing Island, where a group of Dayin cultivators were suppressing Taiqing cultivators in force.

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost shielded them all in a barrier that isolated all sound. He asked, "Master, how did you end up with a spy on Taiqing Island? Did you arrange for that red-robed man to be there?"

Ao Shuai glanced at the red-robed man behind him and smirked. "A sect is like a forest, and all manner of birds nest there. I didn't arrange for any spies. Rather, he decided to throw in his lot with me. I did it out of curiosity and boredom, not expecting that it would pay off as it did today."

"Will he be alright?" The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost frowned.

"Don't worry. I've vetted both his bodies with hypnosis, and I had him kill a Taiqing disciple as proof of his allegiance. His avatar's on Taiqing Island and can report on the situation there in real time," Ao Shuai said.

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost nodded, but warned, "Traitors can't be trusted readily."

"I understand. He's only a piece on the game board for me. I wouldn't trust him fully," Ao Shuai replied, smiling.

"Good, good." The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost nodded.

"But what are these Dayin soldiers doing? They're useless. Aren't they going to make a move?"

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost seemed surprised as well. He called the red-robed man over and asked, "What's going on over in Taiqing Island?"

The red-robed man recounted what his avatar had witnessed there.

"Xiao Nanfeng's threatening those Dayin soldiers? This is worrisome..." Ao Shuai murmured.

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost shook his head. "No, this is fine."

"Oh?"

"Do you think the soldiers of Dayin would be threatened so easily? Just you wait. They'll make their move soon enough."

"Are you sure?"

"If they could be so easily threatened, they wouldn't have been sent out on this mission. Yin Shenhua wouldn't dispatch trash for something like this. Just wait a little. There'll be a show in no time. Perhaps we really will be able to lure Xiao Nanfeng here," the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost analyzed.

"Very good! I'll wait, then," Ao Shuai replied in excitement.