“Setting sail!” At seven in the evening, the boatman shouted loudly at the dock.
In front of the village, someone was striking a large drum with force, the signal to set sail.
Everyone rushed out from the teahouse and hurried to the docks.
At this moment, several ships on the coast of the Endless Sea had already begun to depart.
Xu Zimo and the others quickly boarded the ship. Everyone had their own private cabin. On the tall mast of the large ship, the character “Yu” was written, indicating this was a vessel belonging to the Yu Clan.
In the evening, the sea rolled with waves that restlessly beat against the ship.
Countless white foams floated atop the water, hiding who knows how much filth below.
The sound of rumbling echoed all around as a bright spotlight shone from the bow, parting the sea in two.
Just as the ship was about to depart, a group of people boarded from the distance.
It was the same Blood Guards from earlier, people of the Supreme Jade Dynasty.
They waved their hands and ascended directly onto the ship’s deck.
Immediately, the other passengers on the ship tensed up. If they had a choice, no one would want to travel with this group of lunatics.
“Why are the Blood Guards on our ship?” someone whispered in curiosity.
“I heard the Yu Clan is a clan within the Supreme Jade Dynasty. Of course, they’re on the same side,” someone nearby explained.
“Let’s just hope this trip stays peaceful.”
Xu Zimo didn’t pay them much mind and returned to his cabin to rest.
He cultivated for an entire night, studying both the quantity of his Power Vortexes and the Heaven-Unity Three-Gates God-Scripture.
The night passed without words.
At dawn the next day, Xu Zimo opened his cabin door and walked to the deck.
The sunrise over the sea was exceptionally beautiful.
A ray of early sunlight slowly rose from the east.
The golden light filled the entire horizon, the sun itself obscured from view by the golden sky.
Gradually, the golden light at the horizon faded and became more pure, tinged with traces of purple.
Xu Zimo sat on the deck, enjoying the scenic view of the ocean.
As for the Blood Guards, they all sat cross-legged around the deck, meditating.
Some sat on the mast, others in corners of the deck, some atop the cabin roof.
Xu Zimo didn’t care. A servant brought him breakfast, placing it by his resting spot.
As time passed, more passengers emerged from their cabins.
“At this ship’s speed, it’ll take about seven days to reach the transfer station,” a middle-aged man said while eating, joining in the conversation.
“So what are you all going to the Eastern Continent for?”
That burly man named Old Qin, who was on the same ship as Xu Zimo, laughed and said, “I’m going to see my son.”
“We’re from Myriad Treasures Pavilion. We do business all across the continent, so we travel often,” said two middle-aged men in golden robes with curled mustaches.
“I’m going home,” Xu Zimo replied.
“Do you know why the Blood Guards are here?” the middle-aged man asked in a hushed tone.
“Why?” Old Qin asked curiously.
“I’ll tell you, but don’t spread it,” the man said.
“I was in the Supreme Jade Dynasty recently. I heard that a young man stole the Jade Monarch Cauldron left behind by the former Jade Monarch, so now they’re searching everywhere for him.”
“What’s the Jade Monarch Cauldron?” Old Qin asked.
“You really don’t know?” the man scoffed.
The managers from Myriad Treasures Pavilion nodded and said, “The Supreme Jade Dynasty is located at the center of four seas. The area they built in is easy to defend and hard to attack. With that terrain, it’s said the Jade Monarch Cauldron can calm all ocean storms and even control the sea. So it’s extremely important to them.”
“What if we found the Jade Monarch Cauldron and auctioned it through Myriad Treasures Pavilion? What price would it fetch?” another manager asked enviously.
“Don’t even think about it. Forget the auction, the Supreme Jade Dynasty would hunt you to the ends of the earth.”
As everyone chatted and joked, the ship suddenly began to shake.
The once calm sea followed suit and began to churn.
The crashing waves grew higher and higher, knocking over tables and chairs on the deck.
“What’s going on?” someone shouted.
“Don’t panic, everyone. We’ve encountered something, but there’s no need to be afraid.
Our ship has elite Yu Clan guards and the Supreme Jade Dynasty’s Blood Guards. Nothing will happen,” the ship’s supervisor came out to calm the crowd.
The blood-clad man sitting atop the mast was the leader of the Blood Guards.
He stared intently ahead, ignoring the raging sea around them.
Suddenly, a pure divine light shot into the sky.
Everyone looked ahead to see that an island had mysteriously appeared on the once-empty sea.
“What is that?” the crowd gasped at the sudden appearance.
The waves around it seemed to calm, and the ship slowly came to a stop.
Everyone stared in awe. The island looked like a giant beast lying on the sea.
Its surrounding mountains shimmered with light, radiating every imaginable hue.
The island towered high into the sky, too tall to see the top, exuding a strong aura of immortality as it proudly stood upon the Endless Sea.
“What is this?” someone muttered.
“An immortal... an immortal island,” someone nearby stammered.
It is said that immortal islands exist in the world, seen only by those with great fortune.
They float atop the Endless Sky Sea, with no fixed location, no predictable trajectory.
Legends say immortals live there, and they will teach the fortunate who find their way to these islands.
“Which immortal island is this?” someone asked.
“In the Eastern Sea, there is Driftwave Island. Seven thousand miles out, mirages appear, scattering into mist, gathering into form, ethereal and unpredictable. On the island lives a beast, shaped like an ox, blue-skinned with no horns, one-legged. Wherever it goes, storms follow. Its light shines like the sun and moon, its roar like thunder. Its name is Kui.”
“You think this is Driftwave Island?” someone exclaimed.
“This is the immortal island mentioned in legends!”
“I wonder if the legendary Driftwave Immortal is still alive,” someone said with emotion.
“Are we going to set foot on the immortal island?” people discussed anxiously.
“Go! Immortal islands are rare and fated. If we miss it, we may never encounter one again.”
Someone shouted, and over a dozen figures quickly flew toward it.
The rest didn’t rush. They watched cautiously.
Just as those figures neared Driftwave Island, a beast’s roar echoed from within.
Moments later, all those figures were swallowed whole.
Everyone froze in fear, no longer daring to approach.
The immortal island still radiated brilliant light, giving off an air of deep mystery.