Chapter 118: Braving the Isle of Immortal Gazing

On an unnamed island in the Li Ocean, Yue Zhengqing and Lin Feng were speaking in hushed tones.

"The little sharks have all gone into hiding. It seems the Shark-Shark King is prepared, and killing the two commanders, Xi Zhao and Xi Zhan, will be extremely difficult. Although the Whale-Slaying Palace is not heavily guarded, with the Shark-Shark King himself stationed there, I am no match for him. It is said that half of the eight guest ministers of the Whale-Slaying Palace have emerged from seclusion, and their strength is not inferior to mine," Yue Zhengqing said.

"Brother Yue, could we request reinforcements from the Pavilion?" Lin Feng asked.

"Impossible. Once a mission is accepted, it must be completed unless one dies. You may seek help from others, but you cannot ask for more assistance from the Pavilion; otherwise, we will automatically lose our status as guest ministers. This rule of our Xuanji Pavilion is intended to ensure that everyone can exert one hundred percent of their combat power rather than blindly relying on the sect. Let me think about who might be able to help," Yue Zhengqing said sternly.

Lin Feng remained silent. At first glance, the Xuanji Pavilion's rule seemed reasonable, but in reality, it disregarded the lives of its guest ministers. This was different from the guiding principles of the sects in the Divine Province; it felt somewhat unreasonable, a scorched-earth approach.

"Right, I will head to the Dan Ocean myself to see if the Divine Whale King can help us distract the Shark-Shark King." Silver light flickered in Yue Zhengqing's eyes as he made up his mind and prepared to act immediately. "Brother, please wait here for a few days. I will return shortly!"

Yue Zhengqing stepped onto a silver-white conical spike and vanished into the horizon, heading north with incredible speed.

"The Divine Whale King? I hope he can provide reinforcements..." Lin Feng swallowed the golden core he had obtained and sat cross-legged, quickly refining it. At the same time, he opened his pores to absorb the essence of the scorching sun.

Three days later, the golden core was fully absorbed by his Flame Heart. Half of the twenty-petaled lotus-shaped fire had turned into red lotuses, while the rest remained half-yellow and half-red.

"I need at least two more golden cores to turn this lotus flame entirely red," he calculated silently, then pondered his next path of cultivation.

"Heh heh, making progress quite fast, aren't you? The Red Lotus Karmic Fire is beginning to take shape. Not bad." An abrupt voice echoed in his consciousness, startling Lin Feng.

The Red Lotus Karmic Fire, which incinerates sin and sinful bodies, is one of the three great divine fires of Buddhism, burning away all the evils of the world. Hearing Li Chi point out the name, Lin Feng did not pay much mind. He assumed this was an anomaly caused by the Manjushara flowers, and that his mysterious cultivation technique, the Tuo Tian Art, had cleverly fused with the Buddhist flower to produce such a result.

"Why do you always do that! You could scare someone to death, and you know I'm being hunted right now, don't you?" Lin Feng exhaled and said in a low, resentful voice.

Li Chi chuckled sinisterly: "Can a few pawns kill you? If so, wouldn't the Yinque Palace be without an owner?"

"Hmm? That's right, tell me, what is the secret of this Water Mirror Disc?" A flash of inspiration struck Lin Feng, and he took out the immortal artifact.

"A secret? Do you think I'm a prophet? Kid, secrets are meant to be realized on your own. Don't expect this lord to say another word," Li Chi said smugly.

"Forget it, then. You go back to resting. Give me a heads-up next time you appear." Lin Feng took out the Xuanheng Jade Disk to organize his belongings. He had gained much over the past few months, but his losses were also great: the puppet bronze man and the Cloud-Star Robe were both destroyed, and the Splitting Arrows were exhausted. In his storage bag, only the Ruisue Pear Flower Spear and the Shangyang Sword remained—mediocre items—along with a pile of junk left behind by the Killing Arhat. He couldn't waste the Ice Core Silver Needles; he needed them for life-saving in emergencies.

"Yin Chaozong's golden leaf! With my current cultivation, it shouldn't be hard to break its seal, right?" Holding the precious leaf, Lin Feng became excited.

For ten full hours, from sunset to sunrise, as the light on the surface of the golden leaf grew brighter, a soft "pop" sounded. The seal on this storage vessel was finally broken. Lin Feng’s face lit up; he immediately withdrew his spiritual power and stared intently at the treasure.

The items released by the golden leaf opened his eyes wide and left him in awe. Dozens of secret manuals, a dazzling array of rare spiritual materials, and various dissection tools and knives were arranged in leather bags, along with many unknown artifacts.

"Yuan-Devouring Corpse Art! Corpse Silence!" Among the pile of manuals, two were the most prominent. These volumes used golden bamboo as paper and were inscribed with tiny characters, differing greatly from other iron scrolls or classic books; they were extremely precious.

Opening these two demonic texts and studying them briefly, Lin Feng felt a sense of melancholy. The *Yuan-Devouring Corpse Art* was a supreme demonic technique for controlling corpses and puppets, requiring the use of various secret medicinal formulas to refine the body until one reached the state of being neither human nor ghost, as Yin Chaozong had achieved. *Corpse Silence* was a method for refining top-tier zombies, categorized by levels: Purple Zombie, Profound Nether Iron Corpse, Blood Corpse, Golden Indestructible, Flying Zombie, Purple Shade Corpse, Bone-Melting Corpse Emperor, Immortal Corpse, and Corpse God. Above the Bone-Melting Corpse Emperor, there were only descriptions and no actual refining methods; it seemed this manual was incomplete or perhaps based on mere conjecture.

He believed that even for those on the demonic path, few would willingly cultivate these techniques. Setting aside the moral corruption, few would want to spend their days dealing with corpses.

Yin Chaozong's relics could only be kept for now. Some of the pills and spiritual materials, such as the Agastache Pills and Mist Dew for detoxification, were useful. When Lin Feng picked up the last small gray bottle, a sense of alarm suddenly arose, and his fingers, poised to twist the stopper, froze.

The bottle had no label. It was long-necked and wide-bellied, but it was not made of jade, nor was it forged from gold or iron—it was carved from wood!

Strange! If it were pills, there would be no reason to store them in a wooden bottle. He grew suspicious and examined the bottle closely. It was no ordinary wood! The grain was as fine as flesh, and it felt warm to the touch—as if it were alive!

"Let's see what's inside!" Curiosity is human nature. Channeling a portion of his immature Red Lotus Karmic Fire, he tapped his finger lightly to open the bottle.

From the small gray bottle, a golden bee-like insect crawled out slowly. It was the thickness of a finger, with four golden wings and a three-pronged barbed stinger at the end of its abdomen. Its cold, compound eyes were fixed on the stranger before it.

"Gold-Swallowing Insect!" Immediately, a flash of fire trapped the little golden insect, ready to incinerate it!

The Gold-Swallowing Insect was no gentle creature—Zhou Kuigang had suffered greatly from it—but Lin Feng, who controlled the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, did not fear such small insects. Regardless of what ancient anomaly it was, he would burn it to death!

Just as the flames were about to engulf the insect, the Gold-Swallowing Insect hastily retreated into the bottle, not daring to show itself.

"Scared of death? Interesting. Fine, I'll spare your life for now." He screwed the stopper back on, gathered all his items, and stood on the nameless island looking around.

The crashing waves sounded like ten thousand galloping horses, the thunderous roar echoing in his ears. Lin Feng, who had never calmed his heart to observe the ocean, felt his thoughts surging along with the massive waves.

"I was once just a down-and-out disciple on Mount Qiyun. Now, I can contend with the demon kings of the overseas realms, treading the sea and clouds, racing across ten thousand miles. Is this divine favor, or fate? No! If the gods had spirits, why would they ignore the suffering of the masses? If immortals had hearts, why would they distinguish between high and low? The immortals and gods of this world are probably just like the nobility—profit-driven, never stooping to help the people!"

The sea breeze brushed his face, and a vague realization stirred in his heart—an awareness of faith and soul, an epiphany about life.

"The Ten Thousand Demon Heaven, the Nine Dragon Palace, the Whale-Slaying Palace—these forces are powerful, yet they pale in comparison to the mystery and hegemony of the Xuanji Pavilion. Among the sects of the world, there is always someone stronger; truly, there are heavens beyond heavens! Who exactly rules this world of cultivation, holding the power of life and death? Even someone like the Shark-Shark King, Xi Bing, who is about to undergo a tribulation, is seven parts cautious. Could it be an immortal?"

This thought flashed through his mind, and he shuddered, as if stung by a needle.

"Forget it. My cultivation, while far superior to peers of the same level, is still not enough to fight people like Xi Lingbo. Power—power is supreme!"

He calmed his mind, sat cross-legged in the center of the island, felt the majesty of nature, listened to the roar of the sea, and gradually merged into a state of emptiness.

Three more days passed.

As the morning sun shone on his face, Lin Feng rose slowly, calm and indifferent, without a trace of hesitation. Suddenly—

The air currents around him began to move without wind, gathering like dense clouds. Huge, pure energy surged rapidly from all directions. The sand, stones, grass, and trees beneath his feet began to tremble. The waves roared, and the island itself seemed startled, the rumbling vibrations growing louder and louder.

"Break! Break, break, break!..." A white streak like a vicious bolt of lightning struck the endless sea. A muffled thunder exploded, and ten thousand acres of waves were split in two. In an instant, two thirty-zhang-high water walls stood up, and the entire island shook violently, as if it were about to fall apart.

This was the essence of the Hurricane Tyrant Waves! The true power of the Tyrant’s Might!

"Brother’s cultivation has improved again! Congratulations, congratulations!" Before Yue Zhengqing’s voice had even faded, he had already shot onto the island, his silver-white figure flashing like a fleeting shadow, appearing extremely fast and abruptly.

"Brother Yue, have you found helpers?"

Lin Feng remained extremely calm. These three days of contemplating the tidal waves, recalling the sight of the Kun-Toad, the King of Beasts from the Absolute Brake Sea, emerging from the ocean, had brought him an epiphany. Only by erupting from absolute stillness could one trample the seas and mountains. This was the true, god-like power of the Tyrant’s Might!

"Yes! We have an agreement to meet at Wangxian Island in five days. Time is short; let's go now! We can talk on the way!" Yue Zhengqing said.

"Good!"

Two figures soared into the air, speeding toward the center of the Li Ocean.

"This time, two hidden masters from the Overturning Sea Palace will come to assist. On the maritime border, the Divine Whale King will also send three generals to create a diversion. We will kill as many as we can; as long as the Shark-Shark King dares to leave the Li Ocean, our mission is accomplished. By then, the situation won't be for us to control—others will naturally handle him," Yue Zhengqing explained via voice transmission within the clouds.

"If you want to save someone, remember: as long as the Shark-Shark King does not appear, you must never enter the Whale-Slaying Palace. That is suicide," Yue Zhengqing added.

"The two fellow daoists from the Overturning Sea Palace are stronger than you and me. Our goal is to distract the others and lure the snake out of its hole. Dealing with the Shark-Shark King requires extreme caution; that is to be an enemy of the entire Li Ocean. Remember this, brother."

"I have heard that among the eight guest ministers of the Li Ocean, many are capable. Two of them possess strength that rivals the Shark-Shark King: one is called Bei Sajin, and the other is Kui Zu. If these two also come out of seclusion, there will be no other choice but to flee."

The more he heard, the more terrified he became. This mission seemed like suicide no matter how you looked at it, but things had reached this point—even if it were a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, he had to charge through!

They traveled rapidly for three days. The road was strangely peaceful; they did not encounter a single flying fish patrol. When they were about a million miles from Wangxian Island, a massive sonic boom suddenly struck from the clouds in the sky. Its speed and force were so great that the clouds for ten thousand miles dissipated instantly.

A sword! A straight blue sword aura erupted from afar! Heavy, solid, and carrying a ferocious aura, the temperature plummeted under a single strike. Knife-like hurricanes and hail fell simultaneously, throwing the weather into chaos!

"You brat, this ancestor has been waiting here for a long time!" A thick voice followed. In the void, a giant human face gradually appeared—only a head! A demonic face!

"Primordial Spirit separation!" Yue Zhengqing’s face changed instantly. He grabbed Lin Feng and fled, teleporting a hundred miles away! Then he escaped again, teleporting ten thousand miles repeatedly, but the head remained in hot pursuit!

With his Nascent Soul cultivation, Yue Zhengqing had no choice but to flee for his life when encountering a Great Power at the Spirit-Dividing stage.

If this person was not the Shark-Shark King, there was only one possibility left: a hidden master of the Li Ocean had struck!