Chinan Island Chain

Having experienced both the Canglang Ocean and the North Sea, Qin Sang was no stranger to the open water. Returning to the sea gave him an inexplicable sense of ease; the Central Plains simply held too many constraints. *Crash, splash...* Waves flew and dashed against the hull. Qin Sang was pulled back from his thoughts. He closed the window and sat cross-legged, entering meditation. Along the voyage, the dragon boat put into shore several times. The crew knocked on the door to remind him that he could go ashore to resupply, sightsee, or trade for rare spirit herbs and materials seldom found on land, but Qin Sang declined each time. This merchant chamber had been running this business for a long time. Familiar with navigating the route and smoothing over relations with every faction along the way, they encountered neither bandits nor pirates, arriving smoothly at their destination: Bieli Island. This island sat roughly on the edge of the inner sea. For human cultivators, the waters within Bieli Island were relatively safe. Crossing past Bieli Island into the outer sea meant constant danger, where life and death hung in the balance—hence the name "Bieli," Parting. Yet no matter how intimidating the name, it could not dampen cultivators' passion for treasure hunting. Cultivators brought whatever they harvested from the outer sea to Bieli Island to sell and trade for what they needed. Gradually, Bieli Island had become one of the Eastern Sea's greatest trading hubs, bustling with commerce. The primary objective of the chamber that owned the dragon boat was to make purchases on Bieli Island, running passenger transport on the side. "Take care, honored guest." The ship's steward stood waiting at the pier. Seeing Qin Sang disembark, he stepped forward with a broad smile and offered a scroll of silk. "There is no shortage of ill-intentioned scoundrels on the island. Please be careful not to be swindled by them, honored guest. Everything marked on here belongs to legitimate businesses, guaranteed on the reputation of our Shanhai Chamber of Commerce." Qin Sang accepted the silk scroll and voiced his thanks. The steward smiled deferentially. For some reason, even though this young scholar displayed no obvious prowess, whenever the steward faced him, he could not help but feel diminished, as if standing beneath him. It was not a suppression born of cultivation; rather, the man seemed to carry an innate noble air. Having traveled far and wide with vast experience, the steward trusted his intuition. He understood that courtesy never offended, and forging good ties was never a bad thing—even if his judgment proved mistaken, he lost nothing. Soon enough, the steward was glad he had done so. He watched Qin Sang make his way through the crowd, heading straight toward a man and woman waiting outside the pier. Even on Bieli Island with its throng of cultivators, this couple's appearance and demeanor stood out. *The woman is at the late Foundation Establishment stage, and the man is even stronger!* The steward felt a chill in his heart. Seeing the couple bow with utmost deference toward the young scholar, he realized he had still underestimated him. Looks truly were the most deceptive thing. Who knew which old monster was traveling the mortal world for amusement! The couple was none other than Zhou Jin and Ruan Yu. After Ruan Yu's chronic illness was cured, the two had poured out their hearts to each other, made their feelings clear, and asked Qin Sang to witness their wedding as they became husband and wife. Years ago, the couple had received Qin Sang's order to cross the eastern sea and establish an advance post. "Greetings, Senior Qin." Zhou and Ruan stepped forward to pay their respects, but Qin Sang raised a hand to stop them. They were the only two people who knew Qin Sang and Daoist Qingfeng were one and the same, though they did not understand the underlying truth and could only guess that Daoist Qingfeng was likely Qin Sang's external incarnation. "Not bad." Qin Sang looked them over, a look of approval appearing on his face. These two were gifted to begin with, having been meticulously selected by the previous temple master of Loudai Monastery. When they set out, Zhou Jin was still at the early Core Formation stage, but had now broken through to the mid Core Formation stage. Ruan Yu had also reached the False Core realm, just one step away from the Golden Core. However, this hurdle was not easily overcome. On the way back to the inn, Zhou and Ruan seized the opportunity to seek Qin Sang's guidance. Qin Sang answered every question. Receiving his pointers, both gained tremendously, their joy overflowing. As they spoke, the three entered the inn. The restrictions were sealed. Zhou Jin wiped the smile from his face, turning serious. "Senior Qin, following your decree upon arriving in the Eastern Sea, we began searching for legends of Deity Transformation cultivators. We discovered we were not the only ones; many cultivators of unknown origin have appeared in the Eastern Sea with similar goals. We attempted to make contact with some of them, but we couldn't uncover any definitive information." Ruan Yu picked up the thread. "We tried tracing the source of the rumors. The place where the Deity Transformation cultivator appeared could not possibly be the inner sea. The witnesses back then were likely cultivators venturing into the outer sea to hunt for treasure, with a cultivation of at least Foundation Establishment. If there were Golden Core cultivators among them, they probably haven't reached the end of their lifespan yet. But after searching for so many years, we still haven't found any witnesses. The information is chaotic, and we couldn't even determine which island the rumors originally spread from. Hunting for treasure in the open sea means living on borrowed time; the witnesses may have already perished in accidents." Qin Sang was not surprised by this. Two hundred years had already passed; tracing it back to its origins was far too difficult. Moreover, who knew how many factions were secretly fanning the flames and muddying the waters? There was another possibility to consider: the witnesses might have already been placed under control by some faction. Apart from searching for people, Qin Sang had also instructed the couple to keep an eye out for other signs. Qin Sang remembered that after the ascension of Ziwei Palace, a deep pit had been left behind in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, filled with terrifying ancient restrictive storms and spatial rifts. The Abyss Ruins and Boundless Valley had also been affected, turning into restricted grounds. Traversing the interior of the Abyss Ruins was nearly impossible; Daoist Canghong had unfortunately fallen within. Assuming the two immortal halls, Tiantong and Tianxiang, had also been affected by Ziwei Palace, similar anomalies might have been produced. Zhou Jin shook his head. "My junior sister and I have ventured out to sea several times, but we didn't discover any place like that. However, there has been a recent rumor. Supposedly, someone uncovered records stating that an immensely powerful ancient immortal sect once existed in the Eastern Sea. In antiquity, demon beasts wreaked havoc in the Eastern Sea, and that sect was wiped out in a beast tide. The rumors claim that if one can find the ruins of that ancient immortal sect, one can obtain a supreme inheritance. The Deity Transformation cultivators might have found some clues and gone after that ancient immortal sect. The rumors are quite elaborate, and quite a few people have already been drawn there..." The situation in Zhongzhou did not seem to be permanently stable after all; peace was hard-won. Qin Sang grew thoughtful and pressed, "Has anyone discovered anything?" "We haven't received any news yet," Ruan Yu said as she channeled her true essence, conjuring a sea chart out of thin air that covered the locations of the most famous islands in the Eastern Sea. She pointed to an island chain to the south. "This is called the Chinan Island Chain. Many cultivators have already begun gathering there." The reason they had sent word back to the mountain requesting Qin Sang to come in person was that more and more experts were congregating at the Chinan Island Chain. With Zhou Jin and Ruan Yu's cultivation, it was difficult to achieve anything. Even if they discovered something, they would not be able to contact Qin Sang in time and would miss the opportunity. Qin Sang had not expected that investigating the traces of the Deity Transformation cultivators and the two immortal halls would drag an ancient immortal sect into the matter. If Saint Huiguang and True Monarch Danyu were truly trapped within the ruins of an ancient immortal sect, wouldn't entering as Nascent Soul cultivators be no different from throwing their lives away? His true body's breakthrough to the late Nascent Soul stage was practically assured; there was no need to take unnecessary risks during this period. Qin Sang tapped his fingers lightly on the table, pondering for a moment before deciding to go take a look and act as circumstances dictated. His mind made up, the three took a brief rest on Bieli Island to gather some information before setting off for the Chinan Island Chain. Without hiring a boat, Qin Sang directly summoned a flying treasure, taking the two of them along as they soared through the sky.