Three figures sat cross-legged upon the flying shuttle—one man and two women. From time to time, they glanced behind them with terror written across their faces, as though pursued by some dreadful menace.
The man was a scholar. His face was as pale as golden paper, and he clutched his chest while coughing incessantly, clearly having suffered severe injuries.
Of the two women, one was a beautiful middle-aged matron, while the other appeared to be a young girl of barely fifteen. Their features bore a striking resemblance, indicating they were mother and daughter.
By all appearances, they were a family.
The flying shuttle was propelled jointly by the beautiful matron and the scholar. Both were Foundation Establishment cultivators, yet for some reason, they were fleeing in utter disarray.
The woman's condition was hardly any better. The spiritual power within her body was nearly exhausted, and she was persevering through sheer willpower alone.
The young girl was merely at the Qi Refinement stage. Her lovely face was full of distress, but powerless to help, she could only gently support the scholar while quietly sobbing.
"Cough, cough..."
The scholar suddenly coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his complexion draining to an even ghastlier white.
The flying shuttle shuddered violently, nearly plunging into the sea.
The beautiful woman cried out in alarm. Gritting her teeth, she overextended her spiritual power without hesitation, barely managing to steady the craft.
"Father..."
Terrified, the girl wept as she held the scholar, frantically funneling her spiritual power into his body to help suppress his wounds. Yet her cultivation was too low; her efforts were nothing more than a drop in the bucket.
"Senior Brother, your injuries..." the woman asked urgently once she stabilized the shuttle.
"I'm fine," the scholar waved his hand repeatedly. "Earlier, I took a blow to the chest. Now that I have finally dispersed the congealed blood and spat it out, I feel much better. But Junior Sister, quickly take a pill to restore your spiritual power and leave the shuttle to me. Later on, we will need your strength to shake off that fiend..."
Swallowing the blood lingering in his mouth, the scholar peered into the distance. At the horizon, a small island came into view. Unlike other desolate isles, strange multicolored mists hovered in the sky above it, and shadowy shapes faintly wheeled in the air.
"Ahead should be Poison Island. As expected, there are miasmas and rot-winged eagles!"
A flicker of joy crossed the scholar's face, and he hurriedly produced a jade bottle.
Inside were three pitch-black medicinal pills.
The moment he unstopped the bottle, a foul stench assaulted their nostrils.
As though oblivious to the odor, the scholar poured out one pill each for his wife and daughter, urgently pressing them, "Quickly take these Yin Toad Pills. For a short time, they will allow you to blend into the poisonous miasma and resist the venom of the rot-winged eagles."
The woman and the girl took the pills as told.
Looking at them, boundless affection and sorrow flashed through the scholar's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it and spoke resolutely: "Junior Sister, once we land on Poison Island, we will split up. Your Red Tassel Canopy can conceal your auras, and with the dense miasma on the island, even that demon will not easily discover you. When the right moment comes, take Ying'er and flee immediately."
"Senior Brother, do you intend to—no..."
The woman went pale with shock, but before she could finish, the scholar raised a hand to stop her.
"Junior Sister!"
The scholar looked into her eyes and said in a heavy voice, "When we fled into the Liefeng Archipelago back then, we already anticipated that this day might come. I have lived an entire lifetime longer than any mortal, and I am content. The Yin Toad Pills can only shield us from the poisonous miasma and the venom of low-tier rot-winged eagles. But the Core Formation fiend behind them has already been alerted, and that monster certainly possesses similar means of protection. Only by luring out the rot-winged eagle king can we bog them down. Without doing this, we cannot possibly throw off our pursuers. You have always been strong-willed, firmer than most men. You must not let emotion rule you now..."
Before the scholar could finish, the girl dissolved into hysterical sobs. "Father! Mother! It's all my fault for dragging you down! Send me back to them! Maybe that monster just wants to take me as a disciple..."
"What foolish nonsense."
The scholar pulled the girl into his embrace and stroked her back with deep reluctance. Then, applying a gentle burst of force through his palm, he knocked her unconscious and handed her to the woman.
"Junior Sister, take good care of yourself and Ying'er."
Tears streaming down her face, the woman silently held the unconscious girl tightly in her arms. Under the scholar's stern gaze, she finally nodded.
The scholar's expression softened, and with a faint smile, he said, "Don't worry, Junior Sister. I will do everything in my power to preserve my life and rendezvous with you..."
Even so, the scholar never named a meeting place, and the woman seemed to have forgotten to ask.
A deathly silence descended upon the flying shuttle.
Before long, the shuttle reached the outskirts of Poison Island. Its radiance faded as the woman recalled it into her palm. Then, exchanging a glance, the scholar and the woman darted straight into Poison Island.
Right at that moment, a deafening howl echoed from the distance. A gust of grayish-black sinister wind churned up towering waves, pursuing them with reckless abandon.
"Not good! They really came for Poison Island, and they've already entered it!"
Seeing their actions, an old man within the black wind turned pale with alarm.
Beside him stood four others, all Foundation Establishment cultivators.
At this sight, their faces darkened, fear surfacing in their eyes. One of them spoke up, "Poison Island is not only teeming with rot-winged eagles, but there might even be a demon king within. Those three may have lost their minds and rushed to their deaths, but we can't throw our lives away with them. Fortunately, we noticed their suspicious movements early on and notified the Cave Master in advance. The Cave Master should be arriving any moment..."
The words had barely left his mouth when a cold snort rang in their ears. "A bunch of useless trash! You couldn't even intercept two injured people and forced this seat to make a trip personally, almost ruining my grand design! Follow me onto the island at once to seize them. That girl is this seat's designated cauldron. If anything happens to her, I will flay your skins first!"
Hearing this, terror seized the group. Scanning around, they saw only a faint illusory shadow glide effortlessly past them, flickering once before shooting toward Poison Island.
"The Cave Master wants us to enter the island as well. If we get poisoned, I'm afraid our lives will be forfeit..."
Someone voiced his panic.
The others looked equally grim.
One of them sighed. "The Cave Master has given the order. Who among you dares to disobey? Compared to facing the Cave Master's wrath, this Wu would rather be poisoned to death on the island."
At those words, the group seemed to recall something and shuddered involuntarily.
The old man said in a heavy voice, "Fellow Daoist Wu is right. This girl possesses the Water Jade Body. It is said that cultivating water-attribute techniques with it yields twice the results with half the effort. Although not a top-tier spirit physique, it is quite rare. Among the cauldrons recorded in the demonic technique cultivated by the Cave Master, one happens to require the Water Jade Body. Having discovered her existence, he will certainly never let her slip away. If anyone is to blame, it is us for failing to anticipate that the couple shared a joint cultivation method; when they joined forces, their power surged drastically, catching us off guard and allowing them to escape. This old man has several Poison Ward Pills here. Their efficacy is passable; after consuming them, you should be able to resist the poison clouds of low-tier rot-winged eagles. As for that eagle king, surely the Cave Master will not send us to our deaths..."
The group exchanged looks. With no better alternative, they could only obey the order. Expressing their thanks to the old man, they accepted the pills and swallowed them.
Chapter 913