The purple-robed figure on the ship grew clearer—it was a young man.
Beside him, two more figures appeared, a man and a woman, dressed in robes of cyan and white, respectively.
Their attire resembled that of figures from antiquity. With their hands clasped behind their backs, they stood at the bow of the ship, powerful auras radiating from each of them, marking them as extraordinary beings.
"I give you one final warning: halt where you are!"
"If you wish to make port, state your identities and purpose first!"
Ice Fairy spoke up as well. She had not let her fury flare over the capsizing of the patrol boat. Even though the newcomers had revealed a sliver of hostility, no directives had arrived from high command yet, and these people appeared quite dangerous. Reluctant to escalate things past the point of no return, she issued another warning. At the same time, she was absolutely certain those aboard the ship could hear her clearly.
Yet the three seemed to disregard her words entirely.
The seagoing vessel continued to plow forward.
Closer.
Closer still.
Both Gu Sang and Ice Fairy clenched their fists, hesitating over whether to fire a warning shot.
Little Heavenly Master Chunyang also knitted his brows. They had clearly heard her, so why did they persist?
Boom.
At last, the ship reached the shore. Its speed dropped in an instant as it drew to a gentle halt.
Aboard, the three figures—two men and one woman—said almost nothing before leaping straight down.
At the same time, more figures emerged one after another from the deck, following close behind them. All of them wore long robes of purple, cyan, or white.
In total, more than thirty individuals landed on the shore. Their eyes swept over the welcoming party with curiosity, but also with an inherently haughty, condescending disdain. With the three at their head, the rest stood behind them; their strength and status were clearly somewhat lower.
"Is this what the mainland has become? Hmm, the worldly energy is indeed exceptionally dense, far exceeding that of our islands."
"Cultivating and evolving here will certainly be faster than before. Coming here was indeed the right choice."
"Enough, stop chattering. We came bearing a mission from our sect."
The lead purple-robed youth spoke. He was very young, appearing only in his twenties, his long hair bound high in an ancient topknot. To anyone unaware, he might have been mistaken for an actor from a period drama set.
"Everyone, please declare your identities, where you hail from, and your purpose here."
Gu Sang took a deep breath and stepped forward to stand before them. His tone remained courteous, devoid of interrogation. He knew the men aboard the patrol boat were ordinary soldiers and had survived the plunge into the sea, so he chose not to press the issue for now. The most pressing matter was to ascertain the purpose of these newcomers.
"People of the mainland? You've begun evolving too?" A woman clad in cyan robes looked over, her eyes narrowing.
The leading purple-robed man also glanced over, sweeping an unbridled, appraising gaze across Little Heavenly Master Chunyang and the other two before finally deigning to speak: "We are disciples of the three islands—Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou. As great upheavals sweep heaven and earth, we know great fortune has descended upon the mainland. We come to the mainland under sect orders, seeking a place to cultivate and evolve—preferably a sizable one."
He laid out their objective without hesitation, then added, "Judging by your standing, you are not the ones in charge. Summon your elders or have the local authorities come forth."
The man's demeanor was exceedingly arrogant. He had no desire to explain much, merely demanding territory, nor was he interested in negotiating with Ice Fairy and the others. Moreover, in neither word nor manner did he resemble a modern person; it was as if he had truly stepped out of antiquity.
Of the three leaders, the purple-robed man hailed from Penglai, the white-robed man from Fangzhang, and the cyan-robed woman from Yingzhou.
Hearing this, Gu Sang did not respond immediately, lost in thought. He seemed to piece together what the man meant. Did they intend to propose cooperation?
Ice Fairy, however, could not stomach such an attitude. Stepping forward at once, she said, "Cooperation can be discussed, but you just overturned our patrol boat. Don't you owe us an explanation?"
She well knew that even visitors from the extraterrestrial realms were courteous when negotiating with official authorities, yielding wherever possible. Yet these people were brimming with haughtiness, treating them as utterly beneath notice.
"An explanation? For offending our vessel, an explanation is owed?" The woman in ancient cyan robes spoke up, holding an ancient sword. Taking a step forward, she declared outright, "Not letting them drown to the bottom of the sea was already an act of mercy on our part."
With that, she continued, "Enough. We owe you no explanations. Bring your elders here."
Her posture remained just as imperious and forceful, her face lined with an edge of impatience. In ancient times, the three islands had been revered by mainlanders as immortal realms. Naturally, the woman looked down on Ice Fairy and her companions.
"We issued repeated hailings, yet you turned a deaf ear—and now you turn around and blame us?"
Ice Fairy was not without a temper. Unable to endure this any longer, she spoke up once more.
"Insolent!"
The cyan-robed woman's brows drew together, and without hesitation, she surged forward. In an instant, a tremendous aura erupted from her body—unmistakably that of the Shackle Realm. In a flash, she appeared right in front of Ice Fairy, raising her right hand high, clearly intending to strike her across the face. Her attitude was brazen and overbearing to the extreme.
"Junior Sister Ji!"
Seeing this, Gu Sang lunged forward to intervene. Immediately, however, the white-robed man moved as well, taking a stride forward and unleashing a punch. Famed for his physical prowess, Gu Sang did not back down, throwing a fist in return.
Boom!
The two forces collided violently. Gu Sang, however, was only in the Awakening Realm, whereas the white-robed man from Fangzhang had broken into the Shackle Realm. In an instant, Gu Sang was suppressed.
On the other side, faced with the woman's strike, Ice Fairy unleashed her power, frosty chill surging around her body. She barely managed to dodge the slap.
"Senior Brother Zhao Yuan, these mainlanders clearly have no intention of talking sensibly. Let's waste no more breath on them—strike now and force their elders out!" The woman flared with rage, not perceiving in the slightest that her own attitude had been at fault.
"Very well, we'll do as you say, Junior Sister Zhang Yun."
Senior Brother Zhao was the Penglai disciple. The three islands shared close ties, and their members addressed one another as martial siblings. He, too, seemed unwilling to waste more words. With a glance toward the others, he prepared to demonstrate the might of the three islands.
What did it matter if the mainlanders had begun acquiring transcendent power through the upheavals of heaven and earth? Hidden within folded space, the Three Immortal Islands had embarked on this path long before them. There was no need for civility.
The moment he gave the order, the thirty-odd disciples from the immortal islands advanced in unison. Almost all of them were in the Awakening Realm. As the power within their bodies surged forth and intertwined, it nearly whipped up a localized tempest.
"Fire!" Beside them, Little Heavenly Master Chunyang knew they could hold back no longer, immediately barking the order to attack.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Firearms aimed at the islanders and opened up. The three leaders headed by Zhao Yuan had no concept of what modern firearms were, yet they sensed imminent danger. Zhao Yuan instantly joined forces with the other two, thrusting out both hands to unleash a specialized divine ability.
In a flash, the sea level behind them surged upward, whipping up monstrous tidal waves. Ice Fairy tried to freeze the deluge. Alas, the waves were too vast, the water too immense, and the time too short; she simply could not accomplish it.
Rumble!
The surging waves crashed down. In a single breath, everyone along the shore was engulfed.
Seizing the opening, several islanders whipped out ropes and bound Gu Sang, Ice Fairy, and the others tightly. After all, the three leaders were powerful cultivators in the Shackle Realm, and the ropes were no ordinary cords—not even an Awakened could snap them. As for the armed soldiers behind them, hardly any escaped unscathed; nearly a hundred lay dead or wounded.
Ten minutes later, the outcome of the battle was settled beyond doubt. The islanders had emerged victorious, though underestimating the firepower of modern weaponry had cost them a few casualties.
"So these are the weapons the mainland uses today?" Zhao Yuan examined a firearm with narrowed eyes, a chilly glint flashing in his gaze.
"Nothing more than bizarre contraptions and petty cleverness. For a person to be strong, they must focus on their own cultivation and evolution."
Zhang Yun scoffed in disdain. Seeing several of her fellow disciples wounded, her fury blazed even hotter: "Senior Brother Zhao Yuan, I must execute a few more of them!"
"Kill if you wish. There is nothing to be softhearted about—though those three must be kept alive."
The white-robed man from Fangzhang Island pointed toward Ice Fairy and her companions. They had come with a sect mission, after all. They could not kill everyone.
"Very well."
Zhang Yun stepped forward and proceeded to execute more than a dozen soldiers without the slightest hesitation.
At this sight, blood rushed to the eyes of Ice Fairy and the others. They strained against the cords binding them, but their struggles proved completely futile, leaving them no choice but to watch in agony.
"Don't waste your energy. These Immortal-Binding Ropes were crafted by our three sects from the bark of spiritual trees," Zhang Yun sneered as she cast a mocking glance at them. The Immortal-Binding Ropes could not truly bind immortals, of course, but subduing Awakening Realm cultivators was child's play.
"Speak! What is it you truly want?!"
Little Heavenly Master Chunyang inhaled deeply. Even as a man of the Dao, righteous indignation burned within him.
"Nothing much. Starting today, a portion of the mainland must belong to our Three Immortal Islands."
Zhao Yuan walked over and finally deigned to explain. His underlying meaning was unmistakable: from this day forward, the mainland authorities were to partition territories and cede control of them to the Three Immortal Islands. Of course, he knew negotiating with these three captives served little purpose. Thus, he ultimately decided to release one person to find someone in authority, while keeping the rest as hostages.
Hearing this, Little Heavenly Master Chunyang and Gu Sang reached a unanimous decision: let Ice Fairy leave. They wanted to spare her life, for none could predict the fate awaiting those left behind. But now was not the time for hesitation. Though they had already dispatched reports earlier, high command needed to know clearly that these visitors came with hostile intent.
Ice Fairy understood this and knew better than to be stubborn.
Once freed from the Immortal-Binding Rope, she looked at Little Heavenly Master Chunyang and the surviving soldiers. "Wait for me."
With that, she departed without delay, intent on reporting everything that had transpired to Elder Ji immediately.
"Remember, you have seven days at most," Zhang Yun from Yingzhou called after her, her voice carrying an icy warning.
With that, the three leaders fell silent, waiting on the shore. They also dispatched disciples to scout the surrounding area to learn of the current conditions on the mainland and prepare for what lay ahead.
As Ice Fairy departed and time ticked away, word of what had occurred here began to spread.
Upon the shores of the Bohai Sea, visitors from the Three Immortal Islands had arrived—arrogant and domineering, striking down soldiers at the slightest provocation, taking Little Heavenly Master Chunyang and others hostage, and demanding that the authorities surrender several territories!
And this news ignited a firestorm of discussion across the internet.
Chapter 112