CHAPTER 105: AN HONOURED GUEST

Jaxon stood on the deck of the Azure Eagle. The wind was weak and smelt of nothing but salt and emptiness. He hated this place.

The Endless Ocean was a vast, boring expanse of blue, a dead zone that separated the real world from the forgotten lands known as the Wastelands.

For some reason, the ocean did not have any life forms capable of using spiritual energy.

A team of outer disciples, weak and useless but still bearing the sigil of the Azure Sky Palace, had been sent to investigate a strange energy pulse.

They had all died. Their life tokens had shattered. How could they die? Something, or someone, in the Wastelands had the power to kill cultivators from the Mainland.

Jaxon found the idea ridiculous. The Wastelands were a joke, a primitive backwater filled with weaklings whose cultivation barely reached the level of a fool soldier back home.

For an entire team to be wiped out was an embarrassment to the sect.

So, he had been sent. Not just to investigate, but to punish. And, more importantly, to find the source of that energy pulse.

Elder Jian already had his eyes on that treasure; otherwise, Jaxon would have wanted to claim it himself. After all, it was his right as a core disciple of the Azure Sky Palace to own anything in the Azure Kingdom.

He was a Tier 5 cultivator, a master of the Soul Forging realm. His power was immense. He could crush mountains and boil seas. In this primitive land, he was a god.

The mission felt like a waste of his time. He should have been back at the sect, competing for resources, challenging other geniuses, not babysitting a forgotten corner of the world.

"Young Master Jaxon," a junior disciple said, bowing his head respectfully. "We have been sailing for a month. There is still no sign of land. The maps we have of this region are ancient and unreliable."

"Continue east," Jaxon said without turning. "The energy pulse came from that direction. There is land there. Find it."

The disciple bowed again and scurried away. Jaxon sighed, a sound of pure boredom. He looked out at the endless water, his mind already calculating the rewards he would demand from the sect for this tedious journey.

It was then that the lookout in the crow’s nest let out a sharp cry.

"Something ahead! On the horizon!"

Jaxon’s head snapped up, a flicker of interest finally breaking through his boredom. He walked to the prow of the ship, his golden robes fluttering in the wind. He squinted, his powerful eyes easily piercing the distance.

He saw it. At first, it looked like a small, dark island. But it was moving. It was moving with a slow, steady, and unstoppable pace.

As the Azure Eagle drew closer, its true form became clear, and even Jaxon, with his pride and power, felt a genuine shock.

It was not an island. It was a creature.

A being of such impossible scale that it defied all logic. Its lower body was submerged in the deep ocean, but its torso and head rose high above the clouds.

It was a walking mountain of black rock and shimmering starlight.

"A Stone Golem..." Jaxon whispered, his voice a mixture of awe and disbelief.

Stone Golems were creatures of legend, beings from a bygone era that were said to be as powerful as Tier 8 cultivators.

They were not supposed to exist anymore. To see one here, in this forgotten ocean, was like finding a living dragon in a farmer’s pond.

He had read that every Stone Golem was at least a Tyrant.

A cold, primal fear, an emotion Jaxon had not felt since he was a child, gripped his heart. A true Tyrant would be a being far beyond his own power.

Even as a Tier 5 expert, he would be nothing more than an insect to such a creature. The arrogance he had felt moments before evaporated, replaced by the stark, cold reality that he might die here, in this empty ocean, without anyone ever knowing.

’Did this monster kill those idiots?’

His training, the ingrained discipline of a core disciple, took over. He pushed the fear down. He reached into his spatial pouch and took out a small, intricate compass made of silver and jade.

It was a Beast Spirit Compass, a rare artefact that could analyse the spiritual energy and cultivation level of any monster. He had to know what he was facing.

He pointed the compass at the colossal creature. The jade needle began to spin wildly, so fast it was a blur. Then, it settled. A series of faint, glowing runes appeared on its surface.

Jaxon read them, and his fear did not vanish. It was replaced by a deep confusion that was almost as unsettling.

’It is not alive? What the hell.’

The compass was clear. The creature was a Titan, yes, but its life energy was impossibly low. Its cultivation was only at Stage 2. High-level, yes, but still just Stage 2.

But that was not what confused him. It was the aura. The compass showed that the creature’s aura was thin, almost non-existent for a being of its lineage.

It lacked the deep, ancient, and overwhelming pressure of a true primordial being. It felt... hollow.

The gears in Jaxon’s mind turned frantically. He was a core disciple for a reason. He was not just strong; he was intelligent.

He pieced the impossible facts together. A juvenile Titan, a creature of immeasurable value, was being used for simple travel across the ocean.

Its wild, primordial aura had been suppressed, a feat that would require a level of power and skill that was far beyond his own.

He doubted even the Sect ancestors could do that.

The conclusion was terrifying. The person riding this creature was not a lucky primitive. This was a being from a background so powerful, so ancient, that they could use a Titan as a common horse.

They were from a family or a sect that could likely crush his own Azure Sky Palace with a single thought.

The last remnants of his arrogance died. The mission, the treasure, the punishment—all of it was meaningless now. His only goal was survival.

He could not afford to offend such a being. He had to be cautious. He had to be respectful. He had to befriend them.

"Get closer," Jaxon commanded the ship’s helmsman, his voice now quiet and tight with a tension that had nothing to do with excitement.

"Slowly. Do not show any hostile intent. Prepare the finest spiritual tea and fruits we have. We may have an honoured guest."

The junior disciples looked at him, confused by his sudden change in demeanour, but they obeyed without question.

The Azure Eagle glided through the water, approaching the walking Titan with a deliberate, respectful slowness.

Jaxon stood at the prow, his mind racing. He smoothed his golden robes, wiped the arrogant expression from his face, and replaced it with a calm, friendly smile.

As the ship drew nearer, he focused on the figures on the Titan’s hand. He saw a man dressed in simple grey clothes.

He seemed ordinary, but Jaxon couldn’t get a clear look at his face; it was as if a subtle, shifting veil obscured his features except shape of the face, making them hard to focus on.

Jaxon knew this was a high-level concealment art.

Then he noticed the snake.

A small, silver snake was curled around the man’s wrist like a bracelet.

It was a beautiful creature, its scales shimmering, but it gave off no spiritual energy at all. It was just a snake. Or so it seemed. Jaxon knew better than to trust what he saw.

But the most terrifying thing was what he could not see. His spiritual sense, the powerful tool of a Tier 5 expert, swept across the Titan’s hand.

He could sense the man. He could sense the snake. But he could also sense a blank spot.

A void.

An area right next to the man where his spiritual sense simply... vanished. It was not empty; it was a hole in his perception, a place that was being actively concealed by a power so profound that he could not even begin to understand it.

A cold sweat beaded on his forehead. There was another person there, someone so powerful they could erase themselves from his very senses.

He was flying blind into a situation he did not understand, facing a power he could not measure.

The Azure Eagle finally came to a stop a few hundred metres from the Titan’s hand. Jaxon took a deep breath, pushing down his fear.

He cupped his hands in a formal, respectful salute.

He projected his voice, but this time, it was not a boom of authority. It was a clear, respectful greeting.

"Greetings, fellow Daoist," he said, his friendly smile fixed in place. "I am Jaxon, a disciple of the Azure Sky Palace from the Mainland. My ship was on a long journey, and we have been lost in this vast ocean for many weeks. It is a great fortune to meet another traveller in such a lonely place."

He paused, hoping his polite lie would be accepted. He looked at the man in the grey cloak.

The man stood up slowly. He was younger than Jaxon had expected, with sharp features. The small, silver snake on his wrist lifted its head, its own black eyes seeming to stare right into Jaxon’s soul.

Then, the man spoke. His voice was calm, and it carried across the water without any effort.

"The Azure Sky Palace?" the man said, a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his lips. "Never heard of it."