Yuan Ming settled his parents and then entered the Stealing Heaven Tripod, sat on the White Jade Lotus Platform, and attempted to contact Yan Siyun.

Although he wished he could confront the White Bone Venerable and kill him right away, he was not blinded by his fury. He was well aware that his knowledge of the current situation in the East Sea was negligible; acting rashly might not only result in failing to find his target but might also expose his own weaknesses to the White Bone Venerable.

The most urgent task was to gather intelligence first.

Thus thinking, Yuan Ming searched for Yan Siyun's Desire Power aura near the Lotus Platform but failed to sense her prayers.

As Yan Siyun had been busy with many matters lately, she hadn't prayed often. It was not surprising that he couldn't sense her Desire Power.

After pondering for a moment, Yuan Ming applied the Soul Descent Secret Technique, and his Divine Sense descended upon Miao Xian.

He was in luck—Miao Xian was within the Hundred Pills Square at the moment.

Yan Siyun and her sisters were not at the Hundred Pills Square. Yuan Ming searched around but didn't see them. Miao Xian did not know where the two had gone, only that they had left a day earlier.

However, in a nearby Cave Mansion close to the Hundred Pills Square, Yuan Ming unexpectedly found Xu Che.

Xu Che had just successfully reached Core Formation; his internal Mana was still unstable, obviously having just broken through.

"Xu Che, do you know where Yan Siyun is now?" His voice resounded above Xu Che's head.

"Replying to my lord, after arriving at Dragon King City, I remained in seclusion to break through to Core Formation and do not know Master Yan's whereabouts," Xu Che replied, startled but respectful.

Yuan Ming grew more puzzled and asked about the current situation in the East Sea. Since Xu Che had recently arrived, the intelligence he had was minimal. Yuan Ming could only offer a few encouraging words and then withdrew his Divine Sense.

Yan Siyun's whereabouts were unknown, but locating people was Yuan Ming's forte.

He stepped out of the Stealing Heaven Tripod, lit a stick of Black Incense, and inserted it inside. It possessed Yan Siyun, allowing him to quickly discover her location—she was on Thousand Dragon Island.

Unfortunately, Black Incense Possession could only track a target's location, not communicate with them.

"Thousand Dragon Island... Well, that works. I have matters to discuss with Long Chong." Yuan Ming left a soul split on the White Jade Lotus Platform and summoned Lei Yu, then flew towards Thousand Dragon Island.

…

Find the source of this chapter at *.

Over the vast sea, a Flying Boat sped from the horizon, leaving behind a distinctly noticeable tunneling light.

About a hundred cultivators were on board the Flying Boat, mostly Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment practitioners, but only four, who were managing the Flying Boat, were at Core Formation.

The atmosphere on the Flying Boat was somewhat tense; most Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment disciples were dispirited, neither interested in cultivating nor talking—bearing expressions of worry and unease about the future.

In contrast, the four Core Formation cultivators also showed signs of anxiety but hid a trace of determination in their eyes.

"It's been so long, how come no one has come after us yet?" a dark-skinned Core Formation female cultivator suddenly asked, her face full of confusion.

"The people of the Wu Yue Sect aren't fools. Given our noisy escape, they must suspect a trick, but they won't just watch us get away. I reckon people will come after us soon," the oldest among them, a middle-aged male cultivator, speculated.

"I just hope nothing goes wrong on the Island Master's end," the dark-skinned female cultivator said, worried.

"Sigh, I don't understand why those Wu Yue Sect followers are so adamant about targeting us," a young male cultivator with a pale, beardless face sighed.

"It's probably because of the East Sea Alliance's recent rally call. We're too close to Karma Fire Island, and the Island Master and I were considering whether to relocate under the pretext of responding to the call, away from the Wu Yue Sect's territory. We just didn't expect them to act so quickly. Maybe... there's a traitor on the island," the middle-aged male cultivator said gravely.

"Ah? If that's the case, wouldn't our baiting plan also be exposed?" another long-haired female cultivator anxiously interjected.

"Don't worry, the Island Master has already taken precautions..." the middle-aged male cultivator began, then shook his head and stopped talking.

Seeing his reaction, the other three understood that he and the Island Master might have another plan, but the thought of having a traitor among the comrades they lived with daily unsettled them, adding to their worries.

Just then, the sky outside the Flying Boat suddenly changed, as dark clouds, forming from nowhere, enveloped the sun. Fierce winds howled across the sea, raising giant waves hundreds of feet high. Raindrops pelting the Flying Boat sounded like drums, startling the four Core Formation cultivators.

"Don't panic, steady your minds. This must be an illusion from the Wu Yue Sect!" the leading middle-aged male cultivator called out, regaining his composure instantly.

"Haha, knowing this, how do you think a few pathetic fish and shrimp like you could break the illusion?" With a burst of laughter, three towering figures in black robes appeared in mid-air, surrounding the Flying Boat.

Seeing this, the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment disciples stirred into chaos, and simultaneously, the four Core Formation cultivators discovered that they had lost control of the Flying Boat.

"It's fake, all fake, don't be fooled!" shouted the beardless young male cultivator, desperately pinching his spell, trying to control the unresponsive flying boat.

In the sky, the three Wu Yue Sect followers watched with interest, as if watching a monkey show, apparently in no rush to make a move.

Just then, the lead middle-aged male cultivator's eyes flashed with cold light. He suddenly reached for the Jade Pendant at his waist, and in an instant, a gentle breeze rushed towards his Sea of Consciousness, allowing him to see the surrounding scenery clearly.

This was a Magic Treasure he had prepared in advance, capable of clearing the Spirit Platform and dispelling the disturbances of illusion techniques.

The dark clouds and torrential rain disappeared, and the giants in the sky reverted to normal human size, although their positions didn't change much. However, their flying boat was now firmly bound by a dark black chain and completely immobilized.

Seeing this, the middle-aged male cultivator took decisive action. Pinching a spell with his right hand, a small needle instantly flew out from his sleeve robe, catching them off guard and directly piercing the head of a Wu Yue Sect follower.

The next instant, the head of the Wu Yue Sect follower burst open like a watermelon, with brain matter and blood splattering across the sky, greatly startling the other two.

"Senior Brother Hua!" the Wu Yue Sect follower on the left exclaimed in shock.

Hearing this, the middle-aged male cultivator, Zhuang Lin, paused momentarily, recognizing the voice as identical to that of his dark-skinned junior sister.

"Zhuang Lin, well done! I knew you had the heart to join our Wu Yue Sect. I accept your declaration of allegiance today!" A loud laugh from a Wu Yue Sect follower then echoed from the sky.

Simultaneously, the surroundings before Zhuang Lin once again transformed, as dark clouds and torrential rain reappeared, and the sky once again harbored three giant figures. The Wu Yue Sect follower who had just been killed now appeared right before him, even dressed in his junior brother's clothes.

Next to the body, the dark-skinned female cultivator collapsed in tears, and when she turned her head to look at the middle-aged male cultivator, her eyes were filled with irrational hatred.

"No, this isn't—Junior Sister, I..."

Zhuang Lin widened his eyes in disbelief, grabbing the Jade Pendant on his waist, attempting to explain, only to find the pendant in his hand completely differed from the one he had secretly kept.

In that instant, he remembered meeting a junior brother when leaving the island; they had had brief physical contact, which now seemed rather deliberate.

"Liu Si, it was you!" Zhuang Lin roared, his voice filled with anger.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Zhuang, don't rush, don't rush, I still have one more thing to show you." The Wu Yue Sect follower laughed loudly in the sky, tossing a spherical object into the flying boat.

Zhuang Lin looked closely and saw the spherical object was actually the Island Master's head.

"Your plot was indeed clever, openly having you, the Deputy Island Master, lead a team to escape, drawing attention, while the Island Master secretly led another group of elite disciples to flee. Most crucially, you left a true elite group on the island, covered by an Illusion Array, waiting for us to be distracted by your two operations before you attempted to escape. Unfortunately, you didn't know about my Soul Cultivation Divine Power. The arrangements on the island were entirely clear to my Soul Rats, and in the end, your efforts were in vain." The lead Wu Yue Sect follower chuckled, dropping another head, belonging to Junior Sister Qiu hidden on the island.

Zhuang Lin stared blankly at the two heads, their faces still etched with terror, as tears unknowingly streamed down his cheeks.

"Heaven has abandoned me, Qiuxiang!" he cried out to the sky, nearly spitting blood.

Seeing this, the Wu Yue Sect followers laughed even harder. But just then, a furious shout suddenly pierced through the heavens and earth.

"Wu Yue Sect followers? Die!"

The next moment, the clouds vanished, the storm abruptly halted, and all illusions returned to nothingness.

Zhuang Lin had yet to recover when he saw in the sky a dazzling sword light slashing down, splitting the heavens like the creation of the world, even causing the waves to roll back, leaving a long sword mark on the sea surface.

In an instant, the leading Wu Yue Sect follower was cleaved in two, the body vanishing into thin air before even hitting the ground.

The other two black-robed cultivators were each entwined in purple-black vines, covering every inch of their skin.

As the illusion disappeared, Zhuang Lin also recognized the person behind the three Wu Yue Sect followers—it was the same Liu Si who had swapped his Jade Pendant.

By now, Liu Si was paralyzed with fear, trembling uncontrollably. It took him a long while to regain his senses and think of fleeing, but just as he turned around, he saw standing behind him a handsome young man, his gaze filled with coldness.

"You..." Yuan Ming glanced at Liu Si's clothes, then at the clothing of Zhuang Lin inside the flying boat, noting they were of the same style.

"Elder, he is a traitor of this island, do not let him escape!" Not knowing where the courage came from, Zhuang Lin quickly shouted.

Hearing this, Yuan Ming's eyes grew even colder, possibly reminded of something, and with a cold snort, Liu Si instantly found himself plunged into an illusion.

Yuan Ming grabbed Liu Si by the collar, as if lifting a corpse, and slowly descended into the flying boat, throwing Liu Si in front of Zhuang Lin.

"Since he is a traitor, you should be the one to handle him."