novelraw Chapter 318: Departure
Chapter 318: Departure
After leaving, Long Xuan boarded his ship and set sail toward Xue Island, one of the ten major islands in the Black Sand Archipelago. Xue Island housed a teleportation formation leading to the Central Lands.
All ten major islands had teleportation formation connecting to the Central Lands, but Xue Island was the nearest one to him, so it was the most practical destination.
At the speed of his Azure Dragon, it would only take ten days to reach Xue Island. The 'Azure Dragon' was a backup ship modeled after the Shenlong Ship, a testament to Long Xuan's cautious nature.
His precautionary mindset led him to wonder: ‘What if the Shenlong sank at sea?’ Thus, having a backup ship was a matter of survival.
From the wreckage of a massive ship found in the Death Sea, Long Xuan salvaged a substantial quantity of high-grade shipbuilding materials, enough to construct several backup ships.
With the help of Di Xin, the many-handed monster, building the Azure Dragon didn’t take much time.
The Azure Dragon was identical to the Shenlong Ship in both design and performance, with the only difference being the dragonhead at the prow, modeled after the appearance of Xiaoqing, the azure dragon. Hence, the ship was named the Azure Dragon.
......
Deep into the Night on Tianxing Island
By now, it had been a year since Long Xuan’s clone, posing as a third-grade alchemist, had infiltrated the Yun clan. Over this year, the Yun clan had spared no effort, selling off large parts of their assets to gather the materials needed for the Tribulation Gu Recipe.
Indeed, Long Xuan had tirelessly worked on the recipe, completing it 100%. The Yun clan, pooling all its resources, managed to collect every required material for him.
However, this left the Yun clan in dire financial straits. Their assets were sold off entirely, and all the clan members lived in poverty, barely making ends meet.
This apparent destitution was, however, a strategic ruse.
The four rival clans on the island had been nibbling away at the Yun clan’s holdings. To buy time, the Yun clan was forced to sell off large portions of their assets, creating the illusion of weakness.
What the Yun clan truly needed was time. With a large stockpile of Breakthrough Pills, the longer they could delay, the more Gu Kings they could cultivate.
Engaging in an early conflict with the other four clans would have been a foolish move. Thus, the Yun clan continually showed weakness, retreating whenever the others advanced.
They even deliberately abandoned certain assets to sow discord among the other four clans, causing them to quarrel over the spoils.
In their view, the lost assets were only temporary. Once the rival clans were eliminated, everything would not only be reclaimed but would also serve as an opportunity to seize even more wealth.
This deliberate delay secured the Yun clan a year of peaceful development.
After a year, the Yun clan’s elderly patriarch finally succumbed to his injuries and passed away, plunging the entire clan into mourning.
When news spread that the Yun clan’s last peak-level Gu King had died, the other four clans couldn’t contain themselves. They joined forces and launched a night raid, determined to annihilate the Yun clan that very night.
Long Xuan was sound asleep in a luxurious room when he was abruptly awakened by the sound of intense fighting outside. Shouts of battle, cries of pain, and the flickering glow of fire filled the night.
Startled, he sat up in bed, now wide awake.
“What’s happening? Why is it so chaotic outside?”
Quickly putting on his clothes, he ran outside, only to see flames lighting up the surroundings and battles raging everywhere.
Using the Eye of Heavenly Secret to see far into the distance, Long Xuan quickly assessed the situation, his expression turning odd.
The four rival clans must be insane, he thought. When the Yun clan had only one dying Gu King, they didn’t dare attack. But now that the Yun clan had over twenty Gu Kings, they charged in howling. Was this not seeking death?
From his vantage point, he could see the bewildered expressions of the Gu Kings from the four rival clans as they wondered where all these Gu Kings from the Yun clan had suddenly appeared from.
The Yun clan now had one and a half times the number of Gu Kings compared to their enemies. In such a scenario, the Gu Kings of the Yun clan could form two-versus-one battles, leaving the four clans with no chance of victory.
To make matters worse for their opponents, the Yun clan’s once-dying peak-level Gu King had “resurrected,” while the four clans had no peak-level Gu Kings among them. Victory was impossible.
Their assault was doomed to end in tragedy.
Long Xuan sighed and shook his head, silently mourning the foolish Gu Kings.
Now that the Yun clan was in utter chaos, with no one paying attention to him, it was the perfect opportunity for him to slip away unnoticed.
Surveying the area, he identified the most chaotic spot and stealthily made his way toward it…
......
Ten Months Later: Xue Island
Xue Island was one of the major ten islands in the Black Sand Archipelago. Dominated entirely by the Xue clan, the island was named after them.
As one of the ten overlords of the Black Sand Archipelago, the Xue clan controlled many surrounding islands, large and small, which relied on Xue Island for support.
The Xue clan was a formidable power in the Black Sand Archipelago, with an unknown number of Gu Kings and Gu cultivators at its command.
However, over the past year, the Xue clan had encountered significant trouble. Rumor had it they had obtained the Repair Insect, thrusting them into the spotlight.
On this day, Xue Island was suddenly attacked by a mysterious and powerful force, throwing the island into chaos.
Arriving aboard the Azure Dragon, Long Xuan jumped onto the island only to find it engulfed in smoke and the sounds of battle. He was stunned.
“What is going on? Tianxing Island was fighting, and now this place is too? Why does trouble always come on the day I arrive?”
His expression darkened as anxiety flickered across his face. Without hesitation, he rushed toward the teleportation formation that led to the Central Lands.
He could only pray that the teleportation formation on this island was still operational; otherwise, he would face significant trouble.
Although there were ten teleportation formation connecting the Black Sand Archipelago to the Central Lands, the formation on Xue Island was the closest to him.
If the teleportation formation of the Black Sand Archipelago were rendered unusable due to war, not only would he waste the ten days he had already spent traveling, but he would also need to spend even more time reaching other islands with functional formation.
Unfortunately, he didn't have that much time.
He had already wasted ten days, and only twenty days remained until the Earth Spirit Fruit matured.
If he spent more time traveling to other islands, there would be no chance of making it to the Teng clan in time. The plan to acquire the Earth Spirit Fruit would inevitably fall apart.
Long Xuan cursed under his breath. Plans were always no match for unforeseen changes; any kind of unexpected event could happen.
Xue Island had been free of war for centuries, yet today, it was embroiled in conflict. What terrible luck!
With a grim expression, Long Xuan sprinted toward the teleportation hall maintained by the Xue clan on the island.
As soon as he arrived, his face darkened.
The area outside the teleportation hall was packed with people, their angry curses filling the air.
Judging from the scene, it was highly likely that something had gone wrong with the teleportation formation.
“What’s going on? Did the invading forces destroy this teleportation formation?” Long Xuan grabbed a passerby and asked.
He furrowed his brows deeply. When he entered Xue City, he noticed that its protective formation had already been breached, allowing him to walk into the city without any resistance.
However, the invaders were only targeting the Xue clan's Gu cultivators and had not harmed those of other families on the island.
Given these circumstances, it was entirely possible that the mysterious force had destroyed the teleportation formation.
“The cost of building a teleportation formation is astronomical. That force wouldn’t have willingly destroyed it,” the passerby replied.
“They only killed all the Xue clan’s Gu cultivators guarding the formation and then stole all the teleportation talismans.”
“You must understand—without a teleportation talisman, anyone who steps into the teleportation formation will die.”
“While the formation appears intact, it’s essentially useless. Without talismans, no one can use it to teleport to the distant Central Lands.”
“Now, everyone here is stranded. And we don’t know whether the mysterious force that wiped out the Xue clan will eventually turn its attention to the rest of us. It’s maddening!” the passerby sighed.
“You’re saying the Xue clan can’t hold out and will be annihilated today?” Long Xuan asked in shock.
The Xue clan wasn’t weak. As one of the top ten powers in the Black Sand Archipelago, they controlled countless medium and small islands, with an immense number of Gu cultivators at their command.
The idea of such a massive powerhouse being wiped out in a single day was almost unthinkable.
“There’s always someone stronger,” the passerby said. “In this world, there are forces far more powerful than the Xue clan.”
“This mysterious force clearly isn’t local—it comes from a much larger domain, and they have an even greater number of Gu Kings.”
“The city’s protective formation was breached in less than a day. Do you really think the Xue clan can still hold on?”
“The Xue clan is destined to be eradicated today.”
Hearing this, Long Xuan glanced toward the battlefield and saw that the Xue clan’s Gu cultivators were indeed being overwhelmingly defeated. It was clear they wouldn’t last much longer.
He couldn’t be sure whether the mysterious force, after wiping out the Xue clan, would target the other families’ Gu cultivators on the island—or even massacre the entire island’s population.
His anxiety peaked. He knew he couldn’t stay here and had to leave as quickly as possible.
Without hesitation, Long Xuan pushed his way into the teleportation hall, relying on his formidable physical strength to shove people aside. Angry shouts erupted behind him.
While it was true that the teleportation formation couldn’t transport people without talismans, Long Xuan was an exception.
The reason others required talismans was that the spatial pressure during teleportation over long distances was too great for the human body to withstand. The talismans were needed to neutralize this pressure.
But Long Xuan wasn’t afraid of spatial pressure.
His Water Bear Gu was famously resistant to pressure.
Water bears could endure crushing pressures strong enough to deform steel.
Confident in his physical resilience and the dual protection of his Water Bear Gu and Heavenly Dream Soul Armor, Long Xuan was certain he could teleport to the Central Lands even without a talisman.
Of course, this was only feasible because the distance between Xue Island and the Central Lands wasn’t insurmountably far. If he had to teleport to the Central Region, the distance would be so great that even Long Xuan would have to reconsider going without a talisman.
As he rushed into the teleportation hall, Long Xuan was surprised to find that he wasn’t the only one attempting to teleport without a talisman.
A handsome young man suddenly transformed into a puddle of water and flowed into the teleportation formation, vanishing in an instant.
It seemed that a liquid form could withstand spatial pressure. The young man must have relied on this ability to survive teleportation.
Seeing this, Long Xuan’s pupils contracted.
A body that could transform into liquid form—that was the signature ability of Shui Juanyun!
Instinctively, Long Xuan suspected this person was Shui Juanyun.
However, the person’s appearance was completely different.
It was possible Shui Juanyun had disguised himself or taken over someone else’s body.
Of course, there was also the possibility that this person wasn’t Shui Juanyun at all, though the likelihood was low.
The liquid transformation ability was incredibly powerful, essentially invincible at the same level. Not just anyone could possess it. Such individuals were exceedingly rare worldwide.
But there was no time to dwell on this. The situation was urgent, and Long Xuan couldn’t afford to guess the young man’s identity. He immediately followed him into the teleportation formation and disappeared.
As soon as Long Xuan entered, the teleportation formation dimmed, its light vanishing entirely.
The formation had consumed all its energy during his teleportation.
He was the last person to use the teleportation formation. Everyone else was left behind, and the hall erupted into furious curses.