The fried rice was finished by Liu Sinan, who ate not the taste, but the memories.

“Big Brother Liu.”

Jun Changxiao said, “Can you tell me your story?”

Since the meal had suited his taste, the next step was to press the advantage and find an opening to swing the small hoe.

“I have no story.”

Liu Sinan gently set down the spoon and said, “Thank you for your hospitality, Sect Master Jun.”

“Whoosh!”

Shouldering the stone coffin, he stood and left.

No way? He’s leaving just like that?

Jun Changxiao shook his head, went downstairs to settle the bill, and by the time he walked out of the restaurant, Liu Sinan had already reached the end of the street, his retreating figure gradually disappearing into the crowd.

“Haha.”

The System gloated, “You treated him for nothing!”

Jun Changxiao said, “This is a very graceful man. I believe he’ll remember this meal in his heart.”

“Hmph.”

The System snorted coldly.

Jun Changxiao left Sea King City.

Next, he would wander aimlessly throughout the West Sea, seeing if he could accidentally find any clues.

On a reef by the seaside, Liu Sinan sat cross-legged, placing the stone coffin in front of him. Gazing at the boundless sea, his heart still reminisced about the hundred mixed feelings the fried rice had brought him.

…

Mowang Domain.

The song “A Spray of Plum Blossoms” continued to swirl around the Demon Ancestor’s head.

At this moment, he stood in the completely empty equipment forging workshop, one hand covering his chest, one hand bracing against the wall. Drops of remaining blood splattered down, pooling into a lake.

“Why…”

“Why is this…”

This Demon Ancestor was strong but excessively cautious, leaving many contingency plans before death, all for the sake of making a comeback in the future!

But reality was very cruel. The soldiers and generals existing in Mowang Domain, and even all the forging facilities, were all gone—not even a single hair was left behind!

A blow!

A crushing blow!

Fortunately, the reforged body was very strong.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have probably died from coughing up blood long ago.

“Who is it!”

The Demon Ancestor clenched both fists, his face twisted and veins bulging as he raised his head and roared, “Who exactly is it!”

If rage could be measured numerically, it would definitely be off the charts right now!

Half an hour later, he toured the other cities completely, confirming that the million Mowang troops had all vanished. Only then did he resign himself and return to the main city.

Though his heart was in unbearable pain, life must go on. As the dignified lord of the Mowang Clan, how could he be defeated by a temporary setback!

Though the Demon Ancestor’s current strength wasn’t much, he still had the heart of a peak-level expert—able to withstand not only great storms and waves, but even shocking torrents and raging billows!

No demon army?

No matter!

No equipment?

No matter!

As long as he recovered his peak cultivation, he could still make a comeback!

“Ten Great Immortal Sects!”

“All the major clans!”

“And that Eternal Sect that stole my demon body!”

The Demon Ancestor stepped into the formation pattern that would return him to Lingyin Island, his eyes flashing with towering fury as he said, “You will all eventually understand what true hell means!”

“All laws submit to me alone, stars shift across the sky!”

“Whoosh—”

A stream of light flashed out, but the Demon Ancestor still stood in place, not transported away. Finally, losing emotional control, he clutched his head and roared, “What the hell is this situation now!”

A series of mental blows—simply too fatal.

…

West Sea waters.

Several Zangyue Pavilion members responsible for procurement, guided by special instruments, landed on Lingyin Island’s beach, then released their spiritual senses to observe the surroundings with extreme vigilance. After confirming no one had followed them, they merged into the invisible formation.

About a quarter-hour later.

The space above the sea slightly distorted, and the Tonggu Warship gradually appeared.

Sitting at the bow, Jun Changxiao crossed his legs and said, “These people are being sneaky and suspicious. They’re really quite dubious.”

Holy crap!

He actually followed them!

Without any buildup at all, he just cut straight to the chase and found the Demon Ancestor’s hiding place!

As it happened, it was quite a coincidence.

Jun Changxiao was wandering aimlessly in the sea area when he spotted several martial artists flying at extreme speed across the ocean from afar, so on a whim he followed them.

At this time, he didn’t know that those he was following were actually Zangyue Pavilion members, much less that the island ahead concealed the Demon Ancestor.

“Whoosh!”

Withdrawing the Tonggu Warship, he flew over alone.

However, to Jun Changxiao’s astonishment, just as he was about to reach the beach, what lay before him instantly turned into ocean, and the entire island… disappeared!

“A mirage?”

“Impossible. Those martial artists clearly went in just now—it absolutely can’t be fake!”

Gou Sheng hovered in midair, stroking his chin as he began to think.

“Could it be that there’s a formation automatically shielding the island?” the System guessed.

Jun Changxiao shook his head. “There was indeed formation energy just now, but it’s gone now. The entire island is like it evaporated.”

He waited in place for a while. After confirming it truly didn’t exist anymore, he summoned the Tonggu Warship and began searching the nearby sea area.

An island suddenly disappeared.

This aroused Jun Changxiao’s intense interest.

After searching for about two days, Gou Sheng finally discovered that island again in another sea area. Calculating from the original position, they were separated by at least several thousand li. If he weren’t very close, if he hadn’t seen it with his naked eyes, his spiritual sense would hardly be able to detect it.

“Very strange!”

Jun Changxiao thought to himself, “There might be treasure inside!”

“Whoosh!”

When he approached again, the entire island once more mysteriously disappeared!

“I just don’t believe I can’t find you!”

Jun Changxiao’s temper flared. He piloted the Tonggu Warship and continued searching throughout the West Sea waters. As a result, over half a month he found it eight times, but each time he was about to land, it would disappear, as if it didn’t want strangers to approach.

After coming up empty once again, Gou Sheng didn’t get angry. He took out a map of the West Sea waters and marked the current position. The several previous locations where he’d discovered it also had the same marks.

“As expected.”

“Separated by two thousand li again.”

Over the past half month, Jun Changxiao discovered that each time the small island disappeared and reappeared, it was always at a fixed distance. Moreover, looking at the map, it presented a circular pattern, seemingly containing a certain law.

“The first time was here, the second time was here…”

“A clock!”

“Clockwise rotation!”

To verify his guess, Jun Changxiao piloted the Tonggu Warship two thousand li from the last disappearance point, positioning himself at eleven o’clock on the map.

Sure enough!

After a day and night, the space in the sea area below distorted, and the small island shrouded by some kind of energy gradually appeared.

Jun Changxiao didn’t rush over immediately. Instead, he traveled to the first point marked on the map. Two days later, he saw the island appear again. Only then did he confirm with certainty, “As expected, it’s moving clockwise at fixed positions!”

“What good is finding the pattern?”

The System said, “As long as the host approaches, the island will disappear.”

“This definitely relates to the internal formation. I can set up a formation at another position to intercept it,” Jun Changxiao said.

“Whoosh!”

Jun Changxiao flew toward the one o’clock position and began setting up a formation.

Though his technique wasn’t as strong as Old Man Taixuan’s, at least it was presentable.

Moreover, this time the focus wasn’t on destroying the island, but intercepting it. Even if it just bought him one second, that would work!

“Whoosh whoosh!”

A few days later, the island automatically rotated to the fixed position. Because a formation existed on the sea surface, it produced an intense collision of lightning and sparks, then disappeared with a “whoosh,” the time being exactly one second.

Though Lingyin Island escaped danger, that one-second delay allowed Jun Changxiao to seize the opportunity, his feet landing steadily on the beach.

He’s here!

Gou Sheng is here!

…

Mowang Domain.

The Demon Ancestor sat cross-legged outside the formation, breathing and circulating energy.

The previous transmission failure was because he’d coughed up too much blood and his body was a bit weak, so he needed to recuperate before returning to Lingyin Island.

—