“Whoosh, whoosh…”

The fishy-salty sea breeze blew, and under the night sky, the ink-blue seawater surged toward the shore, beating against the dark black reefs and making waves of sounds.

At this moment, it was still nighttime.

The moon in the sky was already hanging slanted over the surface, golden yellow.

A brilliant white light flashed past, and the space above the entire sea island seemed to distort for an instant.

The white light dispersed.

Jian Chou forcibly suppressed her feeling of dizziness and immediately looked in all directions—

All those earth-shaking scenes from before had vanished, replaced by the calm and vast ocean, the fishy-salty sea breeze, and occasionally the cries of seabirds drifting past her ears.

Fudao Shanren was not here.

A lonely island on the sea, surrounded by vast ocean on all sides.

As far as the eye could see, there were only scattered trees on the island, and not far away seemed to be a naturally formed small stone stream, with water reflecting the bright moon above, creating shallow ripples.

Jian Chou’s legs felt somewhat weak, unable to stand steadily.

The other four people who had appeared here with her weren’t much better off, all with pale faces, whether frightened by what happened earlier in the mountain belly of Qingfeng Nunnery or due to discomfort from the teleportation array.

“Senior Sister Jian Chou, are you alright?”

Nie Xiaowan, whose hand was still held in Jian Chou’s palm, felt Jian Chou’s trembling and weakness and turned to ask her.

Jian Chou raised her hand to press her temples and shook her head: “I’m fine.”

She hadn’t expected Nie Xiaowan to take the initiative to talk to her, and couldn’t help but curve her lips in a slight smile.

Nie Xiaowan blinked: “Teleportation arrays cross space—normal people feel uncomfortable. You should sit for a while. You’ll feel better after sitting.”

Saying this, she reached out to support Jian Chou’s arm and pointed to a large rock not far from Jian Chou’s feet, indicating for her to sit down.

Jian Chou indeed felt somewhat unsteady, and after hesitating, finally sat down.

“Thank you.”

She thanked Nie Xiaowan lightly.

Nie Xiaowan’s ears reddened, somewhat unaccustomed to this.

She looked at Jian Chou curiously for quite some time, then withdrew her gaze: “You seem different from all the people I know.”

“Different?”

Jian Chou didn’t know what the people she knew were like, but…

“Anyway, I’m just like this.”

“…”

Nie Xiaowan’s pink lips parted slightly, staring blankly at Jian Chou, as if she hadn’t expected her to say such a thing.

Jian Chou didn’t explain much, just looked ahead.

Xu Lan’er, Zhang Sui, and Zhou Kuang, after experiencing the initial discomfort, had quickly recovered. Their faces showed no major abnormalities as they separately explored different parts of the sea island.

The three people went in three different directions.

Before long, they returned.

Jian Chou noticed that after these three people stood still, they exchanged glances, and all their expressions looked poor.

“Has something happened?”

What Jian Chou was worried about now was only Fudao Shanren. After all, moments ago, they had still been in great crisis. Now that they had reached the sea island, what she needed to do was wait here.

Worry was useless since she couldn’t help anyway.

However…

Had Xu Lan’er and the others encountered some trouble?

The abnormality Jian Chou noticed, Nie Xiaowan also observed, so she turned to look at them as well.

Xu Lan’er’s expression was very ugly, Zhang Sui was also tightly pursing his lips with a stormy face, and Zhou Kuang was scratching his head in a strange and troubled manner, slamming his great axe into the ground.

“I always feel something’s not right about this place… What should we do?”

The first sentence answered Jian Chou, but the second was asking everyone.

Xu Lan’er said with an iron-blue face: “The Thirteen Islands of the Immortal Path—we should have been teleported to the thirteenth island!”

“When the teleportation array activated earlier, we happened to encounter that beast charging the hidden realm gates. There must have been fluctuations that affected the original teleportation array, and we were sent to the wrong place.” When Zhang Sui spoke, he was still relatively calm. “When I was in my sect, I had seen maps of the Thirteen Islands of the Immortal Path. This is the twelfth island, called Zhanye.”

“Then we can continue east to get there?”

Zhou Kuang immediately understood and was extremely excited.

However, Jian Chou was completely confused and didn’t quite understand.

Nie Xiaowan leaned gently against her ear and said, “Actually, from the mortal world, going straight east across the sea, you can reach Shijiu Zhou. But many people get lost in the vast ocean, and the Thirteen Islands of the Immortal Path guide people in the correct direction. Starting from the east coast of the human island, there are thirteen larger islands arranged in an east-west direction. Walking through these thirteen islands gives one the chance to seek immortals and ask about the Dao.”

So mortals thought this was the immortal path.

Thus called the Thirteen Islands of the Immortal Path.

Jian Chou thought of those legends about immortal mountains beyond the seas, then looked at this lonely island beneath her feet, and vaguely understood.

Those stories passed down for millions of years were just the beginning of the immortal path.

These immortal mountain islands were just the difficult beginning.

With Nie Xiaowan’s introduction, Jian Chou immediately understood their situation.

Originally, the teleportation array was supposed to send them to the last station of the immortal path, so they could easily reach Shijiu Zhou. But unexpectedly, the teleportation array malfunctioned and dropped them halfway. They still had to go east to reach the next island to arrive at their original destination.

That is to say, the place where Jian Chou and Fudao Shanren had agreed to meet was also not here.

Thinking about this and looking around, she knew she now faced an even greater predicament.

While Jian Chou was talking with Nie Xiaowan, the three people over there were also discussing countermeasures.

By now, Nie Xiaowan had finished speaking, Jian Chou had understood, and the three people had also finished their discussion, all walking over here.

Jian Chou raised her head to look at them.

Standing in front was Xu Lan’er.

She looked down at Jian Chou sitting on the ground, her gaze flickering over the nine-section green bamboo held in Jian Chou’s arms, then said: “Senior Sister, Junior Sister Nie, you both heard what we said just now, right?”

Jian Chou heard that this “senior sister” was called extremely awkwardly, with some reluctance and unwillingness.

Finding this curious, Jian Chou said nothing and just nodded.

Nie Xiaowan also said, “When I was in my sect, I also heard sect elders mention the Thirteen Islands of the Immortal Path. I heard that only the thirteenth island has a teleportation array directly to Shijiu Zhou. Now we’re trapped here and don’t understand this Zhanye Island at all. If there’s a teleportation array here, it might save us some trouble.”

Saying this, she looked toward Zhang Sui.

Zhang Sui was the one with the highest cultivation and most extensive knowledge here, but he shook his head: “Teleportation arrays are only for Shijiu Zhou cultivators to use. How would the twelfth island have one? Even if there were, I wouldn’t know. We should think about how to get to the thirteenth island.”

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

There were five of them here, all at the Foundation Establishment stage. To safely cross the vast ocean—how easy could that be?

The seabed wasn’t without demon beasts, and with bad luck, encountering a sea storm, they would be swallowed without even a trace.

Zhou Kuang was still optimistic, chuckling and touching his nose: “If there’s no other way, we can only fly over. We’re all Foundation Establishment cultivators anyway, so it shouldn’t be a big problem, right?”

Foundation Establishment cultivators could use special magical artifacts for artifact flight. Zhou Kuang thought this way and said so.

But the other several people all showed hesitant expressions.

Nie Xiaowan secretly glanced at Jian Chou but said nothing.

Zhang Sui also seemed to want to ask something, but ultimately didn’t speak.

Finally, it was Xu Lan’er who wasn’t polite. With a smile on her face, she stepped forward and asked Jian Chou: “Several people have reached Foundation Establishment to varying degrees and can fly with artifacts, but I don’t know what realm Senior Sister Jian Chou is at now. Can you control magical artifacts?”

Her realm?

Jian Chou had long expected this, but didn’t think it would come so quickly.

She glanced at Xu Lan’er and didn’t lie: “Barely Qi Refining.”

“…”

Everyone was speechless for a moment.

“Ha, Qi Refining…”

Xu Lan’er really couldn’t hold back and laughed contemptuously. Her mockery finally became straightforward.

“Please don’t blame Senior Sister Jian Chou. Now we five are trapped on this Zhanye Island. To reach the thirteenth Dengtian Island, we must cross the sea eastward. Although Senior Sister is from Yashan, we all have limited cultivation. It’s already difficult to cross by ourselves, let alone bringing another person. This is difficult to handle.”

These words were extremely harsh, but also truthful.

Jian Chou had only just stepped onto the cultivation path with minimal cultivation. Although she had Fudao Shanren and the seemingly powerful Yashan’s reputation as a guarantee, it was hard to prevent others from looking down on her due to her weakness.

What about now?

To put it bluntly, when everyone needed to flee for their lives, her existence was undoubtedly a burden to them.

When disaster strikes, even spouses fly separately like birds in the forest, let alone these originally superficially united companions?

Jian Chou still remembered Xie Buchen’s heart-piercing sword, and now didn’t expect others to help her.

She supported herself with the nine-section bamboo and slowly stood up. Her slender body straightened, actually taller and more upright than Xu Lan’er’s.

Looking at Xu Lan’er, Jian Chou smiled lightly: “What Junior Sister Xu says makes sense. You all have no karmic connection with me—it’s just that my sect elder once saved you. My master and I agreed he would come to find me in two days. Though the current location differs slightly from the original, I imagine it’s not too different. If I went with you all, I would surely be a burden and won’t drag everyone down.”

The words were very clear—Jian Chou wasn’t shamelessly insisting on following them.

She thought that Fudao Shanren giving her this nine-section green bamboo must have a deep meaning. This was, after all, Fudao Shanren’s magical artifact, and perhaps he could use it to find her whereabouts. Since others didn’t welcome her, she did not need to be thick-skinned about it.

Most importantly, Jian Chou didn’t like Xu Lan’er’s character and conduct.

Hearing Jian Chou’s words, the other several people looked at each other.

Zhou Kuang was someone without much opinion. He looked left at Zhang Sui and right at Xu Lan’er. Seeing one not speaking and the other showing a cold smile, he didn’t know whom to ask.

Turning his gaze, he suddenly noticed the little girl Nie Xiaowan biting her lips, as if she had already formed some idea.

Zhou Kuang’s eyes lit up, and he leaned forward to ask: “Junior Sister Xiaowan, what do you think?”

Nie Xiaowan glanced at Xu Lan’er, then looked at the indifferent-faced Jian Chou.

Earlier in the mountain belly of Qingfeng Nunnery, when the ground was shaking violently, this senior sister with only Qi Refining cultivation had directly pulled her up when she couldn’t stand steady…

Lightly pursing her lips, Nie Xiaowan’s watery, big eyes blinked, and she spoke somewhat timidly: “Senior Sister Jian Chou is from Yashan and was brought by Shanren. Shanren has life-saving grace toward us. Moreover, without Senior Sister Jian Chou joining, we couldn’t even have reached this Zhanye Island, and might already be dead outside Qingfeng Nunnery’s hidden realm. No matter what, Senior Sister Jian Chou has shown us kindness. I think we shouldn’t abandon her and leave alone.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Xu Lan’er’s face changed immediately. She pressed one hand to her waist and asked through gritted teeth.

Zhang Sui and Zhou Kuang exchanged glances and temporarily said nothing.

But Jian Chou was extremely surprised, not expecting that at the crucial moment, among a group of strangers, the one standing by her side would be this little girl.

This was different from the result she had expected.

Seeing Xu Lan’er looking ready to fight at any moment, Jian Chou was somewhat worried and looked toward Nie Xiaowan.

Unexpectedly, Nie Xiaowan showed no fear at all.

She tightly furrowed her delicate brows, her eyes full of disapproval as she looked at Xu Lan’er, saying stiffly: “Is Senior Sister Xu going to fight with Xiaowan?”

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere immediately became tense.

Xu Lan’er’s fingers pressed against her waist seemed to spasm, twitching once. She looked at Nie Xiaowan, who was much shorter than herself, with great wariness, and finally slowly lowered her hand, covering her lips with a light laugh.

“What is Junior Sister Xiaowan saying? How could I?”

“Good that you won’t.”

Nie Xiaowan muttered a sentence, not being polite at all. She turned directly to look at Zhang Sui: “Senior Brother Zhang, if you won’t take Senior Sister Jian Chou, I will. Senior Sister Jian Chou is traveling with us—you have no objection, right?”

Xu Lan’er was furious, and the anger she had just suppressed blazed up again.

Zhou Kuang, beside them, seemed to be holding back laughter, though Jian Chou saw he couldn’t seem to hold it in very well, as smile lines had already spread around his lips.

Zhang Sui looked at Jian Chou once and slowly nodded: “Since Junior Sister Xiaowan has spoken up, I naturally have no objection.”

So Nie Xiaowan happily went to pull Jian Chou’s hand: “Great! Senior Sister Jian Chou, Senior Brother Zhang have agreed. Let’s go together!”

Jian Chou really couldn’t have expected this.

She discovered that in this confrontational negotiation process, Zhou Kuang had only played the role of a catalyst. Xu Lan’er opposed, Nie Xiaowan supported, and after refuting Xu Lan’er, she directly sought Zhang Sui’s opinion.

After Zhang Sui agreed, objections from others seemed useless.

There seemed to be some rules at work here.

However, Jian Chou didn’t quite understand.

Xu Lan’er flicked her sleeves: “Since it’s decided, let’s adjust our breathing and set off immediately.”

Having said this, she was too lazy to look anymore and directly turned to walk aside, sitting cross-legged to begin adjusting her breathing.

The sea breeze blew, seeming to carry a refreshing scent.

Jian Chou’s gaze moved from Zhou Kuang to Zhang Sui. Both were still relatively friendly in nodding to her, though they didn’t say much and quickly sat down to meditate.

Only Jian Chou and Nie Xiaowan remained in place.

Nie Xiaowan wore bright clothing that made her skin appear even fairer. Seeing Jian Chou looking over, she playfully stuck out her tongue at Jian Chou.

Jian Chou smiled: “Weren’t you afraid she would fight you?”

“I was afraid.” Nie Xiaowan nodded honestly. “But she should have been more afraid. Among our four people, she and Senior Brother Zhou have the lowest cultivation. I’m only slightly lower than Senior Brother Zhang. If we fought, she might not be able to beat me.”

With this sentence, the confusion surrounding Jian Chou suddenly cleared completely.

She understood everything.

Looking down at Nie Xiaowan’s somewhat proudly mischievous appearance, Jian Chou couldn’t help but shake her head and smile.

So that’s how it was.

These were the cultivators of Shijiu Zhou; the laws of Shijiu Zhou?

She understood.