“Me?”

Jian Chou didn’t know what he was thinking. Hearing this single word “you,” she immediately detected something unusual and became interested, slightly raising her voice to ask this one character.

Young Master Ruhua immediately fell silent.

His gaze at Jian Chou became strange: According to reason, Jian Chou’s strength absolutely shouldn’t be above Zhou Chengjiang’s, so was she the person Zhou Chengjiang spoke of?

The fishy, salty sea breeze blew from the ocean surface, with layers upon layers of crashing waves.

Throughout the entire Sky Sea, there was a kind of calm within the noise.

Young Master Ruhua looked at her for a long time, so long that Jian Chou almost thought he was about to attack her, when he suddenly laughed once, then again, and finally burst into laughter toward the sky.

“Hahahaha…”

“What are you laughing at?”

This time it was Jian Chou’s turn to be confused.

Young Master Ruhua shook his head, seemingly finding Jian Chou amusing and his own thoughts amusing too. After enjoying himself for a while, he sighed: “Zhou Chengjiang’s strength is actually no different from ours. I consider myself no worse than Tang Buye. If Zhou Chengjiang could encounter her, I will eventually encounter her too. When I truly meet her, I’ll know.”

Her heart tensed, and she felt somewhat of a headache coming on.

Jian Chou understood—after all this time, Young Master Ruhua was suspecting this matter.

But as he himself said, there really wasn’t much point in dwelling on this. When they truly “met,” everything would become clear.

It was just that the pit Zhou Chengjiang had dug for her was truly frightening…

She remained speechless for a while before smiling and saying: “Young Master Ruhua speaks truly.”

“Then what are your plans?”

Young Master Ruhua no longer dwelt on whether she was that person, only asking her.

Jian Chou was currently unwilling to fight alone, especially when her opponent was Young Master Ruhua. This person’s cultivation was mysterious, and if she fought with him, others would likely benefit.

So Jian Chou said: “How about you and I travel together as companions?”

Travel together as companions?

This was the first time someone had dared to speak to him this way.

Young Master Ruhua felt a sense of absurdity. He pinched his fingers, and a foxtail grass formed between them, then he pointed to himself: “You want to travel as companions with me?”

He had even omitted “this young master” and used “me,” showing Young Master Ruhua’s inner astonishment.

Jian Chou glanced at the foxtail grass in his hand—this grass…

“Cough. Traveling as companions means that at least for now, you and I won’t scheme against each other. What does Young Master Ruhua think?”

“…”

He truly hadn’t expected this at all.

Young Master Ruhua stared at her, seeming to contemplate something. After a long while, he suddenly clapped his hands, and several gleams of understanding appeared in his lazy eyes: “Oh, I understand. This young master has boundless charm—it seems even Yashan’s Grand Senior Sister will be captivated by me. This is wonderful…”

“…”

She had seen shameless people, but never one this shameless.

After hearing this, Jian Chou didn’t know what to think.

Outside the Sky Sea, at the foot of Kunwu Mountain, everyone who saw this burst into curses: “How thick-skinned! Where does he get such confidence?!”

…

However, after just a few words of discussion, Jian Chou remained silent for a moment, then reopened her mouth: “Young Master Ruhua is the foremost among Wuyi Sect’s peers, naturally possessing boundless charm.”

“…”

At this moment, Young Master Ruhua was stunned…

At the foot of Kunwu Mountain, there was also sudden silence.

All those who had just mocked Young Master Ruhua felt their faces burning: Boundless charm… boundless charm… They were about to cry. Grand Senior Sister Jian Chou, to cooperate with someone without causing conflict, you’re speaking against your conscience—don’t you feel guilty at all?!

A chill suddenly ran up her spine, and Jian Chou inexplicably shivered, feeling somewhat strange: Why did it feel like someone was talking about her behind her back?

“Hehehe…”

After a long while, Young Master Ruhua finally recovered from that strange shock and couldn’t help but laugh until his whole body shook: “This young master didn’t realize that Fellow Daoist Jian Chou is also kindred among kindred. It seems you and I are destined to be like-minded and travel together.”

Who’s like-minded with you…

Jian Chou suddenly felt powerless and for a moment didn’t know what to say.

She looked around in all directions—still only the vast sea.

“What’s urgent now is finding the black dragon and locating where the others are… but I don’t know exactly how we should search…”

As she spoke, she walked toward the seashore.

Young Master Ruhua glanced at her and also followed to the seashore.

Almost the moment both their feet touched the seaside rocks, the island’s rocks suddenly began to tremble violently!

“Not good!”

Young Master Ruhua’s expression changed, and he shot up from the ground almost instantly!

But the “ambush” on the rocks was faster than him!

With a loud “bang,” the rocks exploded in an instant, and a deep blue spiritual light shot out from within the rocks, actually overtaking Young Master Ruhua despite starting later, “whooshing” into Young Master Ruhua’s brow.

“…”

As if paralyzed by a binding spell, Young Master Ruhua suddenly froze in midair, his eyes completely vacant.

Jian Chou’s movements were no slower than Young Master Ruhua’s, but at this moment, she couldn’t escape the speed of that deep blue light beneath her feet either.

Too fast!

With nowhere to dodge, Jian Chou directly raised her hand, flipped her axe, and the surface covered with evil ghost patterns immediately faced that ray of light.

The deep blue light arrived in a blink, but the violent collision she had imagined didn’t come.

That ray of light actually treated the ghost axe as nothing, passing directly through the axe and similarly “whooshing” into Jian Chou’s brow like a living thing!

Buzz…

Throughout her entire mind and spirit, there seemed to be a tremor.

The deep blue light suddenly exploded, transforming into a mass of soft white light, and an aged voice resonated within the light, echoing throughout Jian Chou’s entire mind.

“The deep sea has boundaries, but my heart is infinite!”

“Seeing you as a destined person, I grant you the ability to command islands in the Sky Sea!”

“Drip!”

As that voice ended, all the soft white light immediately condensed, becoming a drop of pure deep blue seawater that fell onto Jian Chou’s spiritual platform.

Thus, ripples immediately spread…

A complete Dao Seal, deep blue in color, shaped like a small island, appeared in her consciousness…

This was…

In that instant, Jian Chou widened her eyes.

The ability to command islands, range: Sky Sea!

Young Master Ruhua, standing in the void, also seemed full of surprise.

His tightly furrowed brow didn’t relax, and he looked at Jian Chou with hesitant eyes.

Light had entered both their brows simultaneously—what did this mean?

Would it be the same thing?

Jian Chou also pondered for a moment, then finally spoke honestly: “That ray of light granted me the ability to command islands. What about you, Young Master?”

“Me?”

Young Master Ruhua’s expression was strange. Then he waved his hand in the air, and something like a sand table appeared before Jian Chou, with streaks of snow-white light floating in deep blue shadows.

“This is…”

Jian Chou felt a vague sense of shock in her heart.

She raised her head and met Young Master Ruhua’s indescribable gaze.

Not knowing what tone to use, he finally spoke: “Surveying the entire sea.”

“…”

This wasn’t fair!

Jian Chou almost felt like fainting!

It seemed that in terms of luck, she was truly average!

Young Master Ruhua looked at the small dots in the deep blue “sand table,” or rather “sea table,” and that long black shadow, then seeing Jian Chou’s smile, his expression became ambiguous: “No need to feel unfair. After all, since we’re traveling together, this could be considered your good fortune too, right?”

Jian Chou’s gaze fell directly on that sea table.

Young Master Ruhua frowned, thinking she was contemplating the matter of “luck and bias”: “You…”

“Look.”

Jian Chou’s eyes carried an indescribable horror.

She slowly extended her finger, pointing to two white dots very close together in the sea table, then slowly moving backward to where a mysterious black line quietly coiled directly beneath the sea island…

“In the sea table, only these two dots are together, undoubtedly you and I… then… what is this…”

That mysterious black line.

Young Master Ruhua was also full of astonishment, but immediately after, without hesitation, he shouted: “Attack!”

Attack!

Command the island!

This mysterious black line was undoubtedly the black dragon transformed from that earthworm!

Almost simultaneously with Young Master Ruhua’s shout, Jian Chou had already acted without hesitation. She formed hand seals, focused her mind, and faintly, a thread seemed to project from her brow into the sea island.

Boom!

A terrifying roar!

The entire sea island moved directly to the right according to Jian Chou’s will, immediately stirring up angry waves and tremendous swells!

Jian Chou and Young Master Ruhua on the sea island moved with it.

Then…

They saw it.

The shadow revealed after the sea island moved away…

A massive black dragon had coiled its hundred-zhang body, curled up together, trembling.

The moment the sea island moved away, countless rays of light from above fell down, illuminating the black dragon’s body coiled beneath the sea surface, making it appear enormously large—it was a huge shadow…

Terrifying beyond measure.

The little earthworm transformed into a black dragon let out a strange cry the moment the light fell, but what emerged was a mighty dragon’s roar…

“Roar…”

Shaking heaven and earth, the entire sea surface echoed with this terrifying bellow.

The moment the roar emerged, the black dragon’s entire body trembled. It lowered its head, looking directly at the huge black shadow cast by its own body on the sea surface!

Oh no!

Why was it back again!

Being thrown into the water was one thing, but after being thrown in, there was a huge monster in the water following it around. Wherever it swam, the thing followed.

The earthworm was terrified. It had hidden for so long before concealing itself beneath the sea island, thinking it had escaped this “shadow monster,” but now it appeared again!

The black dragon’s tail lashed fiercely, slapping countless giant waves in terror, and the moment it appeared, it fled as if escaping…

Waaah, why does it keep following me? So scary!!!

“…Rumble…”

Countless giant waves spread across the sea surface, and that hundred-zhang-long black dragon immediately left Jian Chou and Young Master Ruhua far behind.

Jian Chou was stunned.

Young Master Ruhua was also stunned.

Why did it feel like…

This “little earthworm,” uh… was a bit strange?

“What… should we do now?”

Young Master Ruhua had naturally noticed the oddity here too. Looking around, there wasn’t anything scary nearby.

Could it be that this black dragon was naturally sensitive?

“The black dragon fled, probably because this place has dangers we don’t know about. We shouldn’t stay long…”

Actually, thinking this way made sense.

But something still felt strange…

Jian Chou pondered, and finally focused her mind, directly commanding the island to move out, like piloting a giant ship, breaking through the endless deep sea, parting countless giant waves, chasing directly after the black dragon!

At the foot of Kunwu Mountain, Fudao Shanren was laughing so hard he couldn’t stand straight.

This little earthworm was too interesting…

Hahaha, “this place has dangers we don’t know about”—it was killing him!

“So fun, so fun!”

“…”

Hengxu Zhenren glanced at him, remained silent for a long time, and didn’t speak.

Was it that he couldn’t see through Fudao, or was he overthinking?

His gaze couldn’t help but turn toward the due west, where Yashan was. His powerful spiritual consciousness swept over it, only able to see a vast expanse of white mist…

Yashan.

“Hmm?”

On the huge, dust-covered Heaven-Piercing Mirror, the white bone skeleton sitting in meditation suddenly emitted a bright light.

The hollow sockets looked toward Kunwu in the east, and the undying skeleton chuckled lowly.

“What’s wrong?”

A calm voice.

Qu Zhengfeng wore a gold-threaded black robe, standing not far from the Heaven-Piercing Mirror. Except for the gold patterns on his body, his entire being seemed about to merge with the underground darkness.

Crack crack…

The white bone skeleton slowly turned its neck.

“Nothing much, just felt spiritual consciousness from Kunwu again…”

He, or “it,” finally looked at Qu Zhengfeng, the ancient voice carrying a piercing sense of vicissitude: “Over three hundred years, junior, you finally appear before me again. After years of struggle between righteous and evil, have you made your choice?”