Chapter 36 – Setting Sail

“What is Fellow Daoist Feng Ye whispering about?” With some displeasure, Hao Chen watched as Feng Ye whispered something to Fang Yang.

The two of them had been whispering in the corner for a long time. There was no way of telling what they were talking about, and there hadn’t been a result thus far.

It was like they were having a secret meeting behind his back.

The more Hao Chen thought about it, the unhappier he became. He was Feng Ye’s legitimate dual cultivation partner in name only. Although Feng Ye himself was unaware of this, all of the other disciples other than Fang Yang knew. 

His empress was standing next to him, and this junior disciple from who knows where was stealing him right from under his nose?

How shameless! Hao Chen thought shamelessly.

He had no self-awareness when it came to who the shameless person actually was.

In response to his almost accusatory question, Feng Ye simply glanced at him calmly, then turned his head and continued the previous topic: “Anyway, if you miss this opportunity, you’ll never get it again. Think it over carefully.”

The junior disciple before him was extremely hesitant. He wanted to agree, but also wanted to refuse, and couldn’t come to a conclusion.

Seeing his expression, Feng Ye understood that he was moved by his words.

From a racing heart to action, there was only one spark left, and Feng Ye lit this fire. He feigned regret, saying: “If you don’t agree, I’ll find someone else.”

“Don’t, don’t.” Feng Ye’s fire was lit successfully, and this junior disciple finally made a decision. Gritting his teeth, Fang Yang stretched out his hand and slapped it against Feng Ye’s: “Deal!”

The deal was struck. A smile appeared on Feng Ye’s lips.

He said goodbye to his fellow disciple, and only then did he have time to deal with Hao Chen.

Hao Chen felt that Feng Ye seemed inexplicably cheerful today, but didn’t know the cause, so he couldn’t help but ask: “What has Fellow Daoist Feng Ye encountered to make him so happy?”

Feng Ye bobbed his head inscrutably.

Just as Hao Chen was about to ask further, Feng Ye took the initiative to speak. He smiled and said to Hao Chen: “Isn’t seeing you the happiest thing?”

Hao Chen was stunned on the spot.

Feng Ye’s joy was even further amplified when he saw Hao Chen’s dumbfounded appearance, and he hummed a tune as he walked past the other party.

The floor hadn’t been swept yet after chatting the whole morning, so he took a broom and prepared to get to work.

And Hao Chen stood there, doubting life. They were playing the wrong roles, ah. He should have been the one to say that.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. There was something strange about Feng Ye today.

With this in mind, Hao Chen hurriedly chased after him. He tried to indirectly ask what had Feng Ye behaving abnormally today, but Feng Ye just smiled. It was a sincere smile.

Hao Chen didn’t know what he was so happy about.

Could it be that he truly is happy to see my charming self? Hao Chen thought shamelessly.

But despite his thick skin, Hao Chen was unable to convince himself. After all, during their confrontation beneath the moon last night, the way Feng Ye looked at him didn’t seem like he was falling for him, but rather like he wanted to get rid of him.

How had he changed so much in just one night?

No matter how hard he tried, Hao Chen couldn’t figure it out. But he couldn’t just pry Feng Ye’s mouth open.

Just as he was at a loss, Fang Yang arrived.

He rushed up to Feng Ye with a look of excitement on his face and shouted: “Shixiong! It’s too bad you didn’t watch the Foundation Establishment tournament today! You don’t know how thrilling it was. They used all kinds of spells, and they were all so strong!”

Feng Ye’s reaction was mild. He just said calmly: “Is that so?”

Fang Yang nodded vigorously: “Absolutely! And Cao Zirui was really strong, ah. He didn’t use any spells the whole time, and just defeated his opponents with swordplay and spiritual power.”

Feng Ye smiled: “Then you’ll need to work harder if you want to surpass him.”

“That’s for sure,” Fang Yang said, clenching his fists.

The two of them were conversing as if there was no one else around. Hao Chen, who was being ignored, became even unhappier. He suddenly cut in: “Shouldn’t you go pack your things and prepare for tomorrow’s departure?”

There were still two days before the Floating Island Secret Realm opened, but because the journey was a lengthy one, all of the disciples who had obtained spots would have to board a large flying ship supplied by the sect and set off tomorrow.

Fang Yang slapped his head when he heard this: “Oh, that’s right. I’ll go back and pack my things first.”

He waved goodbye to Feng Ye and Hao Chen.

Feng Ye continued to sweep the floor once Fang Yang left, and Hao Chen continued to pester him in an attempt to figure out the reason for his strange behavior.

However, his doubts continued through to the next day. When he got up early in the morning with Feng Ye to see Fang Yang off, he still hadn’t figured it out.

“Do you have everything?” Feng Ye asked.

Fang Yang checked his storage bag, which every disciple owned. The space inside wasn’t much bigger than a pocket, and it couldn’t hold much, but it was better than nothing.

Fang Yang counted out his supplies: “Wound medicine, herbs for removing miasma…..”

He counted everything carefully to make certain that it was all there. He also touched the bamboo piece hanging around his neck that housed the Mysterious Big Brother, then replied to Feng Ye: “Everything is ready.”

Feng Ye patted him on the shoulder and said: “Be careful, and do things according to your abilities. Keeping your life is more important than any rare treasure.”

“Don’t worry, I understand,” said Fang Yang.

After saying this, he turned and boarded the large ship that was already full of people.

This ship was actually a magic tool that could accommodate hundreds of people in the air. After all, these Qi Refining disciples couldn’t fly on swords yet, and the journey to the secret realm was long, so the sect prepared such a ship.

The crowd began to grow in increments. In addition to the one hundred Qi Refining disciples and ten Foundation Establishment disciples, there were also some disciples manning the ship, as well as Xue Ren, who was responsible for arranging accommodations and transportation along the way.

And finally, Sect Leader Ji.

Lingxiao Sword sect wasn’t the only sect entering the Floating Island Secret Realm. The other top-ranked sects were also participating.

There was actually an unspoken competition going on between the ten sects. Each sect had the same number of allotted spaces, and the number of elixirs obtained by the disciples leaving the secret realm would be used to determine the new sect rankings.

Rank was not just about face, but also about territory.

Each major sect had its own territory and didn’t interfere with the others. There was nothing to fight about. What they were vying for was territory to recruit new disciples.

After all, only a steady stream of talented disciples could keep a sect alive. And generally speaking, the larger the territory, the greater the probability of encountering good seedlings.

Therefore, this was an extremely important matter. The higher the ranking, the larger the territory allocated to recruiting disciples. All of the sect leaders attached great importance to this, and nearly all of them were personally leading their contingents. Sect Leader Ji was no exception.

At half past chenshi, the crew began to count the number of people onboard. Once everyone was present, they would set off.

Feng Ye and Hao Chen were still standing under the ship. Fang Yang had already boarded, but Feng Ye had yet to leave.

Hao Chen accompanied him patiently for a while, but his patience gradually began to wane. The sun was becoming hotter and hotter. As a fish from the North Sea, he was afraid of heat rather than cold. This sun was making him a little restless. 

He couldn’t help but take out his fan and fan himself. After some time, he suddenly remembered to ask: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, where is your fan?”

Feng Ye was still holding the white jade bone porcelain fan in his hand yesterday. Thinking that it would be a waste not to use it, he would take it out from time to time and fan himself with it. But today, it was nowhere to be seen.

I was waiting for you to ask that! Feng Ye thought.

He hadn’t waited in vain. Feng Ye revealed the smirk he had been holding back for a long time: “It seems I forgot to tell you.”

Hao Chen stared blankly: “Tell me what?”

Feng Ye shook his head, donning a look of regret and distress: “I took the fan to trade it in. As for what I traded it for…..”

While they were talking, the people counting passengers were almost finished. But they discovered that there was one person missing, and shouted loudly: “Who else hasn’t boarded the ship? If you don’t board, we won’t wait for you!”

Feng Ye suddenly turned around and shouted back: “Coming right up!”

He ran up onto the large ship behind him and stood on the deck, waving at Hao Chen below: “Fellow Daoist Hao Chen, I exchanged the fan for a spot in the Floating Island Secret Realm. I’ll be away for a few days. Don’t worry about me!”

Hao Chen: “……”

He finally understood all of Feng Ye’s abnormalities from yesterday through today.

It was a lie for Feng Ye to say he’d forgotten to tell him. This guy had clearly done it on purpose. He’d waited until the last minute to tell Hao Chen in order to catch him off guard and get rid of him.

Feng Ye saw the expression on Hao Chen’s face and knew that he understood everything. However, this didn’t mean that he’d successfully gotten rid of this sticky piece of candy. After all, it was difficult to say what the thick-skinned Hao Chen was capable of.

Perhaps he would shamelessly try to follow him. The probability of this was quite high.

But unexpectedly, Hao Chen remained standing under the boat and said goodbye to Feng Ye: “As it happens, I have some matters to attend to in my sect, so I’ll take this opportunity to go back and deal with them. Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, we’ll see each other again in a few days.”

After saying so, he turned and left without any regrets.

Just like that.

Feng Ye stared at Hao Chen’s back in surprise. He was ready to fight this sticky candy to the end, never expecting that the sticky candy would discover a conscience and leave.

Was it really this easy?

Hao Chen’s straightforward attitude made Feng Ye anxious. He kept feeling like things weren’t so simple.

But Hao Chen indeed left.

The huge ship heading to the Floating Island Secret Realm also set sail, flying into the sea of clouds.

After a day and a night of sailing, everyone finally arrived at the location of the Floating Island Secret Realm, above the North Sea.

There was a North Sea in heaven, as well as one in the mortal realm. But this North Sea was different from the heavenly one, where the sunlight was thin and living creatures rarely dared to tread.

The North Sea of the mortal realm was no different than any other. The water and sky were blue, and there was a cool and comfortable sea breeze.

The ship began to descend, and the obstructing clouds parted like curtains on a stage, dissipating before their eyes. At last, they got a glimpse of the magnificent scenery beneath that sea of clouds. 

Like the other disciples, Fang Yang looked in amazement from their low altitude above the sea. There were magic vessels of all sizes docked here, so many that the vast sea even looked a little crowded.

As the distance narrowed, a swell of voices eventually reached everyone’s ears.

Disciples from various factions and sects were gathered here to usher in the opening of the Floating Island Secret Realm.

This was a rare gathering. There were few events like this that could bring together people from all major sects. Thus, many people were chatting with friends from other sects, whom they hadn’t seen in a long time, and the atmosphere was quite lively.

Lingxiao Sword Sect’s ship found an open place to stop. Not long after, disciples from other sects came over to seek out their friends.

“Fellow Daoist Feng Ye.” A familiar, haunting voice sounded behind Feng Ye.

With a feeling of resignation, Feng Ye turned around to find a smiling Hao Chen. He was really…..not surprised at all.

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Chapter 35 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 37