Chapter 54 – Like Stepping Back in Time

The earth shook for several breaths, and once the floating island split in two, the tremors slowly came to a stop.

Tranquility returned to the island, as if nothing had happened.

However, for the cultivators, and for all monsters big and small, it was impossible to pretend like nothing had happened.

The intact island had been broken into two halves, separated by a trench many meters wide and deep. Some cultivators who had been walking together only a few steps apart were now left standing on opposite sides of the island, staring at each other across the sea.

The earth was marred by a great ravine. Although the fracture in the island was smooth, the tremors caused a secondary collapse of the layers beneath, leaving a sea of cracks along the island’s edges. From time to time, loose debris would slide into the trench.

People had no time to talk or think during the tremors, and could only desperately seek a safe place to evade this natural disaster.

Yes, a natural disaster. To most people, it was just an unfortunate accident that they had encountered a once-in-a-century earthquake.

Because they had not seen the fleeting light. And even if someone did see it, they wouldn’t recognize the light that split the island as a sword glare. After all, how could that be possible?

Breaking mountains and splitting seas was something that cultivators at Nascent Soul stage were incapable of, and even the powerhouse who broke through to Hedao stage a hundred years ago might not be able to accomplish it.

Such awe-inspiring power must be only achievable by the gods in heaven.

The land returned to calm, and the waves were no longer turbulent, either on the surface or below it.

Hao Chen stared at the half-broken fan in his hand with shock and doubt. Thanks to the fact that he’d been holding it horizontally, it was still just barely intact.

It had just shrunk in length.

It had originally been the size of a normal folding fan, two palms long, and could completely cover the face when unfolded.

But now…..Hao Chen pinched the bottom of the handle with his fingers and raised it in front of his face. This mini folding fan, which was only half the length it was originally, could barely cover his mouth and nose.

He placed it in his palm for comparison. The mini fan was now only the size of his palm, not even big enough for him to hold in his hand, so he could only hold it gingerly between his fingertips.

This had been created from his tail feathers, which only fell off every thousand years, ah!

Although he had lived for so long and made many more folding fans from his fallen tail feathers, he was still heartbroken.

But aside from the heartache, his shock was even greater. What kind of sword did Feng Ye possess? How could it cut his folding fan in half, which was several levels higher than a heaven-grade weapon, with just a sword glare from three kilometers away?

No wonder Feng Ye, a proficient swordsman, never carried a sword with him. It turned out that it had been there all along, no matter where he was. Even in the deep sea where there was no sunlight, this peerless blade that had the power to split mountains and carve through the seas came when summoned.

“Haha.” Hao Chen suddenly chuckled. The broken fan didn’t prevent him from fanning himself with it gripped between his fingers. Instead of being angry, he was happy that the magic weapon had been destroyed.

He was not frightened by this astonishing sword, but instead became even more eager to fight.

This was an opponent worthy of battling him!

It seemed that all of his previous reservations were actually an affront. For a strong opponent like Feng Ye, giving his all was the only proper respect.

Hao Chen placed the palm-sized fan into his sleeve. So what if his magic weapon was sliced off? After all, it was just a material possession, and he didn’t require anything else to complement his strength.

He raised a hand in front of him, toward Feng Ye’s direction.

The previously calm sea water began to stir again. A dense layer of ice spread out around him, condensing into thousands upon thousands of arrows.

And each of their tips was aimed at Feng Ye.

There was no need for a bowstring. Hao Chen’s spiritual power, as vast as the ocean abyss, was the most powerful method of propulsion.

The number of ice arrows continued to increase. Hao Chen raised his hand with his five fingers clenched, waiting until all of the arrows were prepared to release them all at once.

Three kilometers away in the sea, Feng Ye floated in the water. This place was no longer dark and dim. When he split the floating island, the layer of rock covering the water’s surface was also severed by his sword.

Faint light fell from the sky, illuminating the deep sea.

The sword in his hand shone with light, under which surged a black mist. The two were intertwined, indistinguishable from each other.

He stared into the distance with a slight frown.

There was killing intent there. This battle was far from over.

The corners of Feng Ye’s lips suddenly curved upward. He had been hiding until now simply because he didn’t want to expose himself. But now that it had come to this point, why not fight with everything he had?

He also raised his right hand forward, pointing the tip of his sword into the distance.

Some people named the sword a ‘gentleman among soldiers,’ but no matter how one tried to beautify it, one fact was undeniable.

The sword as a weapon meant for killing.

This was a weapon born to take lives. Who among those who wielded a sword were not eager to fight?

Feng Ye was no exception. He just never revealed this in front of Fang Yang, and instead came across as a bit nonchalant. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been treated as a soft persimmon by Lu Chengye.

Because when it came to fighting, both sides must be equally matched. Otherwise, if the power was one-sided, it would be called a massacre. Feng Ye may be warlike, but he didn’t enjoy bullying the weak.

Whether it was Fang Yang or Lu Chengye, or the rest of Lingxiao Sword Sect, they were far, far from being able to match his strength.

Like a sheathed sword, Feng Ye was usually in a suppressed state. But now, he watched as the water gently parted before him. Just by raising the sword in his hand, and without using any force at all, the water parted in front of him following the movement of the sword.

His prowess was displayed to the fullest extent, so why should he be afraid to fight?

Even deep down in his heart, he had secretly been looking forward to having a strong opponent who could challenge him. For thousands of years, he hadn’t had a good enough fight.

As for whether or not Hao Chen was qualified, they would have to fight to find out!

If fighting spirit could become tangible for the sake of comparison, then the two people at two ends of the seabed would be equally matched.

They attacked simultaneously. Feng Ye moved the tip of the sword back slightly, and the muscles in his right arm tensed as he prepared to swing it a second time.

And Hao Chen’s bent index finger slowly straightened. He was like a general commanding thousands of troops, with the ice arrows floating around him as his army.

His pointed index finger was a military horn, and the soldiers marched as it sounded.

As Hao Chen straightened his finger, the ice arrows trembled slightly, like warhorses stamping their hooves anxiously in place. The arrows were on the string, ready to be launched!

However, just before the two of them were about to engage in a real, all-out fight, the floating island began to shake once more.

The tremors were not limited to the island itself. The seawater was also affected.

Feng Ye and Hao Chen paused at the same time and looked up at the sky, the boundary of this small world. A faint crack had appeared in it, and behind that crack was a vast and endless void.

Why did the heavens have gods, but the other three thousand worlds, big and small, had none?

Because a small world was not sufficient to bear the power of a god. The small worlds themselves possessed the ability to maintain their own stability, which restrained divine power to a certain extent.

Therefore, even if a god traveled to a lower world, it would not have any impact on the stability of that world.

But this did not include the already precarious Floating Island Secret Realm. The situation was already dangerous, and two god-level figures were about to engage in an all-out battle.

Before they even took action, their ambient power alone had already caused a shock to the secret realm. If they began to fight in earnest, the Floating Island Secret Realm would collapse before they had time to determine the winner.

Causing the collapse of a world and affecting ten thousand lives would be a great sin.

Therefore, even though Hao Chen held no sympathy for mortals, he was still forced to stay his hand. The ice arrows melted and once again turned into water.

Feng Ye also withdrew his hand. The sword broke into fractured light and shadow, and slowly dissipated.

Directly above Feng Ye, Fang Yang saw the ground shake again and figured it was just an aftershock. He quickly half-dragged, half-carried the unconscious Cao Zirui to an open area to avoid being hit by falling trees.

He had roughly bandaged Cao Zirui’s wounded shoulder just now, and the bleeding had finally stopped.

The external injuries were actually not too serious, but Fang Yang didn’t know about the internal ones.

After all, Cao Zirui had directly faced every arrow shot by Lu Chengye while holding the Water Soul Bead.

In any case, the injuries couldn’t be light, or else Cao Zirui wouldn’t still be unconscious. But Fang Yang had no healing abilities, and there were only medicines for external injuries in his storage bag. He couldn’t afford elixirs for internal injuries.

But even if he couldn’t afford it, Cao Zirui, who had a treasure trove in his pocket, definitely could. However, Fang Yang couldn’t open Cao Zirui’s storage bag, so he could only wait for him to wake up.

But for now, Cao Zirui showed no signs of waking.

The ground was shaking so violently, and he didn’t even blink. Fang Yang held Cao Zirui on his knees to prevent him from being struck by the shaking stones on the ground.

The tremors stopped abruptly, and the aftershock went as swiftly as it had come.

Fang Yang gazed at the unconscious Cao Zirui’s face for a while, feeling that it was very boring to watch a man sleep. He couldn’t help but take out the bisected golden arrow to study it.

This was the golden arrow that had been chasing them all the way, demanding their lives.

The flowing flames were gone now, as the spiritual power stored in the body of the arrow had dissipated when it broke.

It had become worthless scrap metal.

But Fang Yang still studied it intently. He peered at the broken ends of the arrow, which were flat and smooth.

This cut was made by a sharp weapon, Fang Yang thought.

He had closed his eyes as he fell to the ground, and hadn’t looked behind him, so he naturally didn’t see the flash of the sword glare.

He didn’t know what had cut the golden arrow, nor did he know what had suddenly caused the fissure in the ground.

But he knew that it must be the work of the Mysterious Big Brother in the bamboo slip. As expected, he was very powerful!

Fang Yang clutched the bamboo slip hanging around his neck and thought, I won the gamble!

He didn’t know who this big brother was, or if he was nearby. But who else could have saved him?

Could it be like in the storybooks, and he had ascended beyond the mortal world?

Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard someone call out to him from behind.

“Fang Yang.”

Fang Yang turned his head toward the voice and saw his Useless Shixiong, whom he hadn’t seen in half a day.

Upon seeing Feng Ye, Fang Yang’s eyes widened in excitement. He subconsciously wanted to stand up and run to him, but just as he was about to move, he remembered that Cao Zirui was still sleeping on his lap and held himself back.

But he still offered Feng Ye a smile. It was great to see his Useless Shixiong again. He must be unaware of what Fang Yang had gone through today, and that they had almost been separated forever.

In the face of Fang Yang’s smile, Feng Ye couldn’t help but smile back softly. Regardless of whether or not his identity had been exposed, it had been worth it.

Fang Yang had a lot to say, but when the words came to his lips, he noticed Feng Ye’s tattered, ripped daoist robes and changed the subject: “What happened to your clothes?”

He solely asked after his clothing, not his injuries – because Feng Ye wasn’t injured at all. Revealed beneath the fabric of his clothes was toned muscle, not open wounds.

Feng Ye averted his eyes, and was just about to make up an excuse when he heard footsteps approaching from afar.

A man in white daoist robes approached them, revealing a look of surprise: “I didn’t expect to meet you here, Fellow Daoist Feng Ye. We are truly fated.” Hao Chen chuckled.

What fate? Feng Ye griped to himself, but he didn’t expose Hao Chen. The two of them tacitly agreed not to mention what had happened under the sea.

“Hao-dage!” Fang Yang’s eyes lit up once more when he saw Hao Chen. It seemed that the saying was true – those who survive great disaster will receive future blessings. After surviving a near-death experience, his only two friends immediately appeared before him.

Hao Chen nodded at Fang Yang, then directed all of his attention to Feng Ye.

The first thing that met his eye was the tattered robes hanging on his body. He feigned astonishment and said: “What happened, Fellow Daoist Feng Ye? What sort of ferocious monster did you encounter? How are you such a mess?”

His words conveyed concern, but his tone was anything but. When he said the word “mess,” it was with a joking smile. After all, this was his own handiwork.

“It seems Fellow Daoist Hao Chen experienced a smooth half day?” Feng Ye responded.

Hao Chen deliberately lowered his head to look at his intact sleeves. His meaning was self-evident. Although he hadn’t won the fight with Feng Ye, judging from his appearance, he had come out on top.

Thus, he couldn’t help but say in a proud tone: “It wasn’t bad. Likely smoother than Fellow Daoist Feng Ye’s.”

Habits could not be changed in a short period of time. Without realizing it, Hao Chen reached into his sleeve and took out his mini folding fan, fanning himself in front of the others.

Fang Yang: “……”

Fang Yang stared at the folding fan that now had to be held between pinched fingers, and thought, It seems you fared no better than Useless Shixiong!

---

Consider donating via Kofi here.

Chapter 53 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 55