Immortality and Cultivation: I can extract entries from all things.

The afternoon heat was intense at Qing'ao Island Wharf.

The salty sea breeze, carrying the shouts of the porters, traveled through the dense masts.

Several merchant ships that had just docked were unloading large crates of low-grade spirit ore, and the crew members were shirtless, sweat streaming down their dark backs.

Fang He, dressed in a faded blue Taoist robe and carrying a medicine basket, walked through the crowded streets.

He was thin, but his steps were very rhythmic, and he always managed to precisely avoid the rampaging carts.

"Captain Chen, the quality of this batch of purple heart grass is worse than last time."

Fang He stopped on a secluded boardwalk, looking at the muscular man in front of him who was puffing on a cigarette, and spoke in a calm tone.

Captain Chen chuckled, tapped his pipe against the sole of his shoe, and lowered his voice: "Brother Fang, to tell you the truth, it's already a miracle we were able to bring all this in. The open seas aren't safe these days."

Fang He raised an eyebrow. He sensed a hidden meaning in the other person's words.

"How so?"

Fang He handed over a small bag of spirit stones. "The waves have been big lately, but some ships are still sailing steadily?"

Captain Chen calmly put away the spirit stones, his eyes flashing, and took a half step closer: "Those aren't ordinary fast ships. Last week in the Black Rock Sea, my men saw several long, jet-black ships. The cultivators on board all had cold faces and a chilling aura, unlike righteous cultivators."

Fang He's heart skipped a beat, but she remained outwardly calm: "What are they doing there?"

"The evil lies here."

Captain Chen lowered his voice even further, shivering. "Those ships were anchored in the coral reef area where sea creatures congregated. I saw with my own eyes a guy in a cloak throw something into the sea. Within three breaths, the previously docile blue ribbonfish started tearing at each other, their eyes turning bloodshot."

Fang He's pupils constricted slightly.

This description was exactly the same as the black sand aura he had discovered at the array node. He would never mistake that chaotic, bloodthirsty aura.

"Did those monks wear insignia?"

"I didn't see it clearly."

Captain Chen shook his head. "But on that longship's mast, there's a pattern that looks like an eye or a whirlpool." He paused, then hesitated. "Brother Fang, you're a favorite of the Zhou family, so there are some things I shouldn't be saying. But the low-level sea beasts around Qing'ao Island have been acting strangely lately, as if they're being driven here by something."

Fang He was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Thank you, Brother Chen, I understand."

He turned and left, his face calm, but his heart was in turmoil.

Those black ships, those eerie patterns, the methods of controlling sea monsters...

All clues point to the same answer.

The Dark Abyss Pavilion has already extended its reach right under the noses of Qing'ao Island.

What chilled him even more was the Zhou family's reaction. The words "a benefactor vouched for him" were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head.

He reported the potential dangers of black sand, but was met with a silencing order.

What does this mean?

This means that someone within the Zhou family is colluding with the Dark Abyss Pavilion, and that the island's defenses are fundamentally flawed.

"Official channels are no longer an option."

Fang He sneered inwardly. He was just a minor cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, neither qualified nor capable of shaking the power struggles of those big shots. But he couldn't just sit and wait to die.

After saying goodbye to Captain Chen, Fang He didn't immediately return to the pharmacy. Instead, he wandered slowly among the scattered repair stalls at the dock. He needed time to calm down and clear his mind.

Since he couldn't rely on those in power, he had to find out the truth himself.

"Luring sea monsters... Black sand..."

As Fang He walked, he sorted through the clues in his mind, "The black sand is buried at the nodes of the formation, usually disguised as a channel for spiritual energy. Once activated, the formation collapses, and sea beasts invade..."

He abruptly stopped in his tracks. A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind: the Dark Abyss Pavilion's goal was probably not just as simple as destroying a few array nodes.

"They want to lose the whole island."

Fang He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. This guess sent a chill down his spine, but it also made him more clear-headed.

To survive, one must grasp the underlying logic of this enticement method and find a way to live before the Dark Abyss Pavilion launches its attack.

Fang He took a deep breath, suppressed his unease, and strode towards the market for independent cultivators in the north corner of the market.

……

The market for repairmen in the north corner of the market is much more chaotic than the main street.

Yellowed fragments, rusty broken swords, and medicinal herbs of dubious authenticity were piled haphazardly on the ground.

The air was filled with the smell of mildew and old paper, mixed with the sounds of monks haggling.

Fang He squatted in front of a used bookstore, patiently flipping through the pages.

His fingers moved among the pile of junk, but his eyes saw through the surface, observing the essence of each item.

[Introduction to Appreciation] Fully Launched.

The miscellaneous items on the bookstall were filtered out, revealing a layer of disguise.

Most of the so-called secret manuals are nothing more than tattered martial arts techniques from the mortal world, or travelogues scribbled down by low-level cultivators.

But amidst the chaos, Fang He's senses detected something unusual.

"Old man, how much are these miscellaneous essays?"

Fang He pointed to a stack of old books that smelled musty, speaking casually as if it were just a casual question.

The old man closed his eyes and weakly held up three fingers: "Three spirit stones, no bargaining."

Fang He turned the pages of the book, and her fingertips suddenly trembled almost imperceptibly.

At the very bottom of the pile of waste paper was a booklet with a badly worn cover, the title of which was so illegible that it was barely legible.

[Sharpened Spiritual Senses] A sense of ancient tremor emanated from it, the divine aura belonging to a high-level cultivator, which, despite the baptism of a hundred years, had not completely dissipated.

found it.

Fang He remained expressionless, tucking the booklet among several notebooks on medicinal cuisine: "This pile of stuff is too old, and these two broken spirit stones are no good, so forget it."

"Buy it or don't, it's up to you." The old man didn't even lift his eyelids.

After some arguing, Fang He bought the pile of waste paper for two spirit stones and put it into his medicine basket.

He got up and left, his steps neither hurried nor slow, but he felt a sense of relief.

He knew he had made the right bet.

……

Back at the pharmacy, Fang He went straight into the secret room in the backyard and locked the door.

Under the dim light of the oil lamp, he took out the tattered book and gently wiped the dust off the cover.

Four ancient seal characters emerged: "Miscellaneous Talks on Beasts".

"Beast Control Sect..."

Fang He muttered to himself. He had heard of this sect before; it had been extremely powerful hundreds of years ago, but was later wiped out by the righteous sects for practicing evil arts.

If the Dark Abyss Pavilion's methods originated from the Beast Taming Sect, then everything makes sense.

He took a deep breath and touched the spine of the book with his fingertips.

Fang He's heart trembled violently. Just as I thought!

The habits of sea creatures, their sensitivity to spiritual energy frequencies, the proportions of the medicine...

More importantly, he saw detailed records of "seduction."

It was an evil object made by mixing black sand with the essence blood of sea beasts. It could simulate the domain aura of high-level sea beasts and lure low-level sea beasts to gather madly.

The lure placed at the nodes of the formation can not only destroy the formation, but also become a "landmark" at critical moments, guiding the beast tide to attack a specific target.

Fang He suddenly opened his eyes, his forehead beaded with sweat.

He finally saw through the Dark Abyss Pavilion's entire plan.

The black sand that Qian Laosi set up was not a simple tool for destruction, but a weapon to wipe out the island.

Once the lure reaches a critical point, in conjunction with the driving ceremony in the open sea, tens of thousands of sea monsters will follow these "landmarks" and raze Qing'ao Island to the ground.

"This is not destruction..."

Fang He's voice was hoarse, "This is the massacre of the island."

He looked out the window.

Night fell over Qing'ao Island, and lights flickered in the distance, while the market remained bustling.

Those low-level cultivators were completely unaware that they were sitting on a giant powder keg.

And the one responsible for lighting the fire might be sitting in the Zhou family's council hall.

Fang He gripped "Miscellaneous Talks on Beasts" tightly, his knuckles turning white.

He was just a nobody at the fourth level of Qi Refining, powerless to fight against that enormous shadow.

But he has a cheat code, he has these terms, and he has advance warnings.

"Since you want to start a fire..."

He blew out the oil lamp, sat quietly in the darkness, his eyes cold. "Then I will find a way to survive before the fire starts."