Cultivating immortality in the seas, I created an immortal island of eternal life.

The inner demon retreated abruptly, his face filled with astonishment, clearly not expecting an ambush to be hidden on the deserted island.

But Wuling didn't give it a chance to react at all.

With a swift movement, the water in the pond rose in response, instantly condensing into several water chains that coiled towards the inner demon.

Gao Yao hid in the cellar and heard the commotion above early on.

This was his first time facing a direct battle.

My heart was pounding, and my palms were sweaty.

The sounds of fighting could be clearly heard through the soil, mixed with the sound of water and sharp explosions, as well as Wu Ling's angry shouts.

Gao Yao gritted his teeth, moved the stone at the entrance of the cave, and revealed a crack.

A little moonlight peeked in.

He saw golden light and black mist intertwined in the shack, and the shadow of a tortoise entangled with a dark shadow.

The scene didn't resemble a battle between cultivators; it looked more like wild beasts tearing each other apart.

Suddenly, the inner demon paused, then vanished into mist in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, a jumble of chaotic images forced their way into Gao Yao's mind: bloody limbs, brutally torn faces, and heart-wrenching cries...

Sometimes he was a firsthand witness, and sometimes he was an executioner.

Like falling into the sea, all sorts of negative emotions surged in like a tide, trying to overwhelm his reason.

Gao Yao's face paled, but surprisingly he didn't break down.

The intertwining of three memories since his transmigration had long since honed his numb nerves.

The illusions before your eyes may be vivid, but if you see them too often, they will become nothing more than horror movies from your past life—illusory and unreal.

After a long time, the illusions before his eyes gradually faded. Although they still made him dizzy and nauseous, they could no longer shake his mind.

Meanwhile, Wu Ling remained completely unaffected.

The Turtle Spirit was born of the creation of heaven and earth, and its nature was originally clear and firm. Although its strength has greatly declined, its realm and vision remain.

The mind-altering tricks of the inner demons are utterly crude and laughable to it.

"A mere trifle of skill, yet you dare to show off your amateurish abilities before an expert!"

The black mist suddenly contracted, as if gripped by an invisible hand, and instantly returned to nothingness.

Seeing that his signature skills were failing one after another, his inner demons finally showed their panic.

It finally realized that it had bitten off more than it could chew tonight.

Having decided to retreat, the dark figure suddenly darted backward, attempting to escape into the sea.

But Wu Ling would not allow it to escape. Without moving, the entire Turtle Reef Island seemed to come alive.

As the literal meaning.

The next second, the ground cracked open without warning, and earthen walls rose up and surrounded the island, blocking all the inner demons' escape routes.

The low shrubs that originally crawled on the island suddenly grew wildly, like living tentacles, reaching out to entangle the inner demons.

This isn't magic, it's more like...

The entire island is responding to the will of the Enlightened Spirit.

Mountains, rocks, grass, and trees can all be used as weapons.

The inner demons panicked and tried to escape, but there was nowhere to run.

It roared, and black energy surged from its body, corroding and breaking the branches.

But in that brief delay, Wu Ling's next attack had already arrived.

The water in the fishpond shot skyward, condensing into a giant water palm in mid-air before slamming down.

The inner demon, finding no way to escape, stopped trying to flee and instead began to churn with black energy once more.

In the blink of an eye, seven or eight figures emerged from the black mist.

There were ragged fishermen, burly men wielding harpoons, and even a young man dressed in the robes of a disciple of the Yunxiang Sect.

Their movements were stiff, as light as paper dolls, yet they carried some of the air of their former selves as they rushed toward the direction where Wu Ling and Gao Yao were hiding.

Shadow puppet? Puppet?

Gao Yao was deeply shaken as he watched from the cracks in the cellar.

He instantly remembered the missing fishermen; it turned out that after they disappeared, they were turned into these monstrous things!

What about Wang Yao?

The way she treated me, the way she looked at me with the same admiring gaze she gave when examining exquisite porcelain...

Are you also waiting for your cultivation to reach a higher level, your appearance to improve, and then...?

Gao Yao felt a chill rush straight to the top of his head, and his stomach churned.

boom!

Before he could even recover, the giant hand in the sky had already slammed down.

The first few fishermen were flattened and scattered like paper, turning into wisps of black smoke.

The disciple with slightly better shadow puppetry skills formed a light blue shield in front of him by making hand seals.

But it only lasted a moment before he and his shield were slammed into the ground and fell silent.

Seeing this, the inner demon desperately broke free from the remaining bushes and turned to flee towards the chicken coop.

"town!"

Wu Ling let out a low shout, and the illusory figure suddenly shone brightly.

The ground cracked open again, and this time what gushed out was not an earthen wall, but thick mud that instantly enveloped the black smoke.

The black smoke billowed left and right, its speed gradually slowing down and its shape becoming increasingly faint.

It suddenly turned its head to look at Wu Ling, who had caught up with it, then suddenly contracted violently and exploded.

Countless strands of black energy, as thin as hair, burst forth from the shattered core, shooting towards Wu Ling like a rain of arrows, while also enveloping the chicken coop and fishpond.

With a wave of its forepaw, Wu Ling conjured a curtain of water that stood in front of it.

The black mist shot onto the water curtain, making a sizzling, corrosive sound, but it could not penetrate it.

However, a few wisps of black smoke still managed to slip through the net, brushing past the edge of the water curtain and disappearing into the muddy ground of the chicken coop and the water of the fishpond.

Clucking and screaming suddenly erupted from the chicken coop. The three yellow-feathered chickens flapped their wings and thrashed about, but fortunately the coop was sturdy and they didn't escape.

The fish in the pond, large and small, were also disturbed and became chaotic.

After a long time, Turtle Reef Island returned to silence.

Only a few cracks on the ground and fallen leaves and branches proved that what had just happened was not an illusion.

Gao Yao then crawled out of the cellar and looked at the messy shack, his legs felt weak.

"The Sage was frightened." Wu Ling turned to Gao Yao, his tone apologetic. "My cultivation has not yet recovered, and this wicked creature has disturbed my peace. It even nearly affected the spirit bird that the Sage was raising."

"You've done enough."

Moreover, he had the help of Wu Ling; if it were any other fisherman, he would probably be in grave danger.

Gao Yao shook his head and walked to the fishpond and chicken coop, still thinking about the few wisps of black gas that had seeped in.

"These spirit birds..."

Wu Ling understood, and his illusory figure drifted over, a golden light flashing in his eyes as he carefully scanned the chicken coop and fishpond.

A moment later, Wu Ling landed: "Rest assured, Sage, the spirit bird is unharmed. Those few wisps of residual energy were too weak; by the time they touched it, most of them had been neutralized by the life force of this place, and the remainder was insufficient to corrupt the spirit bird's mind."

Gao Yao crouched down and observed through the fence.

The three chickens did indeed gradually calm down. Although their feathers were still a little messy, their eyes were clear and their movements returned to normal.

He wasn't being stingy with his money; rather, he was worried that the evil thing, not yet eradicated, might cause further trouble.

At this moment, Gao Yao still felt a tightness in his chest.

What happened tonight was like a bucket of ice water, completely waking him from this relatively safe illusion.

Turtle Reef Island is not a paradise, and Wu Ling cannot protect him at all times.

Once that evil thing comes, it will come again; if it can touch you once, it may come a second time.

His ability to manipulate shadow puppets led him to the worst possible association with Wang Yao's schemes against the Yunxiang Sect.

Ultimately, it's because I'm too weak.

Having reached the third level of Qi Refining, what difference is there between me and those fish on a chopping board in this Luofu Sea?

The only difference is whether they are devoured by demons and evil creatures or harvested by the immortal sects.

Can't wait.

To passively hide and hope for others' neglect or pity is a path to death.

Since Wang Yao had something on her mind, whether it was her appearance or something else, then in her eyes she should have some value.

And this value, to a large extent, probably depends on one's own cultivation progress and physical condition.

In this case...

Gao Yao raised his head and looked towards the main island.

......