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

The sampan in Gaoyao swayed in the current of boats, its bottom occasionally hitting some broken planks with a dull thud.

He paid no attention to any of that, his eyes fixed on the chaos ahead, his plan becoming clearer and clearer in his mind.

They needed a breakthrough to disrupt their fleet while simultaneously luring the sharks towards the four major gangs.

This plan sounds easy, but putting it into practice...

Gao Yao looked down at his own boat, then at Ye Zi's nearly dilapidated sampan behind him, and twitched his lips.

With his meager resources, he wouldn't even be able to get close to a large group of sharks, let alone attract a school of them.

Those large gangs' ships are positioned very close together, like a city wall surrounding them. Do you want to get close?

They can easily push you aside with a single stroke of their oar; pushing you aside is considered polite, but if they're unhappy, they'll just lash out at your side of the boat.

Those four gangs weren't stupid; they could tell at a glance that someone was up to something. In the end, forget about attracting sharks; they'd become the target of everyone's ire.

We need to get more people involved.

Small and medium-sized gangs and lone boats, totaling hundreds of people and hundreds of boats.

These people are in a similar situation to Gao Yao. What do they need most right now?

It's not a way out, it's a way out, a way to break the deadlock.

If someone can provide a solution, or even just a direction, these people will follow it.

It wasn't because they had a lot of influence, but because they were forced into a corner and had no other choice.

But that person cannot be from Gaoyao.

A sect dog who was taken care of by Wang Yao was an anomaly in the eyes of the fishermen.

Whether people believe you or not is another matter; they might even think you have ulterior motives.

We need to find someone, someone who is respected among the fishermen, well-liked, and whose words are listened to.

A figure popped into Gao Yao's mind: Old Man Ma.

That old man was well-liked. He had been on this sea longer than most people, knew many fishermen, and had a high reputation.

If we let him take the lead in uniting small and medium-sized groups, while we stay behind and offer suggestions, the chances of success will be much greater.

Would Old Man Ma agree?

That old man doesn't trust anyone now, and he even deliberately keeps his distance from himself.

Gao Yao gritted his teeth. No matter what, he would give it a try.

He looked to his left and saw that Old Man Ma's boat was still there, not far away, about ten feet away.

The old man, leaning on a cane, was propped up on one leg in the cabin, staring at the sea, lost in thought.

Gao Yao rowed the boat slowly closer.

Old Ma turned his head, saw Gao Yao, and frowned slightly.

"Don't come any closer." The voice was hoarse, carrying a chilling indifference. "I said, we'll each go our own way in the autumn examination hall."

Gao Yao didn't stop, but pulled his boat alongside Old Man Ma's boat, and the two boats drifted side by side.

"I'm not here to seek refuge," Gao Yao said in a low voice, "but to do some business."

Old Ma stared at him without saying a word.

Gao Yao didn't rush to speak. He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before moving closer.

He didn't beat around the bush and just stated his judgment and thoughts in a few words.

"I want to lead the sharks towards the four major gangs."

Old Ma's expression shifted several times, from surprise to scrutiny, and finally settled into an indescribable complexity.

"You little rascal," he shook his head, "you've got some nerve."

"It's not that we're brave, it's that we have no other choice," Gao Yao said. "If we keep dragging this out, we'll all die."

"You can see the situation clearly now. Small and medium-sized gangs and lone boats can't withstand the dragging on; the longer it goes on, the faster they'll die. Large gangs can slowly wear us down. Once they've exhausted us, they'll come back to clean up the mess. By then, who will have the strength to fight them?"

Old Ma remained silent for a while, his gaze shifting back and forth between the four major gangs.

Gao Yao paused for a moment, then continued, "Rather than wait to die, we should take a gamble, stir up trouble, and create chaos among the major groups. Only then will we have a chance."

Old Ma frowned even more deeply: "You?!"

"Not enough." Gao Yao shook his head. "That's why we need Uncle Ma's help to unite the small and medium-sized gangs."

Old Man Ma understood: this kid wasn't going to go it alone; he wanted to team up with the rest of the group.

He felt he wasn't qualified to act on his own, so he came to me for help.

"What makes you think I'd help you?"

"It's not about helping me, it's about helping ourselves." Gao Yao looked into Old Man Ma's eyes. "You don't want to investigate those things anymore? Don't you want to know what the sect is hiding? If you don't enter the outer sect, you won't even have the chance to investigate."

Old Ma was speechless. After a long silence, he finally nodded and said, "I'll give it a try, but let me be clear, I can't guarantee it will work."

Gao Yao breathed a sigh of relief and then explained the second half of his plan.

"Unity alone is not enough; we also need a breakthrough. I plan to use the Fish Spirit Talisman to send the talisman treasure to the bottom of the gang's ship and detonate it at the right time to create chaos."

"A fish-shaped talisman?"

"A mid-grade first-tier item. It can summon a fish spirit in the sea to attract and catch fish, and it can also be used to transport things." Gao Yao took out a talisman from his pocket and handed it to Old Man Ma. "I also have a talisman treasure. When the time comes, tie the talisman treasure to the fish spirit, let it swim to the bottom of the gang's ship, and then detonate it."

Old Man Ma took the talisman and examined it from all angles.

"Will this thing work?"

"Whether it works or not, we'll only know after we try."

"There's one more thing," Old Ma's voice suddenly turned low, "Which house are you planning to bomb?"

Gao Yao was stunned for a moment. He had originally thought that he didn't care which house to bomb, as long as it could create chaos.

But when Old Man Ma asked that question, he realized that the other party probably already had a target in mind.

"Please speak."

"Ye Ran's family."

Gao Yao looked at Old Man Ma in surprise.

Why?

Old Ma didn't explain, he just said, "Don't ask so many questions, just do as I say."

Gao Yao stared at him for two seconds, then didn't ask any more questions.

He didn't know, nor did he want to know, what grudge the old man had against Ye Ran and her group.

The most important thing right now is to muddy the waters; what lies beneath that muddy water is a matter for later.

"Okay." Gao Yao nodded. "Over there."

Old Ma didn't say anything more. Leaning on his cane and using the oar, he said, "I'm going to find someone. You wait here."

"how long?"

"Half an hour."

Old Ma didn't look back. His oars cut through the water, and he slowly steered into the chaotic flow of boats.

Gao Yao watched his retreating figure, took a deep breath, and turned to look at Ye Zi.

"Miss Ye, come here."

Ye Zi's boat came closer, and the two sampans drifted side by side.

"Brother Gao, we..."

"Wait," Gao interrupted her, "wait for Uncle Ma's news."

Ye Zi nodded without asking any further questions.

Gao Yao leaned against the side of the boat, looking at the sea.

The chaos continues.

The large gangs remained firmly in place, while the smaller gangs lost a few more ships.

Half an hour is neither a long nor a short time.

Gao Yao turned around and stared in the direction of Ye Ran's gang.

A dozen or so boats were arranged in a wedge shape, with just the right distance between them.

This teamwork doesn't seem like something that was put together temporarily.

Gao Yao observed the people on the boat again.

He had sensed something was wrong before. Fishermen work at sea year-round, so their backs are often hunched, their skin is tanned dark red, and their lips are purple.

Although these people's skin wasn't fair, the roughness was off; it didn't look like the result of years of exposure to the wind and sun at sea.

And their eyes—the fishermen's eyes are mostly numb, filled with helplessness about life and uncertainty about the future.

These people are different.

There was something indescribable in their eyes.

Gao Yao suddenly had a guess in his mind.

These people are from other forces who deliberately infiltrated the area.

What could they possibly be doing sneaking in?

Gao couldn't figure it out, and he didn't have time to think about it any further.

In the distance, Old Man Ma had already reached the area where the small and medium-sized gangs were gathered.

He stood at the bow of the boat, leaning on his cane, talking to the fishermen on several other boats.

At first, those people just listened without reacting.

After a while, some people started nodding, and others came closer to talk in hushed tones.

Old Ma gestured something, but his voice was carried away by the sea breeze and couldn't be heard clearly.

But Gao Yao could see that the expressions on those people's faces were changing.

From numbness to hesitation, from hesitation to excitement.

After a while, more people gathered around Old Man Ma's boat.

They were all talking at once, as if they were arguing about something.

Old Man Ma wasn't in a hurry; he waited until they had finished arguing before slowly speaking.

This time, no one interrupted him.

Gao Yao looked at it from afar and suddenly felt a surge of emotions.

This old man is indeed quite capable. He's been in this sea for many years, and his connections aren't for nothing.

After a while, Old Man Ma pushed his way out of the crowd and headed towards Gao Yao.

"It's done." His voice was hoarse and weary. "More than thirty boats are willing to join, while some are still hesitant, saying they'll think about it some more."

"That's enough. Too many people will only make things more chaotic." Gao knew that all they needed now was a trigger point to cause trouble for the four major gangs, and any fishermen with guts would take advantage of the situation.

"When will you make your move?"

"Wait for my signal."

"What is the signal?"

"Firelight".

"If you see a fire, rush in."

The group exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

Old Ma looked at Gao Yao, his lips moved, but in the end he just patted him on the shoulder.

"careful."

Gao Yao jumped onto his sampan, untied the rope, and looked at Ye Zi.

"Miss Ye, stay close to me."

Ye Zi nodded and immediately rowed the boat to follow closely behind.

Two sampans, one after the other, entered the chaotic flow of boats.

......