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

It was very windy at the dock.

Old Ma leaned against the wall, took out his pipe, and lit it after several attempts. The bluish-gray smoke dissipated quickly in the wind.

Gao Yao stood aside, not in a hurry to leave.

After a moment of silence, Old Man Ma spoke first: "You lad, you're now a direct disciple of the Supreme Elder."

Gao Yao couldn't tell whether the words were congratulations or something else, so he simply responded with a "yes".

Old Ma took a puff of his cigarette, the tobacco burning quickly with flickering flames: "It's good to be a direct disciple, you walk with such swagger, unlike us outer disciples who have to bow our heads to everyone."

"Uncle Ma," Gao interrupted him, "please just say what you have to say."

Old Ma stared at Gao Yao for a moment, then smiled, a hint of helplessness in his smile: "Just a reminder, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. There are quite a few people in this sect watching you."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "The spies from Yun Kingdom have been more active lately. When you're out there, don't believe just anyone, especially those new faces."

"The Cloud Kingdom?"

"Yes, that big country to the south." Old Ma tapped his pipe. "They're at odds with the Yunxiang Sect and sent a lot of people to infiltrate. A batch of them got in during the autumn exams. Be careful."

"Thank you, Uncle Ma."

Gao Yao nodded. He remembered what Old Man Ma was doing to Ye Ran and her group. Were they spies from Yun Kingdom?

However, Ye Ran's behavior didn't seem like that of a qualified spy.

The two remained silent for a while.

Several fishing boats passed by on the sea, swaying gently.

Gao Yao had something he wanted to remind the other person of, but he hesitated to speak.

"I'll go with you on that mission you just took," Old Man Ma said again.

Gao Yao didn't refuse. Having someone to accompany him was better than being alone. Besides, Old Man Ma had been in this sea for many years and knew the people and the ways of the world, making it much easier for him to make the visit.

"Alright." Gao Yao paused for a moment, then added, "There's something I also need to remind you of."

Old Ma turned his head to look at him.

"Things have been rather unsettled lately, and the sect's night patrols have become increasingly tense." Gao Yao lowered his voice, wanting to remind the other person of the matter of inner demons again, "Some things are more troublesome than underwater monsters."

"They can blend into crowds, pretend to be real people, get on the island, sneak into shacks, and kill people, leaving not even bones behind."

Old Ma didn't answer, but his expression changed.

He remained silent for a long time, tapping his fingers on the pipe as if recalling something.

"That night on the mudflats..." His voice was hoarse, as if he were talking to himself, "We captured those two outer disciples, and they turned into shadow puppets. Several ghostly things jumped out of their pouches and killed all our men. You mean those things?"

Gao Yao didn't respond; he was also processing what the other person had said.

Was the monster that attacked us on the island that night part of the sect's plan?

Something doesn't feel right...

The two men had different expressions and remained silent for a long time.

Old Ma shook his head, simply tucked his pipe into his waistband, and said, "Let's go. The mission is important; we can talk about other things later."

The two walked towards the dock.

Gao Yao's sampan was still moored in the same old spot, with some water accumulating at the bottom. He bent down and scooped it out.

Old Ma stood on the shore, looking at his dilapidated boat, and shook his head.

"It's time to replace your boat."

"As long as it works, it's fine." Gao Yao didn't care much.

The boat that was previously replaced for the autumn trials was left at Wangjing Reef, and this one is still the original small sampan.

In his eyes, the only thing worth replacing was the treasure ship and spirit boat used by the inner disciples.

Unfortunately, even the worst one is still considered a second-tier spiritual weapon, quite valuable, and the sect's control over it is very strict.

However, considering that he needed to escape from this place, he had to find a suitable and fast treasure ship and also find a way to move the entire Turtle Reef Island.

This is difficult.

Old Ma didn't say anything more, and hopped onto his boat, leaning on his cane. His boat was bigger than Gao Yao's, and the cabin was filled with miscellaneous items, looking messy but neatly organized.

The two ships, one after the other, sailed away from the dock.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, flowing along the sea surface and obscuring the distant reefs and islands.

Gao Yao sat at the stern, looking at Old Man Ma's boat ahead.

Although the old man had lost a leg, he was adept at navigating the boat. The oars seemed to have eyes in his hands, and every stroke was precise and powerful.

To be honest, Gao Yao's feelings for Old Man Ma were very complicated.

This old man had both helped him and kept his distance.

She deliberately kept her distance before the autumn exam, and then distanced herself again afterward, saying she was afraid of implicating him. But who knows if she was also keeping an eye on him?

But those words he just spoke, whether it was a warning to be careful of Yun Kingdom spies or revealing the matter of shadow puppetry, were both gambles with his life.

In this godforsaken place, I'm lucky to have met someone like this.

Old Man Ma's boat slowed down, waiting for him to dock.

"The first one, in the northern fishing area, number 17 (甲字七)." Old Ma flipped through the mission book. "It's an old fisherman who lives alone, surnamed Hong, and has been in this sea for more than ten years."

Gao Yao nodded and steered the boat closer.

The two boats drifted side by side, watching the increasingly close outlines of the reefs and islands on the sea.

To be honest, these kinds of visits seem simple, but they are not necessarily easy to do.

Fishermen are generally very wary and dare not talk much to strangers, or they will become suspicious if asked too many questions.

Old Ma knows many people, so we can save ourselves some trouble.

As for abnormal situations...

Gao Yao remembered the steward's instructions: he could only visit during the day and leave on his own after dark. If he found anything unusual before going ashore, he should report it immediately.

I didn't think much of it at the time, but now that I think about it, those words sound strange.

Isn't that the monster that came to the island that day?

That thing can disguise itself as a human, blend in with the fishermen, sneak onto the island and into the shacks, and by the time you realize what's happening, it's too late.

If you happen to run into them during a visit, you can still escape before they get ashore, but once they're ashore, it's hard to say what will happen.

Gao Yao took this mission seriously and made up his mind to escape if anything unusual happened.

In the distance, a reef island gradually came into view.

The island is small, even smaller than Turtle Reef Island. It is bare with little vegetation, with only a shack built in a sheltered spot. The walls are whitened by the sea breeze, and some of the seaweed on the roof has fallen off, revealing the wooden frame underneath.

An old man squatted at the entrance of the shack, head down, mending a fishing net.

He wore a patched-up gray cotton jacket, his skin was tanned dark, his hair was gray and sparse, revealing his sun-reddened scalp underneath.

Old Man Ma steered the boat closer, but before going ashore, he called out first.

"Old Hong!"

The old man looked up, squinted, and stared for a while before recognizing the person.

"Old Ma?" He put down the fishing net, propped himself up on his knees, and stood up slowly, his back slightly hunched. "What brings you here?"

"It's a mission from the sect, a visit." Old Ma, leaning on his cane, hopped ashore, with Gao Yao following behind.

Old Hong's gaze fell on Gao Yao, and he looked him up and down a few times.

"This is?"

"Outer disciple, Gao Yao." Old Ma didn't go into details. "I'll ask you a few questions, then I'll leave."

Old Hong nodded and led the two into the shack.

The shack was very simple, with a wooden bed, a low table, and a few broken pots piled in the corner.

There was a musty smell mixed with a fishy smell in the air, which made Gao Yao's throat tighten.

Old Ma didn't sit down, but stood at the door: "How have you been lately?"

"The same old story," Old Hong sighed. "Go out to sea, fish, pay taxes, and make a living."

Are you the only person on the island?

"Just me." Old Hong paused. "Old Zhao next door passed away last month, you should know that."

Old Ma looked at Gao Yao, who flipped through the task book and found Old Zhao's entry, which read "died of illness" and was stamped with the fish market's seal.

"I know," Old Ma nodded. "You were close to him, did he act strangely during that time?"

Old Hong was taken aback: "Something's wrong?"

"Yes," Old Ma carefully chose his words, "has anything different from usual? Like, he's become quieter, or he doesn't come back to the island at night?"

Old Hong shook his head: "No, it's just that my old problem flared up again. I coughed up blood, and it lasted for about half a month before it was gone."

Old Ma didn't ask any more questions, but asked a few routine ones: Have you seen any unfamiliar faces recently? Have you been attacked by any monsters?

Old Hong replied that there was nothing unusual.

The two said goodbye and left.

Stepping out of the shack, the sea breeze rushed into my collar, bringing a touch of coolness to the heat.

Gao Yao glanced back, and Lao Hong squatted back down by the door, head down mending the fishing net, as if they had never been there.

Old Ma, leaning on his cane, walked slowly toward the boat.

"How is it?" Gao Yao asked.

"That's normal." Old Ma shook his head. "I've known Old Hong for many years. His personality hasn't changed, and he speaks normally. If he were really possessed by that thing, he would inevitably give himself away."

Gao Yao nodded, without saying anything more.

The two ships, one after the other, sailed away from the reef.

The fog on the sea had dissipated somewhat, and the outlines of the distant reefs and islands became much clearer.

Old Man Ma suddenly spoke up: "Do you really think the sect sent us on these visits just to check the population?"

Gao thought for a moment: "Not entirely."

"I think so too." Old Ma rested the oar across his lap, took out his pipe, and said, "Checking the population is a pretense; checking those things is the real purpose."

Old Ma didn't say it outright, but both of them understood.

Gao Yao didn't reply, but just looked at the reefs and islands on the sea that were getting farther and farther away.

To be honest, he still doesn't understand what the sect is after.

Where do inner demons come from?

Why raise them among fishermen?

Were those missing fishermen turned into shadow puppets, or were they fed something?

......