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

Life in Yunjinfang was even harder than Gao Xiang's.

It's called garrisoning, but it's really just putting people on the front lines and plugging any leaks.

Today, traces of spies are found in the east; tomorrow, someone goes missing in the west; the day after, a supply ship is hijacked at sea. These trivial matters pile up and make one's teeth ache, but none of them are worth noting.

Half a month has passed just like that.

Fortunately, he has relatively little free time.

I was hit during the brawl that night, and the injury wasn't serious, so I used it as an excuse.

While claiming to be recuperating, he secretly used Di Yin and Wang Yao's influence to his advantage. Li Su didn't say much, but often overlooked Gao Yao when assigning tasks.

Compared to the others who stand guard on the shallows every day, his life is incredibly comfortable.

Despite his comfortable situation, Gao Yao was not idle.

He spent most of his time cultivating, and had already mastered two techniques. As for his cultivation level, it was a natural progression with the continuous supply of accumulated spirit stones.

Having reached the ninth level of Qi Refining and the Perfection of the Fetal Breathing Realm, he is only one step away from the Innate Realm. Taking another big step forward will be the Foundation Establishment Realm.

At this level, fetal breathing no longer needs to be consciously maintained. The pores of the body open and close at will, breathing in and out as naturally as a fish breathing in water, and the combat endurance is also different from before.

Of course, in this meat grinder where Foundation Establishment leads to utter crushing defeats, the ninth level of Qi Refining is still not enough, but every bit of strength accumulated adds to one's confidence in surviving.

However, the fact that both the Innate and Foundation Establishment cultivation techniques were in Wang Yao's hands was a thorn in Gao Yao's side, causing him sleepless nights and uneasy days.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't frustrated, but did I have a choice back then?

There's no use thinking about it; let's get through this hurdle first.

The summons came without warning; a paper crane carrying a message from the sect landed on the bedside table.

The words on the paper were few, but the meaning was clear: Enter the blessed land at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow.

What's meant to happen will happen; there's no escaping it.

Around noon, Gao Yao found Old Man Ma on the shallows.

Old Ma, leaning on his cane, squatted on a rock sheltered from the wind, smoking his pipe. The sea breeze was strong, and the smoke he exhaled was blown away as soon as it came out of his mouth.

Gao Yao walked over and squatted down next to him, without rushing to speak.

"What's wrong?" Old Man Ma didn't look at him, staring at the sea.

"A blessed land".

Old Ma nodded, tapped his pipe against the rocks, and the sparks fell into the sand and went out.

"I received it too, shall we team up?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you."

Old Ma glanced at him sideways, his old face expressionless. He simply tucked his pipe back into his waistband, leaned on his cane, and stood up.

Both of them are intelligent people, so there's no need to spell things out too clearly.

It took some effort to find Ye Zi.

The girl wasn't in the stone building. Gao Yao circled Yun Jin Fang twice before finally finding her among the rocks behind the stone building. Ye Zi was sitting on a flat rock, a piece of spirit skin spread out in front of her, drawing talismans with her head down.

The sea breeze ruffled her hair, and a few stray strands clung to her cheeks, but she didn't bother to brush them away. She was so engrossed in staring at the tip of her pen that she didn't even notice Gao Yao approaching.

"Senior Sister Ye."

Ye Zi looked up, blinked, and then realized what was happening. She quickly moved the spirit skin aside to make room for Gao Yao to sit.

Gao Yao sat down next to her and got straight to the point: "Let's go to the blessed land together tomorrow."

Ye Zi paused for a moment, then lowered her head and remained silent.

Gao Yao waited a moment before seeing her nod slightly.

"Bring everything you can," Gao Yao added. "Trinkets, pills, and magical artifacts. Don't forget spare spirit ink and spirit hides either. You never know what might happen once you're inside, and supplies might not keep up."

Ye Zi nodded again.

Looking at her taciturn demeanor, Gao Yao wanted to say a few more words, but then felt it would be superfluous.

On the way back, Gao Yao did some mental calculations.

Old Ma has a wide network of connections and is experienced enough to discuss countermeasures when faced with complex situations. Ye Zi is skilled at making talismans, so even if she is only used as a logistical support, it is still a good deal.

Including themselves, although the three of them are all stuck at the third stage of Qi Refining, which is not outstanding among the group of people entering the blessed land, they may still have a way out if they cooperate well.

What truly gave him confidence was Wu Ling.

This tortoise spirit, sleeping within the fragments of tortoise shell, is Gao Yao's greatest trump card. Even if he encounters a Foundation Establishment cultivator, survival will not be a problem.

Gao Yao patted the tortoise shell fragment in his storage bag, then turned and walked towards the stone building.

......

The next day at Chenshi (7-9 AM), the entrance to the blessed land was reached.

About ten miles south of Yunjinfang, a crack suddenly appears in the sea, hidden between two reef islands, as if someone had cut a line at the horizon with a knife.

The edges of the crack shimmered with a pale blue light, the halo flickering between bright and dim, the edges constantly twisting and deforming, occasionally releasing wisps of mist that were quickly dispersed by the sea breeze.

From a distance, it looks like a half-open eye.

Below the crack is a shallow area surrounded by coral reefs, not large in area, about a hundred feet square.

The coral reefs do not appear to be naturally formed; some resemble broken stone pillars, while others look like fallen arches, their surfaces covered with petrified seaweed and barnacles.

The seawater was very clear, and you could see a layer of fine white sand at the bottom, mixed with some unknown material that shimmered in the sunlight.

About twenty outer disciples, all dressed in gray robes, gathered in twos and threes on the shallows, talking in hushed tones.

Gao Yao glanced over and saw familiar faces. Most of them were at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining, a few were at the ninth level, and there were two or three who had reached the Perfection of Qi Refining. Their auras were noticeably more composed than others. Standing in the crowd, one could feel their subtle pressure without even looking.

Old Ma stood at the edge of the crowd, smoking his pipe, while Ye Zi shrank further away.

They exchanged a brief glance with him before looking away.

Before long, the people from Yun Kingdom arrived.

The leader was a young cultivator in a black robe, with a perfected Qi Refining cultivation level. His face was sinister, and he didn't seem easy to deal with. Behind him were seventeen or eighteen Qi Refining cultivators, all expressionless, dressed in uniform dark clothing with a soaring sea eagle embroidered on their chests.

Behind Yunguo are the ships of Hongyun Trading Company.

Feng Yi stood at the bow of the ship, dressed in an ochre-red silk robe, smiling and bowing to both sides as if he were attending a wedding banquet. He was accompanied by only five Qi Refining cultivators, the fewest in number, but each of them had a well-prepared storage bag hanging from their waist, bulging and full, clearly indicating that they had prepared plenty of goods.

The three groups of cultivators faced off for a moment before the rift, and the atmosphere became tense.

Just then, several streaks of light flew in from three directions simultaneously.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator has arrived.

They were too far away to hear what they were saying.

But Gao Yao could see that after Wang Yao said something, Jiang Ming snorted coldly, Feng Yi cupped his hands in greeting, and the three of them exchanged a few words before turning to their own groups and nodding.

That's settled.

The leader of the Yunxiang Sect was a middle-aged cultivator with a square face, thick eyebrows, and a loud voice.

He stood at the front of the line, raised his voice and gave a few instructions, saying that this entry was limited to those below the Foundation Establishment stage, and everyone should rely on their own abilities to find opportunities, but they should not take the initiative to cause trouble. If they encountered people from the Cloud Kingdom or the Red Fortune Merchant Guild, they should try to join their sect first, as those who were alone were more likely to suffer losses.

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and about twenty outer disciples began to line up and walk towards the rift.

As you approach the crack, the pale blue light becomes even more dazzling.

The edges of the halo twisted and turned, and nothing could be seen inside the crack except a slowly rotating cloud of gray mist that sucked people in like a vortex.

The people in front have already gone in.

Gao Yao saw a disciple of the Yunxiang Sect walk to the crevice, hesitate for a moment, close his eyes, and step in.

The gray mist swirled and the person vanished, as if swallowed whole.

It was Gao Yao's turn.

......