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

A few days later, night fell.

The moon was swallowed by dark clouds, leaving only a patch of inky blackness between the sea and the sky.

A jet-black speedboat, with a cloud-patterned emblem on its bow, cut through the sea and sped toward a remote island in the southwest.

Two people stood at the bow of the ship, both at the Foundation Establishment stage, one tall and one short, dressed in the robes of direct disciples of the Yunxiang Sect.

The taller one was named Zhou Cheng, with a stern face and his hand resting on the hilt of his sword; the shorter one was named Li Su, with a round face and angry eyes, his gaze filled with the weariness and vigilance of long night shifts.

The speedboat docked, and the two men jumped onto the reef.

Before it even landed, the pungent, nauseating smell of blood assaulted the senses, mingled with the salty, fishy scent of the sea breeze, making one's throat tighten.

Zhou Cheng frowned, and his sword was already drawn.

Li Su then made a hand seal, and a ball of white light rose from his palm, which he stretched forward, instantly illuminating an area in front of him.

The light was chilling.

The shack had already collapsed more than halfway, and the walls were splattered with dark red stains.

The dark clouds on the horizon gradually dispersed, and the moonlight became pale.

It illuminated the mess and the five corpses lying on the ground.

The family consists of five people, including men, women, and even a teenager.

Their deaths were strikingly similar.

His chest was brutally ripped open, his heart was gone, his head was a bloody mess, and his face was nowhere to be found.

"Another family." Li Su spat, his gaze shifting from the faces that couldn't find peace. "How many times has this happened?"

"So what if it's the first one?" Zhou Cheng squatted down, dipped his finger in the still-wet blood on the ground, and rubbed it between his fingertips. "It's not completely dry yet, within an hour."

"Damn it, these useless fools possessed by their inner demons," Li Su cursed under his breath, his tone revealing little surprise but rather a numb annoyance. "How many more are hiding? Like leeches in the mud, you kill one and another pops up!"

Zhou Cheng didn't reply, but simply stood up, his gaze sweeping over the messy scene before finally settling on the scattered footprints on the ground, and then glancing at the signs that the shack had been ransacked.

"Failed to establish the foundation, the soul disintegrated, and obsession and inner demons coexisted, taking over the physical body." Zhou Cheng said calmly, "Neither human nor ghost, yet still retaining memories of his previous life and a bit of intelligence."

"That's the problem! Wild beasts that go mad and bite randomly are easier to deal with." Li Su kicked away some blood-stained wood at his feet. "But these creatures can think, hide, and even disguise themselves as humans! Mixed in with the fishermen, who knows which one is the real culprit?"

Zhou Cheng walked to the shallows and looked at the trail of footprints that disappeared into the sea: "They are familiar with the locations of the islands and know the gaps in their patrols. They specifically target these isolated islands to make a quick and decisive attack, then disappear into the spiritual sea where they can avoid being tracked, or they simply blend into crowded places."

"Furthermore, he was at least in the late stage of Qi Refining in life, or even half a step into Foundation Establishment. Even if his strength is not as good as it was in life, ordinary fishermen have no ability to resist him. If they arrive in time, it will be over by now."

Zhou Cheng was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "So, don't take it too seriously."

Upon hearing this, Li Su stamped his foot, clearly unwilling to give up so easily.

Zhou Cheng glanced at Li Su and sighed, "Let's report it. Perhaps there are senior brothers in the Hall of Affairs who are good at tracking and can help us."

Li Su nodded, took out a communication jade talisman, and muttered a complaint while channeling spiritual energy into it: "What kind of mess is this! We have to be wary of these ghostly things at night, and we can't even have peace during the day!"

Zhou Cheng was about to walk to the bow of the ship when he heard this and paused slightly: "Daytime? What happened again?"

While reporting intelligence, Li Su continued talking: "The spies from Yun Kingdom have been more active lately."

"Traces of activity have been found in several fishing areas in the southeast. Although no direct action has been taken, it is clear that they are probing the deployment of defenses and the distribution of fishermen."

"Yun Kingdom? Those hypocrites certainly have a long reach." Zhou Cheng's words were laced with sarcasm. "They've been coveting Luofu Sea for a long time now. Let them cause trouble if they want."

Li Su put away the jade talisman, walked back to the corpse, and began to skillfully examine it for any materials worth salvaging. At the same time, he wondered, "Since we knew they were spies, why didn't we just get rid of them? Letting them roam around under our noses always feels unsettling."

Zhou Cheng shook his head, his gaze fixed on the scattered lights in the direction of the main island in the distance: "You think the sect doesn't know? Those old foxes know very well. The reason they haven't moved is to play the long game and catch the big fish."

"Catching a big fish?" Li Su asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The Yun Kingdom sent spies for a few purposes: to find out our true control over Luofu Sea, our resource production and defensive weaknesses, and perhaps also to find an opportunity to turn some disgruntled fishermen or lower-ranking disciples against us."

"But that's not the most important thing." Zhou Cheng paused. "What they're really looking for is probably the same kind of thing we're investigating."

"Those inner demons?" Li Su suddenly looked up.

Zhou Cheng nodded: "It's rumored that the royal family of Yun Kingdom and ours are from the same school, so it's not surprising that they're interested in these strange things."

"So, we deliberately kept these spies around to help us search?" Li Su suddenly realized, then frowned. "But doesn't that mean we're also sending intelligence out?"

"So what if we send them out?" Zhou Cheng's lips curled into a smile. "Inner demons are cunning and can mimic ordinary people, making them extremely difficult to track. If Yun Kingdom spies want to find them, they have to venture into dangerous places and inevitably run into these things."

"They have no idea that this damned thing is inexhaustible; getting involved with it is like playing with fire."

Li Su paused for a moment, then pondered the meaning of those words: "These twists and turns are really exhausting. It's better to just get straight to the point."

"This is called using one tiger to devour another. We'll also take a look at what kind of people Yun Kingdom has sent. Sect rivalry isn't that simple." Zhou Cheng said no more, his gaze sweeping over the scene that had been simply dealt with.

"Take away the useful ones, clean up the rest, and then repopulate the island after a while."

Li Su responded and quickly began to deal with the wreckage.

Fire soon rose at the edge of the island, carrying the smell of burning flesh.

It was quickly blown away by the sea breeze, leaving nothing behind.

......

Ten nautical miles away.

On a long, narrow boat, the fish oil lamp flickered, casting two long shadows.

Ye Ran wore a close-fitting dark-colored water jacket, her long, wet hair was simply tied back with a wooden stick, a few strands of hair clung to the side of her neck, and her face was still slightly damp.

She sat on a low stool, her back still straight, and the imposing aura between her brows was no longer concealed.

Across from them stood a middle-aged man, also dressed in a water jacket, bowing and reporting in a low voice.

"Your Highness, the defense deployment maps for the southeast and northeast have been basically verified and are not significantly different from the intelligence provided by the Red Fortune Trading Company, but the patrol frequency is nearly 20% higher than expected."

"In addition, Yunxiang Sect has recently added sea-stabilizing pillars to several major fishing areas and increased the number of patrols, which has added a lot of trouble to our underwater infiltration."

"As expected." Ye Ran tapped her knuckles rhythmically on the table. "With frequent harassment incidents, it's inevitable that Yunxiang Sect will strengthen its defenses. Write down the expanded range of the Dinghai Pillar and have the array masters study it when we get back to find the patterns and possible weaknesses."

"Yes." The middle-aged man nodded and continued, "Regarding the search for the inner demon, no definite trace has been found yet."

"But based on recent suspected attack sites, at least five to seven inner demons are active in the waters from northwest to southeast."

"Their movements are elusive, and their targets seem to follow no clear pattern, but they tend to target lone fishermen with low cultivation levels or those in remote locations."

"The absence of a pattern is the biggest pattern." Ye Ran's eyes flickered slightly. "They are driven by instinct, and it is easier to succeed with a lone and weak target."

"Tell your men not to approach the suspected area; focus on observation and recording. Our objective is intelligence gathering, not suicide missions."

"Understood, sir." The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, then added, "There's one more thing."

"The Yunxiang Sect has announced that it will hold an autumn examination in two months to select the best fishermen to enter the outer sect. This has caused a great stir among the fishermen, and many are actively preparing. Should we send someone to infiltrate under these circumstances?"

Ye Ran pondered for a moment, then shook her head: "The timing is not right. The selection process for the Yunxiang Sect in the autumn examination will be rigorous. Our people are too shallow and easily exposed. We should focus on gathering intelligence first."

Ye Ran paused, then asked, "What did you find out about those two people I asked you to keep an eye on?"

The middle-aged man knew that the Ninth Princess referred to Ye Zi, who had been settled there at the same time as her, and Gao Yao, the young fisherman who had led the way.

"Ye Zi still lives a secluded life and rarely interacts with others."

"Aside from the necessary fishing and shellfish gathering, they stay on the island every day, with a simple routine and no signs of unusual strength or contact with the outside world."

"Temporarily judged to be an ordinary kidnapped fisherwoman who is withdrawn, timid and afraid of trouble."

"As for Gao Yao..." The man took out a jade slip and scanned it with his divine sense. "According to the observations of the past few days and the information gathered from other fishermen, he was captured by the Yunxiang Sect more than a month ago. Because of his handsome appearance, he was chosen by Wang Yao, a disciple of the sect, and assigned to work as an accountant and handyman at the fish market."

"His daily routine is very regular. He travels between Turtle Reef Island and the fish farm every day, diligently fishing and managing the fish ponds. Recently, he seems to have started trying to raise wild chickens."

"He is shy and cautious, kind to others, and once helped an old fisherman named Zhang Ma who had a broken leg."

"His cultivation level is at the second level of Qi Refining. His progress is acceptable, but not outstanding."

"Nothing is obviously suspicious."

After listening, Ye Ran's face remained expressionless, but she stopped tapping her fingers: "So, what's your conclusion?"

"I believe that Gao Yao is just an ordinary fisherman. He may have been able to make a move by Wang Yao because of his decent aptitude, but he is not special and there is no need to continue to invest manpower in his investigation."

"Wang Yao..." she murmured the name, then nodded. "The people of the Wuxiang Demonic Sect are unpredictable; her favor may not be a good thing."

Ye Ran pictured that handsome face in her mind, those eyes that always looked down slightly, conveying just the right amount of respect and distance.

He is indeed good-looking, with a clean yet fragile youthful air.

It's easy for people to feel goodwill towards them, or even pity them.

But that's it.

In Luofu Sea, a den of monsters that devours people without spitting out the bones, beauty is the most useless thing.

Without strength or powerful backers, even the most beautiful appearance will ultimately become nothing more than a plaything or nourishment.

He's just an ordinary person who's been brainwashed and kept in captivity, struggling to survive.

"Since Gao Yao has nothing outstanding about him, we don't need to pay attention to him for the time being, so as to avoid causing any unnecessary trouble."

Ye Ran made her decision calmly.

"Concentrate manpower on more important areas, continue searching for traces of the inner demons, and closely monitor the progress of the Yunxiang Sect's autumn examination preparations."

"Yes."

......