My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

A massive, overwhelming shadow crashed down, completely blocking out the early spring sun in the backyard of the Qin Prince's mansion.

A strong wind swept across the ground, and the old wintersweet trees in the yard could not bear the weight. Their trunks made a teeth-grinding cracking sound and were bent over.

Suspended in mid-air is a colossal vessel hundreds of feet long.

Without sails or oars, the dark red ironwood hull was covered with extremely intricate, ghostly blue runes. A thick, almost tangible white mist hung from the bottom of the ship, and the immense spiritual pressure was like an inverted mountain, pressing down on everyone's head.

Cheng Yaojin tilted his thick neck back, his mouth so wide open it could fit a fist the size of a sand bowl, and his jaw almost dislocated.

The half-lamb leg bone that Yuchi Gong was tightly clutching fell onto the back of his foot, leaving a red mark, but he was completely unaware of it.

Li Jing gasped, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.

Mortals have never seen such magical abilities as moving mountains and overturning seas.

Li Chen clapped his hands, shook off a few specks of wood stuck to his sleeves, and pointed at the enormous object in the sky.

"This is called the Sumeru Spirit Boat."

Li Chen's voice rang out in the deathly silent courtyard, carrying a sense of nonchalant indifference.

"It contains a Sumeru-mustard-seed space, which can hold things; the interior space is quite spacious."

Li Shimin's eyes had turned completely green.

He suddenly took a step forward, gripping Li Chen's arm tightly with both hands, breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on the spirit boat in the sky.

"Chen'er! This divine object is a gift to the Tang Dynasty's navy!" Li Shimin's voice crackled with excitement.

"With it, the iron cavalry of the Tang Dynasty can conquer the four seas and eight wastelands!"

Li Chen rolled his eyes dramatically, flipped his wrist, and pried open Li Shimin's fingers one by one, taking a half-step back in the process.

Stop dreaming.

Li Chen patted the wrinkles on his sleeve, ruthlessly shattering Old Li's illusions.

"This thing burns spirit stones. Even if you emptied the entire treasury of your Great Tang Dynasty, you still wouldn't have enough energy to move it even a fraction of an inch. I'm lending it to you this time, and it's all paid for by me personally, including free shipping."

Li Shimin got impatient, grabbed Li Chen's belt, and shamelessly moved forward.

"I don't care! I must board the ship myself! I want to see that island turn to ashes with my own eyes!"

"Let go." Li Chen slapped Old Li's hand away, his face full of disgust.

"Who approves the memorials of the Tang Dynasty? Who suppresses the remnants of aristocratic families? If you, the emperor, go with me, I'll have to take care of your food, drink, and daily needs. It's too much of a hassle. I'm not taking you."

Seeing Li Shimin's face turn purplish-red in an instant, and he looked like he was about to explode on the spot, Li Chen sighed.

He reached into his robes, fumbled around for a moment, and pulled out a palm-sized crystal mirror with bronze animal heads embedded in its edge, which he then casually tossed into Li Shimin's arms.

"Take it."

Li Chen pointed to the mirror.

"This is called the Mystic Light Water Mirror. I have solidified a transmission array inside it. You can place it on the imperial desk in the Ganlu Hall, drip a drop of blood to recognize its master, and you can see a clear live broadcast of what we did on the island in this mirror."

Li Shimin hurriedly caught the mirror and held it tightly in his arms as if it were the Imperial Seal of the State. Although he was a little frustrated that he couldn't personally go and kill people, being able to see the scene in person was enough to calm his frantic heart.

three days later.

The main camp in the southern suburbs of Chang'an.

Before dawn, the morning mist hung over the drill ground like a damp, cold veil.

Two thousand five hundred of the most elite veterans of the Tang Dynasty stood silently in five neat square formations.

There were no extra provisions or supplies; each person carried only cold black armor, a gleaming longsword, and a powerful crossbow hanging at their waist.

The air was filled with an extremely chilling, bloody stench.

Li Jing, Yuchi Gong, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and Li Chengqian, all five clad in helmets and armor, with swords at their waists, stood at the very front of their respective formations.

Li Chen stood on the command platform, yawned, and casually released the Sumeru Spirit Boat from mid-air.

A massive shadow instantly enveloped the entire southern suburban camp. Although the soldiers below remained silent due to their strict discipline, their eyes revealed undisguised shock.

"Get on the ship."

Li Chen didn't waste any pre-battle pep talks; he simply uttered two words.

A wide beam of cyan light shot out from the bottom of the spirit boat, enveloping the soldiers and generals of the five formations. In a flash, the 2,500 people vanished from their original positions and were sucked into the inner cabin of the spirit boat.

Li Chen stepped on the old wooden platform with his toes, and his body rose into the air like a white bird, landing steadily on the bow of the spirit boat.

"boom--"

Without any storms or horn blasts, the array patterns on the Sumeru Spirit Boat burst forth with dazzling blue light, tearing through the thick clouds above Chang'an City and transforming into a shooting star, hurtling towards the vast East Sea.

The fierce winds high in the sky were blocked by the formation, and the spirit boat moved at an incredible speed.

In less than half an hour, the salty sea breeze had already penetrated the barrier of the formation and entered everyone's nostrils.

A long, narrow island with a dark green outline appeared below the clouds.

Standing at the bow, Li Chen moved his mind, and the spirit boat hovered steadily in the clouds above the island.

He turned around and looked at the five generals on the deck behind him, who were already unable to suppress their murderous intent.

He took out five transparent crystal balls from his sleeve and threw them to the five people in turn.

"I have imprinted the map of the island and the population centers in your minds with my divine sense."

Li Chen crossed his arms and spoke casually.

"Each person is assigned a zone, and each person brings their translators. Spread out and kill."

Li Jing took the crystal ball, weighed it in his hand, and his eyes were sharp as knives.

"This is a communication crystal," Li Chen said, pointing to the beads in their hands.

"A month from now, the crystal in your hands will light up red. Crush it then, and I will come to pick you up according to the coordinates."

"If I encounter a tough opponent that I can't kill along the way, or if I'm about to be killed by someone, I'll crush it and rush over to save them."

Cheng Yaojin shoved the crystal ball into his arms and spat heavily on the ground.

"Pah! If I could get killed on this godforsaken island, I might as well find a tree and hang myself. I can't afford the embarrassment!"

The other four remained silent, but the arrogance and ruthlessness in their eyes clearly showed that they shared the same thoughts as Cheng Yaojin.

"Alright, get lost."

Li Chen waved his hand.

Five streaks of azure light descended from the spirit boat, enveloping five square formations of five hundred people each. Like five sharp knives falling from the sky, they tore through the clouds and crashed down in five different directions toward the island.

After getting rid of those murderous bastards, Li Chen stretched and activated his mind. The massive spirit boat quickly shrank and transformed into a stream of light, flying back into his sleeve.

He removed the levitation array beneath his feet, letting his body plummet to the ground like a meteorite.

Just before he was about to hit the ground, he lightly touched the air with his toes, dissipating the immense force. His moon-white robe drew an arc in the wind, and he landed steadily on a muddy slope overgrown with weeds.

As soon as he landed, Li Chen took a deep breath.

Immediately afterwards, his brows furrowed into a deep knot.

"Damn, we're so poor..."

Li Chen couldn't help but swear, patting the air around him with a look of disgust.

The spiritual energy of this godforsaken place is shockingly thin, and it also has a chilling, malevolent aura. It's not even a tenth as good as the spiritual energy of Chang'an City before its recovery.

His once round and radiant golden elixir felt as if it were covered with a thick layer of mud here. Even a slight movement of his true essence through his meridians caused an indescribable dryness and stagnation.

Using large-scale magical techniques here is not only extremely energy-consuming, but also incredibly difficult to replenish. It's like using a cannon to kill a mosquito—a losing proposition.

"Very well, do these uncivilized dwarfs even deserve my waste of true energy?"

Li Chen complained and simply sealed off the spiritual energy output in his dantian, retaining only the terrifying physical strength of the Golden Core stage, which was tempered and impervious to blades and spears.

While it's certainly spectacular to flatten a mountain with magical powers, nothing beats the stress relief of a brutal, hand-to-hand combat experience.

He traveled all this way, not to become a heartless magical turret.

He twisted his neck, and his joints made a series of cracking sounds like popping beans.

Looking down the earthen slope, not far away on a plain, there sits a sizable wooden fortress.

The outer perimeter was enclosed by a simple fence made of sharpened, coarse wood, and on several watchtowers stood a dozen or so ronin samurai wearing rough bamboo armor and with their hair tied in chonmage (topknots).

A sea breeze blew by, carrying with it the stench of dead fish and excrement that wafted from the walled city.

The guards at the village gate had clearly noticed the young man who had appeared out of nowhere on the earthen slope, dressed in an extremely luxurious yet incongruous white robe.

"Who goes there! Stop right there!"

Two guards wielding long bamboo spears roared and swaggered towards Li Chen.

Li Chen couldn't understand what they were shouting.

He didn't want to understand either.

With a flick of his wrist, his divine soul space opened, and he directly drew out a most ordinary fine steel longsword forged by the Ministry of War of the Tang Dynasty.

There was no scabbard, no sword gleam.

Li Chen held his sword in his right hand, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, leaving a straight, shallow ditch in the muddy dirt road. He dragged his feet and slowly walked towards the two guards.

A sinister, cruel smile slowly crept onto his lips.