They walked along streets made of compacted silver sand. Yaoyue led the way with a buoyant step, as if she were the rightful owner of this plain, while Zhi Xuan followed behind her with vigilant caution. Zhi Xuan’s sapphire eyes constantly scanned every movement of the practitioners passing by.

  "Heavenly Secret Shell Pavilion," Yaoyue murmured as they stopped in front of a building that looked more like a spiraling coral tower. The structure had no physical door, but rather a slowly rotating water curtain that emitted dense energy fluctuations.

  "This is a small branch of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion; they are present in every Plain," Yaoyue continued, stepping through the water curtain without hesitation. "Senior Fengyan, come."

  Zhi Xuan followed her inside, feeling a chill as he passed through the water. Inside the pavilion, the atmosphere was profoundly silent and dim. Thousands of small air bubbles floated in the air, each containing scrolls of paper or memory crystals that glowed faintly. The practitioners here spoke in hushed tones, as if a loud noise would shatter the information they were seeking.

  An old man with a hunched back and skin that looked like ancient wood soaked in water for centuries emerged from behind a sandalwood desk. He looked at Yaoyue for a moment, then shifted his gaze to Zhi Xuan. His clouded eyes flashed briefly as he sensed the depth of the hidden abyss within Zhi Xuan’s frame.

  "Welcome, Young Miss," the old man’s voice sounded like the grinding of coral reefs. "What information do you wish to purchase from this vast ocean?"

  "I wish to know two things," Yaoyue said in a calm yet authoritative tone. "First, about the movements of the true geniuses currently in Cang Hai. Second, I want to see what lies deep beneath the Cang Hai Ocean down there."

  Feng Yaoyue flicked her finger and floated a small pouch filled with crystals, embossed with the silhouette of the Ancient Feng Clan’s emblem. The old man was slightly stunned, but Feng Yaoyue hissed softly as if telling him to remain silent. The man immediately understood and pulled the small pouch into his sleeve.

  The old man remained silent for a long time, letting his wrinkled fingers stroke the sandalwood surface while digesting the weight of the emblem he had just seen. The presence of a descendant of the Phoenix bloodline in the territory of the water dragons of the Bai Clan was a variable capable of overturning the tides of Cang Hai.

  "By coming here, you will surely encounter your kin and the elders of your Ancient Feng Clan again, Holy Maiden Feng," the old man whispered, waving his hand in the air. Instantly, dozens of information bubbles around them moved aside, leaving a large, deep blue bubble that manifested right in their midst. "Regarding the true geniuses... you likely do not know yet that the Ancient Bai Clan has hosted a gathering of the Nine Ancient Clans. The Ancient Shen and Chen Clans, and even the powerful Zhu and Hua Clans, will arrive as the Ocean Chaos Secret Realm begins to surge."

  "The Ocean Chaos Secret Realm..." Feng Yaoyue muttered, her peach-blossom eyes narrowing slightly. "So, the turbulence is truly happening now? Fate indeed loves to drag everyone into the same cauldron."

  Zhi Xuan, who had been standing like a statue behind Yaoyue, felt a strange throb within his Divine Wheel. The names of the Ancient Clans the old man mentioned—Shen, Chen, Zhu, and Hua—were the pillars supporting the sky of the Nine Plains. If they all gathered in Cang Hai, this ocean would no longer be calm; it would turn into a battlefield of dragons and phoenixes vying for a shred of heavenly luck.

  "Holy Maiden Zhu..." Zhi Xuan thought, and the silhouette of Zhu Qinglan briefly flashed through his mind. If the great clans were coming, there was a high probability he would meet those with whom he had bound karma.

  "And the Ancient Han Clan of Yao Gu?" Zhi Xuan suddenly interrupted, his cold voice slicing through the dim silence of the pavilion. "Will they also send their geniuses into this vortex?"

  The old man turned toward Zhi Xuan, his gaze deepening as he tried to pierce through the mist of sword intent surrounding the warrior. "The Han Clan is the arch-enemy of the Bai Clan, young man. They will not miss a chance to set foot on these waters if it means tearing at the Bai Clan's reputation. And it is not impossible that they will also invite the Heavenly Leaf Sacred Pavilion, the only entity capable of standing equal to the Ancient Clans."

  "Heavenly Leaf Sacred Pavilion," Zhi Xuan repeated the name with a bitter tone. The image of Ye Xishui, the Sacred Fairy of that faction, now joined the thoughts in his mind. If all these peak powers were truly gathering, he would witness a grand meeting unlike anything he had ever seen.

  "Why is it that wherever I go, karma follows me?" Zhi Xuan thought, letting out a sharp exhale as he fell silent. "Sacred Fairy Zhu, Sacred Fairy Ye, and now Sacred Fairy Feng. Three women. I tried to distance myself from two Sacred Fairies, yet now another has appeared."

  Feng Yaoyue glanced sideways, catching the change in Zhi Xuan’s expression, which had momentarily darkened. She let out a small laugh, her voice rippling through the silence of the pavilion like light reflecting on water. She knew full well that the man beside her was a magnet for the complicated threads of fate.

  "Senior, don't make such a face," Yaoyue whispered, leaning closer and letting her heavenly peach scent slightly calm the turmoil in Zhi Xuan’s heart. "The more dragons and phoenixes gather, the muddier the water gets, right? And in muddy water, small fish like us can swim more freely to steal the pearls of heaven."

  The old man cleared his throat, drawing their attention back to the deep blue bubble, which now began to display faint images of the ocean depths. "Holy Maiden, regarding your second question... beneath the Cang Hai Ocean, at the very bottom of the Heavenly Dragon Trench, lies the legacy of an Immortal. It is rumored that the arrival of the Ancient Clans this time is also for the chance to obtain the Heavenly Ascension Fruit, a divine herb said to be capable of breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage by bypassing all stages of Weaver Transformation."

  "The Heavenly Ascension Fruit blooms only once every tens of thousands of years," the old man continued with a thin smile. "Without loss, its foundation is as solid as the earth. The Nine Ancient Clans will certainly not miss this opportunity to let their Holy Sons and Maidens step further."

  "Heavenly Ascension Fruit..." Feng Yaoyue whispered, her slender fingers unconsciously clutching the edge of her silk robe. A flash of pure ambition sparkled in her eyes, yet it was now tempered with anxiety and daze. "My brother, Feng Haoyue, will surely want that. And if he finds me here, he will drag me home and pinch my ears."

  Feng Yaoyue immediately turned to Zhi Xuan, but this time her gaze was not filled with seductive guile, but a very serious look. She grabbed Zhi Xuan’s wrist—this time with a firm grip—and dragged him out of the Heavenly Secret Shell Pavilion with steps much more hurried than when they arrived.

  "Old man, forget that I ever set foot here, or I will ensure your pavilion never sees the sun rise over the ocean again!" Yaoyue threatened before her figure completely vanished behind the water curtain.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Once they were back on the silver sand streets, the fresh morning air of Cang Hai felt suffocating to Yaoyue. She led Zhi Xuan toward a quieter pier area, away from the crowds of practitioners who might recognize a great clan's aura.

  "Feng Haoyue..." Zhi Xuan hissed, jerking his hand free from Yaoyue’s grasp. "Your sibling? The Holy Son of the Feng Clan?"

  "Correct, Senior Zhi," Feng Yaoyue replied, her voice losing its usual playful tone. Her porcelain-white face looked slightly rigid under the shade of the quiet crystal pier. "That brother of mine... he was born with a Divine Body. He is the sword sharpened by the elders to be the strongest Holy Son in the history of the Ancient Feng Clan. If he is here with the Feng Clan elders, even if I disguised myself as a baby, he would recognize me!"

  Yaoyue stared at the horizon, where clusters of floating islands were beginning to be illuminated by the dawn light reflecting off the water. "We must obtain the key to the Ocean Chaos Secret Realm immediately before they all arrive. If I can get that Heavenly Ascension Fruit, I will no longer have to fear being dragged back to the Feng Clan’s golden cage."

  Zhi Xuan snorted, crossing his arms over his chest and letting his black-and-white robes flutter wildly in the strong sea breeze. "Stealing under the noses of the Nine Ancient Clans? Holy Maiden, your ambition will surely be the grave for both of us. You just heard it; they are bringing their entire peak strength. If I am there, they could catch even my shadow."

  Suddenly, a thunderous cheer erupted from a distant floating plain. The practitioners in East Ocean City turned toward that plain, their faces suddenly filled with excitement. They didn't waste time; several of them took flight toward the floating land.

  "Look, the Ancient Clans have arrived!" shouted one man, his face burning with passion. "If I can see these descendants of the Great Emperors, I will surely gain enlightenment for my cultivation!"

  The roar from the distance grew deafening, not just the shouts of practitioners, but the vibration of natural laws being forced into submission by the presence of great entities. From the horizon of the Cang Hai sky, which had been clear blue, several void rifts appeared, and from them, the Ancient Clans emerged.

  "Look up! That is the Warship of the Ancient Chen Clan!" cried an old practitioner standing at the edge of the pier, his hand trembling as he pointed toward a giant jade mountain floating in the air, slicing through the clouds with unmatched majesty.

  "By the ancestors... is that the Golden Lightning Eagle of the Ancient Shen Clan?" another practitioner in the crowd below shouted. "Every flap of its wings brings thunder! They have truly sent their main battle fleet just for this festival!"

  The atmosphere in East Ocean City, which had been calm, instantly turned into a sea of hysteria. On the rainbow bridges connecting the floating islands, thousands of practitioners crowded together, their eyes unblinking as they watched the parade of grandeur unfolding in the sky.

  "Move aside! Make way for the envoys of the Ancient Bai Clan!" shouted a group of soldiers in dragon-scale armor, clearing the crowd with crystal spears to welcome the arrival of the noble guests. "Anyone obstructing the path of light will be executed on the spot by order of the Ancient Bai Clan!"

  In the midst of the commotion, the conversations among merchants and wanderers became a noisy storm in the marketplace.

  "I heard the Holy Son Chen Jianyun, brought his Sword God!" whispered a one-eyed man to his companion behind a stall. "If he meets the Holy Son of the Feng Clan, this sea will surely boil!"

  "Hush! Watch your tongue! Don't let the clan elders overhear," his companion replied, face pale. "Look to the east... that vessel looks like a divine leaf... that must be the group from the Heavenly Leaf Sacred Pavilion! Who else possesses such luxury but them?"

  "Does that mean Sacred Fairy Ye is also there?" a young man's voice sounded full of longing. "It is said her beauty is like a leaf drifting on a river. If I could just see the edge of her robe, I would die happy!"

  Zhi Xuan remained still, but his sharp senses caught every fluctuation of energy descending from the sky. The pressure from the gathering Nine Ancient Clans created a heavy resonance, as if the entire Cang Hai Plain were slowly sinking under the weight of their authority.

  "This soon?" Zhi Xuan hissed, gritting his teeth as if nearly losing his mind. He turned toward Feng Yaoyue. "Release my seal this instant; I have no time to deal with the Ancient Clans."

  Feng Yaoyue did not answer immediately. Her usually playful eyes were fixed on the procession in the sky, particularly on a mass of burning red clouds appearing from the south—a sign of the Phoenix fire carriage of the Feng Clan. Her porcelain face was now marked with visible anxiety.

  "Senior, if I release your seal now, you will only become a more conspicuous target," Yaoyue whispered, her voice nearly swallowed by the crash of thunder from the Shen Clan fleet. "Your aura will resonate with the laws here. Those clan elders have the power to sense a single drop of foreign spiritual essence within a radius of a thousand li."

  "And you expect me to just stand here while my allies or enemies land on my head?" Zhi Xuan demanded, his sword intent vibrating violently within him, trying to rebel against the constraint of the pink threads stitching his Divine Wheel.

  IIIIIIII—! SKREEEE—!

  From the distance, the screech of an Ice Phoenix rang out sharply from a void rift. From there emerged the Ice Phoenix Warship, the flagship of the Ancient Zhu Clan. it intersected exactly with the path of the Ancient Feng Clan. In the distance, Zhu Yanghai, the Holy Son of Zhu, could be seen standing on the bow of the ship, crossing paths with Feng Haoyue, who sat upon the silk cushions of the Phoenix Fire Carriage.

  The view above the Cang Hai sky was like a painting come to life. The presence of two great powers—the Ancient Zhu Clan, masters of the Ice Phoenix, and the Ancient Feng Clan, heirs to the eternal Phoenix fire—created a terrifying weather pattern in the atmosphere. Massive clouds of steam billowed as the cold air from Zhu Yanghai’s ship clashed with the searing heat of Feng Haoyue’s carriage.

  Zhu Yanghai stood tall in white robes embroidered with shimmering silver that fluttered in the strong wind. In his hand, he held a jade fan emitting ice mist, his eyes as cold as the poles staring straight at the carriage opposite him. Meanwhile, Feng Haoyue appeared much more relaxed, yet the aura pressure radiating from his body rivaled that of Zhu Yanghai—a sign that they had both reached the peak of the Weaver Transformation stage.

  "Feng Haoyue... he really came sooner than I expected," Yaoyue whispered, her body trembling slightly beside Zhi Xuan. She instinctively pressed closer, trying to use Zhi Xuan’s tall frame as a shield against her brother’s sharp gaze thousands of zhang above.

  Zhi Xuan paid no heed to Yaoyue’s fear. His eyes were fixed on the Ice Phoenix Warship. There, behind Zhu Yanghai, he saw several silhouettes he knew all too well. Despite the distance, his mental resonance with the karmic bonds gave him vision capable of piercing through the energy mist.

  "Zhu Qinglan..." Zhi Xuan hissed. His heart pounded as he saw the figure of the woman with the pearl veil standing beside the Zhu Clan elders. "She is here too."

  However, the upheaval in the sky was not over. From the opposite direction, a giant green leaf petal floated down slowly, yet its presence silenced the clamor of the other clan fleets. It was the vessel of the Heavenly Leaf Sacred Pavilion. Atop the leaf stood a woman wearing a thin veil, possessing an elegance that transcended the mortal world.

  Ye Xishui. Zhi Xuan felt his mind hit by a storm. The three women with whom he held the most complicated karma were now gathered at the same point. This was no longer a mere coincidence; it was a weave of fate deliberately spun by the invisible hand of the universe, as if the universe wished to bind Zhi Xuan’s growth with complications.

  "Damn it... if they all descend, this East Ocean City will become a prison for me," Zhi Xuan growled. He turned to Yaoyue with a piercing gaze. "Yaoyue, do you hear me? This situation is out of control. Those two Sacred Fairies have karmic bonds with me as you know. Even at this distance, they can already sense my presence as their Dao Protector! Release me, now!"

  Feng Yaoyue was aghast, her slender fingers trembling violently as she realized that Zhi Xuan’s threat was no mere exaggeration. Up there, amidst the grandeur of the celestial fleet, she could see how the figures of Zhu Qinglan and Ye Xishui seemed to freeze for a moment. Both Sacred Fairies simultaneously turned their heads toward the lower pier district, as if an invisible string had just been plucked within their souls, calling a name they knew all too well.

  "The Dao Protector karmic bond..." Yaoyue whispered, her face turning pale. "Right... I forgot one thing. My seal locks your essence, but it cannot sever the threads of fate already woven through a mental oath!"

  Zhi Xuan felt a tightness in his chest. His Divine Wheel spun wildly, trying to break Yaoyue’s pink threads, which now felt like piercing thorns. He could feel the sharp gazes sweeping across East Ocean City from above—a gaze as cold as ice from the Zhu Clan ship, and a gaze as soft as a leaf yet as sharp as a dagger from the Heavenly Leaf Sacred Pavilion vessel.