"The storm is brewing again..."

Su Ye’s eyes glinted as he murmured to himself.

With the clash between the three Crystal-stage powers—the Cyan Profound Sect, Weiyuan Immortal City, and the natives—

this stretch of the sea was about to enter a new period of turmoil!

’But for me, this might be a good thing...’

Su Ye’s fingers tapped gently on the jade table as he mulled it over.

A three-way standoff, with the entire sea region thrown into chaos!

This meant that the many unwritten rules established during times of peace would be shattered!

For the weak who relied on order for protection and had no control over their own fates, this was undoubtedly a nightmare.

Even the worst kind of order was better than no order at all!

However, for a powerful Foundation Establishment expert like Su Ye, who held sway over his own territory,

this was unequivocally a good thing!

They were powerful, but not enough to dictate the rules of the new order.

In the past, when order still existed, they were still subject to certain constraints.

Many things could only be done in secret, on the sly.

For example, whether it was venturing out to sea to hunt for living souls or secretly acquiring demonic artifacts, Su Ye had previously acted with a degree of restraint.

Donglong the Luo Clan was, after all, a righteous faction and needed to maintain its public image.

As long as they put on a show and maintained appearances, the Cyan Profound Sect would turn a blind eye, treating matters lightly and enforcing the rules with flexibility.

’And once the seas descend into chaos, I won’t even need this pretense anymore...’

’I can be more brazen when hunting souls for the Ghostly Flood Dragon’s Soul Abyss Blood Prison and acquiring Demon Dao artifacts. I could even do it openly?’

’Even better... I could command rogue and Demon Dao cultivators, have them act as my proxies to collect souls for me?’

Su Ye stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Suddenly, his expression changed, and he frowned.

’No, that’s not right. What do I mean, ’command Demon Dao cultivators’?!’

’It’s clearly a case of Demon Dao cultivators running rampant in the seas. As a paragon of the righteous path, my heart aches for the common people, so I must strike them down with an iron fist!’

’I shall pilot the Ghostly Flood Dragon, tracking them tirelessly for dozens of days and nights. I’ll bust a massive ring of Demon Dao cultivators, confiscating their illicit tools and numerous Demon Dao artifacts, all of which will be destroyed!’

’The victims will be avenged, peace will return to the seas, and it will all demonstrate the commitment of Donglong the Luo Clan to protecting our lands and people...’

’Justice will be served under the light of day!’

Su Ye’s expression was stern, overflowing with righteous indignation.

As for the confiscated Demon Dao artifacts,

he’d just turn around and feed them to the Ghostly Flood Dragon. Wasn’t that a form of destruction?

’Setting aside all else, just tell me: were the Demon Dao artifacts destroyed or not?’

’As for where this group of Demon Dao cultivators got their seed money, who they were secretly working for, whose dogs they were, or why they never attacked cultivators from the Luo Family...’

’My friend, is there any point in dwelling on such details?’

’A VIP seat awaits you in the Soul Abyss Blood Prison.’

...

’Besides, the Beast Tide is still active. Just hunting beasts will provide a substantial number of souls...’

’...and on top of that, there’s hunting Demon Dao cultivators to ’protect our lands and people’...’

’All in all... gathering the remaining four hundred thousand-plus souls won’t be difficult...’

Su Ye calculated to himself.

And once the number of souls within the Ghostly Flood Dragon’s Soul Abyss Blood Prison reached the five hundred thousand mark, it would trigger the spirit ship’s advancement!

The Soul Abyss Blood Prison would be upgraded.

This would, in turn, cause the Ghostly Flood Dragon to evolve into a Tier-2 High-Grade spirit ship!

And that would clear the way for Su Ye’s own advancement, eliminating the bottleneck to Late-stage Foundation Establishment!

’As for simply accumulating Magical Power, with my peerless talent as a magnificent Celestial Spiritual Root cultivator, it’s child’s play!’

Su Ye’s expression was impassive, but a flicker of pride showed in his eyes.

’I, Su Ye, have always been a cultivator with a Celestial Spiritual Root, and I even possess the Innate Cold Jade Dao Body. On top of that, I’m a genius who broke through on my own, with incredibly potent Magical Power!’

’Is there a problem with that?’

’Cultivating quickly and advancing without bottlenecks—isn’t that perfectly normal?’

’You think cultivating a bit faster is cheating? LMAO.’

Su Ye was already at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, with over a hundred drops of Liquid Magical Power in his body!

Setting aside any bottlenecks,

it would only take him a few years to accumulate the one hundred and fifty drops of Magical Power needed to break through to Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

And with his arsenal of Divine Techniques,

once he reached Late-stage Foundation Establishment and activated his Heart of the Vast Sea and Monarch of Calamity abilities over the ocean,

he might even be able to hold his own against an Early-stage Crystal cultivator!

’Of course, that would have to be a Crystal cultivator who had just used their Divine Seed and didn’t have a Quasi-Technique ready...’

’Otherwise, it’d just be suicide...’ Su Ye grumbled to himself.

The power of a Quasi-Technique was terrifying. When unleashed by a Crystal-stage cultivator, it could be fatal even to their peers!

If the White Whale Moby Dick hadn’t been a Sea Successor Mutant Species—and a whale, to boot, with immense life force—

it likely wouldn’t have just retreated with heavy injuries, but would have been killed outright by Sikong Xin’s Quasi-Technique, Celestial Vault Thunder Shadow!

HUUH...

His thoughts concluded, Su Ye closed his eyes and began to cultivate.

Spiritual Qi gathered around him, enveloping his body in a swirling, sapphire-blue halo.

In the Cultivation Realm, no matter the scheme, in the end...

...everything was decided by strength!

...

「Several months later.」

Su Ye emerged leisurely from his seclusion, his Magical Power having grown once more.

"Young Master, congratulations on your great progress in Magical Power..." Qi Shuhui said with a smile as she approached.

She wore a silver hairpin and a form-fitting, moon-white, cinched dress that accentuated her fine figure. One could faintly perceive that she wore nothing underneath...

"Not bad..." Su Ye’s eyes flickered. He pulled Qi Shuhui into his arms, intending to relax for a while.

Just then,

Su Ye’s brow twitched, and he released the restrictive array.

A distinctive Communication Talisman, flashing with an emerald-green light, flew into his hand.

"Huh?" Su Ye said in surprise.

’He’s the one visiting?’

He stepped out of his cave residence and saw a cyan Escape Light approaching from a distance at a steady, unhurried pace.

The Escape Light descended, revealing a refined, middle-aged man in a cyan robe, holding a folding fan.

It was Xiao Sheng.

He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Cyan Profound Sect and a deacon in the Foreign Affairs Hall, responsible for handling relations with the Foundation Establishment families in the region.

Xiao Sheng bowed. "Mr. Su, my apologies for the intrusion."

"Ah, Mr. Xiao... Please, come in."

Su Ye’s eyes flickered.

Over the past few years, he and Xiao Sheng had maintained their acquaintance by exchanging Communication Talismans.

After all, Su Ye knew very little about the internal affairs of the Cyan Profound Sect.

Having a somewhat unreliable ’friend’ to reveal general developments was better than nothing.

As for Xiao Sheng’s purpose in coming to Donglong Island now,

Su Ye already had a good idea.

’Weiyuan Immortal City handled the Beast Tide situation beautifully, winning the people’s hearts. The Cyan Profound Sect must be getting anxious...’

’So they’re sending out Foundation Establishment cultivators to placate the families within their domain...’

Despite these thoughts, Su Ye’s expression revealed nothing.

He smiled, ushering Xiao Sheng into his cave residence and instructing Qi Shuhui to serve tea.

"Mr. Xiao, it has been too long. I have missed you."

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit to Donglong Island today?"

Host and guest took their seats. After Spirit Tea was served, Su Ye took a small sip of the Cloud Mist Tea and cut straight to the point.

"I’m merely acting on orders..."

Xiao Sheng gave a wry smile and waved his hand, a hint of resignation on his face.

Su Ye keenly sensed a trace of weariness in Xiao Sheng’s tone.

...

...