Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 558: Chapter 553: Mist Island

After paying ten thousand Spirit Stones, Ning Jiang officially boarded the ship. The ship was massive, constructed entirely of metal, and sailed steadily through the sea.

Once aboard, Ning Jiang discovered that there were quite a few Demon Beast carcasses on deck, and the Demon Cores inside them had all been carved out.

”Hey, are you really from the outside?”

The girl in green asked curiously. She wasn’t old, only about sixteen—an age when one is naturally filled with curiosity.

”That’s right.” Ning Jiang nodded.

”What’s the world outside like? I’ve heard that beyond here is the East Sea and that there are Eight Great Seas in total. Is that true?” the girl pressed.

Ning Jiang didn’t grow impatient. He struck up a conversation with the girl, seeing it as an opportunity to learn more about the Foggy Area.

Through their conversation, Ning Jiang learned more about the Foggy Area.

Within the Foggy Area lay an island known as Mist Island. According to the girl, the Martial Artists there were descendants of people who had become trapped in the Foggy Area long ago. Unable to find a way out, they had settled on Mist Island to survive, their population growing over the generations.

After several thousand years, Mist Island was now home to several hundred thousand Martial Artists.

”Why do you hunt these Demon Beasts? For Alchemy?” Ning Jiang asked casually. Generally speaking, Demon Cores were used for Alchemy.

”No. The Spiritual Qi in the Foggy Area is too thin. In the past, there were still some Spirit Stone Veins, but after thousands of years, they’ve long since been mined dry. So now, our Spirit Stones are a dwindling resource. To continue our Cultivation, we have no choice but to settle for the next best thing—hunting Demon Beasts and using their Demon Cores.”

the girl explained.

”I see.” Ning Jiang nodded.

Demon Cores did contain immense Energy that could be absorbed, but they were also tainted with Demon Qi. Refining Demon Qi was a troublesome process. In comparison, it was far simpler for Martial Artists to just absorb Spirit Stones.

Of course, with his Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill, Ning Jiang didn’t care about something like Demon Qi.

”We still need to hunt a few more Demon Beasts before we can head back, so you’ll have to wait a bit,” the girl said.

”That’s fine.” Ning Jiang didn’t mind.

At the old man’s command, the other Martial Artists on the ship repeatedly dove into the sea to hunt Demon Beasts. They encountered danger on occasion but managed to resolve it each time.

Ning Jiang gauged their strength. The old man was quite powerful, at the Earth Martial Realm Peak. Besides him, there was a large man, the Wang Family’s Guard Commander, who was at the Earth Martial Realm Late Stage.

Mist Island was massive. Over centuries, various family factions had risen, and the Wang Family was considered one of the more powerful ones.

”Alright, it’s getting late. Time to head back.”

After the sky darkened, the old man finally gave the order to return.

From the depths of the sea, figures shot out of the water and vaulted onto the deck. Some were injured, while others hauled blood-drenched Demon Beasts with them.

One aura was particularly powerful. It belonged to the Wang Family’s Guard Commander, a man with a powerful, muscular build. He glanced at Ning Jiang before walking over to the old man. ”Patriarch,” he asked, ”who is this?”

”A newcomer from the outside,” the old man, whose name was Wang Heng, replied.

”From the outside? Then he must have a lot of Spirit Stones on him. Should we...?” A murderous glint flashed in the Guard Commander’s eyes as he drew a hand across his throat.

Wang Heng shook his head. ”Forget it. Don’t stir up trouble. He might only appear to be at the Earth Martial Realm Middle Stage, but I feel he’s dangerous. My intuition tells me provoking him would be unwise.”

”Patriarch, you’re being too cautious. A mere Earth Martial Realm Middle Stage cultivator? What danger could he possibly pose? Just give the order, and I’ll kill him,” the Guard Commander pressed, unwilling to let it go. ’The older the Patriarch gets, the more timid he becomes,’ he thought.

”No! Do not create unnecessary complications,” the old man refused sternly.

He had lived for several hundred years; he was shrewd and experienced. Ning Jiang appeared calm, but his eyes gave off an unfathomable feeling.

He had never seen such a gaze on anyone else.

Hearing this, the Guard Commander curled his lip but said nothing more.

”Set sail.”

At the old man’s command, the large ship turned its bow and began the return journey.

Not far away, Ning Jiang stood in silence. With the power of his Divine Sense, their conversation hadn’t escaped him. He had to admit, the old man had made the right choice.

He could, however, faintly sense that the Guard Commander was far from satisfied.

’I hope you decide to behave.’

...

In the Foggy Area, one’s sense of direction was thrown into chaos. Normally, once a ship sailed out, there was no guarantee it could return to its island of origin.

Mist Island, however, was special. It emanated a unique gravitational pull, like a magnet. As long as one could sense this pull, they could find their way back to Mist Island.

Of course, the farther one traveled, the weaker the pull became. Its effective range was about thirty miles.

This was why ships from Mist Island never ventured more than thirty miles out. After all, a single careless mistake could mean becoming lost forever in the boundless fog.

As the ship continued on its return journey, the surrounding fog gradually began to thin.

Mist Island was the only place in the Foggy Area not perpetually shrouded in mist, which was why people had been able to survive there.

Once the fog had completely vanished, Ning Jiang could see a massive island in the distance.

The entire island was over a hundred miles wide, with buildings dotting its rolling landscape. Its structure was also quite peculiar, consisting of three distinct tiers from top to bottom.

”We’ve reached Mist Island.”

Wang Heng let out a sigh of relief. Leaving Mist Island to hunt Demon Beasts wasn’t always smooth sailing. This time, they had been lucky and hadn’t encountered any real danger.

”Grandfather, what about him? He doesn’t have a Mist Island Identity Jade Token,” the girl in green said just then. Her name was Wang Qingyi.

”Since this is your first time coming to Mist Island, you probably don’t know the rules here. Before we go ashore, let me explain them to you,” Wang Heng said.

”Go ahead.”

Ning Jiang nodded. ’Without rules, there can be no order. An island this massive must have its own laws; otherwise, it would have descended into chaos long ago.’

”Mist Island has an Island Master. Although I’m also at the Earth Martial Realm Peak, I couldn’t even withstand a single one of his moves. You could say he is an invincible existence within the Earth Martial Realm. Besides the Island Master, there are the elders. There are twelve of them, and every single one is at the Earth Martial Realm Peak. This entire island is under their control.”

”Here on Mist Island, everyone has their own Identity Jade Token. This is what it is,” he said. ”It proves you’re a resident of Mist Island.”

As he spoke, Wang Heng took out a Jade Token with his name carved on it.