Star Martial Soaring Cloud

On the last day of September, ten days had passed since the Five Ninjas of Fusang emerged from seclusion.

The morning sun shone on the campsite, bringing a touch of warmth.

Autumn always arrives a little later than autumn itself.

Xiao He, Su Qinhe, Yan Zixi, and Yun Qingyao all successfully entered the Dragon Gate Divine Realm.

Wang Xiao was not surprised at all by this result.

They are already among the best of the younger generation, possessing talent, temperament, and solid foundation. For them, breaking through to a higher level is simply a matter of time.

Zhao Shuheng, Li Yu, and Zhang Lian also tried to break through the barrier, but failed.

However, with so many cultivators at the Dragon Gate Divine Realm protecting them, nothing unexpected happened to them.

What's even more remarkable is that this failure hardly affected the three of them. Li Yu and Zhang Lian even clamored to celebrate, saying that they had gained valuable experience and would definitely succeed next time.

"Failure is the mother of success!" Li Yu patted his chest, his face full of pride. "If we didn't succeed this time, we'll definitely succeed next time! Come on, let's have a toast!"

"Exactly!" Zhang Lian chimed in. "Besides, with our senior brother leading the charge, what are we afraid of?"

The two walked arm in arm, laughing and joking, not at all like people who had just experienced failure.

Ling Cheng looked at these two clowns, feeling both amused and annoyed. He slapped Li Yu on the back of the head: "You two are really carefree!"

"Senior brother, that's called having a good mindset!" Li Yu rubbed his head, speaking with conviction. "The Buddhists say, 'Let go of your attachments, and you'll instantly become a Buddha.' If we're not attached, then... well, you know?"

"That's called sudden enlightenment," Yuan Kong said calmly from the side.

"Yes, yes, I've had an epiphany!" Li Yu nodded quickly.

Yuan Kong glanced at him and chanted a Buddhist prayer again: "Amitabha, you have a karmic connection with Buddha, so perhaps..."

"Master, stop joking! I don't want to be a monk! I still want to get married!" Li Yu waved his hands repeatedly.

The crowd burst into laughter.

Wang Xiao couldn't help but smile as he watched this scene.

The mindset of people like Li Yu and Zhang Lian is truly enviable.

Such people are easily satisfied, always cheerful, and can face anything with a smile.

To live a life like this is a blessing.

Lin Yueyao also broke through in the past few days, entering the perfect Fish Leap realm.

She consolidated her cultivation and became increasingly confident in her attempt to break through to the Dragon Gate Divine Realm.

Wang Xiao occasionally caught glimpses of her cultivating, and could clearly sense that her aura was much more solid than before, like a tender sprout breaking through the soil, growing strong in the sunlight.

Even Li Xin made a breakthrough yesterday.

Compared to before, her eyes held a newfound determination.

For some reason, she genuinely felt that she had become part of the group.

Senior Sister Yun Qingyao has been paying extra attention to her these past few days, making special trips to inquire about her cultivation progress and even taking time to give her guidance.

Yan Zixi, who was known as the most beautiful woman in Kyushu, would occasionally exchange a few pleasantries with her, and sometimes they would even dine together and discuss trivial matters related to women's attire.

Even Ling Cheng, a rough and burly man, would sometimes joke with her: "Miss Li, you seem to be getting more and more beautiful. I wonder if there's ever a chance to have dinner with you?"

Before Li Xin could react, he laughed loudly and turned to leave, leaving her looking completely bewildered.

Even the monk Yuankong would stop in his tracks upon seeing her: "Benefactor Li, I see you have an affinity with Buddhism. Would you be interested in becoming a nun?"

"Huh? Become a nun?" Li Xin was completely stunned.

"Amitabha Buddha, the Buddhist path is vast, saving all sentient beings." Yuan Kong said solemnly, then slowly turned and walked away.

All these changes seem to have started after that absurd day.

Standing outside the tent, Li Xin gazed at Wang Xiao, who was talking to Xiao He in the distance, and a complex mix of emotions welled up inside her.

She was truly grateful to him; he had pulled her back from the abyss.

Although he rejected me, his steadfastness and Daoist heart helped me overcome my inner demons and made me understand that I must firmly be myself.

In Li Xin's opinion, it turned out that she had been overthinking things all along.

Everyone is kind and easy to get along with.

Putting everyone else aside, Lin Yueyao had always been very friendly to him, and would always greet him affectionately as "Senior Sister Li" whenever she saw him.

Looking back now, Lin Yueyao had asked herself more than once if there was anything she wanted to eat, such as rice noodles, a specialty of southern Xinjiang, which she said she could make.

However, because of what happened in the past, I have never dared to or been willing to face it.

All along, I've been trapping myself.

When you are in darkness, you can see no hope; when you step into the light, you will find warmth everywhere.

If you can see things in a positive light, the world is infinitely vast.

The most interesting thing these past few days has been that as soon as Yun Qingyao broke through to a higher realm, she started chasing after Ling Cheng and attacking him.

Everyone was baffled, wondering what Ling Cheng had done to offend this prodigy from the Rainbow Palace.

Only Yuan Kong proactively brought over a stool and sat down to watch the show, commenting as he watched: "Amitabha, they say it's like climbing a mountain for a man to pursue a woman, but piercing a thin veil for a woman to pursue a man. Daoist Ling Cheng, why don't you just give in?"

Ling Cheng was chased all over the place by Yun Qingyao, shouting as he dodged, "Fairy Yun! What did I do to offend you? Tell me, and I'll change!"

Yun Qingyao remained silent, her ribbons dancing lightly like serpents as she coiled around him, each move sharp yet devoid of killing intent.

On one side was a relentless offensive, and on the other was a defensive maneuver. Before long, Ling Cheng collapsed to the ground, exhausted, and sighed helplessly, "The ancients were right: there are only oxen that die from exhaustion, not fields that are over-plowed!"

Upon hearing this, Yun Qingyao became even more furious, tightening the ribbon in her hand, causing Ling Cheng to howl in pain.

"Again? If you come again, you'll have to pay!" Ling Cheng shouted, struggling.

"Sister Yun, don't worry about the medicine money, I'll cover it for you." Yan Zixi stood aside, watching the scene with a smile. "Our Fengyuxuan may not be good at much else, but we're certainly not short of money!"

In an instant, Ling Cheng's miserable screams grew louder and louder, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

In this playful sparring match, Yun Qingyao's wood-based magical abilities were truly impressive.

The understanding of the wood element by the Fairy Palace of Rainbow Garments truly lives up to its reputation as the premier palace in the Nine Provinces.

When Yun Qingyao unleashed numerous wood-based magical abilities, such as "One Flower, One World," the audience was dazzled and overwhelmed—a hundred flowers bloomed, displaying a variety of styles, and were all exquisitely beautiful.

Ling Cheng can use four elemental supernatural powers. Logically speaking, fire has a natural suppressive effect on wood.

But in front of Yun Qingyao, it was a completely different story.

Her wood could generate wind, which effectively suppressed Ling Cheng's fire-based supernatural powers.

It seems that the Fairy Palace of Rainbow Garments has indeed mastered the art of wood-based magic to its fullest extent; every change is exquisite and breathtaking.

Watching the two fight, everyone gained a lot, and was able to consolidate their own realm, especially those who had just broken through.

Wang Xiao finally understood why Senior Brother Song had said that the arrival of the Demon Island was a golden age of cultivation.

The four people who broke through this realm were all of the Hunyuan Body type.

Everyone can control more than three elements of heaven and earth, but Yun Qingyao did the opposite—she gave up the other elements of heaven and earth and focused only on wood-type divine abilities.

This is her path: to cultivate a supernatural power to its ultimate level.

After breaking through to the Yuan Kong realm, he has not made a move and has never shared his supernatural abilities with anyone. So, no one knows what skills he has mastered.

Ling Cheng and Xiao He are both Four Symbols Mixed Body, which is not surprising to Wang Xiao at all, but he never expected that Yan Zixi is also one.

But then she thought about it again and realized that she could kill Yang Xuan on her own, so everything became clear.

Yang Xuan was definitely at the level of the top twelve, and Yan Zixi was able to kill him in a head-on confrontation, which shows that his strength far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Wang Xiao himself failed to eliminate Qin Wuming in two attempts, and couldn't help but think to himself: Sure enough, everyone present is not to be underestimated.

The East Coast Alliance is now extremely powerful—it has a total of seven Dragon Gate Divine Realm cultivators and five Fish Leap Perfection Realm cultivators.

The key point is that they are all so young.

Such a group of people, even if placed anywhere in Kyushu, would be enough to cause quite a stir.

It's time to head towards the central region of the Demon Island.

Even if the opponent has a cultivator at the Dragon Gate Transformation Realm, so what?

With five against one, is there no chance?

Five against one doesn't work, how about seven against one?

Even cultivators at the Transformation Realm only have one more divine sense attack than the rest of the group.

In the afternoon, everyone sat around in the center of the camp to discuss the next steps.

Xiao He spoke first, his expression somewhat solemn: "These past few days, Master Yuankong and I have traveled all over the northern part of the Demon Island, but we have not found any trace of the Northern Plains Alliance."

The cultivators of the Northern Plains Alliance also came from Kyushu.

Given the current situation, it is natural to unite all forces that can be united, especially the cultivators of the Dragon Gate Divine Realm, the more the better.

But they seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.

"I would never believe that the Northern Plains Alliance was completely wiped out," Wang Xiao said in a deep voice. "Lin Shisan is definitely still alive, and he has definitely broken through to the Dragon Gate Divine Realm."

He didn't say anything more. Everyone present knew Lin Shisan's character—on Qingming Cliff, he deserted his post and abandoned everyone. How could such a person die so easily?

"Forget about that for now," Wang Xiao waved his hand. "So, what's everyone's opinion now?"

Everyone knows that divine sense searching is not a panacea.

Cultivators can hide deep underground or beneath deep pools, places that can hinder divine sense from detecting them;

Furthermore, one's divine sense can be deliberately concealed—Master Yuankong once used his own divine sense to block Wang Xiao's detection.

If they intend to hide, finding them will be as difficult as climbing to heaven.

"Since even the First Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty couldn't kill Jun Guo, we can only try to prevent his resurrection." Su Qinhe's voice was cold and rational. "Resurrection requires three conditions—time, vital energy, and bloodline. We can neither stop nor change time and vital energy, so we can only start with the bloodline."

"Miss Su is right," Xiao He continued. "We don't need to worry about what they're preparing or what they're going to do; that would only distract us. Just find Hatoda Tetsuya and Koyama Ken'yo, and kill them. As for how to leave the Demon Island, we just need to find Qin Wuming. Even if they don't want to tell us, doesn't Ling Cheng still have his 'supernatural ability to see through things'?"

"Yes." Wang Xiao nodded. "Our focus right now is on searching for Tetsuya Hatoda and Kenjiro Koyama. If we still find nothing, we'll gather in the Central Mountain Range three days in advance—on the night of resurrection, they won't be able to hide."

"I agree to this plan." Ling Cheng stretched. "Shall we all work together once we enter the central region of the Demon Island?"

"We definitely need to go together." Yan Zixi rarely put away her joking expression and said seriously, "If there's an opportunity to leave, we should all leave together. But we'd better split into two teams, otherwise the search will be difficult to start quickly."

"Sister Yan is right," Su Qinhe added. "Splitting into two teams will give us room to maneuver even if we encounter a surprise attack. But the two teams shouldn't be too far apart so that we can provide timely support. Ideally, they should be able to reach each other within half an hour."

"This is not difficult." Xiao He took out several palm-sized jade tablets from his sleeve and distributed them to everyone. "These are the Beacon Fire Lords of the Righteous Qi Pavilion. As long as you inject them with vital energy, they will rise into the air and shine brightly. The entire Demon Island should be able to see them."

These objects, which would have revealed one's location, were previously something one would never have dared to use lightly, but now they are an excellent communication tool.

"However, I suggest," Xiao He squatted down and drew a rough map on the ground, "that two teams set off, one from the due east and the other from the northeast. This way, the area covered will be wider, and there's a chance of encountering survivors of the Northern Plains Alliance."

"So how should we form teams?" Everyone was silent for a moment, thinking about the most reasonable way to allocate the roles.

"I want to go with Senior Sister Yun." Lin Yueyao's voice suddenly rang out, carrying a hint of barely perceptible urgency.

Everyone looked at her, and saw that she had her head down, her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her fingers were unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.

Wang Xiao was taken aback, a hint of doubt rising in his mind: What's going on?

Among those present, only Su Qinhe knew the reason—she was probably afraid that if she spent more time with Wang Xiao, her hard-won resolve would waver again.

"In that case," Yuan Kong broke the brief silence, "Brother Lu and the two fairies from Fengyuxuan will form one group, and the rest of you will form another group—this way everyone will have fellow disciples together, making it easier to stay comfortable. Brother Lu, the three of you are all at the Dragon Gate Divine Realm, making you the most mobile and able to provide support at any time if needed; and I, the monk, can also take care of the others."

Everyone can be with their fellow students, and this grouping undoubtedly makes everyone feel more at ease and allows for better communication.

"Okay, that's settled." Yun Qingyao nodded in agreement. "Our group has four Dragon Gate Divine Realm experts. Even if the Tianyi Sect and the Fusang cultivators attack at the same time, we can hold them off for a long time."

The group discussed some details, such as the optimal distance between the two teams, the specific methods of communication, and strategies for dealing with enemies.

As Wang Xiao listened to the discussion, his gaze inadvertently swept over Lin Yueyao.

She was looking down, intently at the map on the ground, as if deep in thought.

But he clearly noticed that the base of her ears was slightly red.

Wang Xiao didn't think much of it and slowly withdrew her gaze.

With everything agreed upon, everyone returned to their tents to pack their belongings.

Lin Yueyao sat alone on a rock at the edge of the camp, gazing at the distant sky.

The evening breeze ruffled her hair, bringing a touch of coolness.

"Sister Yueyao," Su Qinhe gently walked over and sat down beside her, asking softly, "Are you alright?"

Lin Yueyao smiled, a hint of relief in her smile: "I'm fine, Sister Su. It's just... I feel a little reluctant to leave. If I could, I would like to stay on Demon Island forever."

For a moment, their eyes met, and they remained silent.

Only Su Qinhe gently pulled Lin Yueyao into her arms.

As night falls, the Milky Way shines brightly.

Tomorrow, they will embark on their journey home.