Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao
chapter-2012

Chapter 2012: Ascent Route Island

Easier said than done.

The island did not seem particularly distant, but in truth, it was overwhelmingly far away. After they had swum for around an hour, the island was still within sight, but it had become bigger and bigger than the initial tiny black dot it had once been.

Firstly, this sea limited everyone’s speed, and secondly, the island was indeed very far from them.

But as the island became nearer and nearer, even those with lower cultivation levels could clearly see the structures on the island.

“This island… is not marked on the map!” Qin Wei declared decisively.

Those forces that did business on the seas would all draw maps. If they had encountered a natural disaster that could not be avoided just like now, they would swim towards the nearest island, and wait to be rescued or save themselves.

And this had indeed saved their lives a considerable number of times. To these forces, the more detailed and more accurate the map was, the higher the chances of their survival in crucial times naturally were.

Though they had met with a natural disaster this time, and experienced massive loss, if they could further complete the map of the Qin Clan, they could still redeem a little of their losses.

…The coordinates of an unknown island could be sold off. Of course, this island would only be considered as a rescue station or a stopover.

“I have heard that the cultivators on the seas are all very ferocious, and some say that they are in the habit of feeding on human flesh!” someone suddenly spoke up in a shaking voice.

“Ptui, where do these rumors come from?” Immediately, someone else expressed their contempt for such lies.

“These are not completely baseless rumors. The living creatures in the sea have not become intelligent, so why would cultivators on the island have evolved?” another refuted.

“Don’t think of causing disturbance to the military morale!” Qin Wei humphed. He was the only Immortal Palace Tier in their group of 34 people, and naturally held absolute commanding power. The moment his words fell, no one else dared speak another word.

“The cultivators on the seas are also people who have migrated from our mainland. Their reasons vary. The majority have been forced away by their enemies, but there is also a small minority that has come out in search of treasure.”

“Treasure!” Hearing this word, a considerable number immediately pricked up their ears. They were instantly energetic, as if they had all forgotten that they were currently bathing in the waters of the boundless seas, and even returning to land was a problem.

“According to legends, there are rare treasures buried in the boundless seas.” Qin Wei only said these words, but he did not go into too much detail.

A great many people felt an itch in their hearts, but who would dare compel an Immortal Palace Tier great elite?

“Let’s continue swimming.”

Everyone returned back to reality. Their main priority was still returning to land. If they were really trapped for endless years on a remote island, then all of them could go nuts.

After another several hours, they had finally truly come close to the island.

This was a very large island, its coastline as long as several hundred miles. However, in the boundless seas, this was actually a small island. Some islands could even be as large as a Heaven.

An island that was less than the size of a star actually could not be called an island, and could only be considered a slightly larger “reef”.

“No wonder this island has never been discovered in millions and millions of years, even if it is only over a dozen days away from the usual sea routes. As it turns out, it is too small.” Qin Wei nodded.

However, what was valuable about islands was that they could provide shelter, especially when large tsunami waves were wreaking havoc. Ships would only have the risk of capsizing, but islands would not need to worry about this problem, because they had already existed here for endless years. If they had been going to be sunk, they would have sunk a long time ago.

Hua, amidst the water moving, they were already pushed onto the coast, all of them completely exhausted.

When they had tried their hardest to power the formation, they had already expended their Origin Power fully, and they had not had any time to recover after that. Instead, they had to resist the waves still, and swim all this way. It should be known that the waves here in the boundless sea were not the slightest bit gentle, being capable of becoming a great problem even for Dividing Soul Tiers.

Thus, the moment they landed, the majority of them were sprawled out in exhaustion, and felt a joy that came from getting a new lease on life.

Now that they had landed on the coast, they really were safe.

Qin Wei was an Immortal Palace Tier, so he naturally was much better than the rest. His figure rose up, and he surveyed this island from a higher spot. It was only several hundred miles in diameter, and for an Immortal Palace Tier elite, seeing it completely was only the matter of an instant.

HIs figure soon descended back down. With a frown, he announced, “The islanders…. are here!”

Those that were still lying on the ground and panting felt their hearts jolt. What kind of attitude did these islanders have? If they were weak, then it was fine. No matter what ideas they had, there was no need for them to give any regard.

However, what if the other side’s strength was close to theirs, or even enough to overwhelm them?

Then they would have to pray that the other party bore no malice towards them.

The island was very small. Thus, in just a short while, three people arrived by walking on air.

These three people were all youths, two men and a woman. The two men were extremely handsome, each having their own unique traits. One was rough and manly, while the other was delicate. Meanwhile, the woman was extremely lovely and incredibly alluring.

“Why have you come to our Ascent Route Island, everyone?” the man with delicate features asked.

“We encountered tsunami waves, and have drifted here. Please provide us shelter for a few days. When we cut down some trees and build a ship, we will then leave,” Qin Wei said, without taking the other lightly.

Ling Han’s eyes swept over them, and a hint of surprise was revealed in his eyes.

He had a feeling that these three young people were very strong. They might be no match for him, but they should have Earth-Soul-level battle prowess, or even be slightly stronger than that, but the problem was that he really had no way to estimate the cultivation levels of these three youths.

Not one of them.

To estimate the cultivation level of another, ordinarily one would have to be superior by a major tier, so it was very normal that Ling Han could not tell. But the anomaly lay in how he could not even sense if the other was Severing Mundane Tier or Dividing Soul Tier.

This was like… the three of them had never cultivated before. Right, that was the feeling.

But this was completely impossible, because his instincts told him that these three people were not weak.

Strange, too strange.

“Oh, I see.” The delicate-featured man nodded. “I can now welcome everyone’s arrival on behalf of my master. Please, come and take some rest at our humble abode, and wash away the dirt of your travels. We can speak later about the matter of your leaving.”

“Many thanks.” Qin Wei nodded.

“I am Xiao Jun,” the man with delicate features introduced himself. “This is my junior brother, Luo He. And this is my junior sister, as well as the only daughter of my master, Lan Ruozhi.”

Qin Wei also introduced himself, and vaguely related their experience of meeting with the tsunami waves, causing Xiao Jun and his party to be emotionally stirred. They expressed that this kind of tsunami waves were very rare, and they had not seen many such waves even in their lives of several million years.

This caused a considerable number to be stunned. The three of them were clearly very strong, but they had actually just cultivated for a few million years?

Inconceivable, really too inconceivable.

“May I ask what your cultivation levels are?” Ling Han could not help but ask. This question was continuously winding around in his heart, and he had to speak his mind.

“Ling Han, how could you be so abrupt!” Immediately, someone reprimanded him. The locals were willing to take them in, and were planning to be hospitable to them, and he actually asked them such a private matter. If they were angered, and cast their whole group out, what were they to do?

If they were weak, then it would be fine, but from the looks of things now, they were not the slightest bit weak.

“That’s right. How could you ask this kind of question at the first meeting?” someone agreed.

“This is just a person that had fallen into dire straits, and we had taken him on board. He actually does not have much of a relation with us.” Another person began to draw a clear dividing line between them and Ling Han.