Huan Qiuyu muttered, “This Xiao Chen is indeed difficult to deal with. Even though he succeeded with his King conferral, he does not show any arrogance. Instead, he behaves very cautiously.
“However, rest assured, he will definitely return to Heavenly Star Island. He is someone who wants to start a sect and revive the Dragon’s Gate. He will definitely not give up on Heavenly Star Island.
“We should station people near Heavenly Star Island. At the same time, we need to bribe the surrounding factions and not give Heavenly Star Island a chance to rise. We will deal with him when he returns.”
The other six did not have a better solution; they could only listen to Huan Qiuyu’s plan. As for the large amounts of resources they used to bring in the loose cultivators, those were all wasted.
The Seven Distinguished Dragon Marquises were not the only ones disappointed. Several quasi-Emperors of the Western Sea all sighed.
While most Martial Emperors did not care for the congratulatory gifts that Xiao Chen received when he was conferred King, those were very tempting for quasi-Emperors.
However, Xiao Chen vanished without a trace. The fat lamb that they thought would fall in their hands disappeared.
—
Leng Shaofan, who received the news immediately, felt extremely frustrated. After all his plans, he had not calculated that Xiao Chen would let go of the conferred land and leave just like that.
However, he hid his emotions in his heart, not showing them on his face. As he walked slowly, he thought about countermeasures.
Nonetheless, the Heavenly Starry Ocean was incredibly vast, no smaller than the Kunlun Continent. Aside from the clearly defined seas in the four cardinal directions, there were many other marine domains of various sizes.
Furthermore, past the Heavenly Starry Ocean was an even vaster oceanic domain. Since ancient times, no one had managed to figure out all the secrets of the ocean.
If one wanted to find a person in this place, the expression “finding a needle in the ocean” was no exaggeration at all.
[TL Note: Finding a needle in the ocean is the Chinese version of a needle in a haystack.]
Behind Leng Shaofan was a beautiful girl in a deep sleep. Her skin was as white as snow and her lips rosy red. She lay among flowers, making them look dull and colorless.
If Xiao Chen were here, he would definitely recognize this girl. She was the Princess Qin who had lain in a deep sleep in the Sea Monarch Palace for ten thousand years.
“Find him. I have to find him!”
A bright light flashed in Leng Shaofan’s eyes. He showed a resolute gaze, a determination that no one could shake.
——
Back to Jin Dabao and Lan Shaobai’s group, after they wandered the seas for a month, they finally arrived at Heavenly Star Island.
The conditions of the island were worse than what the group expected. The surrounding islands had already been divided among the nearby factions.
The Spiritual Energy was very sparse on the main island. It looked like the Spirit Veins that existed on it had all been taken away by others, leaving only a wasteland.
Malicious gazes came from a nearby auxiliary island, locked on the warship with the Dragon’s Gate’s mark.
The few people on the warship did not care. Before they came, they had already prepared themselves for the challenge. They did not fear these onlookers.
Jin Dabao stood on the bow and looked around. Then, he checked the map in his hands. He smiled and said, “Not bad. This location is pretty good. We can start trade routes in every direction without fear of people sealing them.”
Lan Shaobai took out the King medallion and toyed with it. He muttered, “I wonder where that fellow went. Wanting to advance to quasi-Emperor within two years, that is too universally shocking.”
The fatty smiled and said, “Don’t dwell on it too much. That fellow always exceeds expectations. He might be very happy where he is now. Quickly, go deal with the handover procedures. This Fat Lord can no longer wait. It is time to spread my wings.”
Lan Shaobai smiled, and the group of people flew off the Dragon’s Gate’s warship, formally stepping onto this Heavenly Star Island filled with secrets.
Heavenly Star Island, Heavenly Starry Ocean. Were the names just a coincidence?
Why was Xiao Chen so sure that the three Holy Masters had chosen this place and that it was not bestowed by the Thunder Sovereign?
The results of several things far exceeded people’s expectations.
When Xiao Chen returned two years later, he would discover how much wealth this desolate island had for him.
—
However, at this moment, Xiao Chen was not as happy as the fatty pictured him to be. He was even in a miserable state. He sat on a piece of wood in a weak state, drifting through an unknown sea domain, not knowing where he was.
Ao Jiao came out to stand guard by his side and prevent sea creatures from attacking him. She smiled at Xiao Chen and said, “Let’s see whether you still dare to speak such bold words, wanting to reach quasi-Emperor within two years. Now, you would not be a match even for a Martial Monarch.”
Xiao Chen revealed a bitter smile on his pale face. “How would I know that the Item Spirit of the Sea Monarch Crown was still around and looked at the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit with such enmity?”
Xiao Chen was now in a miserable state, too pathetic a sight for words.
After he parted from Jin Dabao and the others, he followed the clues left by Long Fei, preparing to go to a forbidden land in the Southern Sea to seek the Despair Throne.
Initially, the journey had gone smoothly with him cultivating as he traveled. Soon, he approached the borders of the Southern Sea. There were thousands of incredibly bustling islands; they seemed like they were within reach.
However, of all times, Xiao Chen recalled that the Sea Monarch Crown was still in his Universe Ring. Since that day when First Elder Han Qinghe interrupted him, he had not set his Spiritual Mark on it yet.
A crown-type Secret Treasure represented the might and aura of a monarch, bringing with it Luck and the mandate of heaven. A person without the fate of a ruler could not wear such a Secret Treasure.
Such Secret Treasures had always been rare. The benefits of them were very clear, and there were not many requirements on the user’s cultivation.
Xiao Chen thought that aside from increasing the might of a monarch and Luck, the Sea Monarch Crown, an Emperor Grade Secret Treasure, should have some other special effects.
After he placed his Spiritual Mark and wore it, it was as he thought.
When he wore the Sea Monarch Crown, he vaguely felt a strange, powerful might spread throughout his body. The ocean below him felt like his domain.
As he breathed, he could flip the sea. Every smile or frown could kick up thousands of waves.
A domain, the special effect of the Sea Monarch Crown was actually a domain—an oceanic domain with a five-hundred-kilometer radius.
As long as the sea was below Xiao Chen, the area within five hundred kilometers was his domain; he was the king of this area. As long as anyone entered, they would suffer from great restriction.
These people would be able to bring out only seventy to eighty percent of their strength. Of course, cultivators who had a domain and Martial Emperor experts would not be affected.
Aside from this, Xiao Chen could direct the water for five hundred kilometers around him as he pleased, forcefully taming strong Spirit Beasts.
How strong was a domain? It was an incomprehensible existence. Until now, Xiao Chen had yet to make any headway with the saber domain.
After wearing the Sea Monarch Crown and exhausting some Law Energy, he could immediately form a strong domain, nearly doubling his strength.
This domain even gave Xiao Chen the confidence that he could truly fight the blue-robed quasi-Emperor and defeat him with force.
However, just as he was rejoicing, the Item Spirit in the Sea Monarch Crown awoke and sensed the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit in his body. Then, it immediately became a malicious spirit.
The malicious spirit infiltrated his sea of consciousness and came in contact with the will of thunder. The flow of the domain reversed, clogging up all of Xiao Chen’s meridians, and before he could react, it exploded.
Luck was an extremely ethereal thing, unpredictable.
The Sea Monarch Crown contained the great Luck of the Sea Monarch. It clashed with the Azure Dragon King’s Luck, causing a conflict—an unfortunate event.
This explosion injured Xiao Chen’s Lifeforce Origin. The resplendent purple Lightning Talisman dimmed, becoming indistinct. It even scattered, together with his Great Perfection saber soul, in his sea of consciousness.
The power of the domain spread throughout his body, severely injuring his meridians. The origin of the Law Energy in the dantian got damaged.
Before Xiao Chen recovered from his injury, he would not be able to circulate Law Energy. His cultivation immediately plummeted out of Martial Sage.
Fortunately, his will contained the immortal attribute. Otherwise, his sea of consciousness would have been destroyed, and his head would have immediately exploded.
The only benefit was that the Item Spirit of the Sea Monarch Crown was no longer present. The misfortune no longer existed. The next time Xiao Chen used the Sea Monarch Crown, such a thing would not happen again.
However, at the moment, his cultivation was back to Martial Monarch. There was no use thinking about it.
After the Item Spirit exploded, Xiao Chen fell unconscious. By the time he woke up, he had already drifted to parts unknown.
If one met with an ocean current, one could even travel five thousand kilometers in one day.
The unfortunate thing was that, according to Ao Jiao, Xiao Chen had encountered precisely such a current and drifted that way for three days.
So now, Xiao Chen was thoroughly lost at sea. However, he was not in a rush. Although his cultivation had fallen, his physical strength remained. With five Dragon Force, he was powerful enough to fight a grandmaster-level Martial Sage.
Although he was in a rather weak state, he would recover after resting for a few days. There was no need for him to worry too much about his physical safety.
Xiao Chen’s injuries were rather complicated with his Great Perfection saber soul scattered, his will weakened, his meridians damaged, and the origin of his Law Energy shattered.
To any other cultivator, this would be rather like thunder from a clear sky. All these added together totaled a disaster of disasters, enough to destroy the future of any cultivator.
However, these were nothing to Xiao Chen.
After all, his saber soul existed in the immortal will and was already close to immortal. The saber intent in his heart was inextinguishable; it would never truly scatter.
Moreover, since Xiao Chen’s immortal will was immortal, as long as he was alive, it would not vanish. As for his injured meridians, such damage was just a small matter for his physical body.
All he needed was time. He could recover from all these. Furthermore, he would be stronger than before.
The only problem was that the origin of Xiao Chen’s Law Energy broke. This was troublesome. According to Ao Jiao, he needed an extremely rare Medicinal Pill to recover from it.
