Nine-Five Island:
Three days had passed in a flash. Over these three days, Gu Hai had dealt with some of the court administration at an extreme pace.
Since Gu Hai’s return, all the civil and military officials’ passion for their work reached an unprecedented height.
Gu Hai had handed all the remaining traitors to Chen Tianshan to deal with. However, Chen Tianshan executed most of them, showing practically no mercy.
When Gu Hai learned of this, he sighed softly but did not say anything.
On the third day:
All the civil and military officials gathered in the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza. Gu Hai held the Life Trapper Saber as he looked at the sky, which was clear for five thousand kilometers around.
Many Nascent Soul Realm cultivators flew around Nine-Five Island, keeping their guard up so that they could quickly resolve any emergencies.
This was a big day for Nine-Five Island. The entire Nine-Five Island citizenry had just received the shocking news.
“Sound amplification!” Gu Hai called out.
“Yes!” Gu Qin answered.
Then, Gu Qin waved, activating some sound amplification ritual arrays.
“Nine-Five Island citizens, we are Gu Hai. We will now start Nine-Five Island on a miraculous journey. Perhaps we will face danger, but there is a wonderful future ahead. We hope that all Han Nation citizens get the chance to cultivate, that no one has to worry about getting old and falling sick anymore. If there is any danger, we will stand in front of you, shield you from the storm. All we ask is for all the citizens to support us. The Han Nation does not fear any storm because of your support!” Gu Hai shouted.
The sound amplification ritual array immediately spread Gu Hai’s voice to the entire Nine-Five Island.
All the citizens on Nine-Five Island stopped what they were doing and looked at the distant imperial palace.
“Old Mister Gu? No, His Majesty. I knew back then that His Majesty was extraordinary. Unexpectedly, he can bring us along to cultivate immortality!”
“Your Majesty, you saved all of this old man’s family. My son did not die of hunger in the famine, and now, I can cultivate immortality. Many thanks, Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty! May Your Majesty live for ten thousand years!”
“Long live the Han Royal Dynasty! May the Han Royal Dynasty last for ten thousand years!”
The citizens cheered.
“There will be an earthquake after this. Everyone, please go to open spaces since buildings may collapse,” Gu Hai said.
When the citizens heard that, they all walked out of their houses and went to open spaces.
“Guards and officials of the various cities, protect your surroundings. If any problems appear, immediately provide relief!” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes!” the soldiers and officials in the cities shouted in response.
Everyone had practiced for a long time for this day.
After making all the arrangements, Gu Hai looked at the sky and gently moved the Life Trapper Saber in his hand.
The Life Trapper Saber suddenly released dazzling, lush green light. Countless lush green threads instantly shot out and spread all over Nine-Five Island.
To others, it looked like a dense green net covered the entire Nine-Five Island.
At the same time, the places with spirit stones buried around Nine-Five Island activated, all of them giving off dazzling green light.
Boom!
Suddenly, Nine-Five Island shook.
This tremor kicked up towering waves in the surrounding seas.
Many green threads shot out from the locations with buried spirit stones and connected with the green net in the sky.
Rumble…!
The entire Nine-Five Island trembled, and the ritual array formally activated. Suddenly, strong winds appeared out of nowhere, blowing in from the surrounding seas.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The strong winds circled Nine-Five Island, wrapping around the entire island.
“Spiritual Energy? The ambient Spiritual Energy increased?” a Nascent Soul Realm island master exclaimed.
“It’s true! The Spiritual Energy is still increasing. It is now double the previous. No, triple! Wait, no, it is still increasing!”
“The density of the ambient Spiritual Energy is now comparable to the Divine Continent’s?”
The island masters who joined the Han Nation immediately showed expressions of wild joy.
Why did the people of the Divine Continent consider the Thousand Islands Sea a barren land? The main reason was the deficient ambient Spiritual Energy. There was no way for the Thousand Islands Sea to compare to the Divine Continent in that regard.
Now, Nine-Five Island’s Spiritual Energy reached the same level as the Divine Continent’s? No, it was still increasing.
Rumble…!
Strong winds swept through the surroundings, and the Spiritual Energy densified. The various officials showed wild joy as this happened. After a while, the Spiritual Energy stopped increasing.
“This…the density of Spiritual Energy is fivefold more than before?” Chen Tianshan exclaimed with wild joy.
With the fivefold increase in Spiritual Energy density, cultivation speed here would be faster than outside.
“We are still in the Thousand Islands Sea. It will be even denser in the Divine Continent!” Gu Qin said with a smile.
“Can we reach fivefold of the Divine Continent’s Spiritual Energy density as well?” Chen Tianshan asked in shock.
“We should be able to.” Gu Qin nodded.
As the ritual array pulled in surging Spiritual Energy from all directions, the Spiritual Energy formed multicolored lights in Nine-Five Island’s surroundings.
The island masters who joined the Han Nation showed bright gleams in their eyes. We were right. We made the right gamble. The Han Nation? This is my Han Nation?
The officials looked at Gu Hai excitedly as he used the Life Trapper Saber to operate the Life Trapper Ritual Array.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
With the connection to the world, the Life Trapper Ritual Array continuously absorbed the fivefold-denser Spiritual Energy in the surroundings and replenished the drain on its spirit stones.
This refilled the spirit stones in the blink of an eye.
The ritual array reached completion. From now on, it no longer relied on spirit stones.
Buzz!
The countless green threads hid in the void, vanishing from the sky. Some clouds appeared in the clear sky, along with the smiles of the citizens.
“Alright! We will begin the separation of the island,” Gu Hai said.
Then, Gu Hai moved his hand again.
Boom!
A loud sound came from the entire Nine-Five Island. The land suddenly jerked and tilted in an instant. Countless citizens fell over, and many buildings collapsed.
Fortunately, Gu Hai had made arrangements. The citizens did not get injured. However, a strong resistance formed overwhelming waves as though trying to grab Nine-Five Island’s coast.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
The surrounding black tortoises controlled the seawater, preventing the waves from attacking Nine-Five Island.
Everything was under control.
However, Nine-Five Island had not levitated.
“What’s going on? Imperial Father, Nine-Five Island is not flying yet. Is there something wrong with the ritual array?” Gu Qin asked in shock.
A failure?
The surrounding officials immediately appeared anxious.
Gu Hai shook his head as he frowned. “No. The ritual array is already connected to the world. The island already broke off, using the power of the world. However, something seems to be pulling on the island from below, preventing it from rising.”
“Ah?” The officials immediately goggled.
Preventing the island from rising? What could be this strong?
“Your Majesty, I’ll go and take a look!” Miao Chen immediately called out.
“Alright!” Gu Hai nodded.
Miao Chen charged out of the island in mere moments.
Splash! Miao Chen dived into the sea to investigate.
Everyone on Nine-Five Island felt tense. Will Nine-Five Island fly today?
Gu Hai showed a sullen expression.
Overall, Gu Hai was very satisfied with the ritual array. However, what could be powerful enough to pull Nine-Five Island down at the bottom of the sea?
All Gu Hai could do was to wait for Miao Chen’s report.
As Gu Hai waited for Miao Chen to return with news, a flying ship suddenly flew over from a distance.
Boom!
The flying ship moved extremely quickly, arriving in Nine-Five Island’s skies in the blink of an eye.
It was that second young master rushing over with Jiu Ming and the three four-winged angels.
“Second Young Master, that’s the place. That’s the place. They are there!” Jiu Ming roared angrily.
Jiu Ming had cleaned himself up. However, he still appeared pale, and blood seeped out from four spots on his back, staining his clothes. As he looked into the distance, he showed boundless hatred on his face.
The second young master’s water-like body narrowed its eyes at Nine-Five Island.
At this moment, the entire Nine-Five Island was trembling. Overwhelming waves kicked up in the surrounding seas, but many black tortoises were dealing with the seawater.
“Nine-Five Island? Is it collapsing?”
“Why is this island shaking?”
The four-winged angels appeared bewildered.
“Fly over!” the second young master commanded.
Boom!
The flying ship soon arrived near the Soaring Palace Hall.
At the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza:
Gu Hai suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked at the flying ship.
“He is the one. Second Young Master, he is Gu Hai!” Jiu Ming said hatefully.
“Gu Hai, where are my men? Where are my subordinates?!” Jiu Ming shouted while glaring.
At the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza, the officials’ expressions sank. Jiu Ming returned? And he called for reinforcements?
“Your Majesty, that is the Supreme Genesis’s second son; people address him as Second Young Master. His name is Yehua. He should be a six-winged angel, peak Middle Heavenly Palace Realm. However, that is not his true body, just a projection he formed with the water of life,” Bing Ji explained.
[TL Note: Given Yehua’s connections to angels, the author might have used this name on purpose. If not, here is an interesting piece of information. In Chinese, the name for Jehovah, one of the names of the Christian God, is Yehehua, of which the characters for Ye and Hua are the same as those for this Yehua.]
“A projection?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.
“Yes, a projection. That should be an ability limited to Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivators. However, Yehua achieved this using the water of life, so there are some differences from a normal projection. Nonetheless, this should be as strong as an early-stage Middle Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator,” Bing Ji explained in a whisper.
“Bing Ji? It has been a long time,” Yehua said indifferently.
Bing Ji looked at Yehua coldly, not responding.
Then, Yehua narrowed his eyes slightly at Gu Hai.
“Gu Hai, where are my subordinates?!” Jiu Ming shouted again in demand.
“To think that you dare to return?” Gu Hai showed a faint, cold smile at Jiu Ming.
“Middle Heavenly Palace Realm? Your Majesty, be careful,” Bing Ji whispered from beside Gu Hai.
Given Gu Hai’s strength, he could deal with an early-stage Lower Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator and even a middle-stage Lower Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator. A peak Lower Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator might pose a danger. However, he would need to use the power of the Han Nation to deal with a Middle Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator. Unfortunately, the Han Nation’s blessings were currently in Chaoge City.
Bing Ji felt somewhat worried.
“Early-stage Middle Heavenly Palace Realm? That’s not a problem. We have Dongfang Bubai,” Gu Hai said with a cold smile.
As Gu Hai spoke, he moved the Life Trapper Saber in his hand.
Boom!
Boundless Spiritual Energy from all over Nine-Five Island suddenly rushed to the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza.
Rumble…!
The Spiritual Energy coalesced, slowly forming a colossal, human-shaped cloud beast. As the figure became more distinct, it took the shape of a thirty-three-meter-tall woman. This woman was none other than the Dongfang Bubai that Gu Hai manifested in Major Metropolitan City.
“Dongfang Bubai? This is the Thirty Line-Pair World Ritual Array?” Bing Ji said in shock.
