The crisis resolved, Zhang Tieshan snapped out of his daze as if waking from a dream. He hurriedly pulled his daughter down to kneel on the deck.

“This humble one will never forget your great kindness, Senior!”

This address of “Senior” was uttered with genuine sincerity, without a trace of hesitation.

The other cultivators also knelt in succession, pressing their foreheads against the deck, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Who could have imagined that this usually gentle and refined young man was actually such a deeply hidden senior expert?

Shen Xian stood with his hands clasped behind his back. The sea breeze stirred his blue robe, adding an extra touch of ethereal detachment.

He lightly waved his hand, his tone indifferent. “I acted merely for self-preservation. Now that we have stirred up the Black Tide, it would be best for you all to leave quickly.”

Guijiao was a Golden Core Perfection cultivator. Now was not yet the time for a direct confrontation.

“Senior speaks wisely!” Zhang Tieshan replied respectfully, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

He carefully weighed his words. “The Black Tide is acting so lawlessly; I’m afraid this shipment cannot be delivered. This junior will take everyone to the nearest island to take shelter for now.”

As he spoke, a look of hesitation appeared on his face. “But Senior, you…”

“We are already close to Burning Heaven Island. I shall proceed ahead,” Shen Xian interrupted, his tone brooking no argument.

Since they were already near the destination, this was a perfect opportunity to leave the merchant ship.

Zhang Tieshan shuddered all over and quickly bowed. “Take care, Senior! If you ever return to Spirit Sea City and require assistance in the future, this junior will go through fire and water without hesitation!”

Shen Xian gave a slight nod and turned his gaze to Zhang Xiaoyu.

The little girl’s eyes were slightly red, but she stubbornly held back her tears, her small hands tightly clutching the hem of her father’s clothes.

“S-Senior… you must come find me to play!” Zhang Xiaoyu mustered her courage and shouted, her voice tinged with reluctance.

A faint smile touched the corner of Shen Xian’s mouth. He said no more.

With a light flick of his sleeve, he and the Black Mystic Spirit-Seeking Tortoise transformed into a streak of azure light, vanishing in an instant into the vast expanse of sea and sky.

The sheer speed left everyone on the deck gasping in awe once more.

“This… this is the true bearing of a senior expert…” a Foundation Establishment cultivator murmured to himself, his eyes filled with yearning.

After putting considerable distance between himself and the merchant ship, Shen Xian had the Black Mystic Spirit-Seeking Tortoise sense the treasure’s location again.

This time, due to the shortened distance, the Bagua patterns on the turtle’s shell pointed with exceptional clarity toward Burning Heaven Island, three hundred li away.

“It seems I must ultimately set foot on the island to investigate,” Shen Xian said softly to himself as he looked into the distance.

He lightly patted the turtle’s shell. Man and turtle transformed into a streak of light, speeding swiftly toward Burning Heaven Island.

One day later, Black Tide Headquarters.

In a dimly lit hall, dozens of bone lamps flickered with a ghastly green phosphorescent light.

Guijiao reclined lazily on an ironwood throne. A violet-gold bell hanging at his waist emitted a sinister, faint glow.

“My Lord, Squad Thirteen has lost contact,” a trusted subordinate reported on one knee, his voice hushed low. Fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

He knew his master’s temper all too well; the slightest misstep could turn him into the next “decoration” hanging outside the hall.

“Oh?” Guijiao narrowed his crimson eyes. “Where did they disappear?”

He commanded many squads. In these complex waters, while engaging in plunder and robbery, losses were inevitable.

“According to their last transmitted message…” The subordinate swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “…it should have been near Burning Heaven Island.”

“Burning Heaven Island?” Guijiao abruptly sat upright, causing the violet-gold bell to sway violently.

His face turned terrifyingly gloomy, but inwardly, tumultuous waves surged: Could someone have discovered that secret?

No, impossible…

He quickly calmed himself down, silently calculating how many people he would need to kill to seal this information.

“Are there any abnormalities in our arrangements there?” he asked while suppressing his killing intent, his fingers unconsciously rubbing against the bell.

This was his habitual gesture whenever he felt like killing someone.

The subordinate keenly noticed this detail; cold sweat instantly soaked through his back.

“Reporting to my Lord, everything is normal. This subordinate has already dispatched two additional squad leaders to keep watch,” he spoke rapidly, fearing that speaking too slowly would mean losing his head.

Only then did Guijiao relax slightly, but the chill in his eyes remained undiminished.

He understood better than anyone what lay hidden beneath that seemingly calm volcano—a drop of ancient divine beast essence blood potent enough to make the entire sea region boil.

Thinking of the reward promised by that lord made his heartbeat quicken involuntarily.

Guijiao let out another sigh of relief and said in a low voice, “Remember, that restriction is almost complete. There absolutely must not be any mishaps. If we ruin that lord’s plan…”

He cast a cold glance at the man before him; killing intent surfaced in the depths of his eyes. “…we will all die!”

Cold sweat broke out on the subordinate’s forehead; inwardly, he had already cursed that missing squad a thousand times over.

He hastily clasped his fists. “This subordinate will personally go oversee it immediately. From today onward, no cultivator who approaches Burning Heaven Island will leave alive.”

“Good.” Guijiao nodded with satisfaction but then suddenly lowered his voice further. “Remember… we both know that lord’s temper.”

The subordinate trembled all over and dared not say another word. He bowed and retreated from the hall.

Meanwhile, Shen Xian flew through the air with the Black Mystic Spirit-Seeking Tortoise and soon arrived above Burning Heaven Island.

Viewed from high above, the entire island resembled a burning flame. The massive crater at its center occasionally spewed out wisps of black smoke.

According to information from the Wanxiang Chamber of Commerce, aside from that volcano, there were no other special features in this place.

To be safe, Shen Xian still took out the Void Reflecting Spirit Mirror.

“Hmm?” Shen Xian frowned slightly as Nascent Soul-level divine sense swept over the entire island like a tide.

In his perception, traces of cultivator activity were present everywhere on the island. Moreover, these auras were cold and sinister—clearly all members of the Black Tide.

“It seems the Black Tide has been operating here for quite some time,” Shen Xian murmured to himself; a flash of cold light passed through his eyes.

He recalled Zhang Tieshan mentioning merchant ships mysteriously disappearing nearby. It appeared now that those missing cultivators had likely become Black Tide’s prisoners.

But why would these guys occupy such an ordinary and unremarkable island?

Concealing all traces of his aura completely, Shen Xian descended like a falling leaf into the dense forest surrounding the outer perimeter of the volcano.

Towering ancient trees blocked out the sky and sunlight. The air was permeated with a strange mixture of sulfur and a bloody scent.

The Black Mystic Spirit-Seeking Tortoise uneasily scraped its claws against the ground. The Bagua patterns on its shell flickered with an eerie crimson glow, pointing directly toward the direction of the volcano crater.

“The treasure is right there!” Shen Xian whispered.

He put away the tortoise and transformed into a blurry afterimage, swiftly weaving through the dense forest.

His Late Golden Core cultivation allowed him to move as if unopposed. Patrolling Black Tide cultivators lined the way, none of them detecting him at all.

As he ventured deeper into the island, the bloody scent in the air grew increasingly thick. The surroundings also exuded a hint of eeriness.

This supposedly ordinary small island appeared somewhat special and extraordinary after all.

The journey brought him before the massive volcano itself.

Shen Xian looked up at the scorched black earth, quietly drawing closer. But when only one-third of the distance remained to the summit, the originally calm surroundings suddenly rippled with energy fluctuations.

Hum—

Suddenly, the seemingly ordinary black sand grains on the ground simultaneously lit up with a faint dark red glow, like countless crimson eyes opening within the darkness of the night.

Each grain of sand extended a thread-thin blood-red line, interweaving on the ground to form an enormous magical net.

With a soft click sound, the rock beneath Shen Xian’s foot suddenly flipped over, revealing a hidden bronze array disk underneath.

The array disk was carved full of bizarre talismanic characters, now spinning frantically and emitting a piercing humming noise.

Discovered!

“Who dares trespass upon our Black Tide forbidden ground?!” a roar suddenly rang out.