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A sea breeze blew by.
The white-robed young man seemed perfectly leisurely and content as he fished.
Chu Xiu stared at this uninvited guest, calmed himself, and said, “Showing up out of nowhere to fish in a place like this? You’ve got rather refined tastes.”
The white-robed young man faced away from Chu Xiu and gazed into the water. He laughed, “The common folk have a tongue-twister that goes like this: if you wish to fish, fish. If you don’t wish, don’t fish. So I came here to test my luck.”
“.....” Chu Xiu didn’t know what to say to that. What does a tongue-twister have to do with anything? Is there something wrong with this guy’s brain?
“Are you really here just to fish?” probed Chu Xiu.
The white-robed youth said, “The joy of fishing lies in its unfathomability. No one knows whether or not they’ll catch anything. Here you are, trying to fathom my reason for being here. Doesn’t that make you no different from a fish?”
Chu Xiu furrowed his brow. “I have no time to waste on riddles. If you won’t tell me why you’re here, I’ll just have to bid you farewell.”
With that, he turned to leave. After about a hundred feet, he suddenly stopped in place and turned his head.
The white-robed young man remained seated on the cliff. It seemed he hadn’t reacted to Chu Xiu’s departure in the slightest.
However, that only made Chu Xiu increasingly certain that something was off here.
He was in the Spiritual Manifestation Realm, but he hadn’t sensed the young fisherman’s arrival.
That was unquestionable proof that, whoever he was, he was in the Spiritual Manifestation Realm at the very least!
How could an expert like that come all the way to the Sea of Chaotic Spirits on account of a tongue-twister?
And why would he just happen to choose to fish Chu Xiu’s territory?
After a moment’s silence, Chu Xiu took a deep breath, turned to face the white-robed young man, and said, “Someone like you surely had his reasons for coming all the way here. If you’re willing to tell me, I’ll clean out my ears and listen carefully.”
The white-robed young man’s wrists shook. With a splash of water, a fish broke through the surface of the sea, flew through the air, and landed in the white-robed young man’s palm.
It was a golden saltwater fish, and it was over a foot long and full of spirituality.
The white-robed young man held it up by the tail and laughed. “See? This is ‘willingly taking the bait.’”
“‘Willingly taking the bait
.?’” Chu Xiu’s eyes flashed.
The white-robed young man then took a bite out of the fish’s stomach, tearing out a chunk of flesh and chewing it. His teeth and lips were red with fresh blood.
The sight of him eating a fish alive made even Chu Xiu’s heart clench.
The young man continued as if there were no one else watching, eating with great relish. Soon, he’d devoured the fish completely.
He then wiped the blood from his lips, rose, and turned to look at Chu Xiu. “I didn’t scare you, did I?”
Chu Xiu shook his head.
This was his first time seeing the young man clearly. His lips were red, his teeth were white, and he was handsome and extraordinary.
However, his eyes were deep and distant, like twin whirlpools. The sight was unsettling.
“After arriving in the Sea of Chaotic Spirits, I heard that the most famous place in this entire danger zone is the ruin of the Immortals’ Sword House,” said the white-robed young man. “But I cannot find the entrance.”
Chu Xiu paused. “You
 Do you want me to lead you there?”
The white-robed young man smiled. “Do you think that would be alright?”
Chu Xiu mulled it over, then said, “Dare I ask what you plan to do there?”
The white-robed young man pointed to his skull. “When I first heard the name ‘the Immortals’ Sword House’,  the Heavensphere Yao Emperor’s title suddenly popped into my head, so I decided to come take a look.”
“....”
Chu Xiu wanted to say, “What kind of bullshit reason is that?”
But in the end, he suppressed that impulse. “Fellow Daoist, I won’t lie to you: I do indeed know where the entrance to the ruins is. However, the ruins have long since been occupied, and furthermore, a Spiritual Incarnation Realm black flood dragon lurks within the surrounding seas
”
Chu Xiu said all this to probe the other party.
Who’d have thought that, before he could finish his explanation, the white-robed young man’s whirlpool-like eyes would light up? They were shone with unearthly, sinister light; it was as if the gates of hell had opened.
It wasn’t cold, but for a moment, Chu Xiu couldn’t help but shudder.
The young man said excitedly, “A Spiritual Incarnation Realm black flood dragon? I’m sure its meat is extraordinarily delicious!”
He then rubbed his stomach and licked his lips as if he were starving.
Chu Xiu gasped, and his heart shook. This guy
 Actually sees a Spiritual Incarnation Realm black flood dragon as
 food!?”
“How about it? Do you agree?” asked the young man.
Chu Xiu thought it over, then said, “I wouldn’t mind showing you the way, but if you run into trouble, don’t blame me for it.”
The white-robed young man flashed him a meaningful grin. “That’s only natural. We cooperate, and we each get what we need. It’s a win-win.”
Chu Xiu’s expression shifted. After a while, he said, “So, you know my intentions all along, Fellow Daoist.”
The white-robed young man said, “There are so many people on this island. It’s inevitable that they’d leak information as they conversed. I just so happened to be passing by, and I carelessly overheard. Quite the coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”
Coincidence my ass! Chu Xiu cursed inwardly. If you hadn’t used secret methods to eavesdrop, how could you have learned all that?
However, out loud, he laughed. “Perhaps this is the will of the heavens! Right, dare I ask your honorable name?”
“Qing Luo,” said the white-robed young man. “‘Qing’ as in blue, and ‘Luo’ as in ‘Tianluo Profound Bird.’”
“An excellent name!” exclaimed Chu Xiu. Inwardly, however, he was rather confused. This guy emanates a strange, mysterious air. Is he perhaps not native to the Azure Continent either?
“What do we set off?” asked Qing Luo a bit impatiently.
“Please wait, Fellow Daoist,” said Chu Xiu.
“You’re waiting for those two hostages?” asked Qing Luo.
Chu Xiu’s pupils constricted. He really does know everything already!
“That’s right.” Chu Xiu nodded.
“Oh,” said Qing Luo. “Right, who is this Su Yi person you all keep talking about?”
Irrepressible hatred appeared on Chu Xiu’s face. “A doomed bastard!”
Qing Luo couldn’t help but shake his head. “Hatred can blind you. For you to hate Su Yi that much, he must be extraordinary. Don’t get complacent.”
“Thanks for the reminder, Fellow Daoist,” said Chu Xiu. “But Su Yi is most likely in the Great Xia right now. No matter how much I hate him, there’s nothing I can do to him at the moment.”
“The Great Xia
” whispered Qing Luo. “If I get the chance, I’d like to go there too.”
An hour later.
Two Origin Palace Realm cultivators of the Celestial Prison Demon Court shot through the air, Wen Changtai and Qin Qing in tow. They landed atop the solitary island.
When Chu Xiu saw this, he didn’t delay. He immediately led all of his subordinates toward the ruins of the Immortals’ Sword House.
Qing Luo went with them.
When he saw that the demonic cultivators’ ranks consisted of four Gathering Stars, twenty Origin Palace, and thirty-nine Grain Avoidance cultivators, Qing Luo couldn’t help but shake his head. He couldn’t be bothered to pay them any further heed.
Time slipped by.
Fifteen minutes later, on the distant surface of the sea, a place shrouded in mist.
“Fellow Daoist, the ruins’ entrance lies deep within the mists. It’s typically enveloped in the power of a formation; ordinary people have no hope of finding it,” Chu Xiu explained at top speeds.
“Oh?” Qing Luo perked up. “You’re saying a black flood dragon lurks within these waters?”
Chu Xiu nodded. “Indeed!”
As they conversed, the group shot into the mists.
Moments later——
A mellow, deep voice reverberated throughout heaven and earth.
“You scoundrels really dared come here again? Do you really think I dare not kill you?”
The voice rumbled above the surface of the sea.
The demonic cultivators behind Chu Xiu stiffened, and all of them were visibly on guard.
Even Chu Xiu looked solemn. “Fellow Daoist, that’s the black flood dragon!”
They’d ventured into this stretch of ocean more than once of late, and they were naturally well aware of how dangerous the black flood dragon was.
“That so? I’m truly as eager as can be!” Qing Luo’s whirlpool-like eyes lit up.
Boom!
A figure stepped onto the distant surface of the sea.
He was a middle-aged man in loose-sleeved Confucian robes and a wide belt. As he walked on the water's surface, his momentum transformed heaven and earth, throwing the winds and clouds into disarray.
This was none other than the black flood dragon, Ying Que!
The terrifying pressure of the Spiritual Incarnation Realm permeated his surroundings. Chu Xiu and the others’ expressions were increasingly grave.
Qing Luo, however, laughed. “Clouds follow dragons and winds follow tigers. For this black flood dragon to have such dense, refined foundations in the Spiritual Incarnation Realm tells me it practices some kind of ancient legacy.”
He sounded like he was exclaiming his praises, but his eyes shone like a predator who’d just discovered the most delicious prey in the world.
Ying Que’s brow furrowed, and he looked at Qing Luo. “Are you a cultivator of the Celestial Prison Demon Court too?”
Qing Luo shook his head. “Me? I’m just a solitary wanderer. I’ve only recently reawakened, and not even I know my origins.”
Ying Que said expressionlessly, “Then why are you here?”
“I wanted to see the ruins of the Immortals’ Sword House.” Qing Luo smiled and added, “I’m also quite interested in you.”
Ying Que froze. “Me?”
“That’s right.” Qing Luo nodded. “More specifically, I want to eat you.”
Chu Xiu’s eyelids twitched. This guy
 really isn’t the least bit polite!
The Celestial Prison Demon Court cultivators accompanying him gasped. Qing Luo’s words shocked them too.
He seemed dead-set on being as outrageous as possible!
Ying Que was stunned too. He couldn’t help but re-evaluate Qing Luo. “Is there a grudge between us?”
Qing Luo shook his head. “Not everything in this world is about grudges. There’s no enmity between us; I just want to satisfy my hunger.”
Chu Xiu and the others fell silent.
Qing Luo seemed handsome and elegant, with an extraordinary bearing, but his words and behavior seemed frenzied.
“To satisfy your hunger
” Ying Que’s eyes flashed. “Then I’ll be interested to see whether or not you’re capable of that!”
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Qing Luo smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth. “My current abilities aren’t particularly impressive, but dealing with a beast like you shouldn’t be a problem.”
As he spoke, he took a sudden step forward, then shot toward Ying Que, monstrous black yao qi surging around him.
Boom!
The seawater churned, and the air was thrown into disarray.
In the onlookers’ eyes, Qing Luo resembled a yao god. His black hair and white robes billowed around him, and he shot through the air like a spear piercing the dome of heaven, its edge illuminating the world!