The knocking sounds on the door interrupted Miao Wentang and Shao Mingzhenâs conversation. They glanced at each other whilst a puzzled expression was cast on their faces. Who was knocking their door this late?
âTang Xiu, you havenât rested? â
Miao Wentang opened the door and was surprised to see Tang Xiu standing outside.
Tang Xiu said, âThere is something I wish to ask you.â
Miao Wentang replied with a smile, âCome in, letâs talk inside!â
Shortly after, Tang Xiu sat at on the opposite side of Miao Wentang and Shao Mingzhen, saying, âCould the two of you tell me about your identity? Besides, tomorrow we will rush to the Evil Dragon Sea Area. Weâll cooperate and fight together. And truthfully, I know nothing about the two of you.â
Miao Wentang smiled and replied, âIâm Haiqingâs Miao Familyâs patriarch and also the president of the Miao Group. My Master is Daoist En Hui. He has passed away a few years ago and Iâm now a loose cultivator.â [1]
Shao Mingzhen followed, âIâm a free man, blown by the wind to drum and run a venture company. Originally, I was a martial artist, and only later on did I find half of an ancient manual about cultivation by chance. Only then did I begin to tread on the cultivation path.â
Tang Xiu nodded and said, âIâm a student and am about to participate in College Entrance Test. As for my cultivation path background, itâs very complicated, so I could only tell the two of you later.â
Upon hearing Tang Xiuâs words, both of them were slightly disappointed. However, they were experienced people, and astute enough not to probe further.
Tang Xiu then told them his purpose for coming late and disturbed them as he then humbly asked, âThe two of you have been swimming for many years in society. Your identities are also not ordinary. So I would like to ask to the two of you, how do I manage a private island?â
âThisâŠâ
They looked at each other. Although they had quite unordinary identities, but they donât have a private island, so how would they know about a private islandâs management?
Tang Xiu asked in astonishment, âYou two have no idea about it?â
âCough, cough, cough!â
Miao Wentang coughed dryly a few times as he then spoke with a forced smile, âWe do know nothing about it. However, I think that managing a private island shouldnât be a difficult problem. Nowadays, itâs easy for the wealthy to handle things. Â You can spend a hefty sum of money to hire a professional steward and let him handle all affairs on the island.â
âSteward?â
Tang Xiu patted his forehead as he also secretly sighed. His head seemed to be muddled for a moment.
He also had an excellent steward when he was in the Immortal World, who had been following him for more than 6,000 years. Most of his domestic affairs were managed by that steward.
The only thing left was that about the candidateâŠ
Tang Xiu got quite a headache. Hiring a steward was a good method, but where would he find a loyal and competent steward or housekeeper? Who can also stay on an isolated island in the Pacific Ocean?
Looking at Tang Xiuâs expression, Miao Wentang also understood his thoughts as he probed and continued, âOr I can help you find one; stewards from England are the best. As long as you have enough money, you can hire the most famous steward in the world.â
Tang Xiu shook his head and said, âWell, letâs forget this issue first and talk about it later!â
The next dayâŠ
A freighter docked at Jingmen Island Port, as it anchored and then set sail afterward. Miao Wentang arranged this cargo ship from his contacts on Jingmen Island. It was for transporting fierce beasts bodies later. Apart from Tang Xiuâs group of four, there were only more than a dozen ship crewmen and 2 chefs.
The sky was clear blue, as the cool breeze was gently blowing.
Tang Xiu came to the stern alone and then sat cross-legged on the deck. He silently cultivated the Heavenly Art of Cosmic Genesis. Even though it was daytime, he could still absorb a faint amount of starlight. Inside his body the 9 spheres of stars quietly revolved as they released brilliant rays of lights, whilst absorbing the influx of Star Force.
âHuh?â
In the middle of cultivating, Tang Xiuâs complexion suddenly moved.
Previously, he found that the starsâ energy he had absorbed didnât have any fire attribute attached. And today, the sun shined brightly and the power of the stars he was absorbing mainly came from the sunâs lights, which brought along a trace of fire element.
âThe Heaven and Earth divided into Yin and Yang whilst the universe is divided into 2 poles.â
âThe blending harmony of Yin and Yang will sculpt the unpolished gem into perfection.â
This idea emerged within Tang Xiuâs mind. The starsâ power he had absorbed inside his body became like a burning flame and boiled water as it began to crazily surge. The nine spheres of stars transformed as it created a Yin-Yang formation pattern in the next moment, as the star force flare up and underwent a fundamental change.
The star force turned into a fog-like appearance as the nine spheres of stars swallowed at the same time, whilst spurting out streams of gloomy streams of qi. Â Tang Xiu easily controlled the stream current and directed it into his meridian channels. In accordance with the Heavenly Art of Cosmic Genesis, it began to revolve inside the route lines and crazily surged up.
âHissâŠâ
Tang Xiuâs body crazily trembled as piercing pains gushed out from his meridians. His meridian channels were as though thin tissues as they were easily torn, and created an opened breach in the channel. The gloomy qi easily filled it, nourishing, and repairing the channel. Along with the influx of the gloomy qi, the newly repaired meridian channels began to expand, tear, and then get repaired again.
The process continued once again and moved in into an endless cycle!
Tang Xiu lost touch with time and forgot everything about the world.
Endless pain, he dared to say that never once had he encountered such terrible pains. The initial pain came only from his meridian channels and continued from the flesh and blood. Along with the passage of time, the pains struck him from everywhere; an indescribable pain was surging up from the depths of his soul.
Thousands of stars in the depths of the vast universe vibrated together, even the dim planets without lusters, forming halos on their surfaces. The formation was as though a gigantic network as it released layer after layer of countless energy, spreading toward Earth with rapid speed.
âBoomâŠâ
At this moment, the bottomless shining sunâs brightness surged on Earth as the temperature was increased by 10 degrees in a short time of 7 or 8 breaths.
âWhatâs going on?â
âWhat happened?â
In every corner of the earth, hundreds of millions of people looked up at the sky with a perplexed and bewildered expression.
In South East China watersâŠ
Tang Xiu was still sitting on a freighter as all the crews and chefs showed bewildered expressions. Heatwaves were surging up and rolling as their bodies began to sweat heavily. They could clearly feel that the temperature in the surroundings was getting higher.
âWhat the fuck is with this deadly heatwave?!â
âHoly shit, itâs too strange! Whatâs going on?â
âThe temperature meter shows 37 degrees. Damn, the temperature is still rising, 38 degrees⊠39 degrees⊠What the fuck is going on? Could it be that this is the end of the world? The temperature has risen to 40 degreesâŠâ
âWhat should we do? Continue sailing to the deep sea?â
âLetâs wait first!â
ââŠâ
Inside the freighter cabin, Dao Master Ziyi, Miao Wentang, and Shao Mingzhen quickly bolted outside the cabin. The moment they arrived at the deck and looked up to the sun in the blue sky, a horror and terrified expression was suddenly cast on their faces.
This was the first time that they saw the sun this big, and also the first time they felt such an abnormal sun anomaly. It was as though torrential heatwaves were sweeping down from the sky, causing the air temperature above the sea to become hotter.
âSpiritual Qi fluctuation?â
In that instant, their complexion changed. They were cultivators and were able to keenly sense the spiritual qi in the surroundings. They could feel that a huge spiritual qi surged and flocked toward the back of the ship.
âLetâs go!â
Miao Wentang shouted as his body was as though lightning bolted toward the aft in an instant.
However, bursts of disbelief emitted from their eyes when they arrived at the aft deck, as their shocked eyes were tightly fixated on Tang Xiu.
âI-Itâs⊠itâs him?â
Miao Wentangâs lips squirmed and twitched as if he was seeing a ghost in Tang Xiu. Had it been someone else, perhaps he could barely accept the fact. But the one who created such a worldwide phenomenon turned out to be Tang Xiu. Even though he was personally witnessing it, he still couldnât accept it.
Shao Mingzhenâs body was trembling as he struggled with his shivering arm, pointing at Tang Xiuâs back and involuntarily shouted, âH-He⊠how did he do it? This scene⊠i-isnât it way too terrifying?! The temperature keeps rising; itâs not good. We can withstand this temperature, but the shipâs crews wonât be able to bear it.â
Miao Wentang was as if he sobered up from his dream. His complexion was as though someone who just had a tragic event. He felt that he must rush toward Tang Xiu and stop him.
âDonât!â
Dao Master Ziyiâs eyes flashed as he moved in an instant to block Miao Wentang and spoke with a low voice, âDonât disturb him. Perhaps this is a huge chance for him. Letâs send the crew to leave first and then come back.â
âThisâŠâ
Miao Wentang and Shao Mingzhen quickly glanced at each other, and then tacitly nodded as they used their movements to the fullest toward the cabin. After knowing that the ship had spare boats, they immediately brought the sailors and the chefs to board the boat and sailed away to the distance.
Half an hour later.
By using life-saving vests, the three of them then returned to the freighter.
âDao Master Ziyi, what should we do now? Tens of nautical miles away, the temperature is not as high as here, but itâs already close to 40 degrees. The temperature here is at least 50 degrees. If this keeps going on like this, Iâm afraid we wonât be able to withstand it either.â Miao Wentang was standing on the deck 20 meters away from Tang Xiu as he spoke with a wry smile.
âPractice and cultivate!â
A strange expression was revealed on Dao Master Ziyi as his fingers pointed to the air and crossed.
Miao Wentang and Shao Mingzhen frowned.
Cultivate? Â Meditate here? At this time?
What joke was this?
Dao Master Ziyi sat cross-legged as he spoke in a clear low voice, âAre the two of you really idiotic? Do you want to waste such a good opportunity to meditate and cultivate here? The temperature indeed is very high, but we can still withstand it. Arenât the both you experts who have been practicing for decades? You canât sense the spiritual qi concentration in the air?â
Miao Wentang and Shao Mingzhenâs bodies shook as joyful expressions immediately emerged on their faces.
Yes! They really could feel the surging, rich spiritual qi. The spiritual qi concentration here was 10 times higher than any other places. Cultivating under this condition would be much faster than their usual practice!
âPractice!â
They immediately sat cross-legged and began to meditate and cultivate.
Such a heaven-sent opportunity like this was not something that they wanted to miss. They were cultivation geniuses to begin with. After having challenged the Thousand Revolution Array, they had long wanted to calm their minds and peacefully cultivate, striving to break through their cultivation level.
~~~~~~~~~~
[1] Haiqing: Clear Sea. I donât know if the name refers to a real place since I havenât heard it.