When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

This was an island—anyone with eyes could see that—though no one could say exactly where it was located. Additionally, after being bewitched by the merpeople's song the previous night and fighting amongst themselves until losing consciousness, no one knew about the ghost ship's destruction or how they had been carried here in a giant fish's mouth. However, everyone quickly became aware of the island's strange properties.

From the moment the first person cried out that their spiritual energy was gone, everyone discovered their internal spiritual energy had vanished. They panicked—some tried to activate cultivation techniques to absorb spiritual energy, others attempted to retrieve medicinal pills or spirit stones, but all attempts failed.

Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue had already shown enough kindness by waking people up and naturally had no intention of taking full responsibility for them. So amid the chaos, the two exchanged glances and silently departed, taking the recently awakened Zhong Heng with them. Along the way, they gradually explained everything that had happened to him.

After quietly listening to the full account, Zhong Heng immediately said: "This island is problematic. The ghost ship may have deliberately brought us here. But now that we've lost our spiritual energy and can't even access our storage rings, how can we leave?"

Hearing this, Yun Qingyue glanced at Jiang Mo again.

Jiang Mo averted her gaze, pretending not to notice. In truth, she did have spirit stones and medicinal pills in her Innate Space, and even a small spirit boat for transportation. But escaping the deep sea required more than just transportation. Considering the battle that erupted when the ghost ship disintegrated, with Fusion stage spirit beasts in abundance and even Grand Achievement stage ones not being rare, she alone couldn't escort both her Senior Sister and Junior Brother to safety.

Though Yun Qingyue was unaware of that battle, she could guess something of it. If nothing else, while her master might not have been attentive in teaching disciples, she would certainly protect her own. If nothing unusual had happened, she wouldn't have allowed Zhong Heng to end up in this situation.

Seeing that neither was speaking, Zhong Heng understood that leaving wouldn't be easy for the time being. But he remained optimistic and even comforted Yun Qingyue: "It's fine if we can't leave now. Master also came this time. We can just wait on the island, and once Master is free, she'll certainly come rescue us."

Although Zhong Heng didn't know what had hindered Peak Master Qingyu, he maintained complete faith in his master.

However, both Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue were far less optimistic. Jiang Mo knew about the sea battle and thought Peak Master Qingyu would fare poorly against such overwhelming odds. Yun Qingyue, knowing Jiang Mo's cultivation level, reasoned that if Jiang Mo, at the Fusion stage, had been stranded on the merperson island and lost her spiritual energy, would her master fare any better if she came?

Both felt heavy-hearted, but there was no need to voice such discouraging thoughts. Jiang Mo looked around and said: "In that case, we might as well find a place to settle first, then wait."

The other two agreed. Zhong Heng's inquiring gaze fell on her: "May I ask your esteemed surname, Fellow Daoist?"

Good—this person who knew about the White Tiger's transformation hadn't recognized her at all.

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While Jiang Mo and her companions were still seeking shelter, Peak Master Qingyu had already been laid out in a mountain cave on the merperson island. She had been rescued and brought to the island, unconscious and covered in wounds, a far cry from what her disciple had hoped for.

A slender, strong hand supported her, checked her injuries, and then applied crushed spiritual herbs to the wounds.

With a "rip" sound of tearing fabric, Peak Master Qingyu slowly opened her eyes, immediately noticing her disheveled clothing. Before she could clearly see the figure before her, she swung her palm to strike... She landed the hit, but it only earned her an indifferent glance from the other party, with no sign of the injury she had expected to inflict.

Peak Master Qingyu froze briefly, then realizing her internal spiritual energy was completely depleted, her expression changed dramatically. With more bluster than actual strength, she demanded: "Who are you? What have you done to me?!"

Across from her was a woman in a black dress with a veiled face, her eyes vaguely familiar. Hearing Peak Master Qingyu's accusations, she didn't answer at all, but instead leaned forward to wrap the wound with the torn cloth strips in her hand.

Peak Master Qingyu instinctively avoided her, raising her arm to push away the other's hand, but couldn't help letting out a soft hiss of pain after the movement. Looking down, she realized the bandages being used were black, clearly torn from the other woman's dress, not her own. She discreetly adjusted her clothes and found them completely intact, finally realizing she had wrongly accused the other party.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward, but the veiled woman seemed oblivious and reached out again, attempting to dress the wound. Peak Master Qingyu now recalled that during the chaotic battle at sea, she had been surrounded by a group of Fusion stage spirit beasts and had ultimately been rescued by this person.

She vaguely remembered that this person seemed to be an elder from the Crimson Blood Sect, surnamed Qi.

Thinking of the Crimson Blood Sect, Peak Master Qingyu couldn't help feeling somewhat conflicted and was unwilling to be further indebted.

She avoided the other's help again and said: "Thank you for saving me earlier, but I can handle this myself. There's no need to trouble you further." After speaking, she instinctively took the cloth strips from the other's hand, but then realizing they were torn from the woman's dress, she felt awkward again and quickly changed the subject: "By the way, where is this place, and what's the current situation?"

Elder Qi's hand, which had been relieved of the cloth strips, paused briefly. She didn't insist and spoke in a somewhat familiar voice: "I don't know. At the time, I was escaping with you from the encirclement, and after fleeing far enough, I discovered this island nearby and brought you down here."

But after landing, she hadn't expected her internal spiritual energy to drain at such a frantic pace, making it impossible to leave. Worse still, because the spiritual energy drained so quickly, she hadn't even had time to retrieve medicine from her storage space. As a result, she was now forced to resort to this crude method of gathering herbs and crushing them for external application.

Peak Master Qingyu was about to ask about the spiritual energy issue, but upon hearing Elder Qi's voice, she paused, then suddenly reached out and pulled down the veil covering the other's face—beneath the black veil was a devastatingly beautiful face, with enchanting eyes that naturally exuded charm.

The two women stared at each other, and Peak Master Qingyu suddenly let out a light "hmph," tossing the veil back into the other's lap.

Elder Qi... or rather, Zhu Baiyi disguised as Elder Qi, caught the veil and sighed: "This island has something strange about it. After landing, even my spiritual energy was drained. You're still injured—tending to your wounds is the priority."

Peak Master Qingyu wanted to reply, "I don't need your concern," but felt that saying so in this situation would seem like petty anger, so in the end, she merely said coldly: "Leave. I'll handle my injuries myself."

Zhu Baiyi watched as she turned her back, hesitated as if wanting to say more, but ultimately held back all her words.

She left the cave and stood at the entrance, gazing into the distance—having flown to the merperson island on her own, her current position was naturally quite far from the shore, on the side of a high mountain. Standing at the cave entrance, she could see the coastline in the distance, and with the superior vision of a Grand Achievement stage cultivator, she could vaguely make out figures moving on the beach, surprisingly numerous.

Zhu Baiyi gazed for a long while, her eyes revealing deep thought. Who knows what she was thinking, but her expression grew somewhat grave. Only when she estimated that Qingyu had almost finished treating her wounds did she deliberately make her footsteps heavier as she walked back.

Qingyu's injuries were not minor. She had only recently advanced from mid-Fusion stage to late-Fusion stage, yet had been surrounded by a group of Fusion stage spirit beasts—naturally, she had been no match for them. Even worse, with spiritual energy sealed on this island, she had no way to circulate energy to heal herself or retrieve medicinal pills to take. She could only select a few spiritual herbs from those Zhu Baiyi had gathered, consume some, and apply the crushed remainder externally.

Perhaps it was an illusion after losing her spiritual energy, but she felt that those spiritual herbs contained less energy than expected. After consumption, the energy rapidly dissipated, and the healing effect was far less than anticipated.

Qingyu unconsciously furrowed her brow. Just as she finished applying medicine to the last external wound, she heard deliberately heavy footsteps.

This time alone had allowed her to calm down completely. She quickly tidied her clothes, and facing the returning Zhu Baiyi, she was no longer as cold as before. Looking at her as if facing a stranger seeking cooperation, she politely gestured for the other to sit opposite her, her tone cool but sincere: "Let's talk."

Zhu Baiyi glanced at her and smoothly sat down across from her. Though she knew what "let's talk" referred to, after sitting down, she still nodded and said meaningfully: "I also think we should talk."

Qingyu raised her gaze and met Zhu Baiyi's eyes, where surging emotions nearly overwhelmed her. She unconsciously faltered, her eyes momentarily revealing complex feelings that were quickly suppressed. She withdrew her gaze, lowering it slightly to focus only on the embroidery at the edge of the other's dress. When she spoke, her tone betrayed no waves: "Traditionally, the righteous and demonic paths cannot coexist. I originally didn't want to cooperate with you. But this place is indeed strange, and without joining forces with you, it may be difficult to escape..."

She was earnestly delivering this speech when Zhu Baiyi interrupted her: "Rest assured, I will always protect you completely."

Hearing this, Qingyu's expression changed several times before she turned her face away, as stubborn as her disciple: "That's unnecessary." After a pause, her tone grew colder: "As I am now, I no longer need your protection."

Zhu Baiyi seemed to have anticipated this response: "You can refuse, but what I do remains my own business."