Chapter 266 : Native Born
Jiang Mo's trio made their decision quickly and acted without delay. Rather than waiting for spirit beasts to drive them away, they proactively moved toward the island's interior. However, they didn't follow the direction where the Silver-Backed Wolves had herded the others, but chose a different path instead.
Under the night sky, the island gradually shifted from tranquility to uproar. Beyond the constant sound of distant waves, other noises began to emerge across the island—the roars of spirit beasts, the clashes of magical implements—sounds that transmitted faintly across great distances. Though not clearly audible, they offered some insight into what was transpiring on the island.
At first, Jiang Mo's group assumed these sounds came from the people who had been scattered by the Silver-Backed Wolves earlier. However, they soon realized that some noises originated from too far away, suggesting that others had encountered similar situations.
This didn't particularly surprise the three, considering that only one great fish had visited their section of coastline, disgorging merely dozens of cultivators—far short of the four hundred who had been aboard the ghost ship. If they had experienced such a fate, why wouldn't others? Surely they weren't the only chosen ones, with everyone else sinking into the sea?
Current evidence confirmed that others had indeed been taken to different locations, but all had ended up on this island. The sporadic sounds of combat further validated their earlier conjectures.
Jiang Mo's group grew increasingly curious: what exactly lay at the center of this merperson island?
With these questions in mind, the three traversed the forest under cover of darkness. Clearly, the island had no human inhabitants—lush trees and wild undergrowth made it necessary to forge paths as they went. Occasional trampled trails appeared to be animal tracks, still requiring them to push through thorns and thickets.
Consequently, their progress was slow, and the night passed in their hurried journey. Fortunately, until dawn broke on the horizon, they encountered no dangers or spirit beasts beyond the challenges of travel itself.
After traveling most of the night, hacking through brush and thicket, the group began to tire without their spiritual energy.
With a "thud," Zhong Heng, who had been leading the way by swinging his heavy sword to clear a path, drove the blade into the soil and finally stopped to wipe his sweat. He looked up at the sky, seeing that most of the light was blocked by overhead branches, revealing only fragmented patches of sky that had shed its darkness and taken on a grayish-white hue. He exhaled and remarked: "Dawn has broken."
With daybreak, the merperson island returned to calm. The spirit beast roars that had disturbed half the night no longer sounded. As a result, the cultivators driven by wild beasts during the night had grown quiet, their current whereabouts unknown.
Zhong Heng's group had previously considered whether to reunite with fellow sect members or allies—safety in numbers would diminish the threat of spirit beasts. But after witnessing the island's considerable disturbances and unknown number of spirit beasts, they ultimately abandoned the idea after careful deliberation. Meeting others would be fortunate, but not essential—they had yet to explore the island and didn't understand why the nocturnal spirit beasts had driven away the cultivators.
The three found a clearing to rest temporarily. Shortly after, another rumbling stomach could be heard. Undoubtedly Zhong Heng again, who covered his belly and sheepishly scratched his head, saying: "I'll go find something to eat."
With those words, he rose and departed, his courage apparently bolstered after traveling half the night without encountering any spirit beasts.
Naturally, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue didn't stop him, and after a brief rest, they began to chat.
First, Jiang Mo glanced around the clearing, then turned to ask Yun Qingyue: "Fellow Daoist, where do you think we should head next?" Without waiting for her response, she continued: "Last night, spirit beasts came to drive people away—I wonder if this was a special case or if it will happen every night. Now that our physical strength isn't what it used to be, perhaps we should rest during the day."
Noting the orderliness of Jiang Mo's thoughts, Yun Qingyue didn't rush to respond. As she turned to look at her, the rising sun appeared on the horizon. Its brilliant rays bathed Jiang Mo in golden light, with only her mask concealing her true features.
In a momentary impulse, Yun Qingyue suddenly reached out to remove Jiang Mo's mask.
This mask, originally from the system's mall, possessed certain special properties. Beyond concealing one's appearance to prevent misidentification, it couldn't be easily removed by others. Unless the mask's owner consented, no one could take it off—even if the wearer died. Yun Qingyue, having received one as a gift, understood this intuitively when donning her identical mask, yet she still extended her hand.
She seemed certain she could remove Jiang Mo's mask, and indeed she could. Though confusion flickered in Jiang Mo's eyes, when Yun Qingyue's fingers touched her mask, she still allowed it to be effortlessly removed.
Beneath the mask was a handsome face with an air of heroism, looking at her in bewilderment: "What is it?"
Yun Qingyue gently shook her head without speaking. Just then, sunlight fell directly into Jiang Mo's eyes, turning her black irises golden.
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Zhong Heng's departure lasted far longer than expected. The atmosphere between Yun Qingyue and Jiang Mo shifted from ordinary to nuanced, then back to ordinary. Eventually, even the newly risen sun lost its initial brilliance, hanging conventionally in the sky, yet he still hadn't returned.
Jiang Mo had replaced her mask and was idly twirling a twig in her hand, occasionally glancing toward the direction Zhong Heng had disappeared. Her expression seemed more anxious—or rather, impatient—than Yun Qingyue's: "Where on earth did he go? Why hasn't he returned after so long? Surely he hasn't lost his way back?"
Yun Qingyue hadn't worried about this possibility, since Zhong Heng was accustomed to traveling and training abroad—his sense of direction was certainly more reliable than Jiang Mo's hopeless navigation skills. Nevertheless, with Zhong Heng's prolonged absence, she too grew restless: "Let's go look for him."
Jiang Mo agreed, tossing aside the twig and just rising to her feet when suddenly, rustling sounds emerged from the forest.
This island was far from safe, with threats from spirit beasts and even fellow travelers divided between righteous and demonic paths. Hearing these noises, both women immediately became alert, with Jiang Mo instinctively positioning herself to shield the other.
Fortunately, after the bushes shook for a moment, a familiar figure emerged—it was Zhong Heng, returning disheveled from a different direction.
Both women sighed in relief, and after giving Zhong Heng a thorough once-over, Jiang Mo couldn't help asking: "What happened to you? Why are you in such a bedraggled state, and coming from another direction?" Her gaze fell on his empty hands, and she added: "And you didn't catch any prey either."
Zhong Heng quickly brushed a few fallen leaves from his head, his expression serious: "Something has happened. Come with me."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue exchanged glances but didn't press for details, immediately following Zhong Heng.
As they moved through the forest, Zhong Heng explained: "Earlier, when I went searching for food, I walked quite far without finding any prey. Just as I was about to look for some fruit to temporarily satisfy our hunger, I discovered bloodstains on a spiritual fruit tree. At first, I thought it was beast blood, but upon closer inspection, I realized it was human blood, so I followed the trail."
Yun Qingyue frowned slightly at this point, seemingly disapproving of his reckless behavior. However, with the story half-told, she ultimately chose not to interrupt and let Zhong Heng continue.
Oblivious to his senior sister's disapproval, Zhong Heng continued: "I tracked the bloodstains and eventually discovered that there are people on this island." He emphasized: "Human beings—native-born humans."
Both Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue were astonished by this revelation. After all, the deep sea had always been spirit beast territory, with no recorded instances of humans establishing roots there. Their recent experiences had confirmed the terrifying nature of deep-sea spirit beasts—what extraordinary power would humans need to thrive on such an island? Could they all be at the Grand Achievement level?!
Though these questions flashed through their minds, their steps following Zhong Heng never faltered.
Zhong Heng had traced the signs to find the indigenous people's settlement. However, before he could guide the two women to the location, they first witnessed the natives hunting. These aboriginal people were easily distinguished from outsiders, lacking the spiritual robes and treasures of cultivators. They wore the simplest hemp clothing and carried the most rudimentary weapons. Though entirely devoid of spiritual energy, each thrust of their knives and every arrow they loosed carried tremendous force.
Of course, Jiang Mo's group wasn't directly confronting these hunters—rather, they observed them facing a solitary Silver-Backed Wolf. What ordinary people would avoid at all costs, these natives seemed to regard without fear—merely distinguishing between one piece of meat and many.
The lone Silver-Backed Wolf didn't last long before a single stroke decapitated it, bright red blood spilling onto the ground, quickly absorbed by the soil. Yet the person who had severed the wolf's head received no praise from companions—instead, the leader severely reprimanded them, leaving the hunter with lowered eyes, unable to raise their head.
Their language differed somewhat from the mainland's common tongue, bearing an odd accent impossible for outsiders to replicate, yet somehow vaguely comprehensible.
As Jiang Mo's group listened, the leader appeared to be criticizing their companion for beheading the wolf. After the reprimand, they directed other tribe members to carry away the enormous wolf carcass, their expressions showing distinct disdain... But what was there to disdain? The Silver-Backed Wolf stood taller than a human, and such a large carcass would feed many mouths.
Jiang Mo's group couldn't understand this reaction. They had initially intended to follow the hunting party to observe further, but soon discovered these people possessed extraordinary awareness, making it difficult to elude detection in the forest.
Furthermore, considering the human blood Zhong Heng had mentioned earlier, it was unclear how these aboriginals might react to outsiders. After some hesitation, they abandoned the idea.
The three waited until the hunting party had completely departed, then lingered for a considerable time to ensure nothing unusual occurred before emerging from their hiding place. After reflection, Jiang Mo said: "Those people had no spiritual energy and didn't appear to practice cultivation, yet they could overcome a Nascent Soul stage spirit beast with mere physical strength—truly formidable."
This differed from body cultivation—even body cultivators in the cultivation world absorbed spiritual energy and practiced techniques. These people showed no signs of cultivation whatsoever. It remained unclear whether their extraordinary strength was innate or developed through some unknown method.
With no way to verify these various speculations, the three didn't linger. Soon, with Zhong Heng leading the way, they departed.