Chapter 29 – Setting Sail After Matters Are Settled

In the days following the storm, every resident of Glazed Glass Island received instructions requiring each household to inspect the island protection formation for damage.

The inspection method was simple. Glazed Glass Manor would distribute a spirit talisman—one only needed to hang it in the home for several days and nights and observe whether any red light emerged from it.

As for the various remote corners of the island, dedicated personnel were assigned to handle each one.

“The island protection formation has 367,800 nodes. We must ensure that every single node is functioning without abnormality.” Under the immortal master’s directive, and also for the sake of everyone’s safety, all activities on Glazed Glass Island were suspended, with maintaining the island protection formation taking top priority.

In the past, the immortal master would oversee the formation’s maintenance work, but this time, it was said that the spirit stones powering the formation were nearly depleted. So the immortal master had returned to Ten Thousand Immortals Island to retrieve more spirit stones.

Li Fan also received a spirit talisman.

He hung the talisman in his home and carefully extended his senses. He could faintly perceive an invisible wave expanding outward from it.

After spreading outward for some distance, the wave seemed to encounter some kind of obstacle and rebounded back.

As the wave returned, the spirit talisman glowed with a blue light.

After several breaths, the blue light faded.

The wave began emanating once more.

Over and over, in an endless cycle.

“The formation’s self-inspection counts 360 flashes of the spirit talisman as one minor cycle, and 360 minor cycles as one major cycle. As long as no red light appears during an entire major cycle, the formation is intact.” Li Fan recalled the instructions given when the talismans were distributed.

“This island protection formation is so vast yet so incredibly precise—it’s hard to imagine how it was constructed.”

“Ten Thousand Immortals Island is said to be where the vast majority of cultivators in this Layered Cloud Sea region gather. It is extraordinarily mysterious—even Steward Zhao knows very little about it.

“All that’s known is that if a mortal on the island can cleanse their body of miasma and draw qi into their body, an immortal master will descend to take them to Ten Thousand Immortals Island.”

“It seems that in this life, that is my goal.”

But things had to be taken one step at a time. First, he needed to secure a spot on the seafaring fleet, which would give him a chance to enter the Body-Purifying Spirit Pool.

Li Fan had already waited hundreds of years. He was naturally in no rush over this brief period.

Time quietly slipped away amid the islanders’ anxious prayers.

Five days later, a result that relieved everyone on the island finally came.

The island protection formation was undamaged.

And with the immortal master’s return carrying sufficient spirit stones, the islanders finally set their hearts completely at ease.

Life on Glazed Glass Island gradually returned to normal.

Over the following months, refugees from other islands occasionally arrived at Glazed Glass Island seeking shelter.

Those who survived were only a small fraction. The vast majority of people on their islands had perished in the recent storm.

Upon learning that Glazed Glass Island had an immortal master stationed there, the refugees’ faces were filled with deep envy.

The Layered Cloud Sea was vast and boundless, with countless islands of all sizes scattered throughout.

Only those islands with special resource outputs would have an immortal master stationed there.

Li Fan hadn’t been idle during these months either.

By persisting in his daily cultivation of the Mo Mo Mo Mo Xuanhuang Purification Mantra Mo, he finally saw results.

Name: Li Fan

Realm: Mortal

Physiological Age: 41/88↑

Psychological Age: 504/1119↑

Both his physiological and psychological age limits had increased again. Though the margins were small, it still left Li Fan feeling invigorated.

From then on, Li Fan cultivated even more diligently, spending every waking moment apart from meals practicing the Purification Mantra.

Another month passed like this before Li Fan finally received the message sent by Steward Zhao’s people.

The storms over the Layered Cloud Sea had completely dissipated. The fleet’s next voyage was imminent!

Three days later, at the Glazed Glass Island docks.

The sea vessels of Glazed Glass Island were even larger than the Taiyan Vessel’s second form, measuring a full two to three hundred meters in length.

Over a dozen large ships were arranged in sequence, moored on the water—quite a spectacular sight.

Due to the storm, the fleet had been grounded for a long time, and Glazed Glass Island had fallen behind on its required resource tributes.

So the island lord ordered every ship in the fleet to deploy this time.

This was a rare spectacle. In the past, for safety reasons, only one or two fleets would set out to sea simultaneously.

The docks were packed with residents who had come to watch the excitement.

Whenever they spotted someone they knew aboard one of the ships, they waved enthusiastically.

Li Fan followed Steward Zhao’s people and boarded a vessel named the Distant Traveler.

Among the crew were quite a few who, like Li Fan, were setting out to sea for the first time. Their faces were brimming with excitement, eyes full of hopes of striking it rich overnight.

The veteran sailors, however, were the complete opposite.

Far from excited, their faces were filled with worry, and they couldn’t stop complaining: “Who knows what’s gotten into the island lord’s head, implementing some kind of assessment system. The fleet with the lowest haul this voyage will be deemed unqualified and stripped of future seafaring rights! What are we supposed to do?!”

“Ugh, don’t even get me started. It’s all because of the storm. I heard through the grapevine that Coral Island to the south had its island protection formation shattered—the entire island was leveled. And the resource tribute that Coral Island was supposed to deliver has now been dumped on us here at Glazed Glass Island.”

“What kind of nonsense is this?! How are we supposed to get by from now on?!”

“Supposedly it’s only temporary—we just need to make up what’s been owed.”

The group let out a collective sigh of lament.

“Look at all of you, pathetic! Why don’t you look on the bright side? Doesn’t first place come with a reward too? The crew’s share of the haul goes from thirty percent up to fifty percent!”

“Fifty percent! Do you understand what that means?! One good haul and you’d never have to go to sea again for the rest of your life!”

Just then, a bronze-skinned man strode over and gave the crew a thorough tongue-lashing.

“Boss, stop dreaming. First place? You know our fishing skills as well as anyone—when have we ever done more than barely scrape by on our catch quota?”

“Yeah, the way I see it, this’ll be our last voyage ever!”

“How about we just don’t go back? Being a carefree pirate sounds a lot more fun!”

Clearly the crew had an excellent rapport with the man. Far from being frightened by his scolding, they started heckling him instead.

Hearing their wild talk, the man showed no urgency whatsoever.

Instead, he stood with his arms akimbo, looking thoroughly confident.

“What’s that look, boss? You got a plan?” The crew knew the man well, and seeing his expression, they all pressed him eagerly.

The man said smugly, “Relax. We’ve got a capable man aboard this time. I guarantee we’ll all be heading home with a full hold.”

With that, he pointed at Li Fan standing behind him.

“Him?”

“Fair-skinned and clean—has he ever even been to sea?”

The crew squinted at Li Fan and immediately looked disappointed, shaking their heads in disbelief.

“You blind fools, not recognizing greatness when it’s standing right in front of you! This man was personally recruited by Steward Zhao—a true talent. He’ll be taking over command of our ship before long! Show some respect!” the man barked angrily, seemingly furious.

His words instantly set the Distant Traveler abuzz with commotion.

Meanwhile, the bronze-skinned man turned back to look at Li Fan, a sly grin of scheme-accomplished quietly spreading across his face.