Chapter 1118

He Lingchuan fell into deep thought.

The defensive strength of the Yangshan Archipelago has grown increasingly formidable, with several thousand guards and great demons like Wen Wang stationed there; it is no longer the strained situation of six months ago. Zhu Xiuer remaining on the island likely means she will have no chance to act.

But!

"Auntie, I need you to hold down the fort here." He Lingchuan raised his hand and placed a tall hat on her, saying, "You are our combat ceiling, the lodestar of the Yangshan Archipelago! With you here, others will respect us threefold!"

Dong Rui gave him a contemptuous glance, letting him experience it himself.

"……" Zhu Erniang merely listened without speaking.

"Since you say that……" Zhu Xiuer happily accepted his flattery, then shifted the topic, "No, I still want to go!"

"Auntie~"

"Your several thousand guard troops aren't just eating for free. At worst, there's still the Yin Hui King on Longji Island!"

"If Between Between Between Beijia has canceled Erniang's wanted notice, does that mean he definitely won't come again to cause trouble? I did scheme against the State Preceptor of Shuangye once—do you really think he bears no grudge?" He Lingchuan sighed, "When Between Between Between Beijia sends people again, I won't be here, and you won't be either—don't you truly worry about your sister's safety?"

As soon as He Lingchuan mentioned Zhu Erniang, Zhu Xiuer fell silent.

Discovering Zhu Erniang in the Yangshan Archipelago, Between Between Between Beijia dared to send people over a few months ago, clearly showing he no longer fears Zhu Erniang.

Zhu Erniang listened silently, not uttering a sound.

"As for Longhao, it is the Yangshan Archipelago's little-known trump card. But once a trump card is revealed, it becomes an open card." He Lingchuan spoke solemnly, "Therefore, the blade must not be drawn lightly—once drawn, it must draw blood!"

The lodestar of the Yangshan Archipelago's surface remains him and Zhu Xiuer.

Thus, one of him and Zhu Xiuer must stay behind to guard the archipelago; they cannot both leave.

Zhu Xiuer, being a reasonable demon, agonized for a long time before reluctantly saying, "Well, that will do."

He Lingchuan comforted her: "Once we encounter trouble we cannot handle, we will surely summon you immediately to relieve the crisis—how about that?"

"Bring good care of that xun." It was an instrument made from Zhu Xiuer's eye sockets, given to He Lingchuan by Zhu Erniang two years ago in the demon den, with its final hole sealed.

Zhu Xiuer instructed He Lingchuan: "Once the last hole is sounded, I will set out to find you."

……

He Lingchuan now has a great household and many subordinates; before departing on a distant journey, he must arrange all affairs properly.

His long absence from the territory tests his subordinates' abilities greatly, especially with the powerful neighboring state of Mu Guo nearby—its movements require precise monitoring. For instance, if the war between Mu Guo and Between Between Between Beijia further expands, demand for weapons and equipment will rise, prices may increase, and then the Songyang Prefecture branch on the island can begin smelting in advance.

After holding meetings for three consecutive days, he finally broke down all future island affairs and arranged various emergency plans.

This process was extremely dull and boring—nothing more than him speaking grandly on stage, making various demands, while the senior officials below buried their heads in diligent note-taking, ensuring task completion.

For this eastward journey, he only brought Dong Rui; the rest remain temporarily on the Yangshan Archipelago to guard the home.

However, he also privately gave some instructions to Qiu Hu and Wanqi Feng.

The scale in He Lingchuan's bosom trembled several times, and the voice of Longhao, the Yin Hui King, sounded in his ear:

"I have unexpected guests here."

"Ah?" He Lingchuan appeared surprised, but he clearly knew who the "unexpected guests" would be.

The southwestern part of Longji Island is heavy with killing intent, where living things struggle to approach.

Those who can run into the heavenly pit to visit, besides those two zombies, who else could it be?

However, Longhao's tone did not sound particularly angry.

"I've caused you trouble—I'm coming over now; don't act against them."

"Them?" Longhao said, "Only one person, no— one zombie."

He Lingchuan ordered someone to drive the boat, carrying himself toward Longji Island.

He patted the divine bone necklace inside his robe and whispered, "Do not absorb the killing intent of Longji Island's southwest."

Otherwise, he would be the most unwelcome guest in that heavenly pit.

Amidst the wind and waves on the sea, the small boat slowly approached the uninhabited area at the southwestern end of Longji Island.

Today is a bright sunny day; no yin-killing gray mist is visible on the sea surface, allowing the small boat to dock smoothly at Longji Island.

As He Lingchuan stepped ashore, a yin viper elite darted out from the thicket.

The emissary has arrived.

This yin viper did not directly guide him to the Bai Yuan Heavenly Pit, but instead headed toward the southern end of the sea island.

Here, the reefs are jagged and numerous—let alone hiding one or two people, even stationing two armies could conceal them well.

Now, yin vipers roam everywhere here, numbering over a hundred.

They have even laid formation barriers on the ground to prevent opponents from using escape techniques.

Longhao told him that the unexpected guest had secretly landed on the island, originally heading for the Bai Yuan Heavenly Pit. Upon discovering this, he ordered his offspring to drive the guest here.

Seeing the yin vipers on high alert, one knows they suffered a loss at the hands of Fushan Yue.

Indeed, He Lingchuan soon noticed several yin viper elites bearing wounds. Had he not greeted Longhao a few days prior, this colossal creature, if enraged, would have left Fushan Yue with no good outcome.

He Lingchuan passed through the yin viper group and the formations, raised his true qi, and called out to Fushan Yue.

After shouting four or five times in succession, his voice echoed across the entire reef beach, and only then did a small dot appear on a distant reef:

"Hey!"

It was indeed Fushan Yue.

He Lingchuan strode to meet him, with only one yin viper elite following behind.

They met on a sea turtle-shaped reef; Fushan Yue scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed: "How did you come here?"

He Lingchuan replied bluntly: "If I hadn't come, how would you get back?"

Fushan Yue's skin is also thick; he immediately shifted the topic: "You arrived so timely—it seems the yin vipers came to complain to you."

That is to say, He Xiao has a real-time communication method with the yin vipers on Longji Island.

He Lingchuan could see through his thoughts at a glance and spoke openly: "Not bad—they are furious; I can only hurry to fetch them. Didn't I send you and Crown Prince to Gu Sheng Island?"

He had also instructed Fushan Yue that the southwestern end of Longji Island must not be approached.

"I sensed the killing intent here is even denser, so I came over to take a look." If he could just obey, he wouldn't be called Seeing Fushan Yue, "but I ended up being surrounded and blocked by this group."

"Thanks to you not going for the kill, otherwise this grudge wouldn't be easily resolved." He Lingchuan understood Seeing Fushan Yue; the wounds on these yin hui weren't serious, clearly this guy held back.

He was absolutely not as reckless as he appeared on the surface.

"Hmph, I see them as mere lackeys, no need to go for the kill."

He Lingchuan glanced at him sideways: "Is that so? Really just because of that?"

Seeing Fushan Yue chuckled: "I haven't been on the island long, but I already sensed a very powerful presence ahead."

He came to explore, not to make enemies.

"How did you sense it?"

"The yin sha there is the strongest, yet it faintly forms a vortex." The ability of a ba to perceive killing intent is beyond ordinary comprehension, "Isn't a vortex formed precisely because there's a hollow in the middle? That is to say, something is sucking away a large amount of killing intent."

He couldn't possibly perform such a whale-like sucking of killing intent.

Seeing Fushan Yue then pointed to the yin hui elites behind him: "Such things are usually born in clans, and thus typically have a leader."

He is the Crown Prince of the Yao State, well-versed in many monsters' traits.

"Being right doesn't earn a reward." He Lingchuan pointed at the yin hui elites, "Come meet the Yin Hui King, Longhao."

Seeing Fushan Yue stared: "How could this be the leader?"

But he soon heard the yin hui speak in human speech:

"Your guts aren't small, daring to trespass my territory!"

Seeing Fushan Yue was somewhat surprised, let out a "eh?", but quickly realized: "Tongshi Shu! You are the powerful presence on this island!"

The Yin Hui leader didn't show himself, merely transmitting sound through his subordinates.

He could understand because He Lingchuan carried the Tianke Baojuan, standing right beside him.

"If not for Island Master He's plea, you'd have been swallowed alive by me!" Longhao had no pleasantries for uninvited guests, "Now, get off my turf!"

Seeing Fushan Yue shrugged, quite bluntly: "Fine, fine, I'm leaving now."

The master spoke up to drive him away, so he had to slink off in embarrassment.

He Lingchuan, however, pondered: "Is the killing intent here much denser than on Drum Sound Island?"

"That's a difference of several times."

Indeed, Bai Yuan is the outlet of the yin sha earth veins. Killing intent only seeps to the surface before drifting with the wind to Drum Sound Island.

"For you and Crown Prince, is this place a blessed land of caves?"

Seeing Fushan Yue nodded eagerly: "Of course! I said the killing intent here is special, perfectly suited for me and Crown Prince, such living bas!"

He and Crown Prince have never undergone the "die first, be reborn" process, hence they are living bas.

They need both vitality and yin sha.

He Lingchuan asked him this, wondering if...

Sure enough, He Lingchuan turned toward the yin hui elites in his anticipation: "These two friends of mine have absorbed little yin sha, posing no threat to you. Why not, you give them a place?"

"No!" Longhao refused bluntly, "We have an agreement beforehand—no one may come to the island to disturb our tribe."

"How about paying to stay on the island?" He Lingchuan sighed, "Just consider it me paying their rent."

Having said that, he pulled out two brocade boxes from his bosom, opening them one by one.

The boxes were lined with fine sand, upon which lay row after row of black small stones, neat and tidy.

Outwardly ordinary and unremarkable, found everywhere on the beach, yet Seeing Fushan Yue couldn't take his eyes off them at once.

Eh? Ah? What did he see? Longhao wasn't so easily bribed: "No."

He Lingchuan produced another box: "Add one more box."

Longhao fell silent for a while, then said: "Add one extra box per month, and they may stay on the island, but they must not approach Bai Yuan, nor may they attack my offspring, otherwise—"

Seeing Fushan Yue rejoiced: "Rest assured, I won't be rash again."

He looked at He Lingchuan with eyes full of anticipation.

He Lingchuan gave a wry smile, then said to Longhao: "Alright, but I need to go on a distant journey; I'll make it up to you when I return."

The number of Xinglong pillars he placed on the Yangshan Islands is sufficient, and they've just been emptied, so they should last until he returns from his trip.

Even Longhao would haggle—people's hearts are no longer ancient.

(End of Chapter)