Chapter 141: Before Landing on the Island

「Haah~」

With a huge yawn, Feng Xue was awakened by his impeccable biological clock; though aboard a ship, certain pre-civilization technologies had rendered his cabin utterly still, with not the slightest sway.

Feeling the lingering Qi beside him, Feng Xue couldn't help but marvel at how close his Qi extraction had become instinctual—now, even in light sleep, he could "slowly" draw in Qi, though to him, it was still slow.

Without Feng Xue speaking, Mo Ying understood his intent, swept away the remaining Qi, and slipped back into the scroll; though Feng Xue had crafted for her a more portable jade tablet to reside in, outside combat, she still preferred dwelling within this painting.

Yet the cost of passive Qi extraction was waking up ravenous; fortunately, he had already returned to "technological living," and he merely said:

"Xiao Lingdang, notify Liu Yunxi to make breakfast!"

"Understood, Master. But we're about to arrive at Banmaide Island—won't we eat directly there?" Xiao Lingdang's code spread across the entire Da Yun Hao, responding instantly; Feng Xue shook his head:

"I prefer keeping my state optimal, and I still need my morning exercise."

As he spoke, Feng Xue stepped out of the cabin, preparing to go on deck for morning training, but when he looked up, his brow twitched—yesterday's solitary Da Yun Hao now had a companion: a three-masted sailing warship, roughly a third longer, its black skull flag clearly marking it as pirates.

And on deck, a group of pirates could be seen.

But these pirates were not newly boarded enemies—they were bound like chickens, sitting meekly in the corner of the Da Yun Hao's deck; Feina had placed a tea table there and occasionally flashed provocative postures, idly playing with a small knife, as if hoping these captured pirates would, unable to bear the humiliation, rise up in rebellion.

Yet these ragtag pirates were all sensible souls, huddling like quails, terrified that even raising their heads might mark them as troublemakers to be cut down.

"What's going on?" Feng Xue was momentarily speechless at the sudden appearance of pirates aboard his ship; Sara seemed ready to speak, but Xiao Lingdang immediately reported:

"Report, Master: Around 3 a. m. today, we encountered the Razor Pirates. They displayed clear hostile intent, but before I could wake you, Sara leapt over dozens of meters onto their vessel and captured all the pirates. After assessment, I deemed these pirates, now neutralized, insufficient to disturb your sleep."

"Don't look at me—mainly because this madam is currently in her most suicidal phase. If that pirate ship had come closer, I feared she'd kill herself before I could react." Sara sighed wearily; only because she was an AI with a body nearly pure nanomachine phantom beast did she not collapse from nonstop, round-the-clock stress.

"…" Feng Xue glanced at Feina, idly toying with her dagger as if hoping a wave would come and let her slit her own throat, and felt his own spirit grow weary; fortunately, when he shifted his gaze, he saw a port that, though not highly modernized, appeared bustling.

The architecture carried the feel of a Western town; various vessels were moored along the shore, and signs of the Landseekers' Guild and Bounty Hunters' Guild were visible.

Switching to his Qi-seeing technique, multicolored Wish-Power shimmered before his eyes—fiery, dense, flowing… Most, at a glance, revealed their corresponding authority; interestingly, Feng Xue could even see distant Wish-Power streams colliding—though indistinct, he could deduce these were likely battles.

"It's really chaotic—but chaos is good!"

As Feng Xue stood in stance, cultivating strength and circulating blood-Qi, he had Xiao Lingdang adjust the ship's speed; Liu Yunxi emerged from the cabin carrying a breakfast far more lavish than usual—plenty of fish and meat—and without a word, fed it directly into his mouth.

"You look radiant—your cultivation progress last night was good?"

Feng Xue swallowed the fish on his chopsticks, activating the ingestion technique, now refined enough to function without jade talismans; seeing Liu Yunxi's initiative, he asked:

"Yes, with the jade pendant's aid, I can draw a thread of moonlight from the lunar essence—faster than before. At this rate, I'll reach a hundred-year cultivation in about eight months; if I have sufficient Moonstone for daytime practice, I'll reach a thousand-year cultivation in at most five years, form a demonic core, and become a Great Demon."

Liu Yunxi's voice was cheerful, her feeding motions even gentler; Feng Xue didn't fully grasp demon cultivation tiers, but he roughly understood: "a hundred-year cultivation = entry into the Dao; a thousand-year demonic core = Grandmaster (Note ①)."

Still, he understood clearly: if Liu Yunxi had enough Moonstone, her combat power would skyrocket.

"Easy. These Moonstone users clearly lack deep techniques for harnessing lunar essence—they merely use it as a vessel for authority. Buying it shouldn't be hard. Later, we can get a manifestation from Ma Wu and make our own!"

As Feng Xue spoke, seeing the port nearing, he ended his morning practice and turned to Liu Yunxi, who was already daydreaming about her eventual enlightenment:

"By the way, lend me one Moonstone."

"Huh?" Liu Yunxi blinked, then gave him a strange look:

"The stones were bought by you, stored with you—why ask me?"

"Oh, right!" Feng Xue's expression turned slightly awkward, but to avoid embarrassment, he added:

"Still, they were bought for you—so using them, I should at least ask."

Saying this, he ignored Liu Yunxi's subtle mood, pulled out a Moonstone, and instead of absorbing or refining it as she did, used the amulet around his neck as a medium to directly channel Ma Wu's Wish-Power.

What followed was routine: Feng Xue pulled out three jade pendants he'd carved during practice, and fixed the Wish-Power onto them using the Spirit-Enchanting Technique.

"There. Wear these. Anyone who sees Wish-Power will assume you're a follower of Ma Wu!" Feng Xue slipped the pendants into Feina's hands, then added:

"Yunxi, don't use demonic power on the island, don't gather lunar essence or absorb Moonstone there—I'll keep this one for now. I'll give it to you only when you need to assume human form. As for Feina…"

Here, Feng Xue's gaze turned to Sara, who needed no disguise:

"Watch her. Don't let her lose the pendants."

Sara flinched, turning to glance at Feina.

Feina, who had been happily clutching the pendants, froze, then sighed:

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I might've tried accidentally losing one—but now that you've warned me, I understand the risk, so naturally, I won't lose it."

"So you still might wear it conspicuously and get it stolen by accident, right?"

Sara's database swiftly concluded, and she suddenly entertained the thought: "Maybe I should give Feina another shot…"

(End of Chapter)