In the east, the sun began to rise, pouring light that banished the darkness that had held reign all night. The light made flowers bloom and animals awakened. They began their days, either to look for food or become food for others, while several kinds of fish, whales, and dolphins swam near the surface of the sea, as if happy to finally greet the sun. The water likewise glittered under the light. The sun was vital to all life; it brought life and light, but with the bright light also came darkness. In several dark valleys, the shadows cast by the sun woke predators slinking through the dark foliage. In some places, like the depths of the ocean, the insides of caves, and deep underground, the light never reached, leaving them entirely in the hands of darkness.

  Liu Xing flew across the sea, his body invisible. Yet, every so often, he needed to summon his shield. The shield cast a deep shadow on the surface of the ocean before Liu Xing kicked it and dismissed it, causing both the shield and its shadow to vanish. He flew atop the sea at a measured height. He didn't want to be too high, where the light was too bright, nor did he want to be so low as to create a trail on the water's surface. Likewise, he flew at a measured speed. Not so slow that it would waste time, but not so fast that he would create a thunderous whistle in the air. In his current state, Liu Xing would be hard to detect. The only sign of his presence was the shield that flickered rapidly in and out of existence.

  As he flew through the air, he looked forward. The chaotic wind whipped his hair about, sometimes lashing across his face and eyes, but through the strands of hair and the blustering wind, he could see his destination in the distance to the south.

  The island he targeted was perhaps as large as Australia and home to several nations. The largest and strongest was the Mirror Tide Empire. It was an empire that likely stood on the front lines against the Nether Lotus Sect and was probably still hunting him. After all, he was a disciple of the Purple Moon Sect, which was rumored to back the Nether Lotus Sect. He was also the man who had killed one of their generals and possessed information about a heaven-defying treasure. Remembering this made Liu Xing grip his gun and press his lips together. That heaven-defying treasure was the Heaven Severing Pill. Thinking of it reminded him of a boy named Qing Yuan, as well as Su Nian, Fang Ruxue, and the others. The women's goal was to arrive there so they could join the Empire in fighting the demonic sect. He wondered if Fang Ruxue and the others would be safe if he had cooperated with the general, though he knew it was unlikely.

  Shaking the useless thoughts from his mind, Liu Xing summoned his shield and kicked it again, steadily closing the distance to the large island.

  His goal on that island was simple. He needed information about the Nether Lotus Sect.

  He intended to save his friends who were currently held by the Nether Lotus Sect, but he couldn't just teleport to them like Hua Beifeng. He needed to locate where his friends were being held, get to that place, kill all the demonic cultivators there, including Ye Xuanming, and then get out with his friends. Of course, there were many complications to his simple goal. He would need to infiltrate enemy territory alone, and he would have to become strong enough to kill them all. Hence, he needed information. Since the Mirror Tide Empire was the closest place—just south of the island he had just left—he had decided to go there.

  Liu Xing kicked his shield again and again. As he got closer to the large island, he could see several naval ships patrolling the sea. When he saw them, he submerged himself and moved deep into the sea. This way, the chance of them seeing his shield was smaller. It also had the added benefit of washing away the blood and filth that clung to him, which he had included in his invisibility. He didn't activate the self-cleaning function on his robe, though. Blood had seeped between the robe's threads. It was Qing Lian's blood, and he intended to use the stain as a reminder of his failure, a sign for him to pursue the power needed to save his friends.

  After a while, Liu Xing emerged from the sea. The wind made his invisible robe flap, and water dripped from his unseen form, though not for long. Soon, the robe was dry. Finally, Liu Xing saw the edge of the island. He could see a bustling port with perhaps hundreds of ships docked. Some of the vessels were small, likely merchant or fishing ships. Others were large and had mounted cannons. It was evident that these were warships. Further observation revealed a divide between the civilian and military ships, and Liu Xing decided to peer at the side of the port intended for civilians.

  Soon, Liu Xing was flying above several ships trying to dock or leave the port. He spread his body wide, trying to slow his descent as much as possible. He looked toward a crow's nest on one of the ships, pointed his feet toward it, and descended. His feet landed with a thud. Several people looked up, but most of them—men carrying boxes on their shoulders or backs from the ships—continued their work.

  Liu Xing looked down. When he saw a man raise his eyebrows and start to climb, Liu Xing jumped from the crow's nest and landed near a stack of boxes. Then, he began to walk among porters carrying sacks or boxes, fishermen with their fish and nets, and the many other people bustling around the port.

  As Liu Xing deftly moved between the busy mortals, he opened his ears, trying to catch any information floating around. Most of what he caught were shouts, jokes from sweaty men, or people chatting while lounging near stacks of goods or inside their ships, which were in the process of docking. Most of the information was useless, but he overheard some interesting rumors and decided to jump to the top of a stack of crates. He sat there and listened to several men who were sitting and smoking from their pipes, likely resting after their labor.

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  "The situation is really bad," a burly, topless man with a hairy chest said between puffs from his pipe. "The currents are chaotic, the wind is hostile, and we can see deep-sea fish surfacing. It's clearly a bad omen, and yet the boss decided we need to sail tonight or we'll miss a shipment. That fucking greedy pig, I tell you. He only cares about money. If he had a little brain in that little head, he'd realize the rumors about the war are true."

  "Well, you know he has another wife on the next island, right? He just wants to get into her embrace and fuck her silly." A tall man with long hands and feet snickered. He wore gray and green garments. "I don't blame him, really. Her ass and tits are to die for."

  A young-looking man with almost green hair, also smoking a pipe, inhaled deeply before letting out a puff of smoke. "You need to warn your boss harder. Those cultivators are no joke. I heard they're converging near the Hammer Trench. If your boss doesn't heed your warning, and I were in your position, I'd decide to quit right then and there. After all, my life is the most important thing."

  The man with the hairy chest nodded. He said he would do as the other suggested, as he was also afraid for his life. Their conversation then drifted to bars and other nice places to release their pent-up desires and relax. Liu Xing decided it was useless and moved on.

  As he moved deeper into the port, he entered a bustling bar—filled with drunk men even though it was still day—and stood in a corner of the room.

  He listened to the rumors floating around.

  "I swear, I saw a wooden ark in the sky. It was pulled by birds made of lightning!" a man with a red nose said.

  "I heard that Ember Island is decimated," a man whispered, his table surrounded by several people. "People from that island fled on ships, but a storm hit them, and only a few people survived. We rescued a man from a sunken ship. You wouldn't believe his tale. He talked about cultivators rampaging across the island, killing and raping men, women, and children. The man died soon after."

  "Many, many ships have disappeared. I heard it was because a giant octopus was rampaging," a man said as he drank from his gourd.

  "No, it was not a giant octopus. It was a being from a nightmare. My cousin has a bar to the north, and an enigmatic cultivator is a frequent customer. He said something like that is called a Spirit Beast."

  "It's true!" a man shouted from across the room, his table also surrounded by people. "I saw a flying island carrying a tower! It was so beautiful. Rumor says that within that floating island are treasures that would make you rich. Why didn't I climb onto the island, you ask? Because it was so damn fast!"

  "I heard the Emperor plans to raise our tax," a man whispered at the bar. "It seems that war with the demonic sect is inevitable. We need to prepare for the worst. Also, don't say you heard it from me, but it seems our Empire is compromised. You guys know about the rumors about the Prince's disappearance and that general, right?"

  Liu Xing pinched his chin. As he listened, he knew for a fact that not all of the news was true. However, he was sure that even if some of it was false, it all originated from something. He came out of the bar and walked around the bustling city. After hearing a bar full of troubling rumors, he began to realize that while some people went about their lives normally, most had wary eyes, darting left and right, as if the port was blanketed by a dark and ominous cloud. All of these rumors had to be about the Nether Lotus Sect. After all, it was a fact that the sect was rampaging openly throughout the Wild Tide Region. But it seemed the civilians here didn't know the name.

  However, as he walked deeper into the city, he realized there were quite a lot of consistent rumors about cultivators, but not specifically about a demonic sect. There were rumors about an ark pulled by birds made of lightning, a floating island, a flying ship, and many more. He tried to discern the information he heard, and soon, he found a pattern.

  Liu Xing thought for a moment about this pattern, wondering whether he needed to clarify his thoughts. Finally, he decided to drop his invisibility and start asking around. It was risky, but his hypothesis was ominous enough that he thought he needed to take the risk. Luckily, his appearance didn't elicit any suspicion, and he successfully proved his hypothesis.

  As the now-invisible Liu Xing stood on the roof of a tall building, he muttered, "The rumors about all this weirdness come from the same direction. It seems all these strange events were witnessed from the southeast or were heading toward the southeast. The Hammer Trench, the storm, the islands rumored to be raided by a demonic sect, and the many disappearances of ships, it's all focused there."

  Knowing this, Liu Xing hesitated, wondering whether he should gather more information—like infiltrating the palace where the powerful resided—or head southeast. The safest option was to gather more information, but he was racing against time. He knew for a fact that Fang Ruxue and the others had been kidnapped for a nefarious purpose, and he was afraid he would be too late again.

  After a moment, Liu Xing pressed his lips together and decided that while it wasn't the safest option, continuing southeast would be more productive. There had to be clues to their whereabouts there.

  Liu Xing flicked his right wrist, taking a compass out of his spatial ring—one of the items he had stolen from the Jin clan alongside many other riches and treasures—and followed the southeast direction. However, as soon as he reached the edge of the island, where he stood atop a cliff overlooking a dark cloud, something occurred to him. It felt like the tug of a small string tied directly to his stomach. When he felt this connection, his eyes widened. Only a few things were connected directly to him. One was his gun, the second was the statues from his Statue Summoning Technique, and the other one. This tug originated from that other one.

  "No way," he muttered.

  He missed that little shark.

  keep the lights on.