Returning from the Immortal World
Chapter 958: Unavoidable Clash

Back when Tang Xiu made up his mind to form an army of cultivators, he still had another concern in mind. Since this age was a peaceful era, it was an entirely different situation from the brutal and cruel environment of the Immortal World. But for those who wanted to be true cultivators, they must frequently experience the edge of life and death and grow up in bloodshed and slaughter. Only then would they be able to become stronger and ultimately transform into real powerhouses.

At the present, after he realized that he just provoked a very dangerous clan, instead of having any fear, he felt very excited and even had faint anticipation for the upcoming battle.

Chakk, chakk, chakk…

Amid the roaring and whirring propellers, a total of 10 helicopters were rushing into the sky, leaving behind the billowing sea and flying toward the 14th barren island towards the southeast.

“Lord, the people of this Celestial Wizard clan are nothing but ant-like existences in my view. But why do you have to pay so much attention to them and have even dispatched your men to clash with them? You only need to send me and I can completely annihilate them.” Ji Chimei, who had been sitting next to Tang Xiu, spoke. Her eyes were full of indifference and she ostensibly didn’t care at all about any threats that might be brought by the Celestial Wizard clan.

“I have many means to annihilate this Celestial Wizard clan if I want to, Chimei,” said Tang Xiu calmly. “But I need to train our people, and only enemies can make our Everlasting Feast Hall’s members grow. They will have the actual combat experience necessary to become battle experts from this.”

Ji Chimei was immediately enlightened, yet she was still puzzled and asked again, “But there’s something I have yet to fully understand, Lord. Why do you want to form a cultivator army on Earth, though? Let’s ignore the fact that the cultivation conditions on this planet are abysmal—there’s just hardly any enemy for them here. Besides, I think you can still form an army of cultivators once we return back to the Immortal World. Aren’t you still able to recruit a large number of immortal warriors there, both saving trouble for you and being much more convenient?”

“Not really.” Tang Xiu shook his had and answered, “Education must start from when they are still babies. Those cultivators and immortals already have their own cultivation foundation. What they have experienced, as well as their background and whether they are sincere in following me are issues I must consider. The environment of the Immortal World is complicated and we can expect to have our enemies’ people easily mix into our rank should we recruit experts there.”

“Still, your reasoning is rather weak, Lord,” argued Ji Chimei.

“What if I tell you that I just don’t want to waste my time idling here, while I also need a bunch of loyal experts under me, then?” said Tang Xiu with a faint smile. “You also know it’s very boring living on Earth. Do you think it’s a waste of time finding something to do here? Besides, we don’t know how long we need to stay on Earth, to begin with. Thus, we need many people to accomplish light work for us, so it’s a good thing to have more subordinates, no?”

“Yes!” Ji Chimei respectfully nodded.

After nearly an hour of flight, the helicopters finally arrived at the 14th barren island. The figures of strong men jumped from the dozens of meters high choppers and quickly formed two teams totaling 48 people, all of whom were at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Tang Xiu then walked step by step in the air to the ground.

“Boss!”

A swarthy and sturdy man among the dozens of men who had long been waiting here quickly ran to the front of Tang Xiu and respectfully saluted.

“What’s the situation?” inquired Tang Xiu.

“Reporting as ordered, Boss!” saluted the burly man. “The deep-sea tracker we’ve released has been monitoring these two liners and the liner that just departed from Nine Dragons Island. Given their speed, the two parties are expected to run into each other within half an hour and the estimated location is near the 9th island.”

“Do you have any map?” asked Tang Xiu.

The strongman took out the map from his arm and unfolded it before pointing to the coordinates of the 9th barren island.

Tang Xiu ruminated for a while and then spoke, “Continue your surveillance duty and keep in touch with us. Do remember to stay hidden and pay attention to your own safety. If you find any other suspicious vessels apart from those two enemy’s ships, contact me at once. Also, if you find that the enemy is going to land on the island, immediately evacuate and take precautions for your own safety.”

“Do you want us to engage them, Boss?” asked the strongman.

“No. They are not your ordinary laymen and your strength is absolutely not their match.” Tang Xiu shook his head and said, “Do keep in mind, you must follow my order in the future if you want to engage the enemy in battle. The better you perform, the more chances you get to become much stronger.”

“Understood!” replied the burly man reverently.

Tang Xiu shifted his vision to the 48 Foundation Establishment experts and motioned for them. He then streaked up into the sky and entered the helicopter suspended more than 10 meters in the air in the blink of an eye. The rest followed and quickly returned to the helicopters.

On the 9th barren island.

Cui Jian was typing on a laptop keyboard in front of him, inputing a series of instructions. The laptop’s screen then split into four small displays, showing live footage of two liners slowly cruising on the calm sea.

“Our tracker has just captured the liner leaving from Nine Dragons Island, Captain. It’s only six nautical miles from the other two ships. If those ships are also equipped with detection instruments, they should’ve spotted each other,” a young man who was standing a few meters away from Cui Jian, turned his head and reported.

Cui Jian’s expression slightly shifted and he immediately inputted another series of instructions. The monitor in the upper left corner of his laptop then changed and a liner was quickly displayed on it. He could clearly see two youths sitting cross-legged in a cultivation posture on the ship’s deck.

“Notify Boss!”

The ocean stretched as far as the eyes could see, but Jin Chanzi sat cross-legged on the deck, silently immersing himself in the cultivation art of his sect. He was not at the late stage of Foundation Establishment and had yet to sense the threshold of the Golden Core Stage. But he believed that he would have a breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage one day in the future if he kept cultivating diligently, earning himself the honor of becoming an illustrious powerhouse among cultivators.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP…

Suddenly, the sound of alarm inside the liner rang and Jin Chanzi instantly opened his eyes. The moment he and Jin Xingzi floated above, Daoist Zixuan’s figure flashed and appeared beside them.

“We got some bad company ahead.”

Eyes squinted, Daoist Zixuan trained her vision on the ships in the distance that were cruising toward them as she spoke with indifference.

“What do you mean, Master?” asked Jin Chanzi. “You already know who those people are?”

“The Ship Master has already contacted the ships from the bridge through their comms and asked about their identity. They just simply ignored. He also said that if we encounter such a situation at sea, then it’s usually people with hostile intentions. Additionally, did you forget why you came to Nine Dragons Island in the first place?”

Jin Chanzi was zoning out for a moment and immediately said, “You mean those people are highly likely to be the Celestial Wizard people, Master? And they came here to avenge their slain clan members?”

With her acutely keen eyesight, Daoist Zixuan had already been able to clearly see those standing on the liner’s deck in the distance. Those people were dressed in black robes with staffs and weapons in their hands. It was the attire of Celestial Wizard clan members according to her knowledge of this clan.

“You all must remember that our cultivation emphasizes seeking the mystery of Heavenly Dao and pursuing immortality, not fighting for power and killing for no reason. Once we run into them, we are not to engage them in battle if they don’t attack us first.”

“But you just said yourself that the likelihood for them to not attack us is very slim, Master.” Jin Chanzi frowned and said, “Besides, the reason why these Celestial Wizard people came here is for revenge, as well as probably to rob Nine Dragons Island.”

“We won’t interfere too much on the issue between Nine Dragons Island and the Celestial Wizard clan.” Daoist Zixuan lightly said, “Our Whole Unitary Sect doesn’t fear this Celestial Wizard clan, but there’s no need to have any needless conflict if it’s avoidable. I just hope Daoist Tang and Nine Dragons Island’s people can deter this clan since we are trading with them, after all.”

“You mean… we’re not going to help Big Brother Tang, Master?” asked Jin Chanzi.

“We naturally won’t stand idly if these Celestial Wizard people kill ordinary people for no reason,” said Daoist Zixian lightly. “But Daoist Tang and his men are all cultivators, and they are the ones who killed the members of this clan nonetheless, so we’ll avoid being involved in this matter as much as possible.”

Jin Chanzi fell into silence. He didn’t know much about this Celestial Wizard clan, but he was aware that it was him and his five martial brothers who had been in conflict first with Wznieść and Wykres Soloch. Although these two brothers didn’t fall under the six brother’s hands, they were the ones who had destroyed their wicked deeds.

Moreover, he also knew that there was a business deal between Tang Xiu and his Master. The Celestial Wizard people were very powerful, and if they ultimately defeated Tang Xiu and his men, wouldn’t it mean that the deal was as good as gone already, meaning that they also wouldn’t be able to obtain the cultivation manual that could make them possibly reach the Great Ascension Stage?

“Huh?”

Suddenly, he keenly sensed a bursting killing intent coming out from his Master, Daoist Zixuan.

At this moment, Daoist Zixuan’s attention was trained on the two ships that were getting closer and closer. When the distance between the ships was less than a kilometer, a figure flashed lightning-fast from the opposite liner and stood in front of her in the blink of an eye.

“Why are you boarding our ship, wizard from the Celestial Wizard clan?”

The black-robed old man shot a look at Daoist Zixuan with brows slightly creased, saying, “You know who we are? Who exactly are you?”

“We’re cultivators,” replied Daoist Zixuan indifferently. “You can call me Daoist Zixuan.”

The black-robed old man narrowed his eyes and cautiously observed her for a short while. Then he coldly said, “Ascetics from mysterious oriental China? But why are you here, and did you see anyone from my clan several days ago?”

“I haven’t seen them, but my young disciples did,” answered Daoist Zixuan. “Wznieść and Wykres Soloch of your clan killed ordinary people and thus clashed with my six young disciples. I also know your two clansmen have been killed. You’re all thousands of miles from your home; did you come here to avenge them?”

The black-robed old man’s complexion changed and he held the gem-inlaid staff upward, asking with boiling killing intent, “Did you kill them?”

“What if I did?” asked Daoist Zixuan unflinchingly. “And what if I didn’t?”