Chu Liang was on a small island suspended over a vast sea, looking at the moon above his head, feeling somewhat dazed. Just moments ago, he was still in the Fairy Lake of the Southern Domain.

He had accidentally entered the belly of a giant lantern fish, found a crystal palace, and tricked his way into obtaining a stalk of Ascension Grass.

In the blink of an eye, the belly of the giant fish was spinning, and seawater was pouring in. Chu Liang quickly flew out. But as soon as he emerged from the fish’s mouth, passed through the serene water surface, and rose into the air, the sight before him left him stunned.

He was actually above a vast sea, with the bright moon hanging high above. Ahead of him was an island full of strange rocks. On the edge of the island, a man wearing a bamboo hat and a cloak was sitting there fishing.

He held a pure white wooden fishing rod in his hand, the fishing line looked golden, and the material seemed to be glowing, unlike ordinary items.

His catch was the giant lantern fish. The huge waves surged, stirring up a great splash in the sea, revealing the shape of the giant fish.

The fishing rod and line bore this weight without any strain. The man simply lifted it with a light flick of his hands, effortlessly pulling the fish up.

The giant fish was pulled to the edge of the island, half of its body on the shore and half still in the water, seemingly wanting to struggle.

But the man simply stood up, leaped onto it, and stepped on it. The fish, as tall as several floors, was pinned down by his foot, leaving it no room to move.

“Come out!” He put away his fishing rod and shouted into the fish. After a moment, a little girl crawled out nervously, jumped onto the island, and stared at the man with her pitch-black pupils.

She looked a bit fierce, yet somewhat dazed.

“Indeed a child…” The man muttered to himself, landed lightly, and approached the little girl.

The little girl was on guard at first, but as the man approached, she seemed to relax, and in the end, she let the man rub her head.

“This feels too strange…” The man laughed at himself,

“Anyway, it’s good that I caught you before you caused a big disaster. From now on, we’ll each mind our own business.” The little girl didn’t understand what he was saying, but she sniffed the man’s scent and calmed down.

Chu Liang watched this scene, feeling unable to comprehend, but he didn’t need to. After all, these people were clearly beyond his reach.

He turned around, intending to slip away quietly.

“Young man.” The man suddenly called out to him,

“Are you just going to leave like this?”

“Hehe.” Chu Liang turned back and smiled,

“I dare not disturb senior’s affairs.” The man looked up at him, revealing his face under the bamboo hat.

His face was as handsome as a sculpture, but it was full of vicissitudes, showing traces of hardship, a stubble, and a scar from his eyebrow to his cheek on his right eye.

“Which Immortal Sect do you belong to?” He asked.

“I’m from the Shu Mountain Sect.” Chu Liang answered truthfully. There was no need to hide anything since he didn’t know the man’s intentions.

Besides, the man didn’t seem like a bad person.

“Shu Mountain?” The man blinked, his expression changing slightly. Chu Liang’s pupils also tightened. What’s wrong with Shu Mountain?

“Do you know Jiang Yuebai?” The man suddenly asked.

“I…” Chu Liang hesitated for a moment, then smiled and replied,

“Which disciple of Shu Mountain doesn’t know Sister Jiang? She is the pride of our Shu Mountain.”

“What’s her cultivation level now?” The man asked again.

“Probably at the peak of the Fourth Realm? It shouldn’t be too far off.” Chu Liang answered. Then, he saw the man take out a porcelain bottle from his bosom and toss it to Chu Liang,

“Give this to her for me.”

“What is this…” Chu Liang caught it, somewhat hesitant.

“It’s something useful for her, don’t worry.” The man waved his hand,

“I’m counting on you. I won’t keep you any longer. Now I have to deal with this little ancestor.”

“Senior…” Chu Liang asked,

“Who should I say it’s from?” This simple question made the man stiffen his shoulders. After a pause, he answered,

“Just say it’s from the Whale Riding Immortal.”

“Alright.” Chu Liang didn’t say anything more, nodded, turned around, and flew towards the distant northern sky. The closest sea area to the Fairy Lake should be the South Sea.

The fact that the lantern fish could swim to the South Sea in such a short time was already unbelievable. If it was another sea area, it could only mean that it had some kind of teleportation ability similar to an immortal technique.

Not far away, he heard a rumbling sound of waves behind him, like a tsunami. Chu Liang curiously looked back.

He saw that the originally serene sea surface under the night sky suddenly stirred up waves more than ten meters high, all because the island began to move quickly!

He thought of the name Whale Riding Immortal. This island… could it be a giant whale? The distance from the South Sea to Shu Mountain was still quite far.

By the time Chu Liang returned to Silver Sword Peak, it was already daylight. Instead of going back to his room, he immediately went to find Master Di Nvfeng.

Di Nvfeng was still hungover, but she was awakened by Chu Liang’s arrival. She immediately opened her eyes,

“Weren’t you going to find the Ascension Grass? How did you come back so soon?”

“Disciple has obtained the Ascension Grass.” Chu Liang answered truthfully,

“But I encountered some accidents and strange things on the way, and I must report them to Master.” The little girl, the Tomb of the Heavenly Origin, the Ascension Grass… all were at a level he couldn’t reach. These matters might contain important information if reported to the elders of the sect, so naturally, he couldn’t hide them.

“You got the Ascension Grass!” Di Nvfeng was overjoyed when she heard this, and immediately sobered up,

“It’s been so many years since anyone in Shu Mountain got it, you really are my disciple!”

“It’s all thanks to Master.” Chu Liang smiled. If you were more reliable, maybe I would have formed my Golden Core by now, and I wouldn’t have encountered these opportunities today… he thought to himself. From this perspective, he really should thank Di Nvfeng.

“Hehe.” Di Nvfeng laughed unabashedly,

“The guidance of your master is indeed important, but you also put in some effort. What kind of accidents did you encounter? Tell me.” Chu Liang then roughly told Di Nvfeng about his series of experiences.

“Hisss.” Di Nvfeng scratched her head after hearing this,

“The Tomb of the Heavenly Origin producing Ascension Grass… and that strange little girl, it does seem like a big deal. I don’t know much about the details, I’ll go talk to the Sect Leader later.””Alright, I will take my leave now.” Chu Liang had already reported the news, and anything further was the concern of his elders. He naturally didn’t need to worry about it anymore.

“You should go back and rest.” Di Nvfeng said. After Chu Liang left, Di Nvfeng glanced at the sky outside and lay down again.

However, not long after, two unexpected guests disturbed her sleep. She got up and saw that it was Wang Xuanling and his disciple, Xu Ziyang.

Her face darkened at the sight of her old enemy. The long-standing grudges and her grumpy mood from being woken up were all clearly visible on her face.

“What is it?” Di Nvfeng asked irritably. Surprisingly, Wang Xuanling didn’t retort, but just stroked his beard and flicked his sleeve:

“Disciple, you tell her.” Xu Ziyang stepped forward and reluctantly began:

“Aunt Di Nvfeng, unfortunately, during our journey to the Immortal’s Marsh, a disaster occurred and the marsh was in chaos. Chu Liang, in order to protect his fellow disciples, encountered some accidents…”

“Mm, I know.” Di Nvfeng nodded. Chu Liang had already told her all of this earlier, so she wasn’t particularly shocked.

“Ah…” Wang Xuanling sighed, saying:

“Since you’ve also received the news, I’ll just say it straight. Accidents are something none of us want. My disciple has already tried his best to search. The chaos in the Immortal’s Marsh is unbearable, and he has been searching despite his severe injuries. When I arrived, I also searched with him all night until dawn. You… should stop blaming him. If you have any anger, direct it at me. Today, I will bow to you on behalf of my disciple. Di Nvfeng, I’m sorry!” His bow was truly helpless.

If he didn’t quickly appease Di Nvfeng’s emotions, who knew what she would do. The disaster in the Immortal’s Marsh hadn’t been found yet, and the people of the Nine Heavens Immortal Sect were still there. If she caused any trouble, it would be Shu Mountain that lost face.

Considering her grief at losing a disciple, even though they were long-standing enemies, Wang Xuanling still apologized to her.

This was the first time he had bowed to someone in all these years. Hearing his words, Di Nvfeng’s sleepy eyes finally began to move.

It turned out that these two didn’t know that Chu Liang had already returned, and they thought that their disciple had died in the Immortal’s Marsh.

Thinking about Chu Liang’s experience, he had escaped through the underground waterways and out to sea, so it was no wonder that the people of the Nine Heavens Immortal Sect hadn’t found him.

So Di Nvfeng exaggeratedly exclaimed,

“What?!”

“My good disciple! The disciple I’ve poured countless efforts into nurturing, just died in the Immortal’s Marsh? Oh heavens! I was counting on this disciple to take care of me in my old age, but today, I’m sending off someone younger than me! Oh heavens! How could you be so cruel to a beautiful and intelligent woman like me? Oh earth! At least tell me where my disciple is buried, don’t let him be buried in a foreign land! Ah…” She wailed dramatically, truly heart-wrenching and tear-jerking.

“Stop crying…” Wang Xuanling finally couldn’t bear it, saying:

“We cultivators spend our lives fighting demons and protecting the Dao, life and death are nothing unusual. Now that your disciple is gone, what good will it do to grieve?”

“You should at least give me some compensation.” Di Nvfeng’s face immediately returned to normal.

“…” Wang Xuanling and his disciple were speechless for a moment, shocked by her quick change of face.

“My only disciple who was supposed to support me in my old age is gone, I should at least have something to rely on, right?” Seeing them silent, Di Nvfeng immediately pouted and wailed again:

“Oh heavens…”

“Alright, alright!” Wang Xuanling quickly waved his hand,

“How much do you want?”

“I’ve raised a good disciple for so many years, it should be worth at least twenty thousand sword coins, right?” Di Nvfeng immediately stopped crying.

“Twenty thousand…” Wang Xuanling gasped. Although he was the head of the peaks and had the most resources, he also had the most disciples. Even if they were all raised frugally, the expenses were still enormous. Among the heads of the Shu Mountain peaks, he was actually the most strapped for cash… of course, excluding Di Nvfeng.

“That’s not expensive, you know. Nowadays, the flood outside my house costs more than ten thousand… Seeing him hesitate, Di Nvfeng wailed again:

“Chu Liang…”

“Eh?” Chu Liang, who had just arrived at the door, heard this and quickly stepped in.

“Master, did you call me?”