Chapter 40: Fangzhang Island

The self-detonation of the Eastern Prince was immensely powerful. Although Di Jun and Tai Yi joined forces to stabilize the heaven, earth, fire, water, and wind using the might of the Chaos Bell, it still caused significant devastation.

The Eastern Sea aquatic clans bore the brunt of the impact, with countless beings below the Golden Immortal realm being shaken to death by the shockwaves.

Ao Tong, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, trembled with rage. "The Demon Clan is truly abominable! To act so arrogantly in my Eastern Sea—do they truly think the Dragon Clan is easy to bully?"

"Your Majesty, pray, calm your anger," Prime Minister Turtle quickly advised. "The Demon Clan is currently at the height of its power, and the foundations of our Dragon Clan all lie within the Sea Eye. If we were to rashly clash with the Demon Clan, I fear the losses would outweigh the gains."

"Are my Eastern Sea subjects to die in vain, then?"

"Naturally, they shall not die in vain. If I may be so bold, Your Majesty, the conduct of this Demon Heavenly Court is no different from that of our own Dragon Clan in the past."

Ao Tong was stunned for a moment, then frowned. "Prime Minister, do you mean to say that the Demon Clan will also..."

"Your Majesty, say no more!" Prime Minister Turtle interrupted. "Some things are better left unsaid; to speak them aloud is to leak the secrets of Heaven."

"I understand. Very well, I shall wait and see just how long the Demon Clan can remain so arrogant!"

The second to be affected was, naturally, Bai Jing, who was in seclusion on Yingzhou Immortal Island. At the moment of the Eastern Prince’s self-detonation, Bai Jing’s physical body was on the verge of breaking through to the late stage of the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm.

Over the past forty thousand years, Bai Jing had spent the first twenty thousand using fragments of the Creation Jade Disc and the Enlightenment Tea Tree to comprehend the Great Dao of Devouring to seventy percent, after which he began to ravenously consume immortal materials and ores.

It took him over five thousand years to consume more than half of the materials obtained from the Wu Clan, finally bringing his physical body to a state of completion. Subsequently, he took out materials and ores imbued with chaotic energy, purifying their impurities with the Great Dao of Purification before consuming them. This took another two thousand years, leaving his physical body feeling as though it were overflowing with energy.

Bai Jing immediately swallowed the remaining ores, operating the "Devouring Spirit Technique" while absorbing the vast spiritual energy of Yingzhou Immortal Island. Soon, he fell into silence, his entire being focused on the breakthrough.

However, just as he was about to complete his physical transformation, a massive tremor struck, causing even Yingzhou Immortal Island—which was hidden in the void and independent of the Primordial World—to shake violently.

Fortunately, the restrictions surrounding Yingzhou Immortal Island were formidable, and since the island drifted outside the Primordial World—appearing to be above the Eastern Sea but actually maintaining a distance—it suffered no substantial damage. Only the restrictions sustained some harm, requiring tens of thousands of years to self-repair.

Nevertheless, Bai Jing was jolted awake. Feeling distressed that he had been interrupted just one step away from his breakthrough, he had no time to settle back into meditation before he sensed violent spatial fluctuations in the chaos near the island.

With a thought, Bai Jing appeared in the chaos outside Yingzhou Immortal Island. To his astonishment, an island wrapped in inherent restrictions had appeared out of nowhere right next to his own.

Bai Jing was dumbfounded. Was this not Fangzhang Island? How could it appear so suddenly, and so close to Yingzhou? Could it be because of the earlier explosion?

Thinking of this, Bai Jing quickly calculated and realized that the explosion had indeed been the self-detonation of the Eastern Prince. As a mighty being at the mid-stage of the Quasi-Saint realm, his self-detonation had been powerful enough to shatter the space above the Eastern Sea and ripple into the chaos, affecting the inherent restrictions of Fangzhang Island and causing it to manifest.

Bai Jing’s heart raced. Fangzhang Island had appeared, and its restrictions were damaged by the Eastern Prince’s explosion—this was a golden opportunity to enter! If he could find the Xuanyuan Water-Control Flag there, he could repair more of his own origin. Furthermore, the island held the immortal materials and ores he desperately needed; if he could secure them, he would have enough to reach the peak of the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm.

But Fangzhang Island was the former dojo of the Great Immortal Yang Mei. What if he entered and encountered the traps left behind by that legendary figure?

After much hesitation, Bai Jing gritted his teeth and decided to investigate. He was already at the mid-stage of the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm, only a step away from the late stage, and possessed the Hongmeng Measuring Ruler for protection. Even against a peak Hunyuan Golden Immortal, he would be able to put up a fight. Even if Yang Mei had left something behind, he would not be completely powerless.

Moreover, the path of cultivation was one of going against the heavens; if he remained timid, how could he ever attain the Great Dao? Besides, stumbling upon Fangzhang Island was rare; if he missed this chance, who knew when it would appear again? He certainly couldn't go around forcing mid-stage Quasi-Saints to self-detonate.

With this thought, Bai Jing hesitated no longer and flew toward Fangzhang Island. Upon arriving, he discovered that the island's restrictions shared a similar structure to those of Yingzhou. Familiar with the latter, and exploiting the damage caused by the Eastern Prince, Bai Jing easily found a loophole and slipped inside.

Once on the island, Bai Jing was shocked by the profound aura of the Dao. The spatial Dao rhythm was so dense that it felt as if the Great Dao of Space were carved into the very earth, and he felt as though he were on the verge of being assimilated by it.

"Could it be that the Great Immortal Yang Mei attained the realm of the Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Immortal here?" Bai Jing wondered.

Though he pondered, his hands were swift. He manifested the Great Dao of Devouring to isolate the spatial rhythms and began to explore. He roughly perceived that Fangzhang Island was similar in size to Yingzhou, though smaller than Penglai.

There was only one intact inherent restriction left, located at the very center of the island; all others had already been broken. This was expected—as the former dojo of Yang Mei, how could he not have cracked them? However, once Yang Mei had attained the Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, spiritual treasures below the level of Inherent Supreme Treasures held no meaning for him, just as they held no meaning for Hongjun. Since Yang Mei did not rely on such items, Bai Jing guessed that he likely had not bothered to take them.

This proved true. Soon, Bai Jing discovered his first low-grade Inherent Spiritual Treasure—a pagoda-shaped item with ten inherent restrictions, quite decent for its grade. He accepted it without ceremony and continued his exploration, collecting materials and ores along the way.

In less than a thousand years, Bai Jing had explored every corner of the island except for the central restriction. He had gathered all the materials and ores, many of which were imbued with chaotic energy. In both quantity and quality, they were comparable to those on Yingzhou and would surely be enough to carry him to the peak of the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm.