Fan Qingqing performed a gesture of invitation in the air.

Jiang Wang then cupped his hands towards Old Zhao and the others, “Gentlemen, we shall meet again!”

Old Zhao, at this moment, was entirely devoid of his usual crudeness. He cupped his hands in a formal manner, being exceptionally gentle and polite.

Only then did Jiang Wang step into the high sky and fly away with the several cultivators from the Five Immortals Sect.

Watching the departing figure of this young cultivator, on the entire dragon-bone boat, someone took the lead, and everyone bowed deeply.

There’s a saying amongst the Near Sea Islands:

“Everyone says transcendence is good, climbing higher step by step, constantly tested, with life and death dancing at your fingertips.

Fight the raging seas, battle the fierce and stubborn, exhaust your wisdom and courage, decide on the ultimate leviathan.

Everyone says transcendence is good, but a lifetime is without tranquility, a calm sea is never seen!”

In truth, if transcendent cultivators truly sought peace, how could they not find it? They simply need to abandon their responsibilities. Where couldn’t they hide and live in wealth?

Like in the Qingyang Town mining area, the old man Ge Heng only indulged in pleasure, Zhang Hai focused solely on alchemy, and Xiang Qian drifted aimlessly.

In the grand scheme of things, with transcendent cultivators resisting the sea race in the Near Sea Islands, though there were those like Li Daorong who didn’t care about the lives of commoners, and they weren’t few in number. At least in the overall public opinion, the transcendent cultivators still acknowledged their responsibility to protect ordinary people.

Li Daorong and the others merely delayed their rescue but wouldn’t completely ignore it. If Jiang Wang wasn’t present today, just the matter of the Rage Whale Gang’s rampaging beasts injuring people would have been enough for the Five Immortals Sect and the Rage Whale Gang to argue endlessly.

Naturally, one side would accuse, the other would defend, and they might even take the case to the Fishing Sea Tower.

However, for those who truly faced danger, their lives only existed once. No matter what was done afterward, it was all in vain.

Not far from the dragon-bone boat, Jiang Wang said, “Elder Fan, please have your Five Immortals Sect take extra care of those people on the boat.”

“Of course, there’s no problem. This is our Five Immortals Sect’s responsibility,” Fan Qingqing said magnanimously, laughing, “Mainly that Old Zhao, right? I thought you seemed to get along well.”

Regardless of the reality, the Five Immortals Sect at least put on a good show.

Jiang Wang only responded with a smile, neither denying nor elaborating.

The reason he waited until now to ask the Five Immortals Sect to watch over them was precisely because he didn’t want to give them something to rely on in front of the entire boat of people.

Even if the Five Immortals Sect only promised them safety for a short time, it would be an opportunity for them to glimpse a drastically changing status.

This kind of opportunity would erode many people’s principles, dragging them into a vortex they couldn’t escape. They might struggle to the top, but it was more likely their bones would be left behind.

To live peacefully, supporting themselves with their own hands, boasting after a tiring day, and discussing the world situation, might be the best outcome for them.

With a local Five Immortals Sect cultivator from Youxia Island as a guide, there was naturally no need to observe any island’s flying restrictions. Of course, in reality, Jiang Wang himself had a pass to fly directly to each island, he was just deliberately slowing down.

Along the way, Fan Qingqing introduced the local customs and conditions, her attitude extremely gentle.

Jiang Wang also responded warmly, showing no hint of a Linzi nobleman’s arrogance. Both sides had their own thoughts, and they could be considered to be having a pleasant conversation.

Her two subordinates were very steady, never speaking or looking around randomly, like clay or wooden puppets. In this regard, Fan Qingqing’s ability to manage her subordinates was clearly much stronger than Li Daorong’s.

Soon, they flew to the Five Immortals Sect’s sect residence.

“Youxia” and “Wudong” were similar in meaning, and in reality, Youxia Island was even larger. However, the two islands had very different statuses in the Near Sea Islands.

On Youxia Island, the Five Immortals Sect and the Rage Whale Gang fought fiercely, but combined, they weren’t as influential as Chongxuan Minghe.

In the Near Sea Islands, cultivators didn’t even need to know Chongxuan Minghe; they only needed to know whose younger brother he was. Few people would doubt his strength.

Of course, although Chongxuan Futu’s influence hadn’t completely dissipated, Wudong Island’s current foundation was truly built by Chongxuan Minghe.

Of the four brothers in their generation, the second Mingtu and the third Mingshan had passed away. The eldest brother, Chongxuan Mingguang’s talent and abilities were well known; the people of Linzi were clear about them. Chongxuan Minghe originally had a great chance of inheriting the title.

But he abandoned everything in Linzi and ventured overseas alone, until today.

Many great families of Qi had come to the Near Sea Islands to explore, but few had truly taken root and established a stable base. The Chongxuan family was one of them.

Of course, from the perspective of the entire Near Sea Islands, Wudong Island’s strength wasn’t much.

If not for Jue Ming Island, garrisoned by elite Qi troops, acting as a shield before the Miasma, these large and small families’ tentacles would have been cut off and destroyed long ago.

The Five Immortals Sect’s residence was in the northern part of Youxia Island, indeed farther from the sea area where the eight-clawed sea beast lost control, which explained why they arrived later.

The entire Five Immortals Sect had four inner palace realm elders, which was indeed one more than the Rage Whale Gang’s three inner palace realm hall masters. But the Rage Whale Gang had more ordinary members and more prosperous businesses.

Both sides had tamed sea beasts and large backers from the Fishing Sea Tower, so they had always been evenly matched.

Only recently had the balance gradually shifted.

As one of the Five Immortals Sect’s four elders, Fan Qingqing had unimpeded access to the sect’s residence.

While leading the way, she casually introduced, “This is where the disciples practice their arts. If Brother Jiang has some free time, perhaps you could help guide them later.”

After chatting a few words along the way, she already knew who Jiang Wang was. Her words were even more friendly and enthusiastic.

“I wouldn’t dare to guide, just exchange pointers.” Jiang Wang didn’t refuse outright, it was something for later anyway.

Looking around, he asked seemingly casually, “I still don’t know why your sect is named the Five Immortals Sect? Is it because the sect master and the four elders make up five experts?”

Fan Qingqing smiled at these words, “Naturally not. Firstly, we wouldn’t dare to call ourselves immortals. Secondly, if a fifth elder were to appear, how would we count it? Would we change the name again?”

Her words subtly implied an attempt to win him over. But she was likely aware that an elder position in the Five Immortals Sect wouldn’t be attractive to Jiang Wang. So she expressed it very vaguely. If she could move him, great; if not, it didn’t matter.

Jiang Wang shook his head, “I made a wild guess; I’m truly ashamed.”

“The five immortals actually refer to the five senses, namely form, sound, smell, taste, and touch. These are the important gateways for the human body to contact heaven and earth, an essential path to perceiving transcendence, so we use the name ‘immortal’ to honor their position.”

Fan Qingqing explained, “Don’t underestimate our Five Immortals Sect’s small foundation; our heritage is very ancient. It can be traced back to over a thousand years ago!”

The so-called form, sound, smell, taste, and touch are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

Most sects like the Five Immortals Sect were left behind during the cultivators’ journey to the sea. It wasn’t impossible for some cultivators to have ancient inheritances.

But for Jiang Wang, it didn’t mean much.

Although using the five senses to become five immortals sounded impressive, the Five Immortals Sect could only dominate on Youxia Island, with only a few disciples. It was obvious that their heritage wasn’t strong.

The reason he was interested before was to find out if this sect was related to the Nine Immortal Palaces.

After all, there was already a Cloud Peak Immortal Palace in the Five Mansions Sea, and he wanted to see what the other immortal palaces were like. If he could help complete his own immortal palace and restore the Cloud Peak Immortal Palace to its peak state, that would be best. If he could collect all nine immortal palaces… it was just a nice thought.

However, Fan Qingqing, who was bragging at the top of her lungs, could only trace it back a thousand years, so there was no possibility.

Jiang Wang dismissed the thought and tentatively asked, “In Linzi, I heard that the Fishing Sea Tower dominates the Near Sea Islands. This entire journey, what I’ve heard is quite mixed. I wonder, Elder Fan, what your thoughts are on this?”