With a light turn of her body, Bi Zhu Po Po halted mid-air, her gaze sweeping the surroundings with preternatural speed. In the unmoving silence, her senses already absorbed the layout of the realm.

She had traversed the Secret Realm in battle before, and was intimately familiar with its rules. The distant Starlight Holy Tower in the cosmic expanse confirmed her location.

True Person Chong Guang, adhering strictly to Wei Xun’s instructions, had chosen a surprisingly fair arena. This was a floating island, beholden neither to the Hooked Sea Tower nor to Destiny Island.

While in theory, these floating islands offered equal footing to all cultivators of the human race, locations controlled by different powers inevitably displayed varying degrees of bias – a reality none could escape.

Yet, the forces of Yang Gu were renowned in the Secret Realm for their impartiality, dedicating themselves solely to a life-and-death struggle against the Sea Race. As long as battle wasn’t initiated directly on a floating island, she and Jiang Wang could fight until the heavens were dark and the earth was scorched, with no intervention.

This was excellent.

Nay, it was too good!

The moment the Sect Master decided to cast Jiang Wang and herself into the same area, hope had reignited within her. She possessed unwavering confidence in her own strength, in the accumulated power of her many years. Jiang Wang, while a young prodigy blessed by the heavens, found time to be his greatest ally, yet in the matter of accumulation, it was also his most formidable foe. His experiences were inevitably insufficient, woefully lacking.

Surely, he possessed some extraordinary items. His friends, in their farewells, had constantly engaged in small, secretive actions – she had observed them all.

But it mattered not.

Of course, it mattered not.

These treasures would all become her provisions, aiding her return to the pinnacle of Divine Ascent… She had lost all hope, believing she had to start anew… The path was too arduous. But if she could seize that item from Jiang Wang, the one even Hai Zong Ming had coveted, perhaps everything could indeed begin again.

What was it? She knew not. But it was undoubtedly of paramount importance.

The words she had spoken to Zhu Bi Qiong at the Heavenly Cliff Pavilion were genuine. The whispered apology was also true.

But that apology was not for past transgressions, but for what was to come.

For there was such a youth, one who would brave fire and water for Zhu Bi Qiong, disrupting the grand Hai Ji ritual, mobilizing terrifying connections, and in the presence of True Monarchs, still endeavor to save her, bestowing upon her such profound romance… And she, despite it all, had to personally slay this very person.

It was for this that she apologized.

Jiang Wang had claimed he saw Zhu Bi Qiong only as a friend, but she did not believe him. In her eyes, it was merely an excuse for Jiang Wang to choose Qi Country while still daring not to openly renounce the Hooked Sea Tower.

Within the Secret Realm, there was no up, down, left, or right; directions were relative to oneself. The Starlight Holy Tower’s guidance could only pinpoint an approximate area.

However, this feeling was not unfamiliar.

Bi Zhu Po Po knew intimately that this “unfamiliarity” with the environment would be Jiang Wang’s greatest disadvantage. Even with a map of Destiny Island in hand, he could not immediately shed this sense of strangeness.

Killing Jiang Wang, the sooner the better. For this “strangeness” would dissipate with time.

She was certain of her strength advantage, yet she would never underestimate the adaptability of a heaven’s chosen son, nor the profound foundations of those renowned sects. The gifts bestowed upon Jiang Wang by those individuals were likely extraordinary.

With a flick of her tail-finger, a single water droplet flew forth, transforming into her likeness. She herself, meanwhile, dissolved into a water droplet, trailing behind.

Everyone on Moon Crescent Island knew that Elder Bi Zhu’s expertise lay in beast-taming, and she almost never displayed her mastery of illusion techniques openly. But having cultivated within the Hooked Sea Tower for so long, how could she possibly be ignorant of such arts?

Her long years corresponded to a wealth of accumulation.

Hai Zong Ming had met a hasty end, but she absolutely would not. She would be even more cautious than the weak, exhausting every means to eliminate the possibility of accident.

For this, perhaps, was her last opportunity.

Roughly sensing the location of the floating island relative to the Starlight Holy Tower, the water droplet-transformed Bi Zhu Po Po selected a direction and swiftly flew away.

Meanwhile, back at the Heavenly Cliff Pavilion, True Person Chong Guang, with a wave of his hand, had swept away Jiang Wang and Bi Zhu Po Po.

Wei Xun then strode towards the main position, issuing instructions: “Press Zhu Bi Qiong to one side, and the Hai Ji ceremony shall continue.”

Yang Feng, Qi Xiao, and Jiang Wu You, positioned at the main seats, stood honestly, waiting for Wei Xun to settle into the central, grand chair before they themselves would sit.

Here, only True Monarchs could sit in the same row as Wei Xun.

Hai Jing Ping then stepped forward once more, resuming the Hai Ji grand ceremony. He seemed to have completely forgotten the events that had just transpired, not a hint of anger or suppression evident on his face.

“Zhi you…”

The drums restarted, and black-armored soldiers once again escorted the sin prisoners, leading them step by step up the stairs. Aside from Zhu Bi Qiong being pressed to one side, everything seemed unchanged.

At this point, Zhong Xuan Ming He and Zhong Xuan Sheng had already taken their seats as observers. The Gate Master of the Five Immortals Gate, Xu Zhi Lan, and Elder Fan Qing Qing followed closely behind them, indicating that the Five Immortals Gate had fully aligned itself with the Zhong Xuan family. Of course, the Five Immortals Gate did not rely solely on the Zhong Xuan family; rather, they sought to leverage the Zhong Xuan family’s connections to lean towards Qi Country. However, within the sphere of Qi Country’s influence, they would be closer to the Zhong Xuan family.

Lu Hua, the miscellaneous affairs envoy of the Hooked Sea Tower, quietly squeezed into the crowd. His role within the Hooked Sea Tower was certainly coming to an end. After the Hai Ji ceremony, he would return to Destiny Island, where Jiang Wu You would naturally have other arrangements for him.

“I just received news,” Zhong Xuan Ming He transmitted via sound. “Chong Jia Island was attacked by sea pirates. All of its defensive formations were destroyed. The resources piled on the island were plundered empty. Cultivators dispatched by the Nine Xuan Sect from the nearby islands drove away the sea pirates and planted their flag on Chong Jia Island.”

Despite the numerous cultivation sects in the nearby archipelago, sea pirates had never been eradicated. They were mostly rebellious sect disciples, practitioners of the unorthodox path, hiding in uninhabited sea areas, occasionally emerging to plunder.

Naturally, many sea pirates also had the backing of influential forces.

The group of sea pirates who attacked Chong Jia Island clearly belonged to this category. They had seized the opportunity of Zhong Xuan Ming He’s absence to strike with precision.

They had disrupted the Zhong Xuan family’s operations on Chong Jia Island, destroyed the formations, and plundered the valuable resources, leaving Chong Jia Island as ownerless land. The Nine Xuan Sect, by driving away the sea pirates, could naturally become the new masters of Chong Jia Island.

This method was simple and crude, and only those with significant backing could execute it with such force.

The Zhong Xuan family had the strength to retaliate against the sea pirates, but they could not directly attack the Nine Xuan Sect. Behind the Nine Xuan Sect stood the Fourth Elder of the Hooked Sea Tower, Gu Huai Xin.

In other words, from this point forward, Chong Jia Island was gone.

Zhong Xuan Ming He’s voice betrayed no joy or sorrow, but there was no doubt that the Zhong Xuan family had suffered a heavy loss this time.

Zhong Xuan Sheng said little, only transmitting back: “Uncle’s loss, nephew will certainly be responsible for reclaiming it.”

This was originally just one of Bi Zhu Po Po’s plans; he had been aware of it earlier. It was merely Zhong Xuan Ming He himself who had clung to a shred of hope.

How could there be any hope?

Bi Zhu Po Po had been cast into the Secret Realm, and Gu Huai Xin, who stood behind her, had yet to make a move.

Zhong Xuan Ming He did not express belief or disbelief, merely observing the proceedings in the arena, seemingly focused on the ceremony.

Although this uncle and nephew were not enemies, their relationship was not intimate enough. Zhong Xuan Ming He’s complex feelings towards his second brother, Zhong Xuan Ming Tu, seemed to project onto his second brother’s son. It was difficult for him to adopt a clear attitude when dealing with him.

And similarly, the alienation from other members of the Zhong Xuan family, cultivated since childhood, could not be simply erased from Zhong Xuan Sheng’s heart.

In their interactions with each other, they were both at a loss.

In the arena, Hai Jing Ping finally announced the sins of all the prisoners. This time, no accidents occurred.

All the sin prisoners were led to the edge of the cliff, facing the vast sea, their backs to the crowd. They had all been stripped of their cultivation and shivered in the sea wind.

Some howled, some remained silent, some begged for mercy, but there was no response.

“Please, the sacrifice!” Hai Jing Ping declared.

The black-armored soldiers, without a word, collectively pushed the shackled prisoners forward!

Forty-four sin prisoners plummeted into the sea together.

It was as if the miserable cries were not heard, or perhaps they did appear, but were annihilated by the sea wind. Falling from such a height, these cultivationless prisoners had no hope of survival.

And Hai Jing Ping raised both hands high, declaring loudly: “Spirits, return!”

“Spirits, return!”

Everyone raised both hands high, shouting thus.