Beyond Ding Wei Floating Island, the sea race army retreated, leaving behind an unnatural emptiness. As the side holding absolute advantage, the sea race had meticulously cleaned the battlefield during their withdrawal, leaving only useless refuse behind on Ding Wei Floating Island.

Ding Jingshan said not a word, but flew directly back to the central mountain peak of the island. He needed to do nothing more. Sitting there was sufficient to rally the troops. The grand protective array of the island would naturally be repaired by others – a lengthy process. The injured cultivators would be treated, the unfortunate fallen buried… these tasks were all being arranged by others. As the leader of Ding Wei Floating Island, he found himself strangely idle after the intense warfare.

Ding Jingshan sat alone on the mountain peak, pondering for a moment before pulling up the Sea Border List. No matter how unwilling, how heavy his heart, as a commander defending his post, he had to gain a clear understanding of the losses inflicted by this war. His gaze swept over the greyed-out names one by one, then abruptly stopped.

He saw Jiang Wang’s name.

This name, he knew not when, had turned green!

And the numbers behind this name were still fluctuating! They were almost leaping madly. Ninety-nine, One Hundred… finally settling at One Hundred Four!

This boy was actually still alive, had successfully escaped to another region, and had even completed his sin-cleansing, exceeding expectations! Ding Jingshan’s already unpleasant countenance, made even more so by the war’s toll, couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of his mouth, pulling into a rather ugly smile.

“Island Master.” Fu Yanqing, who had come to report on the aftermath, emerged from the shadows with a touch of doubt. “Good news?”

Ding Jingshan glanced at him. “This general’s eye for talent isn’t bad! Later, go collect the debt, principal and interest included. Fleece him handsomely!”

Fu Yanqing finally understood. Amidst the scars and ruins, this did indeed count as good news. After all, he had personally sent Jiang Wang out. Even if the war had ended and breaking out at this moment seemed pointless, the very act of a human cultivator breaking through during the sea race’s siege of the island held significance in itself.

“Your eyesight, naturally, is never wrong.” He thought for a moment, then couldn’t help but turn his head to look at the Sea Border List. He then turned back and said, “Chu Mi is dead.”

When he spoke these words, his voice was calm, devoid of any emotion. Chu Mi’s name on the Sea Border List was now permanently grey.

“Many people died. This is war,” Ding Jingshan said. For Chu Mi’s death, they both felt regret, but this regret was the same as that for any other cultivator who had fallen on the island. Only regret, no guilt. Because Chu Mi’s desertion of the battlefield was a fact. For Ding Wei Floating Island, they had even given Chu Mi a chance to redeem himself.

“Yes, this is the Mirage Realm,” Fu Yanqing said.

What a bloody slaughter. It was a scene where heads rolled and blood flew everywhere. The vast disparity in strength was something courage alone could not bridge. As the killing continued, sea race warriors began to choose escape. They would rather die elsewhere than face Jiang Wang’s sword again. But few managed to escape.

Jiang Wang was in a frenzy of killing. Long Xiang Si, razor-sharp, whistled continuously, pursuing almost every sea race warrior it could reach, killing them one by one. Faster, ever faster. Ruthless, ever more ruthless. No one was spared, no one forgiven. Kill! Kill! Kill! All techniques, all sword styles, were solely for the purpose of killing. They existed only to strike down the opponent.

One step, one kill; one sword, one life. In this state of extreme focus on killing, a faint glimmer of spiritual light was nurturing, as if on the verge of touching something.

“What’s going on here? Why are there so many sea race here? And…”

“Be careful!”

Quickly approaching voices snapped Jiang Wang out of that hazy state. At this moment, sword in hand, he suddenly realized the ground was covered in corpses! Ten small teams of sea race, a hundred warriors in total – fewer than five had managed to escape the Boundary River. In a region completely occupied by humans, escaping the Boundary River held absolutely no promise of a good fate, but they truly had no courage left to fight Jiang Wang.

The two speakers were both very young and both wore armor. Judging by the style of their armor, they should be cultivators from Yang Valley. They also saw Jiang Wang at this moment. The slightly taller one directly asked, “Who are you? These sea race on the ground… did you kill them all?”

“Qi Country, Jiang Wang. I killed them all.” Jiang Wang replied concisely. He sheathed his sword and began to treat his wounds while asking, “Which area is this?” In this pursuit that had begun in the Ding Wei region, he was already covered in injuries, wounds numerous, only now having the time to treat them.

But his self-treatment technique was truly hard to watch. The slightly shorter cultivator couldn’t bear it and flew over, saying, “Let me.” With practiced movements, he formed a seal. Green vital energy, like a breeze, brushed over Jiang Wang’s wounds. In an instant, even the pain seemed to dissipate.

The slightly taller cultivator held a heavy mace. The look in his eyes as he regarded Jiang Wang clearly held some respect. “This is Futu Pure Land. It seems you just came from another area?”

Futu Pure Land? This name, why did it sound a little familiar… But there was no time to think further now.

“Yes, I just came from the Ding Wei region.” Jiang Wang immediately said, “I represent the Ding Wei region and have come to seek aid. The White Elephant King is leading a large army and is now besieging the floating island. Who is in charge here? I ask this brother to quickly report!”

“Brother, no need to worry.” Ding Jingshan was precisely a Xuanwei Colonel of Yang Valley, but the cultivator holding the heavy mace seemed not too anxious, perhaps accustomed to such matters. “When the Mirage Realm shifts, ongoing wars generally cease. If Ding Wei Floating Island wasn’t breached before, there will be no problem now. If it was already breached before, being anxious now is useless…”

“Cough!” He probably realized his words were inauspicious and changed the subject. “I forgot to introduce myself. I am Chen Gen. This is my brother…”

“Yan Jia.” The slightly shorter one laughed while treating Jiang Wang. “Brother, are you also from the military? These wounds have a bit of our Yang Valley style!”

“I am not from the military.” Jiang Wang shook his head, still uneasy. “What if it doesn’t stop? Before I came over, Ding Wei Floating Island was already in imminent danger. Please, report it quickly.”

“It’s like this,” Chen Gen said. “Experience has taught us not to take major actions before probing the details of the nearby areas. This is true for us, and it is true for the sea race. So that White Elephant King will definitely withdraw his troops. And after probing the nearby areas and learning that the Ding Wei region has approached our Futu Pure Land this time, the White Elephant King will only need to consider how to protect his own sea nest, and will have no time to attend to other matters.”

There was great confidence in his words. They themselves were cultivators from Yang Valley, and they naturally cared about their own floating island. And as cultivators who fought in the Mirage Realm year-round, they undoubtedly understood the situation here better than Jiang Wang, and their judgment was more accurate.

Jiang Wang was convinced. It was only at this moment, as he finally relaxed, that he suddenly remembered why the name “Futu Pure Land” felt so familiar. Zhong Xuan Sheng’s father, Zhong Xuan Ming Tu, later just called himself Zhong Xuan Futu, didn’t he? Because Zhong Xuan Sheng rarely mentioned his father, he wasn’t very sensitive to this name and reacted a little slowly. Zhong Xuan Sheng said his father died of exhaustion on the battlefield, but didn’t say where… Could it be within the Mirage Realm?

But if this place was related to Zhong Xuan Futu, then why was the force occupying it from Yang Valley?

“Two brothers.” Jiang Wang couldn’t help but ask, “Is this Futu Pure Land the territory of Yang Valley?”

Yan Jia spread his five fingers, scattering the green vital energy that had been缠绕 around his hand, ending the treatment. He said with a relaxed expression, “Of course not! This place is the pure land left by the famous general of a generation, Zhong Xuan Futu, meaning it is common land for humans. Not only our Yang Valley, Diao Hai Lou, and even your Jue Ming Island, have bases here!”