The people from Tingquan Island walked and surveyed Sanyin Island, completely unfazed by the tension of being on a foreign island.
They saw crops growing in the mountains, but they looked newly planted. Only a few dilapidated wooden boats lined the coast.
In the nearby village, most of the houses were simple stone structures.
This suggested a lack of food and resources, suggesting a low population .
While the island's surroundings looked distinct from the chaotic landscape of other islands, with its orderly farmland and houses, it still didn't appear to harbor cultivators.
The scarred young man said gravely,
"Father, this island is barren. It looks like a mortal island devoid of cultivators. Even if there are cultivators, they likely wouldn't be very powerful. Shouldn't we simply send our island's servants to the island and slaughter them?"
The old man in brocade robes said with a sullen expression,
"Why rush? Let's see for ourselves first. Some islands, though simple, might harbor powerful cultivators."
"You've just arrived on the island, and you haven't even seen any cultivators, yet you're already making rash decisions. You're still too inexperienced."
The young man hurriedly said,
"Yes, I wasn't thoughtful enough."
As the two of them were talking, they saw a child and a black dog running by, laughing and ignoring the strangers.
The old man in the brocade robe suddenly turned amiable, and he waved to the child,
saying ,
"Young friend, come here."
The child running ahead was Chen Xingye. He ran over, not afraid at all, and asked,
"Old man, what do you want to call me for?"
The old man in the brocade robe smiled warmly, "Young friend, do you know who I am? Why don't you seem surprised to see me?"
Chen Xingye replied matter-of-factly,
"We often have outsiders coming to this island. We've seen so many that it's no longer surprising."
The old man in brocade robe narrowed his eyes slightly, "Oh! There are often outsiders coming to the island. Do you often see outsiders on weekdays?"
Chen Xingye sighed:
"Not very often, because the schoolwork is heavy. Recently, the school has changed the teaching teacher, who is more strict. If you are a little careless when studying, you will be beaten with a stick."
At this point, Chen Xingye sighed deeply, and a dejected look appeared on his childish face.
After Chen Xingye finished speaking, before the old man in brocade robe could reply, he said, "Xiao Hei, let's go. We still have to go home to recite scriptures and memorize texts."
After speaking, he continued to run forward, no longer paying attention to the few people standing there.
Seeing Chen Xingye about to leave, the scarred young man's eyes flashed with cruelty. He wanted to catch Chen Xingye and ask him again, but was stopped by the old man in brocade robe's eyes.
The old man in brocade robe just said softly:
"Miao'er, what do you think?"
The scarred young man said with a thoughtful look on his face:
"I can't tell if this boy is lying, but it's rare to find a school on such a poor island. And I just saw some islanders out fishing, completely unsuspecting of us. This island is a bit strange."
Even he only began learning to read after being diagnosed with spiritual talent.
It's not just on Tingquan Island that literacy is rare; it's also true on other islands. For mortals who struggle to even get enough to eat, studying is an extreme luxury.
Generally, only islands with a strong legacy have schools.
The old man in brocade robes maintained a calm expression. He looked at the quiet and peaceful village not far away and said calmly,
"Any island near the shore wouldn't be surprising."
"But whether this island is deliberately mysterious or not will be clear once we explore. If you really think you can fool us like this, you underestimate me."
The few of them strode directly towards Chenjia Village.
Chen Xingye ran far away, and when he could no longer see these people, he smiled and said to Xiao Hei beside him:
"Xiao Hei, how's my acting?"
Xiao Hei responded with two very cooperative sounds.
The old man in brocade robe and several servants walked straight into Chenjia Village.
Several people swept the village with sharp eyes.
Being in the village, they could feel the special features of this village even more. Although the environment was poor, the houses were well-maintained and the roads were clean.
What surprised the old man in brocade robe a little was that he met many residents of Chenjia Village along the way, but they ignored them.
Those who should weave webs were weaving webs, and those who should chat were chatting, as if they didn't exist.
The whole village revealed a weird meaning.
The old man in brocade robe had a calm expression and snorted coldly: "I have come here, why don't the practitioners on this island come out to see me."
As the words fell, a faint pressure belonging to a practitioner spread from the old man in brocade robe.
A scarred young man stepped forward and said,
"Father, this island is full of mysteries. We've encountered countless islands adjacent to the shore, and we've encountered all sorts of islands. Why don't we capture one of the inhabitants and ask them?"
The old man in brocade robes said nothing, simply nodding calmly.
He had come to the island to observe the cultivators there and test their abilities. If they were inferior, he would lead his men to slaughter them.
If they matched his abilities, he would retreat.
Simply put, if they could win, they would fight; if they couldn't, they would flee.
This was a common practice in the Sea of Death, and it was also the norm on Tingquan Island.
However, today, after so long on the island, he hadn't seen any cultivators there, which had annoyed the old man. He even released his cultivator's aura, hoping to attract them.
But after reaching this point, no cultivators had appeared, and his patience was slowly wearing thin.
A servant behind him stepped forward, walked towards an old man who was making a net under the eaves, grabbed the old man's collar, and dragged him to the old man in brocade robe viciously.
The servant cursed:
"Here is the person in charge of your island? Let him come out. If he doesn't come out, I will kill you."
As he said that, he put the shining big knife on the old man's neck.
The old man seemed to be frightened by this scene. He stammered for a long time and couldn't say a complete sentence.
The servant had been to the island connecting to the shore many times and had seen a lot. He also fought with islands with cultivators.
Naturally, he was quite disdainful of Sanyin Island, which was so poor.
Now that the old man in brocade robe nodded, he became bolder.
With a flick of the knife, he was about to chop down the old man.
Suddenly, a shout came from not far away.
"How dare you! Who dares to take action on the land of my clan?"
The people from Tingquan Island looked over and saw a man in a black robe approaching from a distance.
He was tall, with starry brows and sharp eyes, and dressed in a magnificent black robe.
The robe was meticulously crafted, with images of ferocious beasts embroidered in gold thread on the front and gathered at the hems with silver thread. The splendid attire accentuated his noble aura.
The old man in the brocade robe was already wearing a magnificent garment, but compared to this man's, it looked completely different, like a piece of rag.
It was Chen Gan'er.
When Chen Gan'er first received the black robe, he had some reservations, believing it to be a relic of a dead body from the sea and a sign of bad luck.
But once he put it on, he realized it suited him perfectly.
As the saying goes, "clothes make the man," Chen Gan'er's aura was immediately apparent.
He was becoming increasingly fond of the garment.
The old man in the brocade robe and several servants exchanged bewilderment, and even the servant who had grasped the old man unconsciously let go.
Chen Gan'er raised his chin and approached with the swift gait of a dragon and a tiger.
Upon meeting them, he demanded,
"Who are you, trespassing upon the tranquil retreat of our immortal race?"
"You dare to harm our people?"
The old man in brocade robes smiled and bowed, saying,
"I presume this young man is the master of this island. What's your address? I'm Liu Shixing, the master of the island connecting the two shores."
"The connection between the two islands is a natural fit. I've come to visit the master, hoping to have a chat and tea with him."
Chen Gan'er glanced at the old man, refusing to comment. Instead, he said arrogantly,
"What island master?"
"I don't drink tea, I only enjoy fighting. Leave now, is this a place you'd dare to come?"
Though Chen Gan'er's words were harsh, they were considered normal for the people of the Dead Sea. After all, simply landing on the island connecting the shore implied intentions of aggression.
The old man in brocade robes practiced a special technique that allowed him to see the approximate cultivation level of nearby practitioners.
He had already ascertained Chen Gan'er's cultivation level the moment he appeared.
In the eyes of the old man in brocade robes, Chen Gan'er's cultivation level was shallow, not even at the first level of Qi Chaining. He was like a novice who had just embarked on the path of cultivation.
He could easily defeat five or six practitioners of this level with one hand.
If it weren't for the man's extremely luxurious clothing, which didn't seem like something that should appear on this island, and if he hadn't felt a little strange, he would have attacked him long ago.
Chen Gan'er's disrespectful words didn't bother him, but he remained calm and smiled as he said,
"My island is a commercial island. I didn't come here to fight, but to trade. My island has a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, which we can trade with your island."