The ornate Treasure Ship flashed like a stream of light, swiftly sweeping across the sky.
Beneath it, the Endless Ocean seemed as one, with high waves rolling up and crashing down forcefully, yet without any anomaly.
However, Shen Yi, who was sitting cross-legged on the ship, slowly opened his eyes.
It might have been an illusion.
Just then, he had suddenly felt as if he had crossed a "line," and even the nature’s spiritual energy around him seemed to change minutely.
But within his field of vision, there were no Formation Barriers or anything of the sort.
"It’s the Dragon Palace."
Sect Master Ji of the Pure Moon Sect stood with her hands hanging down, glancing sideways and explaining softly, "Hongze is strictly demarcated by the presence of four Dragon Palaces, which led to the creation of Southern Hong and Western Hong."
The lord of Hongze, that is the literal meaning.
Ji Jingxi withdrew her gaze: "Away from Southern Hong, it is inconvenient for me to intervene, please forgive me, Sect Master Shen."
With that, she disappeared from where she stood; if not for her voice still lingering in the air, it would seem as though she had never been there at all.
Shen Yi also knew the Teleportation Technique, but even if he exerted his full strength, it would leave traces and aura.
He simply couldn’t achieve the silent subtlety of Sect Master Ji.
The methods of the Unity Realm Stage were truly not something those in the Return to Void Realm could fathom; the details alone showed such a vast difference, not to mention a direct confrontation.
Such a powerful being, and he had managed to offend two of them at once, both coincidentally the prominent figures of two Dragon Palaces.
Shen Yi slightly helplessly rubbed his temples.
To say he was not worried at all would be a lie, but fortunately, both were watched by the masters of other Alliance Sects, and his actions were relatively clean, so the situation was not too critical for the time being.
Of course, relying on external things is never a long-term strategy.
Strength must come from oneself.
If Shen Yi were to fully exert his current strength, it had actually reached a somewhat horrifying level.
Speaking of his own abilities, opening two big cities and obtaining Dao Soldiers that slightly surpassed Hongmeng Heavenly Soldiers from the last encounter with Liu Xingshan, he should at least not have any issues handling regular cultivators of the Three Cities, even at their peak.
And the gap was quite evident.
As for figures like Su Hongxiu, having never truly fought her, Shen Yi dared not judge rashly, but he definitely had the power to fight her.
You must know, there was a gap of one big city and a heavenly tribulation between them.
Furthermore, Su Hongxiu herself was a top prodigy among the South Hong Seven Sons!
Besides his own strength.
If he also counted the two somewhat nagging Sub-hall Masters, Shen Yi even entertained the thought of battling the other six Daozi simultaneously.
But it still wasn’t enough.
When facing the true Union Dao Realm, these so-called supports seemed too frail.
He hadn’t forgotten the Town Stone of White Jade Capital he had lost, which was utterly ineffective when facing the Ke Family Crown Prince.
To put it harshly, although Shen Yi was stronger, he was essentially still at the same realm as that Town Stone.
He didn’t believe he could perform any better under the same circumstances.
"Demon prodigy, or a massive amount of Demon Lifespan."
Shen Yi closed his eyes, silently reciting these two options in his mind.
If he could find a demon prodigy like Ke Shisan, it would be ideal, but he could not pin his hopes on the elusive luck.
If he couldn’t find one, he would have to follow Wu Jun’s method, using ordinary Town Stones to transcend tribulations, consuming endless Demon Lifespan, and even risking failure, wasting all the hard-earned Demon Lifespan he had accumulated.
Just thinking about it made Shen Yi’s heart tremble slightly.
From opening the second city, it was evident that these heavenly tribulations were becoming increasingly difficult, otherwise why would Su Hongxiu, who clearly could aim for four cities, stop at three, including Elder Xuan Qing who, until the incident, had not transcended the last "bitter" tribulation.
Even Elder Xuan Qing couldn’t make it through.
Shen Yi found it hard to imagine where he could find a demon prodigy with greater talent than his opponent...
Day and night alternated.
The ornate Treasure Ship finally crossed the Endless Ocean and approached a mountain range.
"Sect Master Shen, this is where I take my leave."
The other three Daozi respectfully saluted, then disembarked from the Treasure Ship, each conjuring their Magic Treasures and sweeping towards the sky.
Wei Yuanzhou, who had been silent and reserved, finally stepped up behind Shen Yi: "Sect Master Shen, do you know why Sect Master Ji concealed her aura directly before?"
It must be said, among those sent by the South Hong Seven Sons to accompany Shen Yi, this Daozi of Ling Yun Sect seemed the most reliable.
Rather than saying Shen Yi took them out on a mission, it would be more accurate to say Wei Yuanzhou was out on a mission and incidentally took a few troublemakers away under the guise of an excuse.
Shen Yi turned his head to look back, actually having some doubts when he heard the word "inconvenient" before, but it wasn’t appropriate to ask in front of so many people.
"This matter is connected to a past event, and is rather long to explain," chuckled Wei Yuanzhou, glossing over the specifics with a smile that held a trace of resignation: "The connections between Southern Hong and the other places are... quite distant."
"Why put it so euphemistically, there’s basically no connection at all," Bai Wu couldn’t help but interject, clearly struggling to pretend to be quiet in front of his master.
"The other three Hong powers all interact with each other; we are essentially the isolated ones," said Su Hongxiu, gazing into the distance in silence, as a top prodigy of South Hong, not being able to compete with the younger generation of the rest of Hongze was a difficult disappointment to reconcile with.
Wei Yuanzhou glanced at the two of them, his expression of resignation deepening, then continued looking at Shen Yi: "Rather than being isolated, it’s more like... wanting to avoid trouble, maintaining an attitude that neither provokes nor engages deeply with Southern Hong, letting things take their course."