Butterfly Island.
Central mountainous forest.
Dense vegetation obscured the sunlight, making the entire forest extremely dim.
From time to time, colorful butterflies could be seen flying by, circling around flowers.
However, the deeper one went, the denser the vegetation became, and sunlight became almost invisible.
The ubiquitous colorful butterflies also disappeared, with only occasional glimpses of scarlet beast eyes in the bushes.
On a large bluestone, a gaunt figure sat cross-legged, motionless, like a statue.
After a while, the figure's eyes opened.
"It's almost time!"
The gaunt figure whispered to himself, got up from the bluestone, took a pill from his 懷 and threw it into his mouth, and his aura quickly began to change.
But soon, as if sensing something, the figure suddenly turned his head to look into the forest on one side.
"People from Sea King Sect?"
Just then, a calm voice sounded from the forest.
Then, Lin Sheng's tall figure slowly emerged from the jungle, with a hint of surprise on his face, looking at the gaunt figure beside the bluestone.
Due to habit, whenever he arrived at a new location, he would switch to a high-perception Yao Beast to scout the surrounding situation.
Earlier, by the waterfall, his perception spread, and he vaguely sensed a powerful aura.
However, he could confirm it was not Shi Po, but someone else, so he was a bit puzzled and decided to come and see.
Originally, he thought it might be some hidden powerful Yao Beast, or a Master arranged by the imperial family or the military.
He didn't expect it to be someone from Sea King Sect.
He didn't know much about the people of Sea King Sect, but the gaunt figure in front of him happened to be among them, the old man in green who was with Moyunzi, who was known as "Boundless Miles."
Although the other party had changed his clothing and appearance at this moment, and the aura on his body was also changing, he could still sense that familiar aura from before.
Regarding this Grandmaster expert, he had specifically memorized his aura back then, and now he could confirm his identity.
"It's you!"
Seeing Lin Sheng appear before him, Hai Zhanglao frowned slightly, his face also full of surprise.
Apparently, he hadn't expected to encounter Lin Sheng here.
Logically speaking, this boy should be by Lingyu Princess's side at this moment, so why would he appear here?
Especially since he only noticed this boy when he was nearby, which was also beyond his expectation.
More crucially, this child recognized his identity at a glance.
"If I'm not mistaken, this island should be military territory, right? Why are people from your Sea King Sect here?"
Looking at the deeply frowning Hai Zhanglao opposite him, Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly as he slowly spoke.
"And hiding your head and tail, it seems that no matter the reason, it will definitely not be a good thing..."
Upon hearing this, Hai Zhanglao's brows furrowed into a knot as he looked at Lin Sheng, then shook his head slightly and sighed.
"Boy, people who are too smart often don't live long. Originally, I didn't intend to take your life, but it's a pity you insisted on coming forward."
As Hai Zhanglao spoke, his brows had already relaxed, returning to calmness, like an ordinary hunched old man on the verge of death.
However, a strong killing intent had already completely enveloped Lin Sheng from his gaunt body.
"Boy, you can only blame your bad luck."
Hai Zhanglao did feel some regret and helplessness in his heart.
Originally, according to the plan, Lin Sheng's life would not be taken; he would only be crippled and taken away with Lingyu Princess. After all, it concerned the cooperation between Southern Qi and Dark Star, and their Sea King Sect did not want to affect the war between Southern Qi and Northern Yan.
After all, what Sea King Sect wanted was to gradually erode the Southern Qi imperial family and military; Southern Qi's defeat was not in their interest.
It was just a pity that he was discovered by the other party and his identity recognized. In that case, no matter the final outcome, it was absolutely impossible to let the other party go.
"It seems Linsheng Pavilion guessed correctly. Since the target isn't me, then it's Lingyu Princess?"
Hearing what the other party said, Lin Sheng was already certain in his heart that this Sea King Sect Grandmaster indeed harbored ill intentions.
Thinking this, he was vigilant in his heart.
After all, as the overlord of Eastern Continent, Sea King Sect had more than one Grandmaster expert.
Moreover, there was a terrifying Three Realms Grandmaster overseeing it, far from what ordinary forces could compare to. Even a powerful Sect like Tianluo Sect was slightly inferior to Sea King Sect in terms of strength.
He immediately released his perception to check the surroundings.
"Are you the only one?"
Soon, Lin Sheng's expression returned to calm, and he asked softly.
"Hmph, boy, what's the point of asking these questions when death is upon you?"
Hai Zhanglao grinned, already stepping towards Lin Sheng.
"Don't worry, I'll shatter your heart with one palm, killing you instantly, without any pain..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw several cracks suddenly appear on Lin Sheng's cheek, looking strangely like a bizarre sea beast's mouthparts.
Before Hai Zhanglao could react to what was happening, his face suddenly contorted, and he no longer cared to conceal his internal energy. A powerful and vast blue true qi instantly condensed in front of him, while his body rapidly retreated backward.
Sizzle sizzle—
A strange murmur instantly filled his consciousness, and Hai Zhanglao's cloudy eyes briefly lost focus.
Facing the instinctive reaction of a death warning, his body instantly swelled, dark as ink carapaces grew on his skin, and his hands subconsciously crossed in front of him.
At the same time, his mind returned, but unfortunately, it was already too late.
Crack!
Within his sight, a giant palm, red and green, like a sky-obscuring demonic palm, rapidly expanded in his eyes.
It penetrated the protective true qi he had condensed with almost no obstruction.
Crack—
Accompanied by the crisp sound of bones shattering, Hai Zhanglao only saw his two arms instantly shatter like paper. The large palm continued its momentum, landing firmly on his chest.
"No!!"
Hai Zhanglao's eyes widened to their limit, only managing to let out a roar.
With a bang, a blood mist appeared.
Lin Sheng waved his hand, dispersing the blood mist in front of him, and looked at Hai Zhanglao, who was left with only two lower legs, shaking his head slightly.
"What a frail body, much stronger than Lu Qing, but unfortunately still trash..."
He had deliberately held back some strength in that palm strike, so as not to damage the things on his body.
He rummaged through the blood and flesh residue on the ground and found a jade stone in the shape of a sea snake.
After confirming that there was nothing else worth noting, Lin Sheng stomped his foot, and the surrounding ground churned, burying all traces.
Although he didn't know why the people of Sea King Sect suddenly attacked Lingyu Princess, since he encountered them, he might as well deal with them.
He had considered leaving a live captive, but a Grandmaster expert was not ordinary after all, and there might be some special means hidden on his person.
To be safe, it was better to directly eliminate him.
As for this jade stone...
Lin Sheng looked at the sea snake jade stone in his hand.
He tried to activate it with his internal energy.
The next moment, a faint glow lit up on the jade stone.
As the glow appeared, a faint response could be felt from a certain direction.
Clutching the jade stone, Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly, then he crushed it with one hand and shot towards the direction he had just sensed.
At the same time, nearly a hundred miles west of Butterfly Island, a small boat was steadily anchored on the sea.
"Young Master, the Sea Serpent Jade just reacted!!"
A Sea King Sect disciple, dressed as a boatman, rushed into the boat's cabin and spoke to Moyunzi, who was dressed in green inside.
At this moment, Moyunzi was playing with a jade flute in the cabin, gently playing it.
The flute's melody was melodious and graceful, quite pleasant to listen to.
But it quickly became high-pitched, as if anticipating something.
Hearing the boatman's words, his eyes lit up, and he immediately put down the jade flute and said,
"Oh!? It's done so quickly!!"
Moyunzi looked at the sea serpent jade flashing with a faint glow in the other party's hand, overjoyed in his heart.
"This time, I'd like to see how Lingyu, that bitch, can escape the palm of this Young Lord? Xu Er, get the Ghost Snake Lust Gall ready. As soon as that bitch arrives, this Young Lord will use it immediately."
"It's already prepared, rest assured, Young Lord!" The boatman responded promptly and immediately got busy outside.
Inside the cabin, Moyunzi clenched his hands, extremely eager for what was about to happen.
He hadn't expected his suggestion to be adopted by his Master, and for added security, another Grandmaster Elder had even been sent to assist.
It was known that besides Hai Zhanglao, the other Elder Meng had always claimed to be in secluded cultivation for death, and had not left the Sect for over 20 years. This time, sending him out showed that Sea King Sect was absolutely confident.
They had made complete deployments for the operation.
Whether it was intercepting Shi Po or abducting Lingyu Princess, they would not expose Sea King Sect's aura and Cultivation Technique methods.
Instead, they would specifically mimic the Grandmaster techniques from Northern Yan.
As for what happened next, it was naturally that Young Master Mo Yun happened to be traveling at sea, and after sensing an unfamiliar Grandmaster aura, Hai Zhanglao would strike to repel the Northern Yan Grandmaster, rescuing Lingyu from his hands, along with Lin Sheng who had been crippled and was gravely injured and dying.
Afterward, it would be discovered that Lingyu Princess had been poisoned with a strange toxin, and her situation was critical, requiring the Ghost Snake Lust Gall to detoxify her.
Although the Ghost Snake Lust Gall was a miraculous antidote, its extreme medicinal properties would affect one's Bloodline potential. At this point, it would naturally be his turn to act, as he possessed the Yin Snake Bloodline.
Afterward, with the deed done, everything would be set in stone.
Although this series of plans seemed to have many coincidences and wasn't worth scrutinizing, it wasn't important.
No matter what the process was, the outcome was already decided.
Even if the imperial family and the military knew something was wrong, at this critical moment of fierce warfare, they would never choose to investigate further.
Afterward, they, Sea King Sect, would pay some price for the imperial family, and everything would be settled.
This was an open conspiracy; as long as it succeeded, Sea King Sect's years of planning could be put into action.
And at this moment, the Sea Serpent Jade in Moyunzi's hand, which had been glowing, suddenly dimmed.
Seeing this, he frowned slightly.
"What's going on?"
He tried to activate it with his internal energy, but there was still no response.
"Could it be that this Sea Serpent Jade has a problem?"
This thought flashed through his mind.
He hadn't considered any accidents, after all, this time their Sea King Sect had dispatched two Grandmasters.
Each of them was no weaker than Shi Po, and even surpassed her somewhat.
As for other people, to a Grandmaster Martial Artist, they were nothing.
Seeing that the Sea Serpent Jade had no reaction, he simply ignored it and shouted outside.
"Xu Er, bring me that spare Sea Serpent Jade."
After speaking, he sat down.
But soon, he felt something was off; there was no response from his confidant outside for a long time.
"Something happened!?"
His expression changed slightly, and with that thought flashing through his mind, he immediately walked out of the cabin.
Bang!
Gurgle gurgle...
As soon as he pushed open the cabin door, he saw a round object roll to his feet.
Looking closely, it was a bloody head with wide-open eyes.
Who else could it be but Xu Er!
Moyunzi's expression changed, and a serious look appeared on his face as he looked at the tall figure who had appeared on the bow of the boat at some unknown time.
Upon seeing his face clearly, his eyes widened, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
"You... how are you here!?"
He had never imagined that the person appearing before him would be Lin Sheng.
Shouldn't this child be on the island at this time!?
"Where is Hai Zhanglao!?"
He quickly reacted and asked in a deep voice.
"Hai Zhanglao? Are you talking about that old guy who's as thin as firewood?"
Lin Sheng tilted his head, looking at the Young Lord of Sea King Sect in front of him, and slowly said,
"I'm very curious what your Sea King Sect wants to do. Daring to attack the imperial Princess, have you not considered the consequences of doing so?"
He was indeed full of questions.
Logically speaking, at this time, facing an external enemy, all forces in Southern Qi should unite against the common foe.
"Could it be that your Sea King Sect has already defected to Northern Yan?"
Lin Sheng said lightly.
"You're talking nonsense, I don't know what you're talking about. You dare to lay hands on my Sea King Sect disciples, boy, I think you're looking for death!"
At this moment, Moyunzi's heart was pounding. He didn't know why Hai Zhanglao hadn't returned, but instead, this boy, who should have been crippled, appeared before him.
Especially since this child seemed to already know their plan.
"Boy, it seems I can't let you live!"
Thinking of this, Moyunzi's killing intent surged. In the plan, he had originally intended to kill Lin Sheng. If Hai Zhanglao hadn't persuaded him, it would definitely not have been as simple as just crippling him.
But now that the other party had delivered himself to his doorstep, he absolutely could not let him go. He would kill this boy first, and then go to the island to see what had happened.
Even now, he still didn't believe that Hai Zhanglao and the others would fail.
"Hai Zhanglao and the others must have been delayed by something, it must be like this..."
He muttered in his heart, about to make a move.
However, dense Qi explosions had already sounded from in front of him. Before he could react, a large hand had already smashed down from above his head.
Crack!
With a crisp sound, Moyunzi's figure had disappeared, leaving only a sticky paste of flesh on the small boat, emitting a strong smell of blood.
"Boundless Seas? Heh heh, a dog-like thing..."
Looking at the meat paste in front of him, Lin Sheng shook his head slightly.
Although he didn't know what tricks these people from Sea King Sect were playing, it didn't matter. He would just kill them all.
He swept his gaze, landing on a red brocade box on the small boat.
Inside the box were two green snake gall-like objects, the size of fists.
Lin Sheng's palm landed on them, and after seeing the information feedback from the System panel, his expression immediately became strange.
He already had a guess in his heart.
Without further delay, with a surge of energy, the small boat beneath his feet suddenly turned into dust and sank into the sea.
Lin Sheng's figure, meanwhile, returned to Butterfly Island.