After Xiao Mo took control of the direction, Ye Ju and her group encountered no adverse weather and successfully reached the vicinity of the island.
When Xiao Mo transmitted a message to Ye Ju, she was playing chess with Zhao Yangzi. Ye Ju only knew simple Chinese chess and Gomoku. After losing countless times, Xiao Mo transmitted a message to Ye Ju, who was in the process of regretting a move.
Upon hearing that they had reached the island, Zhao Yangzi let out a sigh of relief without showing it. His composure was about to be tested to its limit. Daoist Ye is truly an unusual person. She's the type who insists on playing again even after losing, making moves that always lead to regretting them, and she needs to be asked three times before making a move.
What a terrible chess player!
When Ye Ju heard they had reached the island, she excitedly dropped her chess pieces and left. She had finally let Zhao Yangzi off the hook.
Ye Ju walked along, suppressing a smile. She had done it on purpose, wanting to see when Daoist Zhao would lose his temper. Unfortunately, his composure was impeccable. He remained expressionless.
Stepping onto the deck, Ye Ju looked out at the vast expanse of the sea. An island? Xiao Mo reverted to its original form and flew into the sky, nodding at Ye Ju.
Ye Ju summoned her protective amulet, and the divine wood flew into the air, radiating golden light. Then, she tapped the void, and a golden-green energy spread outward from the point, following ancient and special patterns.
Zhao Yangzi had been puzzled as to where the island was in the completely open sea ahead.
Upon witnessing this scene, he exclaimed:
"A formation! An ancient formation!"
Ye Ju was speechless. "I know it's a formation! You don't need to shout so loud!"
After the formation was activated, the protective amulet flew back into Ye Ju's hand. The purple bamboo boat then descended onto the sea and sailed forward.
Upon reaching the barrier, everyone clearly felt the boat pass through an invisible, transparent screen.
What greeted their eyes was a verdant, jade-green island. As soon as Zhao Yangzi passed the barrier, he sensed the island's abundant spiritual energy, which was almost tangible. Looking at the lush trees on the island from afar, he began to anticipate what kind of gifts he should present to Ye Ju's family or senior disciples upon meeting them.
Ye Ju paid no mind to Zhao Yangzi's thoughts. As soon as she returned here, she felt completely relaxed. Initially, she had been wary of the island's environment, but now she felt like a fish in water, at ease and free!
Where her heart yearned for is home! This island would be her home from now on, and she would strive to build it up!
Xiao Mo had already dived into the sea, likely missing its underwater den. However, it soon returned. It was too large now; its cave couldn't accommodate its body.
Xiao Bai also excitedly revealed its true form, carrying Xiao Wangyou and eagerly flying toward the island.
Upon reaching the beach, Zhao Yangzi disembarked. Ah You, now recovered, also got off the boat and was excitedly running around on the sand. He loved this place. The place where the immortal fairy lived was indeed a paradise.
The water spiders had entered the barrier and immediately went into the sea, intending to settle in this sea area.
The fire qilin was too boisterous and was still in Zhao Yangzi's spirit beast pouch!
After everyone and every beast had disembarked, Ye Ju dragged the boat onto the beach. She knew now that her companions were growing in number, and the boat was too small. She'd place it on the beach and find time to repair the purple bamboo boat, make it bigger, and add more rooms!
Ye Ju, with a surge of strength, dragged the purple bamboo boat onto the beach. Although there was a barrier, the sea around the island still experienced tides. If she didn't drag the boat ashore, it might drift away one day and go off on its own.
Ye Ju beckoned Zhao Yangzi, and they followed the familiar path back to her purple bamboo house. The small path she had forged more than half a year ago was almost overgrown with vegetation. The surrounding trees seemed to have grown considerably. Unknowing observers would assume these trees had taken thousands of years to grow so stout. If they knew this growth had happened in less than half a year, they would certainly call it a miracle.
Zhao Yangzi was astonished by the spiritual plants within the island along the way. There was Gathering Spirit Grass, Frosty Dew, and most astonishingly, to his left, grew a patch of Zhu Yu grass, the main ingredient for refining辟谷丹 (Bigu Dan, a pill for abstaining from grains). However, due to its extreme rarity, it had been replaced by other ingredients.
Ye Ju was also stunned. That patch, which looked like chives and which she often pulled up to barbecue as chives, was Zhu Yu grass? She had thought it was just mutated chives. No wonder Xiao Bai said it used to eat this grass for sustenance before it gained sentience.
Zhu Yu grass is a divine herb from Mount Que in the Classic of Mountains and Seas; eating it prevents hunger. This divine herb could no longer be found on the Tian Chen Continent.
Upon arriving at the bamboo house, Ye Ju was also amazed by the sea of flowers in front of it. It was too beautiful. These flowers seemed to never wither. When she left, only a few scattered flowers were blooming; now, it had become an ocean of flowers.
"Sister, I'm here." In the center of the flower sea, Xiao Bai and Wang You jumped up. Both had flower petals in their hair, looking like little flower fairies.
"Daoist Ye, are your senior brothers not here?"
Zhao Yangzi looked at the empty purple bamboo house. The area in front of the house had become a sea of flowers, clearly indicating it had been left to grow naturally due to a lack of tending.
"Senior brothers? I don't have any senior brothers. This island is all mine. I am the island master," Ye Ju said with a hint of amusement.
Zhao Yangzi's expression cracked.
"Daoist Zhao, didn't I tell you?" Ye Ju said mischievously. It was worth it; Zhao Yangzi's surprised expression was also quite amusing to behold.
Zhao Yangzi was speechless.
Ye Ju ignored Zhao Yangzi's bewildered state and went into the bamboo house to clean. It had been unoccupied for a long time, and a thick layer of dust had settled.
It was noon, and accommodation for the night was a problem. There were only two rooms. Well, they would have to make do for today. Zhao Yangzi and Ah You could sleep on the boat, or in the living room.
Ah You and Wang You played for a while. Seeing their master working, they also came to help clean. Xiao Bai had already gone to catch fish, its favorite, the blue scale fish.
Zhao Yangzi flew to the roof and sat there, taking out a pot of spiritual wine and gazing at the distant sea. His mind was filled with thoughts. He had thought that by coming to the island, he could unravel the secret of the prophecy. Who knew that on this island, there was only Daoist Ye. If that were the case, how did Daoist Ye acquire her cultivation and techniques? And who established the ancient formation at the barrier?
Looking at Daoist Ye, who was busy below, he felt that the answer lay with Daoist Ye.
Ah well, accept fate and make the best of it!
Ye Ju quickly tidied up the house and took out the bedding she had purchased. She immediately felt the urge to lie down.
Suddenly, she remembered that Hua Xun in her dream was lying on this very bed, and even the color of the bedding was the same. What was going on? Why was the dream so similar to reality? Was there a connection? Recalling her life, her memory told her she didn't recognize this person.
And that time, in her dream, she fell into a pool of water but was cured of her unstable soul condition. There was also that glowing passage, which greatly resembled a time tunnel. Was it due to the dream weaving, or was there something wrong with her? Or perhaps, there was something wrong with her background?
She had forgotten to ask about the dream weaving last time. She needed to find time to ask Zhi Meng properly. She felt this was very important to her.