Chapter 588: Chapter 572: Island of Dreams
The island lay in the far reaches of the East Sea, with the Tang family fleet setting sail from the southwest, and Xia Chichi and Hai Pinglan from the northwest. The two groups would not cross paths on their journey, each taking a route as different as chalk from cheese.
Throughout the voyage, Xia Chichi remained in seated meditation with her eyes closed, which appeared to earn her a measure of admiration from Hai Pinglan.
He could see that the young girl initially had no desire to join him; her role as bait was plain for anyone to see. At first, it seemed she might’ve considered jumping ship to escape, but she held back.
If Hai Pinglan intended to use her as bait, running away was truly an impossibility. Instead of maintaining the facade of “allies” on equal footing, she would become a prisoner. Why bother?
She might as well cultivate on the ship openly and straightforwardly. When she needed resources and elixirs, she asked directly, and Hai Pinglan provided amply.
The girl should be less than twenty this year, so calm and composed… Hai Pinglan reflected on how his own daughter had left at sixteen or seventeen – fierce and impulsive, with an air of banditry about her. Could she not learn from Xia Chichi on how to be as unmoved as a mountain?
They arrived a day earlier than Zhao Changhe.
At twilight, the island was visibly near. Xia Chichi opened her eyes from her cultivation and stepped onto the deck.
Hai Pinglan had been standing at the bow for some time.
Xia Chichi looked up to see the distant setting sun, the island shrouded in distorted air, with light hazy and diffused. A rainbow bridge arched across the sky, seemingly an invitation, yet incredibly distant. On the vast sea, some fishing boats remained outside of the range, with many fishermen bowing at the bow of their boats, muttering prayers, seemingly asking for divine protection.
Yet no ships entered the distorted light.
Xia Chichi asked, “Why do they not land on the island? Are they too scared? Reverent?”
Hai Pinglan replied, “It’s because they can’t find it. The distortion here warps vision; the island seen is not where it truly lies. Navigate towards it, and you’ll never arrive, possibly drifting even further away.”
Xia Chichi asked, “Is this the work of the Sea Emperor?”
“Not at all, this phenomenon was here before,” Hai Pinglan chuckled. “If it were the Sea Emperor’s doing, why would your father send you here? There’s something naturally peculiar about this place that benefits you, truly it does.”
Xia Chichi asked, “But now the Sea Emperor occupies it?”
Hai Pinglan nodded, “Unless something unexpected happens, he can only be here—including concealing the details of maritime figures in the Chaotic World Book. The origin lies here.”
Xia Chichi inquired curiously, “What is that?”
“A thing known as the Heavenly Book, akin to the flashes of the Chaotic World Book, are like pages from the same tome but different leaves,” Hai Pinglan spread his hands. “Though I’ve never seen it, I’d wager your father certainly has a page. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so powerful. By that logic, your lover might have one too… After his flower blooming, he who kills amongst a sea of blooms surely doesn’t rely solely on talent.”
There was a sly suggestion in his words – never mind your father, even your husband has secrets he hasn’t told you, poor child.
Yet Xia Chichi just smiled slightly, completely unconcerned. She had been by Zhao Changhe’s side when he acquired the gold leaf, aware of its peculiar nature, but it had never shown itself. If anything came close to “a page of the Heavenly Book,” that gold leaf, in both appearance and origin, was likely it, and she had always understood this.
Facing the sea breeze, Xia Chichi tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and said leisurely, “Had someone else possessed it, they still wouldn’t achieve the top rank amongst the flowers. External objects are merely aids; one’s self is the foundation. If Uncle cannot even breach this understanding, it would be quite a disappointment to the younger generation.”
“Ha…” Hai Pinglan laughed, “Possessing treasure incurs guilt; fortune relies on what disaster builds upon. Those guessing your man possesses a page of the Heavenly Book will increase. Whether he can keep it will be the proof whether fate is on his side.”
Xia Chichi asked, “Does Uncle also covet it?”
Hai Pinglan smiled, “I’m not in the mood for complications. What will happen after this affair is another matter. The real contender is probably the Sea Emperor—if he learns your man has the Heavenly Book, he’d seek it no matter the cost.”
Xia Chichi spoke indifferently, “So, Uncle suddenly brings this up so close to our destination to alert the Sea Emperor?”
Hai Pinglan smirked, “I’m not that vile. In fact, upon my arrival here, he shouldn’t know, and I have my ways… Of course, I won’t enter the island’s range. It’s enough that you go in.”
With the conversation ending, the ship came to a halt.
Xia Chichi turned to look at him, devoid of the displeasure of being used as bait, and said instead, “Regardless, Uncle brought me here. I owe you thanks.”
Hai Pinglan just smiled faintly, saying nothing.
Xia Chichi asked, “Since Uncle isn’t taking me inside and says others won’t be able to find the place, how do I get there myself?”
Hai Pinglan answered, “Why did you come here to begin with?”
“I’m here for cultivation, to comprehend the essence of the Azure Dragon,” Xia Chichi replied.
“That’s it exactly. You’re here to cultivate, not to search for an island. How you find it is part of your cultivation; it shouldn’t be led by me, nor do you need anyone to lead you.”
“Uncle’s guidance is appreciated,” Xia Chichi said without dwelling any further. She rose into the air and glided over the waves, disappearing into the distorted area ahead in the blink of an eye.
Once she was inside, the people on the boat could no longer see her. Their vision was obscured by the distortions.
Hai Pinglan seemed to be able to see her departure and sighed, “The new waves of the Yangtze River drive on those before. If this girl doesn’t fall, her future is boundless…”
There, Xia Chichi walked on the waves, indeed seeing the island not too far ahead. No matter how she walked, she couldn’t feel the island getting any closer, and when she ran out of energy to tread the waves, the distance to the island remained unchanged.
Xia Chichi plunged halfway into the sea and silently swam, focusing her mind to sense the environment around her.
“If this wasn’t caused by the Sea Emperor, but by the Heavenly Book artifact, then what does this page of the Heavenly Book highlight?”
Is it light?
Xia Chichi raised her head toward the sky; the sun had already sunk into the sea, stars and the moon twinkled above, but the Rainbow Bridge still hung there, seemingly fake.
What is the Rainbow Bridge? Is it also light?
If everything here is related to light, then what does it have to do with the Four Symbols and the essence of the Azure Dragon that I came to find?
In theory, the essence of the Azure Dragon isn’t much related to water; it’s of the wood element and has even less to do with light.
If there is a connection, it’s with the Azure Dragon Star Constellation in the sky, the light from the stars that people see.
Suddenly, Xia Chichi remembered Xia Longyuan in the Heavenly Vault, moving stars at a whim. Why, when he moved what seemed to be a false heavenly vault, could people see the real environment shift? And when he casually threw a punch, though it seemed to span thousands of miles, why could it directly reach the battleground at Puyang?
Xia Chichi looked up at the Dragon Star Constellation in the sky. Encircled by this peculiar lighting and Qi field, the constellation that should be far in the sky appeared close at times, as if she could touch it with an outstretched hand…
She stared fixedly at the location of the Dragon Heart Fire, then abruptly closed her eyes and rose upon the waves.
With a spin, she found herself on the Rainbow Bridge, unknown distances away, walking up the bridge toward the sky.
Hai Pinglan took a deep breath, “Truly, a prodigy.”
This place wasn’t an illusion, merely a mess of refracted light. But knowing is one thing, and figuring out the real location is far from easy.
With different cultivation foundations, even Hai Pinglan had no idea how Xia Chichi had seen through the illusion.
But she had indeed seen through it. While others saw her step onto the so-called Rainbow Bridge, in reality, she stepped onto the island.
Yes, it seemed as if she were walking on a rainbow, but at that moment, Xia Chichi was truly standing on the land of the island, confronting several armored fish-people brandishing tridents, who pointed at her fiercely, “What human comes here seeking death?”
Xia Chichi barely glanced at them, her gaze surveying the island, her brow slightly furrowed.
The island was vast, its end not visible at a glance… There were even mountainous shapes in the distance, endless forests stretching wide and far.
Swoosh! The fish-people, receiving no response, attacked furiously, their tridents aiming for Xia Chichi’s vital points.
With a slight twist of her body, the tridents passed by her, and Bing Po left its sheath, lightly slicing through the void.
Despite appearing to cut through empty space, blood suddenly splashed from the throats of all the fish-people. They fell in unison, transforming into ordinary fish and plunging into the sea, disappearing with a splash.
Xia Chichi took a deep breath. This place seemed to be more than just an issue of light refraction; it was almost like a dream, unbelievable in every aspect.