Stranger Danger

Gold Island was also known as Golden Light Island. Because everything on Gold Island was bright gold in color, it was dazzlingly bright during the day and dreamily radiant during the night. It was like an island for deities or celestials. Its neverending light eventually earned them the nickname "Golden Light Island".

Gold Island was basking in the morning sun when Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou arrived. Emitting golden light in every direction like the sun, it certainly looked gorgeous, dreamy and spectacular.

"We're at Gold Island, seniors." Jin Wanliang stayed half a step behind Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou. When he saw that their attention was captured by Gold Island, he gave them a brief explanation, "It's morning right now, and the sunlight's still weak. That is why its golden light isn't too bright yet. When noon arrives, and the sun hangs at the center of the sky, the entire sky and the sea dozens of kilometers away would be painted in gold as well. It will look even more impressive then."

Ye Qing reached out and made a lifting motion, causing a school of fishes to leap out of the waters.

The school of fishes were perfectly gold in color. They also glittered like they were forged from gold.

"I heard that every flora, fauna, and object on Gold Island is made of gold."

Ye Qing asked, "Are these fishes made of gold as well?"

"That's right." Jin Wanliang answered, "Due to the influence of Gold Island, their flesh and blood had all turned into gold."

"In fact, most of the flora and fauna in this particular sea region are slowly turning into gold due to the influence of Gold Island."

"So, all I need to do to become rich is to catch a single fish here. Is that what you're saying?" Ye Qing joked.

"That is not true."

Jin Wanliang shook his head and explained, "It is true that the surrounding flora and fauna have all turned into gold, but they will return to normal if they stray too far away from Gold Island."

"It's the same for the flora, fauna, and objects on Gold Island as well. On Gold Island, they are all gold. But once they leave the vicinity of Gold Island, they will return to normal and become worthless."

"Hmm? Does that mean that all the gold on Gold Island is fake?"

Feng Qingyou voiced her puzzlement, "In that case, how did Gold Island become rich?"

"To tell you the truth, my family has a spring called the Gold Making Spring. Only the gold 'baptized' by the Gold Making Spring and our secret art would turn into real gold."

Jin Wanliang did not try to hide the truth from them. "This is the truth behind the Jin Clan's wealth."

"The Gold Making Spring? A secret art that turns things into real gold?"

Feng Qingyou pondered for a brief moment before asking, "Is the Gold Making Spring bluish black in color and does not cast a shadow? A goose feather cannot float on it, and metal and stone cannot sink in it?"

"How... how did you know, senior?" exclaimed Jin Wanliang in shock as his pupils contracted into pins.

Instead of answering, Feng Qingyou asked another question, "Would your secret art happen to be called Gold Maker?"

"How... you... how did you know?" Jin Wanliang was truly dumbfounded this time. His face looked as white as a sheet as the blood drained away from his face.

It was a combination of fear and shock that had robbed him of his composure. Without exaggeration, the Gold Making Spring and the Gold Maker secret art were the roots and spine of the Jin Clan. Even within the Jin Clan, it was a top secret that only a handful of people were aware of, much less everyone else.

The Gold Making Spring was one thing. When he was a child, he had seen it not once, but multiple times with his own two eyes. However, Gold Maker was something only the island lord of Gold Island knew about.

As the name implied, Gold Maker could turn any object into gold. It wasn't limited to just inanimate, lifeless objects either. Even living creatures could be turned into gold.

That said, Gold Maker could only transform something into gold temporarily. Given enough time, the spell would run its course, and the affected object would return to normal. Only when bolstered with the Gold Making Spring could the object permanently transform into gold.

Gold Maker did not just possess immense economic value. It was an offensive and defensive Magia as well. Offensively, it could transform someone into gold and effectively immobilize them. Defensively, it could transform the practitioner themselves into gold and greatly increase their defense.

This was why Gold Maker was a top secret of Gold Island, and why only the island lord had the right to practice it.

Gold Maker did not have a manual. It was passed down to the next generation purely through word of mouth. Moreover, only the direct descendants of the Jin Clan were allowed to practice it. Usually, the previous island lord would teach it to their successor. Once the successor had mastered the secret art, the previous island lord themselves would lose all memory regarding Gold Maker.

This wasn't some sort of restriction or Magia the Jin Clan had applied to their members to keep its existence a secret. It was an effect of Gold Maker itself.

Even better, Gold Maker wasn't lost even if something happened to the island lord before they could pass it down to the next generation. The next successor of Gold Island would automatically gain the memory.

In conclusion, Gold Maker was extremely potent and magical. It was why the Jin Clan's position remained unshakeable for many generations.

Of course, just because Gold Maker was extraordinary did not mean the Jin Clan dared to be careless with it. They did everything in their power to conceal its existence and protected it more than even the Gold Maker Spring. After all, it was the roots and backbone of the Jin Clan. Losing it would literally sound the end of the Jin Clan. No amount of caution was too much considering the circumstances.

Naturally, no outsider was aware of the Gold Making Spring's existence, much less the Gold Maker secret art.

However, not only was Feng Qingyou aware of it, she even knew about Gold Maker. To say this was incomprehensible would be an understatement.

Of course, coincidences exist in this world. It was possible that she was talking about something else that just happened to share the same name as their spring and secret art. However, Feng Qingyou then accurately pointed out the characteristics of the Gold Making Spring as if she had seen it with her own eyes.

At that point, Jin Wanliang could no longer fool himself. It was clear that Feng Qingyou was familiar with the secrets of the Gold Making Spring and Gold Maker.

Not only that, it felt like she knew a lot more about the spring and the secret art thanhedid, the first son of the island lord!

That was why shock wasn't the only dominant emotion he was feeling. There was also terror.

How did outsiders come to know about the greatest secrets of the Jin Clan?

Did someone betray the Jin Clan and leak the secret of Gold Island to outsiders?

Was it possible for Feng Qingyou to claim the art for herself if she knew more about the Gold Making Spring or Gold Maker?

......

For a time, Jin Wanliang was experiencing a full-blown panic.

If Feng Qingyou and Ye Qing were anyone else, he might have subdued them and interrogated them already.

However, these two were Half-Sages who could suppress even Ancient-class Strangers without breaking too much sweat. Power wise, they were at least on par with a Sage. Forget him, his parents and everyone on Gold Island combined probably still would not be enough to subdue them.

Brute force would not work here, so he could only capitulate.

In other words, he was just going to ask her about it. The situation could not get any worse than it already was, so why not?

Jin Wanliang sucked in a deep breath. His mind was still in chaos, but he forcibly mastered himself and asked carefully, "Dare I ask how you knew about the Jin Clan's secrets, senior?"

"I heard it from others," replied Feng Qingyou with a leisurely smile. It was a stark contrast from the pure shock and terror that were consuming Jin Wanliang's features by the second. "In fact, this isn't even a secret where we come from. A lot of people know about this."

"A...a lot of people know about this?!"Hysteria crept into Jin Wanliang's voice.

It was terrible enough that one person knew about this, and now Feng Qingyou was telling him that it was no secret; that alotof people knew about this?!

Jin Wanliang was so stunned that he was numb.