Stranger Danger

Yes, he wasn't offering Jin Manshan empty promises or useless consolations earlier. He truly wished to find out the source of the demonic fire and resolve the Sea Burning Demonic Fire at the roots.

On a cliff, Feng Qingyou and Ye Qing stood shoulder-to-shoulder overlooking the golden, clear, and still peaceful sea of Gold Island. Neither of them said a word.

They knew that this peace and tranquility were temporary. It wouldn't be long before this sea would be eroded and burned into a dead zone.

A moment later, Feng Qingyou broke the silence. "You wish to identify the source of the demonic fire through the Ghost Dragon Boat?" "Yeah." Ye Qing nodded. Since the Ghost Dragon Boat could control the demonic fire, it was highly possible that it was related to the demonic fire in some way. They might even share the same origin. Through it, they might be able to identify the source of the demonic fire and subsequently the ultimate solution.

Of course, this was the best case scenario. It was possible that the Ghost Dragon Boat had nothing to do with the demonic fire. It was possible that it just happened to be immune to the demonic fire.

In that case, he would have to make a compromise. He would exploit the Ghost Dragon Boat's characteristics to seek out an outbreak point and hopefully identify the origin of the demonic fire from there.

"This would be a difficult and dangerous endeavor," Feng Qingyou said.

"It is. But someone's gotta do it, right?"

Ye Qing smiled. No matter how difficult and dangerous this venture might turn out to be, he had no choice but to give it a try.

After all, a hundred thousand human lives, maybe even hundreds of thousands of human lives were at stake here. How could he just sit by and do nothing about it?

He was no ancient sage or Buddha. He did not have it in him to view an entire people as his responsibility, sacrifice his life for another, or die a million times over just to prove a point. However, he wasn't a cold, unfeeling person with no want or desire either. He could not ignore the plight of hundreds of thousands and do nothing.

His conscience simply wouldn't allow it.

That was why he must try no matter what. He would try and save these people from their tragedy.

If he succeeded, then it was a happy ending for everyone.

If he failed, he would know that he at least tried.

Of course, the reason he dared to bear this burden in the first place was because he was sufficiently confident in himself. He was confident he could save himself even if he ran into danger.

One might say that was one of the biggest reasons he dared to undertake this venture.

"Yes. Someone has to do it." Feng Qingyou gave him a smile before asking another question, "But have you thought about what you should do if you fail?" Ye Qing fell silent for a moment before replying, "We can only give it our all and hope for the best."

As Ye Qing said, if both methods ended in failure, and they were unable to find a way to neutralize the Sea Burning Demonic Fire, then they could only give it their all and hope for the best. They could only help and save as many people as their strength would allow them to.

"True. So long our conscience is clear."

Feng Qingyou smiled. "I will help you."

Her smile was clear and gentle. It was like a ray of warm sunlight, bright but not dazzling, warm but not scorching. It made him feel better despite his heavy feelings.

"Yeah. We'll do it together."

Ye Qing gave her a refreshing smile and asked, "Oh right, how is the situation at Floating Island? Have you contacted island lord Yu yet?"

Feng Qingyou answered, "I have. No outbreak has been spotted in the sea regions surrounding Floating Island. They are safe for now."

"That's good to hear."

To be honest, Ye Qing wasn't too worried about Floating Island. Gold Island was stranded in the frontier, but Floating Island lay at the heart of the Profound Alliance. Even if something did happen to it, the Profound Alliance could swiftly dispatch reinforcements to help them. The risks they faced were far lesser than others.

The duo chatted a while longer before returning to the Arts Tower.

The reason they went there was to practice, of course.

Jin Manshan was overseeing Gold Island right now. He didn't need him to manage the trivial matters. He had also scared the shit out of the Ghost Dragon Boat just now, so the Stranger should not cause trouble in the short term. This was his opportunity to practice without disturbance and grow his strength before the crisis neared.

Sure, at his current level, it was unbelievably difficult to take even a step forward in such a short time, but don't forget, he had the Earthly Sovereign Bell.

The Earthly Sovereign Bell was only half a step away from becoming an Ancient-class Strange Artifact once more. It just needed to fully digest the Heavens' Eye, and that day wasn't far away.

In fact, he would have aided the Earthly Sovereign Bell in fully digesting the Heavens' Eye if he hadn't been studying the scriptures of the ninth floor.

Therefore, he only needed a bit of time to refine the Heavens' Eye completely. Once the Earthly Sovereign Bell had become an Ancient-class Strange Artifact, its power would grow by a qualitative level. This would benefit his upcoming suppression of the Ghost Dragon Boat, searching for the source of the demonic fire, and solving the Sea Burning Demonic Fire greatly.

It was one of the trump cards that gave him the courage to promise Jin Manshan and Ming Yueying that he would solve the Sea Burning Demonic Fire. It was also his insurance against anything the Anomaly might throw at him.

......

"Island Lord Jin, the demonic fire is less than half a kilometer away from Gold Island. It should reach us in a teatime."

At Gold Island, Jin Manshan, Ming Yueying, Jin Wanliang, Jin Qianshan and all other elite warriors were all gathered in one place. They were all wearing severe expressions on their faces.

The speaker was a woman. If Ye Qing was here, he would definitely recognize the woman as the one he saved at the sea earlier, the woman named Yue Ling.

"In the end, there's no avoiding this day."

Jin Manshan let out a sigh and fired off a series of instructions, "Qianshan, inform all citizens that they are to return to their homes immediately. They are not to leave their homes without good reason. Anyone who disobeys the order will be punished severely."

"Wanliang, inform the Gold Guards to stick to their posts and standby for orders. They are not to abandon their posts without good reason."

"Yes, island lord." Jin Qianshan and Jin Wanliang saluted him before walking away.

"My dear, take my seal and activate the Golden Peak Sky Holding Great Array. Jin Tai, Jin Zhan, you will assist her and ensure that the great array will run smoothly and without problems."

Jin Manshan looked at the man and the woman flanking Ming Yueying and ordered.

"Your will be done, husband."

"As you command!" "Will do, island lord."

The trio responded affirmatively and took their leave.

Jin Manshan would fire off a couple more instructions and execute all the countermeasures they had prepared against the Sea Burning Demonic Fire in an orderly fashion.

They had discussed this a long time ago, and they were just executing the plan as agreed upon. So, there wasn't really any panic or uncertainty in this regard.

Very soon, the hall that was filled with people a while ago was now empty. Only Jin Manshan and the woman named Yue Ling remained.

"What do you need me to do, island lord Jin?" Yue Ling asked Jin Manshan in an ethereal, cool voice resembling moonlight.

"You've helped us a lot in the past couple days, princess. I wouldn't dare to ask more from you."

Jin Manshan said politely, "Besides, you still haven't recovered from your injuries. It would be unwise of you to overexert yourself."

The woman before him possessed extraordinary roots. She was the younger daughter of the current empress of the Profound Moon Dynasty, Empress Yue Su.

The Profound Moon Dynasty worshiped the moon and the supreme yin. Therefore, its people followed a matriarchal society. All rulers of the Profound Moon Dynasty were empresses, and Empress Yue Su was the latest in line. Yue Ling was her younger daughter.

In fact, this was the first time Jin Manshan saw Yue Ling.