Stranger Danger

Legend had it that the younger daughter of Empress Yue Su was born with congenital deficiencies and illnesses. That was why the empress gave her much love and raised her in the deep palace. Later, she was sent to the Xixa Abode to nurture her body and practice martial arts.

Xixa Abode was neutrally aligned and boasted very few disciples. They rarely made an appearance as well. That was why very few people were aware of Princess Yue Ling, and why she was shrouded in a thick veil of mystery.

Jin Manshan had never made contact with Princess Yue Ling until now. In fact, he rarely interacted with the Profound Moon Dynasty at all. Maybe it was because the women of the Profound Moon Dynasty practiced martial arts of supreme yin, but they were all cold and lofty, proud and unfeeling. Dealing with them was difficult even for an accomplished businessman like him.

His sentiment wasn't his alone. Many people were unwilling to interact with the Profound Moon Dynasty as well.

That was why he couldn't understand why Princess Yue Ling had chosen to visit his island. According to her, she was in the middle of visiting a friend on behalf of her master, though the demonic fire had beset and entrapped her ship halfway. It was only thanks to a senior that she was saved, and due to the circumstances she had no choice but to take refuge in Gold Island.

Jin Manshan felt that her explanation was a little far-fetched, though that wasn't the point. The point was that she had shown up at the worst possible timing.

If this was any other time, he would be delighted to welcome such a prestigious character. After all, if he could form a connection with the Profound Moon Dynasty, it would greatly benefit the development of Gold Island as a matter of course.

However, she had shown up while they were being beset by the Sea Burning Demonic Fire, meaning that he had neither the time nor energy to receive her at all. Not only that, he had to split his attention and take care of her instead. After all, there would be hell to pay if anything happened to her.

Sure, Princess Yue Ling was neither pampered nor arrogant. She wasn't as lofty and untouchable as most members of the Profound Moon Dynasty either. On the contrary, she was relatively amiable and approachable. She had even done a lot of work of her own accord in the past couple days. To be honest though, he would rather she stayed in her room and did nothing at all. At the very least, he wouldn't need to worry about her safety and wellbeing.

"I have already recovered from my injuries. You do not need to worry about my health."

Yue Ling's eyes were bright and clear as if they were covered in a sheen of moonlight. She also seemed to have guessed Jin Manshan's worries and thoughts and said, "Considering the circumstances, we need to work together as one to overcome this crisis. That is why I don't want you to treat me like an outsider or a princess of the Profound Moon Dynasty. Just pretend that I'm one of your subordinates and order me to do anything as you please. There is no need to hold back whatsoever."

"Finally, do not forget that I am a Half-Sage. Should danger arrive, I am more than prepared to protect myself."

"You are right, princess. I was inflexible."

Jin Manshan let out a bitter smile. She was right in that he was overthinking this. No one knew if Gold Island could survive this crisis. If it fell, then they would all perish. What was the point of worrying about such trivial stuff then?

His first priority right now was resisting the assault of the demonic fire and protecting Gold Island. Nothing else mattered.

Yue Ling was a powerful Half-Sage in her own right. He should be thankful that he had an extra Half-Sage to command under these circumstances, not the other way around.

"I shall put you to work then, princess. Should I accidentally offend you in any way, I hope you will forgive me."

"It is my duty. Just give me the order, and I will do my best to see it done." Yue Ling rose to her feet and saluted him.

"In that case, I ask that you accompany me on an inspection of the Sea Burning Demonic Fire. I would like to observe the impact."

"But of course."

The two warriors flickered out of existence and reappeared on a tower on the seashore. They were both looking at the distant sea.

Right now, a massive, lofty mountain that almost looked real was floating above Gold Island and casting rays of golden light in every direction. The light encompassed Gold Island and the sea within a hundred meters away of it, forming a golden shield.

The golden shield made the island as bright as daytime and as warm as the spring.

Outside the golden shield, the seawater was churning, and the demonic fire was rampaging. The whole sky was dyed dark red in color and overflowing with chaos, corruption, and death. It was like a demonic domain.

Right now, both the churning sea and the violent flames were surging rapidly toward Gold Island from every direction.

"Here it comes..."

Just a few breaths later, the tidal wave mixed with demonic fire had gotten close to Gold Island.

It didn't look that impressive when it was further away, but now, everyone was gripped by an indescribable sense of terror and shock.

The mixture of dark red demonic flame and seawater kicked up gigantic waves that were way taller than even Gold Island itself. From their perspective, it was as if the fiery tides were descending from the heavens.

Gold Island was huge, but compared to the giant tide? It seemed as small and feeble as an ant.

That wasn't all. Countless demonic monsters were floating on the sea surface or flying above the tides, howling and screeching and wailing. Their numbers were so numerous that the spectators could not help but feel their skin crawl.

Rumble...

The next moment, the fiery tides crashed against the golden shield. The resulting impact was so deafening and terrible that Gold Island shook violently, the golden shield flickered unsteadily, and the golden mountain suspended in the sky rapidly dimmed while wobbling unsteadily. It looked as if it might shatter and be destroyed at any moment.

Everyone's heart leaped to their throat then.

Thankfully, the worst did not happen. A few breaths later, the golden mountain stopped wobbling and regained its luminosity, filling the island with light once more. Gold Island was like a sun that forcefully dyed the dark red sky gold, repelled the fiery tides, and annihilated countless demonic monsters.

"We blocked it! Hurray!" Someone shouted, and cheers of joy erupted from every corner of the island. They eventually became so loud that one could not hear anything else for a time.

"We blocked it!"

On the tower, Jin manshan also clenched his fist in triumph.

Beside him, Yue Ling gave a heartfelt compliment. "I had heard that the Golden Peak Sky Holding Great Array of Gold Island is extraordinarily potent and capable of both offense and defense. I can tell that its reputation is well deserved."

"You flatter us, princess. This is nothing."

Jin Manshan replied modestly. His expression was calm as if he was fully confident in the strength of his array. In reality, he was extremely worried on the inside.

The Golden Peak Sky Holding Great Array was the island-protecting array of Gold Island. He was also very familiar with its strength. The problem was that the array had almost never been activated since the day it was built. After all, not many people were stupid enough to assault Gold Island. There was also no need to use it against ordinary disasters or man-made calamities.

The Sea Burning Demonic Fire was no ordinary disaster either. It was extremely corrosive and corruptive. It was highly effective against your average array.

Therefore, he genuinely could not say how well it would fare against the Sea Burning Demonic Fire.

Luckily for everyone, the Golden Peak Sky Holding Great Array was living up to its name so far. It had blocked the first and strongest impact without experiencing any problems whatsoever. Otherwise... he could not bear to think about it.