Chapter 001: Li Haoran

Book 2: Battle for Nine-Five Island

On a large ship sailing in the Thousand Islands Sea:

Gu Hai sat cross-legged in a private cabin and sank his consciousness into his forehead space.

The black Go stone still looked down from above like a sovereign. A white crystal floated in the middle, apparently suppressed by the black Go stone and unable to move.

The one hundred thousand Go puzzles remained at the very bottom. They continued to work on matching up in groups of four. As there were too many of them, even Gu Hai could not do them all quickly.

Gu Hai only slowly opened his eyes when he heard the door open. Then, he looked at Gao Xianzhi and Chen Tianshan, who were walking in.

“How is it?”

“Division Master, don’t worry. Our ship is heading to Nine-Five Island at full speed,” Gao Xianzhi said with a smile.

“However, it might still take some time, about three months,” Chen Tianshan said.

Gu Hai frowned slightly as he nodded. “I hope that nothing will go wrong.”

“Oh? Division Master, aren’t we already in a safe place? At worst, we will just run into some trouble at Nine-Five Island. What else can go wrong?” Chen Tianshan asked, feeling confused.

“I misdirected most of the cultivators back then with the fog ritual array. However, once some time passes, some smart people will naturally figure it out. Three months at sea is too long. I hope that nothing will happen,” Gu Hai said, revealing some worry.

“Huh?” Chen Tianshan felt slightly surprised.

“Division Master, most of them should be targeting the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach. Division Master holds the last one; why not…” Gao Xianzhi asked somewhat worriedly.

If Gu Hai had eaten the last Century Lifespan Immortality Peach in front of everyone, there would not be this much trouble.

Gu Hai shook his head. “You don’t understand. It is even more precious because it is the last one. This one Century Lifespan Immortality Peach is even more precious than the ten combined. Now, it is the only one in the world, unique.”

“Oh?”

“It can attract people’s attention, a double-edged sword. If you don’t use it well, it can harm you. However, what if you used it well?” Gu Hai said confidently.

“Huh?” Gao Xianzhi’s expression changed.

Chen Tianshan also appeared confused, clearly unable to guess Gu Hai’s intentions.

However, Gu Hai only shook his head, not explaining.

——

Ten days later:

Tengen Island had already recovered to how it was. Cultivators continued to enter and exit the Innate Puzzle World. Those who wanted to chase after Gu Hai and were willing to leave had already left. Naturally, those who were not willing did not go.

Inside the Innate Puzzle World:

Boom!

A huge battle continued. However, it had already toned down significantly.

The Century Lifespan Immortality Peaches were all gone. However, there was still the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach Tree. Even if one could not snatch away the entire tree, one could try snatching a branch and planting it after one returned.

Many cultivators continued attacking, unwilling to give up.

However, Ninth Young Master led a large number of natives controlling cloud beasts, occupying the area around the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach Tree after regaining control.

“Roar!” The nine-headed snake roared along with the one thousand cloud beasts behind it.

The thousands of cloud beasts in the periphery paused slightly.

“Humph! Everyone, calm down. This Century Lifespan Immortality Peach Tree cannot be simply moved. Even if you managed to snatch it away, it would be useless!” Ninth Young Master shouted.

“Why?” the cultivators asked skeptically.

“Do you think lifespan plants can grow just by placing them in soil and watering them?” Ninth Young Master shouted from the top of the nine-headed snake.

Many cultivators frowned slightly.

“Look at the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach Tree’s roots. They are rooted in the void, not soil. Even if you bring it back, do you know how to plant it? The nourishment for it is the power of space and time. It is rooted in space-time. Even if I gave it to you, could you plant it?” Ninth Young Master shouted.

Everyone looked over, and that seemed to be the case. If they brought it back, they could not plant it?

Some people already gave up, but some people were still reluctant to give up. However, so what? Even with Gu Hai’s vast army gone, Ninth Young Master had mobilized all the natives of this world, so they could not snatch it away, either.

The risks were too great, and the potential benefits were beyond their grasp. The crowd hesitated.

The two sides entered a stalemate.

Boom!

Just at this moment, a loud sound came from the distant exit.

“Ah!”

“What a big flying ship!”

When the loud sound rang out at the exit, something knocked a large number of cultivators away.

Rumble…!

Slowly, two huge flying ships flew out of the exit.

“Elite Hall’s official business! Quickly move away!” A loud shout came from one of the flying ships.

These were Long Wanqing’s White Cloud flying ship and the Divine Strategy Battalion’s flying ship arriving.

“Elite Hall? Why is it Elite Hall again?” Shocked exclamations came from the surroundings.

——

On the White Cloud flying ship:

Long Wanqing showed an anxious look in her eyes.

“I wonder how Meng Tai and Gu Hai’s search is going!” Long Wanqing said with a frown.

The Fire Division Master, Ding Rui, frowned and called out loudly, “Meng Tai, where are you all?”

Ding Rui’s voice seemed to have a penetrative quality, instantly spreading out and echoing everywhere.

The surrounding cultivators: “…!”

High in the sky, Ninth Young Master: “…!”

Everyone in the surroundings seemed to turn quickly, staring at these two flying ships in a daze. Their gaze contained a mixture of conflict, confusion, and depression.

Everyone just continued staring in an extremely strange manner.

The flying ships flew increasingly higher.

Venerable Liu Nian slowly discovered this strangeness. “Why does it feel like something is not quite right? Why does everyone gaze at us with such…”

“The Century Lifespan Immortality Peach Tree? Cloud beasts?” The Divine Strategy Battalion Commander, Li Haoran, on the other ship suddenly raised his eyebrows.

The information about the cloud beasts was not a secret to them. Neither was the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach Tree.

However, why did everyone in this independent world give them such strange looks?

“Meng Tai? Why are you still not coming out?!” the Fire Division Master, Ding Rui, demanded coldly.

The surroundings remained quiet.

The first elder and the sickly youth came out of a palace hall’s entrance in a forest again. This time, a few black-clad subordinates followed them.

“Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough! Elite Hall’s people? This is never-ending,” the sickly youth said as he coughed.

The first elder nodded. Then, he took a deep breath. Clearly, he felt uncomfortable with this.

On the two flying ships, Long Wanqing, Ding Rui, Venerable Liu Nian, and Li Haoran all noticed something off by now.

Be it the natives or the outsiders, all the surrounding people looked at them strangely.

“Elite Hall? Elite Hall again? What exactly do you want? Didn’t you already bring the Unborn Man away? Why are you here again?” Ninth Young Master suddenly glared.

“Huh?” Long Qingwan felt slightly stunned.

Venerable Liu Nian also revealed a surprised expression, as he could tell from Ninth Young Master’s tone that Ninth Young Master had suffered at the hands of Elite Hall’s people previously. Now, Ninth Young Master showed rage on his face.

“We brought away the Unborn Man? Elite Hall’s people?” The eyes of the old woman, Ding Rui, lit up. “It looks like it’s Meng Tai. He finally fulfilled his duty!”

The face of a nearby cultivator on a cloud beast twitched when he heard Ding Rui’s words, making his gaze turn stranger.

Venerable Liu Nian noticed the strange expression on this cultivator’s face. He immediately asked that cultivator, “This friend, might I ask what happened before we came? Have you seen where my Elite Hall disciples are? Did you see Gu Hai?”

“That’s right. Where did Meng Tai bring the Unborn Man to? Is that Gu Hai dead?” Ding Rui asked.

“Gu Hai…!” that person said with a strange expression.

“Oh? What’s wrong with Gu Hai?”

“Gu Hai killed all the Elite Hall disciples, including Meng Tai!” that person said.

Ding Rui: “…!”

Long Wanqing: “…!”

“What nonsense are you speaking? How could Gu Hai kill Meng Tai and all the Elite Hall disciples?” Ding Rui immediately retorted with a glare, feeling skeptical.

“Why would I lie to you? I knew that Gu Hai was incredible from the start and did not participate in their huge battle. That Gu Hai is really incredible; he is now the person I admire the most!” that cultivator promptly countered.

“What huge battle?” Venerable Liu Nian asked, feeling curious.

“That was half a year ago. Hah! It looks like you indeed do not know. You are here too late. At that time, Gu Hai fought against tens of thousands alone. However, he deterred everyone—including the Heavenly Go Pavilion disciples—from approaching. The people who wanted to snatch away the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach Tree did not dare to approach, either,” that person recounted excitedly.

“What? Wait, Gu Hai fought against tens of thousands alone? Furthermore, he deterred the Heavenly Go Pavilion disciples and everyone else from approaching?” Ding Rui somewhat could not keep up with that cultivator’s narrative.

“Of course. That Meng Tai was truly a scoundrel. In the end, Gu Hai killed him; how delightful! Gu Hai is a true man. For the sake of a little snake spirit, he fed her Century Lifespan Immortality Peaches without hesitation, as though they cost nothing. He used six Century Lifespan Immortality Peaches on her; how impressive! Gu Hai is the Water Division Master, right? Is your Elite Hall recruiting? Will you recruit me? I want to join the Water Division and follow Division Master Gu!” that person said excitedly.

Long Wanqing: “…!”

Ding Rui: “…!”

Venerable Liu Nian: “…!”

Li Haoran: “…!”

The Elite Hall group heard the surrounding cultivators’ lively recountal of the events half a month ago, with everyone talking at once.

Long Wanqing and Venerable Liu Nian exchanged looks.

Long Wanlong had not thought much of Gu Hai at the start. However, who could have guessed that Gu Hai would cause such a huge commotion? To think that he snatched all ten Century Lifespan Immortality Peaches and then so casually wasted nine of them.

That was a waste, consuming them in too casual a manner.

“It looks like we missed out on too much!” Venerable Liu Nian smiled bitterly.

“He found the Unborn Man and brought him out. That’s great!” Long Wanqing’s eyes turned bloodshot.

“Queen Wa? The Great Light Sovereign Deity?” Not far away, Li Haoran’s eyebrows raised slightly.

“Gu Hai killed Meng Tai? How bold of him!” Ding Rui glared.

“Humph!”

Suddenly, a cold snort rang out in the sky. Ninth Young Master stared at the two flying ships exceptionally angrily.

When the surrounding cultivators described the situation to Long Wanqing’s group, their tone was filled with awe for Gu Hai and thus greatly belittled Ninth Young Master, whom they characterized as just an insignificant clown before Gu Hai, someone Gu Hai could not be bothered with.

Ninth Young Master had been angry in the first place. Now, he felt extremely depressed.

“The Elite Hall disciples all have poor upbringing, killing each other. No wonder your previous hall master was killed. It serves you right! Humph!” Ninth Young Master mocked coldly.

“What did you say? Do you dare repeat it?” Long Wanqing glared.

Rumble…!

All the Elite Hall disciples on the White Cloud flying ship immediately glared and drew their weapons.

“So what if I repeat it? It served the previous hall master right for being killed!” Ninth Young Master said coldly.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a golden arrow shot towards Ninth Youth Master. When the golden arrow appeared, it tore through the air, producing the shrill shriek of air being torn apart. It looked like a golden beam of light as it streaked past a large number of cloud beasts and arrived before Ninth Young Master.

“What?” Ninth Young Master’s expression changed.

“Roar!”

The nine-headed snake roared and quickly swung its tail to block.

Boom!

The golden arrow clashed with the tail, immediately tearing a large hole in it. A strong force instantly arrived before Ninth Young Master, and a sense of death chilled his entire body.

“No! No!” Ninth Young Master cried out.

Whoosh!

Eight of the snake heads shielded Ninth Young Master.

Boom!

However, the force in the golden arrow was too ferocious, instantly piercing through the eight snake heads.

“No!” Ninth Young Master screamed.

Bang!

Ninth Young Master’s head exploded.

“Gasp!”

“Gasp!”

“Gasp!”

“Gasp!”

The surrounding cultivators inhaled sharply.

That was a nine-headed snake. Yet, one arrow pierced through eight of its heads and exploded Ninth Young Master’s head.

Bang!

The nine-headed snake scattered, and Ninth Young Master’s corpse fell from the sky.

Everyone looked at where the golden arrow came from and saw a golden-armored man standing on the bow of the other flying ship. This person held a bow as he coldly watched Ninth Young Master’s corpse fall.

“You want to humiliate the Elite Hall Master with your capabilities? Ha!” Li Haoran, the golden-armored man, snorted coldly.

“He killed Ninth Young Master! He killed Ninth Young Master!” the natives around exclaimed.

However, Li Haoran put away his bow and looked at the cloud beasts guarding the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach Tree coldly. Then, he said coldly, “Heavenly Go Pavilion? You have already become the past. Know your place. You cannot afford to offend just anybody in the world. If not for giving face to Old Mister Guan Qi, I would have leveled your entire Heavenly Go Pavilion for just those words. Humph!”

When Long Wanqing saw Li Haoran standing up for her, she immediately smiled.

Li Haoran looked at Long Wanqing and said, “Wanqing, since we already obtained information, we should think about where the Unborn Man could be, right?”

Long Wanqing’s expression turned stern as she nodded. “The last place my mother went to before she died was Nine-Five Island. The Unborn Man will definitely go there. Let’s go!”

Li Haoran nodded.

Rumble…!

The two flying ships did not linger, slowly flying out of the exit.

That shocking arrow shot had prompted the countless cultivators who saw it to hold their breath.

“Who is he? Who is that person? One arrow shot?”

“Nine Young Master died?”

“The Divine Strategy Battalion! I remember now, the Divine Strategy Battalion. He is the Divine Strategy Battalion Commander, Li Haoran!”

“What? Li Haoran made a personal appearance?!”

Countless cultivators revealed shocked expressions. The atmosphere in the Innate Puzzle World immediately turned much stranger.

——

At the entrance to a palace hall:

The first elder took a deep breath as he watched the two flying ships leave. Only then did he manage to suppress the anger in his heart.

“Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!” The sickly youth at the side narrowed his eyes slightly as he revealed a cold smile. “The Divine Strategy Battalion’s Li Haoran? Haha! Nine-Five Island? First Elder, I’ll leave this place to you. I want to go to Nine-Five Island and take a look. Let’s see how capable these people are for them to boast about leveling my Heavenly Go Pavilion!”

The first elder turned his head to look at the sickly youth and asked, “Are you sure you want to go to Nine-Five Island?”

“Cough! Cough! Cough! That’s right. I know that the pavilion master spoke about Nine-Five Island before. However, it does not matter. My Heavenly Go Pavilion is no longer around. The Thousand Islands Sea can be considered my Heavenly Go Pavilion’s enterprise. How can we let these outsiders be so unruly?!” the sickly youth replied coldly.

“That…that corpse…!” The first elder pointed to the falling Ninth Young Master’s corpse.

“That trash. He made insufficient accomplishments but caused all sorts of trouble. Just casually bury him. I’ll find another substitute. Cough! Cough! Cough!” the sickly youth said seriously.

“Alright. Ninth Young Master, do take care on your journey!” The first elder nodded.