Unlike the continuous mountain ranges seen in his previous life, Li Fan found himself above a vast ocean at this moment! Boundless and endless, with no end in sight.
"What is going on? Why is the place different this time?" Li Fan was somewhat bewildered.
Taking out a map he had drawn from memory, Li Fan attempted to locate the ocean on it. However, after repeated comparisons, he found nothing.
"Forget it, I'll just take it one step at a time." Not knowing where the mistake lay, Li Fan put away the map and sighed, "Fortunately, I have the Taiyan Boat for transportation, otherwise, I might have been trapped here. I just hope I can find a place where people live before the spirit stones in the Taiyan Boat run out."
Not one to wallow in self-pity, Li Fan quickly took action. Choosing a direction, he piloted the Taiyan Boat, flying while searching for traces of civilization.
The ocean was truly vast and boundless. Li Fan flew for seven days and nights without seeing any signs of human habitation. Fortunately, the food prepared in the Taiyan Boat was plentiful, so there was no need to worry about survival.
After another ten days, the speed of the Taiyan Boat gradually slowed, clearly about to run out of power. Just when he was at the end of his rope, Li Fan finally saw the faint silhouette of a ship on the sea ahead.
Li Fan was overjoyed and immediately lowered the Taiyan Boat's altitude, slowly approaching. As he got closer, he was speechless.
It was indeed a ship, but one that was about to sink. It seemed to have been attacked, with a large hole in the hull, and two-thirds of it had already submerged.
In the surrounding waters, dozens of people were struggling, evidently the ship's crew. Most of them were not good swimmers, barely clinging to broken pieces of wood to stay afloat.
Li Fan hesitated about whether to release the Taiyan Boat to save these people when he heard one of the surviving men shout loudly, "Don't be afraid, everyone! I've already sent a signal to the Immortal Master! He will come to rescue us soon! Hang in there!"
Hearing this, Li Fan's heart stirred. He put away the Taiyan Boat and quietly swam towards the group, blending in silently. He pretended to be on the brink of death, struggling to survive.
After a while, a streak of light flew in from afar, stopping above the crowd.
"Immortal Master, save us!"
"Immortal Master, help!"
The people saw hope and cried out for help.
"Silence!"
The voice was male, but his appearance seemed obscured by a veil, making it unclear. The man snorted coldly, and with some unknown spell, Li Fan found himself unable to make a sound. The crowd also fell silent instantly.
The Immortal Master then flew to the side of the sunken ship, gently lifted it with his hand, and brought the mostly submerged ship back to the surface. With another flash of light, the large hole in the hull was instantly repaired.
He then looked at the people floating in the sea, snorted coldly, and with a light gesture, lifted them with an invisible hand, flying them to the repaired ship.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
In an instant, those who were rescued were thrown onto the ship like dumplings by the Immortal Master. Unable to speak, the crowd only let out muffled grunts. Yet, all wore expressions of reverence and joy at being saved, not daring to show any resentment.
Once everyone was rescued, the Immortal Master flew above them, speaking with a harsh tone, "Who sent me the signal?"
The man who had previously comforted the others quickly knelt down. The Immortal Master waved his hand, releasing the spell on him.
The man kowtowed as he spoke, "This humble one is Su Changyu..."
The Immortal Master interrupted him directly, "You know the rules, right? Once we reach the destination, it has nothing to do with me. I've never seen you, nor do I know who you are. Understand?"
Su Changyu kowtowed again, "This humble one understands. My elders have already instructed me before coming..."
Before he could finish, his voice was silenced again. The Immortal Master, satisfied, nodded and silenced Su Changyu once more.
Ignoring the mortals, the Immortal Master went to the bow of the ship, cast some unknown spell, and the ship began to sail rapidly in a certain direction.
Witnessing this, most of the mortals showed expressions of awe. Some, however, seemed unable to recover from the previous disaster, sitting paralyzed on the deck, trembling and curling up, seemingly crying silently.
The ship fell into an eerie silence. Half a day passed, and as night fell, they finally saw faint lights in the distance. It was a seemingly prosperous island, and although still far away, human voices could be faintly heard.
Hundreds of large ships were docked at the island's port, a grand sight. However, the ship Li Fan was on did not head towards the port but circled half the island to a sparsely populated area on the back.
The ship quietly followed a waterway into a natural cave. After navigating the narrow cave for a while, it finally stopped.
Once the ship was steady, several burly men in black came to receive them. The men in black seemed to ignore the Immortal Master, merely driving the people off the ship with weapons, without uttering a word.
They led the group to a spacious hall, where one of the men in black finally spoke. "You will rest here tonight. The hall is stocked with food, help yourselves. Tomorrow, someone will guide you to complete your identity registration. Also, no unnecessary noise." With a threatening glance, the man in black turned and left.
The hall fell into silence. After a long time, the Immortal Master's silencing spell wore off. The people in the hall began to discuss in small groups.
"This time, we were really unlucky, encountering a sea monster attack. We had nearly a hundred people when we set out, but now less than half survived."
"What Dao to pursue, what immortality to cultivate. I don't know what my father was thinking, insisting on sending me to this great world to cultivate immortality. I say, cultivating immortality is not as enjoyable as listening to music."
"Exactly, back home, I was at least the son of the Prince of the South, enjoying all the riches and glory. What's so good about this ghost place, that..." Before he could finish, his companion quickly covered his mouth.
At this moment, Su Changyu spoke up, "What's the point of saying these things now? Didn't every family spend a huge price to send you here? Instead of complaining, why not patiently cultivate? If you truly become an Immortal Master, not only will you have hope for immortality, but you'll also have the chance to return home and bring your family out."
Li Fan, hiding in the shadows, listened to the conversations and gradually understood these people's identities. These people, like Li Fan, were likely mortals exiled from the Immortal-Forsaken Land. However, it seemed that in their Immortal-Forsaken Land, the existence of the immortal cultivation world was not a secret. Moreover, a mature "smuggling" route had already developed?
Li Fan stroked his chin, lost in thought.
(End of Chapter)