The Jialan Continent was surrounded by sea on three sides, with Zhenhai Frontier City established along the coastline near the Azure Sky Bihai Sea. The city was managed by its city lord, but the Holy Land’s stationed elders also held supervisory authority.
Yan Zhen’s arrival did not alert any factions. He had disguised the Holy Son’s Mount in advance, allowing them to enter the city unremarkably and book a double suite.
One room went to the Yu Shizun, while the other was shared by Yan Zhen, Yi Xian’er, and Jiu Youyue.
After checking in, Yan Zhen entered the Fire Refining Starry Sky and brought out Cai Lian, Yan Yan, and Long Ying, ready to take them out for some fun.
Jiu Youyue wisely yielded the time to Sister Cai Lian and even persuaded Xian’er. Having tasted the sweetness earlier, Yi Xian’er didn’t compete with the snake woman. Meanwhile, the Yu Shizun volunteered to enter the Fire Refining Starry Sky to visit Lady Chen Xi, asking to be called out only upon reaching their destination, leaving the room to Cai Lian and the others.
This left Yan Zhen feeling a twinge of guilt. Had he gone too far before? It was all that demoness’s instigation—
With that thought, Yan Zhen smacked Jiu Youyue’s rear with a sharp slap. As she let out a coquettish yelp, he shot her a playful glare before heading out the door with his wife, child, and mount, looking every bit like a family of four.
In this coastal city, the variety of seafood was staggering. Long Ying’s eyes lit up as she devoured one dish after another. Seeing how much the girl enjoyed it, Yan Yan wanted to gorge herself too, but her mother put a stop to that.
It had been half a year since Yan Yan’s birth, and she was fully weaned now, subsisting mainly on pills and medicinal meals. Cai Lian kept her snacks on a tight leash.
But this was a rare outing, so Yan Zhen convinced Cai Lian to loosen the restrictions a bit.
Yan Zhen and the others lingered in Zhenhai Frontier City for three days. Besides sightseeing, they inquired about the current state of the overseas sects to ensure the Holy Land’s intelligence was up to date. Then they set off again in the mount.
Yu Shizun was still inside the Fire Refining Starry Sky, and the cabin was filled with Yan Zhen’s female companions. What had started as a voyage to seek an Extreme Flame had turned into a family trip.
Since his rebirth, this was Yan Zhen’s first time seeing the ocean, and he felt exhilarated as he piloted the luxury speedboat in low-altitude flight, trailing a white wake across the sea’s surface.
In his previous life—or rather, the script—Yan Zhen had first gone to sea as the Saint Son, attending the birthday celebration of “Mirage Pavilion,” one of the Overseas Three Sects.
Mirage Pavilion maintained a semi-subordinate, semi-cooperative relationship with the Jialan Holy Land. Its pavilion lord was a Mystic Venerable expert, and the elderly Old Pavilion Master was a Quasi-Supreme. In terms of overall strength, they rivaled the top-ranked superpowers on the Jialan Continent.
About three years ago, however, people from Mirage Pavilion had accidentally unlocked an ancient grotto-heaven called the Thousand Illusions Grotto-Heaven. It preserved the complete inheritance of the “Thousand Illusions Saint Lord,” including the legendary Mirage Tree.
The Thousand Illusions Saint Lord had been a Mystic Saint powerhouse from ancient times. Though he hadn’t entered the ranks of the Seven Saints, he was still a top-tier figure on the continent.
Mirage Pavilion’s founding ancestor was the Saint Lord’s third-generation grand-disciple, so they claimed the title of his descendants and earned the Mirage Tree’s recognition within the grotto-heaven, accepting the Saint Lord’s inheritance.
Over the past three years, Mirage Pavilion had developed in secret, vastly increasing its overall power. The Old Pavilion Master had even broken through the Mystic Venerable barrier to become a true Supreme powerhouse!
They excelled at concealment techniques and kept a low profile, so no one noticed.
In another year, once the Old Pavilion Master smoothly advanced to Third-Grade Supreme and perfected his Supreme Domain, Mirage Pavilion planned to summon the major maritime factions under the pretext of celebrating his grand birthday, aiming to unify the Azure Sky Bihai Sea.
They dreamed of making history by establishing a maritime Holy Land unbound by dragon veins, on par with the Evergreen Holy Land and Jialan Holy Land!
The Old Pavilion Master would deploy his Mirage Cloud Domain to trap the guests, then unleash Supreme pressure to force the factions into submission without bloodshed.
The Lord of Black Demon Island resisted first and was instantly slain by the Old Pavilion Master.
Under the Supreme powerhouse’s overwhelming coercion, the major factions had no choice but to submit—including Sea King Palace.
Yan Zhen, Long Ying, and Yi Xian’er, who had come to offer birthday felicitations, were inevitably caught in the turmoil. Due to Yan Zhen’s special status, he became a prime target, forced first to sign a Blood Contract as a demonstration to cow the others.
Naturally, Yan Zhen refused to sign a slave contract. He secretly crushed the Yu Shizun’s Supreme Token, but to his shock, under the Mirage Cloud Domain’s shroud, even a Supreme powerhouse couldn’t teleport in directly.
At that time, the three of them were only at the Mystic Ancestor Realm. Though their combat prowess was extraordinary and they could fight Mystic Venerables with their trump cards, against a Supreme trapped in the domain, they had little power to resist and were beaten back step by step.
The enemy was clever enough not to kill or even seriously injure them, aiming to capture alive and avoid triggering Yan Zhen’s life-saving talisman, which might summon the Jialan Fairy.
In the dire moment, Yan Zhen activated the Flame Yama Ninefold Transformation, borrowing the Fire Refining Starry Sky’s power to briefly enter the Mystic Venerable Realm. He had Long Ying and Yi Xian’er hold off the Old Pavilion Master temporarily while he forcibly unleashed This Realm Annihilated, piercing the Mirage Cloud Domain and gravely wounding the Old Pavilion Master.
Freed from the domain’s restraints, the major factions scattered in panic, some crushing escape talismans or teleportation symbols to flee.
Yan Zhen, nearly depleted of energy, and the badly injured Long Ying and Yi Xian’er fled in disarray.
Mirage Pavilion’s people dared not let Yan Zhen escape. Ignoring the other factions, they mobilized all their disciples to pursue the trio.
The three hid in the Fire Refining Starry Sky, receiving treatment from Lady Chen Xi. Once healed, they struck back one by one until the Old Pavilion Master reappeared.
Just as Yan Zhen thought it was over, the Yu Shizun finally arrived.
Her power was immense at sea; a Fourth-Grade Supreme crushing a Third-Grade one, she defeated him in a single move.
The Old Pavilion Master fled desperately, luring the Yu Shizun into the Thousand Illusions Grotto-Heaven, hoping to use the remnants left inside to defeat her.
The grotto-heaven had long been on the verge of collapse after eons, which was why its aura had leaked and been discovered by Mirage Pavilion.
The clash of two Supremes, domains colliding, hastened the Thousand Illusions Grotto-Heaven’s disintegration.
In the end, the Old Pavilion Master, no match for the Yu Shizun, detonated his domain. The horrific energy surge shattered the grotto-heaven, and the Ninth-Order Holy Medicine Mirage Tree emerged. Its aura spread across nearly the entire Azure Sky Bihai Sea, driving everyone mad—even the sea beasts lurking in the depths surfaced.
Among them was an enormous, translucent blue whale that whipped up towering waves upon appearing—the spirit manifestation of the Azure Sea Tide Birth Fire!
The Azure Sea Tide Birth Fire instinctively sought to devour the Mirage Tree to evolve, but the immobile tree turned all who approached it, man and beast alike, into mirage slaves to fend off the flame.
Yan Zhen and the others hid in the Fire Refining Starry Sky, narrowly escaping the calamity.
What followed was the classic reaping of the fisherman’s benefits.
Exhausted from their battle, the two sacred treasures were at their weakest. Yan Zhen and the Yu Shizun joined forces, precariously subduing the Azure Sea Tide Birth Fire. They then negotiated with the Mirage Tree, transplanting it to the Jialan Holy Land.
Only then did the incident draw to a close.
