Chapter 497: Chapter 435: Harvest

"I’m finally back!"

When Zhao Lin rushed back, Chao Duan, Du Zhen, and the others were nervously guarding the newly arranged traps.

They had also sensed the fluctuations of Mana released by the trap and were worried it had something to do with Zhao Lin. Seeing him return safely, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, what just happened? Why was the trap triggered?"

"Why are your robes torn? Did you run into someone from the Earth Dark Sect?"

Everyone started asking questions at once.

"Yes, I ran into Matsuo."

Zhao Lin replied with a nod.

"Ah, Matsuo was here?"

Everyone was shocked to hear this.

"Don’t worry, he’s already dead."

Zhao Lin smiled and briefly recounted how he had lured Matsuo into a snare, using the trap’s Magic to obliterate him.

Hearing this news, everyone was both shocked and delighted. With Matsuo dead, the remaining Earth Dark Sect cultivators were no longer a major concern. It was safe to say the success of their seafaring mission was all but guaranteed.

Only Chao Duan was secretly astonished, wondering how Zhao Lin could have possibly lured a Transformation Realm cultivator into a trap and emerged unscathed himself.

It was already late at night. The day had been harrowing, and everyone felt mentally and physically exhausted, so they decided to rest where they were for the night.

The Small Tai Chi Array was effective again, and Zhao Lin set up a defensive Array so everyone could meditate in peace.

The night passed, and it was now the third day of their voyage.

With only five Earth Dark Sect cultivators left, the group no longer held back. They escorted the four Array Masters across the entirety of Golden Ox Beach, dismantling all the traps.

The Earth Dark Sect had set up a total of ten traps on Golden Ox Beach, the largest of which was in the center of the southwestern section.

Dismantling it triggered a violent tremor, like a mountain collapsing or a tsunami crashing ashore.

A massive pillar of water shot out from the sea, rising hundreds of feet into the sky, so high it could be seen clearly from dozens of miles away.

"That water spout is coming from Golden Ox Beach! Our people have made their move!"

The Chenghua Sect guards patrolling the outskirts of Yongdeng Ansha cheered when they saw the pillar of water. Gan Xingquan was so excited he leaped up from the bow of his ship.

The members of the Earth Dark Sect, however, could only stare at each other in dismay. For this seafaring mission, the sect had sent all of its elites, including three Transformation Realm cultivators. How could Golden Ox Beach still have fallen?

Zhuxia’s face was a mask of astonishment; he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

"Impossible. It must be that our sect’s cultivators just haven’t found Zhao Lin yet. Now that they dare to dismantle the traps and expose their position, they’re sure to die!"

Zhuxia came up with a barely plausible explanation, clinging to a sliver of hope.

But by the afternoon, that sliver of hope was shattered.

A huge whirlpool appeared on the surface of the sea at Qingyang Beach, continuously shooting out streams of ice arrows, startling the seabirds skimming the waves into panicked flight.

"How can this be? How can this be?"

Zhuxia’s face went pale as he muttered, "Can’t three Transformation Realm cultivators even deal with him?"

By late afternoon, all the original Earth Dark Sect traps on Qingyang Beach had been dismantled, and the Chenghua Sect had set up its own in their place.

Thus, the two pearl beaches, lost for decades, were once again returned to the sect!

"We finally did it!"

Beneath the sea, Sun Jue let out a long breath and sat down right on the ground.

The seagoing cultivators were all beaming with joy. They felt honored to have witnessed such a historic moment.

"Fellow Daoist Sun, how many array stones did you bring?"

Zhao Lin walked over to Sun Jue and sat down to ask. The opportunity was rare, and he wanted to take another pearl beach. He might not get such a good chance again.

"Over a hundred. Thirty sets in total, enough to set up one more pearl beach."

Sun Jue understood Zhao Lin’s intentions immediately and said with a wry smile, "But not today. We’ll need to rest for a night first."

Setting up the Arrays was draining, both physically and mentally. The four Array Masters were completely exhausted.

"You’ve all worked hard. In that case, we’ll take another pearl beach first thing tomorrow morning."

Zhao Lin patted Sun Jue’s shoulder and handed him a Grade One Spirit Pearl he had acquired. "This will help you recover your Spiritual Power faster. You guys use it for now."

Sun Jue’s eyes lit up, and he quickly accepted it with thanks.

The other cultivators were secretly delighted to hear this. Three pearl beaches meant thirty thousand merit points. Even if Zhao Lin took the largest share, everyone would still get a sizeable amount.

The five remaining Earth Dark Sect cultivators had hidden somewhere unknown. Zhao Lin’s Divine Sense hadn’t fully recovered yet, so to be on the safe side, as long as they didn’t cause trouble, he couldn’t be bothered to hunt them down. He focused on protecting Sun Jue and the others as they set up the Array.

「On the morning of the fourth day.」

A tall warship flying the flag of the Chenghua Sect, accompanied by more than ten sea boats, sailed into Yongdeng Ansha.

Anyone in the know would recognize this as the kind of procession reserved for the Island Master’s personal inspection tour.

Chu Hongtian stood at the bow, high-spirited, with his subordinates arrayed behind him.

The weather was fair and sunny, and his mood was just as bright.

He had received word the previous night that the main traps on Golden Ox Beach and Qingyang Beach had been dismantled. Eager to learn the final outcome as soon as possible, he had decided to come in person.

BOOM!

A giant wave erupted from the calm sea, and everyone on the ship turned to look.

"Xingquan, isn’t that Weizhi Beach over there?"

Chu Hongtian raised an eyebrow, a hint of pleasant surprise in his voice.

"Yes, Island Master. That is indeed Weizhi Beach."

Gan Xingquan stepped forward and replied, "It must be Zhao Lin and his team, dismantling the traps."

Chu Hongtian gave a soft "Mm," trying his best to appear composed in front of his subordinates, but his hand unconsciously clenched into a fist.

The warship reached the rendezvous point and slowly came to a stop.

Just then, a black sea boat from the Earth Dark Sect approached. A lone, gray-haired old man sat aboard.

The gray-haired man was Zhuxia, who was responsible for receiving the cultivators returning from their sea voyage. He had delegated the reception task to his subordinates to come and see for himself what on earth had happened.

Chu Hongtian narrowed his eyes, looking down at Zhuxia from his high vantage point.

"That’s Zhuxia from the Earth Dark Sect. He’s in charge of receiving their seagoing cultivators. Should we drive him off?"

Gan Xingquan asked in a low voice.

"Forget it. This doesn’t violate our agreement. There’s no harm in letting him watch."

Chu Hongtian said dismissively, "We’ll send some of our people over too."

"Yes, sir."

Gan Xingquan acknowledged the order, walked to the side of the ship, and gave a few instructions. Immediately, two sea boats broke away from the fleet and headed toward the Earth Dark Sect’s waters.

Time trickled by. As mid-morning arrived, more than a dozen Chenghua Sect cultivators surfaced in the distance and swam swiftly toward them.

A short while later, the group swam closer. The one in the lead was none other than Zhao Lin!

Zhuxia’s heart sank. He knew it was all over.

He wanted to immediately urge his sea boat to leave, but after a moment’s hesitation, he ultimately stayed put.

"You’ve all returned."

Chu Hongtian laughed heartily and waved his hand, unleashing a Magic.

A solid-looking brown bridge, condensed from Spiritual Qi, extended from the bow of the ship straight into the sea.

Tier Three Earth Element Magic: Rock Shield!

Everyone on the ship looked astonished. It was the first time they had ever seen the Island Master personally use magic to bring people aboard. This was, without a doubt, an extremely high honor.

Chao Duan, Du Zhen, Chang Jianqiu, and the others consciously made way, letting Zhao Lin walk to the front.

Zhao Lin knew this wasn’t the time for modesty. With a word of thanks, he strode onto the five-colored bridge, boarded the ship, and bowed. "Greetings, Island Master Chu."

Chu Hongtian made a gesture to help him up. "You’ve returned safely. Excellent!"

Although he was desperate to know the mission’s outcome, he still had to observe the proper courtesies.

Zhao Lin straightened up and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Island Master."

Hearing this, Chu Hongtian knew what to expect. He asked with a smile, "And what is there to congratulate me for?"

Zhao Lin said in a solemn voice, "Fortunately, I did not fail my mission! Golden Ox, Qingyang, and Weizhi, all three pearl beaches, now belong entirely to our sect!"

"Good, very good!"

Chu Hongtian threw his head back and laughed. It took him a long moment to stop. Then, with a deliberately pained expression, he said, "It’s a good thing, a very good thing. But this is going to cost me a fortune."

Zhuxia was grinding his teeth in hatred, a GRATING sound coming from his mouth. If he weren’t afraid of angering Chu Hongtian, he would have started cursing out loud.

Zhao Lin glanced down at him and deliberately added, "Reporting to the Island Master, on this voyage, we killed thirteen Earth Dark Sect cultivators. Five escaped."

Then he shook his head and sighed. "A pity we couldn’t finish the job completely."

Chu Hongtian knew Zhao Lin was saying this for a certain someone’s benefit and smiled. "No matter. It’s normal for a few fish to slip through the net. The Earth Dark Sect is our ally, after all. We have to leave them a path to survive, don’t we?"

Zhuxia’s expression changed drastically, and he immediately spurred his sea boat to leave.

The loss of the pearl beaches was irreversible. His only remaining hope was that the three Transformation Realm cultivators were still alive.

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