From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 466 The Summoning of the Cloud Sea Immortal Island

I stared at the Key of Destiny burning in my palm, my fingertips turning red from the heat, yet I couldn't bear to let go.

The fairy island with its green tiles and white walls was still churning in my mind, and even the splashing water from the waterfall seemed to be dripping into my eyes—just now the voice said, "Only by ascending to the fairy island can you unlock the final secret," but what is this secret?

Is it the legacy of the Hidden Abyss Sect?

Is this the truth behind my time travel?

still......

"Miss Xiao?" Qinglian waved her hand in front of my eyes, and I was startled to realize that I had been squatting on the ground without my noticing, my fingertips digging deep into the cracks in the stone.

Her skirt brushed against the back of my hand, carrying a faint sandalwood scent: "You seemed bewitched just now, are you alright?"

Ling Feng leaned against the stone door, coughing. A corner of his blood-stained sleeve was lifted by the wind, revealing a gruesome knife wound in his arm. "It looked like something was summoning her." He forced a smile, but it was more like a grimace. "That star chart was spinning strangely just now. Could it be related to the Immortal Island?"

I stood up abruptly. The Key of Destiny hummed softly, and the star map in my mind suddenly froze. A silver thread condensed into a thin stream, following my gaze to the churning sea of ​​clouds outside the cave. "It's guidance," I said, touching the scalding key, my throat tightening. "It's telling me the answer is on that island."

Qinglian's pupils contracted slightly, and her fingertips tightened around the jade sachet at her waist.

She always loved to caress this sachet; I saw her do the same in the ruins of the Hidden Abyss Sect—it was a relic left by her master. "Cloud Sea Immortal Island..." she murmured, turning to take out a yellowed ancient book from her Qiankun bag. "I once saw a few words about it in the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion's library."

In the beginning of time, when heaven and earth were first created, some immortals, weary of the mortal world, used cloud mist as their foundation and star marrow as their bones to build a fairy island floating in the clouds.

Legend has it that the island holds a treasure capable of defying fate, but… “She turned to a page, her fingertip pressing against the faded ink, “but only those ‘in sync with the island’ can see it; forcibly approaching will result in being crushed to dust by the surging clouds.”

Ling Feng's sword suddenly drew three inches from its sheath, its cold light making his brows turn white: "Miss Xiao, do you think this is a leisurely stroll?"

I once saw a rogue cultivator in the Northern Wilderness attempting to venture to the immortal mountains beyond the seas. He was torn into a bloody mist by the restrictions, not even having time to utter a scream. "Blood seeped from his wounds, staining the gray stone wall like tiny flowers. 'If you insist on going…'"

“I have to go,” I interrupted him, my voice more resolute than I had imagined.

The secrets of the Hidden Abyss Sect, the strange spiritual power that comes and goes within my body, and the force that pushed me off the cliff before I crossed over—all these fragments are pieced together in the scene of the Immortal Island.

I gazed at the churning clouds outside the cave, recalling the "only" etched into my soul just moments before. "If this is the key to unlocking everything, even if I'm crushed by the cloud tide, I must hold onto it."

Qinglian closed the ancient book and tapped the cover lightly with her fingertips: "Where's the star map?"

Let's look at the star chart again.

I closed my eyes and summoned the star map in my sea of ​​consciousness.

This time, the silver threads no longer spun wildly, but slowly intertwined to form a map: beyond the scorched earth was a barren wasteland, and at the end of the wasteland was a suspended mountain peak, its body an eerie indigo blue, like a piece of jade soaked in ink.

“A floating peak.” Ling Feng squinted. “I once heard my elders in the sect say that there’s a rootless peak in the Northern Wilderness, which is said to connect to another world.” He tore off a piece of his clothing to quickly bandage his wound, the blood immediately soaking through the coarse cloth. “To get to the Immortal Island, we must first go to the foot of that peak.”

We walked for three days in the wasteland beyond the scorched earth.

The wind was blowing sand and gravel so hard that it was impossible to open one's eyes.

At noon on the third day, Qinglian suddenly grabbed my sleeve: "Look!"

A sliver of indigo peeks out from the distant clouds, like a piece of jade casually tossed into the sky.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the mountain peak had no foot at all, but was suspended hundreds of feet above the ground. The mountain walls were covered with glowing vines, each vine wrapped with thunder patterns as thick as a thumb.

"Teleportation array." I crouched down in the pile of rubble at the foot of the peak, my fingertips tracing the patterns covered in dust.

Although the runes carved on the ground were incomplete, the star marrow stone at the center was still there—it was the core of the teleportation array, gleaming with a ghostly blue light.

Ling Feng drew his sword and cleared away the rubble, the blade striking the runes and sparks flying. "This formation has been ruined for at least a thousand years." He squatted down, blood dripping onto the runes. "Back then, someone must have wanted to go to the Immortal Island through here, but..." He didn't finish, but I saw several charred marks on the edge of the runes, as if something had been forcibly torn apart.

Qinglian knelt beside me, wiping the dust from the runes with a handkerchief: "This is the 'Star Shift Array,' which requires the power of the Star Marrow Stone." Her fingernails were caked with mud. "But three of the core runes are broken; activating it directly will..."

"It will teleport us into the turbulence," I said.

Although I had no spiritual roots in my previous life, I loved to read my master's miscellaneous books. One of them, "The Hundred Formations Diagram," happened to mention the Star Shift Formation.

I took out the Key of Destiny from my waist, and the patterns on the key suddenly overlapped with the runes. "But the Key of Destiny can complete it."

Ling Feng suddenly grabbed my wrist: "Are you crazy?"

This key is a possession of the Hidden Abyss Sect, bound to its owner. In case…

“What if it works?” I took his hand in return; his palm was covered in blood and calluses. “You’ve saved me three times; this time, it’s my turn to take the gamble.” Without waiting for his reply, I pressed the key onto the Star Marrow Stone.

Golden light surged from the key, creeping along the runes and covering the entire array.

I heard the Star Marrow Stone make a "crack" sound, like the crisp sound of ice cracking.

The runes began to rotate, and blue light wrapped around golden light, condensing into a pillar of light beneath our feet.

"Hold on tight!" Ling Feng shouted, grabbing my and Qinglian's wrists.

The next second, I was thrown into nothingness.

The sound of the wind rushing into my ears felt like a thousand knives cutting my skin.

When I could see things clearly again, the tip of my nose was already filled with a sweet floral fragrance—the same scent from my memory that made my heart tremble.

The sea of ​​clouds surged beneath my feet, while the fairy island floated directly in front of me.

The palace with its green tiles and white walls was shrouded in a thin mist, and the copper bells on the eaves jingled in the wind.

Before I could even get a good look at the flowering trees on the island, the clouds suddenly began to churn violently.

I heard a distant rumble like thunder, and the wind carried a fishy smell, like rust soaked in blood.

“Miss Xiao…” Qinglian’s voice trembled as she pointed to the clouds at our feet, “The clouds are changing color.”

I looked down and saw that the once snow-white clouds were slowly turning dark red, as if someone had poured a bucket of blood into them.

The wind grew stronger and stronger, and the sound of the copper bells on the fairy island was mixed with a sharp whistling, as if something was drilling upwards from the depths of the clouds.

The churning clouds of blood mist suddenly let out a sharp whistle, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end—it wasn't the sound of the wind, but the buzzing of some sharp weapon cutting through the air.

The next second, a large ice blade, carrying a bloody smell, came crashing down on us. Instinctively, I grabbed Qinglian and dove to the side, only to see Ling Feng swing his sword across our heads. The ice blade struck the sword, sparks flying. He groaned, and the blood from his old wound on his arm started to seep out again.

"It's a protective barrier!" I wiped the blood from my face where the ice shards had cut me, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to break my ribs.

Just now, within the Star Shift Array, the connection between the Key of Destiny and the Immortal Island suddenly became clear. At this moment, the trajectories of those ice blades coincided with the silver lines of the star map in my sea of ​​consciousness—this wasn't an indiscriminate attack, it was a test! "Don't take it head-on!" I shouted, pulling out the key. Golden light shot from my fingertips into the air, and the ice blades shattered into snow dust the instant they touched the golden light. "Follow my light!"

Ling Feng's sword blade was already covered in a thin layer of ice. He gritted his teeth, grabbed Qing Lian's belt, and pushed her forward: "Miss Xiao, go first!" Qing Lian's jade sachet was slashed open by the ice blade, and the scent of sandalwood mixed with the smell of blood filled her nostrils. She grabbed my sleeve and whispered, "Spiritual energy... the spiritual energy here is repelling us." I could feel the clouds beneath my feet churning, as if living things were gnawing at my spiritual power, but the heat of the Key of Destiny was getting hotter and hotter, burning my palms red, and instead, it smashed a hole in the repelling force.

Three steps, five steps, ten steps—as the last piece of ice blade vanished in the golden light, we fell into a rain of flowers.

“This is…” Qinglian looked up, her blood-stained hand catching a pink petal, her voice trembling, “My master said that the ‘Forget-Me-Not Flower’ of the Immortal Island only grows in the purest spiritual veins… but this fragrance…” She suddenly covered her mouth and nose, her fingertips digging into her palm, “It’s so stuffy, like someone is gripping my throat.” Only then did I notice that although the flowering trees all over the mountain were blooming brilliantly, their branches and leaves were all twisted in the same direction, as if they had been forcibly broken by an invisible hand.

Ling Feng crouched down and used his sword to pry away the surface soil, revealing dense, dark patterns beneath: "These runes... are very similar to the Demon-Suppressing Stele in the Northern Wilderness." He gently flicked it with the tip of his sword, and the runes suddenly glowed red, startling him so much that he quickly sheathed his sword. "Is it a warning, or... a seal?"

I squatted down next to him, and the moment my fingertips touched the runes, the Key of Destiny in my mind suddenly vibrated.

The dark red lines perfectly matched the key's teeth marks, like a lock and key reunited after a long separation. "This is a binding rune," I said, touching the scalding key, my throat tightening. "The ancient texts of the Hidden Abyss Sect say that ancient sects would carve 'Same Contract Marks' on their mountain gates, which only the inheritor could activate."

"It seems you found this place faster than I expected."

The sinister voice, like the hiss of a venomous snake, came from deep within the flowering trees.

I looked up abruptly and saw the Blood Fiend Elder standing on a peach branch three zhang away. His black robe was lifted by the wind, revealing the black mist crystal hanging at his waist—an evil object refined with the souls of a hundred cultivators, which was now hissing and emitting black smoke.

His left eye was wrapped in a bloodstained bandage, while his right eye gleamed with greed: "Little girl, hand over the key, and I'll let you die a quick death."

Ling Feng's sword was drawn with a "hum," but I pressed down on his wrist.

His hands were trembling, whether from injury or anger, I couldn't tell: "Miss Xiao, I'll protect you!" Qinglian took half a step behind me and said softly, "The resentment on his body is ten times stronger than it was three days ago... he probably swallowed the Blood Fiend Beast of the Northern Wilderness." I stared at the crystal on the Blood Fiend Elder's waist and finally understood why he was able to catch up with us—that crystal contained the spiritual power we had left behind in the Star Shift Array.

"Want the key?" I gripped the Key of Destiny so tightly that my nails almost dug into my flesh.

Three days and three nights of travel, the backlash from the Star Shift Array, and the ice blade storm from just now—all of it now transformed into a burning fire in his chest. "Get past me first." Before he finished speaking, the Blood Fiend Elder had already charged over, black mist carrying a putrid wind crashing down on him.

I instinctively swung the key, and the moment the golden light collided with the black mist, the entire fairy island suddenly trembled violently.

“Boom—”

The deep tolling of the bell came from the heart of the island, making my eardrums ache.

Petals fell softly from the flowering trees, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared in the ground, through which a faint blue light shone.

I stumbled and clung to a tree trunk, hearing a voice echo in my mind, like an ancient bell submerged in water: "Only the true inheritor... can unlock the secrets of the fairy island..."

The Blood Demon Elder's movements froze in mid-air. The greed in his right eye faded slightly as he frowned and looked into the depths of the crack.

The black mist crystal suddenly emitted a blinding light, and he abruptly took two steps back, raising his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth—the tremor had actually injured him.

I leaned against the tree trunk, panting, the key in my palm still burning hot.

The eerie blue within the crack grew brighter and brighter, as if something was about to emerge from underground.

Ling Feng, clutching his wound, stood beside me, while Qing Lian gripped my blood-stained sleeve tightly.

The rain of petals continued to fall, but those twisted flower branches were now slowly turning towards us, as if... to welcome us.