Chapter 267: Whispers of the Spreading Plague
Chapter 267: Whispers of the Spreading Plague
He regretted being too careless.
Xiao Ai had clearly stirred their greed.
However, his expression remained calm.
As he put away the battleship, he said, "My apologies. This is my first time overseas, so I am not familiar with your island’s rules."
"Rules?"
The leader who is at a late stage Nascent Soul cultivator spoke expressionlessly.
"Since this is your first time, I will tell you. On Yingzhou Celestial Isle, the words of His Majesty the Emperor and the Crown Princess are the rules. If you break other rules, you might still find a way to survive. But if you violate the words of His Majesty or Her Highness, then you can just wait for death."
Xiao Shou knew very well that this place was different from the sects and aristocratic families on the mainland where political power did not interfere.
In the novel Longevity Love, Yingzhou Celestial Isle was described as a cultivator island governed by an imperial system.
From the Emperor at the top to the lowest soldiers, all were cultivators.
It was essentially a nation made entirely of cultivators.
Only those people who are capable of cultivation could be considered commoners.
Those with high cultivation and talent could enter official positions through examinations or join the military as soldiers and generals.
Ordinary people who could not cultivate could only become slaves.
At the very top of Yingzhou Celestial Isle stood the Emperor, the absolute ruler of the island.
His words could not be opposed or resisted.
However, the current generation had only one daughter, so she was appointed as the Crown Princess.
In the novel, this Crown Princess had appeared before.
She was a minor character who was both ruthless and lustful.
Later, she fought with Xiao Ran over a man.
She snatched away one of Xiao Ran’s lovers and even killed him when he resisted.
In the end, she died at the hands of Xiao Ran.
Because of this, Xiao Ran was hunted down by Emperor Yingzhou and was forced to disguise herself and flee.
Eventually she traveling to Fanghu Mystic Isle and Penglai Immortal Isle.
Looking at the undisguised greed in the eyes of this group of Nascent Soul cultivators, Xiao Shou recalled Yingzhou Celestial Isle’s style of conduct.
Thinking about how he had carelessly exposed the Frostheart Fleeting Battleship earlier, he began to reconsider his decision.
He no longer wanted to step onto the island.
With that thought, he took out a few high grade spirit stones and handed them to the leading cultivator.
"I understand now. You must be the captain. May I ask you a few questions?"
"What is it?"
The Nascent Soul captain casually accepted the high grade spirit stones and sized Xiao Shou up.
Seeing this, Xiao Shou quietly let out a sigh of relief.
In the novel, it was mentioned that top grade spirit stones were extremely rare in the Heaven Origin Realm.
Only Nascent Soul cultivators possessed a few and even then they were reluctant to use them.
Most transactions were done using high grade spirit stones or barter.
Nascent Soul cultivators typically used mid grade spirit stones.
Since Xiao Shou had never lacked spirit stones of any grade, he had never truly felt this difference.
Only now, seeing that just a few high grade spirit stones could move a Nascent Soul cultivator, did he realize that he was actually quite wealthy.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
On the surface, however, he showed a worried expression and asked,
"Actually, while traveling, I passed by Chongsheng Ancient Sage Isle and found it has been destroyed. There were signs of heavy battle and the surrounding islands were the same. Do you know what happened?"
"Oh, that matter."
The late stage Nascent Soul captain spoke, apparently willing to explain for the sake of the spirit stones.
"You must have just arrived in the sea region not long ago if you do not even know about the biggest event happening right now."
He then explained the cause of these events.
About two months ago, an abnormal phenomenon suddenly occurred in the far northern region of the Endless Sea.
A massive gray pillar of light shot into the sky, stirring up waves tens of thousands of meters high and connecting sea and sky as one.
Even Nascent Soul experts could not approach it.
This phenomenon lasted for three full days before finally dissipating.
After the pillar of light disappeared, something seemed to have been mixed into the spiritual energy of the sea.
At that time, the cultivators carefully examined this strange substance mixed within the spiritual energy, but they did not detect any harmful effects.
However, seven days later, in the sea regions near the far northern area, cultivators, residents, and even sea beasts began to suffer from a strange illness.
All living beings except plants were affected.
They became weak, powerless, and unable to move.
Because of this, nearby islands sent medical cultivators to treat them.
But before the medical cultivators could find a cure, another seven days passed.
The previously weakened living beings suddenly erupted.
They lost all reason and began attacking everything around them.
The stronger their cultivation, the more violent their rampage.
The sea beasts were the same.
During this first outbreak, the far northern sea region suffered extremely heavy casualties due to being completely unprepared.
It was not until the next day, when the sun rose, that all the rampaging infected individuals disappeared under the sunlight.
The surviving medical cultivators, along with other cultivators who had rushed over after the outbreak, conducted repeated examinations.
Only then did they discover that after the rampaging individuals disappeared, the strange substance within the spiritual energy had become much denser and had begun spreading outward.
The medical cultivators concluded that both the illness and the rampages were related to this strange substance in the spiritual energy.
It was highly likely that the vanished infected individuals had decomposed into this substance.
They advised that the spread of this substance must be stopped as soon as possible.
However, the report submitted to the Emperor Yingzhou went unread for several days due to certain reasons.