Chapter 463: Commandery Princess, Is That a Fire Spirit Pearl Inside?

“Sir, I was only following orders. I’m a disciple of Furious Tide Fishing Village. Every year, our village trades with Zhao State, selling you sea fish and rare exotic herbs and flowers.”

The sole survivor swallowed nervously, forcing a strained smile.

Yang Ling frowned. It seemed the Star-Sea Fishing Alliance really had landed on the island ahead of them.

Meanwhile.

Zhao Zheng fought alone with a sword, keeping the group of Sixth-Rank martial artists pinned down. Xu Qingnian, a Lower Sixth-Rank, could only support him from the sidelines and provide cover.

After killing seven or eight of the ambushers, the remaining Sixth-Ranks realized they were no match and began to retreat.

Zhao Zheng didn’t pursue them. He brought Xu Qingnian over to Yang Ling.

Yang Ling calmly put away his Quenched-Gold Armor-Piercing Flying Daggers. He had no intention of revealing Object Control, lest anyone deliberately target him for it.

The moment Xu Qingnian saw the survivor, he angrily stepped forward and punched him several times.

Neither Yang Ling nor Zhao Zheng stopped him.

Zhao Zheng began questioning the man himself. In the end, he learned that the Star-Sea Fishing Alliance’s elites had already ventured deep into Fire Flood Dragon Island.

The Sixth-Ranks left outside were all nobodies. Their purpose was to stop the experts from Zhao State and the Rong tribe from landing on the island.

“Kill him.”

Zhao Zheng glanced at Xu Qingnian.

Xu Qingnian swung his blade and killed the disciple of Furious Tide Fishing Village.

“Prince Pingrong, isn’t the Star-Sea Fishing Alliance getting far too bold? They dare to ambush Zhao State like this, and even the Rong tribe?”

Xu Qingnian gritted his teeth.

They had already been left in a sorry state by that mystical beast in the sea.

Then, just when they’d finally made it onto the island, they were ambushed.

He was furious.

“That’s only natural. They’re closer to Fire Flood Dragon Island, so after the island’s upheaval, they were bound to land before us.”

Zhao Zheng fell into thought. “We don’t need to concern ourselves with any of that. The only thing we need to worry about is whether they also know about the Crimson Refined Fire Flood Dragon Sect.”

Xu Qingnian’s expression turned grave.

Ever since learning that the ruins of a first-rate sect might exist on Fire Flood Dragon Island, he had moved the Sixth-Rank Top Hundred Battle down the list of his priorities, behind the Crimson Refined Fire Flood Dragon Sect.

He had thought that following Zhao Zheng would make it easy to get a big payout.

But the Star-Sea Fishing Alliance’s actions had added several complications.

Zhao Zheng suddenly took a mud pellet from the pouch at his waist and smashed it onto the ground.

A wisp of green smoke shot into the sky. It lasted for about ten seconds before dissipating.

Before long, one Sixth-Rank expert after another arrived.

Yang Ling was a little surprised to see that experts from Extreme Flame Sword Manor and Arhat Temple had come as well.

There were more than thirty Sixth-Ranks in all. Seven or eight out of every ten were seasoned Sixth-Rank experts; the rest were the Sixth-Rank prodigies taking part in this battle.

Jie Shu ignored the corpses on the ground, brought his palms together, and bowed to Zhao Zheng. He also inclined his head toward Yang Ling.

Huikong, Jie Hai, and the two Sixth-Rank experts from Bitter Awareness Temple were with him.

Just then, the top Upper Sixth-Rank expert from Extreme Flame Sword Manor walked up to Zhao Zheng, his expression grave.

“Fourth Brother, all the ones who ambushed us just now were disciples of the Star-Sea Fishing Alliance, from different fishing villages. Some of their villages have been hereditary enemies, yet they joined forces this time…”

That “Fourth Brother” surprised not only Yang Ling, but Xu Qingnian and the others as well.

Yang Ling opened the man’s Status Panel and took a look:

Character: He Tongchen

Strength: 150

Agility: 149

Spirit: 70

Martial Arts: Great Flame True Scripture (Transcendent)

Wind Fire Thirteen Swords (Transcendent)

Cloud-Piercing Body Technique (Transcendent)

Faction: Extreme Flame Sword Manor

Zhao Zheng smiled faintly. “Tongchen, whatever the Star-Sea Fishing Alliance’s goal this time, our plan remains unchanged.”

He Tongchen nodded slightly, then glanced at Yang Ling.

“Chief Constable Yang, that movement technique you used to run across the waves just now was extraordinary.”

The man and woman behind him, along with Chen Zuo and Pei Ran, all looked surprised.

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They had certainly been caught off guard by the sight of Yang Ling dashing across the waves earlier.

Yang Ling smiled. “I’ve always run when I couldn’t win, so I’ve put a lot of effort into my movement technique.”

He was a little curious about the relationship between He Tongchen and Zhao Zheng.

He Tongchen wasn’t royalty, yet he called Zhao Zheng Fourth Brother. There was clearly more to it.

He Tongchen was about to speak again, but Zhao Zheng said, “Everyone’s here. Take your Flame-Averting Pills and enter the island.”

At that, everyone took out a Flame-Averting Pill and swallowed it.

The temperature on the island was extremely high. With their cultivation levels, they could endure it for a while without pills, but they certainly couldn’t stay for long.

However, the three experts from Extreme Flame Sword Manor, He Tongchen, Pei Ran, and Chen Zuo, didn’t take Flame-Averting Pills.

The temperature here seemed perfectly ordinary to them.

Once everyone had taken their pills, Zhao Zheng led them onto the island along a narrow path.

……

Fire Flood Dragon Island was absurdly vast. For the first three days, everyone proceeded cautiously, keeping their pace within a safe range.

Even so, Yang Ling still hadn’t seen the Crimson Fire Iron Mine he recognized.

Zhao Zheng seemed quite familiar with the area. During their journey, he changed their route several times.

On the seventh day, Yang Ling suddenly found some of the scenery ahead familiar.

“We’re almost at the Crimson Fire Iron Mine.”

Yang Ling’s thoughts stirred.

Once they reached that place, he would know how to get to the Crimson Refined Fire Flood Dragon Sect.

“But why does this place look so desolate? The Martial Alliance took control of it back then, so they should have developed it extensively.”

“Could it be that so much time has passed that the resources here have been completely mined out?”

As he pondered this, Zhao Zheng suddenly signaled for everyone to stop.

He took out a map and studied it carefully, then put it away and turned to the others.

“Another mile and we’ll reach the first stop on our journey. According to my information, that area was once a Mine Vein controlled by the Crimson Refined Fire Flood Dragon Sect. However, it was abandoned long ago and is now crawling with mine beasts and Mine Insects. Some of them are as strong as Fifth-Rank martial artists.”

He Tongchen’s expression shifted. “Fourth Brother, can we go around it?”

“To get around this place, we’d have to cross the mountain ranges on either side. More ferocious mystical beasts may be lurking there.”

Zhao Zheng’s expression was grave. “We might also run into experts from the Star-Sea Fishing Alliance. The risks are too great.”

He paused. “Stay alert and watch each other’s backs. As long as we don’t disturb those creatures, we can get through safely.”

Everyone tensed slightly. Led by Zhao Zheng, they continued forward, each placing their feet as lightly as possible.

Before long, they reached the abandoned Crimson Fire Iron Mine.

It looked very different from the one Yang Ling had seen in the dungeon.

In the dungeon, the Crimson Fire Iron Mine had dozens of mining shafts. Here, only one remained, but it was many times larger.

The open-pit mine had also long since sunk hundreds of meters down.

It looked just like a gigantic pit.

“The Martial Alliance really did dig the Crimson Refined Fire Flood Dragon Sect bald.”

Yang Ling marveled inwardly.

Just how much Crimson Fire Iron had they hauled away?

The remaining ore must have been worth less than the cost of extracting it. That was probably why the Martial Alliance had abandoned Fire Flood Dragon Island.

Everyone held their breath, planning to go around the mine and reach the area behind it.

They had barely taken a few steps when a group of people suddenly emerged from the enormous mining shaft ahead.

Both sides fell silent, and the atmosphere grew uneasy.

“What are you doing here?” Zhao Zheng asked with a smile.

The group consisted of Zhao State’s Sixth-Ranks, led by Qin Kunlun and Zhao Yingying.

Zhao Yingying held a jade box. Yang Ling caught a familiar scent.

He pointed at the jade box in Zhao Yingying’s hand.

“Commandery Princess, is that a Fire Spirit Pearl inside?”