Chapter 118: The Mysterious Island

"Oh, that makes sense." She Mei'er seemed to wake from a dream. Looking at Bai Xiaoyue’s sweet and adorable face, she suddenly asked, "Yue'er, I know you like Yan Chixia... I like him too. You wouldn't be angry, would you?"

"Why would I be angry?" Bai Xiaoyue smiled gently. "Sister, the fact that you like my brother only goes to show how outstanding he is in your eyes. Only outstanding people are liked by others—therefore, I wish for everyone in the world to like him!"

"Hehe..." She Mei'er giggled cunningly. "Yue'er, you are so clever; you never say a wrong word! If—I mean, if one day I were to have an intimate relationship with Yan Chixia, ‘that kind’ of intimate relationship... would you be sad or upset, Yue'er?"

"Haha..." Bai Xiaoyue smiled with great reserve. "Not at all. Sister, if things were truly as you say, I would offer you my heartfelt blessings!"

"My dear sister, you certainly know how to talk!" She Mei'er said, brimming with joy. "Yue'er, I, She Mei'er, am truly blessed to have a sister as clever and empathetic as you!" Saying this, she couldn't help but embrace Bai Xiaoyue’s slender waist, immersed in pure happiness. "Yue'er, I had so much to tell you, but now I don't know where to begin. Very well, I shall say nothing at all; we have plenty of days ahead of us! You continue your cultivation, and I must hurry off to study the 'Paper Talisman Art'... I snuck over here, and if Yan Chixia finds out, that blockhead will surely lose his temper with me again!"

Before the words had even left her lips, Yan Chixia walked in, looking fierce. "She Mei'er, who are you calling a 'blockhead'?"

"Ah!" She Mei'er gasped in terror. "I... I misspoke! Yan Chixia, don't say a word, I am going to study the 'Paper Talisman Art' right now..." With that, she scurried out of Bai Xiaoyue’s room with lightning speed.

Seeing this, Yan Chixia was both annoyed and amused. "She truly is a hopeless case!"

"Indeed," Bai Xiaoyue sighed helplessly. "Sister is so sharp and witty, why is she so clumsy when it comes to the 'Paper Talisman Art'? Brother, could it be that you’ve rattled her nerves so much that she’s become this inept?"

"Is that so?" Yan Chixia laughed. "Sister, am I really that fierce in front of her?"

Before Bai Xiaoyue could answer, She Mei'er suddenly poked her peach-blossom face around the door frame. "And how are you not? Yan Chixia, in front of me, you are a 'fierce god and evil spirit'... you scare me out of my wits, so of course I don't know what I'm doing when I try to learn!"

With a playful grimace at Yan Chixia, she giggled and flew away. Yan Chixia shook his head helplessly, and Bai Xiaoyue smiled brightly.

"Haha, Sister is truly straightforward and adorable! Brother, how is it that even though you look angry on the surface, I sense an irrepressible joy in your heart right now?"

Hearing this, Yan Chixia’s face lit up with a smile. "Sister, you’ve guessed right! That is indeed the case."

"Oh?" Bai Xiaoyue asked, her spirits lifting. "Brother, what good news do you have? Tell me so I can share in your joy!"

Yan Chixia said, "Very well," and proceeded to relay the information he had just obtained from She Mei'er regarding the ancient ruins on the "Mysterious Island."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaoyue was ecstatic. "Heaven! The ancient ruins on the 'Mysterious Island' not only contain the 'Hundred Herb Garden,' but also the 'Seven-Colored Spirit Stones,' 'Spirit Springs,' 'Spirit Veins,' and the 'Sea Soul Robe'? Wonderful, this is simply wonderful!"

"Indeed!" Yan Chixia said, unable to contain his impatience. "The fifteenth of the third month, the fifteenth of the third month—if only it would arrive sooner!"

...

In the blink of an eye, the fifteenth of the third month arrived.

Following his agreement with the Fairy of the Nine Heavens, Master Qingxu used the [Flash Displacement Technique] at midday to take Yan Chixia from the Qingxu Temple and head straight for the Mysterious Island.

The Mysterious Island was an isolated isle in the East Sea, shaped like a blooming steamed bun and spanning about fifty li in circumference. Because it lay in a low-lying area, it was submerged by the sea year-round. Only during the night of the full moon in mid-March, when the great tide arrived and the sea level dropped drastically, would the island emerge for a few hours.

There were about eight thousand li between the Mysterious Island and Mount Zhongnan. With a flash, Master Qingxu and Yan Chixia appeared in the sky above the island.

Holding Yan Chixia’s hand, Master Qingxu descended slowly, gazing down at the vast, boundless sea. "Danzi, we have arrived. Look, that is the Mysterious Island below..."

Following his master, Yan Chixia was filled with excitement. "Ah! Master’s [Flash Displacement Technique] is so fast—even faster than She Mei'er’s [Clear Wind Escape]! Master, it is only midday, and the great tide hasn't come yet; the island is still submerged beneath the sea. If we keep descending like this, there is nothing but water below. Where will we stand?"

"Do not worry, Danzi, I have made arrangements," Master Qingxu replied.

He watched the distance between them and the sea level. When they were only two zhang above the water, he used his spiritual energy to summon a "Paper Talisman" from his storage space. Grabbing a corner of the paper, he gave it a sharp flick. A flash of golden light erupted, and instantly, a brand-new wooden boat appeared on the azure sea beneath their feet.

"Ah!" Yan Chixia exclaimed in awe. "Master, what a brilliant method... now that we have a boat, we have nothing to fear!"

The wooden boat, activated by Master Qingxu’s [Paper Talisman Art], was ten feet long and five feet wide. With its thick teak planks, it floated steadily on the water, giving Yan Chixia a great sense of security.

Yan Chixia and Master Qingxu landed on the open deck. No sooner had they steadied themselves than the space before them shimmered, and the figures of the Fairy of the Nine Heavens and She Mei'er appeared.

"Respected Master Qingxu, Yan Chixia, greetings!" She Mei'er said with a brilliant smile. "It is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early—we arrived just as you activated the boat."

"Indeed," Master Qingxu smiled faintly. "Fairy of the Nine Heavens, She Mei'er, greetings to you both."

Yan Chixia followed suit, bowing respectfully to the Fairy of the Nine Heavens with his hands clasped before his chest. "Fairy, I offer you my humble respects."

The Fairy of the Nine Heavens was delighted. "Yan Chixia, there is no need for such formalities! Qingxu, we are all here now, but the sea has yet to recede... There are still six hours until the midnight of the full moon. What shall we do in the meantime?"