"This fog… It's more like a wall." Standing on the deck, Yun Lintian reached his hand out to touch a thick wall of fog in front of him. It was hard and sturdy, just like a solid wall.
"Many experts tried to break it several times in the past, but none of them could succeed. Up until now, no one could understand it." On the side, Nantian Lingyan said softly. Although she had never come to Heaven Vault Island before, she had studied about it a lot and even had a map in her possession.
"Aside from the realm restriction, is there any other?" Yun Lintian retracted his hand and asked.
"Not really." Nantian Lingyan responded.
"What do you mean?" Yun Lintian was puzzled.
"After stepping onto the island, our profound strength would be limited by the restriction. Which means, no matter how strong you are, you cannot release your power beyond the limit." Nantian Lingyan paused and continued. "However, there would be some people who could exert their strength normally. This is something we cannot figure out even now."
"An arbitrary restriction? This sounds like some sort of formation." Yun Lintian frowned slightly, searching for relevant information in his head. There was indeed this kind of formation, but it was extremely ancient. It was something that shouldn't exist in this world… Could it be…?
"Bingo!" Hongyue's voice suddenly rang out in Yun Lintian's mind. "The whole island isn't something that belongs to this world. More precisely, it is an artifact of someone in the Divine World."
"An artifact? A whole island? What kind of treasure is that?" Yun Lintian was surprised.
"When you step into the Divine World, you will understand that this kind of artifact is nothing. There's even more powerful artifact, like a city or even a whole mountain." Hongyue curled her lips. "Don't forget that you also have the supreme one with you."
"So, this so-called Heaven Vault Island is an artifact similar to the Land of Beyond Heaven?" Yun Lintian seemed to understand everything.
"You can understand like that. However, you shouldn't compare such a garbage thing with the Land of Beyond Heaven next time. It's blasphemy, you know?" Hongyue said in dissatisfaction.
Yun Lintian was speechless for a moment. He didn't intend to compare it to the Land of Beyond Heaven, but he simply wanted to say that it had similar functions.
"Since it's an artifact, there must be a way to control it, right?" Yun Lintian asked.
"Of course. You can figure it out by yourself." Hongyue said casually. "Anyway, you must seize this island. It will be useful for you in the near future."
p Yun Lintian's brows creased together. He already had the Land of Beyond Heaven. Why would he want such a thing? However, adding one more good artifact didn't seem to be a bad idea.
Nantian Lingyan saw Yun Lintian go silent. She thought that he was pondering over the matter. She didn't disturb him and began to observe the surrounding ships.
"Fairy Nantian, that ship…." At this moment, a handsome young man with sharp eyebrows came to Nantian Lingyan's side and looked at a giant red ship in the distance. He wore a plain white robe with a long sword behind his back. His name was Wen Yunshan, Wen Zishan's younger brother.
Nantian Lingyan had obviously noticed it too. She looked at a huge white flag with a red skull crossed with a pair of swords emblem on it with a serious expression. "Red Skull Pirate Group?"
"There's nothing to be surprised about this. Pirates are chasing after wealth. I would be surprised if they didn't come instead." A young woman in a green floral robe said calmly. She was the leader of the Plum Mountain Sect's disciples, Tong Mi'er.
"It seems the island would become a battlefield soon." On the side, a young woman clad in a blue robe said with a playful smile. She was the Driftsnow Pavilion disciples' leader, Xue Qianqian.
In the distance, a bulky young man looked at the ship calmly, as though everything in front of him didn't matter to him. He was Situ Chaofeng, the Great Earth Sect's group leader.
"Red Skull Pirate Group?" Yun Lintian returned to his sense and followed Nantian Lingyan's gaze.
"Senior Brother Yun came to the Southern Continent for the first time. It's normal you don't know this." Xue Qianqian spoke first. Her eyes were full of splendor as she looked at Yun Lintian. "They are notorious for killing and pillaging in the Southern Endless Sea area. The rumor said they have several Monarchs behind them. In short, they can be considered a major force similar to our four great sects."
Nantian Lingyan added. "Our Divine Phoenix Palace has been trying to eradicate them for decades, but we couldn't find their base even now."
"So powerful?" Yun Lintian was surprised to hear this. He had experienced how terrifying the Divine Phoenix Palace's intelligence network was. Yet, they couldn't find their bases? It seemed there was something special behind this Red Skull group.
Wen Yunshan cupped his fists and said to Yun Lintian politely. "Please forgive me for introducing myself this late. My name is Wen Yunshan. I hope there would be a chance to ask Brother Yun for guidance."
Yun Lintian responded politely. "There will be a chance."
Wen Yunshan smiled faintly as he turned to look at the Red Skull Pirate ship. "This group of people is not a human. When they found a target, they would kill all men and enslaved women. Even a child is no exception. I have fought with them from time to time in the past." He then sighed regretfully. "Unfortunately, I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't change the fates of those pitiful victims."
Yun Lintian's eyes narrowed slightly. Even though he understood that these things happened everywhere in the world, since he had met one here, he wouldn't mind taking care of these beasts.
"I know we have a mission, but I will certainly kill all of them once we land." A cold glint flashed through Wen Yunshan's eyes as he spoke.
Yun Lintian nodded slightly. "I support your idea, but there's no need to chase them. They will eventually appear in front of us at some points. We should focus on our mission first."
Wen Yunshan took a deep look at Yun Lintian and said. "You're right, Brother Yun."