Lucian’s cold eyes narrowed as he approached the trembling figure slumped against the tree.
His presence felt like a suffocating force, pressing down on the man’s chest, each breath a struggle.
Blood still oozed from his wounds, though the healing pill had managed to staunch the worst of it.
"Didn’t you say this is just a small island?" His voice carried an unsettling calm, like the eye of a storm, but beneath it was an undeniable undercurrent of menace.
The man’s breath hitched, his mind racing, trying to find the right words under the suffocating pressure of Lucian’s presence.
His heart hammered in his chest as he struggled to answer quickly, fearing what would happen if he hesitated for too long.
"Y-yes... this isn’t the mainland. It’s one of the many islands that broke off after the ancient war... when a great cultivator clashed with a Demon King."
His voice trembled, each word coming out rushed, "the battle was so catastrophic that this side of the continent itself fractured into thousands of pieces, scattering across the sea. This place... this cursed land, was one of those fragments."
Lucian’s gaze darkened, processing the information, "a piece of a shattered continent..."
"Such secrets, the knowledge of these islands and their true nature, surely the Emperors must know of them, correct?" his voice, though calm, held an undercurrent of suspicion, as if he expected the answer to unravel a deeper conspiracy.
The man swallowed hard, fear flickering in his eyes, "yes, they do... But they keep it hidden, not wanting the mortal world to descend into chaos."
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The man continued, his voice shaking, "It doesn’t have any Spiritual Energy. These lands... seemed to have been forsaken by the Heavens. After that battle, the energy never returned, and now... well, the stronger sects don’t care about these cursed lands anymore."
A faint sneer curled Lucian’s lips, "so, these sects just let this place rot?"
"No, not quite. The sects like my Crimson Sky sect control these mortal Empires, but they don’t bother too much with these islands. They only send lower-ranked disciples here to broaden their experiences. No one of real power would waste time on a place like this," the man stammered, feeling the weight of Lucian’s scrutiny pressing down on him.
Lucian stepped closer, his crimson eyes gleaming with a mixture of curiosity, "and yet... they send people here. Why? How do you arrive at these islands?"
Lucian couldn’t help but remember the memories he absorbed when he took over this body. Before his reincarnation, ’he’ had visited the ocean but had never laid eyes on any continent or its fragmented pieces, only the vast, endless blue stretching before ’him’.
The man swallowed hard, sensing the urgency of his answer.
"I don’t know the real reason," the man stammered, his voice wavering with uncertainty.
"But... once, I accidentally overheard two elders discussing something about Qi and Fate Movement. He mentioned that if the mortals on these islands discovered that they were living like livestock, it could disrupt the Qi movement and throw everything into chaos. That’s why they send us here — to keep the Empires in check and maintain control over the populace."
Lucian held the stone up to the dim moonlight, its faint glow reflecting in his blood-red eyes. He could feel the power contained within, dormant yet potent, waiting to be tapped. "So... a tool for the chosen few."
"Yes," the man whispered, hope creeping into his voice, "If you let me live, I can help you. I know the way to the array formation. I can take you there, help you leave this forsaken place."
Lucian’s smile faded, his expression turning unreadable.
He walked closer, his figure looming over the injured man, "you think I can’t see through your facade?"
The man’s heart raced, sweat ran down his back, his mind scrambling for a way to survive.
"I... I know more things! I can... I can tell you how to avoid the sects’ detection, how to escape without raising suspicion! Jason will be leaving soon, and nobody will question you if I’m there!"
Lucian’s gaze darkened, his patience thinnin, "so, Jason will be leaving soon?"
"Yes!" the man hurriedly answered, "He’s scheduled to return to the mainland in a month. The sect rotates its disciples stationed here, sending replacements every month. If you... if you let me live, I can take you to the array formation, and... and help you leave before another senior brother arrives."
Lucian’s mind worked quickly, absorbing every piece of information.
His eyes flickered to the horizon. Escaping this island through the array formation was an enticing thought, but he needed more — he needed leverage, power.
The man, sensing Lucian’s hesitation, quickly retrieved something from his pouch, "here... these stones... take them too... they’ll help you reach the peak of Body Strengthening faster. Even without proper cultivation techniques, just holding them will allow the energy to flow into your body."
Lucian extended his hand, and the man, trembling, placed the remaining Spiritual Stones into his palm.
The energy was faint but unmistakable, a soft hum of power waiting to be unleashed.
The man watched Lucian carefully, his heart pounding in his chest, "I swear, if you let me live, I’ll—"
Lucian’s hand suddenly shot forward, moving faster than the eye could follow!
The man’s breath caught in his throat as Lucian’s palm slammed against his forehead, the force snapping his head back.
There was no time for the man to react, no chance for him to draw the knife he had secretly clutched beneath his robes.
Lucian stood still, his eyes cold and detached, as the man’s body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
For a moment, the forest was silent, the only sound the soft rustling of leaves in the wind.
Lucian looked down at the stones in his hand, his mind racing — not with fear, but with a long lost anticipation.