Chapter 31: White Jade Island

With their own distinct thoughts, the two men walked away in different directions.

White Jade Island was nearly a hundred nautical miles away from Yellow Jade Island. Given their cultivation levels, they naturally could not rely on their own magical powers to make the journey. Instead, the two went directly to a pier, intending to take a spiritual boat to White Jade Island.

Inside a bustling pier, everyone showed expressions of wariness upon seeing Li Qing and his companion appear. At a glance, they could recognize the outer disciple robes of the Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect they were wearing. While some might be unaware of other details regarding life in the Thousand Domains Archipelago, all cultivators were well aware of the Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect. After all, the Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect was the ruler of this realm.

When Jiao Yujian arrived at the pier and saw a spiritual boat bound for White Jade Island, he immediately boarded. Li Qing followed silently behind him. Upon seeing their attire, the passengers inside the cabin instinctively moved to the rear.

Near the Thousand Domains Islands, Li Qing's status as an outer disciple was nothing special; the area was teeming with disciples of the Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect, so there was no special treatment. However, things were different here. Everyone knew the terrifying strength of the Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect and naturally did not dare to offend them.

"Why has it not set sail yet?" Jiao Yujian demanded, suddenly exuding an overbearing and arrogant aura.

A young attendant was about to explain the reason when a manager nearby pulled him back. They were merely servants working here, meant only to follow orders.

"Fellow Daoist, we will arrange for the spiritual boat to depart immediately!"

Following a sound from within the cabin, the spiritual boat, which was half-empty, began to set sail. Li Qing found a seat and closed his eyes to rest. As a beneficiary of this preferential treatment, he naturally had nothing to say.

Once the spiritual boat started, it began weaving through the sea. After traveling a certain distance, Li Qing noticed that the strip of islands surrounding Yellow Jade Island was densely packed with landmasses; some were mere reefs, only a few yards in size. He asked a passing attendant and learned that the locals referred to this area as the "Shattered Star Belt." Amidst these dense islands, the spiritual boat Li Qing was on maneuvered flexibly through the waters.

Amidst the surrounding noise, the spiritual boat reached Li Qing's destination—White Jade Island.

At first glance, the entire island appeared whitish. Some exposed rocks had already begun to undergo jade-ification, presenting a warm luster under the sunlight. There were no outside cultivators on White Jade Island; the entire island had turned to jade, inhabited only by mortals responsible for mining spiritual ores.

The island possessed a first-grade spiritual vein, which was cultivated by cultivators from within the sect. The only permanent outpost consisted of four outer disciples at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, serving two-year rotations. Compared to other spiritual mine assignments, the environment of White Jade Island was quite excellent. Furthermore, it was adjacent to Yellow Jade Island, where the sect stationed Foundation Establishment cultivators. Consequently, safety was relatively guaranteed.

Upon landing on White Jade Island, they saw two mortals standing guard.

"May I ask why the two Immortal Masters have come?" a man wearing leather armor with a waist saber asked respectfully as he stepped forward.

"Go notify the disciples inside," Jiao Yujian said coldly, standing at the front. "Outer disciples of the Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect, Jiao Yujian and Li Qing, have been ordered to collect the spiritual ore records..."

After speaking, Jiao Yujian stood indifferently in place. This was the rule here: before entering the inner mining area, identity had to be confirmed by the stationed cultivators to prevent being treated as an enemy.

Not long after Li Qing and Jiao Yujian had stood there, several streaks of light approached from the distance. Among the four people, the leader was a disciple at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement. This outer disciple appeared aged, looking to be around sixty or seventy years old.

The elderly cultivator stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Li Qing and Jiao Yujian, while the three behind him hurriedly followed suit.

"I am Meng Kan, an outer disciple of the Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect," the aged cultivator introduced himself.

The three following him consisted of a stout man named Su Suo, a tall and thin cultivator named Sang Haise, and a timid-looking cultivator named Qin Geng.

"Senior Brother, according to sect regulations, entry to White Jade Island requires a sect mission token," Meng Kan said respectfully to Jiao Yujian.

Li Qing and Jiao Yujian then produced their internal sect tokens. Meng Kan muttered an incantation and struck the tokens with a burst of magical power.

*Buzz! Hum!*

A green light immediately emanated from the tokens they had produced.

"Senior Brother, please keep them safe," Meng Kan said, stepping forward to respectfully hand the tokens back to Jiao Yujian.

Seeing Meng Kan address Jiao Yujian as "Senior Brother" so deferentially, Li Qing felt a sense of strangeness. In the mortal world, Meng Kan's age would likely make him old enough to be Jiao Yujian's father. Yet here, the elder still had to respectfully call Jiao Yujian "Senior Brother."

The Great Dao is the path, and those who reach it are the masters. The rules of the cultivation world were the simplest and most direct: strength was supreme.

"Make arrangements. We will first verify the ledgers in the spiritual mine," Jiao Yujian said expressionlessly.

A cultivator like Meng Kan had already reached his limit at Qi Refinement, with no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment. Once a Qi Refinement cultivator passes sixty years of age, their blood and vitality begin to decline, and their physical body starts to deteriorate. Coupled with the fact that Meng Kan had long since lost hope for the immortal path and his Dao heart had withered, he appeared exceptionally aged.

"Have the two Senior Brothers also just arrived at White Jade Island? We have already prepared some meals for you. Why not rest first?" the stout Su Suo said with a fawning expression.

"Fine. We will check the records tomorrow. We shall rest for today," Jiao Yujian replied. After speaking, he ignored Li Qing and walked straight ahead.

Meng Kan and Su Suo followed closely behind, while Sang Haise took a step ahead, seemingly to make preparations. The remaining young cultivator, Qin Geng, slowly walked to Li Qing's side.

"Senior Brother," Qin Geng said respectfully.

"No need for such formalities. We are both mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators and of the same generation. We can simply address each other as fellow Daoists," Li Qing said calmly.

Qin Geng did not look old; he seemed to be around Li Qing's age, though his strength was slightly lower, at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement. Under Qin Geng's guidance, Li Qing walked toward the interior of the island.

Ahead, Meng Kan and Su Suo were whispering to Jiao Yujian. Despite Jiao Yujian's expressionless demeanor, the two continued to greet him with smiles. Although Jiao Yujian was only at the late stage of Qi Refinement, everyone else was also an outer disciple; for some reason, they felt the need to be so respectful in his presence.

Thinking of this, a flicker of confusion crossed Li Qing's face.