Ch. 261 - Life Is Full of Surprises

"Seventh Elder, don’t you find these attacks a little strange?" Xu Zimo asked.

"I can understand pirates attacking the island, but why would the Sky Whale Race join forces with them?"

"We’ve been wondering the same thing," Mo Feihai shook his head and replied.

"Why don’t you request reinforcements from your clan?" Xu Zimo asked curiously.

"It’s useless," Mo Feihai shook his head again. "The Sky Whale Race moves freely through the sea. Even if someone at the God Meridian Realm came, they might not be able to do much. And those pirates are even trickier. They have countless informants on the island. The moment a powerful cultivator arrives, they’ll just stop attacking. But we can't have clan members stationed here permanently either."

Watching the Empyrean Meridian Realm experts discuss countermeasures and how to deal with the next day’s battle, Xu Zimo wandered alone to the edge of the island.

The sea breeze was cool and refreshing.

Under the night sky, the beautiful ocean looked more like a dark whirlpool, ready to swallow everything.

The island’s rugged terrain still bore scars from the brutal fighting during the day.

After walking a full circle, Xu Zimo finally noticed something off.

On both sides of the island, a pink flower was planted.

As the night wind blew, its fragrance drifted through the air.

Xu Zimo squatted down to examine the flowers and discovered that they were actually Red Sleeve flowers, a long-lost species.

Red Sleeve flowers are spirit herbs with medicinal value. Because of their intense effects, they must be diluted before use.

These flowers don’t do much to humans, but they’re extremely sensitive to beasts.

Especially to species like the Sky Whale Race, who are naturally very sensitive.

These flowers can temporarily paralyze their nerves, making them lose awareness and go berserk, blindly attacking wherever the flowers are located.

That’s when Xu Zimo finally understood.

The Sky Whale Race wasn’t attacking the Mo Imperial Clan, they were attacking the Red Sleeve flowers.

But this flower species had already gone extinct.

Because of how dangerous it was to beasts, it was exterminated during the era when Grand Emperor Bao carried Heaven’s Will.

Now, in the Primordial Heartlands, it's almost impossible to find them.

Xu Zimo didn’t believe these flowers had grown here naturally, someone must’ve planted them deliberately.

"Do you know what kind of flower this is?" Xu Zimo asked a patrolling disciple.

"These were planted by the Second General. I’m not sure what they are," the disciple quickly replied.

"Second General?" Xu Zimo frowned. He naturally knew the five Empyrean Meridian Realm cultivators on the island.

Aside from Mo Feihai, the other four referred to themselves by the title of General.

…

Xu Zimo took the Red Sleeve flower and immediately went to see Mo Feihai.

He explained the situation.

"How could this be?" Mo Feihai said, clearly shocked. "Cheng Qi doesn’t seem like that kind of person."

"Is he from the Mo Imperial Clan too?" Xu Zimo asked.

"No," Mo Feihai shook his head. "I was once ambushed by pirates at sea and nearly died.

Cheng Qi appeared out of nowhere and saved me.

He’s a rogue cultivator. I asked him to stay here on the island."

"Did it ever occur to you that the ambush and the rescue might’ve been part of the same act?" Xu Zimo asked.

Mo Feihai's expression changed instantly.

…

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the pirates launched another attack.

But something was different, right as the assault began, they noticed something was wrong.

The Sky Whale Race didn’t show up.

Panicking, they began to retreat, and without the beasts to shield them, the Mo Imperial Clan’s fleet of hundreds quickly surrounded them.

During the pursuit, Mo Feihai invited Xu Zimo onto his ship to better protect him.

The pirates fought desperately to break through and escape southward.

Mo Feihai wasn’t about to let such an opportunity slip away.

He ordered the rest to stay and recover while he, the other four Empyrean Meridian cultivators, and Xu Zimo boarded a warship and gave chase.

The Endless Sky Sea roared with waves as high as mountains. Currents rushed violently on both sides.

The sea howled, men shouted, wind screamed, and clouds gathered above.

After a long pursuit, when the pirate ship finally appeared to stop in the distance, the chase ended.

The pirate leader was a burly man with a scar across his face, wielding a massive chained broadsword.

He stomped onto the deck and shouted, "Mo Canghai, how did you figure out the secret of the Red Sleeve flowers?"

Mo Canghai smiled and turned to look at Cheng Qi, saying, "Maybe you should ask our dear General Cheng Qi."

"Ask me what?" Cheng Qi’s face twisted in panic.

"Weren’t you the one who planted the Red Sleeve flowers?" Mo Feihai laughed. "If not for young brother Xu, we would’ve kept falling for your lies."

"It was just a coincidence," Xu Zimo chuckled.

Realizing he had been exposed, Cheng Qi stopped pretending.

He drew his sword and snarled, "So you’re the one who ruined my plan!"

His Empyrean Meridian aura flared, and he charged straight at Xu Zimo.

Xu Zimo snorted coldly and sidestepped the attack.

Clang!

A sword pierced from behind, catching Xu Zimo off guard, stabbing into his back.

The blade passed through his burning chest, and blood dripped down.

Xu Zimo turned around and saw Mo Canghai holding the sword, smiling coldly.

Around them, the pirates burst into laughter.

"Why?" Xu Zimo asked, struggling to speak.

"You shouldn’t have stuck your nose where it didn’t belong," Mo Canghai said calmly.

He yanked the sword out and narrowed his eyes.

"If you had just waited for the teleportation array to be completed, nothing would’ve happened to you. But you just had to expose the Red Sleeve flowers, which put me in a tough spot."

"I don’t get it," Xu Zimo said, shaking his head. "You’re a Mo Imperial Clan member. Why side with the pirates?"

"A Mo Imperial Clan member?" Mo Canghai laughed maniacally. "You think someone who only has a meaningless title like ‘Seventh Elder,’ someone exiled to this godforsaken place, surrounded by nothing but endless ocean, you think I’m still part of the Mo Imperial Clan?"

"You know, every time these pirates attacked, they stole a huge amount of resources from the island. And the clan, desperate to keep the teleportation array functional, had no choice but to keep supplying me. Everything was going perfectly. No one wants to come to this hellhole, and now that I’m here, I finally got the resources I wanted. Why did you have to ruin that balance?"

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