Chaotic World Book

For a moment, utter silence pervaded, and the minds of all onlookers went blank; San Niang even forgot that they were on the battlefield and subconsciously scratched her head in a daze.

After all this, the one they thought was loyal, Hai Qianfan, was a traitor, and Hai Changkong, the enemy who once hunted them down, was actually one of their own?

How had Zhao Changhe figured it out? How were they able to execute such precise coordination?

The Water Being was stunned for a while before finally erupting in fury, "Hai Changkong, what are you doing!"

Hai Changkong glanced at it, "As a commander, I've had to cloak my actions in secrecy, pretend to kill those I didn't want to, fake cooperation with discovered traitors, and secretly tip off the rebels while being guarded against by my own loyalists and warriors who saw me as the enemy. Do you have any idea how I've felt all these years?"

The general who had tried to send a secret message during a restroom break and been stopped stood dumbfounded in the distance, his brain slowly rebooting from a crash.

Many in the army were believers of the Sea God, and there could even be members of the Sea Race among them. Until the Dragon King officially turned against the Sea God, Hai Changkong, of course, couldn't reveal his true allegiance, lest he ruin the Dragon King's grand plans.

The Water Being angrily said, "And you dare now?"

"If after listening for so long you still haven't figured out that His Majesty has already decided to turn against the Sea God, then your intelligence is far weaker than I had imagined…" Hai Changkong smiled, "Of course, I didn't dare to reveal myself directly in front of you, as I'm no match for you. I was planning to wait until this battle was over and then report back. But now with San Niang and this young master Zhao being so powerful, and it's you who are going to die, why wouldn't I dare?"

San Niang gave him a look, seemed about to speak, but in the end said nothing, and suddenly made her move against the Water Being.

Everything that needed to be said had been said; there was no need to say more in front of the Water Being.

The next moment, Zhao Changhe's sword and Hai Changkong's blade attacked the Water Being simultaneously with furious assaults.

Facing the combined attack from these three, how could the already injured Water Being withstand it? In an instant, energy surged, water splashed, and the Water Being was beaten to nothingness, leaving only a blue crystal stone suspended in the void.

San Niang took the Crystal Stone, still not speaking, mainly because her mind was too muddled to know what to say. At this time, Zhao Changhe didn't know what to say either, so he casually uttered a phrase to lighten the mood, "It seems the Sea Emperor didn't make a move this time? I thought it wouldn't be this easy."

San Niang said, "Since the last move didn't outright crush us, He wouldn't waste His energy recklessly."

Zhao Changhe nodded, then said, "This Water Being, said to have Third Layer Secret Treasure strength, I feel that it likely couldn't beat a true Heavenly List powerhouse, right? We've already got three crystal stones…"

San Niang replied, "A construct is still a construct after all, and there are many flaws, like it will never have the cunning and shrewd battle mindset you have for fishing and storing strength."

Giving you a chance to lighten the mood and you start insulting me… Zhao Changhe was amused yet vexed, about to say something when Hai Changkong interrupted their offbeat banter, directly asking, "Princess, do you still hate me?"

San Niang gave him another look. She had told Zhao Changhe before that she harbored no hatred towards this man, but that didn't mean there wasn't a knot in her heart; she didn't know how to respond.

Since he had brought it up, she spoke indifferently, "Matters of the past, you were simply following orders, there's nothing much to say about it. But Hai Qianfan said that killing me could solve many problems, the same applies to you, it's true. Killing me, you would have a great chance to claim the Penglai inheritance rights, how can I be sure you no longer have this intention?"

Hai Changkong laughed ruefully, "You have no interest in this, and you are not my obstacle at all, why would I bother with such trouble? Perhaps one day when His Majesty gets older, he might suddenly remember the affection of father and daughter, and then the killer would become an eyesore everywhere. To whom would I plead my case?"

This time even Zhao Changhe looked at him in amazement.

Logically that made sense, but it was rare to find someone so clear-sighted; this Commander Hai was indeed talented.

Hai Changkong said casually, "It's fine if the Princess dislikes me, as long as personal grudges don't affect the serious matters at hand. Let's leave it at that for now, I'll clean up the aftermath here on the battlefield, and afterwards, I'll take you two to Penglai."

Having said that, he walked away with large strides towards the warship.

The battle at sea was also nearing its end.

Someone had witnessed the scene where the Pirate Group leader was beheaded; the pirates were so stunned they didn't know what to do next, and the various national fleets that were about to be annihilated finally found the opportunity to scatter and break through, quickly disappearing from view. Hai Changkong did not pursue, as he needed Lai Qi to go back and spread the word about the sacrificial act here, with the routed soldiers of the countries serving as corroborating evidence.

To fundamentally shake the faith in the Sea God was the biggest blow to the Sea Emperor; years of accumulated power were on the verge of total collapse.

To strike a snake, you must hit its seven inches, and Hai Pinglan, enduring in silence for many years, finally bared his fangs to the ancient God Demon.

If San Niang had not come, perhaps nothing would have changed, and Hai Pinglan's plan would have proceeded smoothly; it's possible that Hai Qianfan would have remained a loyal official. San Niang's arrival, on the other hand, triggered Hai Qianfan's betrayal, but in the end, there was no danger and the outcome was unchanged.

If there was any difference, it was that Guigui had been sent into the arms of a little pig.

Zhao Changhe tugged on San Niang's sleeve, "Shall we go to Penglai?"

San Niang sneered, "You made an appointment with Chichi, right?"

"Uh…"

San Niang was quite frustrated, "Chichi should by all means be out exploring the whereabouts of that island, it's unlikely she's been in Penglai the whole time. I feel like your going there would be in vain. I originally came here to find the Pirate Group first, as they were supposed to help me locate this place... but then one thing after another cropped up, I almost forgot what I was here to do..."

Zhao Changhe uttered a sound of agreement.

Of all San Niang's identities, the one she truly devoted herself to and identified with the most was the Xuanwu of the Four Symbols Sect.

The special location that Xia Chichi ventured overseas to seek Xia Longyuan's guidance for breaking through the Third Layer Secret Treasure looked like a personal advancement, but for a Holy Daughter to gaze into the Third Layer Secret Treasure at such a young age was a major matter for the Sect, making her ascension as Sect Hierarch almost a sure thing. Vermilion Bird valued it greatly, and Xuanwu personally went to assist, all because of this reason. By comparison, the Wang Family's rebellion, which was touted as the center of turmoil at the time, was nothing to the Four Symbols Sect.

Heaven knows that San Niang getting involved was an unexpected twist, who inadvertently became the Main Character. It was unforeseen, and her mind was still buzzing even now.

San Niang added, "Right now, I don't want to dwell on past grievances with Sea Changkong, and that's for this reason too. To find this place, I can't do it without their faction's assistance. I don't really want to talk to him, so when the time comes, you ask more questions, this matter is very important for us."

Zhao Changhe patted her head, "Okay."

"Don't touch my head!"

"Then how about somewhere else?" Zhao Changhe grabbed her hand in one swift motion, "We have our own ship."

"That's the Tang family's ship, right? Who said it was 'ours'!"

The two walked hand in hand across the waves, their bickering fading into the distance until it was no longer heard.

Hai Pinglan, who was conversing with Xia Chichi, suddenly turned to look out the window as if an invisible current of Qi was swirling in the sky before dissipating out of sight.

He stared for a long while before suddenly smiling, "Times change. Ever since He blindly set foot on land, dispersing a great deal of energy and even provoking your father... I knew this day would eventually come."

Xia Chichi blinked.

Hai Pinglan stood up, "Let's go, young lady."

Upon standing, Xia Chichi realized that he was quite tall and could well imagine what a gallant figure he must have cut across Jianghuai back in the day. However, perhaps due to the serious injury he sustained long ago coupled with the constant strife with the Sea Emperor thereafter, his body was in very poor condition, looking quite old indeed. Though he wasn't much older than Xia Longyuan, appearing to be just over sixty, he seemed to have aged an entire generation—looking as if he were in his eighties or nineties...

Xia Chichi silently sighed in her heart but feigned ignorance, "Where to?"

"You had someone search for the whereabouts of a sea area, you didn't think you could hide it from me, did you?"

"I wasn't trying to hide it from Uncle, but I didn't ask Uncle for help either..."

The term "Uncle" made Hai Pinglan pause for a moment, then burst out laughing, "I am certainly not sworn brothers with Xia Longyuan. You don't have to use that title to placate me; I have no intention of harming you, so why the panic?"

Xia Chichi grimaced.

Her visit here wasn't to act as an envoy to Penglai; she was looking for a place.

In the first few days, Xia Chichi didn't want to make direct contact with Penglai's officials. After the last voyage, one of her top generals, Jiaomu Jiao—who was actually the Human List Elder, Jianghuai, that Zhao Changhe had met a few times—had set up a base here. She had Jiaomu Jiao inquire about any seas that matched the images Xia Longyuan had shown her.

Unfortunately, this clearly wasn't something the newly arrived Jiaomu Jiao could handle. Upon hearing her request, he was nearly driven to tears. After reluctantly searching for a while, he bluntly told Xia Chichi it was impossible to find.

After much hesitation, Xia Chichi eventually went to meet with Hai Pinglan. After all, as allies, it was better to visit openly than to sneak around in the shadows.

However, before the meeting, Xia Chichi would never have imagined that the core topic of conversation would end up being about the Xuanwu Venerable. Moreover, the other party had already identified her as Xia Longyuan's daughter, making their relationship very strange. The topics of conversation were so profound that they were not what one would expect from a first encounter with an envoy.

Moreover, she hadn't mentioned the matter of "asking an ally for help in finding a place," but the other party took the initiative to bring it up.

She thought that the sea was isolated, but it turned out that it was she who was out of the loop; others knew far too much, while she was only just beginning to form an outline of their affairs.

"If I'm not mistaken, there are only a few places you could be looking for..." Hai Pinglan smiled, "At the legendary end of the sea and sky, where the sun rises, would you like to go and see?"

Xia Chichi blurted out, "Yes!"

Hai Pinglan said with a smile, "Then come along. The voyage will take a long time."

Xia Chichi was taken aback, "You mean... you're going too?"

"Of course, I'm going. Xia Longyuan uses you to lure the Sea Emperor, and am I not driving him to swallow the wolf? If I don't go now, when else should I wait!" Hai Pinglan strode towards the door, and from his back alone, he seemed to embody his prime years.