The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

Between the Eastern Region and the Northern Region lies the vast and boundless Sea of Stars.

Fang Luo and his two companions had twice led the Hidden Dragon Guards to this region to eliminate pirate factions.

Originally, the Sea of Stars was home to eighteen strongholds and thirty-six islands. Among them, the eighteen strongholds were all pirate factions surviving off plunder.

The first time Fang Luo and company came, they destroyed three strongholds. On the second visit, they wiped out nine more, while one managed to escape.

Now, of the original eighteen pirate strongholds, only five remain. Each of these five has a Great Saint-realm expert holding the fort, and their power is formidable.

After leaving the Northern Region, Fang Luo had a sudden idea.

"Since we're already here, why don't we go ahead and wipe out the remaining five strongholds too?"

Last time, they were only in the True Saint realm and lacked the strength. But now that they had reached the Great Saint realm, they could finally put an end to the unfinished task.

Fang Chen and Fang Qiuefeng's eyes lit up, and they agreed without hesitation.

"Good idea! It'll be the perfect punctuation mark for our anti-pirate campaign."

"Let's stop by the nearby Drunken Immortal Pavillion first and summon the Hidden Dragon Guards."

This would be a good training opportunity. The Hidden Dragon Guards had participated in both previous campaigns, and this time would be no exception.

Besides, the Hidden Dragon Guards could help handle the miscellaneous tasks and boost overall efficiency.

Fang Luo turned to Fang Ting.

"Sixth Uncle, will you join us for guidance, or are you heading home?"

It was just a few Great Saint-realm powers; Fang Ting really didn't need to get involved.

Fang Ting asked, "Your targets are the remaining five strongholds with Great Saint cultivators, correct?"

Fang Luo nodded.

Fang Ting's divine sense spread out like a vast invisible net, quickly sweeping across the surrounding area and gathering information.

"Those five strongholds have already gathered together and even invited a Saint King-level cultivator to guard them. It's likely they're waiting specifically for you."

"With me here, you just focus on your task. I'll take care of that Saint King."

The trio quickly nodded, secretly feeling relieved.

"These five strongholds are pretty cunning—predicting we'd come back, they secretly brought in a Saint King expert. If not for the clan leader being with us, this mission would've been risky."

As Children of Destiny, even if they couldn't match a Saint King, each of them had a trump card for escape.

But with the Hidden Dragon Guards accompanying them, things wouldn't be so easy.

Which is why they felt fortunate to have Fang Ting along.

Fang Ting faded into the void, while the trio got moving.

First, they reached a nearby large island and, through the Drunken Immortal Pavillion there, notified the Fang Family's Hidden Dragon Guards to come join them.

While waiting for the Hidden Dragon Guards, they also used the tavern's intelligence network to gather basic information on the remaining five strongholds.

Fang Chen said, "Each of the five strongholds has a Great Saint-realm cultivator, all around the Fourth Heaven of the Great Saint realm, and each possesses a sacred weapon."

He didn't even mention the True Saint realm—it was entirely irrelevant at this point.

"That puts their collective strength slightly above the royal houses of the Eight Ancient Nations," Fang Luo observed.

Currently, all three of them were in the Third Heaven of the Great Saint realm, and each could dominate at their level. They could defeat opponents one realm higher and hold their own even against two levels above. If they went all out, they had a strong chance of winning.

But with their increasing cultivation, the gap between each realm also widened significantly. Gone were the days of easily defeating opponents two or three levels above.

To kill across one realm in the Great Saint stage marked someone as a true Heaven's Chosen.

Fang Qiuefeng chuckled. "Those guys are crafty. They went so far as to use massive manpower and resources to physically merge their five islands into one. That way, we lose the chance to take them out one by one."

After Fang Luo and company destroyed nine strongholds on their last trip, the remaining five were thrown into panic.

They knew, even if Fang Luo's group didn't return immediately, at their rate of growth, they'd be back in a few years to finish the job.

So the strongholds came up with two survival strategies: one, they spent a fortune to hire a Saint King expert as their protector. Two, they physically fused their islands into one large landmass—five into one—so that any trouble in one could instantly be addressed by the rest.

With these strategies, if not for Fang Ting's presence, the trio would have surely failed.

Thinking of this, Fang Chen smiled. "Guess they're just unlucky the clan leader happened to be with us."

Before long, the Hidden Dragon Guards arrived.

The Fang Family's top elites in the Guard had all reached the True Saint realm. This force was now immensely powerful.

After regrouping, the trio left the island and finalized their plan.

Not that there was much of a plan—they couldn't pick off the strongholds individually anymore. With all five merged into one, strategy played little role. This time, it was a pure clash of power.

Fang Luo and the others, along with the Hidden Dragon Guards, approached the massive new island.

Each of the original islands had been large to begin with. Now, combined, it looked from afar like a miniature kingdom.

The newly formed island, in terms of area, spiritual energy, and resources, was now among the best in the entire Sea of Stars.

Of course, nothing comes without cost.

Although the combined strength had increased and made them safer, the five pirate groups had originally controlled separate territories. Each had fixed resources.

Now that they were merged, their ability to control those territories dropped significantly. Resources dwindled, and income declined.

If they had a choice, none of them would have agreed to this setup. It severely hampered their growth and future prospects.

But they had no choice—the pressure from Fang Luo's group was simply too great.

As before, Fang Luo and the others began setting up arrays with flags and formation disks.

Hidden in the void, Fang Ting silently arrived atop the merged island.

Although the island was surrounded by layers of great formations, they were utterly useless against an Emperor-realm cultivator like Fang Ting.

He could even appear undetected right before the Saint King that the strongholds had hired.

That man, an elderly figure with snow-white hair but sharp, bright eyes, possessed the power of the Third Heaven of the Saint King realm.

While he was in secluded cultivation, sensing a strange disturbance, he opened his eyes—only to see a handsome, white-clad man standing before him.

The elder paled in shock.

"Y-You! Who are you?!"

Anyone would panic if someone appeared beside them undetected during closed-door cultivation.

Fang Ting gave a calm smile. "You don't need to know that much."

"You—!"

Before the spirited old man could even finish his words, he collapsed—lifeless.