The silver-clothed girl nodded slightly and spoke to Yuan Ming and the others, "Come stand by my side."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming and the others hesitated briefly but still gathered beside her.

Immediately after, they saw the girl bring her hands together in front of her chest. A ring of silver light soon illuminated from her palms and rapidly expanded into a silver sphere about a zhang in diameter, enveloping them all.

In the next instant, a powerful force of space twisted the environment around them. Everyone felt as if they were being pulled in from all directions by an invisible force. Before they could react, they disappeared from their original location under a fierce flash of silver and white light.

Subsequently, within a strangely shaped pyramid building, a burst of silver light expanded, revealing the figures of Yuan Ming and the others.

Upon surveying his surroundings, Yuan Ming recognized the place as the True Sea Hall from the secret realm trial he had once experienced.

In the center of this grand hall, there was also a transmission array almost identical to the one in the Void Temple of Fusang Island.

"This ancient transmission array will take us to an island on the edge of the First Sea Zone. From there, we can enter the seas plagued by the Whale Calamity," declared Hou Yi's Sun Shooting Bow.

The group spoke no further and silently stepped onto the ancient transmission array.

The silver-clothed girl stood in the center of the array, raised her hands high, and murmured incantations as a burst of silver light emanated from her body, forming arcs of silver lightning that struck various parts of the array core.

The long-dormant array started to activate, emitting waves of light and a heavy "rumbling" sound as it slowly began to operate.

The dazzling light swallowed them all, elongating their silhouettes into streaks of afterimages before they vanished.

Thus, Yuan Ming and Xi Ying silently departed from Yunhuang Continent without causing any disturbance.

In the hundred years that followed, under the leadership of the Double Moon Alliance, the Yunhuang Continent's Cultivation World saw no major conflicts. The mortal nations were relatively peaceful, the populace lived and worked in contentment, and the population continued to grow.

In the Cultivation World, thanks to the coordination of the Double Moon Alliance, the resource management across the entire Yunhuang Continent was smooth. The abundance of resources led to a surge in low-level cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm and Foundation Establishment Stage. There were even constant appearances of Core Formation Stage and Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, resulting in a thriving and prosperous scene everywhere.

Both the mortal realm and the Cultivation World unanimously decided to call this period the Double Moon Prosperity. The names of the Nether Moon God and the Xi Yue God were as glorious as the midday sun, celebrated by countless cultivators.

These, naturally, are stories for another time.

...

In Chuyun Realm, over a cluster of coral islands in the Dongji Sea.

The seawater was a brilliant blue, and the sky was clear. A series of brightly colored coral islands stretched out in continuous links, forming a vast circular string of islands spanning a hundred acres.

In the center of this crescent-shaped string of islands, near the watery edge of one of the islands, lay a large sea shark around thirty meters long.

It had grey-blue skin, a white underbelly, and a gaping mouth filled with interlocking teeth sharp as saw blades. Two long, sharp teeth jutted out about ten meters long, giving it a ferocious appearance.

However, its eyes were gray and lifeless, and a large bloody hole was visible on its forehead—it was dead beyond doubt.

"Master Sikong, is it dead? Is it dead?" At that moment, a black-haired girl in a light blue short skirt hopped briskly from a distant coral island.

Her skin was pale white, her cheeks plump with youthful naivety, making her look very sweet and adorable.

"Hey hey, Xinyao junior sister, slow down, be careful," called a tall young man dressed in a blue robe, full of concern as he followed her.

His skin was dark, and his eyebrows were slightly thick, giving him a very honest and steady appearance.

"Second Brother Lin, hurry up," the girl called back, but not to the thick-browed young man.

Behind him was another young man in a white robe, handsome with striking features, who cheerfully responded and quickly passed by, catching up to the fleeting figure.

The thick-browed young man's gaze slightly narrowed, and he quickly followed.

The few of them had just arrived when they saw a tall middle-aged man leaning on a black blade long sword almost as tall as himself, his expression intensely solemn.

Seeing his demeanor, the three young people immediately stifled their laughter, following the middle-aged man's gaze to the Sword-toothed Shark Beast.

Upon looking, the three of them gasped in unison, uttering a surprised "Huh."

They saw that from the opened belly of the Sword-toothed Shark Beast, a mass of intestines and a blurred mess of organs spilled out, and shockingly, a young man in a blue robe lay amongst them.

He was filthy all over, and his chest was still heaving—he was unmistakably Yuan Ming.

"Uncle Master Situ, how... how could there be a person?" the thick-browed young man asked first.

"Who knows, I felt something strange about this Sword-toothed Shark earlier. It seemed to be suffering from some internal affliction, not showing its usual ferocity. Now we see there was indeed a problem," said the sword-leaning middle-aged man, furrowing his brows.

His words had barely fallen when suddenly a cough echoed.

Yuan Ming on the ground, as though choked, started to cough violently and came to his senses.

Seeing him suddenly awaken, the four people nearby were startled and stepped back a bit, all assuming defensive stances.

The moment Yuan Ming awoke, he noticed their presence and quickly sat up, leaning against the corpse of the Sword-toothed Shark, wiped his face, and looked at them with a weary expression.

"Who are you?" he asked.

As he spoke, the fluctuations of his divine thought surged with his voice, subtly influencing the moods of these individuals.

Among these people, the middle-aged man had the highest cultivation, being a Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivator, while the remaining three were Core Formation Cultivators.

"My name is Ye Xinyao, this is my master Sikong Zhan, and the other two are my senior brothers, Sikong Zhuo and Sikong Lin." The girl didn't know why, but she honestly revealed their names.

"And who might you be?" Nascent Soul Cultivator Sikong Zhan was the first to stabilize his mind and asked with a frown.

"I am a cultivator from overseas. I was attacked by a demon beast while crossing the sea and ended up stranded here. May I know where this place is?" Yuan Ming casually fabricated a story and continued to inquire.

Compared to the people here, the Yunhuang Continent would also be considered the Overseas World.

"This is the Dongji Sea, Crescent Bay," Sikong Zhan replied without probing further, hesitating slightly.

Yuan Ming furrowed his brows and pondered for a moment, realizing that even though he now knew the name of the place, he still had no idea where he was exactly, which caused him to smile wryly to himself.

He checked his own condition and found that his injuries were not serious, which allowed him to relax slightly.

Seeing that these people were quite wary of him, each showing signs of fear in their eyes, he decided not to ask any more questions. Alwаys rеаd frоm thе sоurсе:

"Thank you," he said, clasping his hands together, then prepared to stand up and leave.

The others, seeing this, cautiously stepped back a bit.

Yuan Ming smiled, showing he meant no harm, then took a step forward and plunged into the sea, washing off the dirt from his body while swiftly swimming away towards the distance.

Sikong Zhan and the others, seeing that he had no intention of seizing their prey, all let out a sigh of relief.

As they watched him swim away, Sikong Zhan spoke up:

"Zhuo'er, Xiao Lin, move quickly, hurry and dismember this Sword-toothed Shark Beast. Extract the Demon Core and the Beast Eye, and also remove the spinal bones. Just save the part of the meat where the fat is thickest. With so much blood spilled, other demon beasts will be attracted soon."

"It's fine, I will scatter some Beast Repelling Powder," Ye Xinyao said with a smile.

Then, she expertly formed a Dharma Seal with both hands, and immediately a green light burst forth behind her, from which four leaf-like green wings sprouted, flapping quickly as she flew towards the sea above.

A green cloth bag hung at her waist; she tapped it, and a large amount of yellow-green powder spilled out, merging into the seawater and disappearing.

The girl worked hard, sprinkling a large circle, before flying back towards Coral Island.

Just then, an urgent shout suddenly came from Sikong Zhan:

"Miss Ye, be careful."

As soon as his words fell, a layer that looked like colorful glass emerged over the sea behind Ye Xinyao, which then burst like a bubble.

In the moment the colorful lights dissipated, a huge, black, worm-like demon beast with a terrifying aura appeared on the sea surface, opening its giant mouth and biting towards Ye Xinyao.

Inside its gaping maw, layers upon layers of circular sharp teeth numbering nineteen layers unfolded, densely packed in a manner that sent chills down one's spine.

Ye Xinyao caught a glimpse and felt a chill in her heart, completely panicking.

Then, a wave rose beside her, transforming into a giant whale shark about thirty feet long, which collided with the demon beast.

Blue waves exploded, splashing countless droplets of water, and bought her a sliver of survival.

"What are you still doing, run!" Sikong Zhan shouted loudly, raising his hands still forming seals.

In a panic, Ye Xinyao quickly flapped her winged back, speeding towards Coral Island.

The demon beast behind her paused only briefly before immediately resuming its chase, its huge body catching up to the girl in merely two or three breaths.

Just as the girl was about to perish in the jaws of the beast, a roar came from her side.

A muscular figure, radiating golden light, strode upon the waves, an illusion of a ten-zhang tall golden-armored figure materializing around him, colliding with the demon beast.

"Zhuo'er, come back..." Sikong Zhan watched his eldest son approaching death without fear, feeling both anxious and angry.

"Brother Zhuo..." In her panic, Ye Xinyao saw that figure and was also shocked.

Before her shock could wear off, another figure leaped high above the water next to her, scooped her up, and with an even faster Water Manipulation Technique, sped towards Sikong Zhan.

"Second Brother Lin," Ye Xinyao's eyes brimmed with tears.

With a "bang," a loud noise came from behind them.

A burst of golden light exploded, the illusion of the golden-armored god shattered upon contact, and Sikong Zhuo's body was thrown high into the air, blood-soaked, plummeting towards the distant sea surface.