"Vice Palace Master? Huangfu Jue?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Yes, he is a Perfect Returning Void Realm Cultivator, with extraordinary combat power. It is precisely because he is leading the team that so many Island Masters are willing to follow. If another Late-stage Returning Realm Cultivator were leading, probably not so many would have responded," Yun Luo Fairy nodded and said.

"Indeed. But this also means that this must be a tough battle," Yuan Ming replied slowly upon hearing this.

"Haha, I'm quite aware of Fellow Daoist Yuan's strength; accompanying us on this journey, Fellow Daoist Yuan must protect me," Yun Luo Fairy chuckled and said.

Yuan Ming did not respond, smiling noncommittally.

At that moment, several rays of tunneling light flew over from East Extreme Island, landing on the cross-sea giant ship.

The tunneling lights dissipated, revealing several figures. Standing in the center was a young man in a dragon-patterned brocade robe, with handsome features and sharp facial contours. His eyes glinted with a faint golden light, appearing very piercing.

Beside him stood several other individuals, none of whom had weak auras, among them was Mo Sanqi, an elder of the Dongji Palace, whom Yuan Ming knew.

As soon as these individuals appeared, a powerful aura instantly intimidated everyone on the ship, and the previously noisy deck fell into silence.

Everyone's eyes fell on the brocade-robed man, seemingly awaiting his instructions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Huangfu Jue. This time, I will trouble you all to accompany me to Black Mo Island. The rewards of merit are right before us, waiting for you to take them," the brocade-robed man's gaze swept across everyone, speaking concisely.

There were no ice-breaking pleasantries or motivational slogans, his speech was very casual, even somewhat perfunctory.

It didn't feel like leading an expedition, but rather as if he was taking everyone on a trip. Yet this attitude gave everyone the greatest confidence.

Amid the crowd, someone immediately flattered, shouting, "It is an immense honor to go to battle with Vice Palace Master."

Soon, the deck was filled with cries of "immense honor."

Once the crowd quieted down, Mo Sanqi and several other elders started dividing the cultivators into teams for the island battle, arranging strategies.

Only then did Yuan Ming realize how powerful this team was. It turned out that besides the leading Vice Palace Master Huangfu Jue, who was a Perfect Returning Void Stage Cultivator, the other elders were also Returning Void Stage Cultivators.

In addition to the original Dongji Palace cultivators, including the Island Masters affiliated with them, there were actually two to three hundred Nascent Soul Realm cultivators joining the battle.

Besides that, there were many more Core Formation Stage cultivators, acting as support forces, accompanying the army in battle.

These cultivators would not be involved in the initial combat but would act as backup and rescue forces, assisting Nascent Soul Cultivators in battle and helping clean up the battlefield afterwards.

Inwardly, Yuan Ming clicked his tongue. Such a team placed on the Yunhuang Continent would be enough to sweep through all sects.

He was sure that even their Double Moon Alliance could not withstand it.

The cross-sea giant ship moved swiftly with the wind and waves, encountering no obstacles, but still took three months to barely reach the vicinity of Black Mo Island.

The Black Evil Sect had evidently received news of Dongji Palace's expedition, making preparations early on by retreating all affiliated forces to Black Mo Island.

When the cross-sea giant ship reached the sea area a hundred miles outside Black Mo Island, the waves suddenly surged below, boiling like water on a stove, churning up huge splashes.

The cultivators on the cross-sea boat sensed the fluctuations from the sea below, flocking to the sides of the ship to look down.

They saw that deep within the churning sea, paths of dim green light pillars shone from the seabed, forming an immense array spanning thirty miles.

It activated with a deep "rumble," its light growing ever brighter.

Pale green light pillars shot into the sky like spears, gathering colossal waves to form massive waterspouts that connected heaven and earth, charging toward the cross-sea giant ship.

The many cultivators on the boat hurriedly maneuvered the ship to dodge the mighty waterspout attacks.

After dodging three assault attempts consecutively, suddenly three violent whirlwinds surged up from the depths of the sea, simultaneously blocking the ship's path from the front and both sides.

Facing an unavoidable attack, the core of the array operating within the ship suddenly lit up with golden light. Expanding light waves lit the inside layers of the ship, illuminating pathways of runes where they passed.

In an instant, a vast rune array enveloping the entire cross-sea giant ship activated, releasing a myriad of golden rays that congealed into a golden light membrane encasing the whole ship.

"Booming"

The dim green waterspouts collided with the golden light membrane, causing a violent explosion.

The entire cross-sea giant ship trembled, and the hull violently shook, but that layer of golden light film remained steadfast.

As long as this light film remains unbroken, the attacks below won't harm anyone on the boat in the slightest.

"Good!" Someone shouted in approval, and immediately the cheer echoed throughout the boat. FindthetranslationonMV&LEMPYR.

Immediately after, under the surprised gazes of everyone, two Returning to Void Stage elders suddenly flew out from the ship's sides. Golden and red lights respectively shone from their bodies as they plunged into the sea headfirst against the towering waves.

Upon descent, the elder enveloped in golden light was like an indestructible steel blade, ignoring the ferocity of the water tornado, and simply charged straight in, sending spray flying and extinguishing the green light.

The elder bathed in red light, upon descending, was engulfed in blazing flames, and upon colliding with the water waves, white steam rose to the sky, and his figure vanished within it.

Before long, thunderous roars sounded from the seabed, as everyone watched golden and red lights intertwine, constantly shuttling through the seabed, erupting in dazzling brilliance underwater.

Soon, the water tornado that kept rushing into the void quickly disappeared.

When the emerald glow under the sea completely extinguished, the two elders smoothly returned to the cross-sea giant ship, continuing their journey towards Black Mo Island.

However, not long after, thousands of various demon beasts emerged from the seabed, all appearing as if poisoned, with blood-red eyes, launching suicidal assaults at the cross-sea boat of Dongji Palace in the sky.

These creatures were without reason, unaware of fear or fatigue, relentlessly charging at the boat and choosing to self-destruct their Demon Cores and Demon Souls upon close proximity.

Due to their overwhelming numbers, and the minimal intervals between the self-destructing demon beasts, the explosive power overlapped, forcibly tearing through the defense array of the cross-sea giant ship.

Huangfu Jue gave a command, completely opening the boat's defense array, marking the beginning of the cultivators' first battle.

There was no doubt that the cultivators who came to crusade were not incompetent. Facing those mindless demon beasts was as easy as cutting vegetables, quickly slaughtering them clean.

However, as one wave of demon beasts was eradicated, another surged forward, unending, creating no effective harm to the Dongji Palace cultivators but greatly depleting their mana.

Yuan Ming had noticed this early on and intentionally controlled his mana consumption, not fighting too conspicuously.

Yun Luo Fairy smiled knowingly and accompanied him, the two facing opposite directions, fending off the demon beast attacks, as if mutually guarding and cooperating.

After consecutively eliminating three waves of demon beasts, the cross-sea giant ship finally reached Black Mo Island.

It was a massive island, artificially expanded and transformed, spanning thousands of miles, with two intersecting cross-shaped mountain ranges on it, dotted with stone-constructed fortress-like buildings.

On various parts of the island, towering black stone pillars pierced the sky, radiating black light, emitting thick black smoke, enveloping the island's sky and surroundings, forming a huge array shrouded in black mist.

Yuan Ming stood on the boat deck, gazing afar at the black mist swirling above the island. A while later, he felt his eyes grow sore, vaguely seeing giant grotesque ghost faces forming in the black mist.

As he was about to avert his gaze, he suddenly heard cries of agony around him, turning to see many cultivators clutching their eyes in pain, struggling on the ground.

Those whose cultivation was below Nascent Soul were bleeding from their eyes, attacking their companions on the ship in madness.

"This is the Black Demon Calamity Heart Formation; do not stare at the black clouds of the array, or your mind will be disrupted." At this moment, Huangfu Jue's voice suddenly resounded, like thunder exploding in everyone's ears.

In an instant, this authoritative and potent voice subdued all the cultivators on the ship affected by the Black Demon Calamity Heart Formation.

The Nascent Soul cultivators, though still in pain, stabilized instantly. As for the bewildered Core Formation cultivators, many bled from their eyes and soon fainted, bleeding from their seven orifices.

"Elder Nantian, Elder Huo Zhuo, Elder Sanqi, the three of you mobilize the Haotian Tower and break the array together," Huangfu Jue ordered.

Elder Nantian, tall and robust with short white hair and a golden armor, stood along with the stocky Elder Huo Zhuo, with a leopard's head and fiery eyes, the two who earlier cooperated to break through the underwater array.

They, along with Mo Sanqi, responded in unison, flying out of the cross-sea giant ship to the skies above Black Mo Island.

Mo Sanqi waved his hand, and a golden light flew out, transforming into a nine-story pagoda about a foot tall. The pagoda was crimson with golden eaves, surrounded by spiritual energy, an undeniable spiritual treasure.

The three elders positioned themselves at three points outside the pagoda, channeling their mana towards the Heavenly Treasure Tower.

The Heavenly Treasure Tower buzzed, its body rapidly expanding, transforming into a gigantic tower ten zhang high in moments, hovering high in the sky.

An enormous golden orb was embedded at the tower's top, beginning to absorb the sun's brilliance, becoming incredibly radiant.

In an instant, the temperature of this sea area rose rapidly, and the surroundings turned a glaring white.

Many cultivators found their eyes stung by the light and instinctively looked away from the tower.