Out on the open sea, Yang Kai listened to Pang Zhen recount everything that had transpired after they had entered Wraith Island.
Back when the Sea Palace and Sea God Palace had first arrived, roughly a hundred to two hundred cultivators in total had been stranded on Wraith Island. Aside from a handful who had been killed by that gaunt, lanky man, the rest had been taken captive unharmed and herded back to the island.
The population of Wraith Island had always been small, so the sudden influx of so many newcomers naturally prompted the island's forces to compel Pang Zhen and the others into pledging loyalty.
With no choice but to bow their heads under someone else's roof, Pang Zhen, Qian Mo, and the rest had no option but to play along and feign compliance.
However, another commander from Sea God Palace — Shang Ao — had a far more volatile temperament. He had spent his life in a position of authority and prestige, accustomed to being looked up to. How could he endure being ordered around like a servant? His defiant and unruly nature made him stand out like a sore thumb on Wraith Island. He had been separated from the rest, locked up, and — if Yang Kai's guess was correct — subjected to some manner of torture and beatings.
In recent days, neither Qian Mo nor Pang Zhen had caught sight of Shang Ao again. Whether he was alive or dead, no one knew.
Aside from Shang Ao, everyone else had been split into over a dozen different teams, each led by a Wraith Island cultivator and assigned to different tasks.
The task given to Qian Mo, Pang Zhen, and their group was to venture out to sea in search of the Chaos Lotus. Other teams were dispatched to mine ores in Wraith Island's tunnels or perform menial labor of one sort or another.
These Return Void Realm powerhouses had not fared well since being stranded on Wraith Island. Due to various mishaps, quite a few had already perished — especially those sent out to sea to hunt for the Chaos Lotus. It was an exceptionally dangerous undertaking. They frequently encountered sea beasts far beyond their ability to withstand, and the end result could very well be the annihilation of the entire squad.
But no one cared about their plight. Every newcomer who arrived on Wraith Island had to endure this gauntlet. Only once they accepted Wraith Island's authority and acknowledged Ming Yue's dominion over them would they earn the right to formally join the island — and only then would they be granted access to the Chaos Pill, which could temper and strengthen their physical bodies, allowing them to grow more powerful.
The fundamental reason Ming Yue was able to rule Wraith Island was not solely due to his own formidable strength. He also controlled the supply of the Chaos Pill.
"Lord Yang, the people in this wretched place — every last one of them possesses physical strength that's utterly absurd, as though they've all consumed the Chaos Pill. They're not to be fought head-on!" Pang Zhen noticed Yang Kai lounging about with a carefree air and couldn't help but offer a word of caution, glancing back toward the ship with wariness written all over his face.
When he looked, he froze.
He suddenly realized that the elderly man who had arrived walking across the waves moments ago, hands clasped behind his back, had at some point boarded the ship and was now standing right at the prow as bold as you please.
Meanwhile, the sharp-beaked man and his crew, who had been so domineering and overbearing just moments before, had completely lost their swagger. Every one of them was staring at the old man's back with undisguised terror, their faces drained of color. Not only had they failed to drive the old man off the ship — they didn't even dare breathe too loudly.
Who on earth was this old fellow? There was no one matching his description in either the Sea Palace or Sea God Palace. Could he be a friend Yang Kai had recently made on Wraith Island? Pang Zhen's mind buzzed with suspicion and confusion.
"Old Sha, it seems my friends here were just bullied by those men." Yang Kai called out toward Sha Hu in a loud, clear voice.
He didn't have any deep bond with Pang Zhen, and he had only crossed paths with Qian Mo once — but they were all from the Dark Star, at any rate, which made them a different breed entirely from Wraith Island's cultivators.
More importantly, he still had designs involving the Sea Palace and Sea God Palace, so he naturally wasn't about to stand by and watch them come to harm.
Sha Hu heard the words and broke into a wide grin. "Bullied? Say no more!"
The moment he finished speaking, Sha Hu whipped around and threw a casual punch toward the spot where the sharp-beaked man and his cohort stood.
The fist was a good fifteen feet from the sharp-beaked man and the others, but a vicious blast of energy erupted from Sha Hu's knuckles and swept across their bodies.
Bam, bam, bam…
A string of muffled impacts rang out. The sharp-beaked man and his group didn't even have time to utter a single sound before their bodies exploded from the force of the blow at a distance. Blood and gore rained down onto the ocean surface, turning the water an immediate, vivid crimson.
Pang Zhen, Qian Mo, and the others stood rooted to the spot, stunned into silence.
Those Wraith Island cultivators — men they themselves had been completely powerless against — had just been wiped out by this old man as easily as swatting flies. Just how strong was he? It was beyond their capacity to even imagine.
Ever since being stranded on Wraith Island, Pang Zhen and Qian Mo's understanding of strength had been utterly upended. Here, an entirely different set of standards from the Star Field governed the measure of a cultivator's might — and that standard was physical power.
The only explanation for the scene before them was that this old man's physical strength had reached a level so monstrous it defied all reason.
"Lord Yang… who… who is this elder?" Pang Zhen asked in a small, timid voice. Qian Mo turned her gaze toward Yang Kai as well, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"His real name is Sha Hu. The name doesn't ring any bells?" Yang Kai said with a smile, watching Pang Zhen's reaction.
"Sha Hu?" Pang Zhen's brow furrowed, and a look of contemplation spread across his face, as though a distant memory was stirring. He stared fixedly in Sha Hu's direction for a long while before his eyes suddenly lit up and the name burst from his lips in a gasp:
"Former Second Hall Master of my Sea Palace?"