Jiao Yi did his utmost to persuade them. "That patch of Azure Feather Coral was discovered by chance five years ago. Back then, there was a sea beast guarding it and we were never able to get our hands on it. But according to the Boss's observation, that sea beast's lifespan was nearly spent. After five years, it's definitely dead by now. In other words, that Azure Feather Coral is up for grabs. After this run, we won't need to set sail for at least a year."
Yang Kai shook his head slowly. "My junior sister and I won't be joining this one."
He had no shortage of Source Crystals, so he naturally had no interest in mining Azure Feather Coral. No matter how colorfully Jiao Yi painted the picture, he wouldn't be swayed.
Seeing this, Jiao Yi didn't press the matter. He simply figured that Yang Kai and Liu Xianyun would need to live here a while longer before they understood just how valuable Azure Feather Coral really was. By then, he probably wouldn't even need to do any convincing — they'd sign up on their own.
"Oh, right. How long will this trip take before you head back?" Yang Kai asked.
Jiao Yi replied, "About three days to reach the destination. Two or three days to mine once we get there. The return voyage… at least a month before we're back at Tongtian Island."
"That long!" Yang Kai couldn't help furrowing his brow.
Jiao Yi smiled bitterly. "The resources around Tongtian Island have been mostly exhausted. If you want something good, you have to go further out. Risk and reward go hand in hand."
Yang Kai nodded. "Then I wish you a successful haul."
Jiao Yi, seeing the conversation was winding down, stood up with good sense. "I won't keep you two from your cultivation then. If you need anything at all, just come find old Jiao."
"Sure."
Jiao Yi walked to the doorway, then suddenly added, "Oh, right. If you two end up in Tongtian City later, you absolutely must figure out how to get an Identity Token first — you won't be able to enter the city without one. But getting an Identity Token will expose the fact that you're newcomers. Want me to put in a word with the Boss? She might be able to work something out. We don't officially belong to any faction, but the Boss has a good reputation and plenty of connections. She might be able to pull it off."
Yang Kai considered for a moment, then nodded. "Then I'll have to thank you, Brother Jiao."
Jiao Yi grinned. "I'll let you know once I hear something."
After Jiao Yi left, Yang Kai exchanged a glance with Liu Xianyun. They could both read the worry in each other's eyes. This damned place could trap even a third-level Emperor Realm cultivator, so their chances of getting out were slim at best. And Jiao Yi's crew clearly had no idea how to leave either — there was no information to be gleaned from them.
Their only option for now was to head to Tongtian Island first and figure things out from there.
The sky vessel sailed on for three or four days before coming to a halt.
Yang Kai extended his spiritual sense and detected the warriors aboard all standing on the deck, rolling their sleeves and brimming with energy. It seemed they had arrived at the destination and were preparing to dive for the Azure Feather Coral.
Yang Kai paid them no mind, though Jiao Yi did come by once more, asking again whether Yang Kai wanted to join the dive.
After Yang Kai politely declined, Jiao Yi didn't pester him further.
Before long, the majority of the crew leapt off the deck and plunged into the sea, vanishing from sight.
Just as Jiao Yi had described, the formidable sea beast that had once guarded the Azure Feather Coral in the depths was already dead. Ling Yinqin and the others carried out the operation with perfect smoothness.
Warriors kept surfacing and diving back down, each one's expression more exhilarated than the last.
Four days later, when every warrior had returned from the sea, no one went back down.
Yang Kai hadn't been paying close attention to their movements, but when he happened to check in, he caught snippets of their conversation. From those scattered bits of chatter, he learned that the haul this time had indeed been massive — even exceeding what Ling Yinqin had anticipated.
No crew members were harmed, and they'd reaped such abundant rewards with barely any effort on a single voyage. Every face on the ship wore a broad smile. Even the perpetually icy Ling Yinqin cracked a rare grin.
After waiting half a day, the sky vessel changed course and slowly set sail again. It looked like they were heading home.
Yang Kai finally relaxed. He'd genuinely been worried that Ling Yinqin's crew might run into some danger on the open sea — if that happened, no one would be left to bring him to Tongtian Island.
Now that everything had gone smoothly, things were exactly as he'd hoped.
Days passed uneventfully. Yang Kai and Liu Xianyun remained in their cabin the entire time, never venturing outside. Ling Yinqin seemed quite satisfied with their cooperation and good behavior, and left them alone. Jiao Yi, for his part, stopped by now and then with food and drink.
Seven days later, Yang Kai — who had been meditating — suddenly stirred, his expression shifting as he opened his eyes.
The next instant, he released his spiritual sense, surging it into the World Spirit Bead to connect with the Avatar.
"What is it?" Yang Kai asked. The Avatar had just sent him an urgent message, and he had no idea what had happened.
"That girl Ruoxi… she's about to advance," the Avatar replied immediately.
"Ruoxi is about to advance?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. "That's great news!"
"Great news, my foot," the Avatar shouted.
Yang Kai's expression changed abruptly as realization hit. "The Dao Source Realm?"
He remembered that Zhang Ruoxi had been at the third level of the Void King Realm. If she broke through again, that would be the Dao Source Realm!
"Exactly! I don't know what's gotten into that girl — her power has been skyrocketing at a terrifying pace. How long has it been? She's already on the verge of breaking into the Dao Source Realm."
Yang Kai instantly grasped the severity of the situation. With a flicker of movement, he vanished into the Small World.