The Feathered Immortal Herb, surrounded by Lu Yang and his four companions, especially Meng Jingzhou holding the Pure Yang True Fire and staring at it with fierce intent, knew that escape was futile, sighed deeply, and accepted its fate.

"Alright, alright, I won’t run anymore."

Compared to being roasted and eaten now, being captured and kept for later was clearly the way to survive.

"That’s more like it," Meng Jingzhou said as the Feathered Immortal Herb calmed down, clenching his fist to withdraw the flames, while Man Gu astutely put away the barbecue seasoning.

Man Gu had just gone through several ancestors without getting to the very first ancestor of the barbecue Man family.

"But just to be clear, you can’t eat me, at least not all of me," the Feathered Immortal Herb said, eyeing the five cautiously.

"Of course," they replied.

A Little Medicinal King like the Feathered Immortal Herb was extremely precious; no one would consume it all at once. The other Little Medicinal Kings in the medicinal garden were all living well, maybe just plucking a few leaves and roots when necessary, but never harming the main body.

"Can I trust your promise?" the Feathered Immortal Herb asked suspiciously, looking at Lu Yang. It had seen everything clearly during the battle with the Divinity Transformation Stage, noticing you, boy, were the most cunning.

"I swear to the Yingtian Immortal, that if I lied just now, may the Yingtian Immortal bring down lightning to strike me!" Lu Yang lifted three fingers and swore to the heavens.

"That harsh?!"

The Feathered Immortal Herb, shocked by Lu Yang’s ruthless oath, shook its leaves a couple of times, the equivalent of nodding in belief.

"Don’t worry, we won’t mistreat you. Our sect has several Little Medicinal Kings," said Li Haoran with a hearty laugh. As the reincarnation of Master Qin, he had learned Master Qin’s way of managing people; to get subordinates to obey, one must use both the stick and the carrot.

At the same time, the ability of Master Qin to provide not actual items as carrots had also been learned by Li Haoran.

"Junior Sister Tao, you have a connection with the Immortal Herb. Before we return to the sect, would it be alright to entrust it to you for safekeeping?" Lu Yang asked with a smile.

Little Medicinal Kings cannot be kept in Storage Rings; they must be packed in boxes and wrapped up.

He already had Fairy Eternity chattering in his ear and certainly didn’t want another Little Medicinal King around.

"Then thank you, Senior Brother Lu, for the trust," Tao Yaoye happily accepted. Being together with a Little Medicinal King, not to mention anything else, would surely be enlightening.

For a Little Medicinal King to live so long was not without reason.

The Feathered Immortal Herb had a unique ability to hide its presence, even from the Spiritual Sense of a Transcendance Tribulation Stage Great Power, who couldn’t find it.

One day later, Hero Yan came out of seclusion, solidifying his realm, and was now a genuine Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator.

Moving up to the Divinity Transformation Stage, one would normally be full of pride and energy, but Hero Yan was not. He always maintained a humble heart.

After all, the incredible feat of Lu Yang and his four companions capturing twelve Divinity Transformation Stage cultivators with only their Nascent Soul Stage Cultivation Level was vivid in memory.

"Hero Yan, are you going to Penglai Island to seek a promotion? Could you possibly take us five with you?" Lu Yang asked politely. Previously, as a Manager in the East Sea Cultivator Alliance, now that he had advanced to the Divinity Transformation Stage, he could apply to raise his rank to Hall Master.

Coming to the East Sea, one must at least take a stroll around Penglai Island.

With the map given by Old Ma, they knew how to get to Penglai Island, but being unfamiliar with the place, it was better to ask Hero Yan for an introduction.

"Of course," Hero Yan quickly replied.

After Yue Daxia gave some instructions to the other two heroes, he prepared to set out for Penglai Island.

Penglai Island was far from Fangshan Island. In the past, Yue Daxia had to stop several times while flying to Penglai Island, but with his successful advancement to the Divinity Transformation Stage, his Dantian expanded and his spiritual essence was abundant, eliminating such troubles.

...

"...Five Daoists... slow down," Yue Daxia called out, gasping for breath as he watched the five in front of him fly ahead.

Yue Daxia sat on a painting, which wobbled uncertainly as if it could plunge into the sea at any moment.

He had never imagined that, as a cultivator in the Divinity Transformation Stage, he would have less spiritual energy than Lu Yang and the other four. He had just been promoted and didn’t have any Divinity-level energy restoration pills on hand.

Lu Yang stood on a Flying Sword, spun around, and picked up double lines of water spray on the water’s surface, gracefully stopping in front of Yue Daxia.

"Yue Daxia, are you alright?"

"Slow, slow down," he pleaded.

Seeing that Yue Daxia was running out of energy, the five slowed down willingly.

Just then, a hundred-meter-long whale emerged from the water, blowing a water spout a hundred meters high from its blowhole, which displayed a rainbow of colors under the sunlight.

"How come we always encounter these kinds of whales on the way?"

"These are whales trained by the Alliance. Their bellies contain a world within and can transport people. They are expensive; even those in the Qi Cultivation Stage can’t afford it. I rode one when I was in the Golden Core Stage, but as my cultivation level increased and I became faster than the whales, I stopped using them," someone explained.

"This sea route leads to Penglai Island; that’s why we keep seeing them."

Lu Yang nodded, realizing that these whales were akin to the flying ships of Great Xia.

"If Yue Daxia really is too tired, why not take a ride in the whale’s belly?" Man Gu kindly suggested.

Yue Daxia nodded reluctantly. He wasn’t short of money now, but thinking back to his proud departure made him feel a bit embarrassed.

The journey continued without incident, and the six of them successfully arrived at Penglai Island.

Except for their initial entry into the whale’s belly, when they happened upon a whale hijacked by a Tribulation Cultivator demanding everything from the passengers. Later, Lu Yang and others helped out, only to find a group disguised as ordinary cultivators, actually armed escorts transporting goods. The Tribulation Cultivator’s target was precisely these goods.

They robbed everyone to conceal their true purpose.

Additionally, the whale accidentally entered a maelstrom, being transported to an unknown Secret Realm, where a Unification level demon was sealed. They later discovered that someone among the passengers had long been bewitched by the demon, deliberately leading everyone into the Secret Realm to sacrifice to the demon.

Fortunately, among the passengers was the only daughter of a Unification True Monarch, who had run away, disguised as a man, mingling and chatting cheerfully with Lu Yang and the others. When the daughter faced danger, her father came to rescue her, dealing with the demon, returning everyone and the whale to the original sea route, and the daughter had to bid farewell to Lu Yang and his companions.

Moreover, Yue Daxia recovered his energy and left the whale. During the flight, they encountered the Sea Hare Tribe and the Clam Clan at war, sparked by the Clam Clan’s loss of a precious treasure, pointing the blame at the Sea Hare Tribe. Later, Lu Yang found the lost treasure, which was the cargo previously escorted by the armed guards, halted the war, and unraveled the mystery.

It turned out to be caused by the Clam Clan Leader’s daughter. Confessing her act, she had been in a secret love with someone from another race, not accepted by her clan, and in revenge, she stole the Clam Pearl, sparking the war. The band of Tribulation Cultivators who robbed them earlier were arranged by her lover.

"We’re finally at Penglai Island. The security in the East Sea is really poor; even riding a whale entails so many incidents," Lu Yang grumbled quietly.

Meng Jingzhou and the other three nodded in agreement, sharing that the conditions in the East Sea were far from those in Great Xia.

Yue Daxia looked at the five with a peculiar gaze. He thought, "I’ve ridden whales countless times between the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Stages without a single incident."

Is it still possible to distance myself from them now?

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

If it really comes down to it, I can forfeit my cultivation level, and even demote my Spirit Vein.