Chapter 22: Fellow Stowaways

Unlike the连绵 mountains he had seen in his previous life, Li Fan found himself now above a vast, boundless ocean!

Endless and without a shore in sight.

"What's going on? Why is the exit different this time?" Li Fan was somewhat stunned.

Taking out a map he had drawn from memory, Li Fan tried to locate the ocean on it.

But after repeated comparisons, he found nothing.

"Oh well, I'll just have to take it step by step." Not knowing where the error lay, Li Fan put away the map and sighed. "At least I have the Taiyan Boat for travel, otherwise I'd probably be trapped here. I just wonder if I can find an inhabited place before the Spirit Stones in the boat run out."

Not one to wallow in self-pity, Li Fan quickly got moving.

Choosing a direction, he flew the Taiyan Boat while searching for any trace of a city.

The ocean was truly boundless. Li Fan flew for seven days and seven nights without seeing any sign of human habitation.

Fortunately, the Taiyan Boat was stocked with enough food, so survival wasn't a concern.

After another ten-plus days, the Taiyan Boat slowed down significantly, clearly running out of power.

Just as all hope seemed lost, Li Fan finally spotted a faint shadow of a ship on the sea ahead.

Overjoyed, Li Fan lowered the Taiyan Boat's altitude and slowly approached.

As he drew closer, he was left speechless.

It was indeed a ship, but one that was about to sink.

Apparently attacked by something, the hull had a large hole, and two-thirds of it was already submerged.

In the waters around the ship, dozens of people were struggling, clearly the crew.

Most of them couldn't swim, barely clinging to broken planks to stay afloat.

Li Fan hesitated whether to use the Taiyan Boat to rescue them, when he heard one of the survivors, a man, shout with difficulty: "Everyone, don't be afraid! I've already sent a signal to the Immortal Master! He'll come soon to save us! Hold on a little longer!"

Hearing this, Li Fan's heart stirred.

Putting away the Taiyan Boat, Li Fan jumped into the sea and quietly swam toward the group.

Mingling silently among the crowd, Li Fan also pretended to be barely alive, struggling to survive.

After a while, a streak of light flew from afar and stopped above the crowd.

"Immortal Master, save me!"

"Immortal Master, help!"

…

Seeing hope, the people cried out for help.

"Silence!"

The voice was male, but his clothes and face seemed veiled, unclear.

The man snorted coldly, and without knowing what Spell he cast, Li Fan found himself unable to make a sound.

The crowd instantly fell silent.

The Immortal Master then flew to the sinking ship, gently lifted it with one hand, and pulled the mostly submerged vessel back up.

With another flash of light, the large hole in the hull was instantly repaired.

Then he looked at the people floating in the sea, snorted, and made a grasping motion, then lifted.

Li Fan and the others felt themselves lifted by an invisible hand and flown toward the repaired ship.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

One by one, the rescued people were roughly thrown onto the ship by the Immortal Master like dumplings.

Unable to speak, they only let out muffled groans.

But all wore expressions of awe and joy at being saved, not daring to show any resentment.

After everyone was rescued, the Immortal Master flew above them and said in an unfriendly tone: "Who sent me the signal?"

The man who had earlier comforted the crowd immediately knelt down.

The Immortal Master waved his hand and lifted the Spell on him.

The man kowtowed and said, "This humble one is Su Changyu…"

But the Immortal Master interrupted him: "You know the rules, right? Once we arrive, I have nothing to do with you. I've never seen you, and I don't know who you are. Understand?"

Su Changyu kowtowed again: "This humble one understands. The elders at home have already instructed…"

But he was cut off mid-sentence.

The Immortal Master nodded in satisfaction and casually silenced Su Changyu again.

Ignoring the Mortals, the Immortal Master went to the bow and, with some unknown Spell, made the ship speed off in a certain direction.

Seeing this, most of the Mortals showed shock in their eyes.

Some still seemed not to have recovered from the disaster, slumped on the deck, trembling and curling up, as if secretly crying.

An eerie silence fell over the ship.

Half a day passed like this, until after dark, a faint flickering light appeared in the distance.

It was a seemingly prosperous island. Though still far away, the sounds of people could be faintly heard.

Hundreds of large ships were docked at the island's pier, a spectacular sight.

But the ship Li Fan was on did not head toward the pier. Instead, it circled half the island and arrived at a sparsely populated area on the back side.

The ship quietly followed a waterway into a natural cave.

After weaving through the narrow cave for a while, it finally stopped.

Once the ship was steady, several burly men in black came to receive them.

The men in black acted as if they didn't see the Immortal Master, simply driving the people off the ship with weapons.

They remained silent throughout.

After leading everyone to a spacious hall, one of the men in black finally spoke.

"You will rest here tonight. Food is prepared in the hall; help yourselves. Tomorrow, someone will take you to get your identities sorted. Also, no noise without reason." Scanning the crowd with a threatening gaze, the man turned and left.

The hall fell into silence.

After a long while, the Immortal Master's silence Spell wore off. Then people in the hall began to talk in small groups.

"What bad luck, encountering a sea monster attack. There were nearly a hundred of us when we set out, but less than half survived."

"Seeking the Dao, cultivating immortality. Ah, I don't know what my father was thinking, sending me to this big world to cultivate immortality. If you ask me, cultivating is nowhere near as fun as listening to music."

"Exactly. In my hometown, I was at least the son of the Town-South King, enjoying all kinds of luxury. What's so good about this godforsaken place? That…" He was cut off as a quick-witted companion covered his mouth.

At this point, the man named Su Changyu spoke up: "What's the use of saying such things now? Didn't everyone's family pay a huge price to send us here? Instead of complaining, just cultivate patiently. If you really become an Immortal Master, not only will you have hope for eternal life, but you'll also have a chance to return home and bring your family out."

Li Fan, hiding in the shadows, listened to their conversation and gradually understood their identities.

These people were probably like Li Fan—Mortals exiled from the Immortal Extinction Land.

However, it seemed that in their Immortal Extinction Land, the existence of the Cultivation World was no secret.

And they had already developed a mature 'stowaway' route?

Li Fan stroked his chin, deep in thought.