Over the vast, boundless sea, a streak of white suddenly cut across the expanse, charging toward the line where the ocean met the sky.

After an indeterminate time of travel, the white streak finally halted, and He Yiming gazed far into the distance, as if trying to pierce the veil beyond the horizon.

"Leidian, we’ve been circling the sea for three full months now," He Yiming said with resignation. "Just where is that barren island?"

Leidian raised its head and let out a sharp neigh, though the sound carried a distinct note of defensiveness.

He Yiming gave a wry smile, rubbed his scalp, and shook his head.

Ever since they fled that massive fire at sea, He Yiming and his companions had been trying to backtrack. But after days of relentless travel, passing countless deserted isles, they still could not locate the very island they had departed from.

Thus, they drifted on the ocean for a full three months. They even made a return trip to the mainland, circling a deserted coastline before heading back out, yet still found no trace.

Leidian seemed aware that this was its fault, and its spirits had been low throughout this period.

Gently stroking Leidian’s neck, He Yiming retrieved a jade vial from his embrace and checked the supply of Bigu Pills within, shaking his head slightly.

Bao Zhu, who had been dozing soundly on Leidian’s back, suddenly rolled over. Mimicking He Yiming, it craned its neck to scan the distance, then suddenly stood upright on its hind legs, pointing excitedly in a specific direction and squealing emphatically.

He Yiming was greatly intrigued. He followed the direction indicated, but saw nothing at all.

However, a thought flashed through his mind: what could elicit such an excited reaction from Bao Zhu, unless they had stumbled upon some treasure again?

As if sensing He Yiming’s thought, Leidian immediately spread its four hooves and bolted toward that direction like a phantom.

Its speed was incredible. In less than half an kèzhōng (a unit of time), three small black dots became vaguely visible ahead. At this sight, Leidian let out a joyous, drawn-out neigh, its pace accelerating even further.

He Yiming’s eyes lit up; he was overjoyed beyond measure.

It turned out that the barren island they had searched for fruitlessly was found by Bao Zhu through some strange stroke of luck.

Streaking across the water, Leidian reached the island and let out a triumphant, long cry, its voice filled with delight and excitement. Clearly, the recent drifting period had placed considerable psychological stress on the beast.

He Yiming lightly hopped off the horse. As his feet settled firmly on the ground, he felt a strange sense of reluctance. For three months, he had never left the horse’s back, and he had been traversing the open sea—an experience previously unimaginable.

He walked to the beach where they had departed. He Yiming spotted the fire pit and the crude rack, though both were now rusted. He lightly touched the rust spots, feeling puzzled about what Bai Lingba was up to. Had this man truly not used these items even once in three months?

Although it had only been three months, in such an environment, exposed to wind, rain, and sun, the growth of rust was hardly surprising.

Turning to look around, He Yiming instructed, "Bao Zhu, Leidian, let’s search for Bai Lingba. Meet me back here after the time it takes one stick of incense to burn."

Bao Zhu snorted and ran off. He Yiming chose a different direction, while Leidian hesitated for a moment before finally letting loose, transforming into a blur of wind as it galloped away.

Though the three islands were not small, apart from the one that was bare and easily surveyed, the other two combined were barely enough space for the three of them to search thoroughly. Especially Leidian; once it started running, its hooves barely seemed to touch the ground.

After the time of one incense stick, He Yiming arrived back at the original spot first. Soon after, Bao Zhu and Leidian returned.

"Did you find Bai Lingba?" He Yiming asked in a deep voice.

In truth, seeing the expression in the eyes of the two creatures, He Yiming already had a premonition, but he still asked with a sliver of hope.

Bao Zhu and Leidian both shook their heads. Despite the vast difference in size between the large and the small, their movements were perfectly synchronized, without the slightest deviation.

He Yiming frowned deeply, muttering to himself, "Where in the world did this fellow run off to?"

His expression suddenly shifted. With a flash of movement, he sprinted toward a specific location. Behind him, the large and small spirit beasts exchanged a look, then followed in unison.

In moments, He Yiming arrived outside the cave where the Black Vulture flock had once roosted. He stopped, his ears twitching for a moment, his face growing visibly grim.

He could detect no sound whatsoever, which indicated that Chu Haozhou had also departed from this place.

Entering the cave, He Yiming’s gaze swept around, and his eyes suddenly brightened when he reached the largest pile of grass. Here, a massive stone had been placed conspicuously, bearing faint traces of inscribed writing.

He stepped closer and scrutinized it for a long time. His furrowed brow did not relax; instead, his worry deepened.

The inscription was left by Chu Haozhou. The speed at which he refined the Dragon Whip had far exceeded initial projections; he had succeeded in forging the whip in only two months. While he was already a powerful Venerable, and his refining speed naturally surpassed that of a master at the Triple Peak Realm, achieving success in just two months still brought him considerable satisfaction. It confirmed that the Dragon Whip not only had no conflict with his true qi, but rather, they complemented each other perfectly. This Dragon Whip had truly found its master.

After refining the whip, Chu Haozhou had searched the entire island but found no one else. After waiting here for three days, he departed with regret, but not before making it clear that he intended to go to a specific place first to find an object needed to embed the Inner Core of the Sacred Beast Black Vulture King into the Dragon Whip, only then would he seek revenge. Chu Haozhou promised in the inscription that if he returned alive from this venture, he would certainly go to the Northwest to share a drink and reminisce with He Yiming.

Reading these words did not sit well with He Yiming. Although he possessed immense faith in Chu Haozhou—especially now that he wielded the Dragon Whip and possessed the Sacred Beast's Inner Core, elevating his strength to an unimaginable level—his enemies included two Venerables. One of them wielded a divine weapon that was the foremost spiritual tool of He Yiming's original sect. Such opponents would undoubtedly be formidable.

With a light sigh, He Yiming understood that while Chu Haozhou left to find something specific, it was also partly an act of distancing himself, an effort to prevent He Yiming from being drawn into the conflict.

After a moment of hesitation, He Yiming reached out and gently rubbed the large stone a few times. As his true qi flowed, the stone emitted a ‘shush’ sound, sending flakes of stone dust billowing down. In an instant, all the inscribed characters were smoothed away.

He cast a final look around the area, then turned and walked away. Heaven knew which sect or school Chu Haozhou belonged to. The world was far vaster than He Yiming had ever imagined, and he could not possibly track his friend in this immense sea of humanity.

The only course of action was to return to the He Family Estate and wait patiently. If Chu Haozhou returned within two years, that would be the best outcome. But if more than two years passed, the fate of this old friend would likely be dire.

Emerging from the cave, He Yiming’s mood was low. He let out a long sigh and looked up at the sky, uncertain what thoughts were swirling within him.

Bao Zhu and Leidian seemed to sense his dejection, both stepping forward to affectionately rub their heads against him. If this were three months prior, before witnessing the might of the Nine Dragons Furnace, Leidian would never have acted this way. But three months of companionship had not only made Leidian utterly submissive to He Yiming, but their constant closeness had deepened their bond to an extreme degree. Thus, Leidian’s action was entirely natural.

He stroked them both for a moment before finally taking out the tracker from his chest. Truthfully, if he had a choice, he would not have wanted to use this device. But now that they were back on the island and still had no sign of Bai Lingba, He Yiming could not help but feel worried.

"Brother Bai, are you there?" He asked in a deep voice, holding the tracker.

"I am," a brief yet firm voice responded from the device.

He Yiming let out a long sigh of relief. "Where are you?"

"On the island."

His brow furrowed again, and He Yiming retorted irritably, "Where are you hiding? Why couldn't the three of us find you?" Their combined speed was indeed peerless. Although they only used the time of one incense stick, they had effectively covered the entire island without finding a trace.

"I am above your heads."

He Yiming froze, looking up, seeing nothing. Just as he was about to ask again, his eyes suddenly narrowed to a single point. In his field of vision, a small black dot abruptly appeared, rapidly expanding. He Yiming felt an intensely familiar sensation; he opened his mouth in astonishment, staring blankly as the black dot grew larger and larger until it finally descended not far from him.

"You—you can actually fly?" He Yiming asked in disbelief.

Bai Lingba nodded expressionlessly. Bao Zhu and the white horse Leidian looked at him with expressions showing entirely different shades of emotion. Bao Zhu was ecstatic, but Leidian appeared somewhat uneasy.

He Yiming looked up at the sky. The sea surface was perfectly clear at this moment. Taking a deep breath, He Yiming asked, "Brother Bai, have you been flying in the air the whole time?"

"Yes. I followed you out to the outer sea, saw you fighting the sea monster, and then followed you as you circled aimlessly on the ocean." Saying this, he finally couldn't resist complaining, "Honestly, the scenery on the ocean is largely the same. You took too long playing around."

The muscles in He Yiming's face twitched slightly. He turned to look at Leidian, and the white horse drooped its head in shame. They had spent three arduous months drifting on the sea, only to realize that an aerial scout had been following them the entire time. What was even more absurd was that this guy actually thought they were playing...

Ps: Calling out loudly for Monthly Tickets—Grant me strength...