Before the great ship had drawn near this stretch of sea, He Yiming, cradling the Treasure Pig, and accompanied by Bai Lingba, had already stealthily affixed themselves beneath the hull.

As for White Horse Lightning...

Although the creature was extremely reluctant, under He Yiming's command, it bid farewell with tears and dove into the seabed, hiding behind the massive dark reef.

It wasn't that He Yiming didn't wish to bring White Horse along; it was simply that, in its current state, the beast absolutely could not travel with others.

Especially now, as He Yiming and his companions intended to sneak aboard the great ship—if they brought along a Sacred Beast that periodically released lightning uncontrollably, it wouldn't just be Hao Xue and the Old Ancestor Yu they’d alert; even an ordinary sailor would easily detect their presence.

He Yiming positioned himself beneath the sea vessel and pressed his ear against the wooden planks. Though he didn't employ his true Qi, the wonder of the Shunfeng Er Qi Gong allowed him to capture every sound aboard the ship.

Soon, he heard Hao Xue’s voice and learned the ship's purpose.

It was obvious that the Hao family had dispatched this vessel to the Southern Border to rush Hao Xue toward the battle between the newly ascended Venerables of the East and West. Recalling Hao Xue’s recently spirited demeanor, He Yiming felt a faint sense of unease stirring in his heart.

For some unknown reason, He Yiming felt that Hao Xue’s excessive confidence must be linked to the Old Ancestor Yu.

When the sea ship anchored and began sending sailors down into the water, He Yiming and his group easily evaded their notice. By the time the others boarded, He Yiming and the others had nimbly followed suit.

This was undoubtedly the most chaotic moment aboard the ship. Even if Hao Xue and the Old Ancestor Yu were simultaneously paying full attention, they might not notice any disturbance.

If he had only seen Hao Xue, He Yiming would not have been so cautious, but the presence of the Old Ancestor Yu, resurrected from the dead, left He Yiming daring not to relax his vigilance.

Extending a hand, Bai Lingba pointed in a certain direction.

To avoid startling the snake, He Yiming dared not lightly use his true Qi to probe here. Under these circumstances, Bai Lingba's ability naturally exerted its maximum utility.

Nodding slightly, He Yiming’s movements were swift as lightning. His figure flashed a few times, and he had already ascended to the level above the main cabin.

A ship capable of navigating the open sea could hardly be a small boat.

Although this sea vessel was not the largest type, it stood three stories high above the deck.

The higher one lived, the higher their status and standing naturally were.

However, the closer He Yiming got to the upper levels, the more tense and uneasy he became. Especially nearing the third floor, he even felt an intense sense of crisis.

His expression shifted slightly, and a profound chill swept through him.

He was not unfamiliar with this sense of crisis; it was the feeling that arose only when encountering an overwhelmingly powerful expert that he could not resist.

Before the trip to Ghost Crying Ridge, He Yiming had encountered three Venerables intent on killing him; just after leaving the Land of Reincarnation, he was pursued by the Cave Dweller and two other powerful Five Qi Great Venerables; during those times, he had felt something similar.

Yet, after ascending to the Great Venerable of Five Qi, the only one who had ever given him such a feeling was that peak expert of the Human Dao, the Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs.

At this moment, He Yiming felt a chill run down his spine.

For someone to exert such immense pressure upon him—could that peak Human Dao master also be aboard this ship?

He Yiming instantly considered retreating. He had no desire to forge an enmity unto death with an expert of that caliber.

However, just then, a powerful surge of intent suddenly spread outwards.

It was a force so incredibly potent, and it carried a familiar sensation to He Yiming.

Almost without thinking, He Yiming immediately condensed his Qi and held his breath. Not only did no sound emanate from him, but even his life aura became faint to the point of near non-existence.

And the Treasure Pig, that little creature, seemed to have sensed this wave of intent even before He Yiming did; it, too, instantly entered a state of absolute hibernation.

Soon, the intent swept around the vicinity for a moment before receding like the tide, and everything returned to calm.

He Yiming was utterly bewildered and utterly unable to fathom it.

This power was saturated with the power of blood, and the sheer magnitude of its strength was inconceivable—it absolutely reached the realm of the peak of the Human Dao.

But the fact that this power failed to detect them left He Yiming in disbelief.

He turned to glance at Bai Lingba, who remained motionless and expressionless, increasing his suspicion and doubt.

If they couldn't detect Bai Lingba, that was not strange. After all, as long as Bai Lingba stayed still, he was just a rock, truly devoid of any vital life force.

But He Yiming and the Treasure Pig were different. Although they had concealed themselves with all their might, at this distance, it should have been virtually impossible to hide from a probe by a peak Human Dao expert.

"Eh, what's going on?"

Hao Xue’s voice, filled with surprise, drifted down from the third floor.

No voice replied, but He Yiming inexplicably thought of the Old Ancestor Yu.

This was because on this third floor, there were only two auras present. Besides Hao Xue, the other person was naturally the Old Ancestor Yu.

The aura of this old man now represented a world-shattering change compared to before. If it weren't for a lingering trace of Five Elements Qi, He Yiming would never have been certain that it was indeed the Old Ancestor Yu.

A sudden realization struck He Yiming, followed by an unbelievable thought.

Could the peak Human Dao expert residing on the third floor not be the Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs, but this resurrected Old Ancestor Yu?

An even colder feeling washed over He Yiming’s entire body. His face flushed slightly, and his heart recoiled in horror.

After he had slain the Old Ancestor Yu in the past, he had immediately clashed with the Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs and was then forced to flee far away.

The Old Ancestor Yu naturally ended up in the hands of the Yellow Springs Sect. He couldn't guess what arcane method the Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs had used to save the Old Ancestor Yu, whose heart had been pierced, and even advance his cultivation further, allowing him to cross that insurmountable chasm and become a true peak of the Human Dao.

With this thought, He Yiming became even more wary of the Yellow Springs Sect, and the unfathomably profound Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs rose significantly higher in his estimation.

Yet, the more this was the case, the more his curiosity surged.

He moved forward slightly again, his gaze shifting, and he could now see the scene inside the third-floor cabin.

Perhaps because the third floor of the sea vessel was a forbidden area for all the crew, Hao Xue had not closed the door but left it open, sitting leisurely in a comfortable armchair.

It was just that he was currently looking at the Old Ancestor Yu with a look of utter bewilderment, seemingly perplexed by the old man’s actions.

A moment later, the Old Ancestor Yu still did not answer his words, but the intent emanating from him had calmed completely.

He Yiming relaxed slightly. He vaguely discerned that although the martial cultivation of the Old Ancestor Yu had reached an unbelievable height, his movements, conversely, had become notably sluggish, giving the impression of a marionette.

Hao Xue hesitated for a long time, then suddenly took out a red iron plaque from his person.

When he produced the plaque, the expression on his face instantly became grim.

"What did you detect just now? Check again," Hao Xue said coldly.

The Old Ancestor Yu remained expressionless, not even blinking, but a wondrous wave of intent emanated from him once more and rapidly spread out, scanning the entire ship.

He Yiming’s eyebrows lifted slightly. He had been prepared; as soon as Hao Xue spoke, he had slipped back into a state of complete concealment.

At such close proximity, even if He Yiming himself were at the ninth heaven of the Human Dao peak, it would be impossible to hide from a master of the same rank.

However, the Old Ancestor Yu’s behavior was quite strange; his sweep of intent still failed to detect the presence of He Yiming and the Treasure Pig.

At this point, He Yiming finally confirmed that something bizarre must have happened to the Old Ancestor Yu, otherwise, this result would never have occurred.

When the Old Ancestor Yu's intent subsided once more, Hao Xue's brow furrowed even tighter.

He muttered to himself, "A pity. This puppet lacks intelligence, cannot speak, and only obeys orders. It would be much more convenient if it could talk."

He Yiming heard every word of this exchange, and the expression on his face grew increasingly heavy.

No wonder the Old Ancestor Yu behaved so strangely—it turned out he had been turned into a puppet devoid of intelligence, unable to speak, only able to follow orders.

Although He Yiming did not understand what a 'puppet' was, that did not stop him from grasping part of the truth.

What truly brought him comfort, however, was the confirmation that the Old Ancestor Yu was truly dead, not resurrected.

Otherwise, if an enemy like the Old Ancestor Yu were lurking in the shadows, He Yiming would surely suffer endless headaches and would never again dare to leave the He Family Estate to roam the world.

He needed to firmly remember the lesson taught by Brother Chu Haozhou.

If one day the He Family Estate were reduced to rubble, he would not be the hope for the Hao family’s rise, but rather their bringer of disaster.

Hesitating for a moment, He Yiming slowly began to retreat backward.

Just as he was about to leave the third floor, the Old Ancestor Yu—even more wooden than Bai Lingba—suddenly opened his eyes, and a third surge of that intense intentional probe erupted from him.

He Yiming thought, Not good. This time, he did not have time to deploy his concealment technique.

The Old Ancestor Yu’s eyes snapped open, revealing pupils that were blood-red and utterly inhuman. His gaze immediately locked onto the direction He Yiming was retreating, like a hawk in the sky fixing its stare upon its prey.

He Yiming was horrified, cursing his bad luck. With a slight leap of his feet, he was already off the third floor of the sea vessel.

The sound of air tearing sounded immediately behind him—Hao Xue had clearly moved as well.

The next moment, the two sides confronted each other directly...

Ps: Well, it’s the same old saying again—please vote with your monthly tickets!

Also, a very old friend called today, saying my update time has changed and that it seemed I missed an update.

Actually, when I release three chapters, it’s usually around 7:30 PM, and sometimes it updates before 7 PM.

Perhaps due to system latency, some friends see the update much later than when I actually publish it—a situation I myself have encountered.

But I guarantee that if there is a day when I truly miss an update, it won't be because I didn't write it, but because the system malfunctioned, so please forgive me...

Bailing out ^_^