Zong Shou spoke as he gazed up at the heavens. Though there were dense layers of clouds above, if a Spirit Master performed the proper rites, they could still disperse the sea of clouds during specific intervals to use the stars for navigation.

After a rough bearing, Zong Shou casually pointed toward a corner in the southwest. "Head in that direction and keep going! No one in the entire army is to use signaling talismans like the Swift Red Birds. Oh, and have them load up every single Yuan Mie Crossbow."

Those around him showed no surprise. This was the periphery of the Sea Spirit Plains, and the pursuing fleet, once they arrived, would certainly scour the area. This region was indeed unsuitable for hunting spirit beasts.

Although no major faction had ventured here for eradication missions over the years, the deeper one ventured, the greater the chance of encountering beast swarms, perhaps even seventh-tier spirit beasts.

However, with the eight hundred Yuan Mie Crossbows and three hundred Three-Armed Spirit Crossbows that Zong Shou had purchased with nearly a year's revenue from Qiantian Mountain City, and with top-tier sixth-rank powerhouses like Marquis Zhu Junhou, Gu Liekong, and Ling Fakong among the fleet, they weren't overly fearful. In a crisis, they could employ secret techniques to temporarily boost their combined military power to seventh-tier strength.

Even True Master Jing Tao offered no rebuttal. It was unclear whether he had his own means of escape or simply trusted the combat strength of Qiantian Mountain and Xuanshan City.

Judging by his expression, he seemed merely a little astonished that Zong Shou possessed a full eight hundred Yuan Mie Crossbows.

After Jing Tao left the main deck to return to his quarters for quiet cultivation, Zong Shou waved over Gu Liekong, summoning him close.

"Governor Gu, do you have a way to leave some clues for those fellows behind us? Something precise, perhaps, that would allow them to catch up in exactly five days?"

Gu Liekong raised an eyebrow, looking at Zong Shou in near disbelief. They had just expended nearly ten thousand Fire Thunder Arrows to successfully delay the fleets of the three cities—Tao Yun, Lie Yan—at the Devil Sail Grotto. This was the time to quickly break away and find a hidden location to hunt spirit beasts. Yet, Zong Shou was asking him to leave a trail for the four thousand warships behind them to follow.

If he hadn't watched Zong Shou grow up and know for certain that the person before him was the genuine City Lord of Qiantian Mountain City, he would have suspected that their new Demon King had been swapped out, intending to sell them off to those brats from the three cities of Tao Yun, Lie Yan, and Yun Xia.

His gaze flickered, and after a long moment, Gu Liekong regained his composure. "My Lord, I do not grasp your intentions, but a command from you cannot be refused! I only need to make minor adjustments as the fleet commander to achieve this. Five days—sixty hours exactly. Not a moment more, nor a moment less!"

Zong Shou nodded slightly, then subtly gave a hidden signal toward several Ling Yun Sect disciples in the distance.

Gu Liekong immediately understood. "We will absolutely not let True Master Jing Tao know!"

Zong Shou finally smiled with satisfaction. He preferred servants like this; they were far more obedient and clever than men like Ren Bo.

For the time that followed, Zong Shou remained entirely on the deck, foregoing his private chambers. He could meditate here just as easily.

Two days later, another majestic giant mountain appeared in the distance, shrouded in a dense black fog, far beyond the range of illumination spells cast by Spirit Masters. Only someone like him, specially enhancing his eyesight with spiritual techniques, could barely make out a silhouette.

But even this vague shadow caused Zong Shou to clench his fists violently. He had finally reached his destination!

Rising from the specially prepared throne on the deck of this vessel, Zong Shou strode purposefully to the prow, gazing out intensely.

It was identical! It was exactly as it had been when he visited here in his past life, though this era was far safer compared to ten thousand years hence. It had not yet suffered the chaos of the Spirit Tide outbreaks, meaning the area was not yet teeming with seventh-tier spirit beasts. Below the cloud vessel, at most, were only fifth or sixth-tier spirit beasts and evil spirits, utterly helpless against the fleet floating three hundred zhang in the air. Only the avian creatures and flying Chimei posed any threat, but they were typically riddled with arrows from countless crossbows and killed instantly long before they could draw near. The journey had been smooth sailing.

Gu Liekong also noticed the distant mountain and approached Zong Shou, frowning. "My Lord, this mountain range looks incredibly vast; I fear it will be difficult to cross. Perhaps it is better to navigate around it."

Zong Shou shook his head without replying. He re-examined the bearing, and after a moment, pointed again at an angle thirty degrees southwest. "Go that way!"

Gu Liekong sighed internally, figuring a slight detour wouldn't matter. The mountain showed no immediate signs of trouble. He issued the command, and the entire fleet of over a thousand cloud vessels began to turn.

However, after the fleet had advanced barely twenty li, roars of beasts erupted from all directions, accompanied by the sharp shrieks of evil spirits and Chimei. The sounds rose and fell incessantly, growing louder the further they pressed inward.

In moments, not just the fleet of a thousand cloud vessels, but even Jing Tao, who had been cultivating in his room, was startled into returning to the deck. He channeled his spiritual energy into his eyes and glanced around. Fore, aft, left, and right—screams echoed everywhere. He could vaguely make out countless massive beasts hidden in the thick fog, seemingly surrounded by these spirit beasts and evil entities.

"A beast tide?"

Confirming the situation, Jing Tao gasped, his face turning ashen. He could no longer maintain his previous composure and angrily demanded of Zong Shou, "I request an explanation from City Lord Zong!"

He had only taken a cursory glance but had already spotted nearly ten thousand sixth-tier spirit beasts, with countless others below the fifth tier. A beast tide of this magnitude surely wouldn't lack seventh-tier creatures. Trapped within this ring, even their treasured secret artifact might not guarantee an easy escape this time. If it weren't for the sight of the eight hundred Yuan Mie Crossbows keeping the fleet temporarily safe, he would have immediately led the Ling Yun disciples away.

"Please, True Master, remain calm!"

Zong Shou turned back, signaling Gu Liekong to continue. Then, frowning deeply, he carefully chose his words. "Has the True Master ever heard of the Beast Tomb?"

"The Beast Tomb?"

Jing Tao murmured the name, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "I have heard tales. A burial ground for high-tier spirit beasts! Legend says that intelligent spirit beasts beneath the cloud sea, unwilling to have their corpses or beast cores consumed by lesser beasts, or their vital essence stolen by evil entities, deliberately choose specific, hidden locations to die. Over eons, these places form what are known as Beast Tombs. The entrances are always perilous areas, attracting not only many spirit beasts drawn by the buried beast cores but also lingering evil entities."

"The True Master is indeed well-informed! There is one such Beast Tomb just ahead."

The entire deck fell silent, quickly followed by countless questioning gazes directed his way. Zong Shou felt a familiar helplessness; he knew this would happen. The matter was too astonishing, and even those closest to him would inevitably seek the source.

Originally, the location he had chosen was not here, but another place where he could hunt spirit beasts extensively, potentially yielding millions of fourth-tier beast cores in just a month. He had only changed his plan because of the matter concerning Yue Guanyun and the others.

Naturally, he needed to offer an explanation now to quell the rising doubts. After a brief hesitation, Zong Shou let out a wry smile. "If an elder told me this place held countless beast corpses, would you believe me?" He wasn't lying; he had learned of this place from an 'elder'—a person who had died seven thousand years ago and recorded the location in a book. By that time, the Beast Tomb had already been entirely plundered.

As these words fell, the expressions of those around him varied. True Master Jing Tao immediately thought of Zong Weiran, who was rumored to have reached the Heavenly Seat realm years ago and ventured into the cloud sea alone. Zhao Yanran and Xuanyuan Yiren, knowing Zong Shou had joined the Cang Sheng Dao lineage, pictured Wei Xu. As for Hu Zhongyuan and the others, they were utterly baffled, yet they all understood that Zong Shou would not deliberately lead them into certain death.

Jing Tao hesitated slightly and looked around again. Observing more carefully this time, he noted that this was indeed different from a typical beast tide. A large number of evil spirits, not inferior to the spirit beasts, were fighting each other nearby. These beasts and spirits did not seem to be commanded by high-tier entities; they appeared merely instinctively wary of the fleet. He began to believe it was seven parts true—the situation did resemble the rumored Beast Tomb.

Then, Zong Shou spoke again, his tone slightly strange. "If the True Master does not believe me, feel free to depart now. I, Zong Shou, will not stop you."

Jing Tao's eyes narrowed again. He scrutinized Zong Shou with a faint, almost imperceptible cold smirk. Using the power of the Ling Yun Sect to make Yue Guanyun and the Xiong Ba triumvirate hesitant to act, and then shaking off the four thousand pursuing cloud vessels at Devil Sail Grotto with Fire Thunder Arrows—he had truly experienced the methods of this young lord. As rumored, though he couldn't cultivate, he possessed unparalleled intelligence and brilliant strategy.

But why let them go at this precise moment? Was it a case of burning the bridge after crossing it, intending to claim all the beast cores himself? That didn't quite fit, because if that were his intent, he wouldn't have told Jing Tao about the Beast Tomb in the first place.

After a moment of hesitation, Jing Tao shook his head. "Since my Ling Yun Sect has accepted the City Lord's deposit, we have an obligation to see this through. How could we abandon the City Lord now? Whether it is a Beast Tomb or not, there is no harm in taking a look inside."

Zong Shou let out a dry chuckle, mocking him inwardly but showing no change in expression. He ordered all cloud vessels to advance.

Indeed, a few li later, they could vaguely make out the ground three hundred zhang below, dotted with hundreds upon hundreds of spirit beast skeletons, and thick, pervasive Yin energy everywhere.