Upon reaching Cloudmist Isle, Shi Yan immediately parted ways with Linda and left alone.

Linda stood on the deck, gazing blankly at Shi Yan's receding figure, silent for a long time.

Jett fired a yellow signal flare and stood with Nano and the others, waiting for the Gu family's reception party.

"Sister Linda really cares for that guy. We don't know his origins or what he plans to do on Cloudmist Isle. Alas, poor Sister Linda. That guy clearly isn't a man who stays put. From today onward, Sister Linda probably won't have another chance to see him."

"Indeed. I never thought even a strong woman like Sister Linda couldn't keep him tied down. If I could win Sister Linda's heart, I'd do anything for her, and I would never leave her side!"

"This is for the best, too. As long as Sister Linda remains with us, life in the Divine Cult will be a little easier."

"Mhm, that's true too."

Jett and the others lowered their voices, discussing things quietly while awaiting the Gu family's arrival.

Linda stood on the deck. Her unbound hair danced in the wind, her posture graceful, possessing a captivating allure.

Kamon, in a corner, gritted his teeth, secretly observing her with intense satisfaction, murmuring hatefully, "This slut deserves it! She gave him everything, and what did she end up with? The moment he finished consuming her, he wiped his mouth and walked away. This slut brought this suffering upon herself!"

"She absolutely deserves it!" Huo Jie also wore a look of deep hatred, muttering quietly, "Kamon, that brat's origins are unknown, yet he insisted on following us to Cloudmist Isle. Could he have intentions toward the Gu family? Should we inform the Gu family about this brat? Perhaps if the Gu family knows who he is, they might take action against him."

Kamon frowned, pondering for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "Not yet. Besides his name, we know nothing else. There is too little information to confirm his identity. Let's wait. Once I catch him in a serious mistake, I will not only deal with that brat but also with Linda!"

Huo Jie nodded.

Shi Yan walked slowly toward the south of Cloudmist Isle, alone.

Cloudmist Isle was about half the size of Tianyun City. Although this island was under the jurisdiction of the Gu family, the vast majority of warriors and civilians living there were not affiliated with them. The Gu family occupied Cloudmist Isle only to seize control of its three major mines and to demarcate areas they deemed valuable as Gu family restricted zones, forbidding entry to the island's warriors and civilians.

The martial forces residing on the island were required to submit a portion of resources and Crystal Coins to the Shi family every few years in exchange for the right of long-term residence. Meanwhile, the civilians on the island paid taxes to those martial forces, creating a strictly hierarchical system of layers of exploitation.

The southern region of Cloudmist Isle was the Gu family's base. This area was dense with forests, dotted with lakes, boasting beautiful scenery, yet utterly devoid of human habitation.

Shi Yan intended to head there for two reasons: first, to see if he had a chance to catch Gu Jiange alone and settle the score from Mount Muen Island; second, to wait there for the Yang family's people. From Linda, Shi Yan had learned that the Yang family contingent arriving at Cloudmist Isle would be the Asura Blood Guards. Since the Asura Blood Guards traveled on Azure Blood Demonic Bats, Shi Yan planned to reveal his identity only after spotting an Azure Blood Demonic Bat passing overhead, confirming the arrival of the Yang family's Asura Blood Guards, so he could travel with them to the Undying Isle in the Galo Sea region. As one of the fifteen most powerful forces in the Endless Sea, the Yang family possessed abundant martial resources. Since he had a valid cover identity, Shi Yan naturally was unwilling to waste it. His trip to the Undying Isle was fueled by the desire to further elevate his strength by leveraging the Yang family's power.

Furthermore, he wanted to see Xia Xinyan again, which necessitated going through the Asura Blood Guards to reach the Galo Sea region.

Along his journey, Shi Yan passed several villages only to find them completely deserted.

The villages were eerily silent. In many houses, the bedding was neatly arranged, and some even had meals laid out, yet the owners had all vanished suddenly, as if the entire civilian population had disappeared in an instant.

Shi Yan felt puzzled, unsure what had transpired. Frowning, he continued his solitary journey south across Cloudmist Isle. As night fell, Shi Yan entered a dense forest, walking under the cold moonlight. Suddenly, an icy, malevolent aura abruptly reappeared on Cloudmist Isle. The moment this aura flashed, countless unseen, bizarre energies erupted from every direction across the island, all converging toward a specific area in the south.

Shi Yan’s soul trembled slightly as he clearly felt a pull drawing him toward that southern region.

In a small river near him in the dense woods, even more energy was drawn out, spiraling upward one after another, rapidly vanishing toward the south.

Shi Yan sensed it carefully, and his expression drastically changed; he immediately flew toward the river.

Five figures clad in tight black suits and wearing bamboo hats were currently snapping the necks of commoners whose mouths had been stuffed with cloth wads. As soon as these civilians stopped breathing, the figures unhesitatingly shoved the bodies into the river. Vaguely visible in the water were swollen corpses piled one upon another. At a single glance, Shi Yan saw that there were no fewer than a hundred bodies, including the elderly and women and children. "Plop! Plop!"

The sounds of bodies hitting the water echoed in the silent forest. Five warriors at the Innate, Human Rank realm were continuously slaughtering civilians and pushing the corpses into the small river.

By the time Shi Yan arrived, the last few civilians had already had their necks broken and were thrown into the river.

Countless nearly invisible souls floated up from the river water. They did not immediately dissipate into the air and heavens but seemed to be guided by some external force, rapidly flying south across Cloudmist Isle.

The southern part of Cloudmist Isle emitted a powerful suction force targeting souls. Under the influence of this force, any civilian dying here would not have their soul immediately disperse but would instead be taken away by that power.

"What are you doing?" Shi Yan’s face turned grim. He materialized abruptly by the riverbank and spoke in a chilling tone, "Who are you people? Do you find pleasure in slaughtering defenseless civilians?"

Shi Yan knew he wasn't a saint, but he possessed a basic human moral line. He only killed those who deserved death and would never strike at unarmed women and children.

Yet these men showed absolutely no humanity, committing crimes against nature to the extreme by ruthlessly eliminating the aged and the young, who possessed no strength whatsoever.

Such actions meant they could no longer be called human.

"Brat, it's best if you don't meddle in our affairs." One of the warriors, at the Heavenly Perfection stage of the Human Rank, spoke with an icy voice. "Which martial force from the ship do you belong to? Didn't you receive prior notice?"

"What notice?" Shi Yan sneered.

"It seems you are not one of the martial forces on the island." That person pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "I advise you to leave Cloudmist Isle immediately, go as far away as you can, or you won't know how you died."

Shi Yan laughed coldly. "It seems unless I maim or kill a few of you, you won't be honest."

With that, Shi Yan suddenly lunged out.

Three minutes later, four of the five warriors were dead. Only the one who had spoken remained, his bamboo hat ripped off, his foot pinning him to the ground by Shi Yan.

This warrior, at the Heavenly Perfection stage of the Human Rank, lay on his back, staring at Shi Yan with a look of fear. "Who exactly are you? Do you know who you have offended? Making an enemy of us will only bring you misery!"

"Tell me, who are you, and why are you killing these civilians?" Shi Yan asked, frowning.

"You will regret this! You will surely regret this!" The man on the ground snarled threateningly.

"Brave words!"

Shi Yan casually picked up a dagger and severed the man's left palm with one strike, his expression flat. "Answer what I ask, and don't waste my time with nonsense." The man on the ground let out a piercing scream, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, his whole body twitching.

"Crack!"

Shi Yan frowned and, with another strike, severed his right palm, saying lightly, "Screaming also counts as nonsense."

"You dare touch me! You dare touch me! I am from the Gu family! You will regret this! You will die horribly!" The warrior on the ground shrieked. "Crack!"

Shi Yan struck again, severing one of his feet, and continued to ask, "Why kill these civilians?"

"I don't know! I don't know! I only received orders to kill three hundred civilians at a specific time! I don't know anything else!" The man screamed, his face filled with terror. "Many others received the same order; we all don't know the reason, truly, we don't know!"

"Oh, then forget it." Shi Yan nodded, drew the dagger across the man's throat, beheading him, and then stood up, kicking the five corpses into the river one by one.

Dropping the dagger, he washed the bloodstains from his arm, his face solemn, and continued walking south across Cloudmist Isle. Along the way, based on the unusual energy fluctuations from the surrounding souls, Shi Yan discovered numerous corpses piled in rivers, sealed caves, and buried in deep pits... All these corpses belonged to commoners, likely numbering in the tens of thousands, massacred so easily by the Gu family warriors.

On the road, Shi Yan killed three more waves of Gu family warriors, absorbing their vital essence, but he failed to extract any useful information from their mouths.

The Gu family warriors who received the killing orders seemed genuinely ignorant of the rationale behind the murders, merely executing commands without understanding the deeper intent.

As dawn broke, the soul-sucking force in the south suddenly became extremely potent!

Within a grove of ancient trees, Shi Yan clearly sensed the island's abnormality. Even his own soul felt restless under that terrifying suction, seemingly on the verge of leaving his physical body.

The Blood Pattern Ring on his hand suddenly flashed on and off like a dying lightbulb, emitting bright red light. Shi Yan looked down at the Blood Pattern Ring in astonishment, vaguely perceiving that the Profound Ice Cold Flame inside it seemed to be stirring, reacting intensely.

Frowning, Shi Yan quietly submerged his consciousness into the Blood Pattern Ring, intending to inspect the changes within.

"Soul Gathering Pearl! Soul Gathering Pearl! There is a Soul Gathering Pearl on the island!" For the first time, the joyous awareness of the Profound Ice Cold Flame resonated from within the Blood Pattern Ring...