Chapter 282: The Black Dragon Pirates Pursue
Long Xuan and his group disembarked, encountering no trouble from any villains.
Although most people from distant regions were unaware of his legendary feats and many mocked the small size of his boat, none dared to actually cause trouble.
Few were foolish enough to provoke him; the fact that this boat had safely crossed the Endless Sea was proof of its formidable power. No one would risk bad luck by confronting them.
Long Xuan soon found a spot by the shore and set up camp. According to Leng Yan, it would be about a month until Sky Island appeared, meaning he would stay on this island for a while.
Seeing the other Gu cultivators from various regions idly passing the time, many went to the shore to fish.
Feeling interested himself, Long Xuan took out a fishing rod and found a spot by the shore to start fishing.
To catch the 'spirit fish' unique to this sea, using a fishing rod was essential. Due to the intense gravity of the sea, any Gu cultivator who attempted to enter it would be unable to dive.
He had plenty of fishing rods, as the Long clan often held fishing competitions, and once Long Qilin had dragged him along to participate, even making a bet on who would catch the most fish and the largest fish.
As expected, he had won hands down.
With his unique cheat ability, he could even see the progress bar while fishing, and as soon as it filled, a fish would bite—utterly astounding. With this skill, no one could beat him in fishing. During that contest, he’d tearfully taken first place, never once losing a bet to Long Qilin.Half a month passed in a flash.
At this moment on the shore, with a gentle flick of Long Xuan's rod, a large, plump golden fish flew onto the bank, landing squarely in the fishing bag he had prepared.
"Captain, you’re amazing! That fish is a 'Golden Marrow Fish', unique to this sea. Eating it can significantly boost one’s physical strength, and it’s incredibly difficult to catch."
"Thus far, it seems you’re the only person on the island who’s caught a Golden Marrow Fish!" Shangguan Wuwo exclaimed, giving him an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
This captain was truly extraordinary. In half a month, he had caught countless rare fish species, and everyone else was green with envy.
Compared to him, the fishing efficiency of everyone else on the island was lower by dozens of times. They couldn’t compare and, when asked, he would simply credit it to good fortune, leaving those hoping to learn from him helpless.
However, the majority of the fish he caught eventually ended up in his chef’s pot, enhancing the meals for the crew.
“Really? If this fish is so precious, then it must be preserved. I’ll save it for breeding,” Long Xuan said with a smile, luxuriously baiting his hook with a low-grade spirit worm and casting it far into the sea.
Seeing the progress bar on the hook lengthen, Long Xuan furrowed his brow, stood up, and used Star Step to change to a distant spot before casting again.
This time, the progress bar on the hook was short, and Long Xuan smiled, sitting down to patiently wait.
Shangguan Wuwo looked puzzled. What was the captain doing? Avoiding a “hot spot”? Fishing by randomly changing locations was unheard of. Perhaps he feared the fish in one spot might run out?
But just as Shangguan Wuwo thought this, Long Xuan flicked his rod again, and another plump Golden Marrow Fish soared onto the shore.
Shangguan Wuwo’s jaw dropped. Without hesitation, he picked up his stool and swiftly changed his fishing spot. However, time ticked by, and though he waited long enough to watch the flowers wilt, he still hadn’t caught a single fish. His expression turned sour.
Long Xuan shook his head helplessly. If he hadn’t changed locations earlier, his progress bar would have been close to 100%, and a fish would have bitten soon after. Why couldn’t he stay calm? The spot he chose had few fish, and naturally, casting into a fish-abundant area would yield more.
Thinking this, he pulled in another small Golden Marrow Fish.
“Well, well, looks like I’m reeling in the whole family,” he thought, smiling as he placed the little fish in his fishing bag, ready to cast again when suddenly Ye Qingluan came running over in a panic.
“Captain! Bad news! The Black Dragon Pirate Crew has arrived—they’ve just landed on the island,” she reported breathlessly.
“They’ve discovered our location and are heading here, looking fierce and aggressive.”
“What?” Long Xuan was taken aback, abandoning his fishing as he quickly stowed the rod in his storage ring.
Over a hundred crew members quickly gathered, their faces filled with tension.
“Damn it! Afraid of what? Gu cultivators at the Spiritual Sea stage are forbidden from entering the Endless Sea. Only a bunch of Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators are coming. I’ll kill however many come!” Xiong Dali snarled, his temper flaring.
“Don’t act recklessly,” Nie Qingcheng cautioned with a serious expression. “We previously sank four of their ships easily, so they’re well aware of our strength.”
“If they still dare to send a group of Marrow Cleansing Gu cultivators after us, then they’ve obviously found a way to counter us. There’s definitely a plot involved, and we must not be careless.”
While they spoke, a group of fierce-looking men dressed in black was already approaching menacingly.
Along with them was a large crowd of bystanders. Growing bored of their time on the island, they now eagerly gathered to watch the spectacle.
Qian Shao and his group, being the closest to Long Xuan and the others, naturally wouldn’t miss the chance to see the show and joined the crowd.
Their group, the largest on the island, swarmed over, almost encircling the members of the Black Dragon Pirates.
"Hehe, which bunch of blind fools dared to provoke the ruthless one who can overpower a Spiritual Sea-stage Gu cultivator? Are they courting death?"
Luo Hongchen looked at the group's retreating figures, sneering.
Cai Shao grinned, saying, "I recognize them. They’re the infamous Black Dragon Pirate Crew. This pirate group is no weak force; they have a force of five hundred, five times the manpower of that fierce one."
"Even if he can fight, can his crew do the same?"
"Once these people clash, I don’t know if that ruthless one will survive, but his crew is bound to suffer heavy losses."
"Now, this will be a good show. I want to see how strong this man, who can kill Spiritual Sea-stage Gu cultivators, truly is." Cai Shao watched with keen interest.
At this moment, Long Xuan could finally see the numbers of this group. When he saw that there were as many as five hundred, his brow furrowed even deeper.
With five times as many people, if these five hundred came for blood, he might be alright, but the good-hearted people on his ship would suffer severely.
It had taken him so long to gather a hundred good people, and he couldn’t bear to lose even one. In this world, good people were as rare as gems and incredibly hard to find.
"Don’t be impulsive. They must have come prepared. First, figure out their trump card. Keep talking to them to lure out their intentions," Nie Qingcheng transmitted to him through soul communication.
Long Xuan ignored her. Even if he knew what their trump card was, what difference would it make?
Even if they had no trump card, the fighting strength of such a large group would be enough to cause his crew severe losses.
Understanding their plots or schemes was meaningless.
The best choice was to avoid fighting them altogether.
"Kid! You’re the captain of that ship?"
Scarface glanced at the distant Shenlong and then at the ship's flag, a smirk of disdain on his lips. "Hah, embroidered dragon? You dare to show a dragon in front of my Black Dragon Pirates? You must have a death wish."
Suppressing his anger, Long Xuan replied with a smile, "Yes, I am the captain of that ship. Is there perhaps some misunderstanding between us?"
"What do you think of this? How about a one-on-one duel? I doubt you all want to rely on sheer numbers to overwhelm a smaller crew, right?"
Scarface chuckled, giving him a twisted grin. "You think I'm some fool who’ll duel you one-on-one?"
"Don’t try to talk honor to me. I’m not interested in that. I prefer using numbers to crush the few."
"Kill them all! Leave no one alive!" Scarface’s words fell, and he charged forward with a sneer.
Long Xuan’s face darkened. Aren't villains supposed to talk more? Why start the fight after just one exchange, giving him no time to use the Origin Realm?
The Eye of Heavenly Secret had only recently completed its evolution, and he had wanted to delay the fight with some chatter to test the power of the Origin Realm, but it looked like his plan was already ruined.
Since that’s the case, don’t blame me for being ruthless! He hadn’t planned on using this move.
His eyes focused, and he placed his vicious Gu on his shoulder, shouting to those nearby:
"Everyone watching, hear me out! For every pirate head, I’ll give two Sea Converging Pills, delivered within a year! First come, first served!"
At this, the crowd gasped, each showing a look of greed.
What is the greatest temptation for Marrow Cleansing-stage Gu cultivators? Undoubtedly, a breakthrough pill capable of advancing them to the Spiritual Sea stage. Such an item is irresistibly tempting to any Marrow Cleansing-stage cultivator.
Two Sea Converging Pills per pirate head—it made everyone’s heart race, their eyes beginning to gleam.
At first, no one believed him. After all, there were five hundred pirates here; who could possibly have so many breakthrough pills? Did he think they were fools?
But when they saw the Integrity Gu on his shoulder remain unreactive after he spoke, they were stunned.
For the Integrity Gu to remain silent meant that he was telling the truth. He could indeed deliver that many Sea Converging Pills within a year.
At that moment, all the onlookers’ breaths quickened, their eyes alight with greed, staring at the Black Dragon Pirates as if they were walking breakthrough pills. Finally, unable to contain themselves, they charged in!
"Kill them all! Eliminating pirates is everyone’s duty! We’re bringing justice to the heavens!"
The next moment, chaos broke out across the left wing, right wing, and rear of the Black Dragon Pirates.
The number of Gu cultivators here outnumbered the pirates of the Black Dragon Pirate Crew by more than tenfold.
Once they joined the fray, how could the pirates stand a chance? It was a brutal slaughter.
As soon as they clashed, pirate heads began rolling in swathes, blood staining the ground.
Each time a head hit the ground, it was seized by a frenzy of Gu cultivators, each red-eyed and shining with fervor, as if those heads were priceless treasures.
At this moment, every pirate looked utterly bewildered.
You claim that "eliminating pirates is everyone’s duty, to bring justice to the heavens," but why don’t you go after the Red Demon Pirates over there? Why focus only on us!