Gongsun Chang hastily extended his hand to accept it; seeing Zhang Yan had intentions of sending him off, he stood up, made a respectful bow, and took his leave.

After leaving the Dragon Country’s Ship, a thought suddenly flashed in his mind, "If I were to destroy the letter and secretly take these Jade Pearls for myself, surely no one would know..."

But as soon as this thought arose, he shivered all over and immediately extinguished it.

Upon recalling Zhang Yan’s words, he realized there was still a need to return to the Mountain Gate in the future. Even without the letter, there was a possibility of exposure. Furthermore, this would constitute betraying his master; if someone were to find out, he would have no place within the sect.

With this in mind, he shook his head, conjured a stream of Xuan Guang, and headed back to Xianluo City.

Within the Dragon Country’s Ship, Zhang Yan released a surge of Gang Wind, sweeping the dozens of Jade Boxes into his sleeve. He said to his two female disciples, "Once I change the Flying Device, we will depart immediately."

After traveling another 10,000 miles, they would reach East Victory Continent. However, the Dragon Country’s Ship was too conspicuous, and most of its prohibitions were broken, making it unable to fly across the sky. Thus, he had to find another means of transportation.

He took out a Prohibition Token, waved it casually, and first put away the great ship. Then, he performed a spell and lightly knocked his teeth, uttering a few spells, releasing a cloud of smoke from his sleeve which quickly condensed into a Cloud Raft, topped with a Ling Kong Cloud Tent, swirling slowly.

No one knew which Demon Sect Elder originally owned this treasure; he used it offhandedly, expanded it to three or four zhang large, called Zhang Boyant and the Wang Sisters onto it, and urged his mana. The four proceeded to fly leisurely eastward.

After approximately two hours, they saw a young cultivator ahead, standing on a green Flying Leaf. Upon seeing the Cloud Raft, dressed in a green robe, his cultivation was only at Ming Qi Realm. He was stunned at first sight of the Cloud Raft. After a moment’s pause, he came forward, calling out, "Are you honored guests from the outer sea? Please halt your steps."

Zhang Yan, upon hearing this, thought briefly, used his mana to steady the Cloud Raft, and said to Wang Caiting, "Disciple, go and ask what this is about."

Wang Caiting acknowledged, descended from the Cloud Raft, flew ahead, and said, "Who are you? What matters are you seeking with us?"

The cultivator, seeing he had found the right person, was delighted, made a bow, and said, "I am Xiao Yin, a disciple of Xianluo Sect. I boldly came today to express my gratitude for your assistance in saving the members of my Xiao Family yesterday."

Wang Caiting recalled the travelers rescued the previous day and said, "So, it’s the Daoist’s family we saved; it was no more than a small effort."

Xiao Yin raised his head and said earnestly, "To esteemed predecessors such as yourselves, it’s a minor matter, but to me, it’s a great kindness that I must repay. Today, I present this Two Seas Map as a token of gratitude, hoping you will accept it."

He took a scroll from his sleeve, held it above his head with both hands, and presented it forward.

But surprisingly, Wang Caiting snorted and said, "Your Xianluo Sect is not very honest. Previously, our master asked Master Gongsun about sea maps, and he said there were none, so you were deceiving us."

Xiao Yin hurriedly waved his hand and said, "You misunderstand, elder. When Master Gongsun said there were none, there truly were none. This sea map was drawn by my master during his travels in the past. After his death, it’s been in my possession, known to very few."

Wang Caiting glanced at him, gently raised her delicate wrist, and took the map from Xiao Yin’s hands, saying, "Then we thank Daoist greatly."

Seeing her accept it, Xiao Yin was joyful and bowed, saying, "Then, I will not delay the journey of esteemed predecessors any longer. I take my leave now."

After making another bow, he rode his Flying Leaf and departed across the sky.

Wang Caiwei picked up the scroll, patted it in her palm, then turned back to the Cloud Raft and said, "Master, the Daoist brought a map."

Zhang Yan took it, spread it out across the table; light emanated from the map, revealing numerous geographical details. He glanced over it, somewhat surprised.

He initially thought this sea map pertained only to the West Ji Sea Realm but didn’t expect it to also include the Beimo Sea Realm. What’s even more remarkable is that the coastal state cities, sects, noble families, resources, populations, as well as the distribution of mountains and rivers along the East Victory Continent’s coast, were all explicitly marked, making it highly detailed. However, further into the continent’s interior, it was blank, indicating not a deliberate omission but rather that the cartographer hadn’t completed it.

Although cultivators could locate their destination based on rough positions and the Earth’s veins, it always took considerable effort, especially in unfamiliar areas of East Victory Continent. This map made it far more convenient.

Zhang Yan searched the map for a moment and found where the Mountain Gate of the other mansion was, exclaiming, "Just this one map is worth all the previous Elixir Materials."

Having a clear direction now, he wasted no time, folded up the map, performed a spell, accelerated the Cloud Raft, and turned towards the northeast.

The journey was peaceful, and two days later, they reached the near sea of East Victory Continent. The sea was dotted with white sails, and there were many ships coming and going.

Before them was the territory of Great Chu, with a coastal immortal city named Xingkang, guarded by the cultivators of Zhongtai Sect. Whenever cultivators from the Outer Continent entered the city, they would certainly investigate, so the group steered clear, continuing north along the coast.

Another five days passed, and they heard the roaring of a river. Looking out, they saw an extremely broad river with many still-unmelted ice blocks drifting into the sea.

According to the map, this river was named Lu Ye. Continuing north for fifty to sixty thousand miles from here would lead to the Beimo Sea Realm.

Traversing east along the river would reach a place named Divine House Mountain. The mountain occupies the Extreme North of East Victory Continent, stretching endlessly from east to west for countless miles.

Zhang Yan stood atop the Cloud Raft, gazing out; at the horizon, nothing but vast mountain ranges met his eyes, snow-capped peaks, frosty sky, magnificent and beautiful. If what Shen Baishuang said was true, the Mountain Gate he established lay among those mountains.

...

...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to recommend and vote on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)