Chapter 70 The Lord of Donglai

Hundreds of "captured slaves" from the pirate ship disembarked and, in excitement, rushed toward the Donglai Immortal Village several miles away from the dock. The Donghai Immortal Village, which they had dreamed of reaching, was now within sight, and they were eager for a glimpse of its true face.

Donglai Immortal Village was an "immortal city" at the village level, sprawling over ten miles in circumference, surrounded by thick spirit-wood walls. Inside these walls stood numerous towering arrow towers, with many guards armed with hard bows, vigilantly watching over the settlement. Outside the immortal village, there were vast stretches of spiritual fields, planted with abundant spirit grains, spirit beans, and other spiritual crops. The village gate itself was a massive wooden barrier, four or five fathoms high, constructed from gigantic spirit-wood, with a plaque inscribed with the four characters for "Donglai Immortal Village." Though simple, it exuded an extraordinary aura.

"Let us go; we should head to Donglai Immortal Village now!" Ye Mo only withdrew his thoughts once Zheng Hongjun, Zheng Yiqing, and the others had disappeared at the far end of the dock, turning to the dozen or so martial artists beside him—Mo Ling, Gao Jian, and others. These were all that remained at his side of those who had shared adversity with him on the island—Lin Zhi, Wang Hu, Yang You, Vice-shipmaster Chang, and a few more. The rest of the "captives" from the pirate ship had long since hurried into the immortal village.

Their encounter with Zheng Yiqing just now had left everyone feeling somewhat heavy-hearted. The seas were perilous, and it was impossible to reach Donglai Spirit Island safely on mere spirit-wood rafts. Ye Mo had even thought that Zheng Yiqing and the others had already been swallowed by the sea, only to find, upon landing on Donglai Spirit Island, that Zheng Yiqing appeared before him, his cultivation dramatically increased.

"Zheng Yiqing advanced to the ninth level of the Body Refining stage in just a month; he must have relied on that so-called uncle of his! This fellow is like a persistent ghost, and now, with such a powerful backer among the cultivators, I fear he’ll continue to oppose us," Gao Jian said angrily.

"There’s no use worrying about it now; all we can do is take things as they come. For the moment, what matters most is to quickly improve our own strength, to become cultivators and advance our cultivation. Let’s enter Donglai Immortal Village first and see what it’s like inside," Ye Mo replied with a touch of helplessness.

With their minds full of thoughts, the group arrived at the village gate. Two guards stood at the entrance, formidable and imposing, clad in spiritual armor and armed with spiritual swords. Their eyes gleamed with an intimidating light; they were cultivators, and the martial artists dared not meet their gaze.

"By the way, Immortal Master! Every time Shipmaster Feng came to the village, he would visit the city lord. That sea vessel only passed through the foggy zone to reach the Spirit Island because of the special permission of Donglai Immortal Village’s city lord. Each visit, we needed to obtain a single-use nautical chart for the foggy zone, or we wouldn’t be able to return the next time. I managed to bring us safely to Donglai Spirit Island by relying on that chart. Immortal Master, you’ll need to visit the city lord to receive another fog zone nautical chart," Vice-shipmaster Chang recalled as they passed through the village gate, hurrying to inform Ye Mo.

"Visit the city lord?" Ye Mo was surprised, then nodded after a moment’s thought. "Very well, you all go ahead and look around the village. I’ll go see the city lord—this matter is important. I’ll meet up with you afterward. By the way, where does the city lord reside?"

"The city lord’s residence is in the very center of the immortal village," Vice-shipmaster Chang replied at once.

The others went off to explore the village, while Ye Mo made his way alone toward the city lord’s residence. Unlike mundane villages, every pavilion and tower along the village streets here was built of spirit-wood, the beams and pillars adorned with carvings of dragons and phoenixes—exquisitely elegant, with a grandeur reminiscent of palatial mansions.

The term "immortal village" was actually tied to the levels of immortal cities. These were ranked as village-level, town-level, and city-level. Village-level was the lowest, typically ruled by a city lord at the Qi Refining stage, and was commonly called an "immortal village." Even at this level, however, there were defenses like city walls and arrow towers.

Ye Mo soon arrived at a large mansion occupying more than ten acres at the village center. Above its entrance hung a plaque with three bold characters: "City Lord’s Residence." The calligraphy was ancient and vigorous; though Ye Mo knew little of script, he was deeply impressed.

Two robust guards stood at the mansion gate. Ye Mo stepped forward, declared his identity, explained his purpose, and requested an audience with the city lord. One of the guards immediately went to report, and after about half an hour, a boy in green robes came out to summon Ye Mo inside.

"You must be the new shipmaster? The city lord was meditating and has just emerged. He’ll see you in the study now—follow me," the green-robed boy said with a touch of arrogance, turning to lead the way.

The boy looked only eight or nine years old, with delicate, childlike features, but his pride was unmistakable. However, Ye Mo did not dare underestimate him; the boy’s steps were light and silent, clearly a martial artist of considerable strength—likely at the eighth or ninth level of Body Refining.

Ye Mo sized him up, secretly amazed. The city lord’s residence of Donglai Immortal Village was not to be taken lightly.

For a child of eight or nine to be at the eighth or ninth stage of Body Refining, just a step away from the martial artist’s peak—given a supply of Vitality Pills, he might well form his Nascent Soul and become a Qi Refining cultivator within a year.

Before long, Ye Mo followed the boy through winding corridors to a study within the residence.

"Master, the new shipmaster Ye has arrived! According to his report, he has replaced Feng Xionglang as master of the pirate ship and wishes to obtain a nautical chart for the foggy zone," the boy announced respectfully outside the study instead of entering directly.

"Very well, come in," came a languid male voice from within after a moment.

The boy gestured to Ye Mo, who then pushed open the door and entered. Looking inside, Ye Mo saw that the furnishings were quite simple—a broad bookshelf filled with books stood against the wall, and in the center, a large desk with several chairs, all made of unknown spirit-wood. The floor was covered with soft monster-hide, understated yet luxurious.

A middle-aged man in long robes, pale and beardless, sat in a spirit-wood chair, holding a teacup and regarding Ye Mo coolly. His square face was unremarkable, appearing about fifty years old, but he radiated a natural dignity, the kind that comes from long command.

"I am Ye Mo, paying respects to the city lord," Ye Mo said, not daring to look too long before stepping forward.

"My name is Zou Ruhai, and I am the city lord of Donglai Immortal Village," the man replied calmly, casting a glance at Ye Mo and setting down his tea. "I hear you killed Feng Xionglang and became the new master of that pirate ship?"

"That’s right," Ye Mo began, about to explain further.

The man raised a hand to stop him and continued, "That fellow Feng was merely a brash warrior. I don’t care if you killed him—besides, it happened on the sea, not in my territory. I have no concern for the chaos of the high seas. As long as I can buy slaves, it makes no difference who sells them to me. I need a great many slaves for my work! I want all those hundreds of slaves from your ship. Name your price—how much gold and silver do you want?"

The man had not even used his spiritual sense to probe Ye Mo; their gap in cultivation was such that a single glance sufficed to assess Ye Mo’s level. Besides, the snakehead at the dock had already reported Ye Mo’s situation in advance, including the fact that Ye Mo had seized the ship from Feng Xionglang—everything had been thoroughly investigated.