Chapter 887: Encountering the Sun Ocean Lord P2
[ Long-range visual assistance activated. ]
[ Magnifying distant targets. ]
[ Processing... ]
The scenery before Aksai rapidly zoomed inward.
The endless ocean seemed to shrink as distant figures became clearer and clearer.
The first figure was an elderly man. His luxurious robes had long lost their elegance. Large portions were torn apart. Blood stained his sleeves.
His hair was completely disheveled, fluttering wildly behind him as he desperately fled across the sea. His breathing appeared chaotic. Even from this distance, Aksai could tell the old man’s Spirit Essence fluctuations were unstable.
He had clearly suffered a few serious injuries. The moment Aksai recognized the familiar face, his expression turned slightly strange.
"...Sun Ocean Lord."
The old fox looked far more miserable than the last time Aksai had seen him.
The arrogant Lord who had once dominated the Sun Ocean Sect now resembled an exhausted fugitive.
Behind him, four more figures rapidly approached.
Unlike the Sun Ocean Lord, their flying formations remained perfectly orderly. Their robes looked almost untouched. Each of them radiated powerful Core Formation Realm fluctuations.
Aksai could sense an aura fundamentally different from the native Lords of the Dadangar Subcontinent. Their Spirit Essence was denser and there was almost no unnecessary leakage of power. Their foundations were obviously superior.
"Must be the hounds of the empire."
Aksai did not need further confirmation.
These people undoubtedly belonged to one of the Shinayin Empire’s factions.
Just then...
The fleeing Sun Ocean Lord slightly adjusted his direction. His trajectory shifted ever so subtly. Straight toward Emerald Cove Island.
Aksai’s eyelids twitched.
"..."
"..."
Then he slowly rubbed his forehead.
"Damn this crafty old man."
His voice carried obvious annoyance.
"I didn’t want to fight another group of imperial bastards so close to my island."
His expression darkened. He immediately understood the Sun Ocean Lord’s intentions.
The old fox had not accidentally flown toward Emerald Cove Island. He had chosen this route deliberately. He was trying to drag Aksai and his subordinates into this mess.
The Sun Ocean Lord knew exactly where Emerald Cove Island was located. If anyone nearby possessed enough strength to interfere with several imperial Lords, it was undoubtedly Aksai.
The old man was gambling.
Gambling that Aksai would not allow a group of foreign Core Formation cultivators to approach so close to his territory.
Or perhaps he was gambling that Aksai simply could not ignore the battle once it erupted near Emerald Cove Island.
Either way...
The crafty old fox intended to force Aksai’s hand.
"Tch."
Aksai couldn’t help clenching his fists in frustration, a faint killing intent birthed in his heart that he suppressed it. The killing intent was not directed at the imperial cultivators but the Sun Ocean Lord.
"The older the fox, the deeper the schemes."
His gaze shifted between the fleeing Sun Ocean Lord and the steadily pursuing imperial cultivators.
Unlike the old man, those four Lords displayed neither urgency nor panic. Their expressions remained calm and confident. As though they were merely hunting prey that had nowhere left to escape.
Seeing that, Aksai silently narrowed his eyes.
The blue Fortune Flame above his head continued flickering violently. Its increasingly deep shade reflected within the golden pupil of his Astral Third Eye. Whatever fortune or misfortune awaited him, it had finally caught up.
’Calm down and think. What are my options?’
Aksai’s thoughts raced at frightening speed.
His eyes remained fixed upon the rapidly approaching figures while countless possibilities surfaced and were discarded almost instantly.
Escape?
It would only lead to his island’s ruin. The Sun Ocean Lord would not leave the island’s vicinity and the four Imperial Lords would eventually target the formation soon after discovering it, irrespective of whether the Sun Ocean Lord was shielded by it or not.
Fight? Impossible.
He immediately rejected the idea.
Kalina alone had nearly forced him to expose every card in his possession.
Even then, victory had only come after countless calculations, perfect timing, Serya’s venom, the Void Gu, the Enchanted Everwood Farm, and more than a little luck.
Now...
His opponents were no longer a single imperial Lord but four of them. Three mid-stage Core Formation Lords. One late-stage Core Formation Lord.
Even if the fleeing Sun Ocean Lord joined the battle, the numerical disadvantage would still remain. More importantly, the quality of the enemy lineup alone was enough to give Aksai a headache.
"Tch."
He silently clicked his tongue.
"I’d only be walking toward my own funeral."
Even revealing every druidic ability hidden within him would not change the outcome.
At best, he might kill one. Perhaps severely injure another. Then what? He would become the primary target of four enraged imperial Lords. That kind of exchange simply wasn’t worth it.
Aksai had always known his own limits. Confidence was useful. Arrogance was fatal.
After a brief moment of silence, his eyes suddenly brightened.
"...The island."
There was only one place where he possessed a genuine advantage.
Emerald Cove Island.
Its Third-Order defensive formation had been painstakingly strengthened over many decades.
The original Devil’s Den formation had been refined and modified to suit Aksai’s current needs. Countless Spirit Stones, rare resources, formations, and restrictions had been invested into it.
If he truly intended to confront imperial cultivators, the island formation was his greatest reliance.
"I guess I can’t really blame the Sun Ocean Lord. Perhaps I would have done the same."
Had the positions of the Sun Ocean Lord and Aksai been reversed...
Had he been the one injured and being pursued by the imperial Lords, Aksai knew exactly what decision he would have made. He would also force the battle onto favorable terrain.
He would also drag the island master of the Emerald Cove Island into the mess to increase his chances of survival. There was nothing shameful about it.
Victory had never belonged to the strongest alone. It belonged to whoever survived.
In any case, using the formation to fight tougher opponents was indeed the right choice.
Aksai no longer hesitated. His Spirit Essence surged.
Boom!
The air behind him exploded.
His figure transformed into a streak of emerald light as he shot toward Emerald Cove Island with his maximum speed. He no longer bothered concealing his presence.
Whether the Sun Ocean Lord noticed him...
Whether the imperial cultivators recognized him...
None of it mattered anymore.
His only priority was reaching the island before they did.