Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 572: A Dream-Like Island

The island lay far in the Eastern Sea. The Tang Clan’s fleet approached from the southwest, while Xia Chichi and Hai Pinglan came from the northwest. The two parties came from two separate directions, unlikely to meet.

Throughout the journey, Xia Chichi sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, diligently cultivating, something that even earned Hai Pinglan’s respect. He could tell that, at first, this young lady had not wanted to travel alongside him. Anyone could sense that she was being used as bait. It seemed she had considered jumping ship and fleeing but ultimately decided against it.

If Hai Pinglan truly intended to use her as bait, any attempt to escape would have been futile, only changing her status from an apparent ally to an obvious prisoner, so why bother?

Instead, she chose to cultivate openly on the ship, unashamedly asking for resources and pills when needed, which Hai Pinglan generously provided.

She could not be more than twenty years old this year, yet she carried herself with such calm poise. Hai Pinglan could not help but think of his own daughter—when she left at sixteen or seventeen, she was fiery and impulsive, brimming with a rebellious spirit. Hah, couldn’t she have learned a thing or two from Xia Chichi about being calm and collected?

They arrived a day earlier than Zhao Changhe.

When they arrived, it was dusk. The island was not far off, shrouded in a mysterious haze, distorted air twisting around it. Xia Chichi woke up from her meditation and stepped out onto the bow of the ship.

Hai Pinglan had been standing there for some time, staring at the island.

Xia Chichi looked ahead. The setting sun dipped in the west, and the island lay bathed in a shimmering, distorted light. The light seemed blurred, with a rainbow-like bridge arching across the sky as if inviting them onward yet remaining elusive. Scattered around the island, some fishing boats lingered on the outskirts of this hazy boundary; fishermen kneeled at the bows of their vessels, kowtowing in prayer, seemingly seeking divine protection.

But no ship dared to enter the area of distorted light around the island.

Xia Chichi asked, “Why aren’t they making landfall? Are they afraid? Or are they reverent?”

Hai Pinglan replied, “It’s because even if they want to do so, they aren’t able to. The light distorts the view, so the island isn’t actually where it appears to be. If you sail in the direction you see, you’ll never reach it. In fact, you’d likely end up moving further away instead.”

“Is this the Sea Emperor’s doing?” Xia Chichi inquired.

“No, this phenomenon has always been here.” Hai Pinglan smiled slightly. “If it were the Sea Emperor’s doing, then why would your father send you here? Clearly, it’s something inherently extraordinary, something favorable and beneficial for you.”

Xia Chichi asked, “But the Sea Emperor is occupying it now?”

Hai Pinglan nodded. “Most likely. This also includes obscuring the records of certain figures on the Tome of Troubled Times. The root of it all lies here.”

Xia Chichi was curious. “What do you mean?”

“It’s called the Heavenly Tome. The page here is similar to the Tome of Troubled Times in that they’re both pages of the Heavenly Tome, but their purposes differ from one another.” Hai Pinglan shrugged. “Though I’ve never seen it myself, I’d bet your father has a page. Otherwise, there’s no way for him to be so powerful. By the same logic, your lover might also have a page... His ability to become the best among the flowers isn’t something that can be accomplished through talent alone.”

His words carried a subtle hint of provocation—suggesting that her father, as well as even her lover, had kept secrets from her. As if she was a poor, naive child left in the dark.

Xia Chichi merely smiled faintly, unaffected by his words. She had been there when Zhao Changhe obtained the golden foil. She was fully aware of its mysterious nature, but she had never paid much attention to it. If anything was a page of the Heavenly Tome, the golden foil was that thing. It fit the bill perfectly, both in appearance and the place it was found. She had always known.

Facing the sea breeze, Xia Chichi tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, saying leisurely, “Even if others possess it, they wouldn’t have been able to become the best among the flowers. An external artifact is just that, an external aid. One’s own strength always remains the foundation. If you cannot see past this, uncle, then I’m sorry to say that you disappoint me.”

“Hah...” Hai Pinglan chuckled. “Possessing a treasure can be both a blessing and a curse. Fortune and misfortune have always been intertwined. The more people who come to believe that your man holds the Heavenly Tome, the more he’ll have to prove whether fate truly is on his side.”

“Are you interested in taking it?”

“I have no intention of stirring up unnecessary trouble, at least not until this matter is resolved. The real threat to me is the Sea Emperor. If he finds out your man has another page of the Heavenly Tome, he might do anything in his power to seize it.”

“So you brought this up here, within such close proximity, to alert the Sea Emperor?”

Hai Pinglan chuckled dismissively. “Come on, I’m not that petty. In fact, now that I’m here, the Sea Emperor likely won’t know anything. I have my ways... Of course, I won’t be entering the island’s boundary; that’s for you to do.”

With that, the ship came to a stop.

Xia Chichi turned to look at him, showing no displeasure about being used as bait. Instead, she said, “No matter what, you brought me here, so thank you.”

Hai Pinglan smiled faintly and remained silent.

Xia Chichi asked, “Since you won’t be guiding me in, and you’ve said others won’t be able to find their way, how am I supposed to reach the island?”

Hai Pinglan replied, “What is your true purpose in coming here?”

Xia Chichi answered, “To cultivate and understand the will of the Azure Dragon.”

“There you go. You came here to cultivate, not simply to find an island. The process of finding it is also a part of your cultivation. You don’t need guidance, and it especially shouldn’t be coming from me.”

“You’re right.” Xia Chichi stopped worrying. She leaped into the air, treading the waves, and in an instant, she had entered the area of distorted light.

As soon as she entered, those on the ship lost sight of her, her figure obscured by the distorted light.

Hai Pinglan, however, seemed able to see her, watching her back as she disappeared into the haze. He sighed. “The young surpass the old like the waves of the Yangtze. If this girl doesn’t fall, her future is limitless...”

Meanwhile, Xia Chichi strode across the waves. Though the island seemed just ahead, no matter how she advanced, it did not seem to draw any closer. Step after step, even as she neared exhaustion, the island’s distance appeared unchanged, as if it lay beyond her reach.

Xia Chichi swam quietly, her body half-submerged in the sea, her mind calm as she attuned herself to the surrounding environment. If this distorted area was not created by the Sea Emperor but was instead formed due to the Heavenly Tome, what aspect was this page emphasizing?

Could it be light?

She looked up at the sky. The sun had already dipped beneath the horizon, and the stars and moon began to shine above. Yet the rainbow bridge still lingered, almost like an illusion.

What’s the rainbow bridge? Is it also light?

If everything here’s connected to light, then what does it have to do with the four idols? At the very least, what does it have to do with the will of the Azure Dragon?

From what I know, the will of the Azure Dragon isn’t that related to water. Instead, it should be more associated with the element of wood, and it certainly has no direct link to light.

But if there’s any connection, then it would be the constellation of the Azure Dragon in the sky, something that people perceive as starlight.

Suddenly, Xia Chichi recalled Xia Longyuan’s manipulation of the stars and shifting of the heavens. He had only manipulated an illusionary sky, so how could it change what people saw in reality? How could a single punch from him, over a thousand li away, directly impact the battlefield in Puyang?

Xia Chichi lifted her gaze to the Azure Dragon constellation above. What should have been a distant, unreachable array of stars now shifted within this strange refractive atmosphere—sometimes the stars appeared distant, and sometimes they seemed to hover right before her as if they were close enough to touch.

She fixed her gaze on the heart of the Azure Dragon, the mansion of Xin, the core star that blazed like a beacon. With a sudden resolve, she closed her eyes and stepped upon the waves.

With a single spin, she found herself upon the rainbow bridge, somehow crossing an unfathomable distance to reach it.

Hai Pinglan drew in a deep breath. “She truly is a prodigy.”

This place was not an illusion. It was simply light bent into disarray. Knowing that fact was one thing, but actually discerning the true location was another matter entirely. It was not something easily achieved. With everyone’s cultivation foundation differing, even Hai Pinglan did not understand how Xia Chichi saw through it.

But she had, indeed, seen through it. In the eyes of others, she appeared to step onto a rainbow bridge, but in reality, Xia Chichi had already stepped onto the island itself.

Yes, what seemed like her treading upon the rainbow was her actually landing on the island. In front of her were several figures—armored, trident-wielding fishmen, their expressions fierce as they aimed their weapons at her.

One of the fishmen snarled and asked, “Who are you, human? Have you come to meet your death?”

Xia Chichi did not even bother to look at them. Her gaze wandered across the island, and her brow furrowed slightly. The island was vast, its end nowhere in sight. Far away, mountain peaks rose, cloaked in endless forests. She could not tell how far it extended.

Whoosh!

The fishmen, angered by her lack of response, attacked. A multitude of steel tridents lunged toward Xia Chichi’s vital points.

She twisted slightly, her body seeming to glide effortlessly as the tridents missed her entirely. Her sword, Iceheart, flashed through the air. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Though her sword appeared to strike nothing but air, a spray of blood erupted simultaneously from all of the fishmen’s throats, and they fell in unison. In death, they reverted to ordinary fish, flopping down and plunging into the sea with a splash.

Xia Chichi took a deep breath. This place felt as if it was more than just a matter of refracted light. It was like a dreamscape, and no matter how she looked at it, it felt utterly unreal.