One Step Away

Chapter 47- One Step Away

Standing near the port of Sea City, Su Mu looked at the man in front of him before giving him a pouch full of silver taels.

"Hehe, it's always nice to do business with people who get it." The man checked the silvers after opening the pouch and smiled.

"So?"

"Indeed, the ship that belongs to the Red Cloud Sect left only a few days ago after they were done collecting enough people from the Sea City."

"Will they be back with another ship soon?"

"No." The man shook his head. "The Red Cloud Sect's ship visits the Sea City every month to abduct poor people, and since they only left a few days ago, I doubt they'd come back anytime soon."

"Is that so?"

"But if this brother wishes to join the Red Cloud Sect, I'd advise you against it. They are, by no means, an orthodox sect, and the only thing that sets them apart from the bastards at the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land is the fact they don't cultivate an Evil Secret Art, but other than that, they're on a similar level. I don't know what they do to those people, but I doubt they have good ends. The last thing I want is for a young man like you to end up getting taken advantage of by people like them, so be careful." The man said in a low voice.

"I'll keep that in mind."

After he was done asking what he wanted to know, Su Mu left, walking towards the seashore.

'Since there are no ships, I'll just use the Seven Divine Steps.'

"It'll take three hours if I were to go at a slow pace, but I have a feeling that I should hurry."

Since that was the case, Su Mu decided to cover the distance within half an hour.

After fixing his sword on his waist, Su Mu activated the first of the Seven Divine Steps and started running towards the Red Cloud Sect's Island.

'Even with my control, running on water takes a bit more Yuan Qi than running on land. Now that I am starting to use the Seven Divine Steps from the beginning once again, with the body of a Separation and Reunion Realm Cultivator, I know that certain aspects can still be improved.' Su Mu noted, looking at the island that appeared in his field of vision after running for about fifteen minutes.

Looking at the island, Su Mu activated the Martial Skill Divine Eyes to get a better look.

"Hmm. It'll be troublesome to sneak in from this side with so many people roaming around, so let's move from the right peninsula, which is covered with Demonic Qi."

But before Su Mu could change his path, he noticed ripples appearing on the surface ahead of him.

"This is..."

Realising what was happening, Su Mu jumped, launching himself several hundred meters up in the air, and soon, he watched as dozens of fish-shaped Monster Beasts appeared in the place he had been a few seconds ago, revealing their sharp teeth.

"That attack was strong enough to rip a True Element Realm Cultivator to shreds. Are these Monster Beasts trained by the Red Cloud Sect?" Su Mu wondered for a few seconds, but soon lost interest in the topic.

Knowing that it'll be a waste of both his energy and time to deal with these Monster Beasts, Su Mu increased his speed enough so that the Monster Beasts wouldn't be able to follow his trail.

After about five more minutes, he successfully infiltrated the right peninsula of the Red Cloud Sect's Island, soon moving on to the left peninsula where a city was established.

---

"This should be the place." Su Mu muttered, arriving at the Seaport of the Red Cloud Sect's Island.

Looking around, the first thing that he noticed was a huge, almost oversized, ship of 66.6 meters was docked. This ship had a total of five masts, each hanging a huge sail flapping in the wind; and as the stern of the ship was held high with a dragon head to show off its might and prestige, it made all around aware of its presence – taking the breaths away from the crowd of people who were inexperienced in being under such a big ship.

At least, that's the impression other people had of it.

"Brother, do you know what that ship is for?" Su Mu asked, looking at a man who was standing next to him in the crowd.

The man looked at Su Mu with a strange gaze, almost as if asking whether he had been living under a rock or something, to which Su Mu just smiled.

"This is the Red Cloud Sect's biggest ship, and from the looks of it, they are planning on a large-scale voyage." The man explained.

"Is that so? What about those people?" Su Mu turned towards a certain direction, and soon, he saw Yang Kai patiently waiting in front of the Red Cloud Sect's Disciples.

"Oh, they are common folks that'll help in the Ship's management, and the Red Cloud Sect is accepting anyone with enough physical capabilities."

"I see."

'From what Miao Hua Cheng said, the Red Cloud Sect was supposed to start their voyage in a week, but it's only been three days since the Miao Family's massacre. So they start moving ahead of time because of the massacre.' Su Mu concluded.

Soon, he watched as a group of around fifty Red Cloud Sect Disciples made their way towards the ship, led by an old man and woman.

'They should be the Supreme Elders of the Red Cloud Sect.' Su Mu watched the old man and woman, their cultivation being at the Immortal Ascension Realm 5th and 4th Stage respectively.

'Unlike what I previously expected, these guys already have one foot in the grave, so staying in this ship wouldn't be hard.' Su Mu concluded.

A middle-aged man from the large ship came out hastily, to pay his respects to the two elders, followed by the Red Cloud Sect's Disciples.

"Greetings, Supreme Elders."

The two elders smiled before floating into the ship's deck, and then, the old man asked. "Has everything been prepared?"

The middle-aged man respectfully responded. "Everything is ready. All I need is your orders, Elders, before we can set sail!"

"I see." The old man nodded and beckoned with one hand while speaking. "You will continue to do the arrangement. Master Lan and I will be in the cabins, focused on cultivating. If there are no urgent matters that you need us to attend to, do not call for us."

"Yes!"

After the two Immortal Ascension Cultivators left, Su Mu also decided to sneak into the ship, and thanks to the unnecessarily large numbers of rooms within the ship, and the low number of people travelling, Su Mu was able to find himself a room to stay in for the rest of the journey.

The sun went down and the moon rose in cycles, and soon enough, Su Mu had been on that ship for almost half a month.

'For a Second tier Ssct, the Red Cloud Sect is rather weak, even when compared to the High Heaven Pavilion.' Su Mu thought, thinking about random things to pass time.

Even after excluding Meng Wuya, a 3rd Order Saint who could conquer this Small World alone if he wanted to, High Heaven Pavilion was still many times stronger than the Red Cloud Sect, as the latter only had four Immortal Ascension Realm Cultivators.

For Red Cloud Sect to use two of their four Immortal Ascension Cultivators had shown their obvious determination to explore and harvest the Hidden Island, but Su Mu doubted that the two on this trip would make it back alive.

Other than that, Su Mu also inquired about what the Hidden Island was, and apparently, it was the same Island that had a lot of stories attached to it back in the Sea City.

The Hidden Island held a wide variety of rumours since there were mirages of it caught by people's eyes. Even in Sea City, numerous residents had experienced sightings of the mirage of this island. However, no one knew why it appeared in the form of a mirage, appearing at a remote place, millions of kilometres away from its original location. But, it was widely agreed upon that the Island did exist out at sea except no one had been able to find it.

There were a large number of rumours that indicated the place contained never-ending wealth, as well as Martial Skills and Secret Arts that are sure to allow a human to promote by leaps and bounds.

Knowing most things at the Hidden Island were of no interest to him, Su Mu didn't pay much attention to the rumours, as he knew that the Island belonged to a Cultivator who used it as their Cultivation Base, simply wishing to cultivate in peace.

While Su Mu was busy in his thoughts, the ship started shaking violently, indicating that it was being attacked by the Monster Beasts once again.

Maybe it was because they had already reached the deep parts of the sea, the Monster Beasts attacked every few days. As time went on, the Monster Beasts grew stronger and stronger, and the disturbance within the ship only grew louder.

The two Supreme Elders of the Red Cloud Sect have also begun to clash with the Monster Beasts on numerous occasions, and everyone knew that if they didn't act, the boat would've been destroyed by the Monster Beasts a long time ago.

On the other hand, there were the shouts of many of the disabled ordinary people who were mercilessly dropped into the sea as bait to attract Monster Beasts' attention.

"It's been half a month, are they lost?" Su Mu almost face-palmed himself.

How difficult can it be to simply follow a map?

After three more days, when the ship seemed to be moving in circles, Su Mu left his room and walked around the ship to confirm what they were up to.

The thing he came across was Miao Lin, Miao Hua Cheng's son, who was being slapped across the face by Yu Xiu Ping, an Elder of the Red Cloud Sect, for his incompetence in being able to find the way to the Hidden Island.

"Who are you?"

Hearing the sudden callout from behind, Su Mu turned around.

On that side of the ship was a beautiful woman that seemed to be in her twenties. She wore a long blue dress and thanks to the magnificent sea breeze, the dress pasted onto her skin, showing her magnificent figure. She had a slender waist and accompanied the two tall and perky peaks, which highlighted her busty figure. She had fair, wheat-like skin, not common with those that live around the seashore. With the colour of her skin and those long, slender and jade-like legs, she could steal the hearts of millions. Unfortunately, amid all her beauty, lay an undeniable arrogance that could only be quenched with the best things.

Su Mu remembered her as Yu Ao Qing, the eldest disciple of the Red Cloud Sect.

Since they were in the corner of the deck, Su Mu decided to knock her out to not be discovered, as it'd be troublesome if that were to happen.

"I asked who are you? Are you with Miao Lin?" Yu Ao Qing stepped forward, standing in front of Su Mu.

"While I quite enjoy breaking the shells of arrogant girls and making them fall for me, now is not the right time." Su Mu replied, shaking his head.

"Wha-"

Yu Ao Qing's words were cut short by a loud cry from the other side of the deck.

"Hidden Island! Hidden Island!"

The cry was tinged with joy and excitement, and within an environment saturated with desperation, it was quickly heard by everyone.

All of the Red Cloud Sect's disciples, including Yu Ao Qing, sprang into action and headed towards the deck.

Su Mu also moved to a place that'll allow him to get a better view while avoiding gazes from those around him, and soon, he looked at the place they had just found.

Under the recently risen sun, several hundred meters in front of the boat, there was a piece of fantastic, illusory scenery suspended in midair.  

It was a paradise-like scene with mountains, rivers, and valleys. Birds were flying in groups in the sky. As far as the eye could see, this beautiful scenery was exceptionally enchanting, with everywhere revealing an untouched and untamed atmosphere.

It was like no one had set foot on the treasured land for thousands of years. There were many rare flowers, a strong breeze, and thriving lush flowers.

Many animals that the crowd could not name appeared before their eyes in a flash. The rush of animals even brought out a bunch of colourful glints.

"So that's how it is. I guess I'll need to rely on the Red Cloud Sect to provide the necessary Qi to unlock this Array." Su Mu chuckled, looking at the scenery in front of him as he realised what kind of Concealment and Defensive Arrays were placed around the island.

Indeed, this was the Hidden Island he had been looking for, and seeing that, Su Mu couldn't help but smile.

He was only one step away from getting the Heavenly Treasure which couldn't be graded even by an Open Heaven Realm Cultivator's standards, the Soul-Warming Lotus.