Almighty Genius

Chapter 2130 - 1624: The Insidious Scheme of the Japanese Devils

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Everyone participating in this expedition, although gathered on the same ship, their minds may not necessarily be aligned...

The ruins have yet to be seen, but the covert battles between factions have already begun.

As an outsider, Qin Fang sees it quite clearly, and finds it somewhat amusing... amusing that these people have oversimplified their thinking a bit.

Not to mention whether the Little Island ruins are truly as mysterious and unpredictable as witnesses claim, even if it is indeed a lost ruin containing a Mystic Realm for cultivation... can these people here really conquer it?

Nowadays, the world has changed drastically, and cultivation has become extremely difficult. Apart from some Thousand-Year Sects maintaining a significant advantage, sects like the Tian Nan Sect and Yunhai Sect are struggling even for self-sufficiency.

Experts have become rarer, and progressing to higher levels has become extremely difficult...

In the distant past, in a time when martial arts flourished, achieving Master Level was considered just an entry point, Grandmaster Level a modest achievement, Great Grandmaster Level entering expert tier, and Supreme Realm was seen as being among the top experts. Ultimately, the absolute experts transcended the Supreme Realm, becoming like Terrestrial Immortals.

But today?

This has all become legend, Master Level is already considered expert, Grandmaster-level is considered a regional leader, and Great Grandmaster Level Experts are as good as top-tier powerhouses... Supreme Realm has turned into legend.

If Qin Fang hadn't visited Devil's Island and learned of the Five Dragons' Stockade and Five Dragons' Den, he might not have believed that such invincible experts still existed in the world... and he would have thought Supreme experts were just a beautiful myth.

Precisely because promotion is difficult, the resources needed for cultivation have become incredibly precious, and even those Thousand-Year Sects won't ignore the existence of rare materials... collecting as much as possible, even resorting to some relatively cruel methods.

All kinds of lost ruins and Mystic Realms are undoubtedly one of the ways for these Great Sects to seize resources... after all, by now, all resource areas have well-established owners, and they're not ordinary weaklings. If you truly want to seize them, it would surely lead to great conflicts and wars, ultimately benefiting no one.

Therefore, each new discovery of a ruin or Mystic Realm leads to a fierce struggle, with only one force or alliance ultimately possessing and dividing the resources... smaller participating forces might at best get only a little, or perhaps nothing at all.

This current situation also made Qin Fang think about this point...

Perhaps the Tian Nan Sect and Yunhai Sect behave discreetly enough not to attract the covetous eyes of those Great Sects, but the involvement of the Japanese has undoubtedly increased this variable considerably, making it impossible for even Qin Fang to predict where the future will lead.

Once this Little Island ruin is proven true, being a lost ruin or Mystic Realm, the Great Sects lurking in the background will tear off their masks of hypocrisy and formally join the struggle for these resources.

The involvement of the Japanese is actually a signal... but exactly how many of the Great Sects are involved is unknown to Qin Fang, after all, he is only half-involved, knowing very little of the inside story.

Qin Fang even suspects that Chen Liang and Ling Fei concealed some important information from him, and did not fully share everything as they claimed to.

"Let it be..."

To this, Qin Fang could only sigh softly.

Qin Fang also has some interest in this Little Island ruin, but far less intense than other people...

After all, having already traversed the Mountain Maze of Devil's Island, profiting greatly, and nearly sweeping through the Yang Family's Treasure Repository, acquiring considerable treasures, his interest in the unknown Little Island ruin has somewhat diminished.

Of course, if any benefits can truly be gained from the Little Island ruin, Qin Fang wouldn't mind accepting them at all.

"Uncle, that Little Island is near..."

Standing by the ship's edge looking at the endless ocean, Qin Fang's thoughts wandered until Chen Liang came over to remind him, which slightly brought him back to reality.

Due to the signal being blocked, even Qin Fang found it difficult to judge where their ship was.

However, judging by the ship's direction and speed, they should be some distance from the Little Island—though not particularly far... but definitely within international waters.

Entering international waters means entering free seas...

Leaving the territorial seas of the Little Island also means leaving the control of the Tian Nan Sect and Yunhai Sect, thus making the three forces stand on an equal starting line...

At this point, Qin Fang also felt the speed of their ship gradually slowing down, and within a few minutes, coming to a complete stop.

"What's going on?"

The ship stopped, but Qin Fang looked around and, apart from the vast ocean, there wasn't even a shadow of a little island, so he couldn't help but ask a question.

"Just a bit more time... it's about to appear!"

Chen Liang seemed to have known the reason all along, so he chuckled as he spoke.

Qin Fang nodded his head, recalling that the little island only appears at specific times. Both the Tian Nan Sect and Yunhai Sect had spent quite a lot of time figuring out the pattern of the island's appearance.

Evidently, Qin Fang and the others had come over early, waiting for the island to appear...

As a grandmaster-level array master, Qin Fang could easily comprehend this, and it even confirmed his suspicion that the island's vanishing and reappearing were due to a flaw within a certain formation...

"Could it really be the Overseas Three Immortal Mountains?"

At this point, Qin Fang carefully studied the surrounding environment and faintly sensed some traces of formations. However, they were very subtle, and even with his grandmaster-level expertise, he could only sense a slight fluctuation.

Thus, Qin Fang could imagine how formidable the formation was... even more mysterious and daunting than the mystic realm arranged by a supreme-level array master he discovered in Japan.

Connecting this with a legend that has circulated in Dragon Country for thousands of years, it's no wonder Qin Fang considered such an inquiry.

Indeed...

Qin Fang inadvertently glanced at some of the people around him, estimating that many had associated the legend of the Overseas Three Immortal Mountains, yet no one would openly speak of it.

"Huh?"

But with just a cursory glance, Qin Fang still noticed some peculiarities, which made him crease his brows slightly.

These peculiarities originated from those Japanese...

These Japanese didn't seem to have anything special about them; they were even more orderly than people from the other two camps. From the moment they boarded the ship, they gathered quietly at one side, not talking or moving, just sitting cross-legged, and they hadn't even drunk a single word.

However, Qin Fang noticed each of them was surrounded by a very strange aura... Qin Fang sniffed slightly and found that this aura contained a very special scent—one that felt somewhat familiar to Qin Fang.

"Dragon's fragrance?"

Qin Fang muttered softly, his expression changing as well.

It was no wonder he felt it was familiar; this aura bore some resemblance to the scent of Golden Dragon Saliva, which Qin Fang had consumed... Although Golden Dragon Saliva is a superb spiritual medicine, rich in spiritual energy, and its fragrance is more captivating.

The dragon's fragrance utilized by these Japanese, though not an ordinary commodity, should be a very rare exotic dragon's fragrance, yet it was far inferior to Qin Fang's Golden Dragon Saliva... the disparity between them certainly wasn't just a level or two.

Still, this exotic dragon's fragrance was quite formidable. It concealed the bold and clear fragrance of ordinary dragon's fragrance, becoming more subtle as if special methods were required to detect its presence.

Looking at the reactions of others around, so many master-level experts hadn't noticed such abnormalities, it demonstrated the power of this dragon's fragrance... Even Qin Fang, if not for suddenly sensing something, or having consumed Golden Dragon Saliva making him familiar with this scent, would likely not have discovered it.

"So that's it..."

Qin Fang furrowed his brows tightly, a sly smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, "These Japanese have schemed even more terrifyingly than I imagined..."

One must admit, these Japanese have truly exhausted their wits.

This ship indeed blocks signals, preventing the people on board from sending out information, hence the three camps wouldn't prepare follow-up reinforcements... the Japanese instead use this method to notify their companions.

If Qin Fang guessed correctly, the Japanese accomplices are following the scent of the dragon's fragrance to come over... They're just not yet appearing in the sight of these people, still lurking.

"Humph... old habits die hard, these Japanese are still the same!"

Knowing the reason, Qin Fang's expression grew rather stern.

No matter if he was with the Tian Nan Sect camp or the Yunhai Sect camp, these people were considered his compatriots, but these Japanese were foreigners and had ulterior motives, so it's no wonder Qin Fang held them in different regard.

"Trying to pull off a double-cross... but you'd better ask if I'm willing first!"

Already displeased with these Japanese and discovering their designs, Qin Fang naturally had even less qualms about taking action... (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes and monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation.)