Chapter 35: Carrion Island
The memories left by the original spirit sacrifices had never encountered such a situation where two spiritual energies could be attracted, nor was there any record of how to test for cultivation aptitude.
Whether Chen Xingye could attract other spiritual energies was also unknown, so Zhou Yi was a bit unsure whether this was a good or bad thing.
This method of judging whether a person had cultivation aptitude based on whether the spiritual energy was close to a living being was simply a method Zhou Yi had come up with on his own.
However, Zhou Yi didn't see anything wrong with it. After all, Chen Gan'er's previous success had proven its feasibility.
Zhou Yi even considered finding an opportunity to hint to Chen Xuanlin, asking him to bring his entire clan together to test their cultivation aptitude.
However, even if a member of the clan was found to have cultivation aptitude, Sanyin Island's current spiritual stone reserves wouldn't be enough to sustain the long-term cultivation of several people.
Furthermore, Zhou Yi's method of testing aptitude was still somewhat crude and simplistic. A more accurate test required the collection of spiritual stones from each of the five elements.
Currently, the Chen family possessed a spiritual spring that produced water-type spiritual energy, a lava cave that produced fire-type spiritual energy, and two wood- and earth-type spiritual stones recovered from the floating corpse.
As well as four Fire Spiritual Qi and two Wood Spiritual Stones sent by Liu Miao from Tingquan Island.
Now, only the Gold Spiritual Stone was needed to complete the Five Elements Spiritual Stones.
Zhou Yi hadn't yet tested the cultivation aptitude of all the Chen family members on Sanyin Island, but the fact that three of the five or six children showed any aptitude was enough to demonstrate the Chen family's extraordinary strength.
Furthermore, since he could only test for Fire and Water Spiritual Qi at this point, it wasn't certain that these children possessed aptitude for Wood, Earth, or Gold Spiritual Qi.
Even Zhou Yi, with his limited knowledge of this world, could understand the staggering probability.
Tingquan Island, with a population dozens of times greater than Sanyin Island, only had two people with aptitude for cultivation. Meanwhile, the Sanyin Chen family, with only a few dozen members, had four or five, Zhou Yi knew, with aptitude.
This didn't even include those Chen family members whose aptitude had yet to be tested.
Unfortunately, Sanyin Island previously lacked any spiritual energy, and the cultivation tradition had long since ceased, with no cultivators born in years.
Ultimately, the Sanyin Chen clan was desperately short of spirit stones. They had so many promising young talents, but not enough to cultivate them.
These children had been deprived of spiritual energy since childhood, and forcing them to enter their bodies would easily lead to their bodies exploding and death. It would be difficult for them to become effective combat forces in a short period of time.
What Zhou Yi didn't know was how Chen Gan'er, without any support or experience, had successfully managed to enter his body with just a single spirit stone imbued with pure spiritual energy. This was truly astonishing.
Zhou Yi, who now observed Sanyin Island daily, gradually realized the benefits of being nourished by spiritual energy.
The flourishing crops and increasingly healthy Chen clan members on Sanyin Island were prime examples.
Zhou Yi could manipulate the spiritual energy within Sanyin Island at will with his consciousness.
In the days that followed, Zhou Yi intentionally guided the spiritual energy emanating from the lava caves and spiritual springs, directing it towards Chen Xingye, Chen Xingyun, and Chen Xingyue.
Although Zhou Yi didn't know whether this method could really improve the success rate of drawing qi into the body in the future, he found that after these qualified people had long-term contact with spiritual energy, a small amount of spiritual energy would enter their bodies, which also made these people become stronger and healthier.
As time passed, the time for the landing drew closer.
A dark cloud seemed to hover over Sanyin Island, weighing heavily on the hearts of every Chen clan member. In recent days, the fishing teams that
usually went out to sea had stopped fishing, but they were still sharpening their harpoons to a shine.
The school where the ancient elders taught had long since closed, leaving the children to fend for themselves.
The news of the Dead Sea Message Monument had spread throughout Sanyin Island. Although the Chen clan members, who had been navigating the Dead Sea for so many years, knew that the landing island was of little use to them as mortals, they habitually made preparations.
That night, the dark cloud that had always hung over the Chen clan finally arrived.
Although the Chen clan had long since grown indifferent to the monthly fog-clearing landing, this landing still kept most of them awake.
On the night of the landing, as long as they didn't venture out to observe the landing, they were still safe.
Many awake members of the Chen clan sat quietly in their homes or chatted with their families, their movements and words betraying a sense of unease.
Naturally, Chen Xuanlin, the Chen clan leader, was also sleepless. Even though he had become a cultivator and possessed the power to summon the undead, he was nothing more than a tiny ant before the sea of death and the gray fog.
For now, he could only stay by his wife, Wu He, and his youngest son, Chen Xingye, silently listening to the roar of the shore.
This time, the sound was louder than any previous recorded in Chen clan history.
The island that seemed to determine the fate of the Sanyin Chen clan slowly coalesced in the darkness.
As the invisible force of rules erupted, everyone on Sanyin Island seemed insignificant.
...
Amidst the gloomy atmosphere, the sun rose as usual the next day.
The people of Sanyin Island emerged from their homes and gazed towards the island connecting to the shore.
An island ten times the size of Sanyin Island loomed in the distance.
The island wasn't as ethereal and shrouded in white clouds and wild cranes as the Chen clan had imagined.
From the first glance, it was clear this island was anything but a benign one.
Above the giant island, a dark red cloud floated.
Even the early morning sunlight couldn't penetrate the dark red cloud, instead, making the dark island itself appear dark red.
What shocked the Chen clan the most was that near the dark red island, on the side not connected to Sanyin Island, there was another small island of similar size.
This small island, lush and ethereal, seemed completely out of place alongside the dark red giant.
Chen Gan'er, emerging from the lava cave, approached Chen Xuanlin and asked in surprise,
"Brother, why are there two islands?"
Chen Xuanlin looked melancholy.
"That's Resource Island."
Chen Gan'er turned and glanced at Chen Xuanlin. "Resource Island?"
Chen Gan'er felt like he'd heard this term before, but couldn't recall where.
Chen Xuanlin slowly said,
"Those uninhabited islands whose tribes were wiped out when the fog cleared and they connected to the shore have the opportunity to become resource islands."
"It's said that these islands will connect to other islands in a different way. After following certain rules, they will become subsidiaries of larger islands."
"As for the specific rules, due to the gaps in our clan's history, there's no record."
Chen Gan'er understood immediately and nodded.
"Oh, so it seems we've connected to two islands this time, but it's actually just one. It seems the island we've connected to won't be weaker."
Chen Xuanlin said,
"That's natural, because..."
"If an island doesn't have Foundation Establishment cultivators, it can't become a resource island."
"What?" Chen Gan'er felt Chen Xuanlin's words resonate like thunder in his ears, making his scalp tingle.
He instinctively wanted to retort, because how could an island with Foundation Establishment cultivators connect to an island like Sanyin Island, which only has two minor cultivators?
But the giant island with the red cloud on its head was right before him, and the resource island beside it, brimming with celestial energy, couldn't be fake either. Besides, Chen Xuanlin wouldn't lie to him for no reason.
Thinking of this, Chen Gan'er's mouth grew even more parched.
"Foundation Building... I can't even hold my own against a mere cultivator at the second level of Qi Chaining. How can I possibly withstand a powerful Foundation Building cultivator?"