In the study.
Lyra Hale continued, "Originally, the Palace Master planned to become your mortal enemy, brother-in-law. But Princess Jade Fox is his most beloved disciple, and now that she has married you, the Palace Master wishes to invite you to Penglai Island for a serious talk."
Ian Song didn't believe Lyra's story for a second. Cutting off someone's financial lifeline is like killing their parents. He had blocked Mountain-Sea Divine Palace's money flow, and as Palace Master, Dominic Donghuang would never tolerate that just because of a disciple.
He wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death.
So, he was more convinced that they wanted to lure him to Penglai Island to kill him.
Of course, even if Dominic Donghuang didn’t try to lure him to Mountain-Sea Divine Palace, Ian would still go there before leaving this world.
For the Qi Kingdom, Mountain-Sea Divine Palace is a ticking time bomb. If he doesn’t destroy or subdue it, he won’t be able to leave with peace of mind.
"Alright, I agree. When do we leave?" Ian Song said with a smile.
Lyra Hale was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Ian to agree so readily. She had prepared all sorts of arguments, but now they were useless. At the same time, a wave of worry welled up in her heart.
After a moment of silence, Lyra’s expression grew complicated. "Brother-in-law, aren’t you going to reconsider?"
"What’s there to reconsider? Palace Master Donghuang is Jade Fox’s master, and now that I’ve married Jade Fox, I should meet him and thank him no matter what," Ian Song replied with a smile.
"Is that really what you think? Aren’t you worried this trip could be dangerous?" Lyra pressed.
"I trust you wouldn’t harm me, right?"
Faced with Ian Song’s clear gaze, Lyra couldn’t meet his eyes and looked away. "Alright then. Since you’ve made up your mind, let’s set out tomorrow."
Since he would be leaving for Mountain-Sea Divine Palace the next day, Ian spent the night doting on Lily, Autumn, and Princess Jade Fox.
The three women knew he was about to leave and did everything they could to please him. Even with Ian’s high cultivation and strong body, by the next morning, he felt a bit sore in the waist as he set out.
He waved to Lila Quinn, Princess Jade Fox, Lily, and Autumn. "Go on back, I'll be there soon!"
That evening, Ian Song and Lyra Hale rode to a dock in Linhai Commandery. Lyra had made preparations ahead of time, so a medium-sized sea vessel was waiting there.
The sailors were already waiting, so as soon as the two boarded, the ship set sail for Penglai Island.
These sailors weren’t ordinary people—they were martial cultivators, probably low-ranking disciple-servants of Mountain-Sea Divine Palace.
Ian didn’t mind. After chatting with Lyra Hale for a while, he returned to the room prepared for him and rested.
Whether in his previous world or this one, it was Ian’s first time at sea.
So, early the next morning, he left his cabin and went up on deck to watch the sunrise over the ocean.
But to his disappointment, the sky was especially overcast today—there wasn’t even a hint of sunlight.
After lingering on deck for half an hour, he returned to his cabin.
Life at sea was pretty dull, so after breakfast, Ian invited Lyra to play Go. At his current cultivation level, his true essence cycled automatically; he didn’t even need to practice deliberately.
Now, he only needed to spend about an hour a day cultivating.
However, during their game, Ian noticed that Lyra was no longer her usual calm self—she seemed restless and a bit impatient.
Seeing this, Ian wondered privately, could she actually be worried about me?
By noon, the weather at sea had gotten even worse and gloomier, as if a storm was about to break.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Rolling thunder echoed in their ears, and both Ian and Lyra lost interest in the game. They went up on deck and found the clouds were even thicker and lower than before—a storm was definitely brewing.
"Lower the sails! Slow the ship!"
Lyra made a quick decision and gave the order.
When a storm hits at sea, visibility drops to almost zero—like steering blind. It’s extremely dangerous.
But you couldn’t just stop either, since staying in the center of a thunderstorm was even more deadly.
Even after the sails were down and the ship slowed, Lyra still looked worried. She went to the bow, gazed into the distance, then told the crew, "Stay sharp—no slacking off, got it?"
"Yes, Senior Lyra!"
All the sailors replied in unison.
Boom!
More thunder and lightning crashed overhead, and soon, rain began pouring down—thicker than beans, but incredibly dense.
At the same time, the waves started rolling even harder, shaking the whole ship violently. Ian couldn’t help but wonder if the vessel might break apart.
As his cultivation grew stronger, Ian had always thought that, though the world was vast, there was nowhere he couldn’t reach.
But now, tossed in the middle of the surging ocean, he finally felt just how small he was—compared to nature, he was utterly insignificant.
Just then, a surge of unease welled up in Ian’s heart.
He triggered his Clairvoyant Vision, letting his gaze pierce the heavy curtain of rain to scan the surroundings.
In the next instant, his face changed drastically. He saw a massive hurricane—almost touching the sky—charging straight toward their ship. Even though it was still five kilometers away, there was no way to turn the ship in time.
Besides, this ship was controlled by hand, not by machine. With the waves this wild, it could barely move at all—let alone turn around!
That meant the only way to escape the hurricane was to jump into the sea and dive below the surface.
"Lyra, I just spotted a massive hurricane heading straight for us. Order everyone to jump into the sea!" Ian said urgently.
Lyra froze for a second, then immediately ordered everyone on board to jump into the sea and dive under.
"Senior Lyra, is something wrong?"
The lead sailor was baffled by Lyra’s command.
"Not good—the hurricane’s already just two kilometers away! If you don’t jump now, it’ll be too late!" Ian shouted. As the hurricane drew closer, the waves grew even more violent.
"Go!"
Ian knew that every extra second spent on the ship meant more danger. So he grabbed Lyra’s hand and leaped into the churning sea; the waves quickly swallowed them up.
Ian didn’t know if the hurricane’s force would reach beneath the surface, so as soon as they hit the water, he dragged Lyra downward as fast as he could.
At the same time, he kept using Clairvoyant Vision to monitor the surface.
Seeing Ian and Lyra jump, several sailors followed suit, but three stubborn ones clung to the ship, hoping to ride out the storm.
Just then, the hurricane crashed down like a monstrous beast, instantly sucking the ship into its maw and shredding it to splinters. The three who stayed aboard didn’t survive either.