Master Spirit Caller thought for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll go talk to her. After all, we've always been able to sense that he's still alive, right?"
"That's true. The fact that we can still detect that he's alive means he hasn't died," said Saint King May.
"If he's not dead, then where could he have gone?" Saint King Wood asked curiously.
"We'll find out sooner or later. Alright, I'll go talk to her now," Master Spirit Caller said, rising to his feet and heading toward where Gavin White was staying.
Gavin White had been waiting in her room for a long time, chatting with Huan Wuqin every day, until Master Spirit Caller finally came in from outside.
Seeing Master Spirit Caller arrive, Gavin guessed there must be news about Evan Yang, so she asked excitedly, "Is there any news?"
"Yes. Saint King Wood and Saint King Cheng have found Evil King Darren Duan and Evil King Scorch," Master Spirit Caller said.
"What about Evan Yang? Is he alright? What happened?" Gavin pressed.
"He escaped from Evil King Darren Duan and the others' control, but he entered the Purple-Mystic Sea and is still missing. However, we've detected that he's still alive," Master Spirit Caller said.
Hearing that Evan Yang had escaped from Evil King Darren Duan, Gavin was overjoyed and smiled, "As long as he escaped, that's good. He'll definitely come find us."
"Alright, then you should rest more. If I get any news about him, I'll let you know," Master Spirit Caller said before leaving. Gavin White smiled happily, "Miss Huan, I can finally see him again."
At that moment, Huan Wuqin frowned and muttered, "The Purple-Mystic Sea—stay there for an hour and your soul feels uncomfortable; stay a whole day and your soul is wiped out. He..."
Gavin White was startled by these words. "What do you mean?"
"I'm just saying. But Master Spirit Caller said they've detected he's still alive, so he must have used some method to escape from Evil King Darren Duan and is hiding somewhere," Huan Wuqin quickly explained, seeing Gavin White so excited.
"That's good, that's good." Gavin finally calmed down a little, but after hearing what Huan Wuqin said, she couldn't help feeling uneasy inside.
Seeing Gavin like this, Huan Wuqin regretted saying anything, but at least it gave her some mental preparation. Helpless, she sighed and continued to comfort Gavin.
As for Evan Yang, he was still in the Purple-Mystic Sea. It wasn't until half a month later that he finally reached the shore. "I finally made it."
Seeing the shore ahead, Evan Yang was overjoyed and started searching the area for any cities or people, hoping to ask about his location and track down Saint King Wood and the others.
After flying for a while, Evan Yang spotted a tower. It was incredibly tall, reaching up to the sky, and there were guards at its base.
After checking things out, Evan Yang landed. The guard at the base of the tower saw him and asked, "Who are you?"
"Excuse me, brother, what is this place?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Here? Of course, this is the base of the Number One Tower of the Spirit Prison Realm," the man replied.
"Number One Tower? Which power does it belong to? Which Saint King or Evil King rules it?" Evan Yang asked, puzzled.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the man said, not understanding Evan Yang's question and looking confused.
"I mean, who controls you?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Oh, you mean which faction we belong to?" the man laughed.
"Yes, that's what I meant," Evan Yang said.
"We belong to the Battle-Mad Clan of the Spirit Prison Realm," the man replied.
"Battle-Mad?" Evan Yang had never heard of it before. Still unsure which power they belonged to, he asked, "Does the Battle-Mad Clan belong to any Evil King or Saint King?"
"We don't belong to any Evil King or Saint King, only to the Battle-Mad Clan," the man explained.
"I see," Evan Yang muttered when he heard they didn't belong to any faction. The man then asked curiously, "Are you from across the sea?"
"Across the sea?" Evan Yang was shocked by this question.
"Yes, there's a sea separating us from the other side. That's where the Evil Kings and Saint Kings are. Our side is the only independent place on this side of the sea. It's called an island, but it's not small," the man explained.
"An island?" Evan Yang felt like he might have gone the wrong way, but there was nothing he could do now.
"That's right, it's an island. If you don't believe me, come up with me—I'll show you the power of the Number One Tower of the Spirit Prison Realm," the man said with a smile.
Evan Yang naturally wanted to learn more, so as they climbed the tower, he asked, "What's your name?"
"Oh, I'm Gale Ward. And you?" Gale Ward, who had guarded the tower for years without seeing anyone, smiled.
Evan Yang smiled, "My name is Evan Yang. Maybe, like you said, I'm from across the sea."
"From your side, hardly anyone ever comes here. You're the first person I've seen reach this place," Gale Ward said with a laugh.
Evan Yang asked curiously with a smile, "Why? Has no one from the other side ever come here?"
"I don't know. Maybe there's a rule between our sides not to invade each other, or else you'd be punished," Gale Ward replied.
"Punished? What kind of punishment?" Evan Yang asked, puzzled.
"I've heard that if someone from there comes to our side, after leaving, their soul will be wiped out. Same for us if we go over there. But seeing you here, I think maybe that's just a rumor," Gale Ward said.
Evan Yang was stunned. He'd only come because he didn't know any better. Maybe there really was such a rule, but now that he was here, there was nothing he could do except follow Gale Ward to the top of the tower.
The tower was incredibly tall. It took Evan Yang and Gale Ward most of the day to reach the top, and Evan Yang could hardly believe just how high it was.
When they finally reached the top, he was shocked to see a platform with mirrors in eight directions. Through each mirror, you could see everything happening below.
Evan Yang looked in the direction he had come from and saw a vast sea. Beyond the sea was land, filled with countless buildings.
Drawn in by the scene, Evan Yang checked the other mirrors and found that the island was completely surrounded by sea. Now, he had no idea which way led back.
After all, he'd been brought here by Evil King Darren Duan.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Gale Ward said with a smile.
"Impressive. It took me more than half a month to cross the sea, but in this mirror it's just a tiny piece," Evan Yang marveled, unable to believe how much the mirror shrank the view while showing such a wide area.
"Once you've seen enough, I'll take you to our clan. They'll be happy to meet you," Gale Ward said with a smile. Just as Evan Yang was about to leave with him, he noticed a vortex at the top of the tower and asked, "What's that vortex?"
"I heard it's where they place some kind of pearl, called the Spirit Prison Evil Pearl," Gale Ward replied after thinking for a moment.
Evan Yang looked surprised and asked, "What happens if you put it up there?"
"I've heard that if it's placed up there, the top will open and this world will be completely unlocked. Not sure if it's true," Gale Ward answered.
After hesitating for a moment, Evan Yang said, "Maybe it's true."
"What's true?" Gale Ward asked curiously.
"Nothing, I just want to see your clan," Evan Yang said with a smile. So he followed Gale Ward down, spending quite some time, and after they reached the bottom of the tower, he was taken deep into the island.
There, Evan Yang saw many strangers, who all looked at him curiously.
More importantly, these people lived in trees, some even building houses directly on the branches.
Led by Gale Ward, Evan Yang arrived beneath a huge tree. Gale Ward went up through a tunnel under the tree and, arriving outside a house, knocked on the door, saying, "Chief, are you there?"
"Little Madman, aren't you supposed to be on guard duty? Why are you back today?" came a suspicious voice from inside, then a person stepped out.
The person was chubby, wearing pants made of leaves like a wild man, with leaves covering his chest. Seeing this, Evan Yang couldn't help but chuckle. Gale Ward awkwardly said, "Chief, he's from outside. I brought him to meet you."
The wild-looking chief saw Evan Yang laugh and said, "Young man, what are you laughing at? Don't you know what it means to return to nature?"
"Return to nature? Isn't this a bit much?" Evan Yang couldn't help but comment.
"You kid, you wouldn't understand. But you, don't you know this isn't a place for outsiders?" The chubby chief looked at Evan Yang and said.
Evan Yang replied, "I just lost my way and ended up on this island by mistake. Sorry."
"I see. Well, you're unlucky. Now that you're here, don't leave. If you do, your soul will be wiped out," the chubby chief said.
"Why?" Evan Yang asked curiously, remembering what Gale Ward had said earlier.
"Because once you enter here, you receive the blessing of the Battle-Mad Clan. Although it's a blessing, for outsiders it's actually a curse. If you leave, the blessing disappears and your soul is drained instantly. Do you know what that means? It means your soul is wiped out," the chubby chief explained with a smile.
"Huh? Blessing? Why can't I feel it?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Of course you can't see it, but if I take you somewhere, you'll understand," the chubby chief said. Evan Yang followed him, eager to see what was going on.
The chief led Evan Yang down the tree, through a forest, to a pool. Many people stood on the water's surface, and beneath the water, each shadow had the character for 'War' above its head.
The chubby chief pointed at the 'War' character and said, "See that? That's the blessing. With it, your soul will reach its strongest state—stronger than you ever imagined. But once you leave this island, it turns into a curse."
Half-believing, Evan Yang stepped into the pool and, sure enough, saw the 'War' character above his head. He frowned, "This..."
"Just stand in the pool for a few days, and you'll see how strong you become," the chubby chief said.
Evan Yang said suspiciously, "Alright, I'll try."
So Evan Yang stood in the pool, while Gale Ward went off to resume his guard duties, and the chubby chief returned to his "return to nature" business.
Standing alone in the pool, Evan Yang felt his soul growing faster inside him. It seemed the blessing really was accelerating his strength.
The Purple-Mystic Moon he'd absorbed before had already made him stronger, and now this place was an accelerator, speeding up his growth even more.