The East Sea Swirls was indeed terrifying. Despite standing afar, one could still feel the ferocious movements of the waves. When seen from above, one would find that the East Sea Swirls had no boundaries. One couldn't see the end at all.
Eight Gods Island and East King Island were to the left and right of the East Sea Swirls. Both islands resembled two huge pieces of land. In the middle of these two pieces of land was the boundaryless sea. All the seawater seemed to be swirling in a frenzy around a common center, causing huge waves!
Emperor Yan's Hall was probably hidden within the depths of these waves!
While the swirls were rotating, they were also ejecting boundless spiritual qi. That spiritual qi seemed to have come from the depths of the sea, and Emperor Yan's Hall would most certainly be on it to absorb the majority of this spiritual qi. The remaining spiritual qi would then leak out towards the Four Islands of the East Sun and the surrounding hundreds of thousands of islands.
There were also several small islands in the vicinity of the East Sea Swirls. The smaller ones could fit a bazaar, while the larger ones could probably fit 100,000 people. As the East Sea Swirls weren't always steady, those islands in the vicinity were largely occupied by ghostly cultivators. Only ghostly cultivators could survive in such an environment.
Wu Yu and Jiu Ying were currently standing near an island. This island wasn't particularly large. Wu Yu had seen several ghostly cultivators entering it. Looking from afar, it seemed to house a bazaar for the ghostly cultivators. It probably served the same function as the outer city of Yan Huang Imperial City. However, the scale was a lot smaller.
On his journey to the east over the past period, Wu Yu had gotten into contact with ghostly qi, bloodlust, and killing intent. Together with his personal aggression, ordinary ghostly cultivators would find it difficult to tell that he was a martial cultivator. Therefore, after arriving at the place and noticing that the people around them were largely low tier ghostly cultivators, Wu Yu and Jiu Ying weren't particular about hiding themselves.
Truth be told, ghostly cultivators with a little ambition would have followed the large army towards Dong Sheng Divine Continent. Even if they could not keep up the pace or if they had regretted not following, they would still be on their way there. Those that were left behind were either being forced to or those that were as timid as mice.
Looking at the majestic East Sea Swirls, Wu Yu said, "We can't just barge in recklessly. There are so many ghostly cultivators around. Let's see if we can find some information or things to take note of."
"That's reasonable."
This small island was extremely close to the East Sea Swirls, so spiritual qi was in abundance. Therefore, this small island had always attracted a large number of ghostly cultivators. When more than 90% of the ghostly cultivators had headed towards the divine continent, there were still several hundred ghostly cultivators in this place. As such, one could easily deduce how lively this small island named Soul Returning Island was on a typical day.
Swooping down from the sky, one could see that the majority of the island was covered in trees and forest. There seemed to be a path in the middle that was extremely broad. This was the place where ghostly cultivators did their trades. Different from the trading areas of cultivators, the buildings along the street were dark and the scent of blood filled the atmosphere. Even the items on sale in the shops had blood stains. Or were objects made from blood.
Wu Yu and Jiu Ying had come to this place mainly because there was a large number of people around, and they could get information from them. If this didn't work out, they could also solve the issue by capturing several ghostly cultivators for questioning.
To their astonishment, they heard countless ghostly cultivators discussing the Devious Shadow Ghost Sect the moment they arrived at this place.
The Devious Shadow Ghost Sect was the brother sect of the Giant Whale Sect. They had their glory days but had been dealt a serious blow by Emperor Yan's Hall. Since then, they had deteriorated to the level of the Giant Whale Sect.
The ghostly cultivators were in groups of twos or threes. There were relaxed and casual, and laughter could be heard from time to time. Wu Yu and Jiu Ying stood in a dark corner while eavesdropping on their discussion about the Devious Shadow Ghost Sect.
"The current sect leader of Devious Shadow Ghost Sect is young and foolish. It isn't a complete surprise that he has done such foolish acts," a ghostly cultivator explained.
"Yeah. Even though the people of Emperor Yan's Hall have all headed to the divine continent to occupy it, and even though Emperor Yan's Hall is completely empty without anyone to activate the Sect Protecting Spirit Design, the 10,000 Ghosts Immortal Extinguishing Design isn't something that they could possibly charge into!"
"That's the reason why they have made a fool of themselves. Moreover, the entire sect has paid the price with their lives. Even though the 10,000 Ghosts Immortal Extinguishing Design wasn't activated, its auto retaliation mode easily took his life away easily."
"Yeah! Those from Emperor Yan's Hall aren't fools that get overwhelmed with excitement. Although they have gone out in full force with the Ghostly Emperor to conquer the divine continent, only a Primordial Spirit Transformation cultivator could possibly make his way through the 10,000 Ghosts Immortal Extinguishing Design and break into Emperor Yan's Hall! Even Ghostly Sages wouldn't make it through the 10,000 Ghosts Immortal Extinguishing Design!"
It would seem like Devious Shadow Ghost Sect, who had planned to steal the Godly Sea Steadying Needle to destroy Emperor Yan's Hall, had completely vanquished. Wu Yu had thought of allying with them, but the other party had already been annihilated.
Moreover, that had happened within the last two days. Otherwise, the crowd on the Soul Returning Island wouldn't have been discussing this matter.
"What's most important is that Emperor Yan's Hall probably has left some people behind. Otherwise, they wouldn't have responded so quickly. Clearly, although everyone would like to go to the divine continent, they still have to leave behind some Ghostly Sages!"
The Ghostly Sages that they were talking about were likely the equivalent of Shushan Sword Sages or generals in the Yan Huang Immortal Army. Shen Kong was a genius Ghostly Sage.
After loitering around the Soul Returning Island for half a day and even capturing a few ghostly cultivators for questioning, they had roughly confirmed the contents of the information. This made Wu Yu realize that it wouldn't be easy for Jiu Ying and him to realize their plans.
"As long as the 10,000 Ghosts Immortal Extinguishing Design is around, just getting in will be impossible. We have to think of a way to convince the people in Emperor Yan's Hall to let us in willingly. Otherwise, this task will be too difficult!" Wu Yu said with a frown.
Jiu Ying felt that this was impossible as he shook his head and commented, "Let us in willingly? How is that possible?"
Both of them had investigated the peripherals of the East Sea Swirls. One couldn't get into the depths of the swirls through the peripheral area. Rumor had it that they had to enter through Emperor Yan's Hall. That dao treasure, the Godly Sea Steadying Needle, was right there. Once they removed the Godly Sea Steadying Needle, the entire Emperor Yan's Hall and the 10,000 Ghosts Immortal Extinguishing Design would be ripped apart by the storm of the East Sea Swirls. After all, they were located at the place where the East Sea Swirls were the most violent.
Wu Yu thought for a moment and found that his idea was rather impossible. Their identities were crystal clear before ghostly cultivator experts. No ghostly cultivator would be so dumb to let them into Emperor Yan's Hall.
"If we pretended to be weak and allowed ourselves to be captured, do you think they would bring us into Emperor Yan's Hall?"
Ba She would not appear unless Jiu Ying was in a life threatening situation. Therefore, Wu Yu still had to rely on himself at this moment. Ba She was their last and final trump card.
Wu Yu shook his head and said, "Emperor Yan's Hall has likely left behind several Ghostly Sages. If we were captured, it would be hard to escape, let alone execute our plans. This method might be a little risky. Only if we had a certain level of freedom after we got in would we have a chance for success."
Both of them racked their brains to search for a solution. Suddenly, Jiu Ying knocked his head and exclaimed excitedly, "Other than Emperor Yan's Hall, aren't there the other four major sects in the vicinity? Among the four major sects, it's likely that they have left a person behind. It wouldn't be easy to enter through Emperor Yan's Hall, but it should be a little easier to do so through the four major sects. If I can control an expert from one of the four major sects and he is within the limits of what we can handle, we just have to subdue that person and I'll have a way to make it into Emperor Yan's Hall!"
"You will have a way once we subdue this person? What's your plan?" asked Wu Yu.
Jiu Ying answered, "I have a mystique that allows me to control a person at the brink of death. He would become a puppet that followed every instruction of mine. The four major sects are subordinates of Emperor Yan's Hall and are under their control. If we can control one of these people and make him request for help at Emperor Yan's Hall by claiming that the sect is under threat and that he has suffered grave injuries, the people in Emperor Yan's Hall might let him in. At that time, we might be able to get in by disguising ourselves as ghostly cultivators. Uncle Ba would definitely follow us in. With Uncle Ba around, we wouldn't have to worry about dying and could charge as we wish. Your speed is insanely quick, so even a Ghostly Sage might not be able to capture you. As for me, I have Uncle Ba to protect me, so I have even fewer things to worry about. Our biggest issue is getting in."
Jiu Ying explained in great detail.
Wu Yu had to think deeply about each step. Clearly, this was their only option!
"Since you have a mystique like this, it is indeed worth a try." A glimmer of hope surfaced in Wu Yu's heart.
He continued his analysis. "Among the four major sects, the one closest to us would be the East King Palace, followed by the Eight Devil God Sect. Other than these two, Snow Jade Hall and the Devil's Gate are a little further from us. In that case, let's head to the East King Palace first and see if there's any suitable person that has been left behind."
Jiu Ying nodded his head.
Both of them were decisive. After finally spotting a glimmer of hope, they got up rapidly and headed towards East King Island of the Four Islands of the East Sun.
The lord of East King Island was also referred to as the East Ghostly King. He was a Primordial Spirit Transformation Realm expert and had an extremely close relationship with Emperor Yan's Hall. Some even referred him as the ninth Hell Emperor. East King Palace was fully under Emperor Yan's Hall control as they assisted Emperor Yan's Hall to manage East King Island. East King Island had bountiful cultivation resources and tens of millions of mortals. East King Palace raised these mortals for Emperor Yan's Hall as though they were raising livestock to be used for cultivation breakthroughs.
Both of them made a detour around the East Sea Swirls and soon saw a vast piece of land. That was none other than East King Island! After stepping onto the East King Island, Wu Yu took flight on his sword while carrying Jiu Ying along. Looking down from the sky, one could indeed find East King Island to be full of mortals. Although there were lots of mortals, the entire East King Island wasn't prosperous. One could even call it bleak and desolate. The mortals lived in extremely poor conditions. From their facial expressions and their eyes, one could tell that they had no pleasures in life. Living on had become their only objective.
In fact, some were even forced to breed for the ghostly cultivators. Rumors had it that those who did not give birth to five children by the age of 30 would be killed. Their souls would be refined by the ghostly cultivators to strengthen their cultivation or immortal treasures.
Looking across, the land was swarming with famished refugees. The entire world seemed to be greyish. The only expressions the mortals had were depression, disappointment, and misery. Having intelligence while living in a world like this was an extremely brutal matter.
Wu Yu wasn't a saint and not even close to being one. However, when he arrived at a world like this, he clearly noticed the intricate and complicated relationships between the ghostly cultivator and the weak and insignificant mortals. He was once a mortal and thus felt an indescribable fury at this moment. It was fury towards all ghostly cultivators.