Johnnie thought of Skye and Aureon.
He still didn’t know what realm they were in, but they were definitely beyond the God-Emperor level.
The old woman surely couldn’t sense Skye and Aureon’s auras.
She probably couldn’t sense Coco or the dragon egg either.
Or maybe the dragon egg didn’t count as life yet.
That was good for him—it saved forty thousand Spiritual Stones.
Johnnie stopped dwelling on it. He simply took out ninety thousand Spiritual Stones, handed them to the old woman, and said."Can we head out now?"
She took the Stones and tucked them away. "No rush. I’m waiting for two more people. Otherwise I’d be taking a loss on this trip."
Johnnie didn’t argue. He wasn’t in a hurry.
"Senior, has anyone else crossed here to get to Dragon Island?" he asked, curious.
"Of course. Plenty." the old woman said, not hiding anything.
"Oh? What kind of people are going to Dragon Island?" Johnnie wanted to know what kind of experts were entering.
She thought for a mont, then said."Quite a few. Humans like you, and also the Demon race, Demon Clan, Giant race, Spirit race, the chanical Race, and so on. Mostly outsiders."
"Spirit race?" Johnnie was puzzled. It was his first ti hearing of that race.
He kept asking."Any strong ones?"
She shook her head. "Most are weak. Among those I’ve seen, you few are already top-tier. But there are a couple of interesting ones. One has a space-travel treasure and tried to steal my business. Another is a Demonic Creature expert who also carries a space-type divine tool. It has the sa aura as yours, but it’s not as strong as your artifact."
Oh?
Johnnie’s eyes lit up. He guessed who they were.
The one with a space treasure trying to poach her business should be Douglas. His Celestial Mirror can jump through space at will.
The other should be a Demonic Creature with a fragnt of the Map of Heaven and Earth.
He wasn’t sure he could handle Douglas, but he definitely wouldn’t let that Demonic Creature go.
The old woman glanced at the Eternal Wood Emperor, then said."Kid, I feel we have so fate, so I’ll give you a bit of advice. With your level, going to Dragon Island is almost certain death. Better give up."
Give up?
Johnnie shook his head. He had to get the Dragon Pulse, not just to nurture an ancestral Celestial Dragon.
"Oh, more guests."
Johnnie was about to ask more about Dragon Island, but the old woman was already walking out with a big smile to greet them.
This ti it was a man and a woman. They looked like a couple, and both were at the Half-God level.
"You two heading to Dragon Island? I’ll take you for free." the old woman said warmly.
"Free?" The woman looked wary. She clearly didn’t believe in free lunches.
"Of course." the old woman nodded. She pointed at Johnnie’s group and said."If you don’t believe , you can ask them."
Johnnie was speechless. This granny wanted to team up with him to set up these two.
"That’s right, it’s free." he said with a firm nod.
Both of them were Demon race experts. Johnnie had no fondness for the Demon race.
"Gemma, I’ve heard about the ferryman here. It should be fine. Even if she has bad intentions, the two of us are Divine powerhouses. Why would we be afraid of her?" the man said confidently, not taking Johnnie’s group seriously at all, and urged her along.
Gemma still hesitated, but thinking of her trump cards, she didn’t argue. She asked."Can we go now?"
"Of course. Get on." the old woman said, poling the small boat over to them.
Johnnie’s group of three boarded first.
Gemma frowned, unhappy.
The little boat wasn’t big, and the three of them took up most of the space.
She wanted to push them off, but since the ride was free, she held back.
"Gemma, go to the bow." the man said warmly. Then he looked at Johnnie’s group at the bow and said apologetically."Could you make so room? My girlfriend gets seasick."
"Why should we?" Nalorin Sylvia said, annoyed. The boat wasn’t big, but there was still space in the back. These two clearly thought they were easy to push around.
"Forget it. Give them the spot—we can squeeze." Johnnie said. He didn’t mind, and since the old woman was clearly setting those two up, he wanted to see what would happen.
Everyone got on the boat.
"Sit tight. We’re about to cross the thunderstorm." the old woman warned. She pushed off with her bamboo pole, and the little boat shot into the storm.
Whoosh—
Waves surged. The boat rocked hard and drifted with the swell, yet it still moved very steadily.
Johnnie relaxed a bit and looked around.
They were already at the heart of the storm. The wind had eased, but huge waves still rolled, and worse, bolts of lightning kept crashing down from above.
The little boat dodged each strike with ease, cutting through the waves at a speed even faster than Johnnie riding his sword.
This thunderstorm zone was vast. After half an hour, there was still no end in sight.
All around was pitch-black and heavy with pressure. Lightning kept falling, blasting the sea and throwing up towering waves.
"Terrifying." the Eternal Wood Emperor said, face tense. He could tell that if one of those bolts hit him, he might not survive.
The old woman steered with practiced ease, crossing the swells and slipping past bolt after bolt.
"You two, ti to pay the fare." she said with the sa pleasant smile.
"What? Didn’t you say it was free?" the man frowned.
She smiled even more kindly. "Boarding is free. Riding needs a ticket. Not much—just half of what you’re carrying."
"Half your belongings? That’s robbery!" the man snapped. He wanted to make a move, but seeing the lightning pouring down, he gave up. Without her steering, they would surely die.
"Why don’t they have to pay?" Gemma looked at Johnnie’s group and frowned.
The old woman said calmly."They already bought tickets. Ten thousand Spiritual Stones each."
"You tead up to trap us!" Gemma snapped, then added."Fine. We’ll also pay ten thousand Spiritual Stones to cover the fare."
The old woman shook her head. "No. That was only before boarding. Now I want half your valuables."
"What if we don’t agree?" Gemma’s eyes went cold. She was ready to kill.
"Then you die." The old woman kept smiling, but it felt icy.
"The boat is sinking!" Nalorin Sylvia cried, noticing sothing was wrong.
"Finally noticed?" The old woman kept poling the boat and explained."Pay the fare and the sinking stops. Otherwise, once we fall into the sea, we all die."
They were in a thunderstorm zone, with deadly lightning crashing down nonstop. The seawater conducted electricity. Even the Eternal Wood Emperor might not withstand it if they fell in.
Johnnie frowned. It seed the old woman had also set them up.
"Everyone." Gemma said, eyes flickering as she looked at Johnnie’s group."the two of us don’t have much on us. How about you cover us? Otherwise we’ll all die together."
"Are you threatening ?" Johnnie’s eyes turned cold. He already felt like killing them.
"How is that a threat?" Gemma said evenly. "We’re all in the sa boat. Just helping each other."
"Yeah, little brother." the man added quickly. "This helps you too. Otherwise we all die."
Johnnie sneered and looked at the old woman. "Senior, if we kill them, will the boat stop sinking?"
The old woman glanced at Gemma and the man, her look unfriendly. "No need to go that far. Just throw them into the sea."
"You dare touch us?" Gemma’s face changed. The two of them stared warily at Johnnie and warned."We’re from the Lewis Family of the Demon race. You people can’t afford to offend us!"
The Lewis Family?
Johnnie was completely confused. He’d never heard of that clan, and he didn’t know much about the Demon race.
"Hmph, so full of yourselves." the old woman scoffed. "Let remind you, this man is a Core God–level expert." She pointed at the Eternal Wood Emperor.
"Core God?!" The two of them blanched and stared at the Eternal Wood Emperor with doubt.
By now, seawater was already spilling onto the boat. It could sink at any mont.
Johnnie didn’t want to waste ti. "Wood Emperor Senior, throw them into the sea."
The Eternal Wood Emperor nodded. With a lift of his hand, a vine shot out and wrapped around the pair.
"Wait!" Gemma cried, panic on her face. "We’re willing to hand over half of our treasures."
She turned to the man behind her, looking pitiful and full of feeling. "Kane, you’ll save , right?"
"Huh?" The man froze, then said awkwardly."Gemma, I already gave you all my good stuff. What I have left might not be enough to save both our lives."
"Just try and we’ll know. Hurry and take out everything on you. If it’s not enough, I’ll make up the rest." Gemma urged.
"O-okay." He looked at the rising water, reluctant but helpless.
Johnnie was speechless. He’d thought they were a couple. Turns out it was a little fairy and her simp.
"Just throw it into the sea. Don’t waste ti, or we all die." the old woman snapped, annoyed at how slow he was.
The man nodded, took out a storage item, grit his teeth, and dumped everything inside into the water.
Splash!
The sea churned. So the old woman wasn’t asking for the goods for herself.
It felt like so kind of sacrifice. There was sothing under the water!
Watching the surging waves, Johnnie had a vague guess.
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