Chapter 945: Preparing to Leave P5

The grand hall of the Shamrock Sanctuary Palace was unusually crowded.

Dozens of people stood inside in small groups, speaking among themselves in hushed voices.

Their expressions ranged from curiosity to confusion, with occasional glances toward the entrance.

Almost everyone present was either a direct subordinate of Aksai or a core member of Emerald Cove Island’s administration.

Most of them were Spirit cultivators.

The seven Experts of Emerald Cove Island had also been summoned.

Ruan.

Shuan.

Ivy.

Violet.

Zara.

Goren.

Vienna.

The seven stood together near the front of the hall, their expressions calm on the surface but noticeably more serious than usual.

They weren’t the only powerful cultivators present.

Two women were seated at the front of the hall, near the throne-like chair.

Both were Lords.

More precisely, they were initial-stage Core Formation Lords Jina and Naisha.

For almost everyone in the hall, their identities were a complete mystery.

The seven Experts were the only ones who knew the truth.

Still, nobody dared to question their presence.

The two ladies carried the pressure of Lords, after all.

Even though their auras were somewhat unstable, the natural suppression coming from their cultivation was enough to make the surrounding Spirit cultivators instinctively lower their voices.

Some of the people who had only recently learned that their island master commanded two Lords under him couldn’t help feeling secretly proud.

Their island master had always been mysterious.

Apparently, he had even more depth and influence than they had imagined.

Having two Lords serving under him was an astonishing revelation for many of the island’s cultivators. They didn’t care where these Lords had come from or what were their intentions towards them. As long as they were Aksai’s friends or subordinates, they were welcomed and cherished.

The seven Experts, however, didn’t share their excitement.

They occasionally glanced toward Jina and Naisha with complicated expressions.

There was confusion in their eyes.

And something else.

Foreboding.

They knew exactly who these two women were.

Jina and Naisha were two of the Three Supremes of Kalingoot.

Kalingoot wasn’t an organization that openly interacted with Emerald Cove Island.

In fact, it was precisely the opposite.

The sea organization had a notorious reputation for operating in the shadows.

Smuggling.

Information trading.

Piracy.

Assassinations.

And various other activities that respectable cultivators preferred not to associate themselves with.

Jina and Naisha, as two of its highest-ranking figures, were naturally supposed to remain hidden.

They weren’t supposed to walk openly into the heart of Emerald Cove Island’s administration. And they certainly weren’t supposed to sit in the grand hall alongside the island’s core members.

Yet here they were.

The seven Experts had no idea what had happened.

But they knew one thing.

Something serious had occurred.

Ruan quietly glanced at Jina.

He could see that her face was paler than usual. At least that’s how he remembered her the last time he saw her.

The same was true for Naisha.

Their auras weren’t as stable as they normally were, either. Although both women were Lords, their Spirit Essence fluctuations carried a faint sense of weakness.

Ruan’s brows furrowed.

He didn’t dare ask.

None of them did.

Then his gaze shifted toward Jina’s arm. The woman had been moving it occasionally for the past few minutes.

She would bend her elbow, rotate her wrist, and flex her fingers before pausing as though trying to get accustomed to the limb again.

The movement was subtle.

But the seven Experts noticed.

They knew that something was wrong.

What they didn’t know was that the arm had been severed during the battle inside the Devil’s Den.

Varesh had cut it off.

Aksai had later reattached it using his druidic powers.

But even with his abilities, restoring a severed limb wasn’t something that could be accomplished in a short time without consequences.

Jina’s arm had been reconnected, but her control over it was still far from seamless.

The nerves, blood circulation, Spirit Essence pathways, and physical connection between the restored limb and her body needed time to stabilize.

Her pale complexion was another obvious sign.

Both she and Naisha had lost a considerable amount of blood and energy during the battle.

Neither woman had fully recovered.

The seven Experts exchanged another glance.

A few days ago, they had sensed the disturbance.

The Devil’s Den formation had fluctuated violently.

The killing mechanisms of the formation had activated repeatedly, and the enormous fluctuations had been impossible for powerful cultivators on the island to completely ignore.

But that was all they had known.

Aksai had personally dealt with everything inside the formation.

No intruder had emerged.

No enemy had been allowed to escape.

And because the battle had taken place within the Devil’s Den formation, none of the island’s ordinary cultivators had been able to understand what was happening.

They hadn’t known that imperial cultivators had invaded.

They hadn’t known that Emerald Cove Island had nearly fallen.

They hadn’t known that the island master had fought a battle against forces powerful enough to destroy everything they had built.

Only Jina and Naisha knew the truth.

And that alone made their presence here even more ominous.

It had been the two women who had contacted the seven Experts first.

Their message had been brief.

Come to the Shamrock Sanctuary Palace. Bring the core members of the island’s administration. Don’t ask questions.

The seven Experts had obeyed immediately. They had then passed the command down to their respective subordinates. That was how the grand hall had gradually filled.

Now, everyone was waiting.

The conversations had become quieter.

Even the people who had initially been excited about discovering that their island master possessed two Lords under his command could sense that something wasn’t right.

The atmosphere was simply too heavy.

Vienna looked toward the entrance.

Still no sign of Aksai.

She glanced at Jina and Naisha again.

Neither woman spoke.

Naisha remained perfectly still, her expression unreadable.

Jina continued occasionally moving her restored arm, her brows tightening whenever the movements didn’t feel quite right.

The seven Experts exchanged another silent look.

Whatever had happened, it was clearly serious enough for two hidden Lords of Kalingoot to reveal themselves before Emerald Cove Island’s entire administrative core.

It seemed that whatever significant had happened over the past few days, they were about to hear it from the island master himself.

Step. Step. Step.

At this point, the quiet atmosphere of the grand hall was soon interrupted by footsteps approaching from outside.

Several people turned toward the entrance.

Three women entered together.

The first was an old lady with silver hair and a slightly hunched posture. Despite her ordinary appearance, she possessed the cultivation of a 9th-stage Spirit Refining cultivator.

She was none other than Dia Naya, an old archer and explorer who had given Aksai the map of the Duya Forest.

Behind her walked a mature beauty with a calm and dignified temperament.

Nimiya Jaram.

She was an initial-stage Foundation Establishment Expert.

The third woman was younger than Nimiya in terms of appearance, but the difference wasn’t particularly obvious.

Niviya Jaram was Nimiya’s daughter.

Unfortunately, she had been stuck at the 9th stage of the Spirit Refining realm for quite some time. The prolonged stagnation had taken its toll on her appearance, making her look surprisingly older than her own mother.

The three women quietly entered the hall.

Their arrival immediately drew some attention.

They weren’t among the island’s active administrators, and none of them held particularly impressive positions in the current structure of Emerald Cove Island.

Yet their status was still special.

Dia Naya and Nimiya Jaram were among the original members of Aksai’s team when he had first taken control of Emerald Cove Island with Nuya’s assistance and the backing of the Neutral State, Haan Di.

Back then, things had been very different.

Aksai hadn’t been a Lord.

Nuya had still been present on the island.

And Dia Naya and Nimiya Jaram had been recognized as co-owners of Emerald Cove Island alongside them.

They had contributed during the island’s early development and had stood beside Aksai when his position was far less secure than it was now.

But things had gradually changed.

Nuya eventually left the island with a few of her direct subordinates.

Aksai later broke through to the Core Formation realm and became the undisputed master of Emerald Cove Island.

Dia Naya and Nimiya Jaram understood the situation. Thankfully, they had no intention of holding onto their former positions.

The two women had humbly requested that Aksai remove their status as co-owners.

In exchange, they asked for only two things.

His continued support.

And the freedom to stay away from dangerous affairs.

Aksai had agreed.

Over the years, he had provided them with suitable resources and protection without forcing them to participate in the conflicts surrounding the island.

As a result, even though the two women were no longer island owners, their status remained special.

The older members of Emerald Cove Island knew their history.

The newer ones might not understand exactly why they were treated differently, but they had enough sense to follow the established etiquette.

Even the seven Experts acknowledged their arrival.