"I hope the price we've paid will be worth it," Zhang Jiu said, gritting his teeth.
A hint of hope could be seen in his cold eyes as he watched the Golden Chariot speed off into the distance.
All the others remained silent, though they also inwardly hoped that Nie Tian wouldn't die on this mission.
Most of the core disciples of the sects that were present weren't fond of Nie Tian.
The only reason they wished for Nie Tian to survive was because they wanted to learn the situation of the outsiders on that other island through him. Furthermore, they fancied that they could demand their valuables back from him after their battles against the outsiders came to an end.
Even though Nie Tian possessed incredible battle prowess, he was only one person, after all. He wasn't a disciple of a powerful sect.
In their eyes, the Cloudsoaring Sect in the Realm of Flame Heaven wasn't even worth mentioning.
After they tided over this outsider crisis and reunited with their Profound realm seniors, they would have plenty of means to catch Nie Tian and force him to cough up the items he had taken from them.
Even though they couldn't do it in this strange dimension, they believed that they would be able to get them back from Nie Tian after returning to the Domain of the Falling Stars.
However, if Nie Tian died on this scouting mission, all of their valuables would end up in the outsiders' hands.
Their hands would be tied when it came to getting their valuables back from the outsiders.
All said, they didn't think Nie Tian would be able to defy or contend against them and their sects with just his own strength.
Qin Yan walked up to Dong Li, shoulder-bumped her softly, and then with faint smile, she said in a low voice, "I can't believe that Nie Tian actually had the audacity to go on such a dangerous mission by himself. Do you think your little lover is going to return from that island alive?"
Dong Li shot a side glance at her and said with a cold smile, "If he can't, none of us would be able to."
Apparently, she considered Nie Tian to be the most powerful of those who were present, and her casual and determined tone indicated that she had faith that Nie Tian would finish this mission.
Her faith in him stemmed from the repeated losses she had suffered from him in the Realm of Split Void.
She was the kind of woman who was drawn by strength. Only those who could put her at her wit's end would get her attention.
Later, she had gradually lost her hatred for Nie Tian, and made him go to the Realm of Dark Underworld and the Realm of Unbounded Desolation with her.
After spending more and more time with him, she had come to a very deep understanding of his strength and uniqueness.
Nie Tian had repeatedly displayed abilities that were far beyond his cultivation base, such as refining the Spirit Pearl, obtaining Fruits of Life, and locating Zhao Shanling...
Every time she had found them in what seemed like a hopeless situation, Nie Tian had always been able to find a way out.
Gradually, her confidence in him built up to the point where she didn't think anything or anyone would truly trap Nie Tian and stop him from rising to prominence.
In her eyes, no matter whether it was the chosen ones from all over the Domain of the Falling Stars or the outsiders, they were all Nie Tian's stepping stones on his way to glory.
"I hope you're right," Qin Yan said in a low voice.
The Golden Chariot traveled at full speed over the vast, black sea. The distant island gradually became clearer in Nie Tian's view.
With a wisp of psychic awareness he had infused into the metal compass, which was now embedded in the war chariot, he detailedly manipulated its speed and direction. He found it very fascinating.
This being his first time flying an air-transportation spiritual tool, he constantly changed its speed and direction with his mind. One second he was soaring into the heavens, the next he was plummeting towards the black sea.
This Golden Chariot forged by the Heaven Palace Sect was his from now on. He hoped to get familiar with it before he reached his target island.
It wasn't long before he learned how it functioned, and was able to control it skillfully.
Soon, the island was fully visible before Nie Tian's eyes.
He slowed the Golden Chariot down and circled around the island, hoping to land on the opposite side.
He did this because he was worried that the Stonemen would be watching the direction he had come from, and thus discover him as he approached.
After all, he didn't want to expose himself before getting a full understanding of the strength of the outsiders on this island.
After moving in a large circle, his Golden Chariot approached the island from the opposite direction. He unleashed and spread out his Heaven Eyes, which flew directly towards the island along with his whizzing war chariot.
Then, he intentionally slowed down to give his Heaven Eyes a head start.
Moments later, his nine Heaven Eyes finally beat his Golden Chariot to the island.
Floating high in the air, they reflected one image after another in Nie Tian's mind.
Through them, he saw that the island was filled with rivers, lakes, forests, marshlands, and grasslands. However, he didn't see a single outsider, nor did he detect any auras of flesh and blood.
The island he had come from had a majestic mountain peak at its center, and rolling mountain ranges around it.
However, he didn't see a single mountain on this island. It was a vast, open area with nothing that would really block a man's sight.
Unable to capture any signs of life in the area where he was about to land, Nie Tian felt slightly relieved, and controlled the Golden Chariot to fly at a faster speed.
Moments later, the Golden Chariot arrived by the edge of the island. As soon as it did, a strange magnetic field appeared, causing the war chariot to shake violently. Afterwards, no matter how the spirit stones unleashed power, the war chariot lost its drive, and quickly landed on the coast.
This made Nie Tian realize that, just like the island he had come from, air-transportation spiritual tools wouldn't work over this island either, only on the coast.
After storing the Golden Chariot in his ring of holding, Nie Tian took out his Sound Stone and tried to get in contact with Dong Li. The special Sound Stone Dong Li had given him was effective over a very long distance.
"I've arrived," he whispered into the Sound Stone. "I haven't spotted any outsiders yet. There aren't any mountains on this island, only rivers, lakes, marshlands, and all kinds of vegetation. Also, my air-transportation spiritual tool failed the moment I entered the island..."
In reply, Dong Li urged him to be careful, that his safety was of paramount importance, and that he didn't need to risk his life just to fulfill this mission.
She also told him to play it by ear, and gather precious spiritual materials when opportunities presented themselves.
Furthermore, if the outsiders were actually very weak, he could forget about those from the Domain of the Falling Stars, and kill them to maximize his own gains.
If that wasn't the case, he should ask for help and stay safe.
All of the suggestions Dong Li gave him were for his own benefit, completely regardless of the benefit of the chosen ones from all over the Domain of the Falling Stars.
After thanking Dong Li for her suggestions, Nie Tian ended their contact. He unleashed Life Stealth to mask his aura of flesh and blood, and snuck into the island.
He knew that most of the outsider races were skilled in searching for targets by tracing their aura of flesh and blood.
Only Phantasms and very few other outsider races that were skilled in using soul power were able to locate living beings by capturing their soul fluctuations.
Since Life Stealth immunized him from all detection that targeted flesh and blood, he wouldn't be discovered as long as he didn't encounter any outsiders that possessed similar abilities as Phantasms.
Over the following period of time, Nie Tian roamed the vast island like an intangible ghost that was bereft of any aura of flesh and blood, doing his utmost to get a thorough understanding of the situation through his Heaven Eyes and keen perception.
It wasn't very long before he found a few high-tier Demons by a lake. From the look of it, they were only at the fourth grade, which meant their strength was roughly equal to that of Greater Heaven stage human Qi warriors.
They were all dressed in elegant garments, clad in fine armor that was engraved with detailed patterns, and holding oddly-shaped weapons.
They were scattered by the lake, as if they were trying to detect something with their unique bloodline magic.
Under his control, the Heaven Eyes gradually descended from the heavens to eavesdrop on their conversation.
If he hadn't learned from Wu Ji, he wouldn't have been able to understand their language. Fortunately, Wu Ji had put in plenty of time and effort to teach him the languages of all of the common outsider races, especially the languages of Demons, Phantasms, Bonebrutes, and Fiends, which had once lived in the Domain of the Falling Stars.
After listening for a short while, he learned that those Demons were looking for a female human.
"A female human who's skilled in using spatial magics! Pei Qiqi!"