There was little point dwelling on the past, so he soon turned away and stepped onto the narrow path leading toward the island. Heavenjade and Sang Jinghe followed close behind, but halfway across, Luo Chen gave them some instructions, and the two immediately flew off in different directions to see to their respective tasks.

Luo Chen continued alone. After reaching the island, he hired a small boat to carry him toward the ruins of Jadecold City. The boatman was only a Qi Refinement cultivator, but he was eager to talk, and as he guided the boat through the water, he recounted how drastically the region had changed.

As it turned out… Coldlight Island no longer existed, at least not as a single landmass. The battle between Sages had shattered what was once the largest island in the southeast, breaking it into fragments and wrecking countless spirit veins in the process. The survivors there had spent decades trying to restore the region, but the damage was simply too significant. In the end, they gathered what remained of the scattered spirit veins and used formations to connect the fractured islands. Over time, the ruins were reorganized into thirteen islands of varying sizes, and Coldlight Island became known as the Coldlight Archipelago.

The boatman sighed. "That battle ruined everything. Jadecold City used to be the pride of Coldlight Island. Everyone in the region...