Lu Fan had not expected the entire island to crack, nor that it was sinking. Was it about to be swallowed by the sea? Damn it! Was he ascending to immortality or descending to hell?
"Jingjing! Ruomei! Come here! Let's go find that old man!" Lu Fan reached out, pulling Li Jingjing and Zhantai Ruomei to his side. A barrier instantly rose around them, protecting the three.
Lu Fan originally intended to fly with the two children but suddenly remembered the scruffy old Daoist. Where had that old fellow gone? Yet, he couldn't just leave him on the island to drown.
*Whoosh...* The island suddenly sank rapidly beneath the water. The three stood on the island, watching the world before them instantly transform into a vast ocean, their faces filled with helplessness. They moved forward in the water, searching for the scruffy old Daoist.
*Bang...* The island jolted violently and stopped. It seemed they had reached the seabed. Schools of fish appeared around them, along with various vibrant corals...
"..."
"..."
Li Jingjing and Zhantai Ruomei's faces showed surprise and delight, as if they were witnessing a real underwater world. It was truly beautiful.
*Hoo...* Lu Fan let out a sudden breath because he saw what appeared to be another island ahead, and that island seemed to be moving.
*Gurgle... Gurgle gurgle...* Suddenly, a string of bubbles rose from a patch of grass not far away. Lu Fan's gaze immediately shifted. He saw the scruffy old Daoist crawl out from the grass, his belly now noticeably larger.
"What the hell... You old geezer! At your age, don't you know you shouldn't drink seawater!" Lu Fan quickly stepped forward, yanking the scruffy old Daoist over. *Bang...* He landed a punch on the old man's stomach.
*Pfft...* The scruffy old Daoist suddenly opened his mouth... and several small fish were sprayed out.
The three people beside him instantly developed dark lines on their faces.
*Whoosh...* Lu Fan swiftly drew his golden sword and infused it with internal energy. The sword instantly transformed from a dagger into a great sword. *Whoosh...* Lu Fan slashed it out. A sword energy instantly cleaved the seawater in two.
"Let's go!" Lu Fan pulled the scruffy old Daoist, leading Jingjing and Ruomei towards the moving island.
*Swish...* Before the seawater could close again, the group arrived on the moving island. The island was not large, even smaller than Penglai Island by half. It was more like a large ship with flowers, grass, and trees, propelled by underwater currents.
"Master! Where will we drift to?" Zhantai Ruomei asked, looking at Lu Fan.
"Ahem..." At this moment, the scruffy old Daoist seemed to have recovered somewhat. He coughed twice and said to Zhantai Ruomei, "If I'm not mistaken, this island should be Fangzhang Mountain, one of the immortal islands!"
"Old man! You should say less! There isn't much oxygen in Master's barrier," Zhantai Ruomei said, rolling her eyes.
It was all this old man's fault. If not for him, they wouldn't have fallen into the sea. If not for trying to find him, Master could have flown them away, and they wouldn't have sunk to the seabed.
"Hey... Child, why don't you know to respect your elders? Talking to me, an old man, like that! Believe it or not, I'll have your Master spank your bottom!" The scruffy old Daoist immediately adopted a self-righteous tone.
"Everyone be careful, we might be in trouble!" Lu Fan suddenly said.
The group immediately looked ahead. They saw that the water flow ahead seemed turbulent, and the island's speed had increased significantly. It was a massive whirlpool! Damn it! How could there be such a huge whirlpool at the bottom of the sea?
Everyone was bewildered. They were already at the seabed, so how could there still be... a whirlpool?
Li Jingjing and Zhantai Ruomei hugged Lu Fan's arms, one on each side. The scruffy old Daoist, terrified, prostrated himself on the ground and clung to Lu Fan's leg.
"I think I know how I died in my past life!" Lu Fan looked at the three, swallowing. His path to immortality seemed destined to be ruined by these three.
*Hoo...* Suddenly, the island was sucked into the whirlpool. The four people instantly lost their balance, as if falling into an abyss... The only thing Lu Fan could feel was his arms and legs being held tightly!
He didn't know how long the feeling of falling lasted. A dull thud echoed in his ears. Lu Fan felt his body stop descending. If he hadn't ridden a roller coaster as a child, this would have been the best experience, giving him the thrill of flying while his soul chased. Fortunately, his second and third primordial spirits were still within his body, otherwise, they might have been flung away too.
"Cough cough cough... Cough cough cough... Kid! If you don't get up soon, I'm going to die!" Suddenly, a voice reached him. Lu Fan recognized it as the scruffy old Daoist's voice, though it sounded somewhat muffled, as if he were holding his breath.
Opening his eyes, Lu Fan found himself lying in a pit about ten feet deep. Zhantai Ruomei and Li Jingjing were still clinging tightly to his arms, eyes shut, pressed against him.
"Kid... Are you trying to crush me to death?" the scruffy old Daoist's voice came again.
Lu Fan was startled. He quickly tugged at Li Jingjing and Zhantai Ruomei. "Hey... Hey... Wake up, have you seen the scruffy old Daoist?"
"Mas... ter! We're not dead?"
"Master! I thought we were dead!"
Zhantai Ruomei and Li Jingjing opened their eyes and immediately said, seeing Lu Fan.
"Old guy? Old guy? Where are you?" Lu Fan looked around, unable to see the scruffy old Daoist, and immediately called out.
"I'm under your butt!" came the scruffy old Daoist's weak voice from beneath Lu Fan.
"Holy crap..." Lu Fan, Zhantai Ruomei, and Li Jingjing quickly got up. They saw the scruffy old Daoist lying flat on the ground, his entire body buried just below the surface.
"Old man! You're quite resilient! You didn't die from this!" Lu Fan reached out and dug the scruffy old Daoist out from the ground.
"Kid! Don't put it so crudely. Daoist Master here risked his life to save you all! Otherwise, you would have been smashed to death long ago." The scruffy old Daoist sat limply on the ground, still managing to retort.
"Hmph! If it weren't for Master's protective true qi, you would have been a meat patty by now. Still bragging!" Li Jingjing said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
Lu Fan, too lazy to argue with them, leaped out of the deep pit. He glanced at the surrounding scenery. *Whoa...* Could this be the legendary immortal realm?