Chapter 19

At noon on the island, the sun was blazing high in the sky.

Ye Mo walked alone through the dense jungle, feeling the misty water vapor from the forest as it refreshed him, and he did not feel the slightest bit of heat.

Since he had broken through to the seventh level of Body Tempering, his senses had greatly improved. A few days ago, he could only faintly feel the moisture in the jungle, but now he could sense it as it condensed in the air, drifting with the wind.

He could even hear the chirping of birds dozens of feet away in the dense treetops and smell the faint fragrance of various grasses in the air.

"What's that smell? It's the scent of medicinal herbs, and there's a faint smell of blood! There are quite a few people around here!"

Ye Mo sniffed the air and observed the disordered footprints on the ground.

Before long, he saw a low fence made of small branches, crudely built and uneven, in the jungle ahead.

Looking inside the fence, Ye Mo saw seven martial artists sitting and lying in a disordered manner, angrily discussing something.

In the center was a black-robed martial artist, who held the highest status.

The other martial artists were gathered around the black-robed martial artist.

"Most of them are wearing coarse cloth, and they are all big and burly men. They must be a group of civilian martial artists!"

Ye Mo crouched carefully in the grass, instantly tensing up. The atmosphere on the island was tense, and unfamiliar martial artists could easily draw their weapons at the slightest provocation.

However, after a careful observation, he quickly relaxed.

Ye Mo noticed that this group of martial artists did not have a single iron weapon. The fence was probably made by breaking branches with their strength, which explained why it looked so ugly.

This meant that the knife and sword wounds on Wang Hu and Yang You were not inflicted by this group.

Apart from those who specialized in fist and leg techniques and lightness skills, ordinary martial artists without weapons had significantly reduced combat power and posed little threat.

Ye Mo, with his strength, was not afraid of these seven weaponless martial artists. He crouched in the dense grass, perked up his ears, and eavesdropped on their conversation from a distance.

"Damn it! Now we don't even have a decent weapon to cut wood. We can only gather some rough branches and leaves, and we can't even build a proper fence! How are we supposed to survive on this island? A venomous snake could slither in at night and kill us all!"

A bearded black man glanced at the fence they had built, his face grim.

"Kuang Niu, stop complaining! We are already fortunate to have survived that terrifying storm. Although we lost our weapons in the shipwreck, as long as we are alive, there is always hope."

A young martial artist in a green robe said with a stern expression.

The black man, known as Kuang Niu, glanced at the young martial artist in the green robe but did not say more, only his face showing anger.

"Last night, we encountered a sea beast that killed several people. Fortunately, it left quickly, or we would all be dead! Our current task is to find suitable weapons. If another sea beast comes tonight, who knows how many of us will still be here to talk tomorrow."

"Easy to say, but who doesn't know we need weapons? Now we can't even break a single tree! Where can we find weapons? With stones or branches?"

A tiger-headed youth complained. Although his words made the person who spoke earlier very unhappy, they were not without reason, and the other person could not easily refute him.

"If it weren't for Lin Lao Da using the 'Ghost-Seeing Grass' to make a potent poison called 'Ghost-Fearing' to drive away the sea beast last night, few of us would be standing here today!"

"Of course! It's a pity that the sea beast wasn't killed, or we could have had a good meal of meat."

After saying this, the tiger-headed youth's stomach growled in agreement.

Under normal circumstances, this would have caused a burst of laughter, but at this moment, everyone was hungry and demoralized, and no one had the heart to laugh.

"Alas, there is no way to leave this accursed island without a ship. If I had known the sea was so dangerous, I wouldn't have come to seek the Immortal Village! We didn't find the Immortal Village, but we found a broken island instead, all because we were deceived by those sea merchants!"

"Don't talk nonsense! The leader will surely find a way to get us out of here alive! If you don't want to look for it, wait until we find the Immortal Village, and you'll be envious to death!"

...

Listening to their conversation, Ye Mo quickly pondered in his mind.

This group of martial artists were also survivors from the same ship, and they were likely from the same country. After the shipwreck, only these seven remained. Their weapons were lost in the storm, and without sharp tools, they couldn't even cut a single tree, which is why the fence was so poorly built.

Last night, a sea beast attacked them, and although they managed to drive it away, some of them were killed or injured. The situation of this group of martial artists was already at the brink of despair.

"Their leader is actually a poison master! If this person could join our cave camp, the defensive strength of the camp would increase several times! Using poison on weapons would give us a better chance against the sea beasts at the end of the month."

Ye Mo was greatly tempted by the idea of recruiting the black-robed martial artist.

While gathering herbs, he occasionally saw some poisonous herbs but did not dare to pick them, as they were all wasted. If he had a poison master, he could use these poisonous herbs to deal with the terrifying sea beasts, which would be ideal!

"However, the black-robed man does not seem like someone who would willingly submit to others, and his appearance suggests he is a deep and calculating person. My cultivation is not strong enough to make this poison master submit. It would be too difficult to make him obey me!"

After considering for a while, Ye Mo gave up on the tempting idea of recruiting them.

He did not yet have the strength to make the poison master and the other martial artists submit to him. Rashly recruiting them into the cave camp could lead to trouble. If they tried to take over, it would be disastrous.

However, not being able to recruit the poison master did not mean he could not use the poison master to make poison for him. He could trade his Spirit Wood Spear for the poison.

Ye Mo emerged from the hiding place in the grass, pretending to have just passed by, and walked to the fence.

He was not afraid of them. If a conflict arose, he could not guarantee that he could defeat all eight weaponless martial artists alone, but killing two or three and escaping unharmed was not a problem.

"Who's there!"

"What is it!?"

Several shouts of alarm echoed from the dilapidated camp.

The martial artists heard the crunching of leaves and footsteps and quickly stood up.

"Just passing by! I was looking for food and happened to pass by here. I saw you all camped here and discussing the island, so I came to say hello. If I have disturbed you, please forgive me!"

Ye Mo stopped outside their camp fence, a smile on his face.

"Just passing by?"

"There's nothing to pass by in this deep jungle!"

The martial artists in the camp were skeptical, but seeing that Ye Mo was alone and they were many, their tense expressions relaxed slightly.

The black-robed man saw the green sword on Ye Mo's body and immediately recognized it, his originally gloomy eyes brightening.

He waved his hand.

The seven martial artists in the camp saw their leader about to speak and immediately fell silent.

"This brother must also have been shipwrecked on this island, and we are in the same predicament. This island is very unsafe, with all kinds of dangers and even terrifying sea beasts. It is extremely dangerous for you to be alone. Why not join us? We are short of manpower, and with your help, our strength will increase significantly, and you will have a safe place to stay. What do you think?"

The black-robed martial artist, with the intention of recruiting, laughed loudly at Ye Mo.

"I already have a group. I just came out to find some food. Thank you for your kind offer, brother!"

Ye Mo shook his head and smiled.

The black-robed martial artist and the other martial artists, upon hearing Ye Mo's words, showed obvious disappointment. It seemed that easy recruitment was not possible. Without Ye Mo joining them, they could not directly obtain the green sword from him.

Unless... robbery!

The black-robed martial artist and the others exchanged glances, seemingly all thinking the same thing. Several of them, holding wooden sticks and stones behind their backs, began to move slowly, trying to flank Ye Mo.

"Overestimating yourselves! Do you think those broken sticks and stones can withstand my green sword?!"

Ye Mo glanced at them, a contemptuous sneer on his face, and placed his right hand on the hilt of the green sword. With a clang, he drew a few inches of the blade, which glinted with a cold light.

The martial artists were startled and looked back at the black-robed martial artist.

The black-robed martial artist's face was grim, and he shook his head, signaling them to stop. He was not sure of Ye Mo's strength and had no confidence in capturing him without casualties. Ye Mo showed no fear, and he might be difficult to deal with. If they failed, his people would suffer heavy losses.

The martial artists did not dare to act rashly.

"I heard you discussing the lack of weapons? If you need weapons for self-defense, I can provide a few, but you must trade your most valuable items for them."

Ye Mo directly got to the point, not wanting to waste time with this group of martial artists.

"Oh, so you want to make a deal. What weapons do you have, young brother?"

The black-robed martial artist's face was grim, and after a moment of thought, he asked.

Weapons were what they needed most to survive on the island.

"Spirit Wood Spears!"

Ye Mo said.

"Wooden spears? Ha ha, you think we are easy to fool with wooden spears?"

The bearded black man, who had just been in a bad mood, found an outlet for his frustration in Ye Mo's words.

"Kuang Niu, don't talk nonsense!"

The black-robed martial artist glared at the bearded black man and asked Ye Mo excitedly, "Young brother, are you talking about spears made from Spirit Wood? These spears are as hard as iron!"

"Exactly!"

Ye Mo nodded.

"Then what do you want to trade for?"

The black-robed man did not waste time.

"I heard you are a poison master who can make poison? I will trade my Spirit Wood Spear for your poison. Of course, if you have other items that can enhance our camp's survival, I am willing to trade for those as well."

Ye Mo said calmly.

...