Gongsun Daniu was inherently a decisive person. Once she had made up her mind, she took immediate action. Her goal was clear—to assassinate the Skyhawk King and bring an end to the current era of chaos. For the sake of the human people on this land, even if it meant sacrificing her life, so be it.
Even though, from ancient times to now, no assassin had ever succeeded in killing an emperor.
If others had failed, then she intended to be the first. With the advantage of striking while unguarded, there might yet be a sliver of success.
Carrying this determination to die, Gongsun Daniu departed—alone, toward the Skyhawk Royal Court.
For this journey, the target was a king.
If she survived, she would return.If she died, then may her soul return in peace.
Several dozen days had passed since the expedition began and they left Yizhou behind.
Outside a massive island, a fleet of skyships steadily approached.
"Your Majesty, according to the coordinates marked on the sea charts, this is our destination—Skyhawk Island. In terms of size, it's smaller than Yizhou, but still about one-third its size. It's certainly a fertile and vast land," Jia Xu reported with a smile after examining the sea chart.
It had taken over ten days, during which the fleet crossed three large island-continents and encountered numerous smaller, barren islets—each large enough to host an Immortal City. Whenever they encountered such islets, they didn't hesitate to establish new Immortal Cities, using them as beachheads to expand Great Yi's influence over surrounding seas.
They had encountered more than twenty such islands along the way. Though the cities were newly founded and still in early development, Yi Tianxing could clearly sense the tremendous surge in national destiny. Once the cities were established, the territories were officially incorporated into the realm of Great Yi.
With territorial expansion comes fortune.
This fate-energy came from both land and sea. On land, the territorial-derived fortune was called Earth Luck, while in the sea, it was Sea Luck, sometimes referred to as Water Luck. Many cultivators regarded sea-derived fortune as a subset of Earth Luck.
With the continuous deployment of Immortal Cities, vast expanses of ocean were brought under Great Yi's domain. The first to change in response was Yi Tianxing's natal Life Chart—the "Heavenly Emperor's Dragon Taming Diagram".
Inside the diagram, the rivers and mountains of the realm expanded visibly. Oceanic features appeared, and the power of rivers and mountains nourished and refined his Life Chart, enhancing it constantly. Every moment, Yi Tianxing could feel his chart evolving, his Nascent Soul transforming, and his comprehension of Dao Laws accelerating.
In just over ten days, his Dao cultivation surged from over 600 years to 730 years, a significant leap.
This allowed his internal Dao cultivation to be fully secured.
Yi Tianxing's insights into his Heavenly Emperor Dao also deepened rapidly. The Dao of a destiny empire was intrinsically linked to the Dao of emperors. As the empire grew stronger, his understanding of emperorhood sharpened.
It was a mutually reinforcing cycle.
And this was just the beginning of expansion—the benefits would continue to flow over time.
"The feedback from expanding territories, coupled with the Great Yi Dynasty's rising national destiny... plus treasures like Primordial Purple Qi and Enlightenment Bodhi Seeds—these are more than enough for me to achieve a breakthrough in record time. Reaching a millennium of Dao cultivation, overcoming the Three Calamities, and stepping into the Second Tribulation Nascent Soul Realm will not be difficult."
Yi Tianxing never worried about breakthroughs. On the contrary, he often intentionally held himself back to allow for deeper foundations.
It wasn't about instability but about deliberate refinement.
These were the natural benefits a Destiny Emperor should enjoy.
Of course, Yi Tianxing didn't shy away from becoming stronger—especially during a sea expedition, strength was always welcome.
"Skyhawk Island... Zhuge, can you perceive anything unusual about it?"
Yi Tianxing gazed calmly at the island. Undoubtedly, it was vast—perhaps not even much smaller than ancient China's full territory. Calling it an "island" was only appropriate in the context of the Boundless Sea and the Eternal World. Anywhere else, it would be considered a massive continent, capable of sustaining countless lifeforms.
"Allow me to take a closer look," Zhuge Liang said with a faint smile.
As he lifted his gaze, a mysterious divine light flickered in his eyes, and the image of a Bagua Diagram seemed to emerge. While others might see an ordinary island, he could perceive great streams of fate rising—some as flood dragons, some serpentine, some as dragon-fish, and more. The island was clearly teeming with entrenched powers and concealed forces.
He even saw towering baleful auras pierce the skies, peerless sword intents slice through the void, and Buddhas radiating holy light standing in the heavens.
"What do you see?" Yi Tianxing asked once Zhuge Liang retracted his gaze.
"Skyhawk Island is far from simple," Zhuge replied slowly. "In its center, a black flood dragon coils, marking the Skyhawk Royal Court, the source of royal fortune. But beside the royal court lies a great Buddhist sect, its fortune no less than that of a dynasty. Additionally, there are numerous other powers present. Clearly, the Skyhawk Royal Court has yet to unify the entire island."
Such fate-seeing arts were taxing, even for Zhuge Liang. Gazing into destiny carried risks—should the seer's defenses falter, their own fate could suffer severe backlash. Thus, few dared use such powers lightly.
"It seems Skyhawk Island is truly formidable," Yi Tianxing remarked. "Which only means—we must take it. It will become part of Great Yi, one way or another."
"Advance. Landfall first—find an open beach and establish a foothold."
The fleet continued forward swiftly. In no time, they neared the coast. The landing zone was a massive sandy plain.
There, they found non-human inhabitants.
A large tribal settlement could be seen nearby. These weren't ordinary humans. Though they looked human-like, their skin was covered with fine scales—like fish scales.
These were the Fishmen, or as they called themselves, the Golden Scale Clan (金鳞族). The name carried a sense of destiny: "How could a golden-scaled being remain in a pond? One day, it will ride the wind and become a dragon."
Indeed, the Golden Scale Clan was a fascinating race.
Born of human and fish hybrid bloodlines, they had fish-like physiology and natural aquatic affinity. Once in water, they could breathe easily, thanks to their scales extracting oxygen. Their combat abilities in aquatic environments were outstanding.
Yet they retained human appearance, allowing them to live on land as well. Though staying away from water too long caused discomfort, they generally resided near rivers or seas—moist environments kept them at ease.
The Golden Scale Clan were gentle by nature and rarely cruel. As a humanoid race, they were among the friendliest to humans. Conflict was rare, but if forced to fight—especially near water—they became fearsome opponents.
In many ways, they were still considered a branch of humanity.
This particular Golden Scale Tribe was called the Thousand Illusion Tribe (千幻部落).
When over fifty skyships appeared on the coast, the tribe naturally took notice—unless they were blind.
The Thousand Illusion Tribe had a population of over one hundred thousand, and had formed a military force of about thirty thousand. In a crisis, the entire tribe could take up arms.
The arrival of the skyships instantly alarmed the tribe.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Masses of Fishman warriors emerged.
They wore no armor—their scales were natural defenses, tough and capable of evolving as they grew stronger. They wielded unusual weapons—long, jagged bone swords, seemingly forged from the spines of giant fish, complete with vicious barbs.
These weapons were known as Fishbone Swords. In water, they had powerful current-splitting abilities, and the barbs could deal devastating internal damage—ripping out huge chunks of flesh when withdrawn.
A burly Fishman stepped forward, wearing a crown made of interlocked fishbones—strange but regal.
This was the tribal chief: Huan Lin (幻麟).