Bai Ye’s previous intention was to kill Li Jiayi, but this fellow was slippery, truly difficult to kill.
Now, Bai Ye didn’t really want to kill Li Jiayi anymore; he wanted Li Jiayi to reveal what he knew.
Bai Ye was very interested in the God Cultivators.
Because this was another avenue.
The most direct method, as in his previous life, was to wait for the war in the central region to begin, kill his way to the central tower, and once he reached the final level of that Tower of Gods, he should be able to uncover the truth.
However, if there was a plan to directly converse with the gods, Bai Ye naturally wouldn’t reject it.
The God Cultivators presented an opportunity.
To put it bluntly, this was a matter that could be pursued from both sides.
And Li Jiayi clearly knew a lot about the God Cultivators.
But the problem was how to get Li Jiayi to divulge what he knew.
There were only two ways to make someone open up: either through a deal or by threatening them.
Deals were not very reliable. Bai Ye had nothing that Li Jiayi desired, so it had to be through threats, by preventing Li Jiayi from obtaining what he wanted.
However…
“It seems I’ve already slipped up.”
Bai Ye scratched his head. He shouldn’t have just said he was passing by. He might have been able to glean some information from Li Jiayi, but Bai Ye hadn’t thought too much about it; after all, this was another coincidence.
Bai Ye picked up his Den Den Mushi and called Gao Ming, saying, "There might be something happening in this beast-taming region where I am. Find some people to keep an eye on it for me."
"Hm?" Gao Ming was taken aback but didn’t ask further, readily agreeing, "Alright, I have people over there."
After the virtual game restricted zone excursion, Gao Ming reported the matter to Stensen. Stensen simply replied, "Maintain a friendly relationship with Bai Ye as much as possible."
This order didn’t surprise Gao Ming. With his strength and a wealth of beneficial restricted zone intelligence, Bai Ye’s value to the Evil Spirit Gang was immeasurable. Of course, they had to maintain a good relationship.
Most importantly, their previous concerns were gone.
Gao Ming had always been puzzled about Bai Ye’s true stance.
Gao Ming had even suspected if Bai Ye was a member of the Hidden Dragon Society, and that the intelligence provided about the restricted zones was to gain trust, then deliver a fatal blow to the Evil Spirit Gang at a critical moment.
For instance, the intelligence provided by Bai Ye had always been accurate, but one day, Bai Ye provided information about a large restricted zone requiring a significant number of personnel. If the intelligence was flawed, the Evil Spirit Gang would likely lose many people within it, suffering a severe blow.
Now, Gao Ming was no longer worried. Bai Ye had eliminated a large number of experts from the Hidden Dragon Society, including two captains from the elite teams. This was no small loss. No matter how capable the Hidden Dragon Society was, they wouldn’t go to such lengths for a self-inflicted injury.
Therefore, the doubt of "trustworthiness" was no longer an issue.
Stensen's words implied the possibility of deeper cooperation with Bai Ye.
On the other side, after receiving Gao Ming's reply, Bai Ye hung up the phone. He didn’t change his plan; instead, he directly threw out the beast-taming sphere and summoned his Sea Serpent.
Li Jiayi had already discovered him and was likely waiting in ambush.
Bai Ye felt that if he stayed, they might end up in a stalemate.
What was the point of that?
Everyone had plenty of things to do.
Bai Ye wasn't in a hurry either. Li Jiayi's strength was considerable. Although there were many coincidences between them, encountering each other was normal for top-tier experts.
This was because the regions they operated in were clearly a level higher than others.
Therefore, Bai Ye believed there would be plenty of opportunities, and there was no need to fixate on this encounter. Having Gao Ming keep an eye on things was simply because Bai Ye wanted to know what Li Jiayi intended to do.
Secondly, it was about Fang Hu.
Setting aside their strength, the information they currently possessed was unequal, meaning the initiative was not with Bai Ye.
Bai Ye felt that to have an "equal" conversation with Li Jiayi, a trip to Fang Hu was imperative. He had to understand what Li Jiayi’s previous words truly meant.
As Bai Ye was contemplating, he suddenly felt a slight itch on the back of his hand. Looking down, he saw his Sea Serpent had climbed over and was licking his hand.
Although the loyalty of recently acquired beasts wouldn’t be very high, the gentle nature of the Sea Serpent was an exception. Even with low loyalty, it was extremely docile.
The Sea Serpent resembled a plesiosaur combined with a turtle, entirely blue, with a gray shell on its back. The shell had raised parts that could serve as handholds for stability when riding.
Bai Ye patted the Sea Serpent’s head and said with a smile, "Let's go!"
Bai Ye climbed onto the Sea Serpent, which then began to crawl towards the sea. Its speed was somewhat slow, and its gait was a bit wobbly, appearing unsteady.
However, once it entered the water, the Sea Serpent's speed immediately increased, and it became very stable. Sitting on its back, Bai Ye didn't even feel significant rocking.
Bai Ye stroked the Sea Serpent’s head, sensing its joy and pleasure. Even…
The Sea Serpent's loyalty began to increase!
This amazed Bai Ye. There were many ways to increase loyalty, but because it was happy to be ridden, its loyalty increased…
Bai Ye found the Sea Serpent's preference for being ridden quite peculiar.
As Bai Ye pondered, he took out the sea chart provided by Gao Ming and began to study it.
The regions of the sea were rather peculiar.
On land, after crossing a region boundary, things could be completely different.
For example, one region might be barren wasteland with no inhabitants, then entering the next region could reveal a bustling metropolis of steel and advanced technology, and crossing another might lead to a mountain range adorned with serene pavilions.
However, the sea remained the sea. Although there were many regions at sea, no matter how many regions one traversed, it was still the sea.
The difference lay in whether the current region was the sea of a superpower zone, the next a sea of an immortal cultivation zone, or perhaps a sea of a spiritual zone.
Visually, one couldn't discern any differences, as it was all just the vast ocean.
Bai Ye traced his finger across the sea chart.
The sea region where Liu Shiyue was located was a superpower zone. The world to which that region belonged had vast oceans, which gave rise to many pirates, and consequently, the navy emerged.
Especially the former Pirate King, Roger, who roamed the Seven Seas and possessed countless treasures. When he was captured and executed, he uttered a phrase.
"Do you want my treasure? If you do, go find it at sea! I've put it all there!"
This declaration attracted countless people. The world subsequently entered the Great Pirate Era, with countless individuals setting sail to become pirates, their goal unified –
The legendary treasure!
…