The so-called Saint’s Island was in fact the former State of Zhao. However, it had been transformed into something completely new by Patriarch Reliance, to the point where even the residents of the State of Zhao would never recognize it.
As for the State of Xiao, it was the new name for the old State of Zhao….
Regarding the Footloose Sect… it was nothing less than the old Reliance Sect. The Cultivators who made up the Sect were all previous members of the old Sects that had existed in the State of Zhao. After having fled the Southern Domain, the old turtle Patriarch Reliance had forced them into a corner, and they had joined the new Footloose Sect.
Hundreds of years had passed, so by now, they were all fully integrated into the Footloose Sect, and followed Patriarch Reliance’s orders without question. As for Patriarch Reliance, in his efforts to hide himself from Meng Hao, he had changed his name to Patriarch Footloose.
In his mind, he had been conned all those years ago, and had been given no choice but to become the Dao Protector of the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer. With the Demon Seal in place, he couldn’t fight back, and definitely couldn’t harm Meng Hao.
However, even though he couldn’t fight, what he could do, was hide. In his mind, hiding within the vast Milky Way Sea meant that he would most likely never meet Meng Hao again in his life. In that way, he could live a happy, footloose life. That was how he had come up with the new name Patriarch Footloose.
However, after seeing Meng Hao, everything changed in the blink of an eye.
“AAAARRGGGHHHHHHHH!” roared Patriarch Reliance. “The Patriarch’s life is filled with suffering! I hide out here, and… dammit, I hide out here and the bastard can still find me!?” All the lands trembled slightly, and the seawater surrounding the island began to churn. It almost seemed as if there were some enormous creature under the water, flailing about.
“How could I possibly end up running into that Heaven-damned little bastard again?! That year in my Immortal’s cave, he took away all of my treasures, all of my savings! He took my good luck charm, my Thunderclap Leaf, my Outlander Tree, my divine spirit plants, my Spirit Stone mountain!!” Patriarch Reliance was obviously stingy to the extreme; he still clearly remembered everything that Meng Hao had taken from him hundreds of years ago. 1
In response to Patriarch Reliance’s angry ravings, the beautiful girl next to the incense burner suddenly looked up. A look of reminiscence appeared in her lovely eyes.
She thought back to all those years ago, to the vow made by the young man on the shore, who wanted to help the North Sea turn into a real sea.
“Meng Hao….” said the girl, covering her smile with a hand. She started to laugh, and then, without even looking at Patriarch Reliance, flew into the air. The instant she emerged from the palace, she saw an old boatman leaning up against the wall, looking at her with a doting expression.
“Boat Spirit! Meng Hao is back!” This girl was none other than Guyiding Tri-rain!
A look of concentration appeared in the old boatman’s eyes, and then he laughed. The girl shouted out in excitement, and then the two of them began to make their way off into the distance.
Patriarch Reliance suddenly looked up and then roared: “You two aren’t going anywhere!”
Suddenly, the entire mountain that the palace was located on completely vanished.
At least, that is what someone looking from the outside would see. From the perspective of the mountain, everything on the outside disappeared.
“Fudge! Do I need to flee again?! 2
“Dammit! I lived here footloose and carefree for hundreds of years. Hundreds of years!
“No. I need to get away before he finds me. I can’t allow him to figure out that I’m here.” Gnashing his teeth, Patriarch Reliance flicked his sleeve. He was just about to send his Divine Sense back into his true self and then flee before Meng Hao stepped foot on the island, when suddenly, his eyes turned up thoughtfully.
“Wait a second. From the look of things, the little bastard doesn’t know I’m here!” Patriarch Reliance’s eyes suddenly grew bright. As for Guyiding Tri-rain, she didn’t look very happy as she returned into the palace with the Boat Spirit. 3
“If he doesn’t know that I’m here, then that must mean that he’s not here to look for me, right? He just happens to be passing by!!
“If that’s the case, then what do I need to flee for? I don’t! I don’t need to flee! He doesn’t know I’m here, so all I need to do is make sure he leaves without a hitch. As long as he doesn’t detect me, then he won’t have any reason to suspect anything!