‘Not bad at all. And these two places were sure to hold something good.’
‘The Cloud Dream Marsh Illusion Realm, said to have been formed from an ancient powerhouse’s dream, is a place where illusion and reality intertwine, and must contain unique treasures.’
‘And the Guixu Sea Eye is even more so—a forbidden land from Chinese mythology, the terminus of all waters, the place where all things return.’
‘ “Cough cough”, doesn’t that mean, if you just fish around a little, you could find all kinds of treasures?’
‘Maybe you’d even stumble across materials identical to those used for the Stabilizing Sea Needle.’
Just as Su Fu was letting her imagination run wild, the entire Cloudsea Map suddenly gave a resounding “buzz” and trembled.
She realized that those once-blurry locations on the Cloudsea Map were suddenly clearing up, one after another.
Not only that, but beside the map’s previously green safe zones, a vast stretch of gray terrain suddenly appeared!
Su Fu was stunned, ‘What’s going on? Why could I suddenly see all this?’
Soon, two lines floated up on the Cloudsea Map: [Dear Su Fu, your mastery of Array Formations is unparalleled. You have gained m recognition from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, and are now automatically appointed as the new Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion]
[Exploration Mode Activated: The gray areas are unexplored new map regions]
Su Fu understood at once.
Because she’d restored such a high-level Array Formation and revived the Immortal Ship, the Ark’s Law had automatically updated.
And it just so “happened” to detect the previous Pavilion Master’s death, so she was inheriting that old man’s estate, directly taking over the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion?
“Heaven really does favor me—never fishing for nothing!”
Su Fu sighed, thinking that old man was truly a good person.
She beamed as she gazed at the vast map before her, the corners of her mouth curling up uncontrollably.
This wasn’t just an Immortal Ship—it was a mobile treasure vault!
From now on, she could go wherever she pleased to “collect” whatever she fancied!
“Wait a minute…” Su Fu suddenly thought of something crucial, ‘That old man said this Array Formation came from the Immortal Ark Scrolls. Could there be even more Array Formations?’
If, one day, she could restore all the Array Formations recorded in the Immortal Ark Scrolls…
“Wouldn’t I be able to soar the skies and roam the Ninefold Heaven?”
Her breath quickened as she thought of the sacred lands in China’s legends: The Fusang Divine Tree of the East Pole, the legendary place where the sun rises; the Western Wasteland’s Buzhou Mountain, ancient sky pillar; the Southern Sea Dragon Tomb, resting place of the Dragon Clan’s ancestors…
And maybe even regions belonging to other pantheons could be explored.
She was going to strike it rich—truly, this time.
But Su Fu quickly composed herself.
“The most important thing right now is to become the General.”
To truly take control of this Immortal Ship.
Honestly, she hadn’t figured out that immortal’s true background yet.
Otherwise, with her now in charge of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, she could just rebel directly.
But as the old man had said, the Immortal Token was definitely useful and would allow her to become the General, so there was no need for a bloody coup.
Better to win the position bloodlessly, become General, and then become the Ship Lord—that was the right path.
Thinking this, Su Fu left the Divination Array core, stepping out of the grand hall.
The leading Daoist suddenly looked up.
Seeing Su Fu emerge, he glanced behind her, but saw no one.
“Stop looking,” Su Fu said casually, “The previous Pavilion Master has sacrificed himself for the Array Formation, fulfilling his lifelong wish.”
She smiled, half-mocking, “At least he died with a sense of accomplishment.”
“After all, he dedicated his whole life to researching Array Formations. Now that the formation is perfected, how satisfying that must be.”
The Daoist’s expression turned complex, but in the end, he heaved a long sigh and bowed his head: “I am Xuan Ming. Salute to the new Pavilion Master!”
With his words, countless disciples of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion behind him cried out in unison: “Salute to the new Pavilion Master!”
Their voices were thunderous and rousing.
Only now did Su Fu notice that the mechanical birds everywhere had refreshed their golden announcements: [New Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, Tianji, officially takes office from this day]
[The Immortal Ship’s routes are fully upgraded; Cloudsea Submersible Navigation is now open]
“Tianji?” She raised an eyebrow at Xuan Ming.
Xuan Ming explained respectfully, “According to Pavilion tradition, every Pavilion Master takes the name of a star.”
“Oh.” Su Fu nodded.
Tianji—the third star of the Big Dipper, symbolizing change and transformation.
The Ark’s Law was really quite clever.
The name suited her perfectly.
At that moment, Xuan Ming removed his Storage Pouch from his belt and presented it with both hands: “Pavilion Master, this is the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion’s Immortal Token. I heard you’re planning to run for Immortal Ship General—perhaps it’ll be of use.”
Su Fu hadn’t expected Xuan Ming to be so sensible.
With this, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion was hers, along with all its resources and property.
She took the pouch and peeked inside.
‘Whoa!’
There were far more Immortal Tokens than she expected—a dense heap, and together with what she’d previously gotten from Cloudsea Chamber of Commerce Manager Jin Chan…
Just then, Shen Yan’s voice finally sounded: [“You have collected enough Immortal Tokens. Would you like to begin the General Election phase?”]
[“Once begun, all eligible candidates will automatically become contestants”]
[“Once a General is chosen, the first Divine Power Light Pillar on this map will be activated, and the authority of Penglai Immortal Ship will be unlocked”]
“Hm?” Su Fu blinked.
No wonder the map hadn’t shown any Divine Power Light Pillars—it was because of this.
So, if she succeeded, not only could she summon deities, she’d also get control of the Immortal Ship?
In that case—
“Begin!”
Almost at the same time, the entire Immortal Ship’s announcement system updated.
Countless mechanical birds burst out from every corner—not just the passenger cabins, but also the Immortal Market, Alchemy Division, Patrol Guard posts, Workshop of Heavenly Crafts, and every section of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.
They chirped in chorus, their voices crisp and clear: [The 26th Penglai Immortal Ship General Election is now officially open!]
[Thank you to all fellow Daoists for your contributions and support to the Immortal Ship over the past days]
[The election will be held tomorrow at Si hour (9 am) at Tianque Square]
[At that time, all eligible candidates will gather here for a public and fair Immortal Token count]
[The one with the most Immortal Tokens will become the new General of the Immortal Ship!]
[May all Daoists accomplish their aspirations and may your futures be bright!]
Immediately after, different notices sounded throughout the ship for the election period: [Cloudsea Chamber of Commerce reminds all esteemed guests: The Immortal Ship is entering the election period. All transactions must comply with temporary regulations…]
[Patrol Guard Urgent Notice! From now, special duties will be enforced during the election period. All patrol routes are adjusted…]
[Immortal Ship Civil Notice! During the General Election, Cloudsea navigation will remain stable. Residents, there’s no need to panic.]
[…]
When the announcements finished, the mechanical birds returned in perfect order to their hidden spots, leaving behind a buzz of conversation across the Immortal Ship.
Su Fu felt, having ransacked the inventories of both the Cloudsea Chamber of Commerce and the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, her Immortal Token count was sure to be unrivaled—first place was hers for sure.
And as the announcement had said, the counting was public and the highest total would win; the process really was open and transparent.
On reflection, that was the only way to maintain order on a floating Immortal Ship and ensure everyone aboard accepted the results.
If there were underhanded dealings, chaos would have broken out long ago.
How else could things stay so organized and orderly?
***
At the same time, in the Drunken Immortal Tavern of the Immortal Market.
Monica and her group, who had been quietly enjoying tea and pastries, froze the moment they heard the announcement.
“The election is starting this soon?” Monica was stunned—the pace was way too fast.
Across from her, Zhao You’s expression was grim, his pale face unreadable: “It must be Su Fu’s doing. Only she could meet all the conditions in such a short time.”
The three fell silent.
A moment later, Monica sighed softly: “That means our time to act has come.”
To say she wasn’t nervous would be a lie—after all, this was Su Fu’s home turf.
She’d been number one at Tianqiong Path Academy, and now she was on the Chinese Pantheon’s map.
Yang Lie slammed his cup down and sneered, “No need to worry! We have an S-rank artifact—Hermes’ Net! With it, we can steal every item from a chosen target, even their memories of owning them!”
“We just need to strike at the final moment, snatch all the Immortal Tokens, and watch Su Fu lose the election with our own eyes. The mission will be done.”
He grinned, flashing his pearly teeth, “Then we just leave the map straight away. She’ll have no idea who did it and will never catch us.”
“Foolproof!”
Hearing this, the others’ nerves relaxed slightly.
Yes, that was the logic.
With Hermes’ Net, they could complete the mission without anyone noticing, then retreat unharmed.
Zhao You nodded slightly, “Let’s follow the plan.”
***
Su Fu was inside the old man’s treasure vault, taking stock of his entire inheritance.
The central area was a display zone for rare materials—ores, crystals, herbs, especially all sorts of array-related materials like spiritual sand, cloud iron, mysterious steel, divine water, and more—everything one could imagine.
To the right was the collection area for magical tools and talismans; to the left, a storage zone for books and scrolls, with shelves reaching up to the ceiling.
In the corner sat a massive jade chest, which carefully housed the so-called Immortal Ark Scrolls.
“This old man really hid things deep.”
Su Fu flipped through the Immortal Ark Scrolls as she sighed.
Suddenly, Chesia spoke up: ‘Those people are planning to make a move against you. There’s no way you can keep this a secret much longer—why not just finish them off ahead of time?’
‘Clean up their loot while you’re at it? That way you’ll be secure, and it won’t interfere with the election.’