The luxury yacht's captain quickly provided feedback. No other vessels were near the yacht, and neither visual inspection nor radar search revealed anything else.
At this point, Boya Yuansan, standing nearby, instructed a few of his subordinates, "You, go take a look underwater!"
"Hai!"
Four Japanese men among them chanted incantations and formed hand seals. Soon, a faint energy emanated from their bodies, forming a barrier around them.
"Water Release, Underwater Breathing Technique!"
Following this, the men leaped into the water. The barriers created a separate space between their bodies and the seawater, filled with ample air, allowing them to breathe underwater without any equipment.
Ten minutes later, the men's bodies surfaced. Surprisingly, their clothes remained completely dry. Furthermore, thanks to the thin membranes, they were able to stand steadily on the water's surface!
With a leap, they propelled themselves over two meters high before landing steadily on the yacht's deck.
"Lord Yuansan, we searched the surrounding seabed and found nothing unusual!"
"Nani?" Boya Yuansan and Boya Takumi exchanged bewildered glances. There were no other ships, nor were there any other people underwater. So, where was this feeling of being watched coming from?
After all, they were all Onmyoji, cultivators with exceptionally powerful spiritual senses.
Just then, a sharp-eyed man suddenly pointed towards the sky.
"There, there seems to be a bird, circling in the sky!"
Everyone immediately focused their gaze in the direction the man pointed. High up in the sky, over 2,000 meters above, a white speck could faintly be seen.
Anyone with slightly poorer eyesight would not have noticed the presence of a bird there at all.
"What is that?" Boya Takumi asked.
"Lord Takumi, that's an albatross, a common bird by the sea!" a crew member replied.
"Yosh!" Boya Takumi nodded. He turned to a short man standing behind him and said, "Ogasawara-kun, get rid of that damned bird for me!"
"Hai!"
The short man named Ogasawara nodded. He formed a hand seal and chanted incantations. Soon, a tall figure emerged from the cabin.
This was a man completely enveloped in a long robe, wearing a frightening mask. His movements were stiff, as if his joints were diseased.
However, the man walked with immense force, his footsteps echoing across the entire deck. And on his back, he carried a massive coffin!
In reality, this was not a person but a humanoid puppet. The man named Ogasawara was, in fact, a puppeteer.
Puppeteers were a branch of Onmyoji. However, they were greatly influenced by the Mohist school, and the lineage of puppetry originated from China thousands of years ago.
The giant humanoid puppet carrying the coffin walked over and placed the coffin directly onto the deck. Ogasawara stepped forward, placed his hand on the coffin lid, and with a tap, the lid flipped open to the side.
As the lid opened, everyone saw that instead of a corpse, the coffin contained several puppets of various sizes.
Ogasawara stepped forward, picked up a puppet the size of a football, and manipulated it. Soon, this puppet transformed into a bird-shaped automaton over a meter long.
Ogasawara took out a magatama and inserted it directly into a groove on the puppet. In an instant, the puppet's eyes, which looked like glass balls, suddenly lit up, and the entire bird-shaped puppet sprang to life.
This creation was based on his inherited knowledge, mimicking the wooden kite made by Lu Ban, the progenitor of carpentry in China during the Spring and Autumn period.
Although it resembled a bird, its claws were extremely sharp blades. Additionally, the bird-shaped puppet had two long tubes on its body, capable of firing projectiles!
With a flicker of Ogasawara's thought, the bird-shaped puppet flapped its wings twice and then soared into the air, flying towards the albatross in the sky.
In mid-air, Ling Tian, controlling the albatross, continuously observed the situation on the yacht. He had witnessed the Onmyoji diving into the sea without hindrance and had also seen Ogasawara with his giant puppet and the coffin.
This made Ling Tian heighten his vigilance. It seemed the visitors were not to be trifled with. These individuals were not simple to deal with. If he wasn't careful, he might just capsize in a ditch.
At that moment, the albatross's vision caught sight of the bird-shaped puppet.
Ling Tian was greatly alarmed because he realized this puppet was no ordinary creation. It flew at a speed of over two hundred kilometers per hour, comparable to the flight speed of a common eagle.
Moreover, Ling Tian saw the sharp claws of this large puppet bird!
Although Ling Tian's albatross was large and had been modified and strengthened by the Spirit Realm space, a single strike from this puppet bird's claws could be fatal.
Therefore, Ling Tian immediately issued a command to the albatross. The albatross spread its wings and rapidly ascended to a higher altitude. With a flap of its massive wings, spanning nearly three meters, it instantly flew several hundred meters away!
The large puppet bird attempted to pursue for a while but found that the distance between it and the albatross was increasing. Frustrated, it could only circle in the sky for a moment before returning to the ship.
Ogasawara quickly removed the magatama from the groove on the large puppet bird. In just three to five minutes, nearly half the energy from the entire magatama had been consumed.
Ogasawara approached Boya Takumi and said, "Lord Takumi, I am incompetent. That bird escaped. It was extremely vigilant!"
"It's fine, it's just a bird. Let it escape!" Boya Takumi was quite satisfied with his subordinate's performance.
However, they were unaware that the albatross had not flown far. It was circling at an altitude of over 3,000 meters. This large bird kept watch until the Japanese people's ship left Little Immortal Island before it landed back on the island.
In the evening, Hai Furong returned to Little Immortal Island. She brought two engineers, who were also members of the Misty Rain Pavilion, specializing in installing security equipment for the pavilion's various branches.
At this time, Hai Furong handed Ling Tian two cages covered with black cloth.