Mu Chenze's jaw nearly hit the floor.
He couldn't believe she'd actually bought such a ridiculous story and even rationalized it for them.
A female cultivator in purple robes to their front-right overheard the conversation and felt quite puzzled.
She had just returned from training in the northern part of Yunzhou, yet she'd never heard of cultivators going swimming in the North Sea.
However, Yunzhou was vast, and she hadn't visited the North Sea coast often. It was normal not to have noticed. The disciples of the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect couldn't be judged by common sense; it was entirely possible they had started this Northern Swimming trend.
She decided to visit the North Sea after returning from the East Sea to see the excitement.
She hoped their enthusiasm for Northern Swimming would last; she wouldn't dare swim in the North Sea alone.
"The five of us have low cultivation, so we only dare to swim behind others near the shore," Gu Ningyun said. "We've only seen results after sticking with it for a year."
Gu Ningyun gave a polite salute. "Senior, we still wish to explore the seabed, so we'll take our leave."
The man in brown waved them off, signaling for them to do as they pleased.
The purple-robed woman suddenly called out to stop them. "Hey, kids. Where exactly is this Northern Swimming spot?"
"Their location changes often. I went two years ago, so I'm not sure where they are now," Gu Ningyun replied. "If you're interested, you can look around. If you're lucky, you might find them. If not, don't go into the sea; we all know the dangers."
The woman was visibly disappointed but didn't press them. "Fine, I'll look for them. Training is the same anywhere."
Seeing that no one else spoke, Gu Ningyun hurried her friends away to a quieter area.
She had lied just to hide her body refining in the unfamiliar deep sea. She didn't expect them to believe her, let alone have one of them be so interested.
It was better to slip away now; she didn't want to mislead anyone else.
While the toxicity of blue sea coral was strong, the coral polyps and the coral lived in a symbiotic relationship and could not be easily separated.
As long as they kept their distance and stayed out of the nematocysts' reach, they didn't have to worry about the toxin.
Finding another quiet corner, Mu Chenze formed a hand seal and waved his folding fan forward.
A sharp water blade flew out diagonally, cleanly severing a branch of blue sea coral as thick as a wrist.
Mu Chenze curled his fingers into a claw, pulling the branch toward him. A stream of water wrapped around the severed piece and brought it to him.
He didn't touch it with his hands. Instead, he took out a spirit jade box and used the water to place the coral branch inside.
This was a spirit jade box specifically designed for storing spirit herbs, insect eggs, and other materials. It ensured the spirit energy remained intact and could even slow the loss of vitality.
With a high-grade spirit jade box, one could even preserve a spirit herb with its roots intact for hundreds of years, then successfully replant it.
Blue sea coral was only a low-grade material, so it didn't require a high-grade box. Mu Chenze used a common, ordinary spirit jade box.
It was more than enough for low-grade materials.
After closing the lid, he handed the box to Wen Xuan. "The water spirit energy on the seabed is both dense and pure. Using my water-attribute spells here feels different from being on land."
"Then you should take this chance to use your water-attribute spells more often," Wen Xuan said with a smile as she tucked the box into a storage bag embroidered with cloud patterns. "You might have some unexpected breakthroughs."
"That's a good idea."
Jiang Yao patted Mu Chenze on the shoulder. "The blue sea coral for the rest of us is in your hands."
"No problem, leave it to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, he fired twelve water blades in rapid succession toward a cluster of blue sea coral.
"Don't pluck from just one cluster!" Wen Xuan warned. "If you agitate it, the coral polyps might leave the coral to sting us even if it kills them."
"What! That's not good. Once the water blades are fired, I can't change their direction!"
Mu Chenze was startled. He warned everyone to prepare their defenses, but he didn't give up.
His divine sense instinctively attached itself to the flying water blades. He tried to guide the water spirit energy in the sea to communicate with the blades and change their course.
The spell he had used to retrieve the coral branch earlier was the water control technique, which was a utility spell with no offensive power. To change the direction of a water blade, he needed another way.
He instinctively thought of the pure water spirit energy in the ocean.
Gu Ningyun took out a stack of yellow-rank top-grade water shield talismans. She had learned and drawn these on the spirit ship three days before they set sail.
The water spirit energy on the sea's surface was slightly denser than elsewhere, making it easier for Gu Ningyun to guide it with her talisman pen and talisman ink.
In just two days, she had mastered the water shield talisman to the point where every single one she drew was top-grade.
She spent the third day drawing a hundred of them.
Having tasted the benefits of drawing water-attribute talismans at sea, Gu Ningyun decided to use this time to learn other water-attribute talismans as well.
Wen Xuan and the other two also took out their artifacts. They formed a circle around Mu Chenze with Gu Ningyun, leaving only one opening for him to cast his spells.
The four of them could have deflected the water blades with their own attacks, but since Mu Chenze wanted to try redirecting them, they were happy to support him and let him hone his skills without worry.
The first water blade severed a branch from the coral cluster, and the cluster showed no reaction. Then, the second and third blades severed two more branches.
Including the branch Wen Xuan had already stored, the cluster had lost four branches, shrinking its size by a twentieth in an instant.
The nematocysts on the coral's surface suddenly began to sway faster, and the blue light emanating from the coral began to flicker.
Having memorized the 《Almanac of Heavenly Wonders》, Gu Ningyun knew the coral polyps were becoming agitated.
If another branch were cut, these polyps would likely go into a frenzy.
The fourth water blade drew closer to the agitated coral, nearly striking a branch on its upper left.
Gu Ningyun had already slapped a water shield talisman onto herself and each of her four companions.
They only needed to inject a bit of spirit energy to activate the talismans and form a solid water shield to block the polyps' first wave of attacks.
Though she was confident in her strength, Gu Ningyun couldn't help but feel nervous. This was her first time facing a sea beast and a creature with hallucinogenic toxins.
Wen Xuan gripped her mace, watching the agitated coral polyps with eyes that glowed with battle intent.
The atmosphere in the water was as tense as a fully drawn bow.
Rate on N.U.
