Dark clouds obscured the morning sun, and the world grew dim, as if a morning storm was brewing.
Visibility in the water was low; the two-faced whale’s deep blue skin blended perfectly with the blue-black seawater.
The surface was as smooth as a mirror. If not for the streaks of dark red blood, there would have been no sign that a deep-sea predator had ever been there.
“Has the two-faced whale left?”
“It should be gone. It didn't gain anything from Four Symbols Shipping and even got injured. If it doesn't run, it'll lose its life here.”
“Let's go back. The sailors will be up to check the array patterns soon, and they'll make us leave then anyway.”
The chatter of the passengers reached her ears.
Gu Ningyun, however, was not so optimistic.
She watched the captain, who had yet to return to the ship, and felt a faint, nagging sense of dread.
Just as the cultivators were preparing to leave the deck and return to their cabins, the spirit ship suddenly shuddered violently.
Immediately following, the protective array shield that had been covering the hull and keeping them safe began to crack inch by inch.
A monstrous wave rose from beneath the ship, flipping the spirit ship over.
The spirit ship sank rapidly for dozens of meters as a hundred-meter-high wave surged from the right side, pressing directly down toward the vessel.
“That two-faced whale is still here!”
“The ship is sinking! Run!”
The cultivators deployed their various means, using their tools to fly into the air while bringing their Qi Refining juniors with them.
One cultivator was slightly slower than the rest. The tail of his paper crane was clipped by the giant wave, and he was instantly swept away by the surge, which was infused with the spirit energy of a late stage rank three sea beast.
The captain had already been on guard for this. With a swing of his ruler, a spirit energy shield enveloped the man.
Then, a column of water rose, lifting the cultivator out of the massive wave’s grasp.
Having escaped the wave's restriction, the cultivator hurriedly pulled out another paper crane, enlarged it to the size of an adult, and scrambled onto it.
The moment the spirit ship began to sink, Gu Ningyun released her flying boat and pulled her four friends onto it.
Wen Xuan was closest to Gu Ningyun and instinctively tossed a handful of spirit stones into the control hub.
Gu Ningyun didn't delay for a second. With a thought, the flying boat shot upward like an unstoppable arrow, covering hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye and leaving the giant wave far below.
The massive wave crashed down completely, crushing the spirit ship beneath the water with a thunderous boom.
A colossal deep blue figure leapt from the water.
The body, heavy as a mountain, fell from mid-air, aimed directly at the spot where the Four Symbols Shipping spirit ship was submerged.
Gu Ningyun’s pupils contracted. The first mate and the sailors were still in the array control room.
Especially that female sailor whose sleeve she had torn.
“The highest cultivation level for sea beasts in this area used to be only middle Golden Core stage. What happened this time? Why did a late stage Golden Core two-faced whale appear?”
A blue-robed cultivator stood atop a wine gourd, leaning to the side to dodge a flying spray of seawater.
“I was afraid of two-faced whales, which is why I specifically chose a Four Symbols Shipping vessel to go to the Ten Thousand Crab Sea. Who would have thought even Four Symbols Shipping would stumble here?”
A brown-robed female cultivator nearby heard him and spoke up loudly.
“My aunt’s cousin’s friend works for Lingxi Shipping. According to him, the East Sea hasn't been peaceful these past few months. For some reason, the sea beasts are frequently leaving their original territories and wandering elsewhere.”
“Because of this, dozens of spirit ships have already been lost. Lingxi Shipping even closed their doors for a while recently to avoid the trouble.”
“There was such a thing? Why haven't I heard of it?”
The blue-robed cultivator’s expression changed drastically. He pulled out a map and began flipping through it, trying to find a nearby island to land on.
“You must have just arrived in Donglin City, right? This was a big issue about two months ago, but since nothing happened this month, we all thought the sea had returned to normal. Lingxi Shipping, where my aunt’s cousin’s friend works, even resumed business. People are just being more cautious, so there are fewer people going out to sea than usual.”
“Didn't Four Symbols Shipping send anyone to investigate?”
“How should I know? All I know is that during the month when things were at their worst, Four Symbols Shipping didn't lose a single ship. I usually take Lingxi Shipping’s boats—after all, as you know, Four Symbols’ fares aren't cheap. I only chose them this time to be safe. Who could have expected this?”
“Since you were so worried, why didn't you wait a bit longer before heading out?”
“Isn't it because of Four Symbols Shipping’s reputation? Besides, if you don't go to sea, you won't have resources for cultivation. Wealth is found in danger. Because of the sea beast migration, the price of water-repelling pearls in Donglin City has dropped, while the price of sea beast materials has risen. One trip out can earn you double what you'd get normally.”
“Stop talking and find a way to stay alive! I’ve checked the map; there are no islands nearby at all. Without the spirit ship, how long can our spirit energy hold out?”
Just as the blue-robed cultivator finished speaking, a hundred-meter-tall column of water shot into the sky, reaching his feet in an instant.
The attack power of a late stage rank three sea beast was incredibly formidable; a Foundation Establishment cultivator simply couldn't react in time.
The spiritual light on the blue-robed cultivator's wine gourd flickered so rapidly it was practically smoking, yet he still couldn't escape the range of the water column.
Despair clouded his heart. “My life is over!”
Suddenly, a rope made of water spirit energy wrapped around his waist, instantly pulling him out of the water column's path.
The blue-robed cultivator gripped the water rope, heart still pounding with fear. “Thank you for the rescue, Captain.”
“Fly at least five hundred meters above the sea! That is the maximum attack range of this two-faced whale!”
The captain shouted the warning and turned to fly back toward the surface.
He swung his jade ruler in a wide arc, releasing a rope of water and a rope of fire, each as thick as a bowl. The two intertwined into a single cord that plunged into the sea right next to the two-faced whale.
The cultivators manipulated their magic tools to fly higher, yet almost none of them left the area.
First, the state of the clouds in the sky was wrong, looking as if some extreme weather was about to occur.
Second, the sea was crawling with sea beasts. Even without a spirit ship, staying near a middle Golden Core cultivator was safer than being alone.
Third, they still held onto hope for Four Symbols Shipping, expecting the captain to have a trump card left.
Gu Ningyun maneuvered the flying boat at high speed, only catching fragments of the cultivators' conversation.
It wasn't that she wasn't flying high enough, but rather that as soon as she had brought out the flying boat, she had been targeted by a black-faced male cultivator.
The spirit ship had sunk so abruptly that the black-faced cultivator happened to be standing near the five of them.
The moment they jumped onto the flying boat, before the arrays could even be activated, the man's right hand had already gripped the gunwale. His dark face was filled with undisguised contempt and greed.
“Juniors, how can five mere Qi Refining cultivators control a mysterious-rank top-grade flying boat? Why don't you let me...”
As he spoke, he used his grip to haul himself up, intending to board the flying boat.
Fortunately, Wen Xuan had tossed the spirit stones in time, allowing Gu Ningyun to push the defense array to its maximum, which knocked the cultivator's hand away.
The flying boat ascended sharply at a near-vertical angle, the resulting gale blasting into the black-faced cultivator’s face.
The black-faced cultivator pulled out a flying sword and followed closely behind, and surprisingly, the distance between them didn't widen by much.
Seeing the flying boat ahead getting faster and faster, the black-faced cultivator’s eyes grew brighter, and the greed within them intensified tenfold.
Having lost the spirit ship in the middle of the vast ocean, it was practically impossible for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to fly back to land relying solely on their own spirit energy.
Rate on N.U.
