Chapter 375: The Four Great Perils
The Sea of Chaotic Spirits!
The most perilous danger zone in the Great Qin!
Rumor had it that numerous ruins of ancient orthodoxies were hidden within this stretch of sea. Throughout its history, countless mighty experts had gathered here in search of good fortune.
The luckiest had obtained ancient inheritances, soaring to prominence overnight, their names spreading throughout the nation.
However, only a select few were blessed by fate.
Reality was cruel; the vast majority of those who came here in search of good fortune perished, never to return!
As of the present day, those who dared venture into the Sea of Chaotic Spirits were practically all Xiantian Martial Ancestors at the very least.?Those beneath that level dared not tempt fate.
“Reaching this point means we’ve entered the boundaries of the Sea of Chaotic Spirits. The further in we proceed, the more dangerous it will become,” said Hua Xinfeng, her expression serious and grim. “Our Ten Directions Pavilion has gathered a lot of information about the Sea of Chaotic Spirits, but we still only understand the tip of the iceberg.
“The Sea of Chaotic Spirits is just too mysterious, and it's full of countless strange and extraordinary entities and powers. Some are like forbidden grounds; even Origin Dao cultivators dare not approach. To do so means certain death.”
“For example, deep within this stretch of sea, there’s a tower of white bone shrouded in bloody mists. It’s like a wandering ghost; it appears in different parts of the Sea of Chaotic Spirits, but the moment you see it, you must flee as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the moment its boundless mists envelop you, they’ll reduce you to withered bones, and you’ll become just another part of White Bone Tower.”
When he heard this, Su Yi asked with great interest, “That’s intriguing. Is there anything else strange here?”
“Of course there is.”
Hua Xinfeng wasn’t a prominent member of the Ten Directions Pavilion for nothing. She quickly listed off several other strange and extraordinary places.
Throughout its countless years of history, four grave perils had been discovered within the depths of the Sea of Chaotic Spirits.
In addition to the tower of white bone shrouded in crimson mists, there was the Isle of No Return, the Mountain of Funerals, and the Starlight Vessel.
The place they called the Isle of No Return was entirely barren, without so much as an inch of grass. Every night, as darkness fell, the island lit up with countless floating, eerie green lamps. It was terrifying, like a vision of hell.
Sailing within ten miles of it was stepping on a path of no return. It didn’t matter how high your cultivation was; your flesh and blood instantly burned to ash, while the unearthly lamps absorbed your soul.
This was why they called it the Isle of No Return.
The Mountain of Funerals was a massive mountain floating atop the Sea of Chaotic Spirits. It was tens of thousands of feet tall and perpetually shrouded in dense gray mists.
The mountain was the most mysterious of the Four Perils. Any living thing that stepped onto it disappeared as if evaporating into thin air, their fate unknown.
Every so often, the gray mists receded, revealing the mountain’s true appearance.
Those there to witness this saw nothing but four black chains wrapped around the black rock, each as thick as a dragon and binding a corpse.
One of the corpses was a slender, winged, three-headed, six-armed man.
Another was a creature thousands of feet long. Its upper half was covered in golden scales, while its lower half had a serpentine tail.
The other two were monks. One was a headless Buddhist in bloodstained robes, while the other was a Daoist with a crown of flowers whose chest had been ripped open.
No one knew who they were, but although their corpses had been chained to the mountain for countless years, they emanated terrifying energy fluctuations to this day.
An Origin Dao cultivator had once attempted to approach the Mountain of Funerals. However, in the end, the corpses’ terrifying auras shattered his soul before he’d even stepped foot onto the rock!
The Mountain of Funerals remained a mystery to this day, and none dared draw near.
As for the Starlight Vessel, it was a little black ship, only about thirty feet long, seemingly suitable for floating on a lotus pond. However, every time the ship appeared, it burst with intense radiance, as if it were brimming with starlight. It was dazzling, mysterious, and ethereal.
The Starlight Vessel was the most terrifying of all. The starlight shot toward anyone who drew near it, transforming into vast streaks of sword qi. Just brushing against it was enough to kill a cultivator!
No one had ever escaped the Starlight Vessel’s onslaught alive!
“White Bone Tower, the Isle of No Return, the Mountain of Funerals, and the Starlight Vessel….”
After hearing all this, even Su Yi was surprised.?The Sea of Chaotic Spirits isn’t at all simple!
Alas, Hua Xinfeng offered too little information, making it difficult for him to deduce the origins of these four eerie and unsettling perils.
The only things he could say with certainty was that White Bone Tower was almost certainly a demonic weapon, while the unearthly lamps of the Isle of No Return were likely connected to ghost cultivators.
One of the four bodies chained to the Mountain of Funerals had wings, six arms, and three heads. He was almost certainly a descendant of the?Silverwinged?Spirit Race.
The creature whose upper half was covered in golden scales and whose lower half resembled a snake was quite possibly a descendant of the Golden Flood Dragon Spirit Race.
Of course, this was just Su Yi’s best guess. He hadn’t seen any of this with his own eyes, so he couldn’t make any definitive judgments.
The Starlight Vessel was immensely intriguing to him. The ship’s sword qi was reminiscent of starlight. It could be some kind of treasure, and if so, it wasn’t a simple one.
As they conversed, the Transforming Mountain Tower Ship carried the group deeper into the Sea of Chaotic Spirits.
On their way, they passed dense thunderclouds, furious tidal waves, and all manner of chaotic phenomena. From time to time, blood-colored lightning flashed deep within the dark clouds, illuminating the entire seas in eerie crimson light.
However, it obviously wasn’t the first time Qin Dongxu and the other top experts were visiting this place. With them leading the way, the ship deftly avoided numerous perils just in the nick of time.
An hour later.
“Run! Hurry up and run—!” Suddenly, a startled cry rang out from distant waters.
However, the voice soon came to an abrupt halt, then disappeared completely.
On board the Mountain Transforming Tower Ship, Qin Dongxu, Gu Qingdu, and the others’ expressions were instantly solemn. All of them felt bewildered and uncertain.?Don’t tell me something dangerous is going on up ahead?
The commotion drew Su Yi and Hua Xinfeng’s attention too. They gazed into the distance but saw nothing except a stretch of dark, churning seas and skies covered in dense layers of cloud, but they made no further discoveries.
“Young Lord, this is just how the Sea of Chaotic Spirits is. From time to time, strange things just happen out of nowhere. Even Origin Dao cultivators have little chance of survival unless they’re familiar with these waters,” whispered Hua Xinfeng. “However, this time, we’re traveling with those old-timers, so I’m not worried about all that. Even if we really encounter danger, they’ll be up front, facing it head-on.”
As she said that last part, she couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smug grin.
“What's that?” Su Yi suddenly noticed something off in the distance. A swath of unearthly green light floated over the surface of the sea, like flames churning in rhythm with the water.
Upon closer inspection, it was a dense patch of green lotuses, stretching as far as the eye could see, like a carpet covering the ocean.
Hua Xinfeng was briefly stunned. Then, her expression filled with alarm. “Yao Hummingbird Ghost Lanterns!”
Practically simultaneously, Qin Dongxu’s shout emanated from the top floor of the ship. “Hurry up and leave this place! Quickly!”
His voice was uncharacteristically solemn.
Boom!
The Transforming Mountain Tower Ship rumbled. Light circled around it, and it accelerated, like an arrow?loosed?from its bowstring.
However, it was then that hundreds and thousands of lights suddenly shout out of the distant lotus patch, blanketing the skies as they surged toward the ship.
Each was as quick as lightning!
Su Yi soon realized that those patches of light were, in fact, sinister, hideous-looking hummingbirds.
Each was only about the size of a human fist, and their wings were almost transparent. As they flew, they stirred up colorful, unearthly light.
Each had a face like a hideous, grimacing ghost. Their eyes were bright red, and shrill cries, like the wailing of the dead, emanated from their fanged mouths.
The hummingbird swarm was like a multicolored windstorm, sweeping across the seas and blotting out the skies.
They were just too fast!
In just a few breaths of time, the hideous swarm was less than a thousand feet from the Transforming Mountain Tower Ship!
When he saw this, Qin Dongxu bellowed, “Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Gu Qingdu, Clarifying Truth, Nie Xingkong, You Changkong, and the other prominent experts all readied their treasures and attacked from afar.
Rumble!
Sword qi, saber light, spear shadows, and giant axes… All kinds of flashing lights and treasures streaked forth with terrifying momentum, blasting straight toward the incoming hummingbirds.
In an instant, a large section of the swarm had been obliterated.
However, there were just too many of them, and they were densely packed, so numerous that they blotted out the sun. They charged toward the Transforming Mountain Treasure Ship from all directions. No matter how many the various experts killed, there was no end to them.
“All Fellow Daoists on board, please attack at once!” Qin Dongxu roared in fury.
This reminder was entirely unnecessary; Shang Luoyu, Lin Yubei, and the others on board had already begun their attack.
Rumble~!
The curtains opened on a grand battle on the overcast waters of the Sea of Chaotic Spirits.
Su Yi put his hands behind his back, leaned against the railing, and gazed into the distance. His brow furrowed slightly. “Something’s not right about this.”
Hua Xinfeng was stunned. “Young Lord, did you notice something?”
Whoosh!
It was then that a single hummingbird shot toward them. It actually charged right through the ship’s defenses, toward the window Su Yi was standing by.
Its body was only the size of a fist, but it shone with a sharp, colorful, and unearthly light. Its bright red eyes were mad with bloodlust.
Su Yi reached out, and a formless pressure enveloped the bird, instantly trapping it. When Su Yi held it in his palm, it let out a hideous shriek, but no matter how much it struggled, it couldn’t break free.
Su Yi exerted strength through his fingers. The hummingbird quivered, then fell unconscious. It was as easy as crushing an ant.
“This is a Ghost-Faced Hummingbird,” said Su Yi. “They aren’t particularly strong; they’re on par with tier-nine spirit beasts at most. They’re explosive by nature, and they travel in groups. However, except in the face of a life-or-death crisis, they rarely attack unprovoked. Unless….”
“Unless what?” asked Hua Xinfeng.
“Unless someone is using the Art of Spiritual Control to manipulate the situation from the shadows,” said Su Yi. With two taps of his fingers, he knocked the Ghost-Faced Hummingbird’s fangs clean off, then rolled them around his palm.
Upon closer inspection, both were like snow-white crescent moons, and each was terrifyingly sharp. They contained an unearthly spiritual presence.
Without its fangs, the Ghost-Faced Hummingbird’s life force faded, then disappeared completely.
Su Yi then put the fangs away. They were a tier-five spiritual material. They looked paltry, but in reality, they were rare and precious.
“Young Lord, are you saying that there’s someone behind this attack?” Only then did Hua Xinfeng understand, and she couldn’t help but gasp.
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