Chapter 474 - 216: Breakthrough to the Golden Core Middle Stage
Chapter 474: Chapter 216: Breakthrough to the Golden Core Middle Stage
After securing the Storage Ring as his first priority, Xiao Chen also gathered the Spiritual Artifacts scattered on the ground.
In total, there was a Bright Silver Red Tassel Spear, a Brocade Mountains and Rivers Seal, a Carved Dragon Gold-Splitting Sword, and a Narrow-Blade Spirit-Combining Saber.
He couldn’t find Xu Gongtong’s Spiritual Artifact at the scene; he probably hadn’t had time to deploy it.
They were all Attack Type Spiritual Artifacts because any defensive items, like Spirit Shields or Magic Robes, had inevitably been destroyed during the fight.
Due to the limits of his True Essence, Xiao Chen couldn’t actually use many Spiritual Artifacts at the moment.
But these things were quite valuable. At the very least, he could exchange them for Spirit Stones.
Of course, it would be best not to sell them directly in the Nanlao Sea. Selling them somewhere else, like the Outer Sea, would be much safer.
This would prevent local cultivators from recognizing the Spiritual Artifacts and arousing unnecessary suspicion.
With this in mind, Xiao Chen decided not to stay on the island to refine the Storage Ring. He left at once, in case any passing cultivators saw that he had been there.
However, halfway through his flight, he suddenly felt a powerful Spiritual Qi Tide sweep past him.
Following that, he saw the very heavens change color as the surrounding thousands of miles suddenly grew dark and overcast.
Vast quantities of seawater, as if drawn by some unseen force, began to converge toward the southwest.
The ambient Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi also began to reverse its flow, rushing back even faster than before.
"What’s going on?"
Xiao Chen was surprised. He slightly adjusted his course, following the water’s flow to investigate.
A commotion this massive, spanning tens of thousands of miles, meant he could immediately rule out a Magical Combat between cultivators.
And while the sky was overcast, there was no lightning, so he could also rule out a thunderstorm at sea.
If that was the case, it probably wasn’t dangerous. It might even be a good thing.
’Could a Relic be emerging?’
At the thought, a jolt of excitement went through Xiao Chen, and the Flying Sword beneath his feet immediately accelerated.
After flying forward for over fifteen hundred miles, he finally saw a large mass of fog spreading over the sea ahead.
The fog gathered on the sea’s surface. From a distance, it looked to occupy an area thousands of miles across at the very least.
He estimated it was over two hundred feet high, and it continued to rise and expand in all directions with each passing moment.
Xiao Chen moved a little closer, but the white fog ahead was so thick that he couldn’t see what was inside at all.
He extended his Divine Sense into the fog. The outermost ten miles revealed nothing unusual.
But for a fog bank of this size, that distance was a drop in the ocean; it wasn’t enough to reveal anything of substance.
In the brief moment he hesitated, the fog expanded more than a third of a mile in his direction alone, nearly enveloping him.
’Should I rush in and take a look before other cultivators get here?’
Xiao Chen retreated a short distance. ’But wouldn’t that be too risky?’
Opportunity and danger often lay on opposite sides of a single decision.
Choose right, and you strike it rich; choose wrong, and you’re dead.
’Forget it. I have my Augments. Why take the gamble?’
Xiao Chen took a deep breath and suppressed his curiosity.
He might seem impulsive at times, but in reality, he usually only acted when he was confident he had a safety net.
But right now, he knew nothing about the situation inside the fog. Rushing in recklessly could lead to unexpected and fatal dangers.
Even though Xiao Chen had the Blade of Night, a disturbance of this magnitude was bound to attract other cultivators soon.
It might have already alerted a nearby Nascent Soul True Monarch.
Therefore, it was best to observe from the periphery for a while, keeping his life-saving trump cards in hand for emergencies.
As it turned out, Xiao Chen’s assessment was correct.
Although cultivators were scarce in the Sea of Space, the initial Spiritual Qi Tide, which had rippled out for thousands of miles, had still managed to attract quite a few of them from nearby.
It was just that they were slower, so they arrived a bit later.
In just under half an hour, Xiao Chen saw a streak of Sword Light approaching from a distance, roughly two hundred miles to his left.
The newcomer barely paused at the sight of the strange fog, charging straight into the white mist.
Another Quarter Hour passed, and a young man in a white robe arrived, over thirty miles to his right.
He first shot Xiao Chen a wary glance, then deliberately moved about thirty miles away.
He then cautiously probed the periphery and, after a moment’s thought, decisively activated his Protective Spiritual Light and plunged into the fog.
’Why is everyone so bold?’
Watching the others, Xiao Chen began to doubt himself. ’Am I being too cautious?’
Fortunately, at that moment, another streak of Sword Light arrived from behind and deliberately approached him.
"Well met, Fellow Daoist. I am Jade Talisman Wanderer from the Nanlao Sea. This situation seems quite strange, but I’m not sure what’s causing it."
Xiao Chen turned to look.
The man appeared to be middle-aged. His black hair was tied in a topknot, fastened with what looked like a simple Wooden Hairpin. He had a high-bridged nose, thick eyebrows, and a neatly trimmed beard. He was dressed in a long, yellow robe embroidered with arcane golden runes, which was clearly no ordinary garment.
A Brocade Talisman Bag, which emitted faint fluctuations of Spiritual Power, hung at his waist. It also appeared to be a Spiritual Artifact.
From his attire alone, it was clear he was no ordinary person.
Although most Loose Cultivators struggled, a few exceptional individuals managed to stand out, some of whom were on par with, or even better than, disciples from major factions.
Clearly, this Jade Talisman Wanderer was one of the elites among Loose Cultivators.
"Greetings, Daoist Jade Talisman. I am Golden Light Wanderer."
Xiao Chen first clasped his hands in salute before shaking his head slightly. "Unfortunately, I also arrived a step too late and didn’t see what’s in the fog."