Chapter 544 - 233: Gaining Evil Qi While Sheltering from a Storm, and Encountering a Monstrous Snake While Crossing the Ash Sea (3)
Chapter 544: Chapter 233: Gaining Evil Qi While Sheltering from a Storm, and Encountering a Monstrous Snake While Crossing the Ash Sea (3)
This was already the fourth type of Evil Qi Xiao Chen had collected. From now on, his cultivation speed for Wood Element Techniques would be doubled.
And if he could find the Yang Wood Fiend next—putting aside the boost to his Cultivation Technique’s power...
...what was truly important was that completing a pair would increase his chances of successful Nascent Soul Formation by five percent. That was the highest priority.
Now that he possessed both the Yin Wood Fiend and the Yin Water Fiend, his chances of completing a full pair had essentially doubled.
Of course, the best outcome would be to complete both pairs, or even gather the Gold Fiend and Earth Fiend, too.
After all, collecting all the Yin Yang Five Elements Evil Qi would grant a cultivator an additional five percent chance of success in Nascent Soul Formation.
’Since you came from a weeping willow on the sea, I’ll call you Sea Willow Fiend from now on.’
Xiao Chen inspected it with his Divine Sense, satisfied, then let out a soft grunt. "Heh!"
At the same time, he flexed every muscle in his body and strained with all his might.
Unfortunately, the Yin Wood Seal didn’t strengthen the body, so it was no surprise that he failed to break free.
...
A moment later, having fled a great distance, Xiao Chen finally slowed down. "Hiss... that really hurts."
When his struggles had failed, the impatient willow had violently strangled him with its branches, nearly tearing him to shreds.
Then, when the willow realized the Evil Qi it had painstakingly accumulated was gone, it flew into a rage.
In an instant, thousands of towering water pillars erupted from the sea. Salty vapor shot skyward, ripping the clouds to shreds.
Its massive canopy trembled violently as nearly a hundred thousand branches and roots, all glowing with a green light, thrashed about at once. For miles around, the sea churned like a boiling cauldron.
Even now, looking back from so far away, he could still clearly see the massive, restless silhouette.
Xiao Chen waved farewell. "Don’t miss me too much! I’ll be back to see you when the time is right!"
With that, he turned and left without a backward glance.
Since the Blade of Night was on cooldown, he deliberately kept his speed low.
He preemptively summoned his Ghost-Faced Profound Light Shield, recast the Jade Platform Fire Lotus, and pushed his Divine Sense to its limit, closely monitoring all movement within a sixty-four-li radius.
Originally, due to the limits of his aptitude, his Range of Divine Sense had only been sixty li.
But after undergoing a baptism of starlight and successfully forming a Star Core a while back, his Divine Sense had been slowly growing over the past few days.
The growth was especially fast at night when he was bathed in starlight, much faster than during the day.
At this rate, in another two months when the Star Core’s effects were fully integrated, his range was expected to increase to about seventy li.
For an ordinary cultivator, Range of Divine Sense was actually quite useful.
For instance, it could provide an early warning against danger, which often meant the difference between having enough time to react and evade, or not.
It could also be used to remotely activate pre-placed Magic or Talismans.
Furthermore, one could use Divine Sense to track enemies. If the target’s Range of Divine Sense was smaller, they wouldn’t be able to trace the scan back to pinpoint your location, even if they detected it.
In a word: the more, the better.
.
As the autumn winds of September blew, Xiao Chen finally laid eyes on the famed spectacle of the Ash Sea.
Legend had it that the Compassion Sea lay east of the Kunpeng Sea, with the Ash Sea marking the boundary between them.
Here, undersea lava welled up year-round, dyeing the entire expanse of water a deep amber.
The vast amounts of evaporating seawater formed a perennial, crimson haze that never dispersed.
Sometimes, the "earth dragons" would turn over, triggering hundreds of erupting lava pillars. Even from dozens of miles away, one could smell the unique sea breeze, a mixture of sulfur and salty dampness.
’I’m finally almost there. This place is ridiculously far.’
Xiao Chen allowed himself a small sigh of relief.
After waiting for Blade of Night’s cooldown to finish, he had resumed his journey at full speed.
Over the past half-month, aside from three heavy downpours that barely slowed him down, the journey had been smooth.
Even so, it had taken him another full month to finally cross the Kunpeng Sea.
’I must be the first person in history to cross the Kunpeng Sea on foot at the Golden Core Stage.’
Xiao Chen grumbled to himself. If he’d had any other choice, who would willingly undertake such an arduous journey?
’Damn that Yin Corpse Sect. Once I reach Nascent Soul Formation, I’ll go back and settle the score.’
As he drew closer to the Ash Sea, he could clearly see that the water in some areas was very shallow, only about four or five zhang deep.
If not for the undersea lava, one could easily build an artificial island here.
Unfortunately, below lay Earth Veins, cracked like a tortoise’s shell, and he could even see dark red liquid flowing within them.
’Oh? Is that Spirit Ore?’
Xiao Chen focused his gaze and saw a fist-sized piece of Tier Three Red Sandstone floating on the water’s surface.
Due to the frequent confluence of hot and cold currents, the area was dotted with whirlpools that constantly shifted position. Some of the Spirit Ore from below was churned up, occasionally surfacing.
He immediately reached out from afar, making a grasping motion with his hand and using his True Essence to snatch the piece of Red Sandstone.
’Not bad quality. This should be worth a few hundred Spirit Stones.’
Although for the current Xiao Chen, a few hundred Spirit Stones were but a drop in the bucket.
Still, finding money on the street was always a pleasant surprise.
’A good start right after reaching the Compassion Sea! A good omen, a very good omen!’
Satisfied, Xiao Chen put away the piece of Red Sandstone, a token of good luck. It seemed his good fortune was likely to continue in the days to come.
’Looking at it this way, choosing to travel far overseas was absolutely the right decision.’
He didn’t know if it was all in his head or if the Compassion Sea was truly different from the outside world.
For the next three days, the weather was perfect—the sun shone brightly in a cloudless sky.