Chapter Sixty-Six: Peril at Sea

“What is wisteria? And where can it be found?” Lin Yanghao had never heard of this thing before. For the sake of refining better Qi-gathering talismans in the future, he had no choice but to care about the whereabouts of wisteria.

“Honestly, how could a fool like you be so lucky? First you obtained two innate spirit treasures, then the Chaos Divine Spirit Manual—a peerless technique so profound even I can’t fathom its depths. And now, you just happen to find yourself in the Spirit Realm!” Ling’er, the artifact spirit, spoke with an envious look.

“What does it mean that I’m in the Spirit Realm?” Lin Yanghao asked, puzzled.

“Do you know? My master once sought wisteria, and he nearly went through every hardship imaginable, traversing all the planes. In the end, it was only in the Thousand Saints Marsh of the Spirit Realm that he finally found it.”

“What kind of place is the Thousand Saints Marsh?”

“The Thousand Saints Marsh is a place in the Spirit Realm where cultivators undergo trials. But it only opens once every five years, and I don’t know how much longer until its next opening. When it does, you must participate!” With these words, Ling’er vanished in the blink of an eye.

“Roar, roar, roar~.” A series of beastly howls erupted, startling Lin Yanghao who was in the midst of talisman refining.

“Ah! This is bad, really bad! Everyone run! Those damned spirit beasts are attacking our ship!” Following the beastly cries, chaos broke out aboard the vessel.

“Quick! Don’t panic. We must resist together, or none of us will escape alive.” Seeing the spirit beasts drawing ever closer, the captain stepped forward and urged everyone.

Lin Yanghao watched the ferocity of the spirit beasts, witnessing many perish at their hands. He knew that with his feeble strength, going out meant certain death. Yet if he didn’t resist, the beasts would eventually find him regardless.

“Idiot, hurry and enter the Chaos Ring! Otherwise, even a random spirit beast could kill you with a single swipe. These beasts are not like the ones you encountered before—each has at least the strength of a mid-grade spirit beast.” Just as Lin Yanghao was at a loss, Ling’er’s mischievous voice sounded again.

Without hesitation, Lin Yanghao flashed into the Chaos Ring. Inside, everything was as before, shrouded in white mist.

“Lin Yanghao, do you know? This white mist is the very essence of the Immortal Realm. It’s terrifying! The realm’s source has taken form as this mist. You are extraordinarily fortunate. Since the Immortal Realm lost its origin, no cultivator has reached the Immortal Lord realm in over ten thousand years—the highest level now is barely that of an Immortal Emperor. But the realm’s source is useful not only for this; it greatly benefits cultivation. You’ll understand in time. Now, I won’t disturb you further. Hurry and make use of this time to cultivate!”

“I’m safe, but my brother Tan Zhuo is still on the ship. What will happen to him?” Only then did Lin Yanghao realize Tan Zhuo was still outside.

“You need not worry about Tan Zhuo. The spirit beasts won’t harm him.” Before Lin Yanghao could ask further, Ling’er spun away and disappeared as usual.

...

“Ah! The captain has fallen as well!” It turned out the captain was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, the strongest on the ship. Now, even he was dead, and pandemonium swept the vessel.

“Young master, what should we do now? Even the captain is gone!” Tan Zhuo and several attendants watched the chaos from their cabin.

“Sigh... Going out now means certain death. We can only wait and see. I wonder how Brother Lin is faring outside.” Tan Zhuo sighed, looking at his attendants.

“Don’t worry, young master. Last time, Young Master Lin survived. Surely he’s blessed and will be fine this time. We won’t be harmed either.”

“Roar, roar, roar~.” Outside, nearly all the cultivators had been slain or wounded. The beasts were sweeping through one cabin after another, soon to arrive at Tan Zhuo’s room.

“White Tiger, I smell the aura of an Emperor-veined one here. But why would an Emperor-veined be on a human cultivator?” In the skies not far from Lin Yanghao and Tan Zhuo’s vessel, a burly black-haired man spoke to a short youth.

The black-haired man and the short youth were, besides the Moonlit Phantom Wolf, two of the Four Great Demon Kings. The burly man was the transformed Crimson Chain Fox, while the short youth was the transformed Thunder Tiger. Both were mid-grade upper-tier spirit beasts, on par with human cultivators of the Tribulation Crossing stage.

“White Tiger, let’s hurry over. If we’re late, the Emperor-veined will be killed by our subordinates.”

“Xiao Bai! Old Gu! Damn it, I’ll fight you to the death!” Tan Zhuo’s cabin was in chaos, with two disfigured corpses lying on the floor, and Tan Zhuo surrounded by spirit beasts.

“Roar, roar~.” With a beastly howl, the spirit beasts encircling Tan Zhuo suddenly halted, opening a path in the center.

“Boy, come with us. As an Emperor-veined, you belong in our Beast Domain.” It was the Crimson Chain Fox and White Tiger who had arrived.

“I’m not that so-called Emperor-veined you speak of! My name is Tan Zhuo. If you want me to go with you, keep dreaming. Kill me or torture me, do as you please!” Tan Zhuo shouted angrily at the two Demon Kings.

“Crimson Fox, let’s stop wasting words. We’ll take him back by force and have him undergo the Emperor-veined inheritance of our beast clan. Once he succeeds, he’ll understand everything. If he emerges from the inheritance, he’ll reach mid-grade spirit beast level, and his cultivation speed will soar. He’ll add great strength to our Beast Domain. Soon, we’ll reclaim the entire Spirit Realm.” With a wave, White Tiger knocked Tan Zhuo unconscious.

“You’re right, White Tiger. The Northern Territory is unlike the Southern—it’s far more advanced in cultivation, now equal to our Beast Domain in strength. If the Emperor-veined advances soon to high-grade, we’ll conquer the Northern Territory as well.” Crimson Chain Fox finished, then vanished into the sky with Tan Zhuo and White Tiger.