txolops Chapter 245 Return to the Deserted Island
Chapter 245 Return to the Deserted Island
Decades have passed, and she is still beautiful, but the youthful innocence and liveliness in her eyes have faded, replaced by a more composed and capable demeanor. However, deep in her eyes, there seems to be a lingering worry.
"Ancestor, the three secret teleportation arrays leading to Holy Demon Island have all been set up and tested. The spatial coordinates are stable and without any errors."
Liu Su's voice was clear and melodious as she reported, "However... according to the latest blueprints you provided, Ancestor, the forging of those three large 'Cloud-Piercing Wave-Breaking Ships' has encountered difficulties. The reserves of several key wood-attribute spiritual materials, such as 'Iron Core Wood' and 'Sinking Sandalwood' that are over a thousand years old and required for the core dragon bones, are in huge shortage. Even after searching through merchants all over the Inner Star Sea, it will be difficult to gather enough in the short term."
A brief silence fell over the sealed room. The air seemed to grow heavier.
After a moment, the voice of the Liu family patriarch slowly rang out, calm yet undeniably firm: "Since the treasury is insufficient, then take out all the treasures in my Liu family's secret vault, at any cost, and prioritize securing the warship's keel."
Upon hearing this, Liu Su's delicate body trembled slightly, and an expression of disbelief and shock appeared on her face. The Liu family's secret treasury contained treasures accumulated over thousands of years, representing the family's foundation! To use it all? This was practically plundering the very foundation of the family's future!
"Ancestor, this..." Liu Su's voice was filled with hesitation and heartache, "The secret treasures are the foundation of our Liu family's existence. If they are all taken out, then..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by the Liu family patriarch. The patriarch's voice remained steady, yet it carried a deeper, more resolute tone, even… a barely perceptible hint of weariness and desolation:
"Su'er, how could your ancestor not know your worries?"
"But now, my Liu family... has no other way to go."
Inside the secret chamber, a barely audible sigh escaped, followed by the voice of the Liu family patriarch, heavy with the weight of someone giving their final instructions:
"The warships and teleportation arrays are the lifeline for the family's survival, and they must not be lost. Su'er, you are the most talented in weapon crafting in the family. Once you have arranged the materials for crafting here, immediately take Gan'er and Qing'er and go to the outer sea for temporary refuge. Do not return for at least a hundred years."
"Remember, this matter must be kept secret and must not be leaked. Once you reach the outer sea, be careful in everything you do, and never reveal your identity. Do not return to the inner star sea unless absolutely necessary."
Upon hearing this, Liu Su's face turned pale. As intelligent as she was, how could she not hear the almost begging tone in the ancestor's words, as well as the extreme pessimism, even despair, about the future of the "Inner Star Sea"?
"Ancestor! Could it be that the Star Palace and the Reverse Star Alliance..." Liu Su couldn't help but ask, her voice trembling.
"Don't ask any more questions!" The Liu family patriarch's voice suddenly turned stern, interrupting her inquiry, but then softened, revealing a deep sense of helplessness. "Some things, the more you know, the more dangerous they become. You only need to remember that the Inner Star Sea is about to undergo a cataclysmic change unseen in thousands of years. Preserving the Liu family's bloodline and the flame of inheritance is your most important responsibility now. Go, do as I say."
Liu Su stood frozen in place, her chest heaving violently. After a long while, she lowered her head with difficulty and said in a hoarse voice, "Su'er... obeys."
……
Meanwhile, the azure light that Luo Ming had transformed into had already moved far away from Red Sand Island and deep into the outer sea. Following the guidance of the sea map in the jade slip, he flew towards the remote sea area marked with Wen Tianren's whereabouts. The seawater below gradually darkened in color, the islands became scarcer, and occasionally huge sea monsters could be seen floating and sinking, while the spiritual energy became increasingly thin.
As he flew, he carefully spread out his divine sense, searching for any unusual fluctuations in spiritual energy or traces of cultivators. He remembered the location of the deserted island that had helped the Fat Sun Bird advance its cultivation very clearly; it was deep within this sea area.
"Searching at sea alone, finding that person in the vast ocean is like finding a needle in a haystack. Since Young Master Wen has appeared in that area of water, given the unique scenery of that island, he might go there to take a look. I might as well go directly to that deserted island and wait for him."
"It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack for me to find that person alone at sea. If Wen Tianren really had something planned in that area, he couldn't possibly have left such a peculiar environment unexplored. Even if he has left, he might have left some traces." With his mind made up and his direction clear, Luo Ming sped toward the coordinates in his memory.
Just as Luo Ming was heading to the deserted island, a brief but intense battle was unfolding somewhere in that sea.
In mid-air, an incomparably luxurious purple-gold dragon-patterned beast-drawn carriage floated silently. The carriage was made of dark purple spirit wood and decorated with gilded ornaments. Pale purple demonic energy swirled around it like gauze and mist, and the purple gauze curtains hanging on all sides swayed gently in the wind, faintly revealing the figure inside the carriage, which was Luo Ming's destination.
Around the beast-drawn carriage, there were four mid-stage Core Formation cultivators dressed in black robes guarding the area. The aura fluctuations of these four cultivators were exactly the same and they were connected to each other, which meant that they had obviously cultivated some kind of combined attack technique.
The beast pulling the cart was not an ordinary spirit beast, but a magnificent blue demon bird with four wings on its back. The great author Mo Yu Jing Feng has joined the fray with his new work "The Mortal's Start: Spirit Beast Mountain"! Its wings shimmered with light and were accompanied by the faint aura of wind spirits. It was actually a mutated demon beast containing a trace of blue phoenix bloodline, and its aura had already reached the level of level six.
Inside the beast-drawn carriage, Wen Tianren, dressed in a brocade robe, lay languidly on a soft cloud carpet, his gaze calmly overlooking the battle on the sea below, a faint, playful smile playing on his lips.
Below, the sea surged with powerful waves. A young woman dressed in a cyan outfit, her face cold and beautiful, was wielding two gleaming flying swords, fiercely battling a demonic beast. The beast resembled a giant carp, but was covered in hard, deep blue scales. From its belly sprouted four tiny hands, like those of an infant, each clutching a strangely shaped treasure that shimmered with spiritual light—a pearl or a shell, both offensive and defensive.
The monster occasionally emitted sharp, piercing howls, like the cries of an infant, its sonic waves disturbing the mind. It was a rather rare level-five monster—the Infant Carp Beast.
Although the aloof and beautiful girl only had the cultivation level of the early stage of Core Formation, her swordsmanship was sharp and her movements were swift. Her two flying swords, one for offense and one for defense, worked in perfect coordination. The sword light intertwined into a net, suppressing the infamous level 5 Nascent Carp Beast, which roared repeatedly. Several wounds had been added to its body, and its blue blood stained a patch of seawater red.
The baby carp beast seemed to be completely enraged. It used its four small hands to wield the treasure tightly, temporarily blocking the sword light. At the same time, its huge mouth suddenly opened, and a dazzling blue lightning bolt rapidly gathered, faintly emitting a muffled thunder.
Upon seeing this, the aloof young woman's expression hardened. She knew that this was the Infant Carp Beast's life-or-death innate divine ability, which was extremely powerful. She dared not take it head-on and retreated hastily, while recalling her flying sword to protect herself.
Just as the lightning in the infant carp beast's mouth reached its peak, and a blue beam of light several feet thick, crackling with electricity, was about to erupt—
"Noisy."
Inside the beast-drawn carriage, Wen Tianren casually uttered two words, flicking his slender fingers slightly.
A tiny, almost imperceptible golden ray shot out silently from his fingertip. At first, it was extremely slow, but in an instant, it broke through the limits of the naked eye and even ordinary divine sense, transforming into a sharp golden line that pierced through the void!
"laugh--!"
An extremely faint sound of something cutting through the air rang out.
The ferocious head of the infant carp beast suddenly stiffened, and a charred, bloody hole, about the thickness of a thumb and going through both ends, suddenly appeared between its eyebrows, from which a faint golden aura flashed.
The raging lightning that had gathered in its mouth instantly went out of control, dissipating into chaotic arcs of electricity with a muffled thud. The ferocity and vitality in the infant carp's eyes faded rapidly, its massive body swayed, and it crashed into the sea, creating a huge splash.
From the moment the golden light shot out to the moment the infant carp beast died, it was only a matter of a flash.
The aloof young woman hadn't even had time to fully retreat before the battle was over. She sheathed her flying sword, her gaze towards the beast-drawn carriage filled with reverence, and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your help, Young Master."
Wen Tianren didn't even glance at the corpse of the fallen monster, but simply waved his hand casually. The golden light that pierced the infant carp beast turned on the distant sea surface, flew back into his hand, and transformed into a three-inch-long, golden, exceptionally thin needle that exuded a sharp aura that stung the skin.
He casually toyed with the golden needle and said indifferently, "Pack up, retrieve the demon core and useful materials, and don't delay. I heard that old fellow Chi Huo mention a deserted island with a peculiar environment nearby, right? Let's go check it out; it might be interesting."
"Yes, young master!" the cold and beautiful young woman and the old man in black robes replied at the same time.
A moment later, the corpse of a level-five infant carp beast was disposed of. Then, the luxuriously decorated beast-drawn carriage, pulled by the four-winged azure phoenix demon bird, slowly flew towards a certain direction, which was the desolate island where the earth fire and yin veins intertwined, as Luo Ming remembered.
Wen Tianren leaned back in the car, his gaze fixed on the deserted island. The golden needle at his fingertips slowly turned, reflecting in his deep eyes. The reason he came to this remote sea area and stayed for several days was certainly not to hunt a mere level five demonic beast.
In previous years, he accidentally obtained some secrets from ancient times, learned a lot about the invasion of the demon realm, and also learned that the Six Extremes True Demon Art he cultivated was obtained by the human race from the ancient demons they killed and improved upon.
Furthermore, he also knew that the entrance through which the ancient demons invaded the human world had not actually disappeared completely, but had been temporarily sealed. Although the demonic energy could not seep out from the sealed areas, some abnormal phenomena occurred in those areas due to certain special reasons.
"Water and fire complement each other, yin and yang coexist... Since there are areas with heavy yin energy there, it might really be the place I'm looking for." Wen Tianren thought to himself, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.
After half a month of flying on his magical artifact, traversing vast oceans, Luo Ming finally arrived once again at the desolate island that had helped the Fat Sun Bird successfully advance its cultivation. His divine sense swept across the island; it remained silent, with only the ceaseless waves crashing against the black reefs. There was no trace of Wen Tianren or his chariot.