txolops Chapter 423 Encounter with Two Birds Again
Chapter 423 Encounter with Two Birds Again
Chapter 423 Encounter with Two Birds Again
Besides these two most exciting gains for Luo Ming, he also found many other treasures in the giant whale's internal space: piles of "sinking sea crystals" that shimmered with a dark blue luster, roughly estimated to be enough to extract the weight of the Xuan water needed to refine twenty "Xuan Yuan Pearls".
Several rare metals that can only be formed in the deep sea at a depth of 10,000 meters or under extreme water pressure; several sealed bottles of unknown but spiritually potent liquid; and some scattered spoils that seem to have been obtained by the Whale King after killing other monsters or cultivators, including several high-quality magic weapons, some jade slips, ores, etc.
"It's not surprising that this whale clan, which lives in the deep sea, has collected so many sunken sea crystals." Luo Ming sorted and put away the various materials, especially the sunken sea crystals, which made him very happy.
With the previous accumulation, the "Mysterious Water" needed to refine the "Mysterious Origin Pearl" is now only about twenty pieces short.
"It seems that once the situation on Silver Shark Island stabilizes a bit, I'll have to make a trip to Qiyuan Island." Luo Ming gazed at the southern horizon, his eyes distant.
According to the detailed map of the Chaotic Star Sea that he purchased from Tianxing City, Silver Shark Island and Qiyuan Island are more than ten million miles apart, a distance comparable to that from Silver Shark Island to Tianxing City, the core of the Inner Star Sea!
Even with the speed of a cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation, traveling day and night without any unexpected events would still take two to three years. The journey would involve traversing countless dangerous seas, infested with demonic beasts and plagued by frequent natural disasters; ordinary Core Formation cultivators would never dare to attempt such a long voyage.
However, he has now formed his Nascent Soul, greatly increasing his strength. With the help of the Xuan Turtle and the Zhiyang Bird, he can arrive in a few months.
More importantly, he remembered that there was a sizable "Sinking Sea Mystic Crystal" mine deep in the "Sea Abyss" near Qiyuan Island! If it had not yet been discovered or exhausted by others, he could gather all the "Mystic Water" he needed in one go, and even have a large surplus.
Luo Ming collected all the valuable materials from the whale carcass, and then fed the remaining massive flesh and bones to the Xuan Turtle, who had been waiting eagerly by the side.
The Xuan Turtle let out a joyful low roar and devoured the essence of flesh and blood from these mid-stage transformed giant whales. This essence was a great tonic for it, helping to enhance its physical strength and even promote further purification of its bloodline.
After everything was cleaned up, Luo Ming immediately transformed into a swift, unassuming yet incredibly fast azure streak, piercing the sky and speeding back towards Silver Shark Island.
The azure light streaked across the sea and sky at incredible speed, yet carried an air of effortless composure.
A moment later, he raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. He continued walking without stopping, but his deep eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze sharp as lightning as he looked ahead.
"Oh? It's those two guys—that saves me the trouble of going back to look for them." A hint of surprise flashed across Luo Ming's face, then a playful smile appeared on his lips.
With a slight thought, the azure light around him suddenly receded, and his aura instantly became almost imperceptible, merging almost into the surrounding sea and sky background as he headed towards the two oncoming beams of light!
Three hundred miles ahead.
One red and one black, two streaks of light flew side by side at an astonishing speed across the sky. They were the two transformed demon cultivators, Fire Owl and the sinister flying demon cultivator Dark Dove, who had successfully escaped from the Silver Shark Island battle group and came to find and "rescue" Whale Power King.
Both were birds in human form, naturally skilled at flying, and speed was their forte. After shaking off the entanglement of Blood Fiend and the cultivator surnamed Yan, they did not hesitate to follow the faint demonic aura and spatial fluctuations left behind by Whale Power King when he fled, and tracked him all the way here.
As for Old Monster Zhang, who was being entangled by the Ninth Elder, they couldn't care less about him at the moment.
"Brother Jiu, if we leave Brother Zhang alone over there to face those guys from Silver Shark Island, won't that be—" Huo Xiao said with a slight frown as he flew away, his tone hesitant.
Although he successfully escaped the Blood Fiend, he knew that the human cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage were quite powerful. Although Old Monster Zhang was skilled in concealment and escape, he would be in grave danger if he were entangled by three cultivators of the same level.
From the jet-black, chilling aura of the escaping light beside him came a dismissive voice: "Brother Zhang, you're well aware of your 'Water Shadow Concealment' and 'Severing the Tail for Survival' techniques. Even if you're outmatched, escaping shouldn't be a problem. The most important thing right now is to find Brother Whale as soon as possible!"
That newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivator from the human race dared to chase him alone into the deep sea—he's utterly courting death! We must reunite with Brother Whale as soon as possible and, while his cultivation is still unstable, join forces to capture him. We absolutely cannot allow this person to truly grow stronger! Otherwise, he will surely become a major threat to our demon race in the future!
Upon hearing this, Huo Xiao nodded, his eyes flashing with a fierce light: "Brother Jiu is absolutely right. Although that person ambushed and injured Brother Jing, Brother Jing's innate abilities can only unleash their full power in the deep sea. This person is arrogant and conceited, daring to pursue us. He may already have been lured into a perilous area in the deep sea by Brother Jing and is struggling to cope. If we go, we can coordinate with Brother Jing from within and ensure that this person has no way to escape!"
Both demon cultivators who had transformed into human form harbored a sense of pride. They believed that although the human Nascent Soul cultivator had severely injured Whale Power King through strange methods and a sneak attack, Whale Power King was, after all, a mid-stage Transformation cultivator with profound foundations, especially in his home turf—the boundless deep sea, where his combat power would be greatly amplified.
For a human cultivator who had just condensed his Nascent Soul and whose cultivation level was not yet stable, to rashly pursue him into the deep sea would be tantamount to courting death. They went there more to ensure that nothing went wrong, and perhaps even to "get something for nothing".
However, just as the two were flying away, communicating telepathically and discussing their plan, thinking they had made a good start—
The flying bird, Mingjiu, whose senses were particularly sharp, suddenly frowned! His naturally gloomy pupils contracted abruptly, and a subtle yet chilling sensation, like a faint electric current, swept through his senses!
"Brother Xiao!" Mingjiu abruptly stopped his escape, his voice carrying an unusual solemnity and vigilance. "Just now—did you sense anything unusual?"
"Abnormal?" Huo Xiao immediately stopped, his crimson eyes sharply scanning the churning sea of clouds and the azure sea below. At the same time, he spread out his divine sense to the fullest extent, like the finest sieve, carefully examining every inch of space within a radius of dozens of miles.
After a moment, he shook his head, a look of doubt on his face. "No. It's calm and peaceful. Apart from you and me, there are no other powerful auras. Brother Jiu, have you discovered something?"
He was quite convinced of the Dark Dove's talent. Besides their exceptional flying abilities, the Dark Dove clan also possessed a rare innate pupil technique—the Netherworld Divine Eye—in their bloodline!
This supernatural ability not only allows one to see through ordinary illusions and concealment, but also to vaguely sense potential dangers directed at oneself, making it an extremely powerful early warning and detection ability. The ability of the Dark Dove to escape danger time and again is largely due to this eye.
Seeing Mingjiu's reaction, Huoxiao couldn't help but become more wary.
Mingjiu's brows furrowed even deeper. In the depths of his dark brown pupils, specks of eerie light began to gather and swirl, their color rapidly turning pitch black, as if transforming into two miniature black holes capable of swallowing light! He swept his gaze across the clouds, the sea, and even the void beyond.
"No—this feeling—below! Beneath the surface of the sea!" Mingjiu suddenly lowered his head, his dark eyes fixed on a seemingly calm and still sea below, his voice filled with disbelief and horror.
"That human Nascent Soul cultivator—he's hiding beneath the sea! When did he get here?!"
"What?" Fire Owl was shocked. Crimson flames surged up around him with a "boom," instantly entering battle mode. His gaze turned to the sea area that Mingjiu had pointed to with suspicion.
He still couldn't sense any unusual aura, but out of trust in Mingjiu's "Netherworld Divine Eye," he dared not be careless in the slightest.
Just as the two were on edge and fully alert—
"Hehe, interesting."
A calm male voice, tinged with surprise and amusement, rang out clearly, as if right next to their ears.
The sea below, which had been locked onto by the Dark Dove, rippled slightly like a mirror. A figure dressed in black robes, standing with his hands behind his back and a calm expression, appeared silently like a phantom rising from the water, hovering above the sea and blocking the way for the Fire Owl and the Dark Dove.
It was Luo Ming who had returned and quietly approached them using his supernatural abilities to conceal himself.
Luo Ming observed the two transformed demon cultivators opposite him with great interest, his gaze lingering for a moment on Ming Jiu's eerie, jet-black pupils that seemed to devour light. He then asked, his tone tinged with genuine curiosity, "What kind of innate ability do your eyes possess? How could they see through my concealment technique? With your cultivation level, you shouldn't have such a capability."
He was indeed somewhat surprised. In order to approach the two transformed demonic birds silently, he simultaneously used several top-level concealment techniques, along with the powerful divine sense of a Nascent Soul level cultivator for disguise.
In his view, unless someone had specifically cultivated a special detection technique or reached the late Nascent Soul stage, it would be extremely difficult to detect his presence. Yet this Yin Demon cultivator, who was only at the early Transformation stage, was able to sense his arrival and see through his hiding place; those peculiar "black pupils" were clearly extraordinary.
"It's you?" Huo Xiao recognized Luo Ming the moment he appeared. His crimson pupils shrank, and his face was filled with astonishment.
"So it was you who condensed your Nascent Soul on Silver Shark Island and injured Brother Whale! Decades have passed, and you've actually progressed from the late Core Formation stage to the Nascent Soul stage!"
He recalled his brief encounter with the person before him in the secret realm of the Sea King Sect. Although the other party was only in the late stage of Core Formation at the time, his swordsmanship and supernatural abilities were fierce and left a deep impression on him.
He never expected that in just a few decades, the other party would have made such an amazing leap, and even possessed the terrifying strength to severely injure the Whale King!