Chapter 283

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Zhang Xiaohua saw this and swept it with his divine sense—how could he not recognize that this was a piece of Yuan Stone?

Qin Shiyue, on the other hand, looked surprised, even slightly delighted. He took out another similar-looking stone from his robe and began to compare the two. As Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense swept over it, he already knew—this was one of the three Yuan Stones used by the Auspicious Three Treasures in Xinji Town. Qin Shiyue picked up the two stones and compared them back and forth, but couldn’t spot any difference. Even when he channeled his true qi into them, there was no reaction at all. With a sigh, he put the Yuan Stones back into that large chest.

He looked again at the piece in his own hand, then casually tossed it in as well.

Zhang Xiaohua had already scanned it with his divine sense—the amount of Yuan Qi within this Yuan Stone was quite substantial, likely still retaining half of its original essence. It held far more than the stone in Qin Shiyue’s hand. However, compared to the small piece in Zhang Xiaohua’s own possession, it was still far inferior.

Qin Shiyue stood for a moment in thought. Then he took out another Yuan Stone from his robe, along with three crimson little flags. Holding them with some reluctance, he weighed them in his hand, but eventually tossed them into the chest as well. His battle in Xinji Town had long since reached the ears of the Honorable Cult Master. Such items of the Immortal Dao would certainly be objects the Cult Master desired. Rather than waiting to be questioned, it was better to offer them up voluntarily.

Though Zhang Xiaohua stood at a distance, what he saw was even clearer than Qin Shiyue saw. There was indeed no shortage of things inside the chest. He didn’t examine them all in detail with his divine sense, but merely skimmed the surface of a few jade slips—and found that no text appeared at all. Could it be that these jade slips no longer contained any Yuan Qi?

He then found one from deeper inside with slightly stronger fluctuations. As expected, this jade slip contained a few fragments of ancient script. But even so, the script was terribly incomplete and illegible. Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but shake his head. The Immortal Dao had been buried for tens of thousands of years—how many things had vanished within that long river of history? Out of this entire chest of jade artifacts, perhaps only one-tenth or one-twentieth might still be usable. What a pity indeed.

But then again, who was the Cult Master of the Heavenly Dragon Sect? The number of jade artifacts he could gather was certainly enormous. Even if only ten percent were usable, it would still be a staggering number. But then… could the Cult Master of the Divine Cult also use divine sense like he did? Otherwise, how could he locate what he needed among these countless jade artifacts?

Zhang Xiaohua felt a twinge of curiosity—he rather wanted to meet this Cult Master. Of course, he quickly quashed that terrifying thought. Seeing how Qin Shiyue killed as easily as squashing an ant, that Cult Master was probably an even fiercer fiend. Since he couldn’t reveal the secret of his money pouch, nor could he take out the cauldron furnace, he was just inviting trouble. Best to avoid provoking them. At any rate, even if he did clash with Qin Shiyue now, it wasn’t certain he would lose. Once they returned from the South Sea, he could look for a chance to escape.

Thinking of escape, Zhang Xiaohua recalled the Earth Escape Technique. He’d gained much that morning—learning to control objects and becoming proficient with sword techniques. Why not strike while the iron is hot and delve into Earth Escape as well? Perhaps some unexpected harvest awaited him.

Zhang Xiaohua closed his eyes, released his divine sense, and formed hand seals, beginning his practice. The incantations for the Earth Escape Technique were far more intricate than those for Manipulating Objects—subtle and delicate. A single misstep, and the technique would fail. His success in mastering the first incantation had been more a stroke of luck than skill. But now, even after much practice, the second incantation still eluded him.

In truth, it made sense. The art of Manipulating Objects was merely the most basic form of divine ability. Zhang Xiaohua had already comprehended the first incantation of Earth Escape; returning to cultivate something more foundational would naturally be a breeze. Having already learned to control the small sword, the sword techniques he now practiced were ones he had drilled countless times—engraved deep into his heart. Now it was simply a matter of shifting from using his hands to using divine sense as a means of control. To Zhang Xiaohua, this came easily. So many years of accumulation, so many fortunate encounters—all of it culminated in the mastery of the flying sword in just one morning.

But this Earth Escape Technique was fundamentally different, existing on a level above even the Qinggong arts of floating in the air. How could someone like Zhang Xiaohua, without the guidance of a teacher, hope to grasp it so easily?

He tried again and again, failing countless times, never succeeding in the end. Still, the repeated effort to channel Yuan Qi had unexpectedly made Zhang Xiaohua extraordinarily skilled at guiding qi into his body. Now, anything within the range of his divine sense, so long as his mind reached out, would be drawn into him with ease. Gone was the need to adjust his breath or rely on sensation to pull the qi inward. It was, at the very least, an unexpected benefit from an afternoon of bitter cultivation.

As dusk fell, the once-clear sky gradually filled with thick clouds. The wind and waves began to surge. Zhang Xiaohua ceased his training but didn’t bother going out for dinner. He simply had one of the sailors bring food to his cabin and ate hastily. In fact, he had begun to notice a change in himself recently—ever since he could draw qi into his body, especially now that he could absorb it directly from Yuan Stones, his need for physical sustenance had clearly diminished. If not for his mother’s delicious cooking or the rare banquets in the South Sea’s Flood Dragon Palace, he was content with some fruit and water to stave off hunger.

After his meal, the dark clouds had already pressed down overhead. Not long after, raindrops the size of beans began to fall, accompanied by fierce sea winds. Zhang Xiaohua had originally wanted to admire the rainy scene beneath the moonlight, but the howling storm shattered that indulgent thought. He shut the doors and windows tightly, yet the sound of raindrops pounding down and the roar of the crashing waves battering the great vessel still reached his ears. The entire ship swayed violently with the wind and sea.

He didn’t light a lamp in his cabin. Instead, he simply spread out his divine sense to envelop the whole ship, but did not extend it beyond. Though there was only wind and rain now, no thunder or lightning, the unpredictable sea could conceal any number of strange occurrences. Zhang Xiaohua dared not let down his guard.

In the first-floor cabin, the Three Seas Flood Dragon Kings and the sect leaders of the Seven Waters remained composed—they had long grown accustomed to such storms and waves, and didn’t find it the least bit surprising. But it was a different story for Qin Shiyue and Ying Fei. Gone was the carefree grace they had shown earlier; now, as their bodies swayed uncontrollably with the rocking of the great ship, it wasn’t long before they could no longer endure it, retching uncontrollably. Flood Dragon King Xu wore a bitter expression, but had no real solution. Seasickness among landlubbers was a common enough matter, unrelated to one’s cultivation level. Perhaps after enough vomiting, they’d simply grow used to it.

Watching this unfold from his dark cabin, Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter. All this time, he had seen Qin Shiyue maintain that ever-so-cool and aloof demeanor, and now, at last, he was witnessing the man in such a pitiful state—how could he not feel pleased? Though this was Zhang Xiaohua’s first time at sea and his first time encountering such stormy waves, he had already used the levitation Qinggong to offset the swaying when it first began. Now that he was seated and still, he didn’t feel especially dizzy—merely a little uncomfortable, nothing more.

Seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Xiaohua no longer extended his divine sense outward. He simply held two small Yuan Stones in his hands and focused entirely on absorbing qi. Since advancing to the third layer of Qi Refining, the speed at which he could absorb Yuan Qi had increased severalfold, and his meridians could now store even more true qi. Moreover, the true qi within his meridians had become noticeably more refined. Though the quantity was slightly less than before, its quality had clearly reached a new level.

Feeling the Yuan Qi drawn from the Yuan Stones slowly being refined into a small amount of true qi within his meridians, Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but shake his head. This process of cultivation was, indeed, agonizingly slow. At this rate of absorption, who knew how long it would take just to reach the fourth layer? A year? Two years? And the layers beyond that were said to be even harder than these initial stages. Would he only reach the peak of cultivation when his hair had already turned white?

Then again, what came after reaching the peak? Was there something beyond that as well?

Zhang Xiaohua found himself quietly looking forward to it.

The night passed uneventfully.

In the early hours of the next morning, Zhang Xiaohua opened his eyes. The ship’s cabin was still enveloped in darkness. He listened to the sounds outside, then released his divine sense. The wind and waves still raged beyond, though the rain had lightened. The sky remained blanketed with thick, oppressive clouds.

In the cabin below, Qin Shiyue and the others each sat in their own corner, regulating their breath and focusing on their inner qi. Though the violent storm was far from an ideal environment for cultivating internal force, these were all experts with profound inner strength. They weren’t attempting breakthroughs—merely nurturing their true qi—and so there was nothing improper about it.

Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense swept past Qin Shiyue, and he noticed he looked much better than the night before. Though his face was still pale, at least he was no longer vomiting.

Xu Jiaotong, however, was sleeping soundly, completely undisturbed by the tossing and turning of the ship in the storm. She had likely long since grown used to such an environment. Judging by the soft smile on her delicate face, she was probably enjoying some sweet dream.

Zhang Xiaohua rose to his feet. He didn’t light the lamp, merely opened the window, letting the howling sea wind rush in. Then he gathered his spirit and practiced the Big Dipper Fist dozens of times in succession. Only when the ninth cycle of tempering was completed did he finally stop. By now, the sky had already brightened—behind the dense layers of cloud, a few rays of sunlight could be faintly seen. In the distant sky, beams of light pierced through and shone down upon the sea, creating a spectacular sight.

It was a gloomy day. Rain came and went in scattered intervals. Qin Shiyue occasionally took walks on the deck, but since everyone knew he suffered from seasickness, no banquet was prepared. Each person dined within their own cabins. Only Xu Jiaotong showed particular concern for Qin Shiyue, accompanying him the whole time and speaking now and then about local customs or entertaining tales, drawing frequent laughter from him. It was as though he had completely forgotten his seasickness.

This sort of scene stirred a silent complaint in Zhang Xiaohua’s heart: Ah, how the morals of the world have declined…

Apart from familiarizing himself further with sword techniques, Zhang Xiaohua continued to ponder the incantation for the Earth Escape Technique. Through relentless, grinding practice, he had made slight progress on the second seal—he could now stir the true qi into movement and even alter its shape slightly. But if he wanted to truly follow the seal and form a thin membrane that wrapped around his body, he was still far from achieving that.

Even so, Zhang Xiaohua wasn’t in a rush. If once didn’t work, then he would try twice; if twice failed, then thrice. He’d never been the clever sort, even from a young age—making up for lack of talent with sheer diligence was something he was all too familiar with.

After dinner, Zhang Xiaohua still didn’t leave his cabin. Though he’d considered walking out onto the deck, the thought of the slippery surface made him reconsider. He figured it was better to admire the view from the second floor. One thing he couldn’t quite understand: with such a great view from the second floor, why did Qin Shiyue and the others all choose to stay on the first?

Night deepened. The rain grew heavier. From the clouds above came faint rumbles of thunder, and Zhang Xiaohua dared not release his divine sense from his body. He simply sat cross-legged, holding two Yuan Stones, and began absorbing Yuan Qi.

Suddenly, Zhang Xiaohua’s heart stirred—he felt a flicker of unease. His eyes snapped open for a moment, then closed again as his divine sense extended outward. Sweeping across the entire vessel, he sensed nothing out of the ordinary. He pushed farther, letting his divine sense spread out over the sea. The surface of the ocean surged and roared with waves, but again, there was no sign of anything unusual.

Just as he was about to retract his divine sense, a ship suddenly entered its range.