Chapter 57

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Chapter 57: No Drops Left

Above the vast and boundless sea, turbulent waves never ceased, but only this icy area was surprisingly quiet. Everyone stood still on the deck, looking into the distance at the dark and invisible mist, then lowered their heads, gazing at the slightly glowing crystal-like ice surface.

The already cold outer sea was now bone-chilling, but fortunately the survivors were used to this cold environment and managed to endure it by wrapping themselves in animal skins.

Bold young children had long climbed down the hemp rope onto the ice and the older survivors were getting increasingly frustrated with their recklessness.

"It’s fine, the ice is three feet thick. They’ve been cooped up on the ship for half a month, it’s good for them to come out for a walk."

Hearing Wen Yun say this, the adults no longer stopped the children from playing on the ice. However, when the children went too far, they couldn’t escape being scolded. For a while, the sound of adults scolding blended with the children’s laughter, bringing a bit of liveliness to the otherwise silent outer sea.

Because the front was shrouded in fog and the direction was unclear, and there were quite a few seasick people these days, the group decided to stay on the ice for two days. This was to rest and recuperate on one hand, and on the other hand, Wen Yun and a few others would venture into the mist to seek direction.

Shen Xinghai threw the rotten wood on his back onto the ice, saying it was to explore, but actually just playing with the black stones and A’xiu. When they came back, Shen Xinghai couldn’t hide his excitement. It seemed like he had completely forgotten about the broken sword. If it wasn’t inconvenient on the ice, he would have built a sword furnace on the spot to forge a new sword.

He didn’t know how Wen Yun used such a terrifying ability, but in the world of cultivation, everyone could have hidden strengths. It was impolite to pry.

And the person who did this was Martial Sister Wen, who had formed Nascent Soul in just ten days. Turning seawater into ice casually wasn’t very ordinary, was it?

Instead of thinking so much, it would be better to hurry up and go ice skating.

On the other side, Ye Shubai’s smooth chin lifted slightly, his gaze hesitatingly looking at the ice, showing contemplation.

He had seen Wen Yun use this magic at Qianzhen Tower before, but at that time, she chanted for almost half a cup of tea’s time. This time, it only took a moment, and he didn’t even sense any magical energy fluctuations when she cast the spell.

Although Ye Shubai was only a beginner in magic, he could still sense magical elements.

The biting cold wind blew Wen Yun’s face pale. She turned around and saw ice crystals hanging on her thick eyelashes, making her eyes even clearer.

"I feel strange," she looked helplessly at Ye Shubai, unsure how to describe the anomaly on her body.

Fortunately, without Wen Yun having to explain further, Ye Shubai understood what she meant. He took the wooden sword and swung it twice, casting a basic Fireball spell. However, there was complete silence in the air, with no magical energy fluctuation.

There were no magic elements above the open sea, so in order to use magic, one had to rely on a Magic Stone.

Using the same spell as Wen Yun, a giant fireball the size of a boulder suddenly flew out in the next moment, smashing a large hole in the ice not far away.

The fireball was surprisingly large, even bigger than when enhanced by the fire hemlock wand. What was more important was that she had nothing in her hands when casting the spell, not even a Magic Stone.

Sure enough, the abnormality when using "Frozen Land" earlier was not a coincidence.

After some thought, Wen Yun threw the wooden sword up and clumsily used the Sword Control Art. The flying sword rose into the sky, powered by the same mysterious golden warm flow as before, not by spiritual power.

"Ye Xiaobai, the case is solved." Wen Yun looked at Ye Shubai with a serious expression, lowering her voice, "My mental energy and spiritual power have merged together."

Ye Shubai had suspected this possibility earlier, but he had never heard of such a thing. His brow slightly furrowed, but his voice remained cool and gentle, carrying a soothing power.

"Don’t be afraid, for now, this seems to be a good thing."

At least Wen Yun’s strength made a substantial leap. Before, her spiritual power was minimal, relying mostly on magic in battles. While she was powerful with someone assisting her, being alone could be risky if she got too close.

Now, she has reached the Nascent Soul Stage. Even encountering a practitioner at the Soul Changing Stage wouldn’t daunt her. Along with her mysterious magical abilities, she could now contend with practitioners at the Transmigration Realm, capable of putting up a fight.

The cold wind gently brushed Ye Shubai’s dark long hair, making his features even more striking. His expression, rarely gentle, comforted her softly, "Being different is not necessarily bad, there’s no need to worry."

"I’m not worried, just slightly uncomfortable with this merging power," Wen Yun blinked, then flashed a dazzling smile, "I’ve always been different, therefore I’ve always been strong, standing out among others."

Calling it confidence wouldn’t be accurate; Wen Yun has always been arrogant.

She calmly smoothed out her wind-tangled hair, casually saying, "And in the Magic World, it has been a millennium without a strong ascender. Maybe the methods of cultivation are wrong. Immortals, immortals, perhaps it’s about cultivating the spirit and flesh together. Who knows, maybe combining mental power and spiritual power in my training is the right way."

In truth, Wen Yun always had her suspicions.

In the Magic World, the Masters of Magic ascend by refining their mental power to the extreme and becoming gods, while in the cultivation world, ascenders refine their spiritual power to transcend their bodies and become immortals.

Although their paths of cultivation differ greatly, their ultimate goal is to become the supreme beings.

But in Wen Yun’s past life, she searched through various books with her little dragon but never found a true example of someone becoming a Master of Magic. Even The Church of Light, which always preached about their supreme God of Light, never fully explained the origin of the God of Light.

They only mentioned that after becoming a Master of Magic, a divine messenger would come to guide the new Master to the realm of gods.

Looking back now, this concept is similar to the idea of ascension in the cultivation world: after ascension, immortals would guide one to the higher realms.

Could it be that the so-called Immortal Realm and the realm of gods are actually the same place, and the deities worshipped in both realms are actually the same entity?

Perhaps the cultivation world and the magical world were once the same place, but diverged due to different lineages. Maybe practicing both magic and martial arts, like Wen Yun does, was the original way of training?

Wen Yun pushed aside her jumbled thoughts and tugged on Ye Shubai’s sleeve.

"To confirm my suspicions, once we find the right path, I’ll teach you how to cultivate your mental power when we get back on the ship! Who knows, you might be able to ascend directly from half-step ascension to full ascension!"

Ye Shubai had no objections. While others might worry that this reckless behavior could affect their own cultivation, he always understood Wen Yun’s wild ideas.

In a way, it wasn’t about trust but about the unspoken understanding between two unconventional geniuses.

Using Ye Shubai for experiments was a long process. The most important thing now is to quickly figure out the path ahead and continue moving forward.

Wen Yun skillfully threw the wooden sword up high and effortlessly performed a Sword Control Art to rise into the air.

Well done, this time the Sword Control Art was executed accurately. Wen Yun silently praised herself for the stylish movements when getting on the sword.

After all, previously using the Sword Control Art, Wen Yun would flip the sword nine out of ten times. Later, with Ye Shubai as her exclusive driver, she became lazy to improve.

Standing on the sword, Wen Yun looked down at Ye Shubai and then reached out her hand to him, saying, "Come up, it’s time to show my true sword control skills."

Ye Shubai slightly frowned, but obediently got on the sword.

Wen Yun maintained her composure, carefully controlling the power in her body to manipulate the flying sword forward, while reminding Ye Shubai behind her, "Hold onto me, or you might fall off if the sword flips."

Ye Shubai kept a small distance from her, saying seriously, "Do not offend."

However, in the next moment, the flying sword, previously smoothly sailing, suddenly accelerated forward. Ye Shubai stood firmly on the sword, but Wen Yun, controlling the sword, swayed and involuntarily almost fell off the side.

Luckily, the man behind her seemed to have expected this situation, and just in time, he skillfully reached out to embrace her and protect her.

In the end, the experienced driver Ye Shubai came forward to help, and Wen Yun stood behind him, feeling very disappointed, holding onto his waist tightly.

Ye Shubai’s driving was much faster than Shen Xinghai, who was using rotten wood as a skateboard.

Wen Yun and Ye Shubai quickly flew into the fog.

She wanted to test the power of her sword skills, so she decided to simply use her sword to cut through the large rocks blocking the way.

A mysterious energy surged out from her Nascent Soul, forming an invisible sword energy that forcefully cleared a path.

Wen Yun looked at the smooth sea surface and nodded in satisfaction, then looked up at Ye Shubai and said, "This has its benefits. In the future, I won’t need to rely on Magic Stone for magic anymore, saving a lot of stones. I am indeed a thrifty and good girl."

Ye Shubai remained calm and elegant, but his gaze towards Wen Yun seemed strangely hesitant.

Wen Yun then praised herself again, waiting for his approval.

After a long silence, facing the strong desire for approval from the girl, Ye Shubai finally gently reminded her, "Why don’t you take a look at the space bag first."

What does that mean? Could it be that she lost her precious belongings?

Wen Yun felt a little uneasy in her heart, she quickly unlocked the space bag around her waist and looked inside.

Inside, there was a messy pile of various women’s items left by Xu Wanfeng, but the most eye-catching thing was the giant Magic Stone.

Seeing that it was still there, Wen Yun breathed a sigh of relief, as long as this thing wasn’t lost.

However, in the next moment, she suddenly remembered that the giant Magic Stone seemed to be covered by those scattered Magic Stones, so how did it suddenly appear now?

Where did her endless supply of Magic Stones go?!

Wen Yun felt a tightness in her heart, but even after rummaging through the space bag, she couldn’t find her precious Magic Stones, only finding a few pieces of broken stones here and there. Furthermore, the pile of one hundred thousand top-grade spiritual jades on the other side also disappeared without a trace!

There was a soul mark on the space bag, unless the owner willingly gave it, only by removing the soul mark could it be opened.

Her spirit is so powerful that even Mo You can’t handle her. Besides Ye Shubai and the little fire dragon, no one else can match her.

"Is my wand spirit awake?" Wen Yun whispered, analyzing the situation. "It loves shiny things, it must have secretly hidden my treasure. I’ll go back and ask for it later."

Though Ye Shubai didn’t mind Wen Yun blaming the wand spirit, he couldn’t ignore his own righteousness.

"It wasn’t him who took it, it was me."

Wen Yun looked surprised for a moment, then decisively reached out to her own sword spirit to reclaim them.

However, Ye Shubai added, "You were able to advance earlier thanks to the spiritual jade and the Magic Stone, the ones in your space bag are already empty."

So the mystical energy in her body didn’t come out of thin air, it was all absorbed from the spiritual jade and the Magic Stone?

The light in Wen Yun’s eyes gradually faded, she opened her mouth but remained silent for a while.

The shock and despair on her face were so evident that even Ye Shubai felt sorry for her.

He handed over his space bag and said seriously, "There are still a million spiritual jade inside, all for you."

Wen Yun looked at the space bag, then at Ye Shubai, and let out a long sigh, "I regret it."

"Regret?"

She suddenly realized, "I promised to teach you how to cultivate spiritual power before, to see if you could truly practice dual cultivation with me. But I didn’t expect that cultivating to Nascent Soul would cost so much money. So, cultivating to ascension would cost even more for you, right?"

"…"

Carefully, Wen Yun tied the space bag that Ye Shubai handed her back around his waist, then gently patted the man’s shoulder, saying with a deep sigh, "Let’s stop practicing, okay?"

We sword cultivators can’t afford this kind of spending!

*

Feeling sorry for her lost possessions, Wen Yun didn’t eat for the next few days. She sat at the ship’s rail pondering about life, occasionally checking the space bag to see if the giant Magic Stone was still there.

The boat sailed forward, while the heart broke into pieces.

After hearing the news, Shen Xinghai wasn’t surprised at all, but instead whispered to Ye Shubai happily, "Actually, I always thought Martial Sister Wen didn’t seem like a sword cultivator."

Ye Shubai glanced at him lightly, feeling slightly alert.

However, Shen Xinghai didn’t notice at all and continued, "Now it seems that I misunderstood."

He was excited, "Look at how she is so worried about the spiritual jade now, displaying the true spirit of a sword cultivator!"

Ye Shubai remained silent.

So, this generation of sword cultivators are now so confident and proud? Thought that my three disciples were already impressive, but it seems each generation is worse than the last!

Just then, Wen Yun, who was being discussed, raised her head slowly. Shen Xinghai quickly shut his mouth, moving aside with his beloved Fire Soul Iron, afraid that the troubled Martial Sister Wen would try to take it back.

However, Wen Yun didn’t even glance at him, she just stood up, stepped onto the thick ship railing, looking into the distance with the wind making her light-colored skirt float. Despite usually caring about her appearance, she didn’t bother fixing it and instead focused on the far horizon.

Ye Shubai was the first to notice something was wrong. He followed the flying object into the sky and gradually, his expression became serious.

They had been traveling through the fog the whole way, fortunately, they hadn’t encountered any more rocks, but now the fog was thickening, and strange things were happening again.

"There are strange sounds in the fog," whispered Ye Shubai.

The sound was faint, distorted by the howling sea wind, making it impossible to hear clearly. In this dark fog, it seemed particularly eerie, as if something was wailing.

Outside the cabin, Blackstone and A’xiu turned pale, muttering quietly, "When I was a child, my grandmother used to say that ships couldn’t cross the open sea not only because it is hard to float on the sea, but also because there are sea monsters lurking inside, these creatures especially like to eat young boys and girls…"

Upon hearing this, Shen Xinghai took a sharp breath, instinctively grasping the rotten wood on his back, assuming a defensive posture.

Wen Yun wondered, "Why are you so nervous at your age? Even if there are sea monsters, they would probably go after these two kids first."

As she spoke, she pointed to the two children in front of them.

Blackstone and A’xiu, already terrified, turned even paler, pursing their lips and on the verge of tears.

Shen Xinghai reluctantly said, "Martial Sister Wen, don’t scare my disciple!"

Wen Yun, who frightened the child, touched her nose, climbed back up to the ship’s railing to observe the movements in the mist, and then looked up to the sky and said, "I suspect we have really encountered monsters. This sound is coming from the sky."

Ye Shubai remained silent, used the Sword Control Art to step on his sword and rise up, with a calm and composed demeanor.

He said, "If there are monsters, we will eliminate them."

Wen Yun immediately climbed up, inspiring Shen Xinghai below them with their fearless spirits. Shen Xinghai bravely proclaimed, "I will not fear the monsters. I will eliminate them with righteousness!"

After saying that, he subconsciously tried to use the Sword Control Art to fly up, only to remember that his sword seemed to be broken. In fact, a broken sword can still fly, but… he had lost his broken sword!

Shen Xinghai awkwardly smiled and asked Ye Shubai, "Martial Brother Ye, can you give me a ride?"

Ye Shubai looked at him coldly, then flew away on his sword, showing his refusal through actions.

Shen Xinghai lowered his head in disappointment and saw his two disciples looking over. He had to defend himself, "The reason why Senior Brother Ye refused me is because a flying sword can only carry up to two people, any more and it won’t be able to fly."

Wen Yun and Ye Shubai flew to the top of the mist, following the sound of ghostly cries and wolf howls. The sound became clearer as they flew.

A man’s voice filled with despair cried out, "Oh! I can’t go on! I have nothing left!"

"Second Master Brother, don’t panic. Let me take control of the sword! Hold on to me tightly so you don’t fall!"

"Junior Brother, I’ve regained some spiritual power. Let me take over!"

They could barely see three people riding on a flying sword together, obscured by the thick fog. Although their faces were not visible, the voices sounded familiar.

Wen Yun hesitated for a moment, tugging at Ye Shubai’s clothes and whispering, "Ye Xiaobai, don’t these voices sound familiar to you?"

Ye Shubai frowned and replied, "I have never heard them before."

He spoke gravely, "Since we can’t identify friend from foe, we must strike first before they do."

Before Ye Shubai could act, three cries suddenly rang out from above. The three figures depleted their spirit energy and all fell into the sea, passing by Wen Yun in a flash.

Three pairs of desperate yet confused eyes met Wen Yun flying steadily in the sky.

She suddenly patted Ye Shubai’s waist and urgently shouted, "Quick, save them!"

"These are your three disciples!"

*

After a moment, Shen Xinghai and the two disciples looked up together, only to see a long line flying towards the top of the magic boat.

Standing on the sword were still Ye Shubai and Wen Yun, but Ye Shubai was holding two unconscious people in his hands, and one person was hanging on the tip of the sword.

Blackstone scratched his head, carefully counted, and said, "Master, their sword can clearly carry five people."

Shen Xinghai, "…"

Why do you not care about the sea monster or the identities of these three people, but insist on bringing up something that embarrasses the master!