Three hundred miles southwest of Bellu Island, dark clouds filled the sky, thunder roared from within the clouds, and a thick vortex of spiritual energy rose from the sea like a giant pillar of energy. As it slowly rotated, it triggered a surge of spiritual energy within a radius of six hundred miles.
Faced with the sudden celestial phenomenon, Bellu Island was thrown into chaos. The island's mortals rushed out of their homes, gazing at the strange sight in the sky with expressions of panic and confusion.
Meanwhile, chaos reigned at Bellu Island's only pier, with some people eager to flee the area and others unwilling to miss this rare opportunity.
The pier was packed with people, and several cultivators were shouting into the crowd from the various boats moored there:
"Hurry up! The ship will depart in a quarter of an hour! It only costs ten spirit stones to board. This is a once-in-a-century opportunity, don't miss it!"
"Those looking for bargains, those wanting to get rich, and those who aren't afraid of death, get on board! Ten spirit stones per berth!"
"Run! You're in deep trouble, survival is the most important thing! No matter how good the spirit stones are, they're not as important as your life. I don't want 180, just 88, and Old Liu will take you away from here!"
From the crowd, an ordinary-looking young man dressed in black paid ten spirit stones for the fare and boarded a large, two-sealed ship.
The young man in black was Zhao Sheng. In order to conceal his identity, he used a disguise technique and an illusion talisman to temporarily change his appearance.
Today, he made a rare trip out of seclusion to the island's market, originally intending to exchange some pills and spirit stones.
But after witnessing this extraordinary phenomenon of the Golden Core, he suddenly had a whim and decided to go there to take a look.
Cultivating immortality is all about competition; this opportunity is not something you wait for, but something you fight for.
Once aboard the ship, Zhao Sheng found a quiet corner to wait for it to depart.
At this moment, the atmosphere on the ship was tense yet lively, with the other cultivators exchanging ideas enthusiastically and forming groups.
People would approach Zhao Sheng from time to time, trying to recruit him into the team.
Zhao Sheng politely declined all offers of advice. In his eyes, the cultivators on the ship were all Qi Refining cultivators, none of whom had even reached Foundation Establishment, and were likely just a burden.
Shortly after, the boats at the dock departed from Bellu Island one after another.
Just as bolts of lightning began to strike down from the distant sky, ships of all sizes carrying cultivators braved the wind and waves, heading towards that sea area.
Even at full speed, it took the ship two hours to reach the destination, a distance of three hundred nautical miles.
When Zhao Sheng and his group arrived, there were already seven or eight treasure ships of various sizes wandering around the area, searching.
By this time, the tribulation had long passed, the dark clouds in the sky had dissipated, most of the spiritual energy vortex had collapsed, and the concentration of spiritual energy on the sea surface had greatly increased. With a slight circulation of the cultivation technique, spiritual energy would rush into the dantian.
However, the cultivators who dared to come here were not here for such petty gains.
Although the strange phenomena in the heavens and earth have dissipated, some traces of calamity still remain in the world.
Seeing the sea calm and still, with nothing unusual around them, the cultivators were all greatly encouraged, their eyes gleaming with greed.
Seeing this, whether it's a human or a demon beast that's trying to form a core, it's highly likely they've failed!
Thump,
Thump!
When someone suddenly jumped into the sea, the others did not hesitate and followed suit, leaping into the water to begin a full-scale search.
Zhao Sheng was not in a hurry to go into business.
He stood at the bow of the ship, looking up at the sky and earth, his eyes shimmering with a deep blue light.
In the world, the originally formless and intangible lightning tribulation energy now transformed into wisps of faint black energy in his eyes.
These black wisps continuously evaporated and dispersed between heaven and earth, disappearing at an astonishing speed.
Looking at the area where the black energy was most concentrated, Zhao Sheng couldn't help but smile.
Thump!
The next second, Zhao Sheng jumped into the sea from the bow of the ship and swam quickly towards that area.
Because of the lightning tribulation, all the marine creatures were frightened and fled the area, leaving the seabed empty and desolate, with almost no fish, shrimp, or sea beasts to be seen.
In just over ten breaths, Zhao Sheng swam to the sea area where the calamity energy was most concentrated.
Without any hesitation, he flipped over, head down, feet up, and with a push of his hands, his body shot downwards, diving at full speed into the unknown depths of the sea.
One hundred zhang
Two hundred zhang,
...
This sea area is not deep. When Zhao Sheng dived to a depth of 600 feet, he found that he had reached the seabed.
Upon reaching the seabed, Zhao Sheng stopped, gazing at the trench below with a slight hesitation in his expression.
This trench is about twenty zhang wide, and the bottom is pitch black. The walls on both sides are uneven, with exposed sand and stones, and seaweed growing everywhere.
The trench extends to both sides of the seabed, like a crack in the earth, stretching into the darkness beyond sight.
This trench is so unique that it has clearly attracted everyone's attention.
When Zhao Sheng arrived here, he only stopped for a short while before seeing many cultivators eagerly dive into the trench and quickly disappear from sight.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Sheng's eyes flickered a few times, and with a swift movement, he dove downwards with incredible agility.
Seven hundred zhang,
eight hundred feet,
...
Shortly after diving into the trench, it became so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Zhao Sheng took out a fluorite, which emitted a bright light that illuminated the surrounding environment within a two-zhang radius.
Having dodged the lush seaweed, he continued swimming downstream with all his attention focused on the task at hand.
One thousand two hundred feet,
1,500 zhang
...
This trench was unexpectedly deep; at his speed, he must have already descended more than three thousand feet.
However, he still couldn't see the bottom of the ditch.
Three thousand feet below the surface, the water pressure was immense. Even with Zhao Sheng's special bloodline, he felt a dull ache in his internal organs, and his entire body had shrunk by two inches.
Just as he was about to cast a spell to resist the water pressure, Zhao Sheng suddenly saw a point of white light emerge from the darkness below.
The faint white light, like a firefly, invigorated Zhao Sheng, who swam vigorously toward it.
As he swam closer, the white light gradually brightened and expanded. After swimming down twenty zhang (approximately 33 meters) deep, Zhao Sheng's expression gradually turned to shock.
Because a huge, unimaginably large seashell appeared before his eyes.
The huge shell is pure white, covered with dense, wavy lines, and radiates a dazzling white light.
Its shape is very similar to that of a large seashell, only magnified many times. The trench is more than 20 feet wide, yet it is completely filled with its enormous body.
This ancient seashell, which had lived for countless years, was now reduced to nothing but its shell.
Zhao Sheng swam to the side and saw that the seashell was slightly open, supported by five strange stone pillars on both the top and bottom.
The stone pillars are about seven feet thick and ten feet high. From top to bottom, they are engraved with more than a hundred ancient runes. There are also countless wavy lines next to the runes. Each stone pillar is inlaid with a spirit stone the size of a washbasin. Ripples of light occasionally move up and down the stone pillars.
A white light curtain connects the five stone pillars, obscuring the view and making it impossible to see what lies behind them.
...
...
As soon as Zhao Sheng entered the light curtain, a loud gust of wind rushed past his ears, and a huge skull came crashing into him.
The skull was jet black and shiny, emanating a strong black aura; it was clearly very sinister.
Zhao Sheng is least afraid of being ambushed.
His eyes flashed with a sharp light, and without dodging or avoiding, he flicked his wrist, and nearly a hundred feet long, crystalline water arrows appeared out of thin air in front of him, shooting towards the skull.
Upon seeing the water arrow flying towards it, the skull's empty eye sockets glowed brightly with green light, and its gaping mouth opened wide, spewing forth bursts of gray-green phosphorescent flames.
As soon as the water rockets came into contact with these phosphorescent flames, they exploded into a large cloud of white vapor, just like water meeting a raging fire.
However, the black and green phosphorescent fire did not diminish or extinguish, and after piercing through the water arrow, it burned directly towards Zhao Sheng.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Sheng narrowed his eyes, flicked his right hand forward, and a lightning ball the size of a basket flew out of his hand.
The lightning ball exploded upon impact with the phosphorescent fire, and amidst the bursts of lightning, the phosphorescent fire that filled the sky was swept away.
Without hesitation, Zhao Sheng immediately threw out two more lightning balls, which struck the black skull.
With his innate talent, Zhao Sheng could cast talismans with lightning speed, as if they were cast instantly; the second-tier water and thunder talisman could be activated at the slightest thought.
Boom!
The black skull was struck repeatedly by lightning, instantly becoming dull and flying back. Its surface suddenly cracked, shattering into several bone fragments that fell to the ground with a bang.
At the same time, a tall, thin old man not far from Zhao Sheng let out a scream, his face turning deathly pale.
"How dare you destroy my treasure!"
The tall, thin old man pointed at Zhao Sheng and shouted in extreme shock and anger, but a hint of fear crept into his eyes.
Others may not know, but he knows it very well!
The Corrupted Fire Skeleton, which he had refined for decades, had slain countless formidable enemies in the past. Yet today, it was destroyed by that person's lightning magic in a single encounter.
This person is probably a Foundation Establishment cultivator!
When the tall, thin old man felt fear, Zhao Sheng did not take the opportunity to attack him, but instead looked around.
He was extremely surprised, not expecting that the interior space of the shell was much larger than the outside. It was very spacious, with a diameter of over 100 zhang and a height of nearly 20 zhang, looking like a small cave.
In fact, it has been transformed into a grotto-heaven, complete with courtyards, pavilions, stone pavilions, green trees, spiritual fields, and ponds.
If Zhao Sheng hadn't known that this was three thousand feet deep in the ocean, he would have thought he had stumbled upon a paradise on earth.
"This is.?"
Zhao Sheng was deeply shocked, and the name of a rare treasure suddenly popped into his mind: "Nahai Clam!"
The Nahai Clam is a rare and unique shellfish found only in the Shattered Star Sea. It is naturally endowed with spatial properties, and in addition to being able to store items, it also possesses some of the functions of a blessed land.
In ancient times, the sea clam, which was over a thousand years old, could be refined into a personal cave dwelling, so it was hunted by ancient cultivators. In the last few thousand years, this rare shellfish has almost become extinct.
The tall, thin old man glanced at Zhao Sheng, then took a step back, intending to quietly escape.
"Wait! Where are you going?!" Zhao Sheng was startled and immediately shouted coldly.
The tall, thin old man stopped and threatened in a low voice, "Senior, I advise you to leave quickly, otherwise you won't be able to leave once my uncle is free."
"Oh, who is your martial uncle?"
Zhao Sheng glanced at the exquisite courtyard not far away, where shouts were coming from all directions. Every now and then, black skulls could be seen flying up and down, stirring up green flames, constantly clashing and colliding with the golden sword rainbow, exploding large amounts of black mist and golden light.
On the surface, the battle there appeared to be very intense, with both sides locked in a stalemate.
However, judging from the fact that the tall, thin old man was sent to guard the gate, the skull side clearly had the upper hand; otherwise, they wouldn't have left one of their combatants unused.
It seems that if we don't lend a hand, the other side will surely be defeated quickly.
Zhao Sheng did not want this situation to occur.
After all, one can only fish in troubled waters. There are at least two Foundation Establishment cultivators fighting inside. If he, a mere Qi Refining Level 8 cultivator, doesn't use some tricks, how can he reap the benefits?
Thinking of this, Zhao Sheng looked back at the tall, thin old man, hoping to extract some information from him.
The tall, thin old man, preconceived notions, assumed Zhao Sheng was a Foundation Establishment cultivator and couldn't help but feel fear.
He also wanted to stall for time, and upon hearing the question, he immediately said, "My master uncle is the Bone Master. He has roamed the outer star sea for a hundred years and is extremely powerful, with few rivals. I advise you to leave here as soon as possible."
"Oh, that's amazing! I've never heard of it before," Zhao Sheng asked with a smile, not in a hurry to make a move.
The tall, thin old man continued, "If you haven't heard of it, it's because you're ignorant. Let me mention another name, the Corpse Demon Pirate Gang. You must have heard of them, right? My uncle is a member of the Corpse Demon Pirate Gang."
Zhao Sheng frowned. The Corpse Demon Pirate Gang had been rampant in the Shattered Star Sea for five hundred years and was notorious for its ruthlessness.
Legend has it that every member of the Corpse Demon Pirate Crew has at least a Foundation Establishment cultivation level, and the captain is a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.
If what this person says is true, then this is going to be a bit tricky.
At this moment, in the short time it took to exchange just a few words, the battle on the other side took a new turn. The golden sword light dimmed, and it was retreating steadily under the siege of the skulls, seemingly on the verge of defeat.
Seeing this, Zhao Sheng no longer hesitated. He reached into his storage bag at his waist and threw out seven or eight first-tier water arrow talismans, each stacked more than twenty times.
In an instant, thousands of water arrows suddenly filled half the sky, carrying a sharp edge, and "submerged" the tall, thin old man in the blink of an eye.
In the past two years, Zhao Sheng has spent his spare time drawing talismans. Over time, his storage bag has been filled with various stacked talismans and second-tier true talismans.
As for the other "defective products," they were used to exchange for elixirs and spirit stones.
The death of the tall, thin old man seemed to serve as a warning, and the battle instantly intensified threefold.
Zhao Sheng smiled slightly, his figure flashed, and he suddenly disappeared into thin air.
...
Zhen Yue frantically dodged everywhere, relentlessly bombarding the group of skulls that were relentlessly pursuing her with her flying sword.
Clearly, these skulls were meticulously crafted by their master, each one as hard as refined steel, impervious to blades and spears, and unable to be harmed in the slightest by ordinary magical artifacts, which could only temporarily retreat three feet away to avoid their sharp edge.
The golden sword was constantly scorched by the green flames, its speed slowed down, and its blade was covered with green marks. It no longer had the imposing presence it had before.
While it was fighting with three black unicorns, it was unexpectedly entangled by green flames. As the sword light gradually dimmed, sweat immediately poured down Zhen Yue's face.
Seeing this, the withered and emaciated Skeleton Master chuckled strangely, intensifying his spiritual power and commanding the horned ghost skeletons to attack Zhen Yue, attempting to end the battle as quickly as possible.
At this moment, Zhao Sheng had already sneaked into the courtyard. After secretly glancing at the withered bone master, he no longer hesitated and flipped his hand, revealing two second-tier water-thunder true talismans between his fingers.
go!
With a low shout, two large, azure lightning balls suddenly flew into the air, penetrated deep into the horde of ghost skeletons, and then exploded.
In an instant, it seemed as if two brilliant fireworks exploded in the sky, scattering the horde of ghost skeletons in all directions.
The expression on the face of the withered bone master changed. He followed the Ghost Skull Path of the Corpse God Sect and was most afraid of lightning magic.
With a grim expression, he waved his hand, summoning the skeletons back above his head, where they merged into a cloud of blazing green flames.