127: Chapter 127 The Monster in the Mist

The fog was thick. Lin Xuan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

First, ascend and fly out of the fog layer.

He controlled the cloud-piercing shuttle to climb upward.

Ten zhang.

Twenty zhang.

Fifty zhang.

Still fog.

It was a vast expanse of white; he couldn't see anything.

This wasn't right.

Fog over the sea usually didn't exceed several dozen zhang in height.

At the speed of the cloud-piercing shuttle, ascending to a height of a hundred zhang should have allowed him to see the sun and fly out of the fog layer.

But now, he had climbed at least a hundred zhang, and the surroundings were still thick fog.

Lin Xuan stopped his ascent and hovered in mid-air.

He tried to discern his direction.

But all around him was a vast expanse of white; he couldn't see the sky, he couldn't see the sea, he couldn't see anything at all.

He tried to use the position of the sun to determine his direction—but the sun was already obscured by the thick fog, and even its light had become blurry, making it completely impossible to distinguish north, south, east, or west.

He also tried to use the direction of the ocean currents—but the flying vessel was hovering in the air, so he couldn't feel the currents.

Lin Xuan grit his teeth, chose a direction, and accelerated.

One quarter of an hour.

Two quarters of an hour.

Three quarters of an hour.

Given the speed of the cloud-piercing shuttle, three quarters of an hour should have carried him at least several dozen li.

Yet, the thick fog still surrounded him.

It was a vast, endless white, as if he could never fly out of it.

Lin Xuan stopped.

Something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

The scope of this fog couldn't possibly be this vast. Unless—

He had been spinning in circles in the same place.

Lin Xuan closed his eyes and carefully recalled his experiences over the past few days.

He recalled a detail—something mentioned in Deacon Wu's notes.

"Sea Mirage."

It was not ordinary mirage Qi, but a special ability released by Yao Beasts that could distort light and confuse perception.

Some high-rank sea beasts could release mirage Qi to create a massive illusion, causing intruders to lose their direction and spin in circles in the same area repeatedly until they were exhausted and became its prey.

Lin Xuan opened his eyes, his heart sinking.

If it really was a Sea Mirage, then his current situation was dangerous.

A Yao Beast capable of releasing a Sea Mirage had to be at least Tier 2.

Or even higher.

Just as he was thinking, the fog ahead suddenly began to churn.

It wasn't the kind of churning caused by the wind, but rather as if something was moving rapidly in the fog, stirring it up and forming vortex-like patterns.

Then, he saw a dark shadow.

An incredibly massive dark shadow.

It slowly emerged from the fog.

At first, it was just a blurry outline, like a mountain emerging from the fog.

But as the distance closed, the outline became clearer and clearer—

It was a snake.

No, it wasn't a snake.

The thing was too massive. Just the part exposed above the fog was over ten zhang tall, its body as thick as a small mountain. Each of its grayish-black scales was as large as a door plank, gleaming with a cold, metallic luster under the cover of the fog.

Lin Xuan couldn't see its full appearance.

But he could feel an overwhelming pressure.

The pressure was like a mountain descending from the sky, pressing down so hard he could barely breathe.

The thunder seed in his Dantian throbbed frantically, as if it had met its natural enemy, sending out a sharp warning.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse was instantly paralyzed with fear.

It lay on his shoulder, trembling all over, unable to even make a sound.

The Pangolin curled into a ball inside the Spirit-Taming Tower Space, its scales standing on end and making a faint clicking sound.

Only one thought remained in Lin Xuan's mind—

Run.

This was not something he could deal with.

It was definitely not Tier 1.

It wasn't even Tier 2.

It was at least Tier 3.

A terrifying existence equivalent to a human in the Golden Core Stage.

Without a second word, he activated the Tier 2 Medium Grade God-Speed Talisman stuck to his chest!

A pale green halo instantly covered the cloud-piercing shuttle, and the flying vessel's speed surged several times over, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bowstring!

The wind howled in his ears!

The sea surface retreated rapidly below!

But Lin Xuan did not dare to look back.

He desperately drove the flying vessel, pouring all his spiritual energy into the Gale Formation Patterns, pushing the speed to its absolute limit.

From behind him, a low cry echoed.

The sound wasn't loud, but its penetrating power was extremely strong. It felt as if someone had struck a massive bell right next to his ear, making his eardrums ache, shaking his Sea of Consciousness, and causing his vision to go black.

Immediately after, a massive suction force pulled from behind!

It wasn't wind.

It was a force he completely couldn't comprehend, as if an invisible giant hand had reached out from the fog, grabbing the cloud-piercing shuttle to drag it back.

The speed of the flying vessel suddenly slowed down.

The formation patterns flickered erratically, and the shuttle's body shook violently, emitting a strained buzzing sound.

Lin Xuan bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood!

The essence blood fell onto the cloud-piercing shuttle and was absorbed by the formation patterns. The flying vessel shuddered violently, and its speed surged once more!

But the suction force was still there.

Like a game of tug-of-war, the cloud-piercing shuttle struggled between the suction force and the thrust, and the cracks on the shuttle's body widened bit by bit.

Ignoring his heartache, Lin Xuan pulled another Tier 2 Low Grade God-Speed Talisman from his Storage Pouch—this was his last acceleration Talisman—and slapped it onto the flying vessel!

Two layers of acceleration stacked!

The cloud-piercing shuttle let out a sharp screech, like a strained beast roaring, and then violently charged forward!

The suction force was finally broken.

The flying vessel shot toward the distance like a meteor, cutting through the thick fog.

Lin Xuan did not dare to look back.

He desperately drove the flying vessel until the effect of the God-Speed Talisman began to fade. Only when the flying vessel's speed slowly decreased did he dare to slow down and cast a glance back.

Behind him.

The fog had dispersed.

The sea surface was empty; there was nothing there.

The sun shone down, the sea surface sparkled, and a few seabirds flew in the sky. Everything was so calm and peaceful.

It was as if everything that had just happened was merely his hallucination.

Lin Xuan found a reef protruding from the water and landed the flying vessel.

He leaned against the flying vessel, panting heavily.

The clothes on his back were already drenched in cold sweat, sticking uncomfortably to his skin.

His heart thudded as if it were about to burst, and his throat was dry as if it were smoking.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse slid down from his shoulder and collapsed on the reef, belly up and motionless.

Lin Xuan closed his eyes and rested for a good while.

Then he sat up straight, took out a Rejuvenation Pill from his Storage Pouch, and swallowed it.

As the Medicinal Pill entered his stomach, its gentle medicinal power dissolved within his body, nourishing his dried-up Meridians and depleted essence blood.

He took out another one and fed it to the Herb-Seeking Mouse.

The little guy held the Medicinal Pill in its mouth, chewed weakly, swallowed it, and collapsed again.

Lin Xuan inspected the cloud-piercing shuttle.

Several fine cracks had appeared on the shuttle's body, and the formation patterns were somewhat dim, requiring a period of nurturing to recover.

He was deeply pained by this.

Although this Magical Artifact hadn't been with him for long, it had accomplished many feats and had saved his life once again.

But the cracks had already formed; there was no use in feeling distressed. He would nurture it well once he returned, and it should slowly recover.

Lin Xuan leaned against the flying vessel, gazing at the setting sun on the horizon.

Unknowingly, evening had already arrived.

On the sea, the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the water a dark red, like blood.

He stared at that patch of red, the scene from earlier replaying repeatedly in his mind.

The dark shadow in the fog.

The overwhelming pressure.

The irresistible suction force.

What on earth was that thing?

Was it a snake? A flood dragon? Or something else?

Why was it in that sea area?

Was it just passing by, or was it guarding something?

Was that fog a Sea Mirage it released, or was it an innate ability of its own?

Lin Xuan didn't know.

But he knew one thing—

This sea area was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

A Tier 3 Demonic Beast.

He couldn't even defeat a Tier 2 one, let alone a Tier 3.

To have returned alive today was entirely thanks to the God-Speed Talisman and the cloud-piercing shuttle.

If his reaction had been a bit slower, if he had one less Talisman, or if the cloud-piercing shuttle hadn't been fast enough—

He would already be in that thing's stomach by now.

Lin Xuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He couldn't be so reckless anymore.

He needed more intelligence.

What kind of Yao Beasts were in this sea area, which ones were dangerous, and which ones were relatively safe.

Whether there were Cultivators in this sea area, whether there were places where humans gathered, and whether there were teleportation arrays.

He had to figure these things out.

He couldn't keep running around blindly like a headless fly.

Lin Xuan opened his eyes and stood up.

Although the cloud-piercing shuttle had cracks, it could still fly.

He carefully controlled the flying vessel, skimming the sea surface as he flew toward the deserted island.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse was lying on his shoulder, already asleep.

The Pangolin curled up by his leg, also closing its eyes.

The sea breeze was very cool, blowing against his face with a salty and fishy scent.

The last trace of light on the horizon vanished.

Night fell.

On the sea surface, scattered points of light began to glow—not from lamps, but the fluorescence emitted by plankton in the sea, twinkling like a flowing river of stars.

It was beautiful.

But Lin Xuan was in no mood to appreciate it.

He only wanted to return quickly to that deserted island, back to that rocky cave, to rest and recuperate well.

Tomorrow, he would think about tomorrow's matters.