88: Chapter 88 An Unexpected Encounter: A Good Friend Formed Along the Way

When the invisible spirit boat left Blue Moon Island, the third watch drum of the Outer Port had just sounded.

The boat was not large.

It was a speed boat that Leng Feng had picked out from a batch of derelict ships from Black Reef Island years ago, and later, Su Qingli had re-engraved the concealment Array Patterns on it. It could not carry heavy cargo, nor could it withstand a direct collision with an array, but its only advantage was speed; when it traveled skimming the low-altitude sea mist, it looked like a gray leaf swept up by the wind.

Lu Hu stood at the stern, his hand resting on the array rudder.

Lu Changyuan sat at the bow, with a map of the northwest sea area of Blue Moon Island spread out before him.

The map was very rough.

That part of the sea was not a place people usually went.

Eight hundred miles away, there were only a few abandoned navigational markers, three undercurrents, and a gray spot marked by old merchant ships as "Chaotic Reefs, Keep Away." Further out was the misty water belt that even the Zhenhai Fortress did not patrol often.

"Master, another two hundred miles further, and there will be no proper shipping lanes left."

Lu Hu lowered his voice, "Should we go around the windbreak on the east side?"

"No need."

Lu Changyuan glanced at the countdown in his Sea of Consciousness.

[Two hours and fifteen minutes.]

There was not enough time.

He said, "Go straight through the Black Sand Current."

Lu Hu's eyelids twitched, "There are jagged magnetic reefs beneath that current; they will chew up the bottom of the boat."

"Let it chew off a layer of the hull."

"Understood."

Lu Hu did not ask any more questions and directly lowered the spirit boat.

The sea surface ahead quickly changed color.

The originally deep blue seawater was darkened by a layer of black sand, and as the wind swept across the surface, it produced a fine, gritty sound. As soon as the spirit boat entered the current, a harsh grinding sound came from the bottom, as if countless small knives were scraping against the wooden planks.

Veins bulged on Lu Hu's forehead as he held the array rudder firmly with both hands.

"Reef to the left front."

Lu Changyuan spoke suddenly.

Lu Hu turned it almost instinctively.

The spirit boat grazed past a black magnetic reef hidden beneath the waves; the Array Patterns on the side of the boat lit up from the scraping, then quickly dimmed.

"Right, sinking current."

Lu Hu pushed down again.

The entire spirit boat felt as if it were being dragged down by an invisible giant hand, the bow almost plunging into the sea. Lu Changyuan raised his hand and pressed it against the deck, pouring his true essence into the Array Patterns, forcibly lifting the hull by three inches.

The waves were pushed aside.

The black sand hit the protective barrier, making a pattering sound.

Lu Hu grinned, "In this godforsaken place, I doubt the ships of the Jubao Pavilion would ever come."

"That is exactly why it is suitable for a meeting."

"Meeting whom?"

Lu Changyuan did not answer.

It was not that he did not trust Lu Hu.

It was just that for someone of Elder Tianji's level, explaining too much would sound like making up a story.

He only said, "You will know when we get there."

After the Black Sand Current was a rainstorm belt.

The rain fell very strangely.

From afar, it looked like a gray curtain, but up close, one could see that the rain was mixed with tiny specks of Spiritual Qi; every drop that hit the protective barrier caused a faint ripple to spread out. After the spirit boat entered, the surrounding sounds were instantly swallowed by the rain, and even Lu Hu's breathing, close at the stern, became muffled.

Lu Changyuan raised his hand, clutching the broken bone shard of the Star-Falling Sea Eye in his palm.

The bone shard was quiet.

But the countdown on the heavenly secret jade slip was still running.

[One hour and forty-five minutes.]

The location was correct.

It was just that this sea area was more chaotic than marked on the map.

When the boat reached the middle of the rainstorm belt, a very low wailing sound suddenly came from ahead.

It was not the wind.

Nor was it the usual roar of a sea beast.

The sound was deep yet young, like a small bell suppressed by water, gently striking in the depths of the sea.

Lu Hu suddenly looked up, "There is something."

Lu Changyuan heard it too.

The next moment, a white light suddenly lit up in the rain curtain to the left of the bow.

It was not lightning.

The white light floated up from beneath the sea, as soft as jade, but it was locked tightly in the center by a dozen natural water vortices. The outer ring of the water vortex was embedded with black magnetic reefs, while the inner ring was crisscrossed with several transparent cold current lines, which were tightening inch by inch.

In the center of the water vortex, a young beast was trapped.

It resembled a small whale, its entire body the color of white jade, with two short, undeveloped horns on its forehead and faint golden patterns on its tail fins. It was no more than two zhang long, but it already possessed a very pure aura of water Spiritual Qi. At this moment, half of its body was cut by the cold current lines, and pale blue blood was seeping from its white jade-like flesh.

Lu Hu's eyes lit up instantly.

"White Jade Dragon Whale?"

Having fought sea beasts with Blue Moon Island for so long, his discernment had long been honed.

This kind of creature, even as a cub, could fetch an exorbitant price in the Outer Sea markets. Dragon Whale blood could be used to refine water-element pills, its bones to refine water-repelling artifacts, and if it could be tamed alive, it would be a top-tier Spirit Beast seedling for guarding ports, searching for veins, and guiding tides.

"Master?"

Lu Hu asked only once.

Because the time was still running.

Lu Changyuan looked at the White Jade Dragon Whale.

The cub had clearly been struggling for a long time, and its strength was nearly exhausted. Sensing the approach of the spirit boat, it first shrank back in fear, but the cold current lines behind it immediately cut into its wounds, causing it to let out another low whimper in pain.

A natural Killing Array.

It was not man-made, but it was even more troublesome.

The black magnetic reefs, cold current lines, and the eye of the water vortex were locked together, forming an underwater cage that would slowly tighten.

To break it slowly would take at least half an hour.

If they were to forcibly take the beast, it could be done.

Kill it, take the pill and the bones; half a quarter of an hour would be enough.

Lu Hu did not urge him.

Lu Changyuan looked down at the countdown.

[One hour and thirty minutes.]

He suddenly said, "Do not take the pill."

Lu Hu was stunned.

Lu Changyuan had already stood up.

"Break a gap and let it go."

"It will delay us."

"Within a quarter of an hour."

Lu Hu understood immediately, raised his blade, and leaped onto the bow, "I will hack at the outer magnetic reef."

"Do not shatter it."

Lu Changyuan said, "If it shatters, it will cause the cold current lines to swirl chaotically. Just cut the joint between the third and seventh pieces."

Lu Hu grinned, gritting his teeth, "As you command."

The next moment, he had already lunged into the rain.

The blade light fell heavily.

The first strike landed on the joint of the black magnetic reef, and sparks and water spray exploded simultaneously; Lu Hu's arm was numbed by the shock.

The reef was harder than ordinary Cold Iron, and the blade only cut in by half an inch.

Lu Changyuan stepped down onto the water, raised his hand, and flicked out three Evil-Suppressing Talismans.

The talismans were not for suppressing evil.

It was to borrow the stable Array Patterns on the talismans to temporarily pin down the three cold current lines.

The cold current lines paused, and the water vortex shifted by half a point.

The White Jade Dragon Whale cub seemed to sense a path to survival and pushed outward with all its might. But the more it struggled, the heavier the water pressure in the inner ring became, and its wounds split open again, with pale blue blood dispersing into the rain.

"Do not move."

Lu Changyuan's voice was not loud, but it carried the Divine Sense suppression of a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator.

The cub trembled all over.

It could not understand human speech, but it could understand the Divine Sense that carried no murderous intent.

So it truly stopped moving.

Lu Hu's second strike fell.

The joint cracked open a sliver.

With the third strike, the blade was repelled by the magnetic reef, and blood burst from the web of his thumb on the spot.

Lu Hu cursed, but he grinned even more fiercely; he flipped his body using the force of the waves, stepped onto the reef surface, gripped his blade with both hands, and brought the fourth strike down heavily.

"Crack."

The black magnetic reef finally cracked open.

At the same moment, the true essence in Lu Changyuan's palm swirled, pulling the three cold current lines outward by half an inch.

Half an inch was enough.

As soon as the gap in the water vortex appeared, the White Jade Dragon Whale cub flicked its tail and drilled out through the opened gap.

It did not immediately flee far away.

Instead, it turned back from a dozen zhang away and looked at Lu Changyuan.

Those eyes were extremely clear.

So clear that it did not look like a sea beast, but rather like some kind of newly born spiritual creature.

Lu Hu sheathed his blade and returned to the boat, shaking the blood from his hand, "If we had captured this and brought it back, it would be worth at least a small Spirit Spring."

"We are in a hurry."

Lu Changyuan said only three words.

Lu Hu grinned, "That is true. Killing it for the pill would also require bleeding and skinning it; too much trouble."

He spoke very pragmatically.

Lu Changyuan did not refute him.

He was not the type of person to soften his heart just because he saw a cub.

If it were at another time, he might well have brought this White Jade Dragon Whale back to Blue Moon Island.

But today was different.

Elder Tianji would only stay for half a day.

The person they were to meet was a Soul Transformation level Star Sea merchant.

In front of such a person, carrying the stench of blood from having just killed a rare cub to seek a trade might not be a good thing.

More importantly, since the heavenly secret jade slip hinted at high-grade spiritual plants, sea beast cubs, and earth vein modification materials, encountering the White Jade Dragon Whale cub along this journey might not be merely a coincidence.

The White Jade Dragon Whale swam two circles outside the rain curtain.

It suddenly let out a low cry.

It opened its mouth and spat out a water-blue bead the size of a pigeon's egg.

The bead did not fly over directly, but was carried by a gentle stream of water and delivered before the spirit boat.

Lu Hu's eyes lit up again, "Dragon Saliva Bead."

This was not a monster core.

It was a mouthful of water Spiritual essence naturally condensed within the body of the Dragon Whale cub; it did not harm its foundation, but it was extremely suitable for nourishing water veins, repairing the water-element Array Patterns on the boat's hull, and could also be used to cleanse the meridians of low-level sea beasts.

Lu Changyuan raised his hand and caught it.

The bead felt slightly cool in his palm.

The water Qi within it was extremely pure, even capable of smoothing out the spiritual power in his body that had just been disrupted by the Black Sand Current.

Seeing him accept it, the White Jade Dragon Whale flicked its tail, dove into the sea along an undercurrent deep within the rainstorm, and quickly disappeared.

Lu Hu watched the direction it left and whispered, "This little thing actually follows the rules."

"Let us see if it can survive first."

Lu Changyuan put away the Dragon Saliva Bead, "Let's go."

The spirit boat once again broke through the rain.

Because a quarter of an hour had been delayed, the second half of the journey was even more urgent.

Lu Hu pushed the speed boat almost to its limit.

The layer of Array Patterns on the boat's bottom that had been worn away by the Black Sand Current began to leak light within the rainstorm belt. Lu Changyuan had to divert his true essence to protect the main array at the bow all the way, lest the boat fall apart before they even saw the person.

The countdown kept dropping.

[One hour.]

[Half an hour.]

[Thirty minutes.]

The last stretch of sea mist was very thick.

It was so thick that when his Divine Sense probed out, it felt like being blocked by a layer of warm, cool cotton cloth. Lu Hu tried to change direction several times, but was held back by Lu Changyuan.

"Go straight."

"There is a reef ahead."

"Go straight."

Lu Hu gritted his teeth and pressed the array rudder down hard.

The spirit boat rammed into the sea mist.

The collision with jagged reefs that he imagined did not occur.

The mist parted from both sides like a door.

The sea surface ahead suddenly became quiet.

There was no wind.

No rain.

Even the crushing power of the water Spiritual Qi from the rainstorm belt outside was blocked off here.

A nameless hidden reef floated in the middle of the sea.

The hidden reef was not large, only a few dozen zhang in circumference, but somehow, a thatched cottage had appeared on top of it.

The thatched cottage was very old.

Under the eaves hung several strings of dried, unidentified seaweed; in front of the door sat a small wooden table, two rough pottery cups, and a cracked teapot.

Yet, around the cottage, a very faint starlight flickered on and off.

It was as if the entire hidden reef was not standing on the sea, but hanging on the edge of an invisible starry sky.

A white-haired old man sat in front of the door.

He wore gray cloth clothes, a broken bamboo basket was placed by his feet, and he was bowing his head, pouring tea into the cups.

Hearing the spirit boat break through the mist, he raised his head and looked at Lu Changyuan and Lu Hu with a smile.

That glance carried no pressure.

Nor did it have any of the airs that a Soul Transformation powerhouse should have.

But when that glance fell, the heavenly secret jade slip in Lu Changyuan's Sea of Consciousness seemed to be gently pressed by someone, and all the dark golden star patterns instantly retracted.

The countdown stopped.

[Arrived.]

The old man pushed one of the rough pottery cups forward.

"You arrived quite hurriedly."

"I happened to release a little one along the way."

"Not bad."