60: Ghost Mist

The Black Ship had been at sea for over half a month.

The bottom hold was a despair-inducing sardine can.

Narrow, damp, and filled with the stench of sweat and excrement.

Most Loose Cultivators were now so thin they were unrecognizable; to reduce consumption, they lay on the ground like corpses, breathing with extreme caution.

However, in this Hell on earth, there was an anomaly.

In the corner, Zhou Wannian (Han Paopao) sat cross-legged, his complexion... surprisingly somewhat ruddy?

Wangcai in his arms was even more stuffed, its belly round, fast asleep and snoring.

"This life isn't actually that hard to endure."

Zhou Wannian thought to himself.

Lack of water?

He held a specially made "Cleaning Talisman" in his hand, pressing it against a broken bowl filled with seawater.

As the spiral spiritual power circulated, the salt and Impurities in the seawater were quickly sucked away, leaving only clear fresh water.

Lack of oxygen?

With the "Turtle Breathing Technique" running at full power, his heart beat only once per minute, reducing his oxygen demand to the limit. He could even use the "Yang Locking Technique" from that "Family Precepts" book to lock what little oxygen he had inside his body for recycling... "Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Just then, the rapid sound of war drums suddenly came from the deck above.

Immediately following, the ship's hull shook violently, as if it had struck something massive. A heart-palpitating chilly aura instantly pierced through the thick planks and seeped into the bottom hold.

"ghost mist! It's the Ghostly Ghost Mist!"

Someone in the bottom hold shouted in terror, "It's over! We've encountered a natural disaster at sea!"

Zhou Wannian snapped his eyes open.

The midnight had just passed, perfect for a divination.

"I dare ask the heavenly secrets, how can this tribulation be resolved?"

Buzz—

[Today's Hexagram: Great misfortune turns to luck (Seeking life within death)]

[Divination: Captain Black Shark is surrounded by ghost mist and intends to blow open the bottom hold, using the flesh and blood of hundreds of Loose Cultivators to attract the ghosts and escape.]

[Solution: The 'Power Formation' node beneath the captain's cabin has loosened due to overload. The host can use the 'Second-Tier Poison Thunder Drill' to detonate the node and create chaos. While the hull is breaking, sneak into the currently unguarded 'Private Goods Warehouse,' take the sea chart and compass, then jump into the sea.]

"I knew nothing good would happen."

Zhou Wannian's gaze turned cold.

Using us as bait? In your dreams!

Since you are heartless, don't blame me for being unjust.

"Boom!"

Just then, the iron door of the bottom hold was violently blasted open.

Several fierce-looking crew members rushed in, holding cold, gleaming Dharma Blades.

"Everyone up! By order of the captain, everyone in the bottom hold is to go to the deck immediately to 'defend against the enemy'!"

They said defend against the enemy, but it was actually sending them to their deaths.

The Loose Cultivators cried out in despair as they were driven toward the exit.

Zhou Wannian blended into the crowd, but he didn't head for the exit. Utilizing the moment of chaos, he applied an Invisibility Talisman and, like a gecko, crawled through the ventilation ducts toward the other side.

That was the direction of the Power Room... fifteen minutes later.

Screams echoed on the deck as countless Loose Cultivators were thrown into the ghost mist, turning into clouds of blood.

Meanwhile, in the Power Room beneath the captain's cabin.

Zhou Wannian was pressed against that massive, frantically operating Power Furnace.

"Let me add a little something for you."

He pulled out his trump card, the "Second-Tier Poison Thunder Drill," and slammed it onto the weakest node of the Power Furnace.

"Burst!"

Boom—!!!

Purple-black lightning mixed with deadly poison exploded within the cramped Power Room. That violent spiral force instantly bored through the furnace walls, triggering a chain of sympathetic explosions.

The entire Black Ship shuddered violently, sounding as if it were being snapped in half, letting out a tooth-gritting cracking sound.

"What's happening?! Why did the Power Room explode?!"

On the deck, Captain Black Shark, who was overseeing the sacrifice, had his expression change drastically.

Taking advantage of the chaos throughout the ship, Zhou Wannian moved like a bolt of black lightning, slipping into the neighboring "Private Goods Warehouse" which was currently unguarded.

"Take it and run!"

He didn't have time to look closely; his Divine Sense swept through, and anything glowing, valuable, or looking like a Jade Slip or map was all swept into his Storage Pouch.

In just three breaths, he had emptied half of the captain's small treasury.

"Withdraw!"

Feeling the ship tilting rapidly, Zhou Wannian didn't linger for the remaining half.

He rushed to the warehouse's escape hatch, which led directly to the sea.

"Splash!"

The icy seawater instantly submerged his head.

Zhou Wannian didn't struggle; instead, he immediately activated the "Underwater Breathing Technique" from the lower volume of the "spring palace picture."

A faint film of spiritual light covered his body, allowing him to move freely through the water like a fish.

He Holding Wangcai, swimming vigorously toward the distance.

Behind him.

Under the dual assault of the ghost mist and the explosion, the massive Black Ship finally couldn't hold on anymore, breaking into two pieces and slowly sinking into the bottomless sea.

Captain Black Shark's roar echoed over the sea, but to Zhou Wannian's ears, it was the most beautiful farewell song... He didn't know how long he swam.

When the first ray of dawn pierced through the thin mist and shone on the sea's surface.

Zhou Wannian, clutching a piece of driftwood, drifted to the edge of a desolate small island.

He crawled onto the beach, taking deep breaths of the salty fresh air.

"I survived."

He pulled out the compass and sea chart he had snatched from the captain's cabin and carefully identified his position.

"This is... the edge of the Thousand Star Sea Region, Bitter Leaf Island."

This was a lawless zone—chaotic, impoverished, but free.

Zhou Wannian looked at the shrub-covered island before him, and a grin slowly spread across his face.

"Very good."

"This will be my new home."

He stood up, patted the sand off himself, and, carrying Wangcai, walked toward the depths of the island.