397: One year later, Linghai Realm

Watching the points rise steadily and rapidly, Su Yongchun turned his gaze toward the island before him.

"Let's build a house first."

...One year later.

On the boundless sea, a large ship cut through the waves.

On the deck.

The captain and the trade association president both had a hint of fear in their eyes.

"President Wu, are we really going to the Blackwater Sea Area? Isn't that a restricted zone? The only ship our Wu Family had that could withstand the seawater of the Blackwater Sea Area was confiscated by the Imperial Court.

This ship doesn't seem like it can withstand the erosion of the seawater there!"

The captain was a bit hesitant and conflicted.

Hearing this, President Wu's expression also became unsightly and uneasy.

However, thinking of the task requested by the Wenxian Sect Disciples when they set out, he suppressed these messy emotions: "What's the panic? The Immortals of the Wenxian Sect just want us to find a Sea Beast from the Blackwater Sea Area as Materials to make a Talisman. Any beast in the Foundation Casting Realm will do. Can't we even manage that?"

"It's not like we haven't sailed in the Blackwater Sea Area before!"

"But..." The captain didn't know what to say, and finally could only sigh helplessly.

"We're about to reach the Blackwater Sea Area!" Before long, President Wu solemnly gathered everyone on the deck: "Everyone, take a Mind-Awakening Pill to prevent the mist of the Blackwater Sea Area from affecting your mind!"

"Yes!" Everyone on the ship responded in unison.

At a glance, the weakest among them had actually reached the seventh stage of Body Tempering.

And the leader of the hunting team, a white-haired old man who would lead the hunt for the Sea Beast, was even a Peak expert of the Physical Realm at the ninth stage of Foundation Casting!

The large ship continued to sail forward.

The hunting team stood ready.

However.

As time passed, everyone looked at the sea ahead in a bit of a daze.

"Huh? According to previous voyages, the Blackwater Sea Area should be less than a hundred meters directly ahead of us. Where's the black water?"

The captain unfolded the map in confusion.

President Wu also leaned in.

"That's right! It's right here! Where's the black water?!"

Both of them looked up at the same time.

Before them, the sky was still clear for ten thousand miles.

Forget about what was right in front of them; even looking ten thousand meters into the distance, they couldn't see a single patch of pitch-black water.

The azure ocean looked even clearer than the seawater in many other places!

People with keen eyesight could even see large schools of sea fish frolicking in the waters ahead.

One must know that in the Blackwater Sea Area, normal sea fish wouldn't even dare to approach, let alone swim joyfully in that area.

"Continue forward," President Wu ordered with a serious face.

A hundred meters, a thousand meters, they even sailed for more than an hour, yet the sea before them remained azure!

In one hour, they had sailed directly toward the center of the Blackwater Zone.

Even when the Wu Family had that erosion-resistant ship, they had never attempted this!

This was already considered the inner part of the Blackwater Zone.

In the past, bloodthirsty Sea Beasts of the Foundation Casting Realm would appear one after another here, and there were even terrifying Great Demons that surpassed Foundation Casting and reached the Spirit Realm!

But now... there were none.

Nothing at all!

It was as if the entire Blackwater Zone had simply vanished, giving President Wu and everyone on the ship a sense of surreal confusion.

This area had existed for over two thousand years!

They had only been away for a little over a year.

What on earth had happened during this year?!

"Boom!!"

Suddenly, the sound of muffled thunder erupted from the distant horizon.

As everyone looked out.

Their pupils shrank in shock as they saw the entire sky seem to come alive.

Under the pull of a mysterious force, the clouds gathered toward the distance.

"This... this is Spiritual Qi! Someone is making a Breakthrough into the Spirit Realm!" President Wu was also a Martial Artist at the ninth stage of Foundation Casting, only one step away from entering the first stage of the Spirit Realm.

His perception of Spiritual Qi was very clear.

"They aren't breaking through to the Spirit Realm." The Wu Family Elder of the hunting team beside him said with shock in his eyes: "The Spiritual Energy vortex is affecting us from tens of thousands of meters away. With such massive Spiritual Energy, the opponent must be at least charging for the third stage of the Spirit Realm, the Spirit Sovereign Realm!"

Hearing this, the people on the ship fell silent.

President Wu murmured, "Is there a Peak Spirit Sea powerhouse of the second stage of the Spirit Realm there?!"

"Rumble, rumble, rumble~"

On the small island.

Countless plants and trees grew rapidly under the wash of Spiritual Energy.

However, these growing plants seemed to have some kind of consciousness; no matter how lushly they grew, they did not spread toward the wooden house at the center of the island.

The river of Spiritual Energy was almost tangible.

The dark clouds in the sky grew denser.

"Thump~"

A resonant sound emerged.

At this moment, the sea area around the island instantly surged with waves several meters high, continuously spreading... "Ding~ Congratulations to the host for reaching the Lower Spirit Sea. Reward: [One Strike from a Master]."

When Ye Tian's voice surfaced in his mind, in front of the wooden house on the island, the youth opened his bright and spirited eyes.

"Phew~ With this commotion, I thought it was a Lightning Tribulation."

Watching the clouds disperse in the sky, Su Yongchun let out a long breath.

In this world, a Lightning Tribulation only occurs when one at the Peak of the Sealed Position Realm charges for the Immortal Realm.

He had been overthinking a bit.

But this commotion was indeed a bit large.

Breaking from the Spirit Embryo into the Spirit Sea made it look like the Spirit Sea was charging for the Spirit Sovereign Realm.

However, this situation might be related to one's foundation.

Speaking of foundation.

After the Breakthrough, Su Yongchun immediately opened his panel.

Host: Su Yongchun

Realm: Third-Rank Spiritual Array Master / Second-Tier Talisman Master / Lower Spirit Sea Realm [300k/400k]

System Rewards: [Experience Collector] * 3, [One Strike from a Master] * 2

Remaining Experience Points: 2

In one year, the System had rewarded another sphere.

And when he broke through to the Spirit Embryo Realm and officially stepped into the Spirit Realm, the System rewarded him with [One Strike from a Master]. Just now, with the Breakthrough, he was rewarded with another one.

This made Su Yongchun mutter to himself.

A master? What kind of master? It wouldn't be the kind of master who smashes large stones on their chest in the eyes of commoners, would it?

He would feel more at ease if it gave a Realm hint.

Besides the System's rewards, in Su Yongchun's view, the greatest harvest was undoubtedly the point income brought by this Blackwater Sea Area!

In just one short year, the entire Blackwater Sea Area had been devoured by two Experience Collectors!

It returned over a million experience points!

If he just stacked his Realm, he could use these points to directly reach the Peak of the Spirit Realm, the Master of the Spirit Realm, the Spirit Lord Realm!

However, Su Yongchun used all the points to strengthen his foundation.

Otherwise, even if his Realm went up, it would be quite pathetic if he could only use basic attacks.

Moreover.

To Su Yongchun, breaking through to the Spirit Lord Realm didn't mean much at the moment.

What he needed was an advancement in Formations!

Over the past year, watching the Blackwater Sea Area gradually disappear, Su Yongchun already had a plan for the next step.

That was to repair the Ancient Teleportation Arrays controlled by the Three Great Imperial Families, intercept Dragon Xuan's long-distance ticket, and leave the Great Yong Continent!

Outside the Great Yong Continent, there were countless Treasure Troves!

Now, as a Third-Rank Spiritual Array Master, he already possessed the ability to repair Ancient Teleportation Arrays.

This was also thanks to the Storage Pouch he obtained in the Snake Cave back then.

In the Storage Pouch, there were eight sets of spiritual Formation diagrams.

When Su Yongchun reached Perfection in all of them back then, he had only advanced to a Second-Rank Spiritual Array Master.

Later, as the income of experience points continued to rise, he began to Fusion and upgrade those eight sets of spiritual Formations.

In this way, from the eight sets of first-rank spiritual Formations, he forced a Fusion into a third-rank spiritual Formation—the Minor Five Elements Formation.

After maxing out the experience points for the Minor Five Elements Formation, Su Yongchun officially became a Third-Rank Spiritual Array Master.

His understanding of Formations in his mind had reached the Peak of this Realm!

Theoretically speaking, as long as a Spiritual Array Master sets up a Formation, an ordinary Cultivator of the same Realm is doomed!

A Third-Rank Spiritual Array Master corresponds to the Spirit Sovereign Realm.

Therefore, don't look at Su Yongchun being only in the Spirit Sea Realm now.

His surface Realm was the most deceptive.

"Hmm? Something is coming." Closing the System panel, Su Yongchun suddenly looked toward the churning sea in the distance.

It seemed the commotion from his Breakthrough had really gotten out of hand; the original owner of this sea area had appeared.