“The Kui Niu Drum is damaged; we can’t contact Sect Master Qiu.”
“We need to hurry to the Heavenly River Water Mansion if we want to rejoin the fleet,” Lei Cheng said earnestly within the secret chamber of the Water Avoidance Shuttle dojo.
Heavenly River Water Mansion?
“Which Heavenly River Water Mansion?” Chen Mu was startled—there was more than one Water Mansion along the vast Tongtian River.
“The one outside the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains in the Hai sector,” Lei Cheng said. “To get to Hai Province, we must cross the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.”
“The Sect Master plans to borrow the Loach Dragon Fire Path to traverse deep underground.”
“And the entrance to the Fire Path is right in the Hai sector Heavenly River Water Mansion.”
Chen Mu suddenly understood.
Then, Lei Cheng took out a fist-sized hollow bronze sphere from the Mustard Seed Talisman.
Inside its center, three nested rings rotated and floated.
“This is the Tianhe Compass; it uses the Heavenly River Water Mansion as a pivot, aligning with the celestial stars.”
“As long as we are within the Tongtian River, it can guide us to the location of the Heavenly River Water Mansion.”
What a treasure!
Chen Mu was delighted, taking the Tianhe Compass and letting out a sigh of relief.
Before, they had been suddenly attacked, and the Water Avoidance Shuttle had been thrown far away; they had no idea where they currently were.
With the guidance of the Tianhe Compass, navigating would no longer be an issue.
“Make sure to keep an eye on those troublemakers from before,” Chen Mu instructed. “The ship repairs have delayed us too long. To catch up with the Goose Sheep fleet, we’ll have to move at full speed and can’t allow those people to cause more chaos.”
“Don’t worry, they won’t have the chance,” Lei Cheng replied with a calm face.
All dealt with?
Hiss…
It has to be you natives who slash ruthlessly.
Before, he had thought to let the Water Avoidance Shuttle surface and drive those people away to fend for themselves.
Who would have thought that this simple-faced, stocky man would go straight for the root of the problem?
…
Early morning.
Fog lingered over the Tongtian River, and a gentle breeze carried a small black canopy boat through the mist.
The boat floated quietly on the surface, like a reef in the water, remaining immovable despite the rippling waves.
In front of the boat, there was a low square table with an ancient bronze Incense Burner sitting in the center.
Wisps of blue smoke rose from the Incense Burner, gathering without dispersing, swirling slowly above the table as if alive.
Lin Su, dressed in a grey robe, sat cross-legged behind the low table, lost in thoughts as he stared into the distance.
“Looking for a sunken ship on the vast Tongtian River is like finding a needle in the ocean,” complained Dantai Zong, who was dressed in black leather armor behind Lin Su.
“It has to be that old ghost from the Jin Family meddling again. Jin Er has been dead for so many years, yet he still can’t let it go,” Dantai Zong grumbled angrily.
“We still have to search, no matter how hard. We’re at the mercy of a family with a Great General,” Lin Su said with a chuckle, seemingly unconcerned.
“You’re not angry at all? He’s been tripping us up for years,” Dantai Zong didn’t understand.
“It’s fine; we’ll just have to go back later,” Lin Su said with a smirk, lifting his right hand to his face and suddenly making his entire palm disappear as if entering a void.
“Entering the Spirit Void?!”
“Young Master, you’ve mastered the Underworld God Twelve Transformations?!” Dantai Zong exclaimed joyously.
“I just touched upon the method this morning; I’m still a little short,” Lin Su said with a smile as he withdrew his hand. “After completing this mission and trading for some millet wine at the Lock Dragon Courtyard, I will almost certainly succeed.”
“Congratulations, Young Master!” Dantai Zong was still visibly overjoyed.
The Jin Family dared to repeatedly cause trouble for them because they had a Great General like Jin Wuxia, who had mastered the Underworld God Twelve Transformations.
As long as Lin Su achieved the same, they could retaliate with full legitimacy.
Just then, the slowly drifting smoke suddenly spread out, forming a smoky screen. A damaged Water Avoidance Shuttle with many dents and breaks appeared clearly in the cloud of smoke.
They even saw a black-robed Taoist crouching on the surface of the Water Avoidance Shuttle, looking around cluelessly.
“Another one discovered, rushing to deliver Military Merit to the Young Master,” Dantai Zong said gleefully.
Lin Su couldn’t help but chuckle softly: “Indeed, good fortune comes in pairs.”
“Shall we make our move?” Dantai Zong eagerly asked.
“Make our move!” Lin Su immediately nodded.
…
Underneath the waters of the Tongtian River, all was pitch black.
Chen Mu, with a huge bubble of air on his head, crouched on the surface of the Water Avoidance Shuttle, looking around blankly.
“There don’t seem to be any monsters or exotic beasts around?” Chen Mu’s ears moved slightly as he kept probing his surroundings with the Truthful Listening Technique.
“Why do I feel like someone is watching me?” Despite using the Truthful Listening Technique repeatedly to scan his surroundings, he still came up empty.
“Forget it, focus on the task at hand first.” After searching around, Chen Mu pulled out a fist-sized gray stone.
He pressed the stone against the rough, dark-green shell of the turtle.
At the same time, a thread of mana penetrated into the exterior of the Water Avoiding Shuttle. The hard turtle shell instantly melted like clay, swallowing the gray stone within it.
Then he repeated the process, his figure flickering constantly, countless gray stones were inserted into the hull of the Water Avoiding Shuttle.
After a while, watching the last piece of the Extinguishing Breath Stone merge into the Water Avoiding Shuttle, Chen Mu revealed a satisfied smile.
“With the Extinguishing Breath Stones hiding it, the Water Avoiding Shuttle has no aura at all. As long as it doesn’t make too much commotion, even the Big Demons that can Open Meridians will have a hard time discovering its trace.” Chen Mu felt at ease.
Several days had passed since the Water Avoiding Shuttle embarked on its journey.
Traveling stealthily underwater, we frequently encountered a variety of curious monsters and exotic beasts.
If it weren’t for his Truthful Listening Technique, which allowed him to detect and avoid them in advance, he might have ended up in the belly of a fish.
Even so, the many course corrections made it impossible for the Water Avoiding Shuttle to sail at full speed.
Therefore, Chen Mu began to ponder the Water Avoidance Shuttle Construction Method again.
With a real object to reference, and the assistance of Lei Cheng, a Qi Cultivator who had once overseen the construction of the Water Avoiding Shuttle, the proficiency of the Artifact Refining Technique for constructing the shuttle improved rapidly.
With a thought, the Gray Wall appeared.
Artifact Refining Technique (Water Avoidance Shuttle Construction): Limit;
“If I had materials and a team of Artifact Refiners, I could direct them to craft a Water Avoiding Shuttle too,” Chen Mu thought gleefully.
This secret technique might not have allowed Chen Mu to master all the Forbidden Laws on the Water Avoiding Shuttle, but it did let him master how these Forbidden Laws should be arranged.
It was precisely this mastery that allowed him to find the gaps and insert the Extinguishing Breath Stones.
It served to mask the aura of the Water Avoiding Shuttle and without impacting the functioning of the Forbidden Laws.
“Now, I can travel at full speed without worries.”
He was reveling in his thoughts when the Water Avoiding Shuttle suddenly shook violently.
It was as if an invisible rope had dragged it, causing the front of the shuttle to tilt abruptly and plunge deeper into the water.
Chen Mu was shocked.
Just as he was about to employ the Mountain-Carrying Scripture to help the shuttle break free, that force disappeared abruptly.
The Water Avoiding Shuttle regained balance and continued its journey forward.
“What’s going on?” Chen Mu was perplexed.
He deployed the Truthful Listening Technique, but nothing unusual seemed to have occurred nearby, only a wisp of cold aura was fading slowly.
“No, I need to max out the Truthful Listening Technique quickly.”
“The Tongtian River is unpredictable, and it’s frightening not being able to see what’s around.”
Chen Mu took a deep look toward the direction where the cold aura had vanished and turned to step back into the Water Avoiding Shuttle.
…
On the dark covered boat.
Dantai Zong’s face flushed red.
“Something’s not right, that turtle shell’s energy was clearly captured.”
“And my Crossing the Netherworld had been deployed too, how could it escape?”
Lin Su frowned tightly as she stared at the smoky veil before her.
She saw the aqua-gray Water Avoiding Shuttle just wobbling a bit before calming down.
Before she could understand, she saw the black-robed Taoist standing on the turtle shell suddenly look up.
He glanced through the smoky veil at her and then turned to vanish.
At the same time, the once clearly visible Water Avoiding Shuttle quickly became shrouded in mist and disappeared from the smoky veil in an instant.
“Can that Taoist see us?!” Dantai Zong exclaimed with a shocked expression, “And he broke the Lock Dragon Courtyard’s Thousand-Mile Sky-Watching Fog?”
“A starving camel is bigger than a horse; a Qi Cultivator from the Goose Sheep Path really has some tricks,” he couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head.
“Military Merit that was within grasp just slipped away; such a pity.” Dantai Zong clenched his fist in regret.
However, Lin Su looked very solemn.
“Young Master?”
“Didn’t you notice that Taoist looks somewhat familiar?” Lin Su’s face was filled with surprise and uncertainty.
“Who?” Dantai Zong scratched his head in confusion.
“Gan River Valley, Thousand Lanterns City, Gongsun Sheng!”
“A man who should have fallen into the Netherworld!”
He was supposed to have fallen into the Netherworld, yet how could he appear again?
Lin Su’s expression grew even more grave.
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