Translator: AnubisTL
"This is a type of sea demon called the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp.' Its combat power is average, but its speed is as fast as lightning. In the deep sea, few can match its speed!"
"Logically, this type of sea demon is a social creature, so there shouldn't be a lone corpse drifting around!"
One of the Heaven's Chosen recognized the type of sea demon and furrowed his brow, voicing his confusion.
"Indeed, when the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' appears, there are at least hundreds, sometimes even tens of thousands. Even if they encounter attacks from other sea demons along the way, it's unlikely that a corpse would be left floating like this," another Heaven's Chosen added, equally puzzled.
Hearing this, Gu Feng's heart stirred, and he immediately spoke up, "Could it be that the entire group encountered a catastrophic disaster, leaving them unable to deal with their companions' corpses?"
As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes lit up.
The entire group? Could it be that the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' were carrying treasures and were hunted down along the way?
"If that's the case, we must be close to the treasure!" This luck was almost too good. They had just arrived at their destination and, after a few days of searching, had already found a clue.
Gu Feng was also invigorated, feeling like his luck was off the charts. If they could indeed find the group of 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp,' they would surely obtain a large amount of Thunder Attribute Natural Treasures.
"This 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' isn't of a high grade. Aside from its wings, which have a slight Thunder Attribute and can be refined into low-grade Spirit Artifacts, it doesn't have much value. Let's hurry and clean up. While the ocean currents are calm, I'll search along the direction it drifted from!" Hua Wenyue instructed the two Heaven's Chosen below.
Soon, the two returned to the Spirit Boat with a pair of Thunder Wings and began searching upstream.
After three days of circling around and covering a hundred thousand miles of sea, they found nothing.
Gu Feng stood on the deck of the Spirit Boat, activating his Immortal Eye. Void Break, and peered deep into the sea. His eyes grew sore from staring, but there was no trace of the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp.' He couldn't help but feel frustrated.
Hua Wenyue and the others also lost interest and started playing mahjong again.
"This doesn't make sense. Judging from the condition of the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' corpse, it couldn't have died more than three days ago..."
Gu Feng frowned, pacing back and forth on the deck, when Hua Wenyue's voice called out to him, "Gu Feng, come help me! Which tile should I discard?"
"Wait!"
"This one?"
"No, something's not right!"
"Which tile should I discard? You're confusing me!" Hua Wenyue complained.
Suddenly, Gu Feng had an epiphany. He rushed behind Hua Wenyue and knocked over all the tiles in front of her.
"No, before the Spirit Energy Whirlwind, the ocean currents flowed from east to west. After the Spirit Energy Whirlwind, they flowed from west to east. We've been searching in the wrong direction!" Gu Feng shouted excitedly.
"Quick, turn the Spirit Boat around!" Hua Wenyue immediately reacted and shouted at the Heaven's Chosen piloting the Spirit Boat.
The lost momentum returned, and everyone's blood was boiling once more!
"Speed up!"
The Heaven's Chosen worked hard to propel the Spirit Boat, reaching maximum speed. In just one day, they returned to the spot where they had found the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp.'
Without stopping, they continued forward!
Finally—
A day later, they discovered another corpse of the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp.'
"Hahaha, we're on the right track!"
"Brother Gu, you're truly brilliant!"
"Brother Gu, let me express my sincere apologies. Before this, I thought you were weak..."
"Ha ha ha, everyone please line up and apologize to Gu Feng!"
"..."
The crowd was extremely excited, and Gu Feng also waved his fist.
As more and more corpses of the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' appeared, everyone realized that they were on the right track, and the treasure was likely ahead.
"Something's not right. We've found hundreds of 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' corpses. Even if these Sea Demons are weak, it's impossible for them to be wiped out without a scratch!" Gu Feng's reminder dampened the enthusiasm of Hua Wenyue and the others.
"Gu Feng is right. At least from the wounds, the opponent of the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' doesn't have overwhelming strength!" Duan Yansheng said gravely.
Clearly, this was highly unusual.
Everyone turned their gaze to Gu Feng, who had effectively become their commander.
"Slow down a bit. I suspect the opponent of the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' has set up a trap," Gu Feng said in a low voice, his eyes shining with wisdom.
He once again activated the Immortal Eye. Void Break, observing all movements beneath the sea!
About two hundred miles away, at a depth of ten thousand meters, a large shadow was rolling. As the Spirit Boat moved forward, the shadow grew larger.
At this moment, Gu Feng finally saw clearly that the shadow was actually an indescribably large coral stone.
It was truly astonishing, looking like several mountain ranges connected together.
On the massive coral stone, two different Sea Demons were tumbling and fighting fiercely!
One of them was the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' they had seen before, and the other was a Sea Demon resembling a longhorn beetle, called the 'Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid.'
The 'Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid' was covered in blue armor, with a pair of antennae on its head that shimmered with a dark light. Even from a distance, one could feel the sharpness of those antennae.
The antennae occasionally emitted terrifying blue rays, which were the means by which the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' they had seen earlier were killed.
"There seems to be some movement ahead. Whoever is fast, go and take a look!" Gu Feng said uncertainly, not foolish enough to claim he could see the deep-sea scene two hundred miles away.
"I'll go—" a Heaven's Chosen stood up.
"Be careful. Once you gather information, come back," Gu Feng instructed.
Whoosh—
The Heaven's Chosen rode the Divine Rainbow, speeding out.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, he returned, looking excited.
"Two Sea Demons are fighting fiercely on a massive, colorful coral stone. The 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' seems to be trapped by a mysterious aura emanating from the coral stone, being slaughtered one-sidedly!" As he spoke, the Heaven's Chosen's eyes flashed with shock. The coral stone was so large that one couldn't see its end at a glance.
"How strong are the two Sea Demons?" Wu Sheng asked.
"Neither is very strong. The strongest is only around the seventh level of Nurtured Spirit, and there aren't many 'Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid,' probably only about three hundred!"
The Heaven's Chosen's answer heightened the group's excitement.
"The seventh level of Nurtured Spirit, we should be able to handle that. A few hundred is within our combat range!"
"Wait, wait until the 'Double-Winged Thunder White Carp' are all dead, then take advantage of the 'Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid's' laxity to launch an attack!" Hua Wenyue decisively spoke.
"Agreed. This journey will be dangerous, but I believe no one will back out. Life and death are fated. Even if we fall, the survivors will bring the gains of this journey to your families!" Zong Shixuan's gaze swept over the group.
"Then I'm at a disadvantage, aren't I? I don't have any family!" Gu Feng chuckled bitterly.
"I don't have any family either!" Monk Wu De chimed in.
"Don't you have many women? We can help you bring the spoils to them," Hua Wenyue glanced at Gu Feng, deliberately ignoring Monk Wu De.
"Don't talk nonsense, I'm still a virgin," Gu Feng said helplessly, causing the female cultivators present to giggle.
"The five of us will do our best to protect you all!" Duan Yansheng said confidently.
"Each of us will be responsible for our own teams. If we encounter imminent danger, we'll help each other!" Dugu Ao spoke with pride, believing that the team he led was the strongest, at least unlike Hua Wenyue's team, which had a burden like Gu Feng.
"The spoils will be divided based on our own abilities!" Hua Wenyue concluded.
Then, they activated the Spirit Boat's Array Formation, minimizing the noise as they moved forward, gliding silently over the sea toward the location of the colorful coral stone.
The two hundred Heaven's Chosen sat cross-legged on the deck, adjusting their states.
The sea, unlike land, was unpredictable, and if something went wrong, survival was unlikely.
"You're not strong enough, stay on the Spirit Boat later—" Hua Wenyue said softly to Gu Feng, her eyes closed.
"How can that be? I want to search for treasures!" Gu Feng laughed, rejecting her offer.
"Don't worry, Benefactor Hua, I'll protect Benefactor Gu!" Monk Wu De leaned over, grinning.
Hearing this, Hua Wenyue's expression turned strange. Monk Wu De's strength was undeniable, on par with her own, but when had he become so close to Gu Feng?
She remembered that this bald monk used to curse Gu Feng behind his back!
"Gu Feng, what do you say?" Hua Wenyue felt it necessary to seek Gu Feng's opinion.
"Sure, I trust Wu De," Gu Feng glanced deeply at Monk Wu De and shrugged.
"Then... that's the arrangement!" Hua Wenyue hesitated for a moment, then nodded, proceeding to assign partners to the other Heaven's Chosen in the team.
"Master Wu De, thank you for your care!" Gu Feng said with a forced smile. This bald monk was clearly trying to cling to him.
"Not at all, Benefactor Gu is broad-minded and doesn't mind my past mistakes, giving me a chance to make amends!" Monk Wu De chuckled. Among all the Heaven's Chosen, Gu Feng's influence was the strongest, and he had to hold on tight!
The Spirit Boat ascended and hid itself ten kilometers away from the coral stone.
All the Heaven's Chosen stood up, looking down at the battle below.
Dozens of Double-Winged Thunder White Carp were making their final desperate struggles.
In no time, they all perished!
The massive colorful coral stone emitted a dazzling light, washing away the blood on its surface, then slowly shrank.
Soon, the coral stone, as large as a mountain range, shrank to the size of a palm, held in the hand of a Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid that seemed to be the leader.
They seemed to be communicating with each other as they swam away.
The five Heaven's Chosen on the Spirit Boat exchanged glances and nodded slightly. In the next moment, the two hundred Heaven's Chosen simultaneously free-fell, rapidly approaching the sea surface.
Just before hitting the sea surface, two hundred bursts of Spiritual Radiance erupted, plunging into the depths of the sea.
"Kill—"
The sudden war cry startled the group of Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid. However, after seeing that the attackers were human cultivators and assessing their cultivation levels, they calmed down and charged forward.
The two sides clashed head-on, with Hua Wenyue and the others unleashing their full power, delivering their strongest attacks. The two-hundred-strong team could undoubtedly be considered the elite of the younger generation in the Chu Kingdom.
After one wave of attacks, over a hundred Blue Cloth Star Glow Squids fell.
This scene stunned the Nurtured Spirit Seventh Heaven Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid at the center of the encirclement. It truly hadn't expected that these human cultivators, whose cultivation levels were similar to theirs, would possess such formidable strength.
Almost every one of them displayed combat prowess that surpassed their own cultivation realms.
Watching more and more Blue Cloth Star Glow Squids fall, its expression turned grim. It emitted a strange syllable, and the shrunken colorful coral stone in its hand began to expand.
"Let them hold the line first. We'll go and kill that Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid!" Hua Wenyue shouted sharply.
At this moment, the five Heaven's Chosen were united as one. Even Dugu Ao did not defy Hua Wenyue's command, following her as they charged in.
Monk Wu De, while slaying the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squids, glanced at the continuously expanding coral stone and the figures of the five Heaven's Chosen, feeling somewhat anxious.
He glanced at Gu Feng, who was idling on the side, and felt utterly speechless. Gu Feng was locked in a fierce battle with a Nurtured Spirit Fourth Heaven Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid, and he was putting on quite the act. If Monk Wu De hadn't known Gu Feng's true combat strength, he might have been fooled as well.
"Benefactor Gu, slacking off like this won't do! The coral stone is getting bigger, and the pressure around us is increasing..." Monk Wu De approached Gu Feng and whispered.
"Don't worry, this is just a Low-Grade Earth Artifact with spatial properties. It has almost no offensive capabilities. Even if it's fully activated, the threat is minimal!" Gu Feng smiled faintly, then continued his battle with the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid before him.
Although he hadn't mastered Weapon Crafting, his understanding of artifact grades was fairly accurate.
Even if the coral stone were fully activated, so what? He was confident he could easily kill that Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid under such circumstances.
If he revealed his true strength now, how could he secretly snatch treasures later?
"What are you standing around for? Protect me!" Seeing Monk Wu De distracted, Gu Feng barked.
"Benefactor Gu, I truly admire you. When we enter the coral stone later, you must share some of the treasures with this humble monk!"
"Don't worry, I've always been fair. We're partners, so of course, we'll split the treasures fifty-fifty!" Gu Feng grinned.
Hearing this, Monk Wu De let out an excited howl. He hadn't expected Gu Feng to be so straightforward, willing to split the treasures equally with him.
This was far beyond his expectations. He had thought getting twenty or thirty percent would be good enough, but this!
He had definitely latched onto the right thigh. This humble monk would become one of the biggest beneficiaries of this expedition.
At this moment, he was extremely excited. Standing in front of Gu Feng, he roared:
"Benefactor Gu, don't lift a finger! Let this humble monk handle it!!!"
(End of the Chapter)
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