"How can this be?" Liu Xianyun cried out in shock.
"I don't know!" Yang Kai was equally bewildered. He shook his head. "Something isn't right about this Secret Realm!"
In all his years of Cultivation, he had never encountered heavenly spiritual energy that couldn't be absorbed. The spiritual energy within this Silent Void Secret Realm was laced with some indescribable impurity — and the more one absorbed, the greater the damage to a martial artist's foundation. Over time, it would undoubtedly shatter one's meridians and strip away all of one's cultivation.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had only Cultivated for half an hour before stopping.
"Then what do we do?" Liu Xianyun was completely panicking. If the heavenly spiritual energy here couldn't be absorbed, then the two of them would eventually exhaust themselves. Forget finding a way out — they likely wouldn't even be able to leave this ocean, and would ultimately perish from depletion.
The situation was like a table laden with delicacies placed before a starving person — the feast looked tempting but was laced with deadly poison. Eat, and you'd be killed by the toxin; refuse, and you'd starve to death…
"It's fine. I have a plan." Yang Kai showed no sign of panic. He produced the Mysterious World Bead and placed it in Liu Xianyun's hand. "Hold onto this. I'm going inside to recover."
As he spoke, he had already slipped into the Small Mysterious World.
Before Liu Xianyun could say another word, Yang Kai had vanished. She stared blankly at the bead in her hand, and then recalled the pavilion where she had been staying — and that tranquil, idyllic world. A realization dawned on her, and her face drained of color, overcome with shock.
A moment later, she hurriedly tucked the Mysterious World Bead away and hid it securely, then turned her full attention to piloting the wooden boat and dodging those waterspouts as they pressed onward.
An hour later, Yang Kai reappeared. Gone was his earlier weakness — his complexion was now rosy and healthy, clearly having made a full recovery.
Liu Xianyun said nothing. She simply gave him a slight nod and handed the Mysterious World Bead back.
She had managed to Cultivate all the way to the Void King Realm's third stage in the Great Desolate Star Field and had earned the reputation of a regional powerhouse — so she was clearly a sharp-minded individual. She naturally understood which questions to ask and which to leave unspoken.
Yang Kai had entrusted her with the Mysterious World Bead, which was unquestionably a gesture of enormous trust. As for what mysteries the bead held — it was enough for her to understand in silence.
Days passed, one after another.
Every two or three days, Yang Kai would retreat into the Small Mysterious World to recover, then emerge to take control of the wooden boat once more.
During this time, Liu Xianyun had also run low on source power and entered the Small Mysterious World twice. She was well-mannered about it — coming and going without ever asking a single question.
A month flew by in the blink of an eye, yet the two of them remained upon the ocean with no sign of land. This sea truly seemed to be boundless, stretching on without end.
No matter how resolute Yang Kai's willpower was, even he was growing somewhat anxious.
On this day, Yang Kai returned from the Small Mysterious World, and Liu Xianyun's delighted voice immediately rang out: "Senior Brother, I think we've found something!"
"What is it?" Yang Kai perked up instantly.
Liu Xianyun pointed ahead. "Look. The density of the waterspouts has dropped significantly, and the farther forward we go, the fewer there are."
Yang Kai peered ahead and saw that she was right. The waterspouts that had once blanketed the ocean's surface had grown far more sparse. This discovery made his eyes light up.
He still hadn't spotted any land, but at the very least, the scenery around them had finally begun to change.
He had been wondering whether he'd lost his way or was simply circling the same spot endlessly. Now it seemed he hadn't gotten lost at all — the ocean was just that vast.
This discovery lifted both their spirits, and they redoubled their efforts to drive the wooden boat forward at full speed.
As time passed, the waterspouts around them grew ever fewer until they disappeared entirely. This confirmed for Yang Kai that their heading was correct — if they kept going, they might find something unexpected.
Three more days later, while piloting the wooden boat, Yang Kai suddenly stirred. He focused his vision and gazed in a particular direction. The next moment, a look of joy spread across his face. He patted Liu Xianyun's shoulder. "Junior Sister, there's a ship!"
Liu Xianyun had been resting with her eyes closed. In this godforsaken place, she didn't dare casually sit and Cultivate, so the moment Yang Kai spoke, she snapped awake and stood, looking in the direction he indicated. Sure enough, in the far distance, there was a small black dot.
And that black dot was unmistakably a large vessel.
Liu Xianyun couldn't help but grow excited. She turned to look at Yang Kai and saw that he was beaming as well.
It had been over a month since they'd arrived in this wretched place, drifting upon the open sea. Now, at last, they had spotted a ship — the joy of that moment was beyond the power of words to describe.
A ship meant people, and people meant they could ask where they were and where they needed to go.
Yang Kai immediately accelerated the wooden boat, heading straight toward the great ship.
As the distance closed, the vessel's appearance gradually came into focus.
It was an enormous multi-decked vessel, and more than that, it was an Artifact of no small quality. This stunned Yang Kai — forging such an Artifact vessel would demand immense effort and resources. He had no idea how the martial artists living in this godforsaken place had managed it.
As the wooden boat drew near, the sentries aboard the great ship had clearly spotted them. Before Yang Kai even came close, more than a dozen figures had appeared on the deck. They stood in a loose cluster, gazing over with undisguised curiosity, pointing and murmuring among themselves.