"What? That piece of Void Cloud Crystal was swallowed by the sea beast, and the beast is still roaming the nearby waters?"
"That's right. Back then, the beast rode the ocean tide to cause a commotion, which allowed it to charge all the way to the teleportation array. It swallowed most of the array in a single gulp — the Void Cloud Crystal was inside. The beast had already left this sea region at the time, but over a hundred years ago, for reasons unknown, someone spotted it again in the deep waters to the south. Of the dozen-odd Shang Clan cultivators who discovered it, only two escaped with their lives. The rest all perished. In the decades that followed, we of this sea region gathered our forces time and again to try and kill the beast, all in hopes of reopening the teleportation array. But the beast possesses tremendous magical power and is cunning beyond measure. When many people are around, it hides in the deep ocean and refuses to surface. When there are few, it attacks the stragglers. We've actually lost quite a few people in the process." Qing Xiao sighed, a note of helplessness in her voice.
"What kind of magical powers does this beast wield, to be so troublesome?" Han Li's eyes held a look of curiosity.
By all conventional wisdom, even if a sea beast reached a high level of cultivation, it should have no hope of survival once pursued by a group of cultivators.
"We still haven't been able to identify the species. It appears to be some kind of mutated sea beast. From a distance it resembles a giant whale, but it can freely change its size at will. Moreover, it uses a water-escape technique that has also undergone mutation and reinforcement, allowing it to traverse a thousand li in the blink of an eye beneath the waves. Even if we corner it completely, the moment it activates that technique, it can break through any encirclement with ease — there's no way to truly trap and kill it. And this beast is ferocious beyond compare. Except for the Silver Shark Hermit, the foremost cultivator of our sea region, no one else dares face it alone." The woman's delicate brows knitted together, her expression thoroughly frustrated.
Hearing this, the hint of delight on Han Li's face faded, and he too found the matter rather thorny.
But after a moment's thought, he posed a skeptical question.
"After all these years, could the Void Cloud Crystal still be intact inside the beast? Wouldn't it have been absorbed or refined by now?"
"Please rest assured about that, Senior Han. The Void Cloud Crystal possesses spatial attributes. Unless struck by a force of spatial power itself, it simply cannot be destroyed. Although the beast has rather mixed elemental affinities, it does not possess any spatial abilities of its own. After chasing it for so many years, we can confirm this with absolute certainty." The woman spoke with great confidence.
Han Li nodded, finally setting aside that one lingering concern, and fell into contemplation.
"Friend Qing, do you happen to know the approximate location where this beast appears?" Han Li asked.
"Senior Han intends to go slay the beast?" The woman's gaze sharpened, her tone turning grave.
"That's right. Flying straight back to the Lei Ming Continent is simply not feasible. Even if I flew without stopping the entire way, it would still take at least half a year. Spending that long traversing the deep ocean — unless my power were to increase tenfold, I'd almost certainly perish along the way. But if I want to find a way back to my original continent, I have no choice but to make for the Lei Ming Continent first. Only there would there be a super teleportation array capable of crossing the entire continent. You've made repeated attempts against that beast precisely because you want to repair the teleportation array, correct?" Han Li rubbed his chin, his voice calm and even.
"Senior speaks truly! Although the spiritual veins in this sea region are passable, the medicinal pills and auxiliary materials needed for cultivation have become extraordinarily scarce. Many cultivators are stuck at their bottlenecks and cannot make any further progress. Give it another few thousand years, and I daresay even fewer pills will remain. If Senior is truly interested in that beast, why not join forces with us?" The woman paused at this point, offered a smile, and then continued frankly:
"I won't hide it from Senior. The reason I left my cave dwelling this time is that the Silver Shark Hermit, the foremost cultivator of our sea region, wants to organize another expedition to slay the beast. My original intention in coming to visit Senior was actually to extend this very invitation."
"If you can truly repair that teleportation array, I naturally wouldn't mind joining forces once," Han Li replied with a smile, without much deliberation.
"Senior need not worry — we lack neither the other materials nor the formation masters. Once we have the Void Cloud Crystal, the teleportation array can absolutely be restored to its original state." Qing Xiao was overjoyed at his words.
"That would be ideal." Han Li nodded.
"With Senior lending a hand this time, success is very likely. The Silver Shark Hermit has set a date four months from now — everyone is to gather at Blue Lake Island to the south, and from there we'll set out together to hunt the beast. If Senior is truly willing, all you need to do is take this Silver Shark Token and head over." Qing Xiao flipped her palm and produced a token that gleamed with silver light, holding it out to him.
Han Li extended one hand, and the token instantly flickered into his grasp. He lowered his gaze to examine it.
The entire token shimmered with silver radiance, as though forged from pure silver, and on its surface was engraved a large character: "Shark."
Han Li's expression betrayed nothing. He stored the token away.
Seeing Han Li agree so readily, Qing Xiao was delighted. She chatted with him a while longer before finally rising to take her leave with respectful courtesy.
When the woman transformed into a streak of white light and shot skyward from the courtyard, the wooden cabin once again blazed with the glow of protective restrictions, and the wooden door slowly closed behind her.
Two months later, a clear, resonant cry rang out from beneath the small mountain, its sound stretching on and on, piercing straight through the clouds toward the heavens.
Almost every one of the Flame Sun Clan snake-people on the island heard the cry. Regardless of rank or station, they all looked toward the source with startled, bewildered expressions.
The woman who had been discussing matters with several high-ranking snake-people in the great hall heard the sound, her expression shifting as she stepped outside and stood in the plaza, gazing toward the small mountain as well.
Her eyes flickered, her expression shifting between several emotions.
After a moment, the long cry cut off abruptly.
Then a streak of azure radiance shot out from the base of the mountain, arriving at an immense height in a single flash. It circled once and then soared toward the edge of the island.
Before long, the azure light appeared over the ocean surface more than a thousand li from Fire Cloud Island, and without the slightest pause, it streaked due south.
Within the escape light, Han Li's face was expressionless. He drove the light forward at tremendous speed while silently mulling over his own thoughts.
If he could join forces with the people of this sea region and successfully slay the sea beast, that would be for the best. He could then reach the Lei Ming Continent and from there seek some other means of returning to the Wind Source Continent.
If the attempt failed, he would simply remain in this sea region for the time being — biding his time for other opportunities, or perhaps continuing the hunt for the beast in the future.
After all, with the small bottle he possessed and the vast quantities of spiritual herbs he carried, he had more than enough to sustain his cultivation for a good long while.