Haotian and Yaochi Enter the East Sea!

"Wow—so this is the East Sea?"

The moment the Auspicious Cloud landed on the East Sea shore, Jade Pool couldn't wait to jump off. The hem of her light pink Daoist robe swept across the gleaming white sand on the beach.

She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the dazzling sunlight, gazing at the endless blue sea before her, and couldn't help letting out an exclamation of wonder.

The seawater was as clear as glass; sunlight pierced the surface, scattering golden ripples across the seabed below.

Far in the distance, the horizon merged with the sky. Occasionally, enormous seabirds with wings spanning a hundred zhang swept past, their sharp cries splitting the air.

Even stranger, countless translucent spiritual mist bubbles floated on the sea's surface, each wrapped around fragments of innate spiritual energy. The moment they were touched, they dissolved into specks of light that melted into the air.

"That's only natural." Haotian landed beside her, his black Daoist robe swaying gently in the sea breeze. He patted Jade Pool's head and explained with a smile.

"The East Sea is the foremost of the Four Seas. When heaven and earth were first fixed, its spiritual veins were the most abundant—Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Roots and rare treasures lie everywhere."

"But the Dragon Clan treats the Four Seas as their exclusive domain. Ordinary beings wouldn't dare trespass. Fortunately, we have the Myriad Heavens Auspicious Cloud."

With a flick of his finger, the seven-colored cloud shrank to the size of a palm and hovered above Jade Pool's head.

The faint halo radiating from the cloud could not only conceal their auras but also automatically block the Sha Qi in the sea.

Jade Pool reached up and touched the cloud, then turned her gaze to the seabed. Her eyes lit up instantly. "Senior Brother, look! There are glowing fish down there!"

Haotian followed her gaze. Deep on the seabed, thousands of fish clad in silver scales were swimming in formation.

The light reflected from their scales wove a silver ribbon across the ocean floor.

Wherever the ribbon passed, even the dark purple spiritual algae on the seabed began to shimmer faintly.

"Those are Water-Repelling Silver Scale Fish—an innate variant. Their scales can be refined into Water-Repelling Armor, quite valuable. Let's go down and take a look."

As he spoke, Haotian channeled a thread of spiritual power, forming a transparent protective barrier around them both.

This was a minor technique he had realized after cultivating the Primordial Heart Sutra—more efficient than the standard water-repelling arts of the Primordial World, and it also neutralized the pressure of the sea.

With that, the barrier wrapped around them as they sank into the water.

Once submerged, the scenery grew even more extraordinary. The seabed wasn't pitch black; instead, it was covered in glowing Sea Luminescent Stones, illuminating the depths like daylight.

Giant coral trees towered thousands of zhang high, their branches bearing Coral Pearls the size of fists, each containing pure water-attributed spiritual energy.

Occasionally, a Mystic Turtle carrying a spiral shell crawled slowly past. The shell was engraved with natural runes—an innate defensive formation.

Jade Pool's eyes darted everywhere, her small hand pointing at various wonders as she fired off questions. Haotian patiently answered each one.

When they passed a patch of spiritual herbs, she crouched down and stared at a plant with three jade-green leaves, dewdrops hanging from their tips. Her eyes sparkled.

"Senior Brother, this herb is so cute! The dew on its leaves looks like it's moving!"

"That's Condensing Dew Grass. It takes a million years to grow three leaves. It's suitable for those cultivating the Water Law. You can collect it, Junior Sister."

Jade Pool quickly summoned a small jade bottle and carefully dug up the Condensing Dew Grass along with its soil, placing it inside.

Around them, small fish and shrimp that had just begun to develop rudimentary intelligence initially fled in panic at their approach.

But when they sensed no malice, they grew curious and gathered around. Some even rubbed their tiny heads against Jade Pool's barrier.

"They're not afraid of me anymore!" Jade Pool's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. She casually took out some Spiritual Bait condensed from spiritual energy from her storage pouch—a trick she'd learned from Hongjun back on Jade Capital Mountain—and scattered it.

The moment the bait hit the ground, the fish swarmed in. Even the distant Mystic Turtle lumbered over. The seabed instantly became lively.

Haotian watched her joyful expression, a trace of warmth flickering in his eyes.

Having crossed the Primordial World for over ten thousand Yuanhui—from two spirit stones at the edge of Chaos to becoming Hongjun's disciple—the one constant by his side had always been Jade Pool.

He raised a hand and touched the Heaven-Measuring Ruler. The Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler grew slightly warm, as if sensing something.

But when he probed carefully, there was no further movement. Likely nothing nearby contained a more core Law fluctuation.

"Alright, you've had your fun. We should go. The East Sea is vast—we need to hurry and gather resources."

Once Jade Pool had played enough with the fish, Haotian reminded her.

Jade Pool nodded, then followed Haotian as they descended deeper into the seabed.

Over the next several thousand years, they traveled along the East Sea floor, and their harvest far exceeded expectations.

Near a volcanic crater, they found Crimson Flame Essence Gold, which could be used to refine fire-attributed spiritual treasures.

In a deep-sea trench, they discovered Void Jellyfish, which innately contained spatial power; their tentacles could be used to set up spatial barriers.

And in the ruins of a sunken cave dwelling, they found three spiritual roots that could accelerate enlightenment.

Though not as good as the legendary Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Root Enlightenment Tea, they were still decent—and just right for Jade Pool's current level. So they collected them as well.

One day, just after they had stored a vein of Ice Soul Crystals into their spatial treasure, an unremarkable jade pendant hanging at Haotian's waist suddenly began to tremble faintly.

This bead was a special item left to him by the system, named Treasure-Seeking Jade.

It wasn't a spiritual treasure, but it had a unique ability: when an Innate Spiritual Treasure or a treasure containing the aura of the Great Dao appeared nearby, it would vibrate. The stronger the vibration, the higher the grade of the treasure.

"Hm?" Haotian stopped in his tracks, forming a hand seal and injecting a thread of spiritual power into the Treasure-Seeking Jade.

The bead's vibration grew distinct, pointing northwest toward a certain seabed canyon. It seemed something good was there.

Jade Pool leaned in curiously. "Senior Brother, this bead is..."

"Treasure-Seeking Jade, it can find treasures. Let's go take a look."

Haotian smiled and explained, then took the lead toward the canyon. Seeing this, Jade Pool followed along.

Following the bead's guidance, the two soon arrived at a hidden underwater canyon.

The canyon entrance was covered in thick seaweed. Pushing it aside, the sight before them left both momentarily stunned.

Deep within the canyon, a faint barrier of law light hung in the air.

Two distinct types of law runes flowed across the barrier.

One was the rune of a surging water formation, a water-attribute trap; the other was the rune of an ice-sealing confinement formation, an ice-attribute trap.

The two runes intertwined and merged, forming a rare dual-formation fusion array.

"A fusion array!" Jade Pool's eyes went wide.

"When I was at Jade Capital Mountain, my master told me that this kind of array is ten times harder to break than a single formation, because the power of the two formations compensates for each other's weaknesses."

Haotian nodded, a hint of gravity in his eyes: "Indeed, it's no simple matter. If I hadn't broken through to Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, even with the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler, I'd probably have to spend quite some effort."

"But now..." He raised his hand and unclipped the three-inch jade ruler from his waist.

Infusing it with the law power of a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal through his fingertip, the jade ruler instantly radiated a golden light of merit—the true form of the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler.

"Junior sister, watch closely. To break this kind of fusion array, you must first find the junction point of the Formation Eyes."