Fusang Divine Tree

The bow was already packed to the brim, the atmosphere lively.

Everyone was thrilled and exhilarated.

"That is definitely the Fusang Tree from myth and legend—the divine tree where the Golden Crows dwell." Gao Huan was utterly certain.

He was grave, without his usual laughter and jokes, still not yet out of the grief of his father's murder. But his vast knowledge of myths and legends would not allow him to remain silent. He had to step forward and explain phenomena no one could understand.

Li Weiyi stood at the back of the crowd and gazed into the distance.

In the depths of the sea grew two enormous mulberry trees leaning against and supporting each other. Their gnarled trunks stretched straight toward the heavens, their lush branches and leaves flourishing overhead.

The Bronze Ship was likely hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of li away from them.

The trunks of the two mulberry trees were faint and hazy, like looking at the moon from hundreds of thousands of li away in the early morning. Only at a sufficient distance would such an effect appear.

Li Weiyi had once gazed at snow-capped mountains from hundreds of li away. He knew that hazy, blurred feeling brought about by distance.

The two mulberry trees before them were absolutely far more than several hundred li away. Yet their height was several times that of the snow mountains when viewed from afar, as though they reached the sky.

"The trunks alone may be thicker than a snow mountain, and their height... who knows how many tens of thousands of meters."

If not for every leaf on the two mulberry trees glowing brightly, like countless leaf-shaped moons, Li Weiyi might even have suspected he was seeing a mirage.

As the Bronze Ship rode the wind and cleaved through the waves at high speed, the distance closed considerably.

The trunks at the horizon became clearer, and one could even see wood grain like ravines.

A thick fog appeared over the sea.

Large and small golden flowers bloomed in the mist. They had no leaves, only dense white roots submerged in the water.

These golden flowers gave off a refreshing, intoxicating fragrance.

The largest were over ten meters across, while the smallest were only fist-sized. All shone with dazzling brilliance, like a thousand divine lamps floating upon the sea, making the ocean glow like a sea of stars.

Gao Huan temporarily forgot his grief, his face flushing red with excitement. "They're Xihe Flowers!"

"Xihe Flowers and Fusang Trees have accompanied each other for all eternity. Both grow in the Tanggu Sea."

"Xihe Flowers bloom by devouring Golden Crow Flame. A mortal who eats one will burn to ashes; a lesser demon who eats one will become a great demon."

"We finally know where we are!"

"This is the Tanggu Sea."

"The Tanggu Sea is where the three realms—the human world, the Underworld, and the Divine Realm—meet. Legend says its waters span a full one and a half million li."

Someone did not believe him. "Go on, keep blowing smoke. One and a half million li? Is the distance between Earth and the Moon even one and a half million li?"

"The distance between Earth and the Moon is about 380,000 kilometers. Kilometers, not li." Cai Yutong had changed clothes and appeared beside Li Weiyi wearing sunglasses and a mask, cutting in with that remark.

Gao Huan felt that no one could question his authority in myths and legends. He argued seriously, "Is one and a half million li really so inconceivable? Do you know how vast the world containing the Crimson County Divine Land is?"

"Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals records that within the Four Poles, east to west spans five hundred million and ninety-seven thousand li, and north to south likewise spans five hundred million and ninety-seven thousand li. Your knowledge is shallow—you're still trapped in mortal ways of thinking. I won't hold it against you."

"Are we still on Earth? We are now in the netherworld, in the Ghost Desolation Territory."

"Coo!"

"Gurgle!"

In the direction of the Fusang Trees, the seawater turned golden-red, as though endless divine flames were burning beneath the seabed.

The waters at the edge of the sea region began to boil, bubbles the size of water vats rising one after another. Before long, the vapor thickened further and engulfed the entire Bronze Ship in a vast expanse of white.

Splash—

From deep within the thick fog, a Three-Legged Giant Bird beat its wings and flew up from the seabed of the waters where the two divine mulberry trees stood.

The radiance bursting from its body illuminated the white mist in the Research Team Members' field of vision in a riot of colors.

"It's a Golden Crow... Do you see it? That is a Golden Crow! So Golden Crows don't dwell in the Fusang Divine Tree—they build their nests on the seabed beneath it." Gao Huan was beside himself with excitement, once again proving that he had been right.

Though the records in mythological texts contained errors, they were by no means groundless.

"The Golden Crow corpse in the Graveyard Forest felt like nothing more than a fledgling. Compared to this one soaring into the sky, it was far too small," Li Weiyi said.

The Golden Crow that had flown from the seabed had wings like clouds hanging from the heavens, likely spanning tens of thousands of meters.

With a single beat of its wings, it could raise waves over ten zhang high.

Even after the Bronze Ship's defensive power blocked the heat and radiance erupting from its body, the light still stung their eyes and the heat still made their skin burn.

A researcher, overcome with curiosity, threw out a piece of thumb-thick steel rebar.

The steel rebar flew beyond the Bronze Ship's outer defensive barrier. Before it could even fall to the sea, the terrifying heat had roasted it red-hot, and it began to show signs of melting.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded.

The outside was actually this terrifying?

The temperature in the air had likely reached several thousand degrees. No wonder it could burn the heavens and boil the seas.

Was this the might that the legendary destructive divine bird, the Golden Crow, could unleash?

After the adult Golden Crow flew into the air, it turned back to glance at the Bronze Ship sailing across the sea. It could see the corpse of the fledgling bird aboard, but it did not dare draw near. There was an aura on the ship that made its soul tremble.

It had never sensed this aura from any Living Being in this world.

Too terrifying!

It beat its wings and flew into the heights above the Qingming, heading west.

Before long, it became a blazing sun in the sky.

In the deck area, within that Sea of Tombs and Forest of Steles.

Beneath a tombstone not far from the corpse of the Golden Crow fledgling, a skeleton clad in crimson palace robes was likewise watching the Golden Crow vanish into the sky.

Her long hair was black as silk, cascading all the way to her feet.

She merely stood there casually, yet she exuded elegance and imposing presence. Even though she was only a skeleton, one could imagine the peerless splendor of her youth when she had still been alive.

Within the deeply sunken sockets of her eyes burned two thumb-sized balls of spiritual flame.

She looked at her skeletal arm. Fine threads of blood flowed across it, while Life Aura continuously arose from within the bones. She murmured, "That boy must be a descendant of that legendary Gu Clan. Only the blood of a Gu Clan descendant can awaken corpses with a drop of blood, make flesh grow upon white bones, bring the dead back to life, and return them to the Yang Realm order within the laws of life."

"Unfortunately, our Yang Marriage Ritual was only half complete before he escaped."

The crimson-robed skeleton looked at Qi Shanshan, whom she had captured and who was still unconscious on the ground, and muttered to herself, "I'll first hide this skeletal body inside her. Using her fleshly vessel and Life Aura, I can evade that law of life between heaven and earth that prevents the reversal of life and death."

Ever since the Bronze Ship sailed through the "Tanggu Sea" Gao Huan had mentioned, day and night had appeared upon the sea over the following days.

Many Research Team Members guessed that countless Golden Crows lived on the seabed of the Tanggu Sea. They transformed into suns and flew from east to west, creating day and night in this world.

In truth, no one knew where east or west was.

They were only judging direction based on their old understanding that the sun rose in the east and set in the west, believing that the Bronze Ship was sailing north.

The Fusang Tree had long since vanished from sight. The Bronze Ship seemed to have traveled through spatial jumps without pause, arriving in another sea region where there were no longer any terrifying dead souls in the waters.

There was no wind at sea, and the surface was as smooth as a mirror.

The seawater was crimson, clearly abnormal. When drawn up in buckets, it was like fresh blood. Even filtering it could not remove the color, and no one dared drink it.

Of course, they only did not dare drink it for now...

Because the generator simply could not be repaired, and nearly all the perishable food had spoiled. Starting yesterday, food and water had been rationed. Three meals a day had instantly become half a meal a day.

Another day passed.

Coffins began appearing sporadically upon the sea, their origins unknown. They traveled in the same direction as the Bronze Ship, trailing long wakes across the tranquil water.

This world had always felt steeped in heavy yin energy; even the Fusang Tree and the Golden Crows could not dispel it.

That first "Sea of Souls" had seemed like the final resting place for the souls of the dead from every planet in the universe. This Sea of Blood, meanwhile, seemed like the destination of all blood from every Living Being in the universe.

In the afternoon.

Giant birds flew past from the horizon, diving into the sea to hunt, their cries ringing loud. Then came flocks of strange gull-like birds with sickle-shaped beaks. They pecked open the coffins floating on the sea and fed on the rotten flesh and bones within.

With signs of life appearing, everyone aboard was in high spirits, quickly forgetting the grief and terror of several days ago.

They all began guessing that land was no longer far away.

It was too exhilarating. As long as they reached shore, they would survive no matter what.

Over the past few days, Li Weiyi had searched all over the Bronze Ship except for the area around the White Bone Demon's grave, yet he had not found even a trace of Qi Shanshan.

"Could she really have been eaten by the White Bone Demon?"

Li Weiyi had long suspected as much, because the most dangerous thing on the ship now was that Ghostly Creature.

No matter what, he had to investigate.

Part of him wanted to repay Qi Shanshan's favor and no longer remain bound by it. At the same time, he felt a sense of crisis, as though that White Bone Demon would crawl out of its grave sooner or later.

Rather than sit and wait for death, it was better to take the initiative and eliminate the hidden danger.

But before that, he needed to raise his combat strength a little more. He did not want to rashly throw his life away.

Monday. Please, monthly votes.