Ebb Tide Gleaning

That night, all was silent in Listening Tide Courtyard.

The sound of the waves seemed clearer here than elsewhere, rhythmically striking the stone foundation outside the courtyard like a deep, steady heartbeat.

A cold wind swept through the hardy green bamboo groves within the yard, rustling softly.

Chen Yuan was not asleep. He sat cross-legged on the meditation platform in the quiet room, his mind calm as still water, inwardly observing the ancient, mysterious Tidal Stele within his Sea of Consciousness.

The inscription on the stele shone clearly in his heart:

Tide Luck: 100/100

Status: "Ebbing Tide" can be triggered.

The Tide Luck Points had quietly reached fullness today.

Thinking back, his master's generous gifts, gifts from senior brothers and sisters, praise from guests; his family's pride, the honor brought to his clan; his own breakthrough in cultivation, officially becoming a personal disciple, clear thoughts, a bright future ahead... All these factors combined had made the accumulation of Tide Luck far faster than expected.

This time, it wasn't a "Rising Tide" bringing a breakthrough in cultivation, but an "Ebbing Tide"—a mysterious opportunity to pick up treasures.

Chen Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing the anticipation and excitement in his heart. His will condensed like iron as he touched the option to "trigger the Ebbing Tide."

"Ebbing Tide."

As the command was given, the Tidal Stele suddenly emitted a low hum. The ancient, profound patterns on its surface seemed activated by invisible water, flowing and shifting like ripples, radiating a deep, icy suction force that seemed capable of devouring light.

Chen Yuan felt his main consciousness gently but irresistibly peeled away by a warm yet undeniable force, drawn into a bizarre tunnel formed by countless twisted lights, hazy mists, and fragmented streams of light.

Around him, colors and fragments he couldn't understand flashed past at dizzying speed. The sense of time and space became blurred and strange here.

A violent sensation of weightlessness and a mild dizziness at the soul level struck simultaneously. It felt like only an instant, yet also an eternity, before the discomfort abruptly vanished, and his "vision" opened wide.

He found himself "standing" on a strange beach beyond description.

Beneath his feet were not real grains of sand, but a flowing, dark "sand sea" shimmering with countless tiny starlights. Looking closely, each "grain of sand" seemed to be a miniature, frozen fragment of time and space, containing some hard-to-decipher information shard. Stepping on it gave an illusory, cold, granular sensation.

Before him stretched an endless sea, its color so deep it was nearly black. It was eerily calm, like the most perfect mirror of Ink Jade, reflecting a sky with no sun, moon, or stars—only endless, shifting, magnificent auroras and twisted, colorful clouds.

The light and shadows shifted unpredictably, breathtakingly beautiful yet carrying a strange sense of alienation.

The air was filled with a cold, damp breath. Inhaling it made his mind feel a faint sting and a slight sharpening.

So this was the "Other Shore" after the Ebbing Tide? A mysterious dimension where countless temporal opportunities and unknown relics had sunk?

Chen Yuan focused his gaze. At the boundary between the mirror-calm "sea surface" and the flowing "beach," as some invisible "tide" silently receded, various scattered "Sea Spoils" stranded on the "beach" gradually revealed themselves.

They were at varying distances from his "point of consciousness." The closest were only a few feet away, seemingly within reach. The farthest nearly vanished at the edge of his vision, blurry and indistinct, only faint but enticing energy halos perceptible.

These "Sea Spoils" came in all shapes and sizes, most emitting faint halos of light. Their colors were clearly distinct, hinting at their quality and level.

The closest ones had the dimmest light, nearly gray-white, their aura so faint it was almost extinguished. They were mostly broken, lusterless shell-like objects, a few strands of withered seaweed, and even some ordinary-looking pebbles with no energy fluctuation at all.

A bit farther away was a large area of white halos, slightly brighter but still feeling ordinary.

Among them seemed to be a few ancient-style copper coins, a rusted small knife, the phantom of a tattered paper book, and some metal fragments of unknown use.

Further in, dots of eye-catching green halos began to appear, their numbers sharply reduced. The objects here looked much more refined.

He saw a coral-like object shaped like antlers, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance; a short blade phantom, rusted but still hinting at inner sharpness; several well-sealed Jade Bottles engraved with runes; and even an Ancient Mirror covered in cracks.

For his current level, these were already quite good gains.

But his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the deep blue light in the distance!

They were like a few fallen stars, radiating a calm yet powerful aura—the unique fluctuation of a higher level of power, far beyond what green or white objects could match.

Straining his eyes to the limit of his vision, he could faintly make out an even weaker, yet supremely noble Purple-Gold light point, flickering in and out of existence, as if an illusion, yet stirring his heart and impossible to ignore.

He tentatively extended a thread of his will toward it, and immediately felt a tremendous resistance pressing against him, as if swimming against a surging undercurrent. Every inch his will advanced became excruciatingly difficult, his consumption rate skyrocketing. At this rate, his will would be exhausted long before reaching it.

He decisively withdrew his will, not overreaching. He had to find the best feasible target.

At the same time, a clear understanding came from the Tidal Stele: he could use his will to pick up these "Sea Spoils," but their distance and difficulty of acquisition roughly corresponded to their value.

The farther his will extended, the greater the consumption, multiplying exponentially, and there was a chance of failure. If his will was exhausted or the attempt failed, this opportunity would be wasted. He had to act within his means and make wise choices.

Chen Yuan's mind sharpened. This was no simple treasure hunt; it was a comprehensive test of temperament, decisiveness, boldness, and risk tolerance.

Blindly chasing the tempting treasures in the distance could drain his mind and leave him empty-handed. But if fear of risk made him only pick up the nearby mundane items, that would be too great a pity, wasting this heaven-defying opportunity.

He took a deep breath of the cold "air," his gaze turning calm and sharp, like an experienced fisherman surveying the exposed tidal flats. He carefully evaluated every possible target, calculating the consumption of his will and the success rate.

He directly ignored the nearest gray-white objects.

The white area had quantity, but felt limited in value. Not worth spending will on unless it was on the way.

His focus shifted to the green halo zone and the more tempting blue light.

The blue area was too far. He zeroed in on the boundary between the blue and green zones.

The light points here were even fewer than in the pure green zone, and farther away, but the difficulty of acquisition should be slightly lower than the pure blue points.

Soon, he locked onto two particular items.

One was a small, exquisitely crafted Fish Skin Bag emitting a soft yet stable green light. Its style was extremely ancient, with fine scales, and it radiated a faint spatial fluctuation—possibly a storage treasure.

The other was a strange rune that constantly shifted forms, emitting a deep blue light!

It looked like a flowing mass of deep blue water mist, its light flickering unsteadily. Its position was right at the edge of the blue zone, as if it could be swept back into the deep blue area by the "tide" at any moment, or fall into the green zone.

The two were close enough that it seemed possible to collect them simultaneously.

Just then, a faint, almost negligible white glimmer in a shallow pit nearby caught his attention. It was a white shell half-buried under gravel, its light weak and unremarkable against the surrounding glow.

But its position was peculiar—right in front of the green pouch and blue Runes, not far off.

A bold idea surged into Chen Yuan's mind: if they lay along the same path, then "scooping up" this nearby white item while extending that path would cost next to nothing. The main targets were the blue Runes and green pouch, which appeared far more valuable. If it worked, he'd net three prizes at once.

Fortune favors the bold! A sharp, blade-like decisiveness flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes. Caution was important, but when a heaven-sent opportunity presented itself, sometimes one needed the nerve to snatch a chestnut from the fire.

He settled on a plan at once: primary target—the blue Runes! Secondary target—the green pouch. On the way, try to take the white shell. If things went south, abandon everything else and secure the blue Runes at all costs.

Once more, he focused his will with intense concentration, like an invisible yet unyieldingly tough thread, precisely dodging the useless objects, bypassing the tempting green lights in the middle section, and plunging unswervingly toward the edge of the blue zone, straight for the shifting mass of blue Runes.

Resistance came again, vast as a mountain, making his will advance with excruciating difficulty.

Chen Yuan held his breath and steadied his mind, condensing his will into an extremely fine, concentrated strand. Only one thought remained: to probe unwaveringly toward the target. His mental energy drained at an unprecedented rate.

Closer! Even closer! The cluster of blue Runes seemed to sense the approach of foreign will, its churning and shifting suddenly accelerating, emitting a complex fluctuation that yearned for fusion yet carried a hint of instinctive resistance. The icy blue light flickered urgently.

Just as the main body of his will was about to touch the blue Runes, the thinnest wisp of thought he'd split off, like the most agile tail fin of a fish in the sea, precisely and gently swept across the shallow pit, instantly curling around the half-buried white shell.

"Collect!" Chen Yuan let out a silent roar in his heart. His condensed will wrapped tight, seizing the icy blue Runes and the green pouch beside it in a death grip!

In that instant, a vast torrent—bone-chillingly cold yet brimming with the profound mysteries of water vapor and the essence of free transformation—surged back along the channel of his will, madly flooding into his consciousness. At the same time, two other streams, weaker but of entirely different natures, also poured in.

"Boom!" The violent impact of the immense information and energy flow sent Chen Yuan's consciousness reeling, nearly shattering it on the spot. The exhaustion from forcibly extending his will washed over him like a tidal wave.

The next moment, that overwhelming force brutally "shoved" him out of the mysterious beach space.

"Ugh—ah!" In the room, Chen Yuan's eyes snapped open. His body shuddered violently as he fell backward, fine cold sweat beading on his forehead. His face was as pale as paper. A piercing pain, like countless steel needles stabbing into his brain, assailed him. His vision even went dark for a moment. His mental energy was almost completely drained.

He gasped for air, his chest heaving violently. It took over ten breaths before he barely managed to recover, but the fatigue deep in his Divine Soul refused to fade.

Yet, after that extreme exhaustion came an irrepressible, volcanic eruption of excitement and joy!

He had succeeded! He could clearly sense that he had brought three things back from that mysterious beach!