If I Don't Return Within Three Months

Yuan Ji memorized every single word.

"The third thing?"

"If I don't come back within three months--"

Su Zhan paused for a moment.

"Close the door to the grotto. Then, take your family to find the way to initiate the Martyrdom Program."

Yuan Ji's hand trembled.

"It won't come to that," Su Zhan added. "But there's no harm in preparing for the worst."

He stepped into the Teleportation Array.

Golden light shone forth. Space shifted.

The salty sea breeze filled my nose again.

Beneath my feet was that familiar black reef.

The dark red mist of the Demon Sea still lingered around, but its concentration was much lower than it had been two days ago.

Su Zhan looked eastward.

Twenty thousand miles.

"Let's go."

His entire body was enveloped in Purple-Gold Lightning, and he shot out like an arrow.

This time, no one stopped him.

As he passed by, all the Demon Sea Demonized Sea Beasts retreated into the deep sea—the aura of the Myriad Poisons Divine Farmer's Canon lingered in this area, and those Sea Beast remembered the scent.

After flying for about 15 minutes, Su Zhan emerged from the Demon Sea's range.

The scene before my eyes has changed.

The dark red seawater turned into a normal deep blue. The leaden gray sky overhead turned into a pale blue illuminated by the sunlight.

The sunlight felt warm and comforting on my face.

Su Zhan then realized that he hadn't seen normal sunlight in a long time.

From entering the Mustard Seed Grotto-Heaven to venturing deep into the Demon Sea, defeating the Sect Master, and returning, the entire process took at least a month. During that month, it was filled with either blood mist or Black Qi, and the days were always overcast.

[Blazing Dragon Venerate]: Oh, the Sun. It's been so long since I've been in the sun.

[The Myriad Poisons Divine Farmer's Canon]: There is a faint radiation of Fire Principle in the sunlight. It has an inhibitory effect on some of my toxins. I feel a little uncomfortable.

[Blazing Dragon Venerate]: Serves you right.

The Su Zhan accelerated its efforts.

Along the way, we passed several small islands in the sea. The islands were inhabited—fishing villages, ports, and small Cultivator settlements.

He did not stop.

But as they flew over one of the larger islands, Su Zhan's senses picked up some interesting noises.

In a small town on the island, a dozen Cultivator were gathered around a bulletin board, discussing something.

Su Zhan reduced his speed and probed the air with the threads of the Shadow Thousand Silk Lock.

A wanted poster was displayed on the bulletin board.

Wrong.

It's not an arrest warrant.

It's a bounty poster.

"Bounty for Remnants of the Black Demon Sect -- Anyone who discovers the remaining forces of the Black Demon Sect and reports to the East Domain Sea-Calming Bureau will be rewarded with 10,000 Spirit Stone."

Signed: Chief Enforcement Officer of the East Domain Sea-Calming Bureau.

Su Zhan raised an eyebrow.

News of the Black Demon Sect's destruction spread faster than he expected. Bai Tiezhuang's dissemination efficiency was quite good.

But what caught his attention wasn't the bounty poster itself—it was a line of small print attached to it.

"Furthermore: Recently, unusual activity has been frequent in the Azure Billows Sea. The Zhenhai Division has dispatched an investigation team. Cultivator in towns along the route should be on guard against Sea Beast riots and should not enter the outer 100-mile radius of the Azure Billows Sea unless absolutely necessary."

The Azure Billows Sea is experiencing frequent unusual activity.

Su Zhan increased his speed.

They flew for another two hours.

The color of the sea has begun to change.

The deep blue turned into an extremely dark indigo. The waves on the sea surface became smaller—not because the wind had subsided, but because the seawater had become unusually heavy. Ordinary Grade winds could no longer move the seawater, which seemed to contain metal.

The indigo sea exuded an ancient, oppressive aura. It wasn't Devil Qi, nor poisonous gas—it was the concentration of Principle so high that the air itself seemed to stagnate.

Su Zhan slowed down and hovered above the indigo sea.

About a hundred miles ahead, there is a clear dividing line on the sea.

The dividing line is indigo on this side.

On the other side of the dividing line--

It's black.

Pure black, reflecting no light whatsoever.

That stretch of sea didn't look like water. It looked more like a crack in the earth, revealing the endless void beneath.

The Azure Billows Sea.

[Nine Heavens Divine Lightning]: We've arrived.

Su Zhan stared at the black sea for a long time.

"Who among you felt it?"

There was a brief silence in my Sea of Consciousness.

Then, Shadow Thousand Silk Lock spoke softly.

[Shadow Thousand Silk Lock]: Beneath that black sea surface... my threads cannot penetrate it. It's not that they're blocked—it's that the sea surface itself has Principle isolating effect. Any means of perception that passes through that black water surface completely loses its signal.