On the morning of the third day of their agreed rest, Tang San returned to Seahorse City first.
Xiao Wu lay quietly in the innermost room of their quarters. A faint spark of life remained in her body. The wisp of reversal power Bai Jin had left behind had grown very weak, and the Ten-Thousand-Year Sacred Soul Grass was sealed in a jade box beside her bed. Tang San nourished it with Soul Power once each day.
Of the three materials needed to revive her, they had found only one.
There was still no news of the Nine-Grade Ginseng King or the Elder Spirit Beast Core. The Sixth Soul Ring and right arm bone formed by her sacrifice remained with him, too. Every time Tang San saw that red ring turned gray, he remembered: when the day finally came to revive her, he would have to return those powers in full.
He straightened Xiao Wu's sleeve and checked the protections outside the door again.
"Today, I'll try it once."
The person on the bed did not answer.
Tang San squeezed her hand, then rose and left the room. Bo Saixi had promised to watch over the Quiet Chamber during the trial, but he still fastened every lock himself before heading for the Ring Sea.
Half an hour later, Tang San was the first to jump into the Ring Sea.
The moment the water reached his waist, his body sank.
The pressure they had seen from shore was nothing compared with feeling it firsthand. The current, laden with Soul Power, dragged at his limbs from every direction. Even lifting one knee took several times the usual effort.
Tang San did not rush forward.
His Purple Demon Eye pierced the dark water, revealing the paths of several arrowfish ahead. He raised his