Nurturing a Divine Kun in the Spirit Sea

The deeper he descended, the faster his magical power drained. Forming the magical rope earlier had already consumed some of it.

Diving into the deep pool meant not only resisting the pressure of the water, but also channeling magical power into his eyes to see through the black water and watch his surroundings.

Everything around him was pitch-black. Even after descending over a thousand meters, Yang Xiao had not seen a single creature. But he knew something had to live in the pool, or Chen Wuyou would not have thrown raw meat into it.

Yang Xiao gradually made out the bottom of the pool. He stepped onto it, only for his foot to sink into nothing. Hastily drawing on his magical power, he flew upward. The mud at the bottom was so deep and soft that a single step had left his entire lower body covered in it.

Fortunately, water surrounded him. He drew over some clean water and washed the mud off his body.

Yang Xiao frowned. He could not sense any Earth Vein Qi here. By all rights, he should have been inside the mountain or deep within the earth, yet there was not a trace of Earth Vein Qi around him.

Something was strange about this place. It felt as though he were in another world.

Yang Xiao swam farther out. What mattered most now was finding Shen Laodao and bringing him back up.

He frowned. After searching the entire bottom of the pool, he had found nothing unusual, nor had he seen the raw meat Chen Wuyou had thrown down. Most importantly, he had not found Shen Laodao. It was as though they had vanished into thin air.

Yang Xiao hovered in the water. Suddenly, inspiration flashed through his mind. This place belonged to the Carefree Sect. Perhaps only the Carefree Sect's methods would work here.

"Heaven, please open your eye."

A black eye opened above the deep pool. Beneath its gaze, Yang Xiao arrived above a patch of mud.

The surrounding spiritual energy gathered toward his right hand. Three Wolves in One Punch flew out, clearing away the mud and revealing a large gate that shone with golden light.

Yang Xiao frowned. If Shen Laodao had gone through it, there was no way he would have failed to notice this gate. Something had to be wrong here.

But the gate of light was his only lead. He had to go inside and try.

As he stepped through the gate, spiritual energy rushed into his face. A golden ocean filled his vision, while the spiritual energy around him floated in the air like condensed droplets of water.

"Yang Xiao."

Shen Laodao's voice came from behind him. Before he could turn around, Shen Laodao said urgently, "Don't absorb the spiritual energy here."

Yang Xiao froze and turned to look at Shen Laodao. His face was utterly black, and he was forcing wisps of black energy out of his body.

Yang Xiao sealed his Qi Sea. Shen Laodao's condition had to be connected to the spiritual energy around them.

As the black energy was expelled, Shen Laodao's complexion slowly returned to normal.

Shen Laodao spat out the last wisp of black energy and said, "You owe me your life."

Yang Xiao asked, "What's going on?"

Still shaken, Shen Laodao glanced around and said, "Look with your Heavenly Eye, and you'll understand."

Yang Xiao used the Heaven's Eye Opening Technique. Beneath the Heavenly Eye's gaze, the spiritual energy around them turned black, and the golden ocean became a black sea.

He sucked in a breath of cold air. This was no Spirit Sea—it was plainly a sea of death. The spiritual energy in it had been corrupted by death energy. If a cultivator absorbed such energy, they would likely lose their reason bit by bit, their body stiffening until they slowly became a dead person.

Looking at the sea of death, Shen Laodao said, "Good thing this old Daoist reacted quickly, or this old life of mine would have ended here today."

After pondering for a while, Shen Laodao continued, "This may be a Heavenly Master's Spirit Sea."

Yang Xiao asked blankly, "What's a Spirit Sea?"

Shen Laodao glanced at him and explained, "A Qi Sea is formed by gathering qi into a sea. First you form a Qi Sea, then you gather a Spirit Sea. But since the Qi Gathering Realm is a cultivator's first realm, everyone calls it a Qi Sea. Powerful cultivators actually prefer to call their Qi Seas Spirit Seas."

Yang Xiao looked at the Spirit Sea, whose end lay beyond sight. Just then, an enormous fish leaped out of the water, its entire body pitch-black, like a colossal beast.

He swallowed. The moment he saw that enormous fish, a name surfaced in his mind—Kun.

Beside him, Shen Laodao sucked in a breath of cold air. "Nurturing a Divine Kun in a Spirit Sea. What tremendous ambition this person had."

Then he turned his head and gave a bitter smile. "A pity. Even someone this powerful fell."

Yang Xiao took a step back. "Let's go back."

He was already beating the drum of retreat in his heart. This Divine Kun was not something they could afford to provoke. He even had the feeling that a single mouthful of seawater from it would be enough to drown them.

Shen Laodao narrowed his eyes at the Spirit Sea. "Why leave? The more dangerous this place is, the more it proves the Carefree Scripture is here.

"If you want treasure, how can you expect to take no risks at all?"

With that, he threw the Short Staff in his hand onto the sea. Black light flashed across it, and the staff turned into a log that floated on the surface.

For the first time, Yang Xiao saw the Short Staff in its entirety. More than ten thousand people were carved into it, all kneeling in worship toward the same direction.

Watching the Short Staff drift away from the shore, Yang Xiao wavered for a moment, then leaped onto it.

After spending so long with Shen Laodao, he understood something of his temperament. He was certainly not someone who sought his own death. If he dared enter the Spirit Sea, he had to have a way to preserve his life.

Shen Laodao glanced at him, then turned and stood at the front of the log, pressing his palms together and muttering something under his breath.

Yang Xiao approached to listen. Shen Laodao was murmuring,

"Ancestors, you must protect your only great-great-great... great-grandson. If that Divine Kun comes over, curse it to death from down below."

Yang Xiao rolled his eyes. If curses could kill a Divine Kun, everyone who had offended Shen Laodao would have been buried beneath the yellow earth long ago.

He took out the Dragon Horn and kept watch all around. At a time like this, he could no longer worry about keeping his treasure hidden.

After muttering for a while, Shen Laodao's gaze suddenly landed on his Dragon Horn. He gave a kindly smile. "Senior Brother Xiao, what treasure is that? Would you let this poor monk broaden his horizons?"

Yang Xiao kicked the sidling Shen Laodao aside and sneered. "Hurry up and steer. If we crash into the Divine Kun, we'll both die here."

Shen Laodao curled his lips, steering with his magical power while keeping his eyes on the Dragon Horn.

Yang Xiao had no idea what was so miraculous about Shen Laodao's Short Staff, but they traveled through the Spirit Sea for half a day without encountering the Divine Kun.

"We're here," Shen Laodao said, spotting a patch of green ahead.

Yang Xiao turned to look. The green slowly grew larger before his eyes: a green lotus with twelve petals, rooted in the Spirit Sea.

At the sight of the green lotus, Shen Laodao sucked in a breath of cold air. "A lotus blooming at the twelfth grade. This is the potential to become a god."

Yang Xiao frowned. He had not understood a single word Shen Laodao had said.

"What do you mean, blooming at the twelfth grade?"

Shen Laodao looked at him as though he were a monster and blurted out, "Are you some wild man who wandered out of the mountains?"

Yang Xiao's brow furrowed even deeper. This was the second time he had heard that question. The last time, Wang Huhu had asked him.

Shen Laodao patted his shoulder. "Don't tell me you don't even know the cultivation realms."

Seeing Yang Xiao's brow furrow until it almost formed a mountain range, he continued, "Today, this old Daoist will teach you the basics. I won't go over the first two cultivation realms. Above Sea Condensation lies the Soul Seed Realm. Upon reaching this realm, a soul seed condenses within your body.

"Above the Soul Seed Realm is the Living Spirit Realm. Cultivators in this realm cause their soul seeds to bloom, producing the green lotus you see before you."

"But everyone's aptitude and accumulated foundation differ, so the green lotuses they produce differ as well.

"Those with a third-grade green lotus have essentially no hope of breaking through further in this lifetime.

"Those with a sixth-grade lotus possess aptitude in the upper-middle range.

"Those with a ninth-grade lotus already possess outstanding aptitude and have a small chance of becoming gods in the future.

"And those with a twelfth-grade lotus are called heaven's chosen. As long as they do not die, they will surely become gods."

Yang Xiao now regarded the Twelfth-Grade Green Lotus differently. Though he did not know what sort of existence a god was among cultivators, judging by Shen Laodao's reaction, one had to be immensely powerful.

As they spoke, the two arrived near the Twelfth-Grade Green Lotus. It was enormous, resting in the Spirit Sea like a great mountain.

"To ride the true course of heaven and earth, to harness the transformations of the six qi, and roam the boundless... in the vast and empty wilds, wander beside it in nonaction, lie beneath it in carefree repose..."

The moment they stepped onto the Twelfth-Grade Green Lotus, the voice of the Great Dao resounded around them. It seemed to descend from heaven, yet also to come from a distant age, like a god whispering in their ears.

Following the sound, Yang Xiao saw a giant at the center of the Twelfth-Grade Green Lotus. The giant's lips moved slightly, and phrase after phrase of divine speech echoed across the lotus.

Looking into the giant's eyes, Yang Xiao felt his mind being drawn into them.

When he opened his eyes again, he had arrived in an unfamiliar land.

A voice rang out in the sky. Looking up, he saw an old man standing proudly in midair. The old man pointed toward the heavens, and thousands upon thousands of great formations formed in the void. Countless bolts of lightning, gusts of wind, and flames descended upon the earth.

Yang Xiao's mind shuddered. When he came to his senses again, he was still on the green lotus.

He understood that this giant had long since died, and what remained was merely an obsession from his lifetime. Though he did not know why a giant had appeared within a Heavenly Master's Spirit Sea, they recognized what the giant was reciting: the Carefree Scripture.

Shen Laodao had already begun comprehending the Carefree Scripture ahead of him.

Yang Xiao sat beside him, and they slowly absorbed the giant's divine words echoing around them.

After an unknown length of time, Yang Xiao awoke from meditation. At some point, Shen Laodao had gone to the edge of a petal and was standing with his hands behind his back, taking in the breeze over the Spirit Sea.

Yang Xiao walked over to Shen Laodao. "Don't lose heart. Once we get out, I'll take you to find the Earth Master chapter."

This Heavenly Master was reciting only the first part of the Carefree Scripture, the Heavenly Master chapter. Shen Laodao lacked the aptitude to become a Heavenly Master, so his journey had been for nothing.

Shen Laodao sighed. "This poor monk thinks his aptitude as a Heavenly Master can still be salvaged. Once we return, I'll devote myself to Heavenly Master arts. I won't leave seclusion until I become a Heavenly Venerable."

With that, he looked ahead with determination and took the Short Staff from inside his robe. It landed in the Spirit Sea with a smack, and the two leaped onto it, ready to return.

Meanwhile, Chen Wuyou stood beside the deep pool, gazing at its waters as though he could see everything within through the surface. When Yang Xiao obtained the Carefree Heavenly Master Chapter, the corners of Chen Wuyou's mouth lifted slightly, and he left the pool.

Back in the Spirit Sea, Yang Xiao sat on the Short Staff. Though a Divine Kun lived in these waters, he had a feeling that with the staff there, it would not dare approach.

He felt the grain of the Short Staff. It seemed like wood, yet also like metal, or perhaps something between the two.

Yang Xiao said, "Shen Laodao, would you trade that Short Staff for my Dragon Horn?"

Shen Laodao sneered. "Keep dreaming your grand spring-and-autumn dreams. Compared with this treasure of mine, your Dragon Horn is junk. Even if you gave it to this poor monk for free, I wouldn't want it."

Yang Xiao's eyes shifted. Of course he would not trade the Dragon Horn to Shen Laodao for a treasure whose purpose he did not know,

but Shen Laodao's reaction surprised him somewhat. In his mind, the Dragon Horn already qualified as a divine object. If Shen Laodao would not trade even for such an object, just what sort of treasure was his Short Staff?

The two passed through the gate of light, cleared away the mud outside it, and flew back to shore.

Sure enough, the bottom of this pool concealed a shroud of mystery. Shen Laodao had cleared the mud away when he entered, and Yang Xiao had done the same when he entered. Yet when they emerged, everything looked exactly as it had before they went in.

By then, dawn had broken. The two used Shrinking Earth to Inches, making their way back to the mountaintop step by step.

A little girl with pointed canine teeth came toward them. When Wang Huhu saw them, her eyes widened into circles. Then she planted one hand on her hip and pointed at them in annoyance. "Well, well! You actually left me behind and went off to play for a whole month! Today, I, Wang Huhu, am cutting ties with you!"

Yang Xiao's pupils contracted slightly. They had eaten with Wang Huhu before going in. How had a month passed?

He exchanged a glance with Shen Laodao. Both their eyes were filled with shock.

Thinking back, perhaps they had spent too long comprehending the Carefree Scripture. But they had entered a special state at the time and had not sensed time passing.