The Flowing Cloud Shuttle sliced through the dark green waves, its silvery wake flickering in and out of the mist. Han Li stood at the bow, his fingertips brushing the Crystal-Spike Formation Flags at his waist. These were new magic treasures he had forged with star-patterned steel as their framework, incorporating crystallized spiritual power into their engraved patterns. Amid the Big Dipper patterns on the flags, densely packed silvery crystal spikes glittered like stardust—a product of the “Three Arts of Formation, Alchemy, and Artifact Refining united as one.” Inside the cabin, Zi Ling adjusted the Star-Illusion Maze Formation. The resonance between her plain silver hairpin and the Star-Water Token pierced the fog, guiding the vessel.
[Ding! The destination, "Mist Islands," has entered a high-risk region of the Shattered Star Sea. Current threats: Foundation Establishment Late Stage sea beasts, "Wave-Swallowing Flood Dragon" ×2; Core Formation Early Stage rogue cultivator gang, "Seven Fiends of the Black Wind" ×7; residual fluctuations from Void Sky Hall killing formations (strength: peak Foundation Establishment Late Stage ×3). Recommendation: use the Crystal-Spike Formation Flags for offense and the Void Sky Space-Locking Formation for protection. Prioritize avoiding Core Formation cultivators.]
The system notification unfolded in his sea of consciousness, and a cold gleam flashed through Han Li's eyes. The Mist Islands were indeed no welcoming place.
Three days later, the mist thickened until visibility fell below ten zhang. Han Li was nourishing his formation flags with crystallized spiritual power when a muffled impact suddenly sounded beneath the vessel-boom! The hull rocked violently, splinters flew from the gunwale, and a blue-black flood dragon tail as thick as a bucket burst from the water, its scales gleaming eerily. It was a Wave-Swallowing Flood Dragon!
"Crystal-Spike Formation Flags-Thousand Flood Dragons' Roar!"
Han Li swept the flags with his left