Xu Qingtong steered the Dust-Exterminating Boat slowly northward, repeatedly sending out his divine sense to probe the situation ahead.
Before he knew it, the flying boat had traveled more than four hundred li. At last, Xu Qingtong detected a clue with his divine sense.
An island appeared ahead of him, nearly two hundred li away.
The island was small and dark, rising from the sea like a little mountain. Plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky from its summit, while dark red lava wound down from the peak like fiery snakes.
"Senior Sister, the strange phenomena in the sea weren't caused by demon beasts, much less a battle between mighty cultivators. It's an earthfire eruption shaking heaven and earth!" Xu Qingtong turned and told Du Siwen.
"An earthfire eruption?"
"Yes. An earthfire eruption results from the power of heaven and earth losing its balance and causing heaven and earth to shake! When earthfire erupts, it releases tremendous energy!" Xu Qingtong explained.
"Wouldn't that be far too dangerous? We should go back!"
Xu Qingtong smiled faintly. "Although an earthfire eruption releases tremendous energy, it isn't concentrated at a single point, but dispersed. You can rest easy, Senior Sister! Besides, heavenly materials and earthly treasures might appear when earthfire erupts!"
Du Siwen frowned. "In that case, we could venture over and take a look!"
Having agreed, the two steered the flying boat slowly toward the black island.
After a moment's thought, Xu Qingtong rummaged through the Seven-Star Bracelet and took out a jade slip. This was the map of the Great Marsh Sea he had recorded when he ventured across it alone years ago.
The island did not appear on the map. Xu Qingtong guessed that either the sea map Old Dong had given him had not contained this island at