The last glow of sunset spilled across the sea, its rippling surface like a stream of shattered gold. Chen Ming, Wan Yao'er, and Zhao Tie Zhu sped westward from Divine Wind Island aboard a small Spirit Boat.
The Spirit Boat carved a white wake across the water, swift as an arrow loosed from its bow. The sea breeze rushed into their faces, making their robes snap and flutter. Chen Ming stood at the bow, gazing across the sea ahead, anticipation and caution mingling in his heart.
For the Spirit Boat, the eighty-li journey west of the island took no more than the time it took an incense stick to burn. Before long, Zhao Tie Zhu pointed toward a slightly darker stretch of water ahead. "Chief, that's the place!"
Chen Ming followed his finger and saw that the water there was distinctly darker than its surroundings, an almost inky blue. Nothing seemed unusual on the surface, but the moment he extended his spiritual sense underwater, he sensed the difference-a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy lay deep in the seabed. Weak as it was, it was unusually concentrated, as though something was suppressing it, yet a trace of its presence stubbornly seeped through.
"There really is something strange here." Chen Ming withdrew his spiritual sense and turned to Wan Yao'er. "Miss Wan, what do you think?"
Wan Yao'er was also probing underwater with her spiritual sense. After a moment, she frowned slightly. "There are remnants of a restrictive formation on the seabed. It's ancient, but it's still functioning. This ship probably has no ordinary origins. It isn't simply something left behind by an ordinary cultivator."
"Is it dangerous?" Chen Ming asked.
"It's hard to say just yet." Wan Yao'er shook her head. "The formation is already very weak and shouldn't pose much