Eternal Tale

”Moo!” The big black ox suddenly picked up a large, arm-thick ore and roared in front of Chen Xun, its eyes full of excitement.

”Starshifting Blackstone Ore!”

”Brother Ox, what is this?” Little Red asked.

”A necessary material for a teleportation array.”

Chen Xun’s eyes lit up. The Starshifting Blackstone Ore was pitch black, with tiny, star-like dots moving inside, giving the illusion of flowing space—a truly mysterious sight.

Little Red was also drawn to the ore, his mouth slightly open. It really was beautiful.

”Hurry, clear out the goods and see if there are any formation diagrams or the like,” Chen Xun suddenly shouted. ”Brothers, let’s get to work!”

”Moo!”

”No problem!”

The big black ox and Little Red quickly started sorting the spoils, dividing spirit stones, spiritual herbs, cultivation techniques, and formation diagrams into categories.

Chen Xun was particularly interested in cultivation techniques and books, while the big black ox focused on formation diagrams and spiritual herbs. Little Red greedily sucked on the spirit stones.

However, the big black ox was a bit disappointed—there were only some offensive formation diagrams but no teleportation array diagrams.

Chen Xun settled under a tree, engrossed in the books, which recorded many strange and fantastical things, gradually forming a clearer picture of the Great Li Realm in his mind.

The giant ship sailed slowly through layers of mist and vapor in the Forbidden Sea.

Little Red and the big black ox noisily operated the giant ship every day, constantly bickering. Now, whenever they saw ancient ships, they would avoid them—they couldn’t win.

However, they didn’t spare any fleet or large ship of cultivators, collecting storage rings and performing rituals as they went.

The Forbidden Sea was vast and endless. They wandered aimlessly, their resources growing ever more abundant.

Every day, Little Red was fed thousand-year-old spiritual herbs and spirit stones by the big black ox, and his cultivation finally started to rise. However, it was like a bottomless pit, progressing as slowly as when they had first cultivated with their five-element spiritual roots.

Chen Xun lay under a tree each day, flipping through the pages of books, smiling faintly as he watched the big black ox and Little Red shout in surprise.

...

Time flowed like a wild kiss of the years, burning like a fiery river. The ship had been drifting in the forbidden sea’s demon lair for a century.

In the depths of the Forbidden Sea, corpses of cultivators frequently floated by, only to be devoured whole by terrifying sea beasts lurking in the dark waters below, leaving no trace behind.

There were also inconspicuous whirlpools of dark currents that could even suck in spiritual energy. One wrong step, and one could perish, along with an entire ship and crew.

Yet this sea contained seven ancient secret realms that countless cultivators were drawn to. Gaining an ancient inheritance here could lead to meteoric success.

The ancient era was clearly disconnected from the present, with many great spells lost to time. The techniques created by the ancient cultivators were incredibly powerful, far surpassing anything from today.

A chilling sea breeze blew past, and the sound of waves whispered. A small fleet cautiously sailed through the Forbidden Sea.

Boom!

Suddenly, a massive wave erupted from beneath the surface. In the distance, a Nascent Soul-stage sea beast surged up, its spiritual energy skyrocketing, stirring the wind and clouds as it burst out from beneath the sea.

It opened its massive, bloodthirsty mouth, its mind long corrupted, and its lantern-like eyes fixated in a particular direction.

”Young master, be careful!”

”Protect the young master!”

The fleet erupted into chaos, spiritual energy flaring up everywhere as they shielded a young man behind them.

The young man remained unmoved, one hand behind his back. His jet-black eyes, bright as an obsidian, flashed with a sharp, imposing aura. Under his seemingly calm gaze, there was a hidden fierceness.

His name was Yu Chen, a prodigy from the Yu family, one of the three ancient families of the Great Li Realm Empire. He had suppressed his cultivation at the late Golden Core stage, holding off on breaking through just to venture into the Forbidden Sea’s secret realm.

The faces of all the cultivators were grim. They were only responsible for escorting him, but now they had encountered such a fearsome beast—this would be a tough battle.

”Don’t panic; the sea beast’s target isn’t us,” Yu Chen said with remarkable calm, showing no signs of panic. ”That beast is a Calm-Sea Carp!”

”Young master, it’s indeed that beast. There are many sea beasts here that have long vanished from the Western Sea,” confirmed an elderly man in green standing behind him. ”The Nascent Soul of a Calm-Sea Carp, if refined into medicine, is even more valuable.”

Yu Chen’s eyes gleamed with excitement at these words. If they could slay the beast, his path to Nascent Soul cultivation would become much easier.

”Young master, the Calm-Sea Carp has already been tainted by the Forbidden Sea’s demonic energy. It knows no fear and is difficult to kill,” the elderly man cautioned, sensing the young master’s eagerness. ”If we act rashly, we may suffer heavy losses. It’s better to avoid it.”

Without a Nascent Soul-stage powerhouse to subdue it, it would be impossible to suppress this early Nascent Soul-stage sea beast.

However, in this Forbidden Sea, no Nascent Soul-stage cultivator would dare lower their cultivation level to enter. Here, even an early Nascent Soul-stage sea beast was nearly invincible.

”I understand,” Yu Chen sighed, though his heart was still filled with reluctance.

Boom!

Suddenly, the Calm-Sea Carp let out a deafening roar, shrieking in agony. At the same time, a black light slashed across the Forbidden Sea, stirring up waves and crashing with a deafening roar!

The massive body of the Calm-Sea Carp was instantly sliced in half, blood spraying everywhere and dyeing the sea red.

At that moment, a large, shadowy figure stepped out of the mist. A sharp claw reached down, grabbing the carcass along with the Nascent Soul, locking it in place with no chance of escape.

”What is that?!” The old man in green’s eyes widened in shock. They were too far away, and his spiritual senses were blocked, making it impossible to see clearly.

All the cultivators in the fleet had their mouths agape, utterly stunned. What was that thing just now?!

”Young master, we need to leave now,” the old man in green said urgently, snapping back to reality as he looked at the still-dazed young master. ”There’s a strange beast behind us; we can’t force our way through.”

”Wait, we can’t leave…” Yu Chen said in shock as he looked up.

”Fifth Brother!” A woman stepped into the air from another large ship, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She had just slain the Calm-Sea Carp with one strike, and yet, here in the Forbidden Sea, there was an even more terrifying creature.

”Yiwei,” Yu Chen called softly.

Yu Yiwei’s hair flew in the wind, her face filled with urgency as she stood by Yu Chen’s side.

The old man in green was now brimming with spiritual energy, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his forehead. In the mist, it seemed something gigantic was approaching.

The entire fleet fell silent at once. Everyone looked up, their pupils trembling. The unknown was the true source of fear.

Just then, a massive ship slowly emerged from the mist. At its stern was an enormous tree that blotted out the sky, its leaves black and white.

Everyone held their breath. What kind of ancient ship was this?!

”Fifth Brother… what is that?” Yu Yiwei was stunned, already holding a god-killing artifact in her hand. ”Ancient warships can have crane shapes?”

Yu Chen’s eyes were filled with spiritual energy as two beams of light shot out, piercing through much of the mist.

Moments later, his expression changed drastically, and he took half a step back. ”It’s not an ancient warship!”

Yu Yiwei had never seen her brother so alarmed before. She tightened her grip on the god-killing artifact in her hand. Danger lurked everywhere in the Forbidden Sea, and she had already mentally prepared herself for anything.

The old man in green was quickly sending messages in all directions, doing whatever it took to ensure the safety of the young master and lady.

The giant ship slowly revealed its form. Standing on it were two four-legged black creatures. Their gazes were calm, and behind them lay the corpse of the Calm-Sea Carp, its Nascent Soul sealed within a glowing chain, struggling desperately.

However, they clearly had no interest in humans and were not heading toward them but in another direction.

”Senior, please wait!” Yu Chen suddenly shouted, his voice carrying across the sea. ”I am from the Yu family of Great Li Realm. May we have a word?”

The fleet’s cultivators were terrified. The Fifth Young Master was incredibly bold. The others were already leaving, yet he was trying to make them stay.

The old man in green was speechless, his white hair disheveled in the sea breeze. It was too late to stop him now—something big was about to happen.

Yu Yiwei felt weak, unable to fathom her brother’s reasoning. Because of this one sentence, she feared she might perish here today.

”What business do you have, human?” One of the four-legged creatures stepped forward calmly and asked, ”We only came for the Calm-Sea Carp and have no quarrel with you.”

Standing tall on the crane-shaped figurehead, it exuded an extraordinary presence. However, it slightly turned its head and, with a grin, said, ”Hehe, how about that, Brother Ox?”

”Moo-moo~~” The big black ox chuckled, while Little Red was pretending to act dignified.

They had encountered only a few Nascent Soul sea beasts in the past century and naturally couldn’t let them slip by. The eldest brother had struck with one blow, intending to use it to nourish Little Red.

Meeting these humans was just a coincidence—they happened to kill the sea beast right in front of them. After all, they hadn’t encountered any fleets in the past hundred years.

”Would you be willing to sell us the Calm-Sea Carp?” Yu Chen asked, bowing respectfully. ”My family will offer a price that satisfies you both.”

”No need, humans. We don’t lack…” Little Red was about to say they didn’t lack spirit stones but paused, thinking of Brother Ox. His tone changed abruptly as he shouted, ”Do you have any teleportation array diagrams?”

”We do!” Yu Chen raised his head in delight. As expected, they could negotiate. ”What else do you need, Senior?”

Yu Yiwei was shocked. Her Fifth Brother truly had a knack for business—even in such a situation, he managed to strike a deal. Was he not afraid of being double-crossed?

The old man in green squinted his eyes almost shut. He disapproved of this; wasn’t this akin to bargaining with a tiger?

”This beast was slain after much effort. Add more money!” A loud voice suddenly came from the giant ship. A man in black slowly rose, a gentle smile on his face.

The hearts of the fleet’s cultivators sank. It felt as if something had struck their very core. Staring in disbelief at the distant giant ship, they realized—there were people on it!