Tide Walker floated several meters above the calm surface of the night sea. Liu Xing stood on the turtle's head, looking around and cycling his qi, readying himself for whatever might happen.

The night sea was beautiful. The stars and the moon gave more than enough light, and the sea reflected it, glittering as if proving that it, too, could be beautiful at night. The view made it seem as if the sky and the sea were one, sharing beautiful stars like close siblings. The sea felt like the sky, and the sky became an ocean full of stars. It was as if they were swimming not on the sea, but rather, in deep space.

As they moved, starlight reflected in Liu Xing's eyes, each point of light competing to be seen by his eyes. But while the night sea was beautiful, it was also deceptive. Night was still night. The starlight and the beautiful view of sea and space were also hiding shadows. The sea, especially, was beautiful only on the surface. Inside, it was dark, hiding countless beasts and horrors within it. If he was not careful, even an enemy could swim inside the dark sea and ambush him.

Tide Walker suddenly dove into the sea, distorting the surface temporarily and splashing water onto his face. The cool sensation of the water sharpened his awareness as though he had just drunk a glass of black coffee chock-full of caffeine.

He looked straight ahead, letting his eyes scan his periphery. Soon, he realized the guiding star he followed was also directly ahead, its distinct red color shining brightly among the others.

Liu Xing heard soft footsteps behind him. From the light footsteps and the presence, he knew it was one of the women under his protection, and since she was the one approaching him, he assumed it was Fang Ruxue. Soon, she stood behind and to the side of him, and asked with a tense voice, "Is our destination nearby?"

The journey to follow the guiding star was advice from Lady Oracle.

After the meeting had turned sour and before Liu Xing and the people under his protection bolted from the island, she had advised him to follow a specific star of his choice, saying he would find something eventually. When he asked what he would find, she shook her head and said she didn't know. When Liu Xing asked whether it was an enemy or an ally, she said, "I honestly don't know." After that, she was silent for a full minute, which was a long time in a tense situation; Lan Haishen was itching to attack him. Then, finally, she said, "At the very least, I know that it will further your… quests," she said the last word hesitantly.

Liu Xing had hesitated for a while, debating whether to follow her advice or not. But in the end, since people called her Lady Oracle, he decided to trust her and chose one of the brightest and easiest stars to follow. Not wanting to pass whatever he was meant to encounter, he had slowed his travel speed. This slow speed was what allowed the women under her protection to sleep, and he used that time to reflect on today.

After a moment, he finally replied to Fang Ruxue, "I don't know, but my shark has found something." He turned his head and saw her biting her lip, her eyes darting around as if searching for a threat.

He realized she was nervous, which was understandable; it hadn't even been a day since she almost died. So, Liu Xing flashed a smile. "No need to worry. I'm here. You're under my protection. Nothing can touch you or your friends."

To his answer, Fang Ruxue nodded. "Thank you, and I'm sorry for burdening you."

Then, she returned to the others and began to gather them—aside from Yu Yongrui—closer. She offered them encouraging words but ordered them to look around, working together to ensure the perimeter was secure. Liu Xing knew they were scared, but whether it was intentional or not, Fang Ruxue's order for them to look around gave them some purpose, making their minds, at the very least, not idle.

Liu Xing inhaled deeply and pulled his stone blade from his spatial bag. His heart was hammering against his ribs like a drum, and anxiety churned in his stomach, spreading through his body and triggering adrenaline. He, too, was afraid of what he might encounter. While he was strong, he knew that many enemies could defeat him. Moreover, he had a glaring weakness, which was the women he wanted to protect no matter what. He didn't want them to be used as bait to defeat him for the third time.

For a moment, Liu Xing considered turning his turtle around and moving in the opposite direction, yet the temptation to find something that could further his quests made him steer the turtle straight ahead.

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Suddenly, a wall of mist appeared several meters ahead of them. Seeing it, he felt his heart leap into his throat. A moment ago, the view was clear. The sky was still glittering, the sea reflecting the light. Yet, suddenly, there was a mist in front of him, as if he were suddenly ensnared in an illusion, or... as if he had entered a barrier.

As the gears in his mind began to turn, he wondered if he would encounter Bewitching Princess again in the mist. But he soon realized that the substance in front of him was neither mist nor smoke. Rather, it was...qi.

Liu Xing willed his turtle to stop right before the wall of qi. He reached his hand toward it. As his hand sank into the mist, he felt a strange sensation coursing through his right arm even though he was still wearing the Thunderstrike Gauntlet. It was as if the qi that resembled mist did not exist physically but was instead coursing through a different plane.

"What is this?" Liu Xing muttered. He had never encountered ambient qi so thick it was visible to the naked eye. He glanced at Yu Yongrui and saw his wide eyes, and he instantly knew the man had never seen such a phenomenon either.

The turtle stopped in front of the wall of qi, its giant body rocking on the waves. Liu Xing tried to feel this qi, to sense what was inside the mist, but felt nothing. It was as if there was nothing inside, which was obviously not true. He knew, without a doubt, that something was in there.

As his heart began to beat faster, Tide Walker splashed him with water again. Seeing its impatient eyes as it entered the qi mist without hesitating, Liu Xing gritted his teeth and decided to take a risk. With a simple order, his turtle statue moved forward, sinking into the ocean of qi resembling mist.

Soon, Liu Xing and his group were completely surrounded by the qi. He looked around and realized his field of vision was dangerously limited. If there were enemies inside the mist, they could easily ambush him. He opened his spatial bag again and released two of his four Eyes of Lightning. He ordered one to fly high while the other followed his shark forward. Although he was quite accustomed to using his Eyes of Lightning, he still felt a mental burden when using them. Therefore, he stored them in his spatial bag, then rested his mind for a while.

Not anymore, though. It was time for them to work again.

For a moment, both of his additional eyes were blurred by the mist qi. Then, one of them successfully broke through the top of the mist. Looking down, he realized he had underestimated the mist qi that he entered. It was so vast that it filled the horizon.

"What is this qi?" Liu Xing muttered. He was quite sure it was not a normal phenomenon. This was ambient qi, which could be absorbed to cultivate. With a qi mist this vast, it would not be an exaggeration to say the sects and clans of the Wild Tide Region would go to war to claim it.

The thought of using his Flowing Meditation Technique to begin absorbing it crossed his mind. Behind him, Yu Yongrui was already sitting and greedily cultivating. However, a strange feeling prevented him from doing so. It wasn't exactly a sense of danger. It felt as if doing so was simply unthinkable—like pissing on his ancestors' graves.

Soon, the eye following Tide Walker spotted a light several meters away. The light burned with an orange glow, like the light of an oil lamp. A weak wail could be heard from the light's source, accompanied by splashing water, growling, and mocking laughter. Liu Xing urged his turtle statue to swim faster. Soon, he could see the source of the light and sounds.

In the center of the swirling qi mist, Liu Xing saw a sea turtle that was his size. It was small enough that he could have easily grabbed and hugged it. Hundreds of white dots resembling mushrooms or pustules covered half of its shell. The other half was covered by something that looked like hundreds of clams trying to devour it. He narrowed his eyes and realized these were two types of disgusting barnacle that like to grow on the undersides of ships. Their total mass was perhaps half the size of the turtle itself. The sea turtle moved sluggishly, splashing its flippers as if it were drowning. Meanwhile, Tide Walker swam below it, as if trying to keep it from sinking.

Liu Xing looked to the side, to the source of the orange light. It was a small black boat, better suited for a river than the open sea. It looked old, with several rotten parts and a barnacle-covered underside. Inside the boat, an oil lamp hung from a small pole that was bent under its weight. Right below the lamp, an old man sat with his eyes closed. His skin was as pale as a candle, sagging and full of wrinkles. He wore dirty blue robes and a wide straw hat adorned with a single black feather.

Several mocking laughs sounded, and he saw four dolphins surfacing from the sea around Tide Walker and the sea turtle. Their base color was dark, though each had a different hue. One looked almost green, two almost blue, and one almost maroon. They circled the sea turtle and his shark, laughing as they splashed water at the turtle with their tails, as if playing a game to make it drown. While Tide Walker growled, its eyes full of hatred as it looked at the four dolphins.

Seeing this, Liu Xing blinked several times. He had expected to find something when he entered the mist, but this situation… it was beyond his imagination.

"What the hell is happening here?"

Liu Xing looked from the old man on the boat to the drowning turtle being mocked by four dolphins and helped by a shark.

His eyes moved back and forth between the two scenes.

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