Beyond the Known Sea

Sea City was still ablaze with lights.

Along the main streets, carriages and spirit beasts hauling cargo continued to move without pause. The calls of merchants blended with the sound of waves drifting in from the harbor, while lanterns swayed beneath the eaves, bathing row after row of buildings in warm light.

Even this late at night, the enormous city showed no intention of sleeping.

Hao Nhien stood on the roof of the small courtyard residence, quietly watching the lights stretch into the distance.

It had been nearly a month since he arrived in Sea City.

That was not a particularly long time, yet far more had happened than he had expected when the journey began.

The Ancient Bow.

The two ancient metal fragments.

The Fate-Convergence Realm.

The awakening of the Boat Spirit.

And the changes in the way his True Qi circulated.

None of those had been part of his original expectations.

Most importantly, the surviving records concerning Earth Spirit had opened an entirely new direction for the search.

The New World.

A vast land somewhere beyond the Sea Region, a place about which even the Heavenly Spirit Merchant Association possessed little reliable information.

Hao Nhien still did not know where that journey would lead.

But after considering every clue currently available, he had decided to go.

A faint sound of footsteps came from below.

Hao Nhien looked down.

Lang Tuyet stood beside one of the wooden pillars in the courtyard.

She had changed out of the long robes she normally wore and into clothing better suited for travel. Her hair had been tied neatly behind her head.

When she saw him looking down, she tilted her head toward the gate.

“Lanh Hoa has been waiting for quite a while.”

“Are you planning to admire Sea City until sunrise?”

Hao Nhien smiled and lightly dropped into the courtyard.

“I just wanted to look a little longer.”

“Who knows when we’ll come back.”

Lang Tuyet looked at him.

Then turned her gaze toward the distant lights.

“Then remember it well.”

“Perhaps there will be another reason to return one day.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

The two walked outside, where Lanh Hoa was already waiting with the preparations complete.

The moment Hao Nhien appeared, he stepped forward and saluted.

“Clan Chief, everything has been arranged.”

“All necessary supplies have been stored in the rings.”

“There is nothing important left in the courtyard.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“It is what this subordinate should do.”

Hao Nhien did not say more.

He looked back at the courtyard one final time.

Then left with the others.

The wooden door closed behind them.

The lights and noise of Sea City gradually receded into the distance.

They did not head toward the main harbor.

Instead, the three followed a smaller road leading toward the southern coastline.

After nearly an hour, the final rows of houses disappeared behind them.

Low rocky outcrops stretched along the shore.

Few people came to this area.

There was only the steady sound of waves striking stone and the salt-laden wind blowing in from the open sea.

Hao Nhien chose a rocky spur extending over the water and stopped.

Before him, the dark sea stretched into the distance until the horizon disappeared completely.

His soul stirred faintly.

A small figure appeared beside him.

Little Spirit.

The child stood on the rock and looked over the sea for a moment.

Then nodded.

“It’ll do.”

Hao Nhien looked at it.

“What will?”

Little Spirit did not explain.

It only extended one small hand.

The air above the sea trembled faintly.

At first, there was only a thin dark line, almost impossible to distinguish against the night.

Then the line slowly widened.

The outline of an enormous object began emerging little by little.

There was no dazzling spiritual light.

No sound of space being torn apart.

The entire process was strangely silent, as though something that had already existed there was simply being drawn out from behind an invisible veil.

Before long, a large ship floated upon the sea.

Lang Tuyet instinctively stepped forward.

Surprise appeared in her eyes.

She had seen the Cosmic Ark once before, when she and Hao Nhien traveled through the underground river toward the ruins of the Heavenly Spirit Merchant Association.

At the time, Hao Nhien had still been in late Foundation Establishment.

The vessel he summoned then had been comparatively simple in shape and nowhere near this large.

Even though she had already known it was an extraordinary treasure, she had never expected its current form to be so different.

The ship before them was more than thirty zhang long.

Its hull was broad and solid, carrying an ancient presence difficult to describe.

The material of the vessel was dark violet-black.

At first glance, it resembled wood.

Yet strange patterns ran throughout its surface.

Some curved like flowing water.

Others resembled clouds rolling into one another.

But when Lang Tuyet looked more carefully, she realized those patterns did not appear to have been carved onto the outside.

They seemed to exist deep within the material itself.

Under the dim moonlight, the vessel carried the silent dignity of something that had endured countless years.

And yet there was no sign of decay.

Lang Tuyet stepped onto the deck and ran a hand along the railing.

Then she turned toward Hao Nhien.

“Is this really the same ship we used beneath the underground river?”

Hao Nhien nodded.

He was studying the new form of the Cosmic Ark as well.

“It is.”

“This time Little Spirit summoned it directly.”

“That may be why it looks different.”

Lang Tuyet looked over the massive vessel beneath her feet.

Then laughed softly.

“I take back what I said before.”

“What did you say?”

“I used to think you were merely good at concealing your own strength.”

“Apparently you can even make a ship this large look much more ordinary than it really is.”

A provenance note for this page: contains the author's chapter, while the text here was copied without consent.

Hao Nhien smiled.

“My cultivation was much lower before.”

“I couldn’t use the Ark’s full capabilities.”

“To say I was deliberately hiding it is a little unfair.”

Before Lang Tuyet could reply, Little Spirit, sitting on the railing near the bow, turned its head.

“Still small.”

Both of them looked at it.

Lang Tuyet glanced over the vessel, which already stretched more than thirty zhang from end to end.

Her expression became difficult to describe.

“This is small?”

Little Spirit nodded naturally.

“Not the biggest.”

Hao Nhien’s attention sharpened.

“You mean the Cosmic Ark can take an even larger form?”

“Mm.”

“When I’m stronger.”

Having said that, the child turned back toward the sea, apparently believing the explanation complete.

Hao Nhien watched it for a moment.

His curiosity deepened.

He already knew the Cosmic Ark still held many secrets.

But he had not expected even this enormous form to remain below its true limit.

Lang Tuyet silently examined the ship once more.

Then shook her head and laughed.

“I’m beginning to think everything I thought I knew about artifacts was far too limited.”

Hao Nhien smiled and looked toward Little Spirit.

“I don’t fully understand it either.”

“I was fortunate enough to obtain the Ark years ago.”

“After that, I only gradually learned how to use it.”

“Even I didn’t know it could appear like this until tonight.”

“Fortunate again?”

Lang Tuyet looked at him teasingly.

“Your luck seems capable of expanding other people’s understanding of the world every few years.”

Hao Nhien laughed and chose not to explain further.

Little Spirit appeared completely uninterested in their conversation.

It remained seated on the railing, legs swinging gently, eyes fixed upon the vast sea ahead.

After a moment, Lang Tuyet suddenly asked,

“Little Spirit, are you the spirit of the ship?”

“Or are you the ship itself?”

The child turned.

“I am me.”

Then it pointed down at the hull.

“And also it.”

Lang Tuyet fell silent.

After a moment, she sighed.

“I still don’t understand.”

Little Spirit nodded.

“Mm.”

Lang Tuyet stared at it.

Then laughed.

“At least you aren’t pretending to explain.”

Hao Nhien only smiled.

He had long since grown accustomed to Little Spirit’s strange answers.

Besides, even he could not yet determine the true relationship between the child and the Cosmic Ark.

Lanh Hoa was the last to board.

He examined the ship carefully, walked once around the accessible areas, checked the entrances and exits, and identified the places best suited for observing the surroundings.

Only after satisfying himself that there was nothing unusual did he return to Hao Nhien.

“Clan Chief, we can depart.”

Hao Nhien nodded and looked toward Little Spirit.

“Take us away from shore.”

“For now, follow the direction Lang Tuyet determines.”

Little Spirit asked no questions.

It turned toward the sea and placed one small hand on the railing.

The Cosmic Ark began to move.

There were no sails.

No oars.

No visible propulsion formation that anyone on deck could identify.

The hull simply glided across the water.

Slowly at first.

Then with steadily increasing speed.

Long trails of waves spread behind it and disappeared into the darkness.

By the time the first light appeared along the horizon, Sea City had already become very small.

Less than an hour later, the towers and buildings around the harbor were nothing more than faint specks behind them.

Hao Nhien stood at the stern and looked back one final time.

Lang Tuyet approached with a sea chart in hand.

“We’re still on the correct course.”

“If everything goes smoothly, we should leave the familiar trade routes within a few days.”

“And after that?”

She looked at him.

“After that, we see whether the Sea Region feels like cooperating.”

Hao Nhien smiled.

He did not ask more.

By noon, the mainland had completely disappeared from view.

The interior of the Cosmic Ark was far larger than its external dimensions suggested.

Although Lang Tuyet had entered before, she still spent a considerable amount of time walking through its corridors and chambers, examining areas she had never had the chance to explore.

She discovered several cultivation rooms.

Some empty spaces.

And several chambers designed in styles unlike anything commonly seen on the Ling Van Continent.

The spiritual energy inside the Ark was also denser than that of the open sea.

Especially in the deeper areas, where life force seemed to be sustained by some source she could not identify.

Lang Tuyet inspected whatever areas she could access.

Every now and then she extended spiritual sense toward the surrounding structure.

By the third time Hao Nhien saw her stop in front of a wall to study the patterns running through it, he stopped asking whether she had discovered anything.

There were things he himself had studied for a very long time without finding answers.

If Lang Tuyet was interested, he could let her investigate as much as she liked.

There was only one room aboard the Ark that Hao Nhien did not allow others to enter casually.

Tieu Lan was there.

The room was simple.

A small bed.

Several familiar objects from their days in Thanh Van Town.

Despite everything that had happened, Hao Nhien had preserved most of her belongings as they had been.

He stood outside the door for a moment.

Then slowly entered.

Tieu Lan still lay quietly on the bed.

Her face was pale.

Her breathing was so weak that ordinary senses could barely detect it.

If Hao Nhien’s spiritual sense had not been sufficiently sensitive, even confirming that life force still remained inside her body would have been difficult.

He sat beside her and observed in silence.

After the Fate-Convergence Realm, the way Hao Nhien perceived the movement of power had changed significantly.

Previously, when checking Tieu Lan, he had focused mainly on how much life force remained.

Whether it continued decreasing.

Whether her soul showed any unusual reaction.

This time, he began paying attention to how those faint fluctuations actually moved.

The life force within her body was almost exhausted.

But it was not completely still.

Tiny fluctuations slowly contracted.

Gathered into a point.

Then dispersed.

Later, they appeared somewhere else.

The process was extremely slow.

At times so faint that Hao Nhien had to concentrate for a long while before perceiving it at all.

He brought one hand close to her body, stopping about half a chi away.

Then separated an extremely thin strand of soul force.

The moment it approached, the movement of life force within Tieu Lan changed.

Hao Nhien immediately withdrew it.

He did not attempt a second time.

He simply continued observing until the weak fluctuations gradually returned to their original pattern.

“Not right yet,” he murmured.

His soul force could clearly influence the reactions inside her body.

But he had no way of knowing whether that influence would help or worsen her condition.

Until he understood more, he had no intention of experimenting recklessly.

Hao Nhien remained beside her for a while.

His gaze rested on the still youthful features of her face.

The images from the Realm of the Past returned without warning.

He remembered seeing Tieu Lan kneeling beside him, transferring her life force little by little to keep him alive.

The memory still weighed upon him.

But this time, he did not allow it to drag him back into all the possibilities he had already struggled through.

He reached out and adjusted the edge of her blanket.

“I’ll keep looking for a way.”

There was no response.

Hao Nhien stood and left the room.

As the door closed, he noticed Little Spirit standing in the corridor.

Its small eyes were fixed on the room where Tieu Lan lay.

Hao Nhien had no idea when it had arrived.

Little Spirit looked at the door for a long moment.

Then quietly said,

“She… is still here.”

Hao Nhien was slightly surprised.

Then he nodded.

“Mm.”

The child turned toward him.

It seemed to want to say something else.

In the end, it remained silent.

Hao Nhien smiled faintly.

“That’s enough.”

Little Spirit blinked.

It did not ask what he meant.

It simply followed Hao Nhien away, leaving the small room behind in its familiar silence.

The first three days on the Sea Region passed relatively smoothly.

The Cosmic Ark followed the routes Lang Tuyet identified from her sea charts.

Whenever a change of direction became necessary, she would tell Little Spirit where to go.

The child controlled the Ark without hesitation.

Even though much of its memory remained incomplete, operating the vessel seemed entirely instinctive.

Lanh Hoa spent most of his time watching the sea and monitoring spiritual fluctuations around the ship.

He knew little about navigation.

But he had considerable experience recognizing danger from years of combat.

Whenever he sensed unusual auras or signs of demonic beasts beneath the water, he reported them to Hao Nhien.

For Hao Nhien, the quiet days gave him time to continue strengthening the new circulation method he had discovered after the Fate-Convergence Realm.

He did not try to increase the amount of True Qi moving through his body.

Instead, he focused on observing how the meridians reacted while he moved normally.

The subtle adjustments that had first appeared in the Realm of Circumstances gradually became more familiar.

He no longer needed to concentrate as much attention to maintain them.

On the third day, discrepancies began appearing in Lang Tuyet’s sea charts.

At first, it was only a rocky island marked to the east that failed to appear where expected.

Lang Tuyet assumed the chart might be inaccurate.

Half a day later, however, a warm current that should have flowed south appeared from the west instead.

By evening, the position of the setting sun also differed from her calculations.

Lang Tuyet did not immediately draw a conclusion.

She changed to another chart.

Compared the recorded signs.

Continued observing.

On the fourth day, the discrepancies became more frequent.

By the fifth, the artifact compass she carried began behaving strangely.

The needle no longer held a stable direction.

It turned slowly.

Stopped.

Then began moving again.

Lang Tuyet watched for a long time.

Finally, she put it away.

Hao Nhien stood nearby.

“We’ve left the charted region?”

“Probably.”

“Probably?”

Lang Tuyet looked at him helplessly.

“I don’t like that word either.”

“But I currently have no more accurate way to determine it.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

He did not tease her further.

That afternoon, the sea suddenly changed.

Only moments before, the wind had been mild.

Small waves moved steadily across the surface.

Then the air around them twisted.

It felt as though several invisible forces were pulling in different directions at once.

Hao Nhien was the first to notice.

He raised his head.

The wind above them abruptly vanished.

Several hundred zhang ahead of the bow, the surface of the sea suddenly sank.

A vast depression formed in the water, as if something beneath the surface were drawing the entire sea downward.

“Careful!”

Lanh Hoa immediately called out.

He gripped the railing.

At the same time, by long habit, he shifted slightly closer to Hao Nhien.

Lang Tuyet emerged from the cabin and immediately sensed the abnormality.

She circulated power to stabilize herself.

One breath later, the sunken region of water erupted upward.

BOOM!

A column of water dozens of zhang high rose straight from the sea.

But rather than collapsing forward, another force struck it sideways.

The entire surface around the Cosmic Ark convulsed.

The ship tilted violently.

Lang Tuyet lost half a step and grabbed the railing.

Lanh Hoa lowered his center of gravity.

Hao Nhien only shifted one foot, allowing his body to move with the motion of the vessel.

At that moment, he sensed several different forces acting upon him simultaneously.

The sensation immediately reminded him of the Realm of Circumstances.

The scale was far greater here.

But the way the forces interacted and continuously changed was not entirely unfamiliar.

Hao Nhien did not attempt to resist all the pressure.

When the ship tilted, a strand of True Qi naturally moved toward his legs.

The force previously passing through his shoulder scattered into smaller meridian branches to help his body adjust.

When the pressure from above suddenly increased, he lowered his center of gravity.

Muscle, bone, and the thin currents of True Qi within his meridians worked together to maintain stability.

The reactions were not perfectly smooth.

At times, resistance in a branch meridian slowed the True Qi.

But the body refined by the Body-Soul Fist Art compensated quickly.

After only several adjustments, Hao Nhien had adapted to the chaotic movement of the ship.

Another enormous wave rose beneath them.

The Cosmic Ark was lifted high above the sea.

Then thrown downward into a churning region of water.

The crash was deafening.

But not a single crack appeared in the hull.

Hao Nhien glanced at the dark violet-black patterns along the railing.

His confidence increased.

The Cosmic Ark had crossed unstable spatial regions.

It had endured the devastation of Thunder Burst.

Waves like these might destroy ordinary ships.

But they were nowhere near enough to threaten its structure.

Little Spirit sat near the bow, both small hands gripping the railing.

For once, its legs were no longer swinging casually.

Its expression, however, remained calm.

Hao Nhien called out,

“Is the Ark all right?”

“Fine.”

“Then keep it stable.”

“No need to force our way out of this region.”

Little Spirit nodded.

The ship continued along the direction they had chosen despite the surrounding forces constantly changing.

Lang Tuyet stood nearby.

After several failed attempts to hold herself perfectly still with cultivation, she also stopped fighting every movement separately.

She gripped the railing and watched the way Hao Nhien adjusted his body.

But she did not attempt to copy his circulation method.

Lanh Hoa remained near the cabin entrance.

His sword stayed sheathed.

There was no enemy to strike.

He merely watched the others, prepared to respond if anyone lost balance or some unexpected danger appeared.

The disturbance lasted nearly an hour.

Then stopped almost as suddenly as it had begun.

The sea gradually calmed.

The chaotic spiritual forces faded one after another.

Only the seawater covering the deck and everyone’s soaked clothing proved that a violent event had occurred at all.

Lang Tuyet immediately went below.

A short while later, she returned carrying three jade slips, a compass, and two positioning artifacts.

She placed everything on the table and began checking the records against one another.

Hao Nhien approached.

“Well?”

Lang Tuyet handed him the compass.

The needle was still turning slowly.

It refused to settle.

“I don’t know.”

“Our current position?”

“Don’t know.”

“The direction back to Sea City?”

Lang Tuyet looked up at him.

A trace of irritation had entered her eyes.

“Do you have another question?”

Hao Nhien thought about it.

“Where are we going?”

Lang Tuyet stared at him.

Then turned toward the endless sea.

A long while passed.

Finally, she slowly exhaled.

“I don’t know.”

Hao Nhien laughed.