Chapter 510 - 481: Deep Sea Departure

Chapter 510: Chapter 481: Deep Sea Departure

Over the next few days, Li Yuan began practicing the Tide Sound Skill.

The Tide Sound Skill was a Tier Three Low Grade sonic Magic. The principle behind its cultivation was different from any Magic Li Yuan had previously mastered. It didn’t rely on gathering and releasing Spiritual Power. Instead, it used Spiritual Power to vibrate the walls of his meridians, treating the meridians themselves as a resonance chamber to produce sound waves of a specific frequency.

If the frequency of the sound waves was even slightly off, the power would be greatly diminished, and it could even cause a backlash that damaged his own meridians. It would take an ordinary Cultivator several months to even begin to grasp this Magic, but the learning speed bonus from "True Comprehension of All Arts" and the insight-boosting gray trait both activated, drastically shortening the time needed to master the basics.

One morning three days later, a low humming sound emanated from the secret chamber.

The hum wasn’t piercing, but the Spiritual Power Array Patterns on the chamber walls flickered faintly from the vibrations, and a fine layer of dust rose from the surface of the stone bed.

[Tide Sound Skill: Initiate]

The frequency of the sound waves had finally stabilized at the baseline required by the Magic. At the Initiate level, the Tide Sound Skill’s power was limited, but its advantages were its wide range and strong penetration, which were further amplified in high-density mediums like water.

Combined with the "Sonic Body Penetration" trait from the Ancient Tide Sound Chime in his equipment slot, its penetration and range could be boosted by another sixty percent.

Besides practicing Magic, Li Yuan also set aside a moment each morning to perform his Divination Skill.

On this particular morning, Li Yuan formed the hand seals and performed the Divination Skill as usual.

A sliver of his lifespan was drawn out, instantly replenishing the Heavenly Calculation Remnant.

A perceptive pulse merged into the void, and feedback flowed back to him.

The images that appeared in his sea of consciousness were still blurry, pointing only to trivial, unimportant information.

Then, the system panel popped up.

[Condition Met to Make "Faint Sense of Heaven’s Secrets (Green)" Permanent]

[Condition: Use Divination Skill daily for 30 consecutive days or more]

["Faint Sense of Heaven’s Secrets (Green)" has become a permanent trait]

A green light bloomed in his sea of consciousness.

The hidden information triggered by the permanent upgrade was extremely brief. The vision showed an elderly Female Cultivator sitting on a mountain peak, holding a tortoise shell, repeatedly divining the stars in the night sky. The scene repeated dozens of times, with each divination technique varying by the slightest margin, ultimately coalescing into an instinctive perception of auspicious and inauspicious trends.

After the vision faded, Li Yuan closed his eyes to feel the change.

From now on, when he used his Divination Skill, his sensitivity to short-term trends of fortune and misfortune would be heightened. It wasn’t about foreseeing the future, but about receiving clearer intuitive feedback on imminent dangers or opportunities.

「Ten days later. The main island’s docks.」

Mist blanketed the sea in the early morning. Seven or eight medium-to-large Spirit Boats were moored at the docks, the Defense Array Patterns on their hulls emitting a faint blue glow in the fog.

When Li Yuan arrived at the docks, sixty or seventy Cultivators had already gathered in the square.

The composition of the team was just as the alliance had described. There were only five Golden Core Cultivators, including Li Yuan, all from different factions. The rest were all Foundation Establishment Cultivators, ranging from Early-stage Foundation Establishment to late-stage, of varying ages and dressed in different attire. It was clear at a glance that they had been temporarily conscripted from various islands and market cities.

The duty of the Golden Core Cultivators was to protect the Foundation Establishment Cultivators and kill any Tier Three Sea Demons that might appear. The Foundation Establishment Cultivators were responsible for clearing out the Low Tier Demon Beasts of Tier Two and below.

An alliance official stood on a high platform at the docks, loudly announcing the mission details and group assignments.

"For this deep-sea extermination mission, the target area is a dense Reef Group located about two hundred li southeast of the main island. A large number of Tier Two and Tier Three Sea Demons have recently gathered there, seriously threatening the safety of the surrounding shipping routes."

"The entire team will be divided into three groups, with one or two Golden Core Cultivators assigned to oversee each. After reaching the target area, each group will operate separately in their designated zones. Once the cleanup is complete, you will assemble at the rendezvous point."

Li Yuan was assigned to the second group, which included one other Early-stage Golden Core Cultivator and over twenty Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

After the groups were formed, the official began distributing standard-issue Magical Artifacts.

Each person received a Water-Repelling Bead, a communication jade slip, and a bottle of Tier Two pills for restoring Spiritual Power.

The Water-Repelling Bead was a milky-white bead the size of a pigeon’s egg. When activated, it formed a barrier around the user that repelled seawater, allowing even Foundation Establishment Cultivators to move and fight normally in the deep sea.

Li Yuan placed the Water-Repelling Bead and pills into his personal storage space and followed the team onto the Spirit Boat.

After the Spirit Boat left the port, it traveled southeast along the route designated by the alliance.

Most of the Cultivators on the boat were participating in an extermination mission of this scale for the first time, and the atmosphere was a mixture of tension and excitement. A few Foundation Establishment Cultivators huddled on the deck, talking in low voices and discussing the types and weaknesses of Sea Demons.

Li Yuan stood at the stern, his gaze fixed on the gray, hazy sea in the distance.

In his equipment slot, the blue trait for the "Kun-Peng Swallowing Skill" was passively operating.

One of the effects of the Kun-Peng Swallowing Skill was the ability to devour others’ Spiritual Power, but its more covert passive function was to automatically record the Spiritual Power signatures of surrounding Cultivators. As long as he came into contact with the Spiritual Waves of different Cultivators within a certain range, the trait would automatically record their frequencies and attributes.

The condition for making it permanent was to absorb the Spiritual Power of one hundred different Tier Two Cultivators. This "absorption" didn’t mean active devouring; the criteria were quite lenient, counting even slight Spiritual Power leakage.

The Spiritual Waves of the sixty or seventy Cultivators on the boat were all different, and the Kun-Peng Swallowing Skill had already begun working silently without Li Yuan having to do anything.

Halfway through the journey, an Early-stage Golden Core Cultivator with a dark complexion and a sturdy build walked up to Li Yuan, cupped his fist, and said, "Li Dao You, my name is Fang Hai."

Fang Hai leaned against the ship’s railing and started a casual conversation. "Dao You, you’re from the mainland, so you might not be familiar with deep-sea combat. The Sea Demons here are different from the Demon Beasts on land. They’re extremely agile underwater and mostly live in groups. If you startle one nest, dozens of them will swarm you at once, and the Foundation Establishment Cultivators can easily be scattered."

"The main task for us Golden Core Cultivators is to take out the Tier Three leader before the Foundation Establishment Cultivators get scattered. Once the leader is dead, most of the Low Tier Sea Demons will disperse."

Li Yuan committed this practical combat advice to memory.

After the Spirit Boat had sailed for the better part of a day, it began to slow down.

The sea ahead grew murky. Countless fine bubbles continuously surged up from below, and a thick, fishy stench filled the air. A low, rumbling vibration could be faintly felt from beneath the surface, as if countless giant beasts were churning on the seabed.

They had arrived at the mission area.

Li Yuan leaped from the ship’s railing, silently slipping into the sea.

The water parted around him automatically, and Li Yuan dove deeper like a swimming fish. The other Early-stage Golden Core Cultivator in his group, Fang Hai, followed close behind, while the twenty-plus Foundation Establishment Cultivators formed up and followed after them.

After diving fifty zhang, the full view of the target area came into sight.

A massive Reef Group sprawled across the seabed. The reefs were layered one upon another, with murky currents constantly flowing from the crevices. The surfaces of the reefs were covered in a large amount of dark red seaweed and shells, which gleamed eerily in the extremely faint light.

A large number of Sea Demons roamed through the Reef Group.

They ranged in size from one zhang to several zhang and had various forms. There were sea urchin demons, completely black and covered in sharp spines; ray demons with flat bodies that slid along the reef walls; and also schools of patrolling shark-like fish with deathly white teeth and a primal viciousness in their eyes.

They were all Tier Two Sea Demons, and there were a great many of them.

With a quick scan of his eyes, Li Yuan roughly estimated there were at least forty or fifty of them within his field of vision.

Fang Hai sent a transmission via Divine Sense from beside him: "The structure of this reef is too complex. The Foundation Establishment disciples could easily get split up and surrounded if they go in. I’ll lead the men to clear a perimeter first. Dao You can be responsible for the depths of the reef."

Li Yuan nodded.

Fang Hai led the Foundation Establishment Cultivators to spread out, forming a formation on the outskirts of the Reef Group and beginning to push inward.

Li Yuan shot off alone toward the depths of the dense reef area.

The moment his figure disappeared into the cluster of reefs, the surrounding Sea Demons immediately sensed the intruder. A dozen or so of the shark-like fish closed in from all directions, baring their sharp fangs and issuing hissing threats.

He raised his right hand, his internal Spiritual Power vibrating his meridian walls according to the path of the Tide Sound Skill.

A low hum erupted from within Li Yuan’s body.

The sound wave spread out in all directions with him at the center. It traveled extremely fast with very little decay in a high-density medium like seawater. At the same time, the "Sonic Body Penetration" trait from the Ancient Tide Sound Chime in his equipment slot activated, boosting the penetration and range by a whopping sixty percent.

The sound wave, like an invisible wall, slammed hard into the surrounding school of shark-like fish.

Under the impact of the sound wave, the bodies of the dozen or so Tier Two shark-like fish trembled violently, and visible cracks appeared on their Scales. They let out shrill shrieks as their formation instantly collapsed, and they scrambled to escape toward the outer edge of the Reef Group.

Then came the second wave.

Several sea urchin demons extended their spikes from crevices in the reef, attempting to block the sonic impact with a formation of spines. But the penetration granted by "Sonic Body Penetration" directly ignored their physical defense. The sound wave poured through the gaps in the spine formation, blasting the sea urchin demons until they flipped upside down, curled into balls, and rolled off into the depths.

In two rounds of attacks, fifteen Tier Two Sea Demons were repelled and sent fleeing. Not a single one could withstand him for more than three breaths of time.

The system panel popped up.

[Sonic Body Penetration (Blue) Growth Progress: 0→15/100]

Li Yuan withdrew his Spiritual Power and continued to advance into the depths of the reef.

The sonic Magic was even more effective underwater than he had anticipated. The dense seawater acted as a natural conductive medium, allowing the sound waves from the Tide Sound Skill to travel dozens of zhang with almost no decay. The Low Tier Sea Demons along the way were either directly injured by the vibrations or frightened into scattering.

After advancing about a hundred zhang, the structure of the Reef Group became even denser. The crevices between the reefs grew narrower, with some spots only allowing a single person to pass through sideways.

Just as Li Yuan passed through a narrow fissure in the reef, the water ahead suddenly became exceptionally cold.

An extremely tyrannical Spiritual Wave erupted from the deepest part of the reef.

Tier Three.

Li Yuan paused, his Divine Sense sweeping forward.

The deepest part of the Reef Group was a relatively open undersea basin. In the center of the basin crouched an enormous Sea Demon.

Its entire body was covered in a dark gray carapace. Eight thick, jointed limbs were plunged deep into the silt on the seabed, and its back shell was covered with sharp bone spikes. Its two fist-sized compound eyes glinted with a cold, yellow light in the dim water.

It was a Tier Three armored crab demon, and it had not yet discovered Li Yuan.

Li Yuan shifted sideways.

His Teleportation Skill activated without any delay underwater. His figure vanished from the spot, reappearing a moment later at the crab demon’s flank.

He formed a blade with the fingers of his right hand.

Void-Rending Slash.

A gray fissure cut with precision, piercing straight through the carapace and into the crab demon’s body.

The crab demon’s massive body stiffened for a moment, then it let out a furious roar.

Li Yuan slipped into the void. A moment later, he unleashed another Void-Rending Slash.

The crab demon’s eight limbs drooped powerlessly, and it sank slowly into the seabed’s silt. The yellow light in its two compound eyes gradually dimmed, then extinguished completely.

Li Yuan withdrew his Spiritual Power and glanced at the crab demon’s corpse. Throughout the fight, the All-Seeing Mirror had recorded the crab demon’s attack patterns, Spiritual Power circulation, and weak points.

Li Yuan landed beside the crab demon’s corpse, extracted its Inner Core and a few high-quality pieces of its carapace, and stored them in his personal storage space.

There was no shimmer of a trait.

With the threat in the depths of the reef eliminated, the remaining Low Tier Sea Demons scattered and fled after losing their Tier Three leader. The entire dense reef area quickly fell silent.