Chapter 463 - 425: The Giant Eagle and the Current Situation

Chapter 463: Chapter 425: The Giant Eagle and the Current Situation

A vast, hazy mist covered the ocean where the water met the sky.

Across the Endless Vast Sea, amidst the churning waves, a small island suddenly appeared. It was about a thousand feet wide and cut through the water at high speed, almost as if it were alive.

Atop the island stood cages of various sizes, inside which thousands of Cultivators of different Cultivation levels were imprisoned like swine.

At that moment, an extremely faint spatial fluctuation flickered in the sky. A figure materialized out of thin air and began to fall, seemingly out of control.

Just before plunging into the ocean, the figure abruptly righted itself and hovered above the surface. His green robes were still clearly visible.

The newcomer was, of course, Chu Mu, freshly emerged from the Secret Realm. Even with his Golden Core Cultivation, he couldn’t completely avoid the disorienting vertigo.

Chu Mu subconsciously scanned his surroundings. In the vast, empty sea, the island cutting through the waves was the only thing in sight.

It was impossible to miss.

Infusing his eyes with Magical Power, he saw the scene on the island in perfect detail.

When the sight of the cages came into focus, Chu Mu froze, his expression instantly turning wary.

’This sea is unfamiliar, but judging by the density of the Spiritual Qi, I must be in the Outer Sea.’

’A moving prison in the Outer Sea, holding thousands of Cultivators...’

’What is this...?’

"They’re Vast Sea Cultivators..."

Chu Mu observed for a moment longer, then circulated his Magical Power to quickly conceal his aura.

Just then, a sinister voice echoed abruptly.

"Have you had your fill of looking?"

Chu Mu’s expression faltered.

SKREEE!!

He barely had time to register a piercing screech, like metal grinding on metal, when a massive black eagle appeared above him. It flapped its wings, extended its talons, and dived toward the top of his head like a predator striking its prey.

The Giant Eagle’s wingspan was thirty to forty meters wide. From a distance, he could see its tail wasn’t made of ordinary feathers, but a fan of Sword Feathers, like a peacock’s display!

Each tail feather was like a Long Sword!

As it drew closer, Chu Mu’s pupils contracted.

’It’s not "like" a sword!’

’Those tail feathers *are* Magical Treasure Long Swords, forged through Artifact Refining!’

’Swords for feathers!’

As the massive talons struck, Chu Mu shot backward to evade. The Giant Eagle shrieked again as its bladed tail feathers swept out horizontally. Unable to dodge in time, Chu Mu let out a low shout and transformed his True Flame into a saber to block the blow. Unwilling to get bogged down in a fight, he retreated again, this time reaching the edge of the island.

To the Cultivators imprisoned on the Demon Island, being transported toward the Outer Sea, Chu Mu’s sudden appearance was a final, desperate straw to grasp at.

In an instant, thousands of expectant gazes fell upon him, and a chorus of desperate cries for help flooded his ears.

But Chu Mu had no time to worry about the prisoners on the island.

As he neared the island’s edge, he noticed a horrifying fact.

The island he had been standing on was actually the exposed back of a colossal Demon Beast!

Tier Three Perfection!

A Giant Rock Turtle!

In a flash, the Demon Beast’s name and Cultivation level surfaced in his mind.

His face fell!

Turtle-type Demon Beasts were notoriously long-lived and renowned for their Defense!

’With that level of Cultivation and that size, who knows how many years it’s spent at Tier Three Perfection.’

Chu Mu didn’t dare hold back. Ignoring his injuries, he flashed a crimson saber light and dodged another attack from the Giant Eagle. In a series of evasive maneuvers, he put several thousand feet between them in the blink of an eye.

But the Giant Eagle was relentless. With its sharp talons and fanned sword-feathers, it used its incredible speed to press the attack, forcing Chu Mu into an endless skirmish.

"Get lost!"

Frustrated by the constant harassment, Chu Mu’s temper flared. With a thought, a sliver of sharp Sword Intent manifested, fusing with the saber’s edge formed from his True Flame.

The blade trembled slightly as he pointed it at the Giant Eagle.

Sensing a threat, the relentless Giant Eagle suddenly halted its attack, then shot upward, putting a great distance between them.

"You are a True Cultivator of Sword Intent?"

A wary voice once again reached Chu Mu’s ears.

Chu Mu looked at the Giant Eagle, which nearly blotted out the sun, his expression tinged with suspicion.

’The voice transmission... it came from the eagle...’

’Based on our exchange, this Giant Eagle’s Cultivation is no different from my own.’

’It’s only at the Tier Three Early Stage.’

’But it has awakened its full Spiritual Wisdom at the Tier Three Early Stage...’

’That means there are only two possibilities.’

’Either it has undergone an Ancestral Return to some terrifying, legendary bloodline...’

’...Or it had a heaven-sent stroke of luck and consumed a rare Heaven and Earth Spiritual Object that granted it Spirit Awakening.’

’In the current Cultivation Immortal Realm, the first possibility is highly unlikely.’

’The second is far more probable.’

’Full Spiritual Wisdom at the Tier Three Early Stage, tail feathers forged into Magical Treasures, and it’s transporting thousands of Cultivators to the depths of the Outer Sea...’

’The faction behind this Demon is clearly extraordinary.’

’And my injuries are still severe. I’m in no mood to stir up more trouble.’

The thought flashed through his mind. Chu Mu watched the Giant Eagle silently, already deciding to retreat.

"I was just passing by. I have no intention of prying into your clan’s secrets."

Chu Mu spoke slowly. His voice was level, but the Flaming Blade he held grew ever more brilliant.

’If it insists on fighting, I won’t hold back anymore.’

’In for a penny, in for a pound. My injuries are so severe they won’t be healing anytime soon anyway.’

The Giant Eagle fell silent. After a long moment, its voice transmitted again.

"You... may leave."

Chu Mu was taken aback.

’A Demon Beast that’s so... pragmatic? One that knows when to advance and when to retreat?’

’Shouldn’t it be fighting me to the death, regardless of the consequences...?’

Chu Mu gave the Giant Eagle one last deep look. His body flickered as he prepared to depart.

Seeing this, the thousands of imprisoned Cultivators on the island grew frantic. A new wave of desperate pleas erupted.

"Senior, please save me! I am the Young Master of the Moonlight Trading House! If you save me, the trading house will reward you handsomely!"

"Senior, I..."

A cacophony of shouts rose from the island, creating a chaotic din.

But no matter how loud the chaos, the cages remained unbreakable, their bars impossible to breach.

Chu Mu glanced over, his expression impassive.

’They’re strangers. Even if there were benefits involved, I wouldn’t take such a risk unless it were for a sworn brother.’

’The Giant Eagle is no real threat, but this Giant Rock Turtle... even at full health, I wouldn’t be confident in facing it, let alone while I’m seriously injured.’

Ignoring the wails from the island, Chu Mu leaped into the air, his Magical Power circulating as he remained on high alert.

In the end, however, he only felt the Giant Eagle’s cold gaze on him. The attack he anticipated never came.

He left the area without any further trouble.

After flying for nearly ten thousand li, Chu Mu finally stopped to rest.

The surrounding seas were still unfamiliar. Chu Mu could only head in the general direction of the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

Before he left Chixia, the war in the Vast Sea was already a tangled mess. Now, several years later, he had no idea how the conflict had evolved.

The unknown meant greater danger.

After all, there was no telling if he would encounter another situation like the last one, and if he did, whether his opponent would be as pragmatic as the Giant Eagle.

Wary of these unknowns, Chu Mu proceeded with great caution. After confirming his direction, he flew onward, pausing frequently and even quickly refining several Reconnaissance Puppets to guard against the unexpected.

After several months of travel, the vast, unfamiliar seascape finally began to change.

"This should be... the Mountain Island sea area, to the Northwest..."

Chu Mu glanced down at the mountain range below, which had become a nest for some unknown Demon Beasts, and his expression turned a little strange.

He once had dealings with the Mountain Alliance, which controlled Mountain Island. His so-called eldest disciple had also come from here.

Now, the Mountain Alliance that once controlled Mountain Island had been destroyed for many years.

And yet he, by a stroke of fortune, had reached the Golden Core Realm.

It was a stark reminder of how things change.

"In the end, you can only rely on yourself..."

Chu Mu sighed wistfully, then took a deep breath, his gaze hardening with determination.

He shot forward, heading straight for the Inner Sea.

The changes over the past few years seemed even greater than he had imagined.

Traveling from the Outer Sea to the Inner Sea, he found the chaos he’d witnessed before his departure had only intensified.

Nearly every patch of sea held the residual Spiritual Qi fluctuations from recent battles.

In some areas, vast stretches of the ocean were stained crimson, attracting countless Low Tier Demon Beasts that frenziedly devoured the floating limbs and flesh.

Some of the Inner Sea Spirit Islands he vaguely remembered were now completely devoid of Cultivators. Among the blood-stained ruins, only a wasteland remained—a paradise for Demon Beasts.

It wasn’t until he was about one hundred thousand li from Chixia that he finally saw signs of Vast Sea Cultivators again.

And this location...

...was already within the Chixia Sea Area.

Chu Mu made some inquiries, and the reports he heard about the war matched what he had seen on his journey.

Over the years, the main belligerents of the war hadn’t changed; it was still the Profound Serpent Race versus the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

However, the course of the war was also no different from when he had left—in fact, it had only gotten worse.

And by "worse," he meant a continuous, disastrous retreat.

Over the years, the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World had suffered one crushing defeat after another. The Profound Serpent Race had advanced unimpeded, and was now closing in on the Chixia Sea Area.

In terms of territory lost and gained, the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World had already lost half its lands!

Tens of thousands of years of expansion into the Vast Sea by the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, all lost in just a few short years...

...