Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 436 Rescue at sea
Song Xian remained silent, but Xia Yu, standing to the side, felt somewhat embarrassed. His successful Foundation Establishment was entirely due to Song Xian's financial support. He also knew that the Yin Soul Pearl was not easy to refine, and the materials were expensive, costing several thousand spirit stones per pearl. Even with Song Xian's substantial resources, he couldn't afford such a large amount of waste.

"Sect Leader, why don't we wait until my cultivation level is higher before trying to refine it?"

"Junior Brother Xia, don't worry. Just go for it. I know what I'm doing." Song Xian didn't care about spending a few more spirit stones. He didn't know when Xia Yu would reach the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

For him, the sooner Xia Yu mastered this skill, the better, because he was counting on him to teach it to other weapon-refining disciples. Losing a little now was nothing; once the sect had a group of cultivators who could refine Yin Soul Pearls, the initial investment could be quickly recouped.

"I will do my utmost to live up to the sect leader's expectations," Xia Yu solemnly promised.

"You're busy, I won't bother you any longer." After receiving Hu An's promise, Song Xian turned and left the place, returning to his residence. As soon as the light from his escape ended, a disciple came forward and respectfully bowed to him: "Sect Leader, Uncle Huang Ye requests an audience."

He nodded and went to the waiting room, where Huang Ye was already seated. Upon his arrival, Huang Ye stood up and bowed.

Song Xian waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down: "What is it?"

"The intelligence peak has just reported that they have discovered clues about the Soul-Severing Crystal."

"What clue?" Song Xian's eyes lit up. Many years ago, he had instructed Huang Ye to inquire about the Soul-Severing Crystal, but there had been no progress.

The Soul-Severing Crystal is different from the Yin Soul Bead. It is a naturally formed mineral crystal containing a large amount of Yin energy, similar to a spirit stone, but extremely rare.

"It is said that on an island in the boundless sea, someone dug up the Soul-Severing Crystal."

"Where did the news come from?" Song Xian immediately asked. Like spirit stones, Soul-Severing Crystals usually appear in large quantities. When Soul-Severing Crystals appear in a certain place, it means that there is a Soul-Severing Crystal mine there, because it is a product derived from the environment.

Only when the environment is suitable and it has been immersed for a long time will it slowly take shape.

"The message was delivered by a disciple from the Intelligence Peak. Should the Sect Leader meet with him?"

"Bring him here."

"Yes." Huang Ye responded and left. Soon after, he led a thin, thin man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face into the inner room.

"Disciple Zhou Xing greets the Sect Leader." The man bowed his head respectfully and gave a salute.

"When did you join the sect?" Song Xian looked at the unfamiliar face, certain that he had never seen him before.

"I joined the sect sixteen years ago and now work at the Intelligence Peak."

"Did you provide the clue about the Soul-Severing Crystal? Where did you get your information?"

"In my younger days, I wandered the Hundred Thousand Mountains of the Muhe Grassland and made a friend there. I recently met him again. His name is He Kuli, a wandering cultivator from the Muhe Grassland. He is a man who travels all over the world and has a wide range of knowledge. When we were chatting, I remembered the mission the sect had given us to find clues about the Soul-Severing Crystal, so I asked him if he had heard of it. He told me that someone had dug up the Soul-Severing Crystal on an island in the Boundless Sea."

Where is your friend now? Can you find him?

“This disciple may bring him to see the sect leader.”

“Very good. Go and find this person right now. If you can prove what you said is true, I will reward you handsomely.”

Song Xian did not use the mind-controlling talisman to test the truthfulness of his words, because he was not the source of the information, and even if he was not lying, it did not mean that there was no problem with the matter.

He had used a similar method to deal with Wan Huaming before, but he didn't know whether Wan Huaming had given Wan Yuesheng a lie detector test when he went to that island.

Even if he used some secret method or treasure to test it, he could not find out that it was a trap, because Wan Yuesheng himself did not lie.

He could use this method to lure Wan Huaming out, and others could use the same method to deal with him, so he would never go there lightly before confirming the accuracy of the information.

.........

The next day, Zhou Xing brought an old man from the Muhe Grassland. The man had white hair and beard, a weathered face, and a dark complexion. He looked like someone who had been wandering and drifting for many years.

"Greetings, Senior Song." The old man bowed in fluent Qin language.

"Fellow Daoist, please don't stand on ceremony, please have a seat." Song Xian politely invited him to sit down and waved his hand, signaling Huang Ye and Zhou Xing to leave.

As the two left, the heavy doors to the hall were closed.

"What are your instructions, Senior Song?" The old man couldn't help but feel a little nervous as the two left.

"I've heard that you know where the Soul-Severing Crystal is produced, but I'm unsure if this is true. That's why I'm asking you to inquire."

"I only heard about it by chance. I met Fellow Daoist Zhou a few days ago, and he mentioned it to me, so I just mentioned it casually. I can't guarantee that there really is a Soul-Severing Crystal in that place, since I haven't been there myself," the old man replied respectfully.

"Who is the source of this information?"

The old man narrowed his eyes slightly, as if deep in thought: "It all happened many years ago, at least thirty or forty years ago. The source of the information was a friend I met by chance, whose name I can't quite remember. We rogue cultivators often team up with others to hunt demonic beasts, and occasionally we'll join other teams. I remember that time we were working with another team, and after we killed our target, we were chatting somewhere, and one of them told me this."

"Does that fellow Daoist remember the island in the Boundless Sea?"

"It's been too long, I can't remember clearly. I think it was called Black Spot Island or Obsidian Island. We were just chatting at the time, and I didn't take it too seriously until Fellow Daoist Zhou mentioned it a few days ago, and I vaguely remembered something." After the old man finished speaking, he suddenly froze, as if he had been frozen in place, still in the position of having his mouth open.

Song Xian flashed to his side, took out a mind-controlling talisman, and stuck it on his forehead. As the talisman shone brightly, it turned into starlight and merged into his head.

Seeing that the mind-controlling talisman had taken effect, Song Xian repeated his previous questions. The old man slowly answered them one by one, and soon after, he collapsed to the ground and fainted.

.........

The sky is clear and cloudless.

The boundless sea stretched as far as the eye could see, and under the clear blue sky, a streak of light flashed past.

This man was Song Xian. He had tested the old man with a mind-controlling talisman and, after learning that what the old man said was true, he immediately decided to go to the Boundless Sea to check the situation himself.

If the old man's words were true, it couldn't be a trap set by someone else, because he had received the information decades ago. After confirming his safety, he informed Jiang Zichen about his trip, then left Bianxi City and took a third-tier spirit ship to the eastern part of Muhe Grassland. He first went to a market town by the sea, bought a map of the Boundless Sea, and inquired about information about Black Spot Island and Black Obsidian Island.

But the person selling the information said that there was no place called Black Spot Island or Black Obsidian Island in the Boundless Sea, only a place called Black Mountain Island.

He then inquired about information regarding Soul-Severing Crystals and learned that there were indeed reports of an island producing them, a place called Xuanguan Island. Song Xian then left the market town and came to this vast, boundless sea.

He didn't need to personally mine Soul-Severing Crystals; he couldn't mine many by himself. Soul-Severing Crystals, like spirit stones, are minerals buried in mountains or underground, and mining them in large quantities is very troublesome.

If the crystal is accidentally broken during the mining process, the yin energy contained within will escape, rendering the Soul-Severing Crystal worthless and turning it into an ordinary stone.

Therefore, large-scale mining not only requires complex and tedious processes, but also long hours of hard work.

He came here to confirm whether the Soul-Severing Crystal really existed on the island. If it did, he would send people or hire people to mine it.

Song Xian always did important things himself and didn't have the habit of delegating to others, so he came all this way by himself.

The sea was calm and still. Under the sunlight, the seawater seemed to be plated with a layer of leaping golden scales. A gentle breeze rippled the water, and the ripples spread out silently like folds on silk, creating a magnificent and beautiful scene.

Song Xian had no interest in appreciating the beautiful scenery. His escape light did not linger and sped off to the southwest.

Just then, his mind stirred, as if he had sensed something unusual. He suddenly stopped, looked down, and frowned slightly.

The next moment, a figure shot out from the seabed.

"Fellow Daoist, if you help me, I will repay you handsomely." The man was a middle-aged man with a rugged face, a burly build, and a full beard. He was at the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment stage, with blood flowing from the corner of his mouth and a pool of blood on his chest, clearly indicating that he was injured.

After leaping out of the sea, he shouted loudly at Song Xian and rushed towards him as if he were a drowning man grasping at a straw.

As soon as he finished speaking, a huge black walrus monster leaped out from the seabed. Its body was several meters long, its eyes were red, and a long silver tentacle grew on its head.

The Silver Horned Walrus is one of the common monsters in the Boundless Sea. It is proficient in both water and metal elemental magic, and its thick skin and tough flesh make it extremely difficult to deal with.

This silver-horned walrus possesses a spiritual aura that has reached the level of a fifth-tier demon beast.

Song Xian flashed away and sped off towards the southeast; he didn't want to invite trouble.

He had sensed traces of spiritual energy fluctuations on the seabed with his divine sense, so he stopped to observe. He never expected it to be a battle between cultivators and demonic beasts. If he had known this earlier, he should have fled far away.

"Fellow Daoist, save me! I have a treasure to offer you!" the burly man shouted hastily as he saw him speeding away.

With a loud bang, the silver-horned sea beast caught up with the big man. Its shimmering silver tentacles struck the golden round shield that had formed around the man. With just one strike, the golden round shield shook violently and twisted and deformed.

Monsters are generally thick-skinned and have extremely tough bodies. When cultivators fight them, the worst thing they can do is get close and engage in hand-to-hand combat. Once it comes to close-quarters combat, the chances of survival are slim.

Clearly, the burly man was now in grave danger.

He clasped his hands together, and golden light surged between his palms, condensing into a giant golden sword that slashed down.

With another loud bang, the walrus raised its silver tentacles to strike the golden greatsword, causing it to tremble violently.

With a sharp cry, a huge golden elephant horn formed on its head, resembling the curved horn of an elephant. It hurtled towards the golden greatsword, shattering it in one strike. Then, with undiminished momentum, it struck the golden round shield surrounding the burly man.

The burly man spat out a mouthful of blood, his palms forming circles, and a golden stone statue floated in front of him. He raised his hand and struck the golden horn, shattering it with a crack.

The walrus's silver horn struck the stone statue, colliding with its stone paw. A series of loud thuds echoed as the golden stone statue cracked under the walrus's fierce attack, eventually shattering into pieces.

Just then, numerous huge fireballs attacked from the left side; it was Song Xian who had made his move.

He originally didn't want to get involved, but when he heard that the other party had a treasure to give him, he hesitated.

Seeing that he was about to collapse under the fierce attack of the walrus, he suddenly felt a sense of shared sorrow. As a fellow cultivator, he had also come to this unfamiliar and vast sea to search for something. Seeing that this person was about to die at the hands of the monster and become its food, and remembering that the monster had just said that it would give him a treasure, he decided to take action.

With his current strength, dealing with a fifth-tier demon beast is a piece of cake, and since the opponent is not in the sea, there is even less of a threat.

The fireball, formed from condensed fire meteors, roared down. Seeing the massive fireball crashing down, the walrus let out another clear cry, and water vortexes condensed, transforming into phantoms resembling the walrus's true form, surging towards the fireball.

The fireballs collided with the surging, ethereal walruses, producing a series of booming sounds.

Although water overcomes fire, the power of the water-attribute magic used by the walrus was not even in the same league as Song Xian's.

Under Song Xianzhen's keen observation, the water-attribute giant wave he unleashed had an attack power of 650.

For ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, it is certainly considered to be quite powerful.

It's important to know that a typical high-grade second-tier water-attribute spell, when mastered, only has about 500 attack power, while a defensive spell might have around 600.

This demonic beast is only a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet it can unleash 650 spells, which is beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators with water-attribute spiritual roots.

This shows that it is very proficient in water-based magic and supernatural powers. However, almost all sea monsters are proficient in water-based magic. After all, they live in the seabed. How could they survive if they were not proficient in water-based magic?
However, the power of this spell was far inferior to the fire meteor cast by Song Xian.

His Flame Meteor has a power of 1700 points, and even though water counters fire, it cannot make up for such a large difference.

After a short stalemate, the ethereal walrus forms created by the water vortexes were shattered, and the remaining fireballs, with undiminished momentum, hurled towards the black walrus's true form.

At the same time, the burly man with the thick beard took advantage of the moment when the two sides were fighting to retreat quickly and put some distance between himself and the walrus.

A massive water barrier materialized around the walrus, enveloping it. Its silver horn gleamed, and instantly, several giant golden pillars appeared around Song Xian, crisscrossing to form a cage that trapped him inside.

There were eight giant golden pillars, each about ten feet tall. The surface of the pillars flashed with light and shot out a dense barrage of golden arrows. Hundreds of golden arrows attacked him from all directions.

As soon as the golden feather arrow was formed, Song Xian unleashed his Flaming Meteor. The flames touched the incoming golden feather arrow and immediately turned into a huge fireball, which engulfed the golden feather arrow in an instant. The fireball rose upwards, and the golden pillars melted away.

Numerous fireballs hurtled towards the walrus like meteors. He didn't want to waste too much spiritual energy entangled with the walrus; he only wanted to save the big man along the way and make the walrus back down. But the walrus wouldn't give up.

Song Xian then stopped holding back, and while the fireball was still streaking through the air, he immediately began to use his magic again.

Flames rose from their palms, transforming into fireballs that surged forward relentlessly, blotting out the sky as they hurtled towards the walrus.

(End of this chapter)