Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 431 Fellow Daoist Xiao only needs to make a slight move
"Judging from its size, it should come from a golden sea fish."

The Hundred Apertures True Lord paid special attention to the unusual situation not far away: "It looks like the flesh and blood have been corroded away, and even the bones are being rapidly eroded."

"But according to the old nautical charts, there shouldn't be any poisonous creatures around here."

Lord Liekong suggested, "Why don't we go up to the island and take a look?"

"I feel that seeing something like this right from the start is not a good omen."

Upon hearing this, True Lord Ziyang frowned slightly, sensing that these words were not auspicious.

So he tactfully retorted, "We are still far from any unusual phenomena, and the situation here may not even be related to any celestial phenomena, let alone any omen."

"Why don't we go and check out the situation first before making a decision?"

During the conversation, everyone looked at Xiao Chen at the bow of the ship.

As the person with the highest cultivation level present, he didn't need to speak or discuss it; he naturally became the undisputed commander-in-chief of this exploration mission.

"Alright, then let the fleet slow down and move closer."

Xiao Chen readily agreed: "We're already very close to the area affected by the anomaly, so we should have been given a warning in advance."

He also sensed that something was amiss here.

Firstly, looking around, the gray sky hangs low, making the sea surface appear as if it were covered with a layer of leaden gray.

Secondly, they had only just approached the outer edge of the strange phenomenon when even the sea fish had vanished without a trace, leaving only a few bones behind.

It certainly doesn't look like a good omen.

Even as they were talking, the spirit ship had already passed the deserted island.

However, thanks to timely intervention, it was reversed.

The group then got up and flew off the spirit ship, landing one after another on the beach to check the situation.

The fish skeleton, nearly a hundred feet long, was enormous enough for everyone to see at the same time.

"Although the outside is severely corroded, the inside still looks as clean as ever."

Xiao Chen easily broke off a piece of fish bone, noticing that the middle section still had a bright white surface: "There are no signs of weathering, so it must have happened in the last few years."

"Judging from the timing, this thing might actually be related to celestial phenomena."

The other cultivators also investigated and quickly determined that the sea fish must have had a late-stage Golden Core cultivation level before it died.

This is quite a force to be reckoned with; it's usually a dominant force within a small area of ​​the sea.

As long as you don't encounter a Nascent Soul cultivator or a fourth-order great demon, you're basically safe.

The fact that it has now turned into a pile of broken bones is enough to show that the area is not safe.

However, since everyone present was a Nascent Soul True Monarch, they naturally did not feel any fear because of this.

After a brief assessment of the situation, they returned to the spirit ship and continued sailing into the light drizzle that could be seen in the distance.

As soon as I got back to the ship, a sea breeze blew in from afar.

"Huh? What does it smell like?"

Thunderbolt Monarch frowned immediately: "Such a strong fishy smell, it's like something has rotted away."

Die Lang Zhenjun sniffed lightly and added, "There seems to be a faint smell of rust mixed in as well."

"It's not just rotten, it's more like the strange smell that accumulates in a warehouse of aged spirit ore."

As he spoke, his eyes lit up: "Could it be that some ancient ruin has been opened?"

Upon hearing this conjecture, the surrounding True Lords immediately became interested.

"Hey, you know what, it's actually possible."

Ziyang Zhenjun's tone revealed a hint of anticipation: "I read in ancient books that some ruins have a relatively slow opening process when they are first opened."

"The spiritual energy that overflows during this period will cause continuous celestial phenomena in the vicinity."

However, Xiao Chen felt that something was not quite right.

If it's an ancient ruin being opened, it shouldn't be able to cause the death of a late-stage Golden Core sea fish, right?

Moreover, how could the opening of the ruins cause all the sea fish outside the affected area to disappear?
Although he couldn't be sure what the situation was, both of these points seemed somewhat illogical at the moment.

To be on the safe side, it's best not to get too excited too soon.

The others also began to speak up, some agreeing with Ziyang Zhenjun's guess, while others shared the same concerns as Xiao Chen.

As they spoke, the fleet finally arrived beneath a patch of darker-colored clouds.

"No, there's something wrong here."

The spirit ship at the forefront came from Thousand Machine Valley, and the Hundred Aperture True Monarch, who held the array flag, immediately noticed the anomaly: "And this rain is strange too!"

"Slow down the boat and everyone be aware of your surroundings."

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Chen also realized that something was wrong.

The large spirit ship in Thousand Machine Valley was built in preparation for war, and it was powered entirely by spirit stones.

While traveling at extremely high speeds, it is completely unaffected by the concentration of spiritual energy in the vicinity.

However, after entering this sea area, before the Hundred Apertures True Lord could give the order, the sailing speed inexplicably decreased by 10%.

There seemed to be an invisible force suppressing the movement of the spirit ship.

In addition, there are the lead-gray raindrops falling from the sky, which have a much greater impact force than ordinary rain.

The sound of the impact on the spiritual energy barrier outside the ship was even more muffled.

Moreover, unlike ordinary rainwater that slides away, it has a slight adsorption feel, as if it has been mixed with some kind of murky oil.

Some of it stuck directly to the barrier, while the rest flowed down at a slower rate.

Xiao Chen could even faintly hear extremely slight crackling noises mixed in with the sound of rain.

This is definitely not ordinary rain; this must be acid rain!
But the question is, can acid rain fall at sea?
And why is there acid rain here?

A hint of confusion flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes. He immediately wondered if he was overthinking things or if he was wrong.

But the next moment, they heard the Hundred Apertures True Lord warn again: "I think I know what's going on with that sea fish."

"Since entering the rain, the spiritual energy consumption of the defensive array has suddenly increased dramatically."

"Because the rain here has a certain corrosive effect, which can erode spiritual energy!"

Okay, it seems this isn't acid rain, but rather a strange rain that's similar in nature, and even more dangerous, capable of eroding spiritual energy.

Xiao Chen immediately realized that acid rain often means there is a source of pollution.

Could the strange rain here also be caused by some kind of special pollution source?
"Look everyone, there seems to be some gray stuff mixed in with these raindrops!"

True Monarch Rift Sky leaned almost against the edge of the spiritual energy barrier: "Perhaps it is these things that make it corrosive."

But he was wrong.

Xiao Chen reached his hand out of the barrier, caught a few drops of rainwater, and then used his fingertips to examine the composition.

He immediately discerned: "These gray things are just dust that has been swept into the clouds; they don't possess any spiritual power."

"The cause of corrosion comes from the rainwater itself."

"To be more precise, it comes from a special spiritual power contained within it."

"There must be a source of pollution in the clouds or in a nearby sea area, which indirectly caused this situation."

Seeing his actions, the surrounding cultivators were all stunned for a moment.

This method of investigating the situation is truly... skillful and daring.

To be honest, only Xiao Chen would dare to do something like that.

The teachings they received from their masters in the past instilled in them the importance of maintaining spiritual protection in questionable areas.

Avoid direct contact with any unknown foreign objects, liquids, etc. as much as possible.

However, it must be said that this direct method of investigation is indeed the fastest and most effective.

"If there is some kind of pollution source, doesn't that mean it's more likely some kind of rare disaster?"

Upon hearing this, True Monarch Ziyang frowned slightly, even showing a hint of disappointment: "If that's the case, then there shouldn't be any new ruins."

Unless there are ruins or secret realms here.

Otherwise, regardless of whether the source of the strange phenomenon is a special rare treasure or a rare natural disaster, they will find it difficult to gain anything.

"Not necessarily. Let's go take a look at the core area."

Lord Die Lang still held some hope that this was a sign of the ruins: "Some ancient ruins or special spiritual objects may have poisonous fog or toxins on the outside as a protective measure."

"If not properly controlled, this situation could spread to the surrounding areas."

That's absolutely true.

The reason why Wuling initially adopted the Burial Abyss Sha as a protective measure was actually based on the same idea.

Xiao Chen didn't care about this; he was neither afraid of poison nor evil energy.

Filled with curiosity, the group boarded the spirit ship and continued deeper into the world.

Despite encountering inexplicable resistance, and for safety reasons, everyone voluntarily reduced the boat's speed.

However, it didn't take long for them to cross thousands of miles again and approach the core area of ​​the unusual celestial phenomena mentioned in the intelligence.

As you venture deeper inside, the strange smells permeating the air become even more complex.

It had a slightly burnt smell, a strange, slightly sweet, fishy sandalwood smell, and a putrid smell from deep in the seabed silt.

Meanwhile, the further in you go, the heavier the rain becomes.

At first it was just a light drizzle, but gradually it turned into streaks of gray silk.

And now, it has turned into a torrential downpour.

Xiao Chen stood at the bow of the ship, but all he could see was a gray haze.

Even though the outer spiritual energy shield could continuously remove the attached raindrops with inscribed fire magic, it couldn't withstand the torrential rain that kept falling.

The flames had barely swept past when, in less than a breath, the barrier surface was once again covered with gray raindrops.

In such a situation, visibility is essentially zero.

Fortunately, this place is deserted and there isn't even an island; it's very empty.

Moreover, cultivators rely more on their divine sense when piloting spirit ships, and they won't veer off course even with their eyes closed.

"How about we stop here for a while?"

Xiao Chen estimated the distance and felt that they were almost at the core sea area: "This situation is not right. If we drive in rashly, we may encounter danger."

"If something really happens, I'm afraid the disciples on the ship won't be able to put up a fight."

For the eight of them, even though the Ocean of Compassion is vast, there are practically no places they cannot go.

However, for the spirit ship itself and the Golden Core disciples accompanying it, the environment here was actually extremely dangerous.

Putting everything else aside, if we let them disembark now and return home on their own...

It's estimated that they all have a slim chance of escaping this area safely under the corrosive influence of raindrops imbued with special spiritual energy.

If things go wrong, we might end up like that golden sea fish, with not even a bone left behind.

“Alright, things are still unclear. Let’s leave the spirit ship here and go in to take a look.” Upon hearing this, True Monarch Baiqiao immediately agreed.

After saying that, he waved to one of the Thousand Machine Valley elders and left him the main array flag that he was using to control the defensive array.

The other True Lords naturally wouldn't object either.

So they all finished handing over their responsibilities and giving instructions.

They then cast defensive spells on their spirit ships and summoned their personal spirit shields.

After making the necessary preparations, they cautiously stepped off the spirit ship.

"Just stand in the middle of the line."

Xiao Chen looked at the newly promoted True Monarch Mingxiao: "If you can't keep up, don't try to be brave. Just call out and everyone will wait for you."

"Also, remember this: if you encounter any unusual changes, never act impulsively."

"I immediately pulled back and hid behind everyone."

"Let me tell you, this is a very important piece of advice from a senior colleague."

"Not only can we do this today, but we should also maintain this good habit when we go on adventures in other places in the future."

Mingxiao Zhenjun was slightly taken aback. What kind of insight was this?
If you think of hiding when you encounter trouble, hiding behind your companions or even strangers, isn't that a bit too cowardly?

Although he didn't quite agree in his heart, he still nodded obediently and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Fellow Daoist Xiao. I will remember it."

Well, judging from his expression, he didn't listen.

Xiao Chen shook his head slightly, but didn't say anything more.

Instead, he directly activated the Four Symbols Mountain-Suppressing Shield and flew out first, reaching the very front of the group.

The reason he said he would hide behind him was that he actually walked to the front.

Firstly, because Xiao Chen had Hextech in hand, he was absolutely confident that he could protect himself.

Secondly, since everyone who came this time is considered one of our own, we should take care of them to the best of our ability.

However, when everyone personally stepped into the rain...

They immediately felt the corrosive power within the raindrops more acutely, which was rapidly consuming their true essence.

Although the erosion of spiritual energy by a single drop or two of rain is so small as to be negligible.

However, even after being washed by thousands of raindrops, it can still bring a noticeable sense of depletion.

Mingxiao Zhenjun, who had the weakest foundation among those present, did some mental calculations and realized that if this situation continued, his true essence would be in dire need of repair in less than half an hour.

Fortunately, he came prepared this time.

Long before he left the Cangming Immortal Sect, True Monarch Iron Fan had prepared dozens of fourth-order talismans with different functions for him.

At this moment, he simply affixed a defensive talisman to his body to replace the consumption of true essence.

This is indeed a good idea.

At the speed of these raindrops, it is not enough to exhaust the spiritual power within the duration of the talisman.

Another advantage of coming out with disciples from major sects is that everyone can form a cone formation with Xiao Chen as the vanguard without needing to practice.

Although it doesn't have a direct formation effect, it can still better deal with possible emergencies.

They then traveled another few hundred miles.

The stench of decay in the air grew stronger and stronger, almost to the point of solidifying.

The raindrops were no longer lines, but formed large, thick, lead-gray curtains, eventually creating an exceptionally dense wall of rain.

By the time we got here, it was no longer accurate to say that it was raining.

It was just like in the legends where the sky shattered and endless celestial waters poured down from above.

"Hiss~, what is this thing?"

Even Xiao Chen, standing before such a 'wall of water,' was somewhat shocked: "Will we have to mend the sky next?"

"That's not the kind of work a mere Nascent Soul cultivator like me should be doing."

To be honest, even if one ascends to immortality, one might not be able to handle such a heavy responsibility.

Fortunately, the situation here is certainly not that serious.

Xiao Chen glanced back and saw that no one was missing before boldly stepping into the 'water wall' and continuing to delve deeper into the core area of ​​the strange phenomenon.

As the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Only by going to the very center can one more easily find out the cause of the anomaly.

"Sinking and floating... strong smell... can't be eliminated..."

The moment he entered the water wall, Xiao Chen heard extremely faint, intermittent, broken whispers.

It sounded like someone shouting from afar, yet also like noises created solely by the waves and sea breeze.

Moreover, these sounds are like wisps of smoke, appearing only for a few breaths before disappearing again, making it even more difficult to determine what is happening.

"Fellow Daoists, I think I hear someone shouting in the distance."

The Hundred-Aperture True Lord asked curiously, "Did you hear that? It seems to be saying that those who submit to me will gain eternal life, and that those who disrespect the gods will be punished by heaven."

"It was intermittent, so I couldn't hear it completely."

Ok?
So it was submission?

Xiao Chen was stunned for a moment when he heard this. How come he only heard half of it?

"I heard it too."

Thunderbolt True Monarch's words carried a hint of disgust: "It sounds like he's shouting about some great eternal demon, which sounds like he's a demonic cultivator."

"Could it be that some remnants of the demonic path are up to no good here?"

Wait, who are you talking about?

For Xiao Chen, the Eternal Demon was not unfamiliar.

When he faced the True Lord Jianying of the Chao Kong Sect, the opponent's trump card was related to the Eternal Heavenly Demon.

As a result, he lost control midway and lost his mind, ultimately reaping what he sowed.

This also shows that the Eternal Demon is no good either, as he will devour his own followers without hesitation.

"Something's not right. I think we should head back first."

Xiao Chen stopped and suggested, "This situation clearly doesn't look good. It feels like we need to move on to calling for backup."

"Why don't we go out and make some preparations, and then come back?"

To reiterate, if he were alone, he would have already rushed in at full speed by now.

However, since they were accompanied by several other cultivators, they still needed to be cautious, since they didn't have the Night's Edge.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, since you're already here, you should at least go in and take a look."

Zhang Shouquan, who had been relatively silent the whole way, spoke up and said, "We've come all this way, and now we're almost there."

"Even if we need to contact reinforcements, it won't make a difference if we wait a little longer."

"Go in and check the general situation. We can contact you later if we have plenty of time."

For some special reasons.

Apart from Xiao Chen, none of the other Nascent Soul cultivators spoke a single word to Zhang Shouquan along the way.

Everyone was very warm and friendly to Xiao Chen.

But for Zhang Shouquan, he clearly felt the presence of a small circle, and he was the one who was excluded and ignored from the outside.

Under such circumstances, he naturally wouldn't care about the lives or deaths of others.

Instead, they thought they should go in and check out the situation to see if there was any chance to gain some extra benefits.

"The environment here is chaotic and not suitable for transmitting messages."

Die Lang Zhenjun also spoke up, saying, "Moreover, we have all brought talismans and elixirs, so even if there are some dangers, it should not be a problem to protect ourselves."

As a sword cultivator, he has always been quite bold.

Even though they had already guessed there might be risks, they still didn't want to back down.

“Fellow Daoist Die Lang is right. Since we are looking out for each other, we are more than capable of protecting ourselves.”

The Hundred Aperture True Monarch even flattered him, saying, "Moreover, to put it another way, with Fellow Daoist Xiao here, I believe that even if we encounter remnants of the demonic path, it will be the other side that suffers the most misfortune."

"There's no need to call for help from so far away."

"Fellow Daoist Xiao only needs to make a slight move to deal with those clowns."

"We just need to follow behind you and go in to broaden our horizons."

"To put it another way, if we understand the cause of the phenomenon first, we can make sure we know what spiritual materials we might need when we go out to contact our senior brothers later."

Having lived for hundreds of years, the Hundred-Aperture True Lord no longer cared much about his own reputation.

Although he addressed Xiao Chen as "fellow Daoist," his words implied that he considered Xiao Chen almost as a senior.

A little effort is acceptable.

Even though Xiao Chen had mastered the Azure Wave Bone-Penetrating Needle technique to a high level, he still didn't dare say that he could easily defeat cultivators of the same level.

We have to take this seriously.

"Oh, you flatter me, you flatter me so much."

Xiao Chen waved his hand modestly, "Well, I feel that Fellow Daoist Baiqiao has thought things through quite thoroughly."

"Let's find out the cause of the strange phenomenon first, and then decide what to do based on the situation."

After the discussion, he continued to lead the way.

About fifteen minutes later, the thick "wall of water" came to an abrupt end.

It turns out that this place is actually a structure similar to a waterfall.

Once we entered the central area, there wasn't even a light drizzle.

Despite the thick, dark clouds overhead, the air below was even slightly dry.

With the rain no longer obscuring his vision, Xiao Chen regained a wide field of vision and immediately saw many broken array bases floating on the sea.

In the very center there is an oval-shaped island with a diameter of about 100 miles.

The island is littered with many broken iron pillars, which are densely packed and almost cover the entire surface.

Moreover, through some of the more severely damaged areas, it can be seen that there are actually iron pillars under the iron pillars, indicating that it is not just a single layer.

So much so that for a time...

Xiao Chen didn't know whether this should be considered an island or a bunch of iron pillars arranged in the shape of an island.

"Hey, how come there's a sea creature array base here?"

When True Monarch Rift Sky emerged from the 'water wall', he immediately widened his eyes in surprise: "These array bases seem to be covered with array patterns of the sea race!"

(End of this chapter)