Chapter 36

Thinking she must have been mistaken, Yu Tao leaned against the railing and looked carefully again. She confirmed that the boat was indeed moving, and at a very fast speed.

It was because the speed was so fast, yet stable, that she couldn’t feel any of the usual rocking from the motion.

Yu Tao ran to the back of the boat. The rudder was completely still, and the sails were neatly stowed. The only odd thing was that the anchor had broken, leaving just half of an empty chain dragging across the sea.

Something’s wrong!

The thought flashed through Yu Tao’s mind, and she quickly ran to knock on the door of the nearest room—Hua Lian’s.

“Second Senior Brother Hua Lian, wake up!”

There was no sound from inside the room. Yu Tao felt something was even more off, and went on to knock on the doors of the others.

“Little Senior Brother, Classmate Zhu, Senior Sister Lu!”

Suddenly, a low response came from Hua Lian’s room. Heavy footsteps were heard, and after a moment, the door was opened.

Hua Lian leaned against the doorframe, barely standing. His body felt like it was weighed down by thousands of pounds, almost unable to move. His voice was weak, “Junior Sister…”

Yu Tao froze for a moment, then quickly helped him sit down. “Second Senior Brother, what happened to you?”

“Seals,” a cold voice suddenly came from behind.

Yu Tao turned around to see that Yu Li was standing at the bow of the ship. His clothes billowed in the wind, and it seemed like he hadn’t just come out of a room.

Hua Lian coughed softly, “It’s indeed a seal. This area of the sea is strange. My body’s spiritual power is completely suppressed. I can’t use any of it.”

He turned to Yu Li and asked, “Junior Brother, have you found it?”

Yu Li rested his hand on the ship’s railing, tapping his fingers lightly. “It’ll take a little more time.”

Yu Tao didn’t understand what they were talking about, and she looked towards Zhu Mingyu and the others, who were also struggling to open their doors. Their faces were pale, and they could barely walk.

Yu Tao quickly helped them sit in chairs. “Do you feel very unwell?”

Normally, they were all used to operating their bodies with spiritual power, but now, suddenly cut off and suppressed, all of them looked miserable.

Yu Tao observed their conditions. It seemed that the severity of the situation was based on their cultivation levels. Lu Qingyu and Wen Ming, both at the Nascent Soul stage, were the worst off—unable to even move or speak. Hua Lian, at the Golden Core stage, was a little better, and Zhu Mingyu and the medical disciple were somewhat lighter, still able to move around.

Wen Ming exhaled deeply. “I wasn’t even asleep, but it felt like a nightmare, like I couldn’t wake up no matter what. It’s fortunate that Junior Sister Yu called out to me, or I would have stayed like that.”

Zhu Mingyu and Lu Qingyu nodded, confirming that they were in the same situation.

Yu Tao felt that she hadn’t been affected much, probably because of her lower cultivation level.

And the other person who seemed unaffected was Little Senior Brother Yu Li. He stood at the bow, looking at the sea, his expression unchanged.

“Little Senior Brother, are you okay?” Yu Tao asked, concerned.

His pale golden eyes glanced at her for a moment. He lowered his hand, his sleeves falling loosely, and replied calmly, “I’m fine.”

“That’s good.”

At this point, only the two of them could move. Yu Tao observed the sea and said confidently, “Little Senior Brother, this isn’t the sea we passed through when we arrived. If the secret realm is also a sea, then we might actually be in the secret realm now.”

Hua Lian, who was nearby, was surprised. “You can tell that?”

Yu Tao nodded. “The flow rate of the water and the direction of the wind are different. No two areas of the sea should have such large differences.”

After a pause, she hesitated. “Also, the speed at which we’re drifting is faster than the current. And the ship’s water level has risen a little… I suspect there might be something below the ship that’s pushing us forward.”

Hua Lian sighed inwardly. Sometimes, Junior Sister was unexpectedly reliable. In such an emergency situation, she was still calm enough to analyze things clearly.

The last time, when she saved Zhu Mingyu, she had come up with a solution in such a short time, even managing to set a trap for the demonic cultivator.

Although they couldn’t use spiritual power, the sword was still usable. Zhu Mingyu, who was affected less by the seal and could still move, summoned a flying sword to dive into the sea. Moments later, she returned, bringing up a thick, dark green vine.

Zhu Mingyu cut it with her sword. The vine immediately split into pieces. She looked up and said, “It looks like just an ordinary vine.”

“But there are a lot of them under the ship.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the broken vines on the deck suddenly began to twist and grow. They quickly grew over a meter long, and they continued to grow at an alarming rate.

Zhu Mingyu furrowed her brow, flicking her sword to throw the vines back into the sea. “…I take back what I just said.”

These were no ordinary vines.

Yu Tao looked down at the sea. She could vaguely make out large, black shadows moving in the water. Obviously, these were the vines that had tangled together, forming what looked like clusters of writhing, unidentified objects. It was a bit unsettling.

As the ship’s speed increased again, Yu Tao fell into thought. Were these vines pushing their ship somewhere?

Suddenly, she spotted a piece of driftwood. Yu Tao paused. It was normal to encounter driftwood while sailing, but it seemed like she had seen many pieces of driftwood along this journey.

A vague thought suddenly crossed her mind. Yu Tao ran to the bow and gazed into the distance. Her vision was sharp, and through the thick fog, she could vaguely see a large, blurry black shadow.

Yu Tao’s heart skipped a beat. “Little Senior Brother, we need to get off the ship now.”

Hua Lian frowned. “What did you see, Junior Sister?”

“The fog is too thick, and I’m not sure, but it should be something very big. It might be a reef.” Yu Tao gestured nervously. “These vines are speeding up. At this rate, if we crash into it, the ship will break.”

Zhu Mingyu was confused. “Didn’t Senior Brother Yu Li not get affected by the restriction? Why doesn’t he just stop the ship or clear the reef?”

Hua Lian immediately disagreed. “No!”

Everyone froze.

Realizing he had spoken a bit too hastily, Hua Lian cleared his throat and explained, “My junior hasn’t found the source controlling the vines yet. Clearing them could alarm whatever’s controlling them.”

“Also, what if it’s not a reef but a giant demonic beast? How would he protect us, especially now when we’re all unable to do anything and are just a burden?”

Hua Lian made a valid point, and everyone nodded in agreement. Zhu Mingyu didn’t argue any further.

Hua Lian waved at Yu Tao, and she quickly ran over and crouched down. “What’s up?”

Hua Lian took a small turtle shell from his robes, about the size of his palm. “Junior Sister, you’ve been least affected by the restriction. See if you can channel some spiritual power into this.”

Yu Tao didn’t hesitate and tried to use her spiritual power. Perhaps the restriction didn’t take her cultivation level of Qi Condensation Stage 5 seriously, as it didn’t stop her from using any power. She quickly infused the turtle shell with her spiritual energy.

The black turtle shell suddenly grew larger and landed in the center of the ship.

Hua Lian sighed in relief. “Luckily.”

“Junior Sister, it’s up to you now to get us all into it.”

Yu Tao didn’t hesitate. “Got it!”

She helped Hua Lian and the others move onto the turtle shell, went back to her room to bring the black cat, and placed it inside as well. Then she pushed the turtle shell into the water, letting it float on the sea like a huge round boat.

Yu Tao jumped onto the turtle shell and steadied herself.

The vines, seemingly aware of their move, split into portions and began climbing towards the turtle shell, trying to pull it along.

However, for some reason, the turtle shell, despite appearing light and thin, remained as steady as a mountain under the pull of the vines, not moving an inch.

Yu Tao sighed in relief. Now they were safe.

She looked at the five people on the turtle shell and paused. Then, raising her head to glance at the ship, she saw that the young man was still standing by the ship’s railing, unmoving, his white robes fluttering. The ship was drifting farther and farther from the turtle shell.

She cupped her hands around her mouth and called to him, “Little Senior Brother, jump down—!”

The young man on the ship slowly lifted his head. His pale golden eyes, shrouded by thick mist, seemed clouded and unclear. He gazed through the fog and locked eyes with Yu Tao, the sound of crashing waves filling the air. But between them, everything suddenly became eerily quiet.

Yu Tao was momentarily stunned. “Little Senior Brother…”

The ship grew more distant until it became a blurry speck on the horizon.

The sea breeze blew, and the thick fog drifted away.

With a muffled “plop” sound, the figure in white fell into the deep sea.

The waves instantly calmed, and the sea surface became eerily still. That figure vanished completely, leaving no trace behind.

Yu Tao’s pupils contracted in an instant, her throat went dry, and she opened her mouth but couldn’t produce a sound, as if she had lost her voice.

Memories surged like a tidal wave, sharp and painful, pulling her into the most unwilling thoughts.

She had never liked watching the sunset. Even when she occasionally looked up, she would quickly turn her gaze away.

It wasn’t because she disliked the view of the sunset, but because… there was a day when someone had sat with her, laughing and chatting, watching the sunset together. But in the end, that person had fallen with the setting sun, sinking into the deep sea before her eyes.

“Little Senior Brother…”

Yu Tao hurriedly scanned the sea surface, but she couldn’t find him. Right, Second Senior Brother said he couldn’t swim. Yu Tao immediately held onto the turtle shell’s edge and was about to jump into the water to look for him.

Hua Lian weakly extended a hand to grab her arm. His voice was faint: “Junior Sister, don’t worry. He’s just gone to deal with the source of the vines.”

“Once the restriction is lifted, he will come back.”

Zhu Mingyu also added, “If you go into the water now, it’s full of tangled vines, and it’s very dangerous. Senior Brother Yu Li must have a plan. Don’t worry.”

Yu Tao finally remembered that this situation was different from the last time.

Right, Little Senior Brother Yu Li was very strong. No matter what happened, he could handle it quickly. He wouldn’t be in any danger.

She stopped, slowly returned to the turtle shell, and waited.

This waiting lasted all through the night.

When the sun rose over the sea, the vines retreated, and the sea returned to its clear, transparent state, but Yu Li still hadn’t come back.

By daylight, the mist over the sea dissipated. Yu Tao stood up and looked towards the direction where the black shadow had been last night. It really was a large reef. Their ship from last night had already shattered into pieces.

Hua Lian’s face was grim. “So, the floating wood we encountered earlier must have belonged to the ship that went ahead of us—Song Hong’s ship.”

After Hua Lian had discovered that the Liuli Mirror had no signal the previous night, he had immediately crushed the sect’s jade pendant, sending a warning about the extreme danger in this secret realm.

The jade pendant came in two identical pieces, but it didn’t have any communication function. It had a special function: when one piece shattered, the other would also break, no matter where it was.

Wuchang Sect used this method to signal danger when messages couldn’t be sent, though it was rarely used.

Yu Tao bit her lip and looked back. Behind the large reef, there was a dense cluster of smaller reefs, and beyond that, to her surprise, was an island.

The restriction had not yet been lifted, and Hua Lian and the others still lacked the strength to move. Staying here wasn’t ideal. If the vines returned at night, they would be in trouble.

Yu Tao thought for a moment and used her spiritual power to control the turtle shell to move.

The turtle shell was not something she could control to begin with, and even when she tried, its speed was very slow, almost like a turtle crawling. However, they weren’t far from the island, so they managed to reach it by evening.

Fearing the possibility of powerful beasts on the island, Yu Tao cautiously didn’t dare to land. Instead, she stopped by the beach, gathered some firewood from the nearby forest, and started a fire to ward off wild animals.

Worried about potential dangers at night, Yu Tao flipped the turtle shell over, propping it up with a stick. The group rested inside, ready to quickly pull out the stick in case they needed to drop the turtle shell back down for protection.

After all, given their current state, they couldn’t use any spiritual power or spell tools. Even a small beast with the strength of a foundation-building cultivator could easily wipe them out.

Once everything was set up, Yu Tao was exhausted. She found a patch of leaves to sit on, catching her breath while holding the sleeping cat.

Lili hadn’t woken up since last night. After Hua Lian had checked on her, he remained silent for a moment before telling Yu Tao that there was nothing to worry about—Lili was just tired and needed more rest.

Zhu Mingyu and the others were in low spirits. They hadn’t expected such powerful restrictions in the secret realm, and now they had become a burden to her.

As expected, the white mist returned in the evening. Without a spiritual barrier to block it, Hua Lian gave everyone a detoxifying pill.

Yu Tao placed the cat on a soft cushion and hugged her knees, staring blankly at the burning fire. The flames danced in her clear eyes.

Lu Qingyu leaned over to comfort her. “It’s alright, Junior Sister Taotao. If you’re tired, just rest on me for a while.”

Zhu Mingyu didn’t argue this time. She just pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze.

The little substitute wasn’t the main character, and the book barely mentioned the storyline involving the little substitute.

All she knew was that after they entered the secret realm, the sect suddenly issued an urgent notice the next day, canceling the mission and forbidding all disciples from going to the Xuanyue Sea.

She hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.

Yu Tao shook her head. “Senior Sister Lu, I’m not tired. You rest well.”

What they needed most now was rest—time to adjust to their powerless, exhausted bodies. They all fell asleep to conserve their energy.

But Hua Lian didn’t sleep. He leaned against a rock, staring at the fire with a distant gaze, his eyes unclear.

The night outside grew darker, and Yu Tao suddenly spoke up.

“Second Senior Brother, do you think Little Senior Brother Yu Li was also affected by the restriction?”

Though it sounded like a question, Yu Tao spoke with certainty.

Hua Lian looked at her eyes, which were slightly reddened, and after a brief pause, he sighed.

“You noticed, didn’t you?”

Yu Tao took a deep breath. “No.”

Little Senior Brother Yu Li disguised himself very well, and she hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

Yu Tao’s voice was a little hoarse: “I was just thinking—if it only takes a bit of spiritual power to move the turtle shell, why did you come to me, struggling, instead of Junior Brother Yu Li, who wasn’t affected?”

She suddenly choked up: “Because… Little Senior Brother Yu Li can’t use any spiritual power at all, right?”

Hua Lian was silent for a long time. “…Yes.”

Yu Tao bit her lip tightly.

The higher one’s cultivation, the more severe the backlash from the restriction. Senior Sister Lu and Classmate Wen, both in the Nascent Soul stage, could hardly speak anymore. It was easy to imagine what Junior Brother Yu Li was enduring.

She also understood why Senior Brother Hua hadn’t told them about this. If even Little Senior Brother Yu Li had lost his cultivation and become useless, they would have lost the last shred of hope.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she opened them again, and a decision had been made.

Yu Tao stood up, tied the stick to a rope, and handed it to Hua Lian. Her tone was soft: “Senior Brother Hua, please look after Lili. He might wander off at night.”

Hua Lian was taken aback. “What are you planning to do?”

The girl didn’t answer. She walked out of the protective shell and disappeared from Hua Lian’s view.

Hua Lian remained silent for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh.

On the stone nearby, Wen Ming slowly opened his eyes, his gaze darkening even further.

… In some ways, the two of them were really quite similar.

The night over the sea was deep, and the moonlight filtered through the clouds, then through the thick white mist, turning into a hazy glow.

Yu Tao’s hand gripped the hilt of her Winter Sword, and without hesitation, she took a step into the sea.

The water was icy, flowing over her ankles, calves, waist, and eventually, her body was completely submerged.

Yu Tao was extremely grateful that after that incident, she had learned to swim. Years later, when she encountered something like this again, she wouldn’t be helpless, and she wouldn’t be left with only despair.

Yu Tao judged her position in the sea, swam nearby, took a deep breath, and submerged herself into the water.

When she had been in Haicheng, before she had started cultivating, she could hold her breath for about ten minutes. Now, after her physical training, she could hold it for at least a quarter of an hour.

The vines were still there beneath the water, only retreating during the day. Now, they were lurking and moving in the deeper parts of the sea.

Yu Tao swam further down. The vines immediately sensed her presence and began to coil around her.

Yu Tao remained calm as she drew her Winter Sword and sliced through the vines one by one. She hadn’t trained in any advanced sword techniques, only the most basic sword forms, and she struck forcefully at the vines.

The vines, once cut, quickly grew back, sprouting in waves, one after another.

There was no end to this cutting. Yu Tao surfaced, gasping for air, and after a brief moment of rest, she took another deep breath and dove back down.

She tried a different approach. With so many vines, perhaps she could make them tangle and become immobile.

So, Yu Tao intentionally guided the vines to cross and entangle with each other, moving back and forth. It worked—soon, they were tangled together.

Yu Tao felt a moment of joy, but before she could celebrate, the tangled mass of vines suddenly snapped cleanly at the roots, and new vines sprouted from the break.

Well… that’s a bold move.

This method didn’t work either. Yu Tao surfaced again, took a deep breath, and plunged back down.

She observed carefully. The vines’ growth was initially rapid, but after a while, it slowed down, as though they needed some time to recover.

It seemed the only option left was brute force. Yu Tao gripped the Winter Sword tightly, determined to take a chance, using the short windows of time between the vines’ recovery to press forward.

Winter Sword seemed to sense her mood, and their coordination grew increasingly precise. Her swings became more fluid, and she was able to strike with greater ease.

Finally, she cut a hole through the vines, seizing the opportunity to swim through and dive deeper.

She scanned the area. There was no place within the vines’ reach. Yu Tao surfaced again, gasping for air, and after recovering, she moved on to another area surrounded by vines.

This cycle continued for an unknown amount of time. Eventually, Yu Tao’s strength was completely drained, and she floated on the surface, gasping heavily, her wet hair sticking to her face.

She paused for a moment, then dove back down, continuing her battle with the vines.

In the depths of the ocean, hidden in shadow, a pair of eyes gleamed briefly, fixed on the girl in the water, who was holding her sword and cutting through the vines.

Even if she could barely hold on, she was still determined to save her companions?

…Interesting.

Glancing over at the young man still struggling in the distance, clearly reaching his limit, a subtle movement of the fingers shifted half of the spell energy his way.

A soft, slow chuckle followed.

“Then let’s die together.”

Suddenly, the vines around her began to stir, their thickness increasing several times over, and their speed quickened. They lashed out violently toward her. Yu Tao froze for a moment but quickly responded, raising Winter Sword to defend herself.

But she was already exhausted, struggling to fend them off. After a while, in a lapse of concentration, a vine wrapped around her hand, halting Winter Sword’s movement.

Then several more vines seized her, dragging her downward.

Yu Tao struggled desperately, her hand tightly restrained. The vines seemed not to want her to die immediately, instead of tightening, they dragged her downward, hoping to suffocate her slowly with the passage of time.

With her hands immobile, she gritted her teeth, biting down on the sword hilt and hacking at the vines, trying to break free.

At this moment, all the vines suddenly loosened.

It was as if they withered and detached, falling like dead flowers toward the deep sea, only to dissipate like sand before reaching the depths.

Yu Tao froze, then quickly realized what had happened. A wave of emotion rushed to her throat, and she felt tears welling up.

…It was little senior brother.

He’s safe.

The vines scattered around her, and fragments of black crystal fell from her fingers, dissolving together with the vines.

The young man closed his eyes.

Although Hua Lian had said he couldn’t swim, that wasn’t entirely accurate.

He simply hated water.

Every time he sank into the water, his body would stiffen, his hands uncontrollably trembling, unable to grip the sword.

Just like now.

The deep sea was like an abyss, with no light the deeper it went. Surrounding him was nothing but dark water, oppressive, silent—so quiet it felt like death itself, without even the slightest sound.

So quiet.

In his early years, when he was still too weak to protect himself, this kind of scene had occurred countless times.

Every time he was on the brink of drowning, everything around him would become eerily silent.

Even though he had long since learned how to breathe underwater, he could never drown again.

Yu Li withdrew his sword into its sheath.

That person was cunning, having set up three cores for the restriction array. Destroying one had now only allowed his spiritual power to recover to the Foundation Establishment stage at best.

The young man paused for a long time before slowly opening his eyes.

But this time, his eyes widened in surprise.

The deep sea was dim and murky, but that white figure appeared like a beam of scorching sunlight, piercing through the dark night and shining directly into his eyes without reservation.

The girl quickly swam to his side, not even glancing at him, and without hesitation, she wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him upward.

It seems that she had been holding her breath for too long, and she coughed up several bubbles.

Yu Li’s eyelashes trembled slightly.

…Yu Tao.

It was hard to tell if it was impulsive or something else.

Yu Li lowered his eyes, hiding the turbulent emotions in his gaze, his hand grabbing the delicate wrist around his neck, pulling her firmly toward him.

The sea was too deep. Because of the lack of oxygen and the water’s depth, Yu Tao’s consciousness began to fade, but she still struggled to swim upward.

Suddenly, her hand was pulled back by the young man, and she was unprepared as she collided with his chest.

…He was still conscious?

Yu Tao, seeing him floating in the water without moving, thought he had lost consciousness.

The fabric brushed against the water, and her dark hair swirled, obscuring her vision. The sound of the flowing water was muffled and heavy in her ears.

The young man reached out and touched her face, his fingertips lightly brushing the corner of her eye, and he paused for a moment.

She was crying.

Unlike the cold sea water, her tears were hot.

So hot.

Almost burning his fingertips.

Yu Tao pressed her hand against his chest, confused, lifting her face to wonder what he was going to do.

When her eyes met his, she saw that his gaze was inexplicably dark, with emotions hard to read. His eyes were supposed to be a light gold, but at that moment, Yu Tao felt they were deeper than the surrounding deep sea.

After looking at him for a while, she coughed up another bubble, panicked, and gestured to him, signaling “I’m out of breath, I’m going to suffocate!”

Yu Li stared at her intently, his eyes dark.

Yu Tao thought he understood, so she relaxed, just about to swim upward again—

But then, the young man suddenly wrapped one arm tightly around her waist, pulling her back forcefully. His fingers locked around her, as if claiming her, and the heat from his palm made her lower back go weak.

Before she could react, a warm sensation suddenly pressed against her lips.

Yu Tao froze, her eyes widening in shock.

The water around them blurred her vision, and the young man in front of her closed his trembling long lashes, so close that she could almost feel his breath.