A lone lamp, a lone boat, sailed out of the reef waters, did not stop, kept rowing forward.
Yu Qing stood with hands behind his back at the bow of the boat, using the light from behind to stare into the darkness ahead, staring at the slowly drifting mist within the darkness.
Nan Zhu, who kept rowing without pause, looked around and reminded, “Old Fifteen, we have already left that reef area. What now?”
Yu Qing made no sound. His slightly flickering gaze was fixed tightly on the drifting mist.
Knowing he could not have failed to hear, and unsure what he was thinking about, Nan Zhu did not disturb him further and continued rowing.
However, both his and Mu Aotie’s swords were pinned to the deck of the boat. Should anything change, they were within easy reach. Even spare illuminating fluorite stones had been taken out as backup.
Although ordinary boatman mermen were no match for cultivators, and logically would not dare to confront them head-on, they still made preparations just in case.
Little Black had good stamina and also kept rowing hard without stopping. He seemed to have finally found a chance to exert himself, full of drive…
Just when everyone did not know how much longer this would continue, Yu Qing, who had been gazing at the mist for a long time, suddenly raised his hand and pointed diagonally to the left, saying, “Go towards the left front.”
Finally hearing words that indicated a direction, although neither Nan nor Mu knew how Yu Qing had reached this conclusion, the two quickly obeyed and carried it out.
In this kind of situation, the two were not afraid of Yu Qing talking nonsense. What they feared was Yu Qing staying silent with no solution. That was what would make the two of them panic.
Unlike when they had first left the mountain in their early years, the two of them back then wanted to oppose Yu Qing in everything, eager to show themselves off. Now they did not. After several narrow escapes from death, what should be done and what should not be done had already become tacitly accepted.
To put it in more common terms, after spending a long time together and experiencing many things together, Yu Qing had gradually established his own authority.
After rowing for roughly two quarters of an hour, Yu Qing spoke again. His hand pointed diagonally towards the left front. “Go more towards the left front.”
Without a second word, Nan and Mu adjusted their direction again. They silently followed the guidance and rowed, maintaining an attitude of not disturbing him.
Everyone could see that Yu Qing seemed to be concentrating his attention on observing something.
A moment later, Yu Qing spoke again. His hand once more pointed towards the left front. “Still go towards the left front.”
Nan and Mu did as told. However, Nan Zhu still turned his head to exchange a glance with Mu Aotie.
Afterwards, Nan Zhu really could not hold back a bit. He reminded again, “Old Fifteen, if we keep going left front like this, I am afraid we will circle back to the original reef area.”
Yu Qing still made no sound. In his heart, he actually had no certainty either. Before figuring out the bottom of things, he did not know how to answer, nor did he want to say something that would cause panic.
Nan and Mu had no choice but to remain silent and continue rowing.
When Yu Qing spoke again to direct the course, it was still the same direction. “Go more towards the left front.”
Nan and Mu grew increasingly astonished and uncertain, but they could still restrain themselves and continue to carry out the orders.
Later, as time passed bit by bit, the two faintly sensed that Yu Qing’s guidance might be correct.
Because according to the estimated rowing time, and according to the estimated constant deviation angle, they should have returned to that reef area by now. Yet they had not seen it.
When Yu Qing opened his mouth again to direct the course, his tone suddenly seemed somewhat urgent. He pointed to the right. “Turn immediately at a right angle, turn right.”
For Nan and Mu, this was not difficult. With their power coordination, they directly turned the boat around.
After turning around and going straight for roughly two quarters of an hour, suddenly, the eyes of both Nan and Mu lit up. They saw two separated points of light in the distance.
Nan Zhu even pointed ahead and shouted, “Old Nine, Old Fifteen, quick, look, lights, stern lights. There are two ferry boats there. We just need to follow them.”
Yu Qing also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After seeing the lights, he could roughly determine what was going on. He could roughly confirm that his judgment from the Observation Word Technique had not been wrong.
He immediately raised his hand again to direct the course, saying, “Turn towards the right front.”
Nan Zhu exclaimed, “Old Fifteen, what are you doing?”
Yu Qing’s tone immediately became stern. “If you want to escape, turn quickly.”
Fine. Nan and Mu could only believe him. They adjusted again according to the direction he said and moved forward.
After the adjustment was complete, Nan Zhu still had to remind him. He could not let him make a mistake without saying something. Looking at the two points of light that had already shifted to the side, he said, “Old Fifteen, following the boats ahead is the most reliable and easiest way.”
Yu Qing replied to him, “Then do you believe that if we had not listened to me just now, and the boat had gone forward for another thirty counts, you would immediately have been unable to see any lights at all.”
Mu Aotie’s face showed astonishment.
Little Black had the makings of a hard labourer. He was still bent over rowing hard.
Nan Zhu naturally could not avoid exclaiming, “Why?”
Yu Qing: “This sea area should contain many spaces. It is like many cups of varying sizes placed in this sea area. The cups are invisible. I do not know how to describe it. You can think of it as the meaning of entering and exiting the Golden Ruins entrance, only even more invisible than that kind of virtual ripple.
The correct course is actually the gaps between the cups of varying sizes. The gaps also vary in size. Once you stray off course, once you break into a cup, the moment you pass through the cup wall, you may have already crossed to another sea area in the Nether Sea, appearing inside some distant cup.
When you finally get out of that cup, if you do not know the correct course, you will quickly enter another cup. Then you do not know which cup you have crossed into again. This should be an arrangement from the early Nether Sea Immortal Mansion, with the purpose of preventing outsiders from breaking into the Nether Sea Immortal Mansion. People who break into this Nether Sea, if they do not know the course, will indeed be trapped inside forever.
I am wondering, how did the high-level cultivators of the cultivation world back then attack the Nether Sea Immortal Mansion? Facing this kind of formation, relying on luck is impossible to break in. Someone must have led the way. I suspect whether there was some traitor.”
A thought even flashed through his head. Could it be related to the predecessors of Linglong Temple?
Nan and Mu roughly understood what he was saying. But the two were very shocked. How did this guy Old Fifteen know? Could he see or judge this too? Coming here for the first time, still drifting halfway, and he could deduce the entire layout of the Nether Sea?
The problem was, in the empty surroundings all around, how was this seen? This could be seen too? If it were true, it would be too inconceivable.
Nan Zhu’s Adam’s apple moved. He swallowed dryly and said, “If that is the case, then it is obvious. It must be the sea clans of the Nether Sea who betrayed the Nether Sea Immortal Mansion and brought outsiders to attack the immortal mansion. Otherwise how could they sit here and make money.”
“Perhaps.” Yu Qing admitted this was entirely possible. He then raised his hand again and said, “Turn towards the left front.”
The boat adjusted its direction again following the guidance. The general direction was once more aimed at the two distant points of light.
In this kind of eerie environment, if there were no reference points, it was very difficult for people on the boat to perceive that the boat had turned.
Nan Zhu: “Old Fifteen, are we chasing the boats ahead?”
Yu Qing: “What else can we do? Here we cannot distinguish north, south, east, or west. We have long been turned around. None of us knows which direction the sea market is in. If we run around randomly, who knows how long we will be circling. Those two boats ahead are either going to the sea market or to ‘Star Scattered Island’.”
Star Scattered Island referred to the place where they had boarded the boat, the collective name for the many islands.
Since it was so, Nan and Mu immediately increased their rowing speed.
Although it was not a straight pursuit, under Yu Qing’s guidance, their boat was getting closer and closer to the boats ahead.
They had gained the confidence to escape. The merman boatman who had been quietly tracking them underwater, however, was growing increasingly astonished. Having followed for so long, it naturally discovered that the people on the boat could actually find the correct course in the Nether Sea.
How was this possible? If those travelling cultivators could find the course themselves, what need would there be for merman boatmen like them in this Nether Sea?
It did not believe it. It kept following. Following and following, whether it believed it or not, it had to believe. The people on the boat could indeed precisely avoid the countless crossing traps in the Nether Sea. This could not be luck.
This made it feel panic. Its original plan to deal with these people using mirage ants had failed. Now its attempt to trap these people to death in the Nether Sea had also failed. Once these people reached the sea market, whether they filed a complaint at the sea market or at the Nether Temple, the consequences awaiting it were not something it could bear.
At the end of its rope, it suddenly generated the heart to take a desperate risk. After lurking under the boat and tracking for a distance, it finally quietly approached the bottom of the boat. Abruptly, it struck the bottom of the boat with a claw. At the same time, it twisted its body and dove into the seabed.
Boom! A hole of considerable size exploded in the bottom of the boat. Seawater poured in.
The three senior brothers, who had long been on guard, cooperated with tacit understanding. Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie did not bother with anything else first. They immediately shot the fluorite stones into the water on the left and right respectively. Yu Qing, who had already drawn his sword and entered the water, was looking around in all directions.
Under the light of the fluorite stones shot into the water, Yu Qing caught a glimpse of a faintly flashing shadow underwater. The sword in his hand was immediately thrown like a water spear. The force of his arm waving underwater churned the water surface into surging waves. The boat rose and fell violently. Yu Qing himself also rapidly chased after it like a swimming fish…
The cabin quickly filled with water. The boat quickly sank. The position breached happened to be right at Little Black’s seat.
Although Little Black was not big, his reaction was fast. With a shout, “Big Stick!”
He had already leaped up high. Big Stick spread its wings and flew over with a whoosh, grabbing him in mid-air. He also grabbed Big Stick’s leg, hovering in the air looking down, shouting, “Seventh Uncle, Ninth Uncle.”
The two people on the boat were already standing at the bow and stern respectively, swords in hand, looking around in all directions.
After all, it was a wooden boat. Although it was sinking, it did not completely submerge. It still had buoyancy. It was just that Nan Zhu was heavier, causing the end where Mu Aotie stood to tilt up rather high.
Nan Zhu responded towards the air, “Just stay up there. Do not run around.”
Little Black made an “oh” sound, then shouted loudly, “Thief, come out!”
He had the air of fighting to the death.
Nan Zhu shouted again, “Shut up, do not make noise!”
The words had just fallen when, not far away, there was a splash from the water surface. A person emerged. It was precisely Yu Qing. He leaped out of the water and came treading on the waves. In his hand, he was clutching something one and a half persons long, with a human upper body and fish tail. It was precisely that merman boatman. Yu Qing had dragged it over by force, gripping its neck.
Returning to this side, Yu Qing looked at the hole in the bottom of the boat. He simply thrust his sword into the water and stirred the hole in the bottom a bit larger. Then he stepped back and shouted, “Flip the boat over.”