Eternal Tale - Ch. 233
Chen Xun set up a grill on the deck, using spiritual herbs as seasoning. The three of them had quite the appetite, and today’s haul was just enough to satisfy it.
The big black ox and Little Red sat together chatting, though fear was deeply evident in Little Red’s eyes as he occasionally muttered the name “Great Lord of the Heavens.”
He was shocked that Brother Xun and Brother Ox had once been subdued by someone so powerful, someone so far beyond their understanding that they didn’t even dare to resist. He thought to himself, “If I ever encounter this person, I’ll fall to my knees immediately to avoid offending them.”
While grilling skewers, Chen Xun glanced at the sea map floating in midair. They were now at the farthest edge of the western sea, where rare treasures were as abundant as stars in the sky.
Buzz.
The giant boat slowly began to move across the vast and mysterious sea, where it resembled a lone, tiny ant. Soon enough, the massive waves swallowed it, making it disappear from sight.
For half a month, they fished at sea. Little Red became more cheerful, even learning how to grill skewers from Chen Xun, often leaving his face covered in soot.
They hadn’t encountered any merchant ships, as they were traveling along a path different from what regular cultivators could take.
One day, an uninhabited island gradually appeared before them. The island was rich in spiritual energy and wasn’t marked on their map.
Standing on the head of a crane, Chen Xun laughed, “This island is unclaimed land, not marked on any map. Rounding it up, we ought to be the island’s owners!”
“Moo?!”
“Brother Xun, are we really just going to claim it?”
“What else would we do?” Chen Xun crossed his arms and snorted coldly. “If there’s a mineral vein here and anyone dares to seize it, I’ll send them a good dream using my three ascension techniques.”
“Moo moo moo~~” The big black ox laughed heartily, clearly impressed by its elder brother.
“Brother Xun is amazing!” Little Red jumped up and shouted. The vastness of the sea, combined with the astonishing speed of their boat, made them unsure of where exactly they were.
The boat slowly docked on the shore, and they flew off toward the island, which was entirely covered in forest, inhabited by strange spiritual beasts.
With their spiritual senses fully activated, Chen Xun and the big black ox searched three feet deep into the ground. The island was large, and their Nascent Soul-level spiritual awareness couldn’t cover it completely, but at least they didn’t sense any Nascent Soul-level spiritual beasts.
Roar!
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed from the forest, and the ground trembled as a large swath of spirit crane trees came crashing down. A massive white ape, at the mid-Golden Core stage, soared into the sky and roared at them.
Its chest was covered in white fur, its eyes crimson, and it stared them down fiercely without the slightest hint of fear.
“What the heck, it’s not even reasonable.” Chen Xun raised an eyebrow and took half a step back. “We just landed, and it already wants to fight us?”
“Moo~” The big black ox stood up, gazing calmly at the massive spiritual beast in the distance.
Little Red’s pupils shrank, and he instinctively retreated a few steps, quickly hiding behind the big black ox. Four claws flashed with fiery light, preparing for a sneak attack on the giant ape.
Roar!
The white ape let out another furious roar from afar, gathering its spiritual energy into its fist before punching toward them. The ground erupted with dust and debris, and its attack was deadly right from the start.
Boom!
A gleam flashed in the big black ox’s eyes as it stood in front of Chen Xun. With a single palm strike, it met the giant ape’s punch head-on, creating a piercing explosive sound in midair.
The white ape’s pupils contracted violently. Even after the collision, the ox’s massive palm shadow continued to surge toward it with undiminished force.
Crack!
The white ape tried to defend itself, but it was too slow. Its ribs shattered, blood spurted from its mouth, and it retreated in shock, realizing it had provoked something far beyond its ability to handle. Without hesitation, it turned to flee.
Roar!
Suddenly, a red light flared up behind the white ape, and a towering, terrifying figure—eight zhang tall—cast a huge shadow over the ape’s body.
The white ape froze in place, cold sweat pouring down. How had this red dog turned into a massive lion—and a Nascent Soul-level spiritual beast at that?
“You dare attack Brother Xun? How bold!”
Little Red’s once sneaky gaze had turned ice-cold, as a surge of violent spiritual energy erupted from him. His claws tore through the air with unstoppable speed, igniting a terrifying blaze in midair. How could a mere Golden Core-level beast stand against the power of a Nascent Soul?
Roar!
The white ape howled in pain, its body covered in blood. Deep claw marks reached its bones, still burning with searing flames. Even its Golden Core had shriveled from the heat.
Little Red’s blazing spirit sense swept across the area, searching for anything hidden. It was a habit of his to ensure no one was tracking them.
He grabbed the giant ape and soared toward the shore. As he shrank back to his usual size, the murderous light in his eyes disappeared.
“Brother Xun, Brother Ox!”
“Little Red, come over and check out the chair I made.”
“Moo moo!”
Chen Xun and the big black ox had already sprawled out on the deck chairs, sunbathing and enjoying the sea breeze. The earlier fight hadn’t even made a dent in their mood.
Little Red was quickly distracted. “Brother Xun, what should we do with the ape?”
“Just leave it there. We’ll eat it tonight.” Chen Xun turned and smiled. “Little Red, well done. Come rest.”
“Moo moo~” The big black ox waved its hoof, signaling Little Red to hurry over. Their elder brother had it all figured out.
Little Red chuckled and casually tossed the corpse onto the beach before joining the two brothers in sunbathing.
Chen Xun smiled as he rested his hands behind his head. Little Red and the big black ox started chatting again, endlessly. Chen Xun didn’t join in.
His eyes flashed coldly. The appearance of this giant ape was too sudden as if it hadn’t come from this place. It felt more like they had accidentally stepped into a teleportation array.
Looking up at the white clouds in the sky, Chen Xun left the ape’s corpse lying behind them as a deterrent to any would-be intruders.
As the morning sun lit the vast sea, they lit a bonfire, still sitting on the shore. Their giant boat was docked nearby, and under the silver moonlight of the night, they listened to the ebb and flow of the tides.
However, the peaceful scene didn’t last long. Suddenly, the weather on the sea changed dramatically. The winds picked up, and the waves grew fierce. The erratic climate of the Western Sea was something they had come to know well over the past two weeks.
Boom, boom!
The ocean surged violently, with towering waves and blackened skies. Thunder and lightning filled the heavens, striking fear into the hearts of anyone watching.
“Haha, this is awesome.”
“Moo~~”
“Brother Xun, Brother Ox, this sea is so magnificent. Such wonders couldn’t be seen on the Tian Duan Plains.”
They weren’t afraid in the least. In fact, they were sipping herbal tea, appreciating the scene of the raging sea as if they were more at ease than anyone.
In the sky, lightning flashed as rain began to pour down.
Amid the raging sea, five eerie ghost lights flickered, and five small boats slowly approached their giant ship.
Onboard were figures in black robes, their faces obscured as they lowered their heads.
“Fellow Daoists, may we borrow this giant boat?”
A cold, ancient voice pierced through the storm’s roar. One of the black-robed figures slowly raised its head, revealing the face of an old woman with a face like dry wood, wearing an eerie smile.
The big black ox’s eyes grew serious as it stood up, realizing that these figures were far from mere Golden Core cultivators.
Little Red trembled, his earlier bravado gone. Staring at the five ghost lights on the distant sea, every hair on his body stood on end. It seemed the ocean had just become far more dangerous.
“Oh?”
Chen Xun, still with his hands behind his head, lazily opened his eyes a little. “Are you here to cause trouble?”
Boom!
A bolt of purple lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the sea and shore in a blinding flash. The small boats continued their slow approach, and the black-robed figures grinned eerily.
But after the flash of lightning, their pupils shrank slightly. The man smiling at them… looked even more unsettling than they did.