Chapter 81

On the shark's back, Zhou Shuo told Chan Yinsha the secret of the human body and soul, and Chan Yinsha returned the favor, sharing some of her Daoist cultivation experience; starting from exchanging Daoist arts and martial techniques, the two gradually came into contact, and trust would be built in that gradual contact.

From Zhou Shuo, Chan Yinsha learned how to cultivate Qi, seek the soul within her body and stabilize it, while also uniting spirit and flesh; Zhou Shuo, in turn, learned the thunder law and martial techniques of the God Heaven Dao from her, absorbing their essence to enrich his own revised thunder law, and both benefited greatly.

Although they benefited greatly in cultivation, they did not neglect their main task; Chan Yinsha often summoned the sharks on the sea, even sending her soul out of her body to dive down to search for the thousand-year tiger clam, and Zhou Shuo naturally helped as well, but most of the time his gaze was drawn to the wondrous sights beneath the sea, making the search for the thousand-year tiger clam secondary; the Primordial Yin Heaven Pearl was indeed precious, but to him it was optional.

Although there was a hint of slacking off, Zhou Shuo's intention was fulfilled; he entrusted both his physical body and Chan Yinsha's physical body to the silver shark white-clad to guard, and after two soul travels, he and Chan Yinsha had accumulated considerable trust; although he hadn't exerted much effort, Chan Yinsha, relying on herself and her shark subordinates, soon found the waters where the tiger clam appeared.

The sea surface rose and fell unevenly, the bright moon in the sky was full, in the distant sea a mass of golden light drifted slowly up and down, absorbing the faint moonlight from the sky, moonlight like white frost sprinkled on the sea surface, a huge shadow drifted slowly beneath the sea, Zhou Shuo sat on the head of the silver shark white-clad, gazing at the floating golden light in the sky and the shadow below.

"It's about time, I'm going." Chan Yinsha stood beside Zhou Shuo, looking at the distant floating golden light mass, and involuntarily said, that golden light mass was the Primordial Yin Heaven Pearl, and the dark shadow beneath the golden light in the seawater was the thousand-year tiger clam.

"Go! Be careful, just a few dozen li away is the camp of the Dry Nation's Navy Garrison; I won't accompany you, I'll help you guard against people coming to cause trouble." Zhou Shuo looked up at the round moon overhead, and gave a warning; he had no intention of helping Chan Yinsha seize the Primordial Yin Heaven Pearl.

"Thank you for your kind words." Chan Yinsha heard the warning, her mouth twitched involuntarily; you also know the Navy Garrison is a few dozen li away, this midnight sea is deserted, how many people do you hope will come to cause trouble?

"Good luck." Zhou Shuo watched Chan Yinsha's physical body stand still in place, her soul leaving her body and turning into a fairy wearing yellow gauze, holding a jade flute, and he gave her a thumbs-up.

Facing Zhou Shuo's action and blessing, Chan Yinsha rolled her eyes slightly, then leapt toward the distant golden light mass floating on the sea surface; when she flew to within a hundred meters of that golden light, the golden round light, as if startled, was about to sink into the sea, but Chan Yinsha remained calm, she held her jade flute sideways, and a melodious flute sound instantly drifted across the sea surface, and that mass of golden light was instantly fixed by her thought.

"Tsk tsk, the fairy playing the jade flute sideways on the sea, the clam spirit spitting pearls to greet the moon, what a poetic scene—if only the fairy weren't so fierce!" Zhou Shuo sat on the shark's head, gazing at the distant sea where the radiant flute-playing fairy and the wavering golden light were, and couldn't help sighing; although the picture was poetic, the essence wasn't beautiful—the fairy was robbing, poor thousand-year tiger clam.

The shadow beneath the sea stirred, the sea's waves began to surge violently, a muffled roar erupted from below, as the giant clam's roar sounded, the golden light mass in the air began to tremble, striving to sink into the water, but Chan Yinsha continued blowing the flute and directing her thought, keeping the golden light mass suspended in the air and trying to pull it up; the golden light on the water rose and fell like a saw.

"When do you think Yinsha will get it?" Zhou Shuo observed the floating golden light on the sea, and involuntarily asked the silver shark white-clad beneath him; Chan Yinsha cannot use God Heaven Dao arts, lest she damage the primordial core, and must also guard against the tiger clam's sneak attack from below, and her mental power cannot fully overwhelm the clam, so she can only do this, like fishing, a sawing motion.

"Huh huh huh huh!" The silver shark white-clad shook its head, emitting a whimper like a puppy toward the motionless Zhou Shuo above.

"Don't shake randomly, or you'll shake your master's physical body into the sea; I think when she returns she'll skin you and put your fins in the pot." Zhou Shuo felt the shaking body and involuntarily scolded; the huge creature beneath instantly stilled and stopped moving—it, or perhaps she, understands human speech, though we don't know if the tiger clam opposite can understand, but even if it could understand human words, it might not let go.

"Come on, let's go help." Seeing the huge creature calm down, Zhou Shuo involuntarily stood up; hearing this, the silver shark white-clad immediately swung its underwater tail and carried Zhou Shuo toward the giant clam below.

"Hng!" As they approached the giant clam's shadow below, Zhou Shuo suddenly heard a muffled hum in his ears—a sound that reached straight to the soul, a warning from the tiger clam; the silver shark white-clad swimming beneath also tensed slightly, evidently having heard the same sound, but after a brief pause it continued forward.

"Whoosh!" As the silver shark drew near, the distant water surface suddenly burst with a sharp splashing sound; Zhou Shuo's eyes narrowed slightly, he waved his hand and sent several thoughts into the water, feeling multiple swift undercurrents rushing in—those were the water arrows sprayed by the giant clam, capable of piercing rock.

The thousand-year tiger clam had once absorbed a strand of earth marrow essence leaking from an earth orifice, thereby gaining intelligence and beginning cultivation; although its soul had only reached the Sunwander realm, its entire qi and blood had been tempered into a primordial core, and besides its naturally strong body and combat instinct, the water arrows it sprayed also carried mucus capable of injuring the soul, making them extremely formidable, yet before these water arrows could approach, they were torn apart by the undercurrents controlled by Zhou Shuo's thoughts.

Here, Zhou Shuo and the silver shark white-clad distracted the tiger clam's attention, and up above Chan Yinsha instantly got an opportunity; her thought suddenly wrapped and pulled, the floating golden light mass shot straight up into the sky, landing in her hand, transforming into a fist-sized golden pearl that emitted a gentle luster.

The golden pearl landed in Chan Yinsha's hand, and the sea surface instantly erupted with a violent roar and scream; the shadow beneath the sea burst forth with golden light, a golden fierce tiger leapt from the light onto the water and lunged straight at Chan Yinsha—indeed, the tiger clam could not bear to lose its primordial core, and having only a Sunwander realm soul, it projected its spirit out; sometimes even a person cannot bear to have their wealth taken, let alone a beast.

"Hmph." Chan Yinsha held the warm-jade-like primordial core, saw the golden tiger leaping from the water to attack, her face showed a cold smile, she waved her hand and condensed water vapor to trap the golden tiger; earlier she had feared damaging the spiritual object and thus refrained from using God Heaven Dao thunder law, but this tiger clam had deliberately come forth to die, so she needed no mercy.

"Yinsha, wait." Zhou Shuo saw the tiger lunging at Chan Yinsha, instantly wrapped in a water sphere, and involuntarily shouted.

"Huh?" Chan Yinsha was about to use God Heaven Dao thunder to refine the golden tiger to death, hearing Zhou Shuo's shout from below, she quickly halted her thought, her soul's intention returned to her body, and instantly the water sphere imprisoning the golden tiger in the sky fell before her.

"Do you understand human speech?" Zhou Shuo looked at Chan Yinsha, whose soul had returned to her body and eyes opened, and shouted at the golden tiger wildly colliding inside the water sphere before her.

"What, you want to persuade it?" Chan Yinsha played with the Primordial Yin Heaven Pearl in her hand, feeling especially relieved, and glanced sideways at Zhou Shuo.

"It's also a lucky fellow; if possible we shouldn't exterminate it completely—if it understands, we should stop at once, let's negotiate; we need to use your primordial core……or maybe we should just kill it!" Zhou Shuo gave a slight nod, simultaneously trying to persuade the golden tiger wildly thrashing inside the water sphere, but seeing the tiger incessantly struggling to break out, he felt disheartened and told Chan Yinsha, "This tiger clam seems not to understand human speech."

"Its kind's cultivation is harder than ours sharks; even if its realm is a bit higher than the white-clad's, its wisdom still falls short of the white-clad's." Chan Yinsha laughed at Zhou Shuo's words, lightly grasped with her delicate hand, and the water sphere in the air instantly exploded, water droplets spraying everywhere, inside which the golden tiger turned into wisps of golden mist and dissipated.

"What a pity, Primordial Yin Heaven Pearl, let me have a look." Zhou Shuo looked at the golden tiger turned to mist by the explosion, and at the shadow slowly sinking in the water, shook his head and said to Chan Yinsha.

"Here." Chan Yinsha threw the pearl over.

"Mmm." Zhou Shuo grasped the large golden pearl, smooth and warm like human skin, radiating luster, and couldn't help raising his eyebrows; this thing isn't just medicinal—just looking at it feels very beautiful.

"With this, I can……who are you?" Chan Yinsha looked at Zhou Shuo playing with the Primordial Yin Heaven Pearl, about to continue, but her words were cut off by Zhou Shuo's raised gaze; seeing his look, Chan Yinsha also sensed something, and turned to look toward the sea behind.

"Since you've come, why not show yourself and meet?" Zhou Shuo slightly shifted his stance and gazed into the distant sea.

"I am Hong Yi, pleased to meet you two fellow Daoists." On the empty sea surface, a yin wind stirred up a few eddies, threads of moonlight intertwining to form a youthful figure, a scholar wearing a tall hat and broad sash, who from afar clasped his hands in salute.

"Hong Yi?" Chan Yinsha looked at the coalescing soul form, glanced sideways at Zhou Shuo, and sent a look that said 'you decide'.

"I am Zhou Shuo, this is Chan Yinsha, fellow Daoist, any business?" Zhou Shuo saw Chan Yinsha's gaze, slightly raised his eyebrows, and asked the distant figure.

"Nothing, just out on a soul travel hearing the commotion on the sea, I happened to see Fellow Daoist Zhou Shuo and Fellow Daoist Chan Yinsha practicing their arts here." Hong Yi gazed at the two people standing physically on the shark's head, suppressing his urge to flee, steadied his form and replied; had it not been for considering how terrifying that woman's Dao arts were, he would have already turned and run.

"Just some minor matters, I've disturbed you fellow Daoists; since it's nothing, we'll part here and meet again later." Zhou Shuo looked at the cautious yet neither humble nor arrogant youth, and smiled apologetically as he bade farewell.

"Then let's part here." Seeing the man bidding farewell on the shark's back, Hong Yi felt a great relief, lightly clasped his hands in salute, and his form immediately dissipated where he stood.