Chapter 189

After leaving the Xuantian Sect and returning to the Floating Dream Sect on the road, the three each fell silent, digesting what they had gained from the Hall of Dao Comprehension.

Gu Yusheng unconsciously tapped the hilt of his sword with his finger, sword shadows flickering uncertainly in his eyes. He "saw" a full moon rise from the vast sea and sink into the great desert, cycling endlessly, eternal as such. The insight into "change" and "unchanging" within the sword intent allowed his Bright Moon Sword Canon to faintly grasp the threshold of breakthrough.

Mei Ruoxue, on the other hand, felt the Xuanbing spiritual power within her body become more condensed and pure; in her mind-lake appeared a lake surface frozen for myriad ages, yet deep in the lake's heart there was a thread of undying warmth. Extreme cold was not deathly stillness, but rather harbored the possibility of vital transformation within absolute stillness.

Shi Ran's feeling was the most special. The Patrol Heaven Order slowly rotated in her sea of consciousness, emitting a gentle yet awe-inspiring radiance. The starlight merged into her brow was quietly altering the nature of her spiritual power, making it more attuned to the connotations of "order" and "guardianship." She could feel that her sensitivity to evil and corrupt qi had increased severalfold, and she could even faintly "hear" the weak pulsation of the cosmic order's threads.

After returning to the Floating Dream Sect, Gu Yusheng immediately took out the Patrol Heaven Order and called up the several tasks he had screened.

In the void, light and shadow fluctuated, and three task briefs appeared:

Task One: Three hundred li southeast of Yunmeng Marsh, over the past three months seven merchant ships have mysteriously sunk, survivors few, all saying they encountered thick fog and strange sounds. Suspected to be the work of aquatic demons or anomalous phenomena. Difficulty rating: Bing Medium. Contribution points: eight hundred.

Task Two: Villages on the edge of the southern borders, within half a month seventeen people have inexplicably fallen into a deep sleep from which they do not awaken, souls unharmed but gradually weakening. The village often has gloomy shadows wandering at night, poultry and dogs restless. Suspected to be soul-capturing sprites or rare sorcery. Difficulty rating: Bing Upper. Contribution points: one thousand two hundred.

Task Three: Near the ruins of the Xiling Ancient Battlefield, three days ago a loose cultivator team encountered an unknown attack, two seriously injured, claiming the attackers "seemed human yet not, strength boundless, unafraid of ordinary techniques." There have been recent rumors of yin soldiers passing through the ruins. Difficulty rating: Yi Lower. Contribution points: two thousand.

"Bing-level tasks correspond to Foundation Establishment, while Yi-level requires Golden Core or a coordinated Foundation Establishment team to attempt." Gu Yusheng explained, "Task Three is the lowest of Yi-level, but since a loose cultivator team was injured, it indicates the actual danger may exceed the rating. As our first formal task, I lean toward the first two."

Mei Ruoxue glanced over the brief: "Task Two involves the soul; sprites or sorcery are both strange and hard to guard against. I choose Task One."

Shi Ran pondered for a moment: "The Yunmeng Marsh waters are vast, with many kinds of aquatic demons, but my Patrol Heaven Order is sensitive to demonic and evil qi, so if it is truly demonic work, I should be able to restrain it somewhat. Moreover, in water combat, Senior Brother Gu's sword formation can divide the battlefield, and Senior Sister Mei's Xuanbing arts can be even more effective. I also lean toward Task One."

Gu Yusheng nodded: "Good. Then we decide on Task One. We need to prepare some water-combat talismans and water-avoiding magical implements, as well as means to detect demonic qi and dispel the fog. We will depart in three days."

Three days later at dawn, the three flew on their swords from the Floating Dream Sect toward the southeast, heading for Yunmeng Marsh.

Yunmeng Marsh is famed as the "Marsh of a Thousand Lakes," its waters vast, islands scattered like stars, water vapor mingling year-round without cease. Ordinary merchant ships mostly follow fixed safe routes, cleared regularly of demons and dredged by coastal cultivation clans or small sects. Seven consecutive merchant ships meeting mishap in a nearby area is clearly not ordinary.

After flying for most of the day, the scenery below gradually shifted from mountain forests and plains to a dense water network. The air grew damp, carrying the unique scent of water weeds and silt. Shi Ran's Patrol Heaven Order in her hand warmed slightly, indicating that the spiritual and turbid qi in this water region were intertwined and mixed.

Following the task guidance, they descended at the recent incident site of Luoxing Ferry. The ferry was somewhat desolate, only a few small boats moored, and on the shore in the tea shed, several boatman-like men were speaking in low voices, their expressions anxious.

Gu Yusheng stepped forward and displayed the Patrol Heaven Command Token, stating their purpose. An old boatman with white hair and beard trembled as he rose, still shaken, and said: "Immortal Master…… that place must not be gone to! It is just in the 'Ghost Weeping Gully' to the southeast; three months ago it was still fine, but then somehow a strange fog arose, with sounds in the fog like weeping and laughter, making people's scalps tingle. The ships that went in never came out again……"

"Any more precise location?" Gu Yusheng asked.

The old boatman pointed to a misty expanse in the marsh: "Over there, about thirty li. Normally when the weather is good, one can see a few bald stone hills protruding from the water, like ghost teeth, so we call it 'Ghost Weeping Gully.' Now the fog is thick, nothing can be seen clearly."

After thanking the old boatman, the three again rose on their swords and flew toward the indicated direction. As they went deeper into the marsh, the fog indeed gradually grew denser, vision obstructed, even divine sense inquiry suffered some interference.

"Be careful." Mei Ruoxue suddenly said, "There is a faint yin cold qi in the fog, not like natural formation."

Shi Ran's Patrol Heaven Order glowed a few degrees brighter; she focused her senses: "Not just yin cold…… there is also a kind of chaotic, distorted fluctuation, like…… the leakage of some formation's qi, or…… unstable space?"

Gu Yusheng frowned tightly: "First land, approach from the water surface. Flying swords in midair make too obvious a target."

The three landed on the water surface; Gu Yusheng took out a palm-sized white jade boat, infused it with spiritual power, and it transformed into a three-zhang-long light boat. The boat hull naturally emitted a water-avoiding light halo, steadily floating on the water.

The light boat slowly proceeded into the deep fog. All around was eerily silent, even the water sounds seemed absorbed by the fog, only the faint rippling of the boat cutting waves. The fog surged, at times condensing into human or animal shapes, then quickly dissipating, accompanied by that faint wailing sound, indeed disturbing the heart and mind.

Mei Ruoxue pointed a finger; a thin layer of ice spread from her as center, covering a ten-zhang radius of water surface. The ice surface did not hinder the boat's passage, but clearly conducted underwater movements upward. "Something is lurking beneath the water, not a few in number, but not yet approaching."

Shi Ran closed her eyes and focused; the power of the Patrol Heaven Order spread outward. Where the golden light passed, the distorted yin cold qi in the fog, like snow meeting fierce sun, hissed and dissipated, and the disturbing wailing also weakened considerably. She "saw"——in the depths of the fog, the flow of spiritual qi in the water veins was extremely chaotic, as if being wildly stirred by an invisible hand. And in the center of the chaos, there seemed to be a "void," slowly swallowing the surrounding spiritual qi and…… vitality.

"Three li ahead, underwater there is an abnormal 'void.' That may be the source." Shi Ran opened her eyes, pointing to the left front.

Gu Yusheng steered the light boat to turn, while simultaneously making hand seals; seventy-two moon-like sword shadows silently appeared, circling the boat and slowly rotating, forming a simple defensive sword formation. "Prepare for battle. Ruoxue, you handle field control. Shi Ran, you focus on purifying the abnormal source and protect us from being eroded by the chaotic qi."

The light boat went forward another li or so, the water color began to darken, from turbid yellow to dark green, and finally nearly ink-black. Some distorted shadows began to appear in the water, darting swiftly, but seemingly wary of Mei Ruoxue's ice-surface perception and Shi Ran's golden light, only following from afar.

Suddenly, the boat shuddered violently!

Several thick as a man's arm, slick and jet-black tentacles erupted from below, directly coiling the light boat! The tentacles were densely covered with suckers and ghastly white bone spines, exuding a strong fishy stench and evil qi.

"Here they come!" Gu Yusheng changed his sword seal; half of the circling sword shadows shot out, precisely striking the tentacles. However, the sword light cutting in produced a sound of metal on metal, leaving only deep white marks, unable to sever!

Mei Ruoxue snorted coldly, raised her hand and pressed in the void. Cold air burst forth; the touched tentacle surfaces immediately condensed thick ice layers, movement instantly becoming sluggish. At the same time, her other hand formed a sword-finger; a thread-thin yet extremely condensed Xuanbing sword qi burst forth, piercing straight down along a frozen tentacle!

"Pfft!"

A muffled sound came from underwater; emerald-green blood spurted out, staining a patch of water black. The injured tentacle violently spasmed and retracted, the other tentacles also temporarily recoiling.

"Not an ordinary water demon." Mei Ruoxue's face slightly hardened, "Its shell is extremely hard, and its demonic qi is mixed with the foul aura unique to the Magic Abyss——though very faint."

Shi Ran's heart jolted: Again the Magic Abyss?

Before she could think further, the water surface exploded with a boom! A colossal creature leapt out of the water, raising black water all over the sky.

It was a creature hard to describe: its body resembled a magnified hundredfold squid, but its head bore a twisted, human-face-like wrinkled membrane; besides the eight main tentacles, there were dozens of finer secondary tentacles frantically dancing beneath. Most horrifying, its body was covered in multiple places with irregular bone armor, from the cracks of which oozed viscous black-green liquid, emitting a nauseating stench of decay and chaos.

The "mouth" on the creature's human-face part opened, emitting a piercing, soul-piercing shriek! The sound mixed with the wailing in the fog, forming a powerful mental impact!

Gu Yusheng grunted, his sword formation light dimmed. Mei Ruoxue also furrowed her brows, her body's cold qi fluctuating. Shi Ran similarly felt her sea of consciousness shaken, but the Patrol Heaven Order timely gave a jolt, golden light protecting her soul, dispersing much of the chaotic will in the shriek.

"It is a demonized beast!" Shi Ran shouted loudly, "It has been corrupted and transformed by Magic Abyss qi! Beware its voice and bodily fluids, they may erode spiritual power and soul!"

Gu Yusheng made a swift decision: "Sword formation——Moon Hua Tian Luo!"

The remaining thirty-six sword shadows blazed with light, weaving into a great light net, actively enveloping the creature, restricting the range of its tentacles' movement. The light net, formed of pure sword intent, had extra restraint against demonic qi; tentacles touching it emitted black smoke, twisting in pain.

Mei Ruoxue leapt into the air, her toes tapping the boat's rail, shooting out like a startled swan. She unleashed her Xuanbing spiritual power without reserve; the ambient temperature around her plummeted, the water surface began to freeze over a large area. Facing such a demonized beast with hard shell and strong recovery, she chose the most brutal method——absolute zero, destroying from within!

"Xuanbing True Solution·Condensing Soul!"

She clasped her hands in the void; a fist-sized ice crystal core, seeming to have condensed myriad years of cold, appeared in her palm, then she slapped it with one palm toward the creature's torso!

The ice crystal silently entered the creature's body. The next moment, the creature's massive body suddenly stiffened, its surface rapidly covered with a layer of pallid frost, movement becoming extremely sluggish. Immediately, beneath the frost came dense cracking sounds——that was the sound of internal tissues being frozen and shattered by extreme cold!

The creature let out a painful howl, madly struggling, its tentacles slapping the ice surface, ice chips flying. But Mei Ruoxue's strike had already dealt heavy damage to its core.

Now! Shi Ran gripped the Patrol Heaven Order with both hands, pouring all her mind and spiritual power into it. The order's light blazed unprecedentedly fierce, condensing before her into a spear phantom of pure golden light. Ancient runes appeared on the spear, bearing the supreme majesty of judgment, purification, and order.

"Patrol Heaven·Destroy Evil!"

The golden spear left her hand, flying along a mysterious trajectory, as if ignoring spatial distance, directly entering the twisted human face at the center of the creature's skull!

"Hiss——"

No earth-shattering explosion, only the scorching sound peculiar to purifying evil filth. The creature's entire body violently trembled, countless black qi gushing madly from the cracks in its carapace and mouthparts, then vanishing in the golden light. Its shriek turned into a dying whimper, its massive body rapidly withered and rotted, finally becoming a heap of remains smoking black smoke, sinking into the water.

The surrounding thick fog seemed to thin somewhat, that omnipresent wailing sound also disappeared.

On the light boat, the three slightly panted. Though the battle seemed brief, it was actually perilous. The power, defense, and spiritual pollution of the demonized beast far surpassed ordinary demon beasts of the same level; had the three not cooperated tacitly, each employing their strengths, they would likely have paid a considerable price.

Gu Yusheng recalled the sword shadows, his face solemn: "This is absolutely not a naturally formed demonized beast. The Magic Abyss qi on its body, though faint, is very 'new,' as if recently contaminated. Moreover, it is stationed here, creating fog to sink ships, more like it is…… guarding something? Or perhaps, it is gathering vitality and souls for something?"

Shi Ran looked ahead; the Patrol Heaven Order still warmed, pointing toward that "void." "The source is still ahead. This monster might just be a gatekeeper."

Mei Ruoxue had finished regulating her breath, the cold Qi gathering back within her: "Continue."

The light boat moved forward once more. The further they went, the blacker the water became, like ink, yet the mist strangely thinned, revealing the scene ahead: several bare, jagged stone mountains jutted from the water, interlocking like dog's teeth to form an irregular ring-shaped area. The water surface at the center of the ring displayed an abnormal, profound darkness that seemed to absorb light — precisely the "void" Shi Ran had sensed.

And at the foot of the stone mountains on the water surface lay scattered many fragments of ship wreckage; the newest few pieces of timber had not yet fully rotted, clearly belonging to merchant ships that had met disaster recently.

The three approached the edge of the ring area when a powerful suction force suddenly emanated from the central black hole, dragging the light boat toward it uncontrollably!

"Halt!" Gu Yusheng shouted lowly; the light boat beneath his feet blazed with light, steadying the hull. But the suction continued to strengthen, and a vortex began to form on the water surface.

Shi Ran poured all her strength into the Xuntian Token; golden light attempted to "smooth" that chaotic suction, yet she discovered the effect was limited. That black hole seemed to connect to some extremely unstable spatial interlayer or rift filled with chaotic energy.

"There's a formation base underwater!" Mei Ruoxue suddenly pointed at the roots of the stone mountains. Through the black water surface that had cleared considerably, one could see the submerged stone walls were carved full of dark red, twisted and eerie runes; these runes were glowing faintly, resonating with the central black hole.

"It's a man-made evil formation that gathers Yin and accumulates Sha while disrupting space!" Gu Yusheng recognized it at a glance. "This formation is forcibly tearing open and maintaining a small spatial rift; the other end of the rift... is most likely the source leaking Demon Abyss aura! The blood Qi and souls of the living beings from those sunken ships have all been extracted by this formation to stabilize the rift!"

"We must destroy the formation bases!" Shi Ran said. "But the bases are underwater and protected by the formation; approaching them we might be sucked into the rift."

Mei Ruoxue stepped forward: "I'll go. My Profound Ice True Qi can temporarily freeze the water currents and part of the formation's operation. Senior Brother Gu will use a sword formation outside to assist, disrupting the formation as a whole. Shi Ran, use your Xuntian power to see if you can directly 'repair' the spatial rift's disorder. We only have one chance; formation backlash or the rift going out of control could trigger a massive explosion."

With the plan set, Mei Ruoxue leapt without hesitation into the pitch-black water. The moment she entered, cold Qi erupted around her; wherever she passed, the water currents along with the dark red rune lights in the water were frozen, solidified.

Gu Yusheng flew to stand atop the light boat; his life-bound flying sword left its scabbard, hovering above his head. His hands moved like butterflies threading flowers, instantly casting over a hundred sword seals; the flying sword split from one to two, two to four... ultimately becoming three hundred sixty streaks of moonlight sword shadows, forming a complex, profound three-dimensional sword formation that vaguely enveloped the entire ring area along with the underwater bases. The sword formation did not attack fiercely, but used exquisite sword Qi to continuously sever and disrupt the energy connections of the formation runes.

Shi Ran sat cross-legged in the boat, the Xuntian Token placed on her knees. She sank her entire mind into the depths of the token, communing with that implication of "Order." Golden light rippled outward from her center — not opposing the black hole's suction and chaos, but attempting to "understand" and "comb out" that disordered spatial structure.

She "saw" — deep within the black hole, a tiny, extremely unstable spatial rift, like a bleeding wound, pasted against the barrier of the present world. From the other end of the rift seeped strands of dark red, filthy Demon Abyss aura; it was these auras that had polluted the water veins, demonized the beasts, and nourished the evil formation. The evil formation in turn extracted living beings' blood Qi, attempting to expand and stabilize this rift.

So that was it! This was a node of a vicious cycle!

Shi Ran had a flash of insight; she no longer tried to forcibly "purify" or "seal." She guided the Xuntian Token's power, transforming it into countless fine golden threads that gently probed into the disordered law veins around the spatial rift, like the most skillful weaver, beginning to repair those twisted, torn threads of Order.

Underwater, Mei Ruoxue had approached a main formation base. Cold Qi froze the surrounding water currents and runes; her fingers joined like a blade, Profound Ice Sword Qi condensing at her fingertips, she stabbed fiercely at the formation eye stone at the base's core!

Crack!

Cracks appeared on the formation eye stone. The entire evil formation trembled violently, dark red light flashing wildly. The central black hole's suction abruptly increased several times over, even beginning to distort light! Rocks on the stone mountains fell rustling down.

The pressure on Gu Yusheng's sword formation spiked; the hundreds of sword shadows flickered uncertainly, but he gritted his teeth and maintained it, sword Qi like silk, deadlocking the formation's counterattack force.

Mei Ruoxue bore the greatest pressure. Most of the formation's backlash energy and the black hole's enhanced suction acted on her. A trace of fresh blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, yet her gaze remained icy as before; her fingertip Sword Qi grew even stronger, a second strike, a third strike stabbing out in succession!

Boom!

The formation eye stone shattered completely! The rune chain at that spot collapsed.

A chain reaction began. The runes on the other bases dimmed and shattered one after another. The evil formation began to collapse.

Simultaneously, Shi Ran's repair reached the critical moment. As the evil formation disintegrated, the spatial rift lost its support, becoming extremely unstable, on the verge of bursting open completely and sweeping everything around into spatial turbulence!

"Now!" Shi Ran shouted in her heart; all the golden threads suddenly tightened, as if an invisible hand fiercely pinched that "wound" shut!

In reality, one only saw the central black hole violently contract, then silently bloom into a ring of pure white light. Where the light ring passed, the disordered spatial ripples were smoothed, the residual Demon Abyss aura purified, and the black water domain regained clarity at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The light ring dissipated; the central black hole had vanished, leaving only a stretch of gently rippling, normal water surface. A few strands of sunlight pierced through the finally dispersed mist, falling on the sparkling lake surface.

The ring area returned to calm; only those ship wrecks beneath the stone mountains told of the tragedy that had once occurred.

Mei Ruoxue leapt from the water, landing on the light boat, her complexion somewhat pale but her breathing steady. Gu Yusheng withdrew his sword formation, his breath also somewhat fluctuating. Shi Ran opened her eyes, the golden light in her pupils slowly converging; she felt a wave of deep fatigue, yet her spirit had a sense of fullness never before experienced — for the first time she had truly wielded the power of "Order" to repair a spatial wound.

"Resolved." Gu Yusheng let out a long breath, scanning the restored lake surface. "This evil formation was laid out quite cleverly; if not for the three of us cooperating, and Shi Ran's Xuntian ability countering it, a single late Foundation Establishment cultivator or two would likely have perished here."

Mei Ruoxue regulated her breath, her voice clear and cold: "The one who set the formation is at least a Golden Core demonic cultivator, and proficient in formations and the Dao of Space. It likely truly connects to the matter of the Corrosive Poison Pool."

Shi Ran looked at the restored clear lake water, saying softly: "The rift is temporarily closed, but since Demon Abyss aura could seep through once, there may be a second or third time. The formation setter left no identity clues, but he expended great effort to arrange this formation; it absolutely isn't merely to create a few shipwreck incidents. Behind this, there must be a grand scheme."

Gu Yusheng nodded: "Mission complete; we return to the Xuntian Division immediately to report. This matter must draw the attention of higher levels. Consecutive Demon Abyss-related events are by no means coincidence."

The three collected themselves, drove the light boat away from this now-harmless water domain. The sunlight was just right, dispelling the last trace of gloom.

On the return journey, Shi Ran looked back once at that stretch of lake water returned to calm.

The Xuntian Token lay quietly in her palm, slightly warm. She could feel that deep within the token, it seemed another strand of even more profound information had been unlocked — about space, about Order, about the boundaries of guardianship.

The road is still very long.