Chapter 134: Foggy Murderous Intent, The Betrayal of Xing Lan

The thick fog was like a wall, dead silent and soundless.

The disintegration process of that auxiliary warship was shockingly fast. The dark beams were not pure energy impacts; they carried intense corrosive and annihilating properties, as if they were a type of "dissociation" spell specifically targeting sealing barriers and materials. Under the irradiation of the beams, the ship's hull structure crumbled rapidly like rotten wood, falling together with the cultivators, captives, and the sealed containers holding the samples of demonized sea beasts into the churning, ominously dark seawater below.

Beneath the sea surface, shadows swarmed. These were not ordinary marine creatures, but a type of strange being with flat bodies and sharp edges, resembling giant black flying saucers. They swam silently, swiftly catching the falling "cargo" and the cultivators who still had breath, dragging them into deeper waters before vanishing. The entire process was swift, precise, and terrifyingly quiet, carrying a cold sense of order that was starkly different from the violent chaos of the demonized beast tide.

"It's the 'Dark Tide Shuttles'! The elite of the Blood Shark Pirates' 'Shadow Hall'!" the Sect Master of the Bibo Sect exclaimed, his voice filled with irrepressible fear. "How could they be here? And they even possess such bizarre law-breaking beams?!"

The Blood Shark Pirates' "Shadow Hall" was rumored to be the most mysterious force under their command, specializing in lurking, assassination, and special operations, rarely active in the open. The magic treasures and tactics they used were often unexpected and impossible to guard against.

"Form a circular formation! Defend!" Eunuch Wei shouted sharply. The Sea-Suppressing Guards reacted quickly; the remaining warships and Sky-Patrol Shuttles immediately contracted inward, forming a defensive formation that covered each other from head to tail. Various protective shield lights ignited, vigilantly facing the fog and the sea surface.

Elder Beichen of the Star Palace furrowed his brows tightly. The Seven-Star Sword in his hand was already unsheathed, starlight flowing as he attempted to disperse or probe the fog, only to discover that this fog was mixed with special substances that interfered with spiritual sense and spiritual energy, making even the power of the stars somewhat sluggish. "The fog here is strange; it's a natural formation combined with artificial arrangements, an excellent ambush site."

Yan Gang of the Giant Spirit Sect glared with wide eyes, blood energy surging on his twin hammers: "You cowardly rats hiding your heads and showing your tails! Get out here for your grandfather!" He smashed a hammer toward the sea surface, the violent shockwave kicking up giant waves dozens of zhang high, yet it only stirred up more fog, failing to force out the hidden enemies.

Ling Shuang of the Profound Ice Pavilion was calmer. She waved her slender hand, and countless tiny ice crystals spread in all directions like invisible detectors, sensing the temperature and energy changes in the environment. "The enemy's numbers are unknown, they are hidden very deeply, and they are clearly familiar with the environment here. It is not advisable to rashly pursue or disperse."

Everyone's gaze eventually turned to the top of the mast, to that figure in green robes.

Lin Xuan closed his eyes, his gray-purple hair fluttering slightly in the humid sea of fog. He did not release his spiritual sense to forcibly penetrate the fog; instead, he allowed his Chaos Tribulation Power to permeate his surroundings in an extremely subtle, almost instinctual way of perception, creating a delicate resonance with the very "existence" of this world.

Chaos encompasses all things and can also perceive the "abnormalities" of all things.

In his perception, this thick fog was not just water vapor; it was more like a layer of distorted, slowly flowing "curtain," mixed with faint spatial fluctuations, mental interference particles, and... a trace of "void" aura that was almost imperceptible yet originated from the same source as that bone sickle's demonic energy. And beneath the sea, the life fluctuations of those "Dark Tide Shuttles" and their controllers were like vipers lurking beneath the curtain, cold and orderly.

What caught his attention even more was that in the fog at the position of the Star Palace's silver "Sky-Patrol Shuttle" at the side-rear of the fleet, the trajectory of the energy flow had extremely subtle, unnatural differences from other areas. It was as if... the fog "curtain" there had been artificially opened to create an imperceptible "gap," or perhaps something was conducting secret communication with the outside world from that direction.

The message from the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion flashed in his mind—"Xing Lan is suspected of having secret contact traces with Blood Shark Island, and the accompanying formation grandmaster is acting strangely."

Lin Xuan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze cold and clear, like thunder piercing through the fog.

He ignored the threat beneath the sea and instead turned his head, his gaze like a torch, looking directly at the command cabin of the Sky-Patrol Shuttle. His voice was calm, yet it clearly penetrated the barriers of the fog and the warships, ringing in everyone's ears:

"Envoy Xing Lan, this welcoming ceremony in the 'Lost Sea Area' is a bit too 'enthusiastic.' I wonder if your 'Universal Star-Shifting Formation' can help us disperse this eyesore of a fog and illuminate our friends hiding in the dark?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was stunned, then looked at the Sky-Patrol Shuttle in horror.

Xing Lan's originally gentle and composed expression stiffened slightly the moment he heard Lin Xuan's words, a flash of undisguised shock and sinister intent crossing his eyes, but he immediately returned to normal, though his smile appeared somewhat forced: "Fellow Daoist Lin is joking. The fog here is strange and naturally formed; although my Star Palace's formations are marvelous, it is difficult to disperse it completely in a rush. The top priority is to stabilize our footing and guard against sneak attacks..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Xuan had already moved.

He did not attack Xing Lan, but pointed his fingers toward the area beneath the sea where the shadows were densest!

"Thunder Silence, probe."

A tiny gray-purple bolt of lightning, like a swimming snake possessing spirituality, silently submerged into the seawater.

The next second!

"Boom! Boom, boom, boom!"

The sea area touched by the lightning suddenly erupted with continuous muffled sounds and blinding light of purification! Several "Dark Tide Shuttles" lurking in the shallow water layer were forced out of hiding, gray-purple electric arcs jumping on their hulls, emitting sizzling corrosive sounds. The concealment formations on their surfaces were instantly broken, and the black-clad cultivators controlling them screamed as the power of the heavenly tribulation invaded their bodies!

Almost at the same time, Lin Xuan's other hand grabbed vaguely toward the area of fog with abnormal energy flow at the side-rear of the Sky-Patrol Shuttle.

"Chaos Imprisonment."

The fog in that area suddenly solidified, as if it had turned into solid gray amber! A highly secretive communication ripple that was about to quietly dissipate was forcibly "grabbed" out from the "gap," manifesting in mid-air and rippling like water waves. Although the content had been encrypted and was rapidly self-destructing, the aura of the Star Palace's unique star runes that flashed by, as well as the fluctuations pointing to a certain coordinate (suspected to be in the direction of Blood Shark Island), were clearly distinguishable!

"Xing Lan! What is your explanation?!" Eunuch Wei's expression changed drastically, his Soul Formation pressure enveloping the Sky-Patrol Shuttle without any courtesy! He had always been wary of the overseas envoys, and now that the evidence was solid (at least a major suspicion), how could he allow him to quibble!

Elder Beichen, Yan Gang, and Ling Shuang also had their expressions change drastically, instantly distancing themselves from Xing Lan and his followers, their gazes filled with suspicion. Although they represented their respective sects, this was a joint operation; if the Star Palace envoy was truly colluding with the ambushers in secret, the nature of the situation would be completely different!

On the Sky-Patrol Shuttle, Xing Lan's expression turned completely gloomy; he knew that the matter had been exposed. Lin Xuan's bizarre power was actually able to capture that secret communication ripple which was almost impossible to detect!

He no longer pretended, his gentle smile replaced by cold ambition and restlessness: "Explanation? What is there to explain! Star Gold! I must obtain the Star Gold! Only by finding enough Star Gold can I repair the 'Elder Xing Yan Luo Pan' and deduce the exact location of the 'Chaos Sea Ruins'! Only there can I find the true Chaos Breath Soil and the opportunity for me to break through to the Void Refinement realm or even higher! So what if I cooperate with the Blood Shark Pirates? They just want to use the power of the Demon Abyss to dominate this sea area; we are each taking what we need!"

He was doing this for his own selfish desires! For the potentially existing "Chaos Sea Ruins" and "Chaos Breath Soil," he did not hesitate to collude with tigers, and perhaps even indirectly fueled the Demon Abyss's power in this area!

"Stupid!" Elder Beichen shouted sternly, his eyes full of disappointment and anger. "Xing Lan! You actually betrayed the Palace Master's trust for your own selfish gain, colluding with bandits and the Demon Abyss, plunging my Star Palace into injustice! Do you know what kind of crime this is?!"

"Crime? Hmph! History is written by the victors! As long as I obtain the Chaos Breath Soil and break through to Void Refinement, or even Body Integration, who would dare to convict me?" Xing Lan acted as if he were insane, a complex compass phantom wreathed in starlight suddenly appearing in his hand—it was the "Elder Xing Yan Luo Pan" (an imitation or a partial core) he had spoken of. "I originally wanted to wait for you to suffer heavy losses against the Demon Marshal before I seized the bone sickle and research samples, but I didn't expect... Lin Xuan! It's all because of you! You ruined my great plan! Since that's the case, you can all stay in this Lost Sea!"

He slammed the compass phantom in his hand into the control core of the Sky-Patrol Shuttle!

"Hum—Click, click, click!"

The entire Sky-Patrol Shuttle emitted abnormal humming and metal twisting sounds, the star runes inscribed on its surface suddenly reversing, emitting chaotic and dangerous spatial fluctuations! He had actually tampered with it in advance, and now it was going to... self-destruct? Or rather, trigger some kind of spatial disorder?

"Not good! He wants to detonate the spatial furnace core of the Sky-Patrol Shuttle! Disperse quickly!" Ling Shuang exclaimed. She recognized that as one of the most dangerous self-destruction methods for star-boat type magic treasures, which would trigger small-scale spatial collapse and tearing!

"Want to leave? It's too late!" Xing Lan sneered, his figure and that formation grandmaster who had been following him and acting strangely both turning into two streaks of starlight, fleeing rapidly toward the secret "passage" in the fog that had been set in advance! Clearly, they had a retreat route all along.

"Don't let the traitor escape!" Yan Gang roared, his twin hammers flying out of his hands, turning into two meteor-like streams of light smashing toward the two streaks of starlight.

Elder Beichen even transformed his sword into seven stars, blocking their path.

However, those two streaks of starlight were extremely slippery and seemed to be blessed with some kind of space-breaking talisman, their speed incredibly fast, and they were about to flee into the depths of the fog.

Just at this moment, Lin Xuan, who had been locking onto Xing Lan's aura, moved.

He did not pursue, nor did he attack the fleeing starlight. He simply opened his hands toward the Sky-Patrol Shuttle that was out of control and whose energy was rising rapidly, as well as the "Shadow Hall" ambushers beneath the sea who had been startled and seemed to have received new orders to assemble for a general attack, making a gesture of "embracing" and "closing."

"Tribulation Domain—Swallowing Heaven!"

This time, the Chaos Tribulation Domain did not expand with him as the center, but like an invisible, giant pocket, precisely enveloping the Sky-Patrol Shuttle that was about to explode and the large sea area beneath it!

Within the Tribulation Domain, the concepts of time, space, and energy seemed to be briefly distorted and taken over. The spatial energy inside the Sky-Patrol Shuttle, which was violent to the extreme, had its eruption process forcibly "delayed" the moment it entered the Tribulation Domain, and the destructive tearing power was weakened, decomposed, and absorbed layer by layer by the Dao rhyme of "Returning to Ruins"! As for the Dark Tide Shuttles and black-clad cultivators beneath the sea who were preparing to launch a surprise attack, they were like falling into an invisible quagmire, their movements sluggish, their spiritual power operation obstructed, and they were exposed to the "ending" aura of the Tribulation Domain and the jumping silent lightning!

Lin Xuan's complexion paled at a speed visible to the naked eye, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. Forcibly "swallowing" the core of a star-boat about to self-destruct and the ambushers in a sea area at the same time, even with the dominance of his Chaos Tribulation Dao, caused him to suffer huge backlash and consumption.

But he succeeded!

The Sky-Patrol Shuttle did not produce the earth-shattering explosion that was expected; it only emitted a few muffled whimpers within the Tribulation Domain, the massive hull rapidly becoming dim and old, and finally, as if it had experienced ten thousand years of time, it disintegrated amidst a burst of blue-gray light, turning into countless metal fragments and dust that had lost their spirituality, falling into the sea with a rustling sound, without even a decent energy impact being transmitted.

As for the ambushers beneath the sea, they suffered heavy casualties under the suppression of the Tribulation Domain and the subsequent angry attacks from Eunuch Wei and the others, with only a few who were quick to react fleeing into the deep sea fog in a panic.

Xing Lan and the formation grandmaster, taking advantage of the gap when Lin Xuan was fully suppressing the Sky-Patrol Shuttle and the ambushers, ultimately fled into the fog passage and disappeared.

The sea surface temporarily returned to calm, with only the wreckage of the shattered Sky-Patrol Shuttle slowly sinking, and the heart-palpitating energy ripples remaining in the air.

Lin Xuan put away the Tribulation Domain, his figure swaying slightly, and was gently supported by the wings of Feng Xi who appeared instantly beside him. He swallowed a healing elixir obtained from the Imperial Dynasty's secret treasury and adjusted his breathing for a moment before his complexion improved slightly.

"Brother Lin, how are you?" Eunuch Wei and the others gathered around, their eyes filled with concern and lingering fear.

"It's fine, just a large consumption." Lin Xuan waved his hand, looking in the direction where Xing Lan had fled, his eyes cold. "He won't get far. The exit of that passage must be near Blood Shark Island. Moreover, he forcibly activated the compass and abandoned the Sky-Patrol Shuttle, so he must have suffered backlash."

Elder Beichen's face was livid, and he bowed deeply toward the direction of Lin Xuan and Huangfu Hao (via communication): "The Star Palace failed to recognize the person, resulting in this traitor, causing a great disaster and almost harming all fellow Daoists and the Imperial Dynasty's soldiers. On behalf of the Star Palace, Elder Beichen apologizes to Your Majesty, to Fellow Daoist Lin, and to everyone! The Star Palace is duty-bound to pursue Xing Lan and clean up the sect! Regarding Blood Shark Island, my Star Palace is willing to serve as the vanguard to atone for our crimes!"

His posture was very low; after such an incident, the Star Palace's reputation and sincerity in cooperation had been severely hit.

Ling Shuang and Yan Gang also expressed that the Giant Spirit Sect and the Profound Ice Pavilion would definitely draw a clear line with the Star Palace and fully support the eradication of the Blood Shark Pirates and the Demon Abyss nest.

After this battle, although cracks appeared in the trust between the three overseas sects and the Tianyuan Imperial Dynasty, the common goal (eradicating demons, pursuing traitors) and the absolute strength and responsibility shown by Lin Xuan instead bound them more closely together. At least in the short term, this alliance became more solid.

The fleet reorganized and accelerated away from the Lost Sea Area. This time, there were no more ambushes.

Linhai City was visible in the distance.

And at this moment, deep in the fog, Xing Lan, who had fled in a sorry state, was spitting blood, leaning in a secret reef cave, looking at the imitation "Elder Xing Yan Luo Pan" in his hand which was dim and cracked, his eyes filled with resentment and madness.

"Lin Xuan... and you idiots like Elder Beichen... just wait! 'Lord Shadow Erosion' has already promised me that as long as I help him obtain the Demon Abyss coordinates and the essence blood of the Imperial Dynasty's Son of Luck within that bone sickle, he will tell me the true entrance to the 'Chaos Sea Ruins'! Once I obtain the Chaos Breath Soil... Hmph!"

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, took an elixir, identified the direction, and sneaked toward a more secret, demon-aura-filled cave deep in Blood Shark Island.

There, a figure shrouded in rolling demonic aura, whose aura was deeper and more terrifying than the Bone Sickle Demon Marshal, was waiting for the arrival of the "guest." At its feet seemed to be a corner of an ancient and incomplete altar relic emitting faint starlight power.