Chapter 134: Mist of Murder, Betrayal of the Star Waves

The thick fog was like a wall, deathly silent.

The disintegration of that auxiliary warship was shockingly fast. The dark beams were not pure energy blasts; they carried intense corrosive and annihilating properties, as if they were a type of "dissociation" spell specifically targeting restrictions and materials. Under the irradiation of the beams, the ship's structure crumbled rapidly like rotten wood, and along with the cultivators, captives, and the sealed containers holding the demonized sea beast samples on board, it plummeted into the churning, ominously dark seawater below.

Beneath the sea surface, shadows swarmed. These were not ordinary marine creatures, but strange beings with flat bodies and razor-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, possessing a cold sense of order that was completely different from the violent chaos of the demonized beast tide.

"It’s the 'Dark Tide Shuttles'! The elites of the Blood Shark Pirates' 'Shadow Hall'!" the Sect Master of the Azure Wave Sect exclaimed, his voice filled with uncontrollable fear. "How could they be here? And how do they possess such bizarre law-breaking beams?!"

The Blood Shark Pirates' "Shadow Hall" was rumored to be their most mysterious force, most adept at 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 barked. The Sea-Suppressing Guards reacted quickly; the remaining warships and Sky-Patrol Shuttles immediately contracted inward, forming a defensive formation that covered each other's backs. Protective shields of various colors lit up, vigilantly facing the thick fog and the sea surface.

Beichen of the Star Palace frowned deeply. The Seven-Star Sword in his hand was already unsheathed, starlight flowing as he attempted to disperse or probe the thick fog, only to find 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. "There is something strange about the fog here. Formed naturally and augmented by human design, it is an excellent ambush site."

Yan Gang of the Giant Spirit Sect glared, blood energy surging on his twin hammers: "You cowardly rats hiding your heads and tails! Get out here!" He smashed a hammer toward the sea surface, the violent shockwave kicking up giant waves dozens of feet 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 fair hand, and countless tiny ice crystals spread in all directions like invisible sensors, sensing the changes in temperature and energy in the environment. "The number of enemies is unknown, they are hidden very deep, and they are clearly familiar with this environment. It is not advisable to pursue or disperse rashly."

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

Lin Xuan kept his eyes closed, 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 the area around him in an extremely subtle, almost instinctual way of perception, creating a delicate resonance with the "existence" of this world itself.

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

In his perception, this thick fog was not just water vapor, but more like a distorted, slowly flowing "curtain," mixed with faint spatial fluctuations, mental interference particles, and... a trace of "void" aura that was almost imperceptible, sharing the same origin as the Bone Sickle demonic energy but even more obscure. Beneath the sea surface, 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 where the Star Palace's silver "Sky-Patrol Shuttle" was located, behind the fleet's flank, the energy flow trajectory had an extremely subtle, unnatural difference 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 Secret Pavilion flashed through his mind—"Xing Lan is suspected of having secret contact with Blood Shark Island in private; the formation master accompanying him 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 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 fog and the barriers of the warships, ringing in everyone's ears:

"Envoy Xing Lan, this welcoming ceremony in the 'Lost Sea Area' is perhaps a bit too 'enthusiastic.' I wonder if your Excellency's 'Universe Star-Shifting Array' could help us disperse this eyesore of a fog and illuminate the 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 trace of undisguised astonishment and malice flashed in his eyes, but he immediately returned to normal, though his smile appeared somewhat forced: "Fellow Daoist Lin is joking. The fog here is bizarre and naturally formed. Although my Star Palace's arrays are exquisite, it is difficult to disperse it entirely in such 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 a finger toward the area beneath the sea where the shadows were densest!

"Thunder Silence, probe."

A tiny gray-purple bolt of lightning, like a sentient swimming snake, 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 were forced out of hiding. Gray-purple electric arcs jumped on their hulls, emitting sizzling corrosive sounds. The concealment arrays on their surfaces were instantly broken, and the black-clad cultivators operating them screamed as the power of the lightning tribulation invaded their bodies!

Almost at the same time, Lin Xuan's other hand made a grasping motion toward the fog area behind the Sky-Patrol Shuttle where the energy flow was abnormal.

"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 of the "gap" and manifested in mid-air, rippling like water waves. Although the content had been encrypted and was rapidly self-destructing, the fleeting aura of the unique star runes belonging to the Star Palace, as well as the fluctuations pointing to a certain coordinate (suspected to be in the direction of Blood Shark Island), were clearly discernible!

"Xing Lan! What is your explanation?!" Eunuch Wei's expression changed drastically, his Soul Transformation 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 (or at least there was major suspicion), how could he allow him to quibble!

Beichen, Yan Gang, and Ling Shuang also had their expressions change abruptly, instantly distancing themselves from Xing Lan and his entourage, their gazes filled with suspicion and uncertainty. 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 the secret communication ripple that was almost impossible to detect with such precision!

He no longer pretended, and the gentle smile on his face was 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 'Star Evolution Compass' and deduce the exact location of the 'Chaos Sea Ruins'! Only there is the true Chaos Soil, and the opportunity for me to break through to Void Refinement or even higher realms! So what if I cooperate with the Blood Shark Pirates? They only want to borrow the power of the Demon Abyss to dominate this sea area; we are just taking what we need!"

He was doing this for his own selfish desires! For the potentially existing "Chaos Sea Ruins" and "Chaos Soil," he was willing to negotiate with tigers and even potentially indirectly fuel the power of the Demon Abyss in this region!

"Foolish!" Beichen scolded 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, and bringing disgrace upon our Star Palace! Do you know what kind of crime this is?!"

"Crime? Hmph! History is written by the victors! As long as I obtain the Chaos Soil and break through to Void Refinement, or even Integration, who would dare to judge me?" Xing Lan looked as if he had gone mad. A complex phantom of a compass wreathed in starlight suddenly appeared in his hand—it was the "Star Evolution Compass" (a replica or a partial core) he had mentioned. "I originally wanted to wait until you and the Demon Commander fought to a mutual destruction before taking the Bone Sickle and the research samples, but I didn't expect... Lin Xuan! It's all because of you! You ruined my grand plan! Since that's the case, you can all stay in this Lost Sea!"

He slammed the phantom of the compass 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 engraved on its surface suddenly reversed, emitting chaotic and dangerous spatial fluctuations! He had actually tampered with it in advance, and now it was... self-destructing? Or rather, triggering some kind of spatial disorder?

"Not good! He's going to detonate the spatial furnace core of the Sky-Patrol Shuttle! Scatter quickly!" Ling Shuang exclaimed. She recognized it as the most dangerous type of self-destruction for star-ship-type magic treasures, which would trigger small-scale spatial collapse and tearing!

"Want to leave? Too late!" Xing Lan sneered. His figure and that of the formation master who had been following him and acting strangely both transformed into two beams of starlight, fleeing rapidly toward the secret "passage" in the fog that had been set in advance! Clearly, they had a retreat plan all along.

"Traitor, don't run!" Yan Gang roared, his twin hammers flying from his hands and turning into two meteor-like streams of light, smashing toward the two beams of starlight.

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

However, those two beams of starlight were extremely slippery and seemed to be augmented by some kind of space-breaking talisman, their speed incredibly fast. It looked like they were about to escape 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, which was out of control and whose energy was rising rapidly, and toward the "Shadow Hall" ambushers beneath the sea who had been startled and seemed to have received new orders to assemble for an all-out attack, making a gesture of "embracing" and "closing."

"Tribulation Domain—Heaven Swallowing!"

This time, the Chaos Tribulation Domain did not expand with him as the center, but acted 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 moment the violent spatial energy inside the Sky-Patrol Shuttle entered the Tribulation Domain, its eruption process was forcibly "delayed," 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 circulation obstructed, and they were exposed to the "End" aura of the Tribulation Domain and the leaping silent lightning!

Lin Xuan's complexion paled at a speed visible to the naked eye, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. Forcibly "swallowing" the core of a star-ship about to self-destruct and the ambushers in a sea area simultaneously, 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 became dim and aged, 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 shockwave being transmitted out.

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

Xing Lan and the formation master, taking advantage of the gap while Lin Xuan was fully suppressing the Sky-Patrol Shuttle and the ambushers, ultimately escaped into the fog passage and vanished.

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 retracted the Tribulation Domain, his figure swaying slightly, and was gently supported by the wings of Feng Xi, who appeared beside him instantly. 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 run far. The exit of that passage must be near Blood Shark Island. Moreover, he forcibly activated the compass and abandoned the Sky-Patrol Shuttle; he will definitely suffer backlash."

Beichen's face was ashen. He bowed deeply toward the direction of Lin Xuan and Huangfu Hao (via transmission): "The Star Palace failed to recognize the person, resulting in this traitor and causing a great disaster, almost harming all you fellow Daoists and the Imperial Dynasty's soldiers. On behalf of the Star Palace, Beichen apologizes to His 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, our Star Palace is willing to act 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 line with the Star Palace and fully support the extermination 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 (exterminating demons, pursuing traitors) and the absolute strength and responsibility shown by Lin Xuan instead bound them together more tightly. 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.

Lin Hai 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 while leaning in a secret reef cave, looking at the "Star Evolution Compass" replica in his hand, which was dim and cracked, his eyes filled with resentment and madness.

"Lin Xuan... and you idiots like 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 Child of Destiny from that Bone Sickle, he will tell me the true entrance to the 'Chaos Sea Ruins'! Once I obtain the Chaos 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-filled cave deep within Blood Shark Island.

There, a figure shrouded in rolling demonic energy, whose aura was deeper and more terrifying than the Bone Sickle Demon Commander, 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.