Chapter Fifty: Setting Sail

Several hours later, the eerie night of the blood-red full moon had passed.

With the rising sun, the first rays of light appeared above the horizon. The great tide, too, had long since calmed, and the sea beast surge that came with the end of the month was finally behind them.

The wounded warriors received emergency treatment. The others held their positions until dawn, only resting after they had cleared away the carcasses of sea beasts both inside and outside the camp. That night’s battle had drained not only their strength, but their spirits as well. Soon, exhaustion overtook most of them, and they fell into deep slumber, not waking until noon, when the sun was already blazing high in the sky.

By then, many had begun the somber task of burying their fallen comrades in the jungle. Meanwhile, Ye Mo, Mo Ling, and a few others gathered around the corpse of the sea serpent demon, pondering how best to make use of it.

As a first-rank demon beast, the sea serpent was a treasure trove; even a chunk of its flesh would spark fierce contention in the mundane world. Unfortunately, it had been poisoned by Ghostbane, rendering its meat unusable.

The serpent’s scales, however, could be forged into light shields and armor. Compared with the crab demon’s shell, the serpent’s scales were thinner—ordinary warriors could scarcely harm them, but for cultivators with strength beyond measure, they were easier to break.

“Brother Ye, we’ve struck it rich!” Wang Hu exclaimed, unable to conceal his excitement as he circled the massive sea serpent. “With so many scales, we could make dozens of serpent-scale shields! If we bring them to the auction houses of the Nine Provinces, each one would become a clan’s prized heirloom, even more valuable than treasure armor. The gold and silver from these shields alone would rival the fortunes of the great noble houses!”

Ye Mo couldn’t help but smile and shake his head. He didn’t mind Wang Hu’s straightforward nature; in fact, he rather liked it.

“Brother Hu, we came here in pursuit of immortality. What use have we for gold and jewels? That’s setting our sights too low. Once we become cultivators, transcending the mundane, with power that shakes the heavens, money will be nothing but dirt to us.” Yang You laughed heartily.

“Still, Wang Hu isn’t wrong,” Mo Ling said with a hint of regret. “The sea serpent’s entire body is valuable. Its flesh is more nourishing than the finest tempering herbs, and ordinary warriors who eat it can greatly replenish their vitality and strength in a short time. A pity the meat is now poisoned—a waste, really.”

“A waste, perhaps, but serpent-scale shields are still a fine prize,” Ye Mo replied. As he gazed at the enormous corpse, a sudden thought struck him. “By the way, the serpent’s rune sigil—it should still be intact, right?”

“I’m not sure. Let me try to extract it,” Mo Ling replied, her expression tinged with anticipation. Last time, she had managed to extract a basic water-arrow rune from a young crab demon—a treasure she still kept in a spirit-wood box. None of them had reached the Qi Refining stage yet, but it was wise to gather rune sigils in advance; once they broke through, these would become invaluable.

After all, cultivators who had not yet mastered spells, aside from their tremendous strength, were sometimes inferior to peak mortal warriors.

Ye Mo drew his Golden Spirit Sword and split open the serpent’s head. Mo Ling, her jade-white hand exposed from her sleeve, braved the stench of blood and carefully searched through the pale brain matter for the rune sigil.

Wang Hu, Yang You, and the others looked on with wide-eyed curiosity. As common-born warriors, the world of immortals had always been little more than legend to them. The method of extracting rune sigils from sea demon beasts was entirely foreign.

In truth, even the scions of noble houses in the secular kingdoms knew nothing of such matters. Only descendants of cultivators—like Mo Ling, a direct member of the royal family of Donglai—had access to these ancient secrets, passed down for centuries.

After some time, Mo Ling finally uncovered a sphere of azure light within the serpent’s brain.

The blue orb was gently separated, and even in broad daylight, it radiated a watery glow, shimmering with countless mysterious runes, though only a few gleamed brightly and most were dim. The orb sparkled with a crystalline, fluid beauty, like a cluster of stars.

No one would have guessed that the serpent demon’s deadly water arrows were conjured from this faint blue rune, possessing such terrifying power.

“It’s a basic water-arrow rune, just like the one from the young crab demon,” Mo Ling remarked, though she sighed softly. This one was no stronger than the last.

“Can I cultivate this treasure once I become a true cultivator?” Wang Hu asked, brimming with curiosity.

“That’s hard to say. Cultivators can only practice spells that match the elemental affinity of their spiritual roots,” Mo Ling explained. “If a cultivator’s spiritual root is water, they can only learn water-type spells. They might force themselves to attempt another element, say wood, but they’ll never achieve true mastery. Worse, if they try to learn an opposing element like earth, not only will they fail, but the consequences could be dire. At best, they’ll suffer from inner demons and have their foundation crippled; at worst, the clash of elements may kill them outright.”

“We don’t yet know our spiritual root affinities, so it’s unclear whether this water-arrow rune will be useful. All we can do is collect as many different elemental runes as possible, so we have options when the time comes.”

Mo Ling placed the water-arrow rune into a new spirit-wood box.

“By the way, didn’t this great serpent produce deadly venom? Why haven’t we found a venomous light orb like the water rune?” Wang Hu asked, puzzled, only after Mo Ling finished storing the blue orb.

“There are no poison-element spells, nor do cultivators possess poison-element spiritual roots. That venom is a natural secretion of the sea serpent’s body, not a magical art, so there is no rune sigil for it. Still, many demon beasts are adept at using poison,” Mo Ling said with a smile.

“I see!” Wang Hu scratched his head, still looking somewhat confused. Mo Ling didn’t elaborate; such matters were not easily explained in a short time.

Ye Mo personally stripped the serpent’s scales, handing them to Wang Hu and Yang You to fashion into shields. There was no need for elaborate forging—just attach a wooden grip and they were ready. The poisoned flesh and remains were discarded in the wild and burned.

Among the ordinary sea beasts killed during the tide, most were not tainted by the deadly poison; only a few had died from toxins. The vast quantity of beast meat was dried and preserved, as it could not be consumed quickly enough.

After a hearty midday meal, the men set out to fell spirit-wood trees and hurriedly constructed large rafts by the shore. None wished to linger on this perilous island any longer than necessary, so everyone worked diligently, eager to set sail in search of the immortal village.

The women stayed in camp, weaving sails, gathering provisions, and preparing waterskins to store ample fresh water.

Wang Hu and Yang You continued crafting the serpent-scale shields.

Ye Mo, meanwhile, found himself with little to do. Whenever he offered to help, the others politely refused. In the battle against the serpent, Ye Mo and the poison master Lin Zhi had contributed the most; the rest felt guilty for their lesser roles and wished to make amends.

Lin Zhi, the poison master, cared for nothing but his herbs and concoctions. The warriors understood his importance and raised no objections.

Left with little choice, Ye Mo went alone to the shore to practice his Wave-Slaying Technique. He did not rush to consume his last Vital Energy Pill and attempt a breakthrough to the spirit stage. Advancing from the sixth to the ninth level of body refinement in less than a month was a rapid ascent—he needed time to solidify his foundation. Rash advancement could only lead to instability.

On the island, peace prevailed.

Thus, the days passed one after another…

Ten days later, four massive spirit-wood rafts lay on the beach, each capable of carrying more than a dozen people, with plenty of space left even after provisioning with food and water. The rafts were built from the sturdiest spirit-wood, each bearing several tall masts and woven vine sails to harness the sea wind.

Each great raft was accompanied by two smaller rafts for emergencies.

Every raft was laden with dried meat, wild fruit, bird eggs, and other shellfish—enough to sustain the company for several months at sea.

According to the navigation chart in Ye Mo’s possession, the nearest spirit island and immortal village was a month’s voyage away.

To be safe, they scoured the island, taking every bit of food and medicinal herb they could find.

At last, on the appointed day, the survivors—more than thirty warriors—gathered on the beach.

Ye Mo, dressed in a somewhat tattered coarse shirt and carrying a splendid spirit sword on his back, stood at the fore. Behind him were Mo Ling, Wang Hu, and Yang You, each holding mysterious spirit-wood boxes. There, too, stood Gao Jian, Lin Zhi, Huang Yi, Li Ruofeng, Bai Fei, Wu Niu, and the others.

Everyone’s faces shone with hope and anticipation. They had survived the island’s deadliest beast tide and were about to set sail, venturing once more toward the unknown in search of the Eastern Sea’s immortal village.

“Brother Ye, everything’s ready!”

“Let’s set out!”

Voices rang with excitement.

“Depart!” Ye Mo declared, holding the sea chart as he gazed out at the boundless blue expanse. In high spirits, he led the group in pushing the rafts into the water, and all climbed aboard.

They had waited so long for this day—now, at last, it was here.

Aboard the four great rafts, following Ye Mo’s chart and driven by the wind, they left the lonely island behind and sailed into the endless sea.

No matter how fierce the winds and waves, nothing could stop them from raising their sails and setting forth.