HSSB527: Bright starlight
Yan Zhaoge kept the sword, properly settling Ying Yuzhen within the Ocean Scorching Spring along with Xu Fei before they left together.
Xu Fei met up with the people of Changli Mountain and the Blood Dragon Sect while Yan Zhaoge found Bai Jingkang and told him, “My senior apprentice-aunt Fu is currently recuperating from her injuries in secluded cultivation. Do not interrupt her; just invite her to go to the Ocean Scorching Spring after she has left seclusion.”
Bai Jingkang nodded in agreement, Yan Zhaoge continuing, “Can you tell me more about the Star Shifting Sea?”
“I’ll find someone for you,” Bia Jingkang said before going off and finding a Changli Mountain martial practitioner who was comparatively more knowledgeable about the Star Shifting Sea.
Yan Zhaoge earnestly listened to his introduction of the place before thanking him and leaving.
The Star Shifting Sea was located in the eastern part of the Vast Ocean World, being densely filled with starlight springs which numbered greatly into the thousands.
Starlight springs were a unique kind of scenery. The source of each spring was located underwater, a large amount of light that resembled starlight intermittently gathering there and spurting outwards like geysers.
When large in scale, they directly penetrated through the surface of the sea, illuminating the sky.
However, this starlight was not beneficial to martial practitioners. Due to there being too many springs in the Star Shifting Sea that erupted intermittently, the entire area was enveloped by starlight all year round.
It was very hard for martial practitioners to cultivate in the Star Shifting Sea. Therefore, most martial practitioners would not come here.
Still, there were also many precious treasures to be found in the Star Shifting Sea which many people would temporarily venture within to try to acquire.
Having left Changli Mountain earlier, Shi Jun had come here to temper himself whilst also attempting to find a method with which to treat his mother Ying Yuzhen.
Having entered the Star Shifting Sea, the area enveloped by the starlight would greatly affect a martial practitioner’s sensory abilities as well as greatly hinder communication.
According to the people of the Blood Dragon Sect, Shen Ying, the daughter of their Chief, Shen Shicheng, had entered the Star Shifting Sea to temper herself as well, this incident having inexplicably happened in the meantime.
Shi Jun and Shen Ying having leapt into the oceanic whirlpool together, the Blood Dragon Sect martial practitioners having gone down to search for them, they had instead discovered that that oceanic whirlpool just happened to lead to the vein of a Starlight Spring. Not knowing which spring source the two had left from, they had lost their trail and become unable to track them.
“If it really led to a Starlight Spring, it is indeed possible that they could have avoided the pursuers from the Blood Dragon Sect.”
Having arrived at the Star Shifting Sea, Yan Zhaoge examined the special characteristics of a Starlight Spring for a while before pondering, “But where could they have gone afterwards?”
If Shi Jun had really not fallen into the hands of the people of the Blood Dragon Sect, instead having escaped intact, the judgement of the Blood Dragon Sect would indeed make sense. Whether or not reason lay with Shi Jun, he would definitely try to return to Changli Mountain on the Directionless Sea first, trying to think of a plan together with his master Xu Fei as well as Changli Mountain.
At the very least, he would have made contact with Xu Fei and told him about the situation first.
Now that no news had come from Shi Jun at all, something had probably come up which prevented him from doing so.
Pondering about this, Yan Zhaoge gazed at the great sea that seemed to be enveloped by a dense layer of mist before striding within.
Travelling within, starlight would light up below the nearby sea surface every once in a while.
It was as if the bottom of the sea was like the space within the universe, a shooting star flashing by from time to time before the starlight broke through the water surface, shooting straight into the sky as it brought with it a great amount of light as well as huge waves that surged to the heavens.
The entire Star Shifting Sea always had such an environment regardless of whether it was day or night.
Travelling within the Star Shifting Sea, Yan Zhaoge made sure to conceal his tracks as he also unceasingly observed his surroundings in the meantime.
Within the Star Shifting Sea, other martial practitioners were also visible for time to time. Other than the solitary practitioners who had come in to try their luck and obtain good fortune, there were disciples of the Good and Evil sects as well.
Conflicts often occurred over some treasures, especially between martial practitioners of Good and Evil. Such a chaotic area was a primary location for the clash between the two sides.
What Yan Zhaoge took notice of was the fact that there were clearly more Blood Dragon Sect martial practitioners present as compared to those of the other sects.
From the looks of it, divided into many groups and diffused throughout the area, they seemed to be in the midst of conducting a search.
Seeing this, Yan Zhaoge nodded inwardly, “It looks like they indeed haven’t captured Shi Jun.”
With this, Yan Zhaoge’s originally tensed heart instantly relaxed greatly.
As long as Shi Jun had not fallen into their hands, he would not have to be fearful of things as he would be able to openly do most of what he wanted to do.
Yan Zhaoge fingered the jade sword that Xu Fei had handed him, “Where can Jun’er be then? Not having been communicating with us, could he currently be trapped somewhere?”
From what Xu Fei said, Shi Jun similarly had one of these swords as well.
When the two swords were within a certain distance, they would begin to resonate with this getting more and more intense the closer the two were.
Holding the jade sword, Yan Zhaoge entered the depths of the Star Shifting Sea, following the coordinates provided by the people of the Blood Dragon Sect as he headed to the place where Shi Jun had last been seen.
It was a small island. After nearing this island, Yan Zhaoge clearly sensed that there were many more Blood Dragon Sect martial practitioners in the vicinity.
There were longtime experts of the sect whilst also relatively weaker younger disciples present as well. They were unceasingly expanding the region of their search with this island as a reference point, looking for clues regarding Shi Jun’s and Shen Ying’s disappearance.
After observing for a moment, Yan Zhaoge did not discover anything.
The size of the island was not great. Shi Jun and the Blood Dragon Sect disciples had once rested here, the two sides even having met in the process.
Due to the disharmonious relationship between Changli Mountain and the Blood Dragon Sect, the two sides had quarrelled and nearly come to blows. In the end, it had been Shen Ying who had calmed the other Blood Dragon Sect disciples.
Martial practitioners of other sects had witnessed this incident as well, all being full of praise towards the gracious and gentle Shen Ying.
Who knew that an incident would have occurred that very night, Shi Jun abducting Shen Ying and killing two and injuring one of the Blood Dragon Sect’s disciples. Being chased down by so many other Blood Dragon Sect disciples, Shi Jun had taken Shen Ying and leapt into the oceanic whirlpool to escape.
This incident having spread, many on the side of Good were rather dissatisfied with Shi Jun.
Even if the two sides were not on good terms, it was fine just settling it on the martial arena. Abducting a girl left a bad taste in many of their mouths.
Instead, it was the people on the side of Evil who felt very happy about this, even adding oil to the fire as they dubbed Shi Jun as one of their own, endlessly praising him.
Not being able to find any clues on that small island, Yan Zhaoge just directly entered that oceanic vortex, allowing its hidden currents to sweep him along freely as he made no resistance at all.
Finally, all was bright before his eyes. Yan Zhaoge halted within the water, knowing that this was the vein of the Starlight Spring.
Yan Zhaoge took out the jade sword and tapped its blade lightly before pondering deeply.
After a moment, his true essence surged on the blade of the sword before he lightly slid it across his finger, a drop of blood instantly staining the blade’s surface.
The muscles on Yan Zhaoge’s finger twitched, the blood instantly ceasing to flow as even the wound was no longer visible.
That small droplet of blood on the blade of the sword instantly transformed into a thread of blood, traversing the entire surface of the jade sword.
The next moment, a bloodred glow enveloped the entire sword. Yan Zhaoge waved his hand, the sword entering the bright starlight ahead before he himself followed within as well.
Amidst the radiance, he saw a streak of bloodred light flash by. After having walked some distance after it within the starlight, the streak of bloodred light suddenly shook before emerging from a certain spring source.
Following that bloodred light, Yan Zhaoge emerged from that spring source as well, grabbing onto that jade sword once again as he scanned the surrounding region of sea, “It should be somewhere around here.”