Chapter 168

Chapter 168

Thunder boomed in the sky, startling the two humans and two beasts aboard the flying boat.

Wen Qiao looked alertly at the source of the thunder outside the flying boat. When she saw what was happening, her face showed surprise.

"It's a Transfiguration Heavenly Thunder," Ning Yuzhou said with understanding.

A look of surprise appeared on Wen Qiao's face. "Could it be a sea beast transfiguring?"

Ning Yuzhou hummed in agreement. This was the Endless Sea, where sea beasts were abundant. It wasn't strange for a sea beast to undergo its tribulation here.

After their brief conversation, they continued observing the situation outside.

The flying boat had already stopped. Since there was a sea beast undergoing its tribulation ahead, they naturally couldn't get any closer.

In the distance, clouds of tribulation covered the sky, dark and dense, shrouding the surrounding sea area. Within these clouds, purple heavenly thunders brewed, their presence flickering and terrifying, causing sea beasts within a hundred miles to flee in fear.

Despite being a considerable distance from the gathering tribulation clouds, the two humans and two beasts in the flying boat could still feel the terrifying might of the heavenly thunders.

Wen Qiao immediately turned the flying boat around to leave, to avoid being caught up in the tribulation by chance. If the heavenly thunders mistook them for the sea beast undergoing its tribulation and struck them as well, that would be truly unfortunate.

Wen Tuto and Wen Guangun curiously stuck their heads out to look, soon drawn to the sea below.

They saw countless sea beasts surging out of the previously calm sea surface. Most of these sea beasts were low-level, swimming away from the tribulation. There were so many of them that many fish were squeezed out of the water and flapped forward in mid-air.

During their three months of sailing, this was the first time they had witnessed such a spectacular migration of sea beasts. They watched with great interest.

For those three months, aside from occasional thunderstorms, the seas had been calm, making it rare to see sea beasts. Now, seeing so many sea beasts, most of which were below the fifth or sixth level, the two demonic beasts didn't take them seriously.

The sea beasts in the sea fled quickly in the opposite direction, while the flying boat maintained the same speed as them.

Since it was a Transfiguration Tribulation, it meant that the sea demon about to undergo the tribulation was at the peak of the ninth level. Regardless of whether it successfully transfigured or not, they couldn't approach it.

"I wonder what kind of demon is transfiguring?" Wen Qiao muttered. During their three months of sailing, the unchanging surroundings—nothing but vast seas without even a glimpse of an island—had given them the illusion of treading in place, highlighting the vastness of this sea.

Although Wen Qiao wasn't particularly anxious, this situation couldn't continue indefinitely.

Seeing the sea beasts fleeing from the sea, she suddenly had the idea to catch one and ask for directions.

With that thought, she discussed it with Ning Yuzhou.

He pondered for a moment. "It's a viable option, but we should still be cautious. If it's too dangerous, we can hide in the space."

Wen Qiao agreed. If they were on Shengwu Continent, she wouldn't have suggested hiding in the space without reason, fearing that exposing the space might bring danger to them. But now, in the vast sea surrounded by untransfigured sea beasts, there was no need to worry about such things.

The sea beasts below continued their swift migration.

Wen Qiao left Wen Guangun with Ning Yuzhou and leaped out of the flying boat with Wen Tuto, standing on the boat to get a better view amidst the sea breeze.

She gazed toward the distant gathering tribulation clouds and noticed that the sea in front of them was turbulent due to the brewing heavenly thunders. Waves crashed into each other and surged toward the sky, their grandeur understandable given how many sea beasts were fleeing in terror from the ninth-level peak demon's tribulation area to avoid being affected.

The tribulation clouds were still gathering, with purple lightning brewing inside. From the looks of it, it would take some time before the lightning fully formed.

Wen Qiao retracted her gaze and focused on the sea below.

At that moment, a silver fish jumped out of the sea. Under the azure sky, it resembled a silvery ribbon, looking quite delicious.

Wen Qiao summoned her whip and lashed it out, dragging the fish onto the flying boat.

The silver fish flew up along the whip without struggling. Instead, it bared its sharp teeth at Wen Qiao.

She punched its head, knocking it unconscious, then casually tossed it into the flying boat for Ning Yuzhou to deal with.

Inside the flying boat, Ning Yuzhou and Wen Guangun saw the fish that had landed on the floor. It was about half a foot long and weighed twenty to thirty pounds, with a belly shimmering pearl-white. Grilled fish must taste excellent.

Wen Guangun curiously approached the fish.

Its flesh was tender, and it lay dazed on the floor, occasionally flicking its tail to show it was still alive.

Ning Yuzhou calmly tied up the fish knocked unconscious by Wen Qiao and stored it in the space, ready to retrieve it when they wanted to eat it.

Several more fish were brought in, knocked unconscious. Ning Yuzhou blinked not once as he threw them into the space, accepting all comers.

After catching dozens of fish, Wen Qiao finally realized: This wasn't the time to catch fish!

She hurriedly controlled the stone golden python whip in her hand, resisting the urge to lash out whenever a fish leaped out of the sea. She couldn't help it; during her whip training, Wen Tuto had always been her sparring partner. Whenever she saw something moving, she couldn't resist whipping it and dragging it over.

Wen Qiao began searching earnestly for passing sea beasts below.

Sea beasts were a general term used by cultivators to refer to marine demons. Like land-based demons, sea beasts came in various types, primarily consisting of marine life. The elemental essence in the Endless Sea was similar to that on the continent, resulting in most creatures in the sea being sea beasts rather than ordinary fish.

Most of the sea beasts fleeing outward were low-level and ordinary fish.

Wen Qiao searched for a long time but couldn't find a single sea beast with spiritual intelligence, leaving her somewhat disappointed.

Without spiritual intelligence, even she couldn't communicate with demonic beasts. In the eyes of many cultivators, those unenlightened demonic beasts were merely food for cultivators.

As for demonic beasts that had awakened their spiritual intelligence, most would avoid stronger cultivators and their own kind, not easily captured to become food.

Once they were completely away from the area of the sea beast's tribulation, the flying boat stopped.

By then, they no longer felt the might of the tribulation, and the speed at which the sea beasts in the sea fled gradually slowed down. Soon, the sea beasts returned to the sea, and the sea surface gradually calmed down.

Wen Qiao and Wen Tuto returned to the flying boat. Wen Qiao said helplessly, "Husband, these sea beasts haven't awakened their spiritual intelligence."

Ning Yuzhou was unsurprised. He said, "Those who fled from the might of the tribulation are merely low-level sea beasts without sentience. Most of the sentient ones are likely hiding in the depths or watching the beast undergo its transformation."

Whenever a demonic beast faces the Form Transformation Tribulation, many others gather to watch. The majority of these onlookers are already sentient, for once a beast gains sentience, it instinctively knows how to cultivate. No beast wishes not to transform; only by becoming a demon cultivator can they truly transcend their animal form and cultivate like human cultivators, paving a path towards the Great Dao.

Witnessing another beast's transformation tribulation is beneficial for other beasts' future transformations.

Of course, the beasts dare not approach too closely to the area enveloped by the tribulation, lest they be mistaken as those undergoing transformation. A bolt of heavenly lightning would surely reduce them to ashes.

Upon hearing Ning Yuzhou's words, Wen Qiao felt greatly disappointed.

The ocean is the domain of sea beasts. Even if they returned to the vicinity of the tribulation site to find sea beasts, drawing the attention of high-level beasts with sentience could have dire consequences. They couldn't possibly handle hundreds of such beasts.

There was no way they could get close.

Seeing her disappointment, Ning Yuzhou couldn't help but offer a suggestion: using spirit pills to lure the sea beasts.

After all, they had an abundance of spirit pills, so they could afford to be extravagant.

Not all beasts possessed Wen Jiji's abilities, where gathered immortal nectar could replace spirit pills. In the cultivation world, the allure of spirit pills to beasts is immense. As long as they scattered plenty of spirit pills, they wouldn't believe that the simple-minded sea beasts wouldn't take the bait.

However, the matter of luring sea beasts would have to wait until after the beast finished its tribulation.

They didn't have to wait long. Half a day later, the Form Transformation Tribulation was mostly over.

Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao had been keeping a distant watch on the tribulating beast. When the tribulation ended and the clouds dispersed, there were no signs of transformation or the descent of the transforming rain. They knew the sea beast had failed its tribulation.

Many examples exist of beasts failing the Form Transformation Tribulation. Typically, after a failed transformation, most perish in the tribulation, with few surviving.

It took more than half a day for the flying boat to slowly return to the site of the tribulation.

Now, the sea was calm and tranquil, leaving no trace of what had occurred. If not for witnessing the gathering of tribulation clouds earlier, they might never have known that a peak ninth-stage sea beast underwent its tribulation here.

As the flying boat passed, it cast a faint shadow on the sea surface.

Wen Qiao leaped out of the flying boat again, standing on her flying sword. She circled around, finding neither the corpse of the failed tribulator nor any other sea beasts.

Wen Qiao returned to the flying boat and discussed with Ning Yuzhou. Together, they left the boat with Wen Tutu and Wen Guangun, putting the boat away and switching to sword flight.

Then, Wen Qiao cultivated a Thousand Silk Vine seed, tying several top-grade spirit pills to its vines.

To prevent the sea beasts from taking the spirit pills, Wen Qiao wove the other end of the Thousand Silk Vine into a sealed small cage, placing the spirit pills inside. Although the pills would dissolve in water and disperse, at least they wouldn't melt too quickly.

Wen Qiao swung the Thousand Silk Vine, casting the end tied with spirit pills into the sea, then continued cultivating the vine.

Under Wen Qiao's primordial spirit power, the vine grew longer, extending into the sea.

They didn't have to wait long before sensing movement in the sea. The scent of the spirit pills attracted many sea beasts, though these were low-level demonic beasts whose teeth couldn't break the Thousand Silk Vine.

Holding the Thousand Silk Vine, Wen Qiao exerted great strength. Even if the sea beasts tried to drag it underwater, as long as she held on, they couldn't take it away or break the vine.

The flying sword moved across the sea surface, with Wen Qiao dragging the Thousand Silk Vine submerged in the water. The scent of the spirit pills diffusing in the water attracted the sea beasts along the way.

Once the spirit pills completely dissolved, Wen Qiao pulled the Thousand Silk Vine out, replaced the pills, and cast it back into the sea.

In this manner, many sea beasts were drawn by the scent of the spirit pills.

The tranquility of the sea was broken as countless sea beasts emerged, with some fish-like beasts even jumping out of the water, as if trying to bite them down.

Wen Tutu wouldn't tolerate these low-level sea beasts acting recklessly. With a swipe of its claws, it knocked them back into the sea while releasing the aura of a late-stage eighth-rank mutated beast, driving the low-level beasts away.

With Wen Tutu's presence, the low-level sea beasts gradually dared not approach.

Wen Qiao and the others spent a considerable amount of time using spirit pills to lure higher-ranked beasts.

When they sensed a beast biting the Thousand Silk Vine and pulling it into the sea, Wen Qiao tugged hard and dragged it up.

As the Thousand Silk Vine emerged from the water, it brought up a large creature.

Almost pulled into the sea by the creature, Wen Qiao was caught in time by Ning Yuzhou. Together, they looked at the sea beast holding onto the Thousand Silk Vine.

It was an eighth-rank dolphin.

Its size wasn't large, actually a juvenile beast. Despite being pulled out of the water, it refused to release the Thousand Silk Vine, its smiling appearance rather endearing, making one overlook the ferocity of an eighth-rank beast.

"Ziss!"

Wen Tutu hissed threateningly at the eighth-rank dolphin stubbornly holding the Thousand Silk Vine, but the little dolphin ignored it, refusing to let go, displaying a defiant attitude as if daring them to do whatever they wanted, as long as it could eat the spirit pills.

Seeing this, Ning Yuzhou took out a bottle of spirit pills.

The little dolphin's gaze fell on the pill bottle in Ning Yuzhou's hand, its tail slapping the water, still refusing to release its grip.

Ning Yuzhou couldn't help but laugh. It seemed this little dolphin had quite high sentience, better than he imagined. Not only did they catch a harmless beast, but it also possessed enough intelligence for communication.

Ning Yuzhou addressed the dolphin, "We need information about the surrounding seas. If you answer truthfully, we can give you spirit pills."

The little dolphin stared at him, appearing not to understand his words.

Ignoring Ning Gege's question, this dolphin was indeed bold. Wen Tutu decided to teach it a lesson.

Transforming into a ball of fur, Wen Tutu pounced from the flying sword, landing on the dolphin's head. The pain made the little dolphin open its mouth, allowing Wen Qiao to quickly pull the Thousand Silk Vine out.

Angry, the little dolphin sprayed a jet of water at Wen Tutu.

Wen Tutu controlled the wind, dodging the water jets while continuing to pounce on the dolphin, thus initiating a battle between the land and sea beasts.

In the end, Wen Tutu, the late-stage eighth-rank land beast, emerged victorious, subduing the dolphin.

Though very angry, the little dolphin didn't leave, staring at Ning Yuzhou and emitting a clear dolphin sound.

Ning Yuzhou looked inscrutably at the dolphin, remaining silent, which agitated the little dolphin to swim around anxiously before he finally said slowly, "I don't understand what you're saying."

The little dolphin: "…"

Brother Ning is indeed vengeful, even holding a grudge against a mere monster.

Wen Qiao watched Brother Ning tease the dolphin with a smile until it was about to angrily shoot a water arrow, then she said, "Alright, here's a spirit pill for you."

She flicked a spirit pill over, and before it could even touch the water, the gluttonous little dolphin had already leaped out of the water to catch and swallow it.

Back in the water, the dolphin danced joyfully for a while, then looked at them longingly again.

Indeed, there's nothing in this world that can't be solved with a spirit pill. Isn't this dolphin now hooked?

Having tasted the spirit pill, the dolphin became very generous, offering to carry them for a ride in the sea.

However, Wen Qiao declined, stating that they would give it a bottle of spirit pills if it answered their questions truthfully.

The dolphin readily agreed.

Wen Qiao asked, "What sea is this?"

The dolphin flicked its tail, splashing water everywhere, and called out to her a few times.

Wen Qiao relayed the dolphin's words to Ning Yuzhou, "Husband, this dolphin doesn't know what sea this is, but it knows that this area belongs to a cultivator called the Purple-Eyed Venerated One."

Ning Yuzhou's gaze sharpened slightly.

In the cultivation world, those honored with the title "Venerated One" were all cultivators above the Primordial Emperor realm. This Purple-Eyed Venerated One was undoubtedly a monster cultivator of the Primordial Emperor realm.

The Endless Sea was vast, teeming with countless sea creatures, including high-level monster cultivators capable of human form. Ning Yuzhou found this unsurprising.