NOVPUBThe silent deep-sea floor.
The murky water flow.
A figure, devoid of any support, sat cross-legged within the water, letting it pass over him.
His body donned a frozen silver robe, adorned with exotic patterns.
His skin, still brimming with elasticity, and his eyes as resplendent as stars, seemed to freeze at a single moment, quietly gazing at a certain spot.
His brows slightly furrowed, as if he was facing an insurmountable problem, or perhaps a regret he could not make up for.
This figure, solitary, sat at the bottom of this anonymous sea.
There was no other person around.
No friends.
No Spirit Beasts.
No kin.
As if for thousands or tens of thousands of years, he stayed here, unchanging.
Wang Ba floated in front of this motionless figure, looking at the face seemingly frozen in time. He strangely felt a profound solitude that has lingered in these depths for countless years, separated from the world by the sea.
And it was at this moment.
"Wang Ba!"
"Otter!"
The two hurried voices blurred as water bubbles formed amidst the surging flow.
Nevertheless, the voices jolted Wang Ba out of his profound loneliness.
He quickly swung his eyes around.
Just steps away, in the turbulent water, was a horrified looking Qin Lingxiao, who was being yanked by the strong undercurrent, clutching onto the hind limb of a Hole-digging Otter, stretching its already short limb straight.
The Hole-digging Otter, with its eyes wide open, was desperately holding onto its blue-black Token, lifting its neck strenuously but managing only an inarticulate squawk, producing countless bubbles.
The blue-black Token at this moment was emitting a faint light, firmly suspended in its place.
Wang Ba glanced at the Token in his hand, which was also emitting light, and instantly activated the Mother Qi of Dharmas.
However, the giant hand that usually grew to several yards, was now pathetically small.
Still, he managed to pull Qin Lingxiao back.
After noticing the dangerously fragile light on Qin Lingxiao, Wang Ba paused.
Lowering his gaze, he saw the light Qin Lingxiao had bestowed upon him, which was much brighter.
Without Qin Lingxiao pulling its hind leg, the Hole-digging Otter quickly recoiled its body, hugged its blue-black Token tightly, and a look of post-crisis terror and relief appeared on its round face.
"Otter, otter!"
Wang Ba quickly put down Qin Lingxiao.
For reasons unknown, a few steps away, the water flow was still violent, turbulent. But here, it was incredibly calm.
As if they were two different worlds.
However, he faintly sensed that the power of Yuanci at this place had intensified unimaginably. Despite the Mother Qi of Dharmas not being constrained by the force of Yuanci, here, it felt overwhelmingly supressed.
Qin Lingxiao looked pale at this moment.
Had she not caught the Hole-digging Otter just now and been driven by the water flow, her fate would most likely have been the depletion of her mana due to the rapid erosion of Yuanci, then being crushed alive by the deep sea.
In the worst-case scenario, she would have been swept away to the surface and eaten by the prowling Demonic Beasts.
The thought of these outcomes stirred a sense of fear and dread in Qin Lingxiao’s heart.
Instinctively, she moved closer to Wang Ba.
However, upon noticing the dead body ahead, she couldn’t help but exclaim:
"How can there be a person here?!"
Soon, she noticed the familiar decorative patterns on his robe, her thoughts raced she blurted,
"Is… is he that Cultivator from the Zhongsheng Continent?"
"The one who, the one who was the temporary host of the immortal cave!"
She quickly turned her head to look at Wang Ba.
However, she saw no surprise on Wang Ba’s face.
He seemed to have made some guesses in his mind already.
Wang Ba looked at the Token in his hand. After coming here, the Token showed no more reactions than before.
He didn’t make any rash moves, but looked around instead.
The water around was more agitated than the sea waves, much more vicious.
The murky water flow, suppressed by the force of Yuanci making it difficult for the cultivation of spiritual sense, allowed only for a rough observation.
He found it surprising that only a handful of Demonic Beasts could be seen swimming swiftly from a distance.
Further off, one could catch fleeting glimpses of vague shadows.
"This place… we might already be within the sea barrier!"
Wang Ba’s mind quickly reached a conclusion that made him frown in deep thought.
That being said, the number of Demonic Beasts was scarce, thus minimizing one major danger of the sea barrier.
After all, the sea barrier had two main issues. One was the Demonic Beasts hiding in it, and the other was the horrifying force of Yuanci within it.
The strongly agitated water flow held great power and posed a significant hazard, but compared to the two previous challenges, it didn’t amount to much.
As for Yuanci, Wang Ba was protected by the Token, and he wasn’t very worried about it.
Additionally, he also had Fu to resist the force of Yuanci.
Thinking so, Wang Ba immediately summoned Fu.
"Fu!"
Contrary to Wang Ba’s expectation, as soon as Fu appeared, it immediately twisted its neck, quickly sniffing something.
Then, it suddenly pressed its tail on the ground, gave a low growl towards a certain direction.
Before Wang Ba could understand Fu’s intention,
Fu had already turned its head to look at the lifeless figure in the silver robe.
In its light brown vertical eyes flickered a hint of excitement, and surprisingly, it jumped straight towards the figure!
"Fu!"
Wang Ba couldn’t suppress his urge to shout out.
