Chapter 1400: Doubts Abound

Deep in the Myriad Ghost Sea, above a dark expanse of water, the sea lay calm, without the slightest ripple. Icy, bone-chilling winds occasionally swept through the air.

Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan flew rapidly, their expressions frantic. Cheng Zhenyu’s face was pale, as if they had encountered something terrifying. Several thousand zhang behind them, a dark cloud, about a zhang in size, hovered.

A piercing, mournful wail echoed, causing their escape speed to plummet and their gazes to become slightly dull. A "swoosh-swoosh" sound of tearing air filled the space as a vast quantity of fine black threads shot out from the dark cloud. They instantly appeared before Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan, poised to pierce through their bodies.

Cheng Zhenyu slashed his right hand towards the void, and a burst of blue light intensified. A large expanse of incredibly sharp blue sword qi swept forth, striking at the incoming black threads. Zheng Nan summoned a red, foot-long short ruler. With a gentle shake, countless crimson flames emerged, rapidly transforming into a house-sized giant fireball. It carried an unbearable, immense heatwave as it hurtled towards their opponent.

The black threads collided with the blue sword qi, producing a "clink-clink" sound of metal striking metal. The blue sword qi disintegrated entirely, and then the black threads crashed into the giant fireball.

Boom! A massive fireball, ten zhang in diameter, erupted in the sky, distorting the surrounding space.

Zheng Nan flipped her delicate hand, revealing an ancient-looking small blue mirror. It was the Sea Stabilizing Mirror, one of the three most important treasures of the Zhenhai Sect. The seawater on the mirror’s surface churned violently, emitting a shrill, tsunami-like roar. A wave of blue light flew out, precisely enveloping the approaching dark cloud.

The dark cloud immediately halted, motionless, as if it had been frozen in place. Seizing this opportunity, Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan’s escape lights flared, and they rushed into the distance. Three breaths later, the dark cloud regained its freedom. Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan were already several miles away. The dark cloud did not continue its pursuit, seemingly wary of something.

"Fortunately, there are special restrictions here. Otherwise, if that creature had caught us, we would have met our end here this time," Cheng Zhenyu said with a bitter smile, explaining that he and Zheng Nan had entered the Myriad Ghost Sea in search of treasure and nearly died at the hands of a Nascent Soul stage ghostly creature. Fortunately, Zheng Nan had the Sea Stabilizing Mirror.

"Husband, some seniors are approaching," Zheng Nan warned, her expression tense. Incidents of murder and treasure-snatching were common in the Southern Sea cultivation world, especially in the Myriad Ghost Sea. No one could guarantee that the approaching individuals weren't bloodthirsty killers.

A blue escape light and a purple escape light appeared on the horizon. In less than three breaths, the two lights halted and receded, revealing an ordinary-looking young man in a blue shirt and a voluptuous woman in a purple dress. These were Wang Changsheng and Fairy Ziyue, who had disguised their appearances. Fairy Ziyue’s gaze shifted, landing on Zheng Nan. When Wang Changsheng saw Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan, a hint of surprise flickered in his eyes. Could it be that they practiced the Zhenhai Sect's foundational cultivation technique and had found the location of the Zhenhai Sect’s ruins?

With two Nascent Soul cultivators staring intently at them, Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan’s expressions tensed, and they felt extremely nervous. If they had encountered just one Nascent Soul cultivator, they might have had a chance to escape. However, with two, if the other party harbored ill intentions, they wouldn't stand a chance of survival. Cheng Zhenyu stepped forward, shielding Zheng Nan behind him, his expression tense.

"I heard there's a ruin of a major cultivation sect here. Do you know where it is?" Wang Changsheng asked, his tone indifferent. Only cultivators who practiced the Zhenhai Sect's foundational technique could sense the approximate location of its ruins. As far as he knew, Cheng Zhenyu was a sword cultivator, and Zheng Nan practiced the "Heavenly Sound Overturning Sea Art." By all accounts, they shouldn't have been able to sense the ruins' location.

"To answer senior's question, we are not aware of its exact location," Cheng Zhenyu replied, his face showing lingering fear. "According to rumors, the ruins are deep within the Myriad Ghost Sea. One must pass through areas with spatial rifts and face Nascent Soul stage ghostly creatures. Senior Su from Golden Eagle City Market and his two companions, even working together, seemingly failed to reach it, and Senior Su was even injured. We just encountered a Nascent Soul stage ghostly creature ourselves, but we were fortunate to escape by running fast. Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan had only escaped because they encountered the ghostly creature in the process of devouring other cultivators, which bought them some time. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to get away at all."

"So, does that mean this news is just a rumor so far? Has no cultivator managed to enter those ruins?" Fairy Ziyue asked, her face cold and showing some displeasure.

"As far as we know, not yet," Zheng Nan replied cautiously. "Many restrictions have been set up here to contain ghostly creatures, preventing them from leaving. Cultivators can enter and exit freely, but one must be careful of spatial rifts and the ghostly creatures, especially the latter, which are incredibly difficult to guard against. Our divine sense is affected here, so we might not even detect a ghostly creature if it gets close."

"Besides Fellow Daoist Su, have you encountered any other Nascent Soul cultivators?" Wang Changsheng continued to inquire steadily. For Wang Changsheng, Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan's answers were good news; the existence of spatial rifts and Nascent Soul stage ghostly creatures meant the ruins had not yet been discovered. What perplexed Wang Changsheng was that he had previously eliminated a Nascent Soul stage ghostly creature at the ruins over a hundred years ago, and now another one had appeared? Was this Nascent Soul ghostly creature a random occurrence, or had it drifted here from somewhere else? The former would be acceptable, but the latter was intriguing. The Myriad Ghost Sea was heavily restricted; the deeper one went, the more numerous and powerful the restrictions became. Most of these restrictions were aimed at ghostly creatures, not cultivators, so it was unrealistic for a Nascent Soul stage ghostly creature to roam freely. Perhaps the restrictions had loosened, and the frequent entry and exit of Wang family cultivators had attracted the attention of a Nascent Soul stage ghostly creature, which would actually be a good thing for the Wang family.

"This junior has not encountered any other seniors," Cheng Zhenyu said bitterly. "Whoever spread the news about the ruins must have ulterior motives. Spatial rifts alone are enough to cause us serious trouble, let alone Nascent Soul stage ghostly creatures." He was filled with bitterness, having believed the rumor and come here with Zheng Nan to seek treasure, almost losing his life in the process. He hadn't even seen the ruins, let alone any treasure.

"You may leave now! This is not a place for you to be," Wang Changsheng said, waving his hand to dismiss them.

Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. They bowed respectfully, transformed into two streaks of escape light, and vanished into the sky in less than three breaths.

"They certainly run fast, no wonder they escaped from a Nascent Soul stage ghostly creature," Fairy Ziyue said with a playful smile. Wang Changsheng had mentioned to her that Zheng Nan was a descendant of the Zhenhai Sect.

"We need to be careful," Wang Changsheng said. "Another Nascent Soul stage ghostly creature has appeared. I wonder if it escaped from the Myriad Ghost Sect's headquarters. It's rumored that the Myriad Ghost Sect's headquarters raises many ghostly creatures."

Wang Changsheng and Fairy Ziyue then flew forward, proceeding at a relatively slow pace.