Chapter 26: Getting Off the Ship

Back at the medical tent, everything was normal. Li Weiyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Cai Yutong, Gao Huan, Old Liu, and others knew the purpose of Li Weiyi entering the grave forest. They had been waiting outside, and seeing him return, they assumed he had succeeded and eagerly asked for an update.

“That skeletal demon is no ordinary foe; she can now leave her grave. Even with all my current abilities, I can only hold my own against her.” Li Weiyi’s face showed deep worry. Not being able to eliminate her meant she could, to some extent, do as she pleased. If she were to attack the expedition members, it would be impossible to guard against. What’s more, there was still the camel-riding specter, whose fate—whether it was dispersed or not—remained unknown.

“Are you injured?” Cai Yutong noticed the bloodstains on Li Weiyi’s body.

“It’s nothing,” Li Weiyi replied. He then instructed, “Notify everyone: no one is to enter the grave forest from now on. If you hear the camel bell, immediately put on earplugs. Also, be wary of Dr. Qi.”

“What happened to her?” Cai Yutong asked, concerned for Qi Shanshan’s safety.

Li Weiyi pondered for a moment, then said uncertainly, “She might have been possessed by the skeletal demon!”

Cai Yutong’s expression turned somber. Although she had somewhat expected something might have happened to Qi Shanshan, this outcome seemed even harder to accept.

“It might not be possession; I just feel her state is very strange,” Li Weiyi offered, trying to reassure her.

“Brother Weiyi, the first mate is awake!” Qin Ke rushed out of the medical tent, shouting joyfully from a distance.

Li Weiyi’s spirits lifted. All his worries and distractions vanished, and he quickly walked into the medical tent.

The two brothers shared some laughs and recounted what had happened.

Zhao Meng sat up, frustrated, “Have I turned into a giant? My height looks like at least three meters, and my legs are almost as thick as buckets!”

Li Weiyi said, “If I had any other choice, I would never have given you the serpent’s blood so easily.”

Zhao Meng sensed Li Weiyi’s guilt and quickly laughed, “I think it’s great! My whole body is filled with power; I could probably catch a tiger with my bare hands. How about we spar a bit, brother? Do you dare?”

Zhao Meng hadn't shed his skin, nor did his skin show any signs of becoming ethereal. It seemed that after drinking the Golden Crow blood and the Black Serpent blood, everyone’s transformations were different. Even Li Weiyi showed no external changes at all.

Li Weiyi asked, “No need to spar, I have something important I want to ask you, brother. Do you still remember our senior sister, Canaan?”

A stunning figure, one he could never forget, instantly appeared in Zhao Meng’s mind. He asked, “Why do you suddenly bring up Senior Sister?”

“I remember Senior Sister stayed in the sect for three years, but I was too young then and don’t remember many details. Where exactly was Senior Sister from? Why did she never return to the sect later, and did something happen to her?” Li Weiyi asked.

“Not three years, but two and a half,” Zhao Meng corrected.

Zhao Meng recalled bits and pieces: “Senior Sister was closest to you, but it’s a pity you were too young to remember. If you had been a bit older, she would surely have been a woman you’d never forget. She was so extraordinary, not like someone from this world.”

“Stop reminiscing about your youth; I’m asking about serious matters,” Li Weiyi said.

Zhao Meng replied, “First, tell me what this is about for you.”

“I can’t explain it clearly in a few words,” Li Weiyi said. He asked about Senior Sister because the language used by the red-clothed Qi Shanshan and the specter on the camel earlier was the same as Senior Sister’s native tongue. Li Weiyi was young then, but not so young that he remembered nothing. He had learned that language from Senior Sister, which was why he could roughly understand their conversation.

Zhao Meng said, “Master said Senior Sister was from a minority group overseas, and she went home after leaving the sect. Later, I traveled the seas many times, searching in various countries around the world, but I could never find that mysterious minority group.”

“Didn’t you ask Master?” Li Weiyi asked.

“Of course I asked! How could I not?” Zhao Meng exclaimed. “But Master advised me to stop asking, told me to give up the idea, and even scolded me, saying I was a country bumpkin who wasn’t worthy of Senior Sister. It’s unfair! I just wanted to see Senior Sister one more time. Don’t you?”

“Of course I do! But I think we might be able to see Senior Sister in this world,” Li Weiyi said meaningfully, many thoughts flashing through his mind.

Two days later.

Li Weiyi stood at the bow of the bronze vessel, gazing at the crimson sea, his mood growing heavier. He had entered the grave forest many times to search for the red-clothed Qi Shanshan and the specter named “Yu Tuonan,” but found nothing. He guessed that the two formidable entities were hiding in one of the grave mounds, recuperating from their injuries. There were too many graves; it was impossible to dig them all up one by one. What if he unearthed a third formidable entity…?

As the bronze vessel sailed rapidly, the coffins on the sea surface became more numerous and dense, almost forming a landmass of coffins ahead, a black, oppressive expanse blocking the entire waterway. This made the vessel’s speed slower than ever, almost bringing it to a halt.

The coffins varied in size and shape. Some large ones even stretched for hundreds of meters, their black wood carved with demonic patterns, wrapped in chains as thick as bowls. It was unknown what kind of corpses lay buried within. In some areas, tens of thousands of coffins were piled together, forming "floating islands" from which purplish-red vines grew. The roots of these vines were nowhere to be seen.

The entire coffin sea was eerily quiet. It was unclear if it was naturally this silent, or if the arrival of the bronze vessel had caused the quiet.

Li Weiyi turned to Gao Huan beside him and asked, “Can you explain what mythological place this is? Where did all these coffins come from?”

“We’ve sailed past at least several million, if not tens of millions, of coffins. And that’s just what we’ve seen.”

“They seem to be drawn here by some unknown force.”

Gao Huan’s lips parted; he thought for a moment, then calmly replied, “Perhaps they all fell from the macroscopic world, just like us… There are many planets in the universe, and surely Earth isn’t the only one with life. After those life forms are buried, perhaps for some special reason, they fall into the microscopic world!”

After Zhao Meng awoke, Gao Huan was the first to drink the Golden Crow blood. He shed his mortal shell, transforming into an ethereal being, his skin as white as warm jade. Like Cai Yutong, his physical strength had significantly increased, comparable to athletes in their prime. However… His height had significantly decreased. He was originally only 1.65 meters tall, and now he was less than 1.5 meters. Despite his surname, which means ‘tall,’ he was now anything but.

“Hey, Mr. Li, why is there a red figure on the sea below?” Gao Huan exclaimed in surprise.

Li Weiyi’s eyesight was far superior; he could clearly see, even from hundreds of meters away, that the figure leaping away across the floating coffins was “Qi Shanshan.” She actually left the ship?

The red-clothed Qi Shanshan grew a pair of fiery wings from her back and, holding a person in her arms, instantly landed on a massive floating island of coffins. She glanced back at Li Weiyi at the bow, then pointed with her finger to Cai Yutong in her arms. Then, without looking back, she dashed into the depths of the coffin island, disappearing into the gloomy mist.

“Is that the red-clothed skeletal demon?”

“Dr. Cai was taken by her?”

“What does she want? Leaving the bronze vessel, she, as a skeletal being, might be fine, but how will Dr. Cai survive?” Gao Huan rushed after Li Weiyi, heading towards the medical tent and the fractured research vessel.

“She’s doing this on purpose; she wants to lure me off the ship,” Li Weiyi said. He found the rope tied to the gunwale, used for drawing water. It was clear the red-clothed Qi Shanshan had descended from there. How dare she? Does she know what this place is?

“Weiyi, something terrible has happened! Dr. Cai was attacked by Dr. Qi…” Zhao Meng, Old Liu, and a group of others rushed over, their faces anxious.

Li Weiyi replied, “I know. They’ve already left the ship.”

“When she left, she said something very strange,” Zhao Meng repeated word for word. “She said, ‘If Li Weiyi wants to know who he is, I can give him the answer. Tell him to come find me.’”

“Who am I?” Li Weiyi frowned. He had never considered this question before. But with the appearance of the skeletal demon and the so-called ‘Guardian Wife,’ everything had become confusing. Everyone must have an origin.

He gripped the rope tightly, feeling quite hesitant. It wasn't that he was afraid to leave the ship, but he knew there was an even more terrifying ghost on board and was worried about what might happen to his brother and the others if he disembarked. And if everyone left the ship, their path ahead was uncertain. This coffin sea was too sinister; no one knew how many dangers lurked there. Once the bronze vessel sailed away, they would lose all hope.

“It’s stopped… The bronze vessel seems to have completely come to a halt…” Gao Huan leaned over the gunwale, looking out at the sea.

“Clang! Clang!”

From the grave forest, the camel bell and the wind grew loud, rushing rapidly towards the gunwale.

“Look out!”

Li Weiyi quickly stepped forward, manipulating the hot and cold currents within his body to form a Heaven-Overturning Palm Seal, striking a cloud of ghostly mist that flew from above a tombstone. With a bang, the terrifying force within the ghostly mist flung Li Weiyi over the gunwale.

The humanoid specter, astride its camel, leaped high over the gunwale amidst the deafening camel bells, swinging its ghostly banner in mid-air to strike at Li Weiyi’s waist and abdomen, intending to send him plummeting to his death in the sea.

In this moment of extreme danger, Li Weiyi, ignoring his fall through mid-air, drew the Yellow Dragon Sword from his back and swung it to block.

“Thud!”

The two forces collided. Li Weiyi’s qi and blood surged within him, causing him to plummet even faster.

What was more critical was that the camel bell and ghostly banner struck again. The humanoid specter, completely unafraid of falling, was intent on killing him. In this nearly fatal situation, the 'springs' in the soles of Li Weiyi's feet surged, qi currents filled all twenty-six of his 'trace channels,' and he unleashed 'Yellow Dragon Ascending to Heaven'. With his first step, he seemed to tread on a cloud of wind and qi, stabilizing his descent. His second step allowed him to dodge the ghostly banner, rising to the same height as the humanoid specter. With his third step, Li Weiyi appeared directly above the humanoid specter’s head.

As the humanoid specter watched in shock, the dynamic of attack and defense shifted.

“Die,” Li Weiyi declared. He raised his sword with both hands, its yellow glow erupting, and brought it down with a heavy cleave.