Chapter 4635 — Encountering the Sea Fog

Suppressing the wild thoughts churning in his head, Wei Zhao had lost all appetite for the sunrise. Knowing that two pairs of eyes were fixed on him, he felt at once as though needles were pricking his back—the same sensation as being stalked by two mighty spiritual beasts in a dense forest, an invisible pressure that squeezed the breath from a man's lungs.

Yet the jade pendant had raised no alarm, and that meant neither Gongyang Jun nor Lan Tieshan harbored any ill intent. Perhaps they had merely been sent by Shangguan Tianxia to guard him in secret. That was the one thought that gave Wei Zhao some comfort.

The voyage across the boundless sea was smooth and uneventful. Faced with the ocean's endless sameness, the first flush of novelty and excitement soon wore off, and the journey turned tedious and flat. Wei Zhao did not mind; he had once lain low for the better part of a year in the sunless Five Poison Swamp, so a mere fortnight at sea was nothing to him.

Shangguan Lan'er and Little Curly Bear, however, could not bear it. With nothing to do from morning to night, they could only come find Wei Zhao, pestering him time and again for tales of his past adventures—something to while away the boredom, like listening to a storyteller.

Shangguan Lan'er had little interest in the South Continent portion of his adventures; what truly fascinated her was the mortal realm. After hearing so many stories of it, she could not help but hatch a notion of her own: one day she simply must go and see the mortal realm for herself. Otherwise, to live out her whole life in dull obscurity on Cloudstep Island—what a waste that would be!

By the schedule, the giant treasure ship would race across the sea for half a month. Apart from the first two days spent wandering every corner of the vessel, Wei Zhao thereafter became all but Shangguan Lan'er's official storyteller. He could not help marveling from the bottom of his heart: this girl's fascination with the mortal realm was truly out of the ordinary. The merest trifle could keep her excited for ages, and she would chase him down and pry into every last detail.

So it went until the tenth day, when Wei Zhao was recounting his years as an assassin. Suddenly a crewman came to report that a thick sea fog had appeared ahead, and they could go no further.

Wei Zhao was startled. He hurried with Shangguan Lan'er and Little Curly Bear to the deck to see for himself. A crowd had already gathered there—Gongyang Jun, Lan Tieshan, even Xu Lingchong were present. To be halted mid-voyage by sea fog was no small matter, after all.

For all that the giant treasure ship was a floating fortress, that was only relative to ordinary vessels. If it were truly trapped in the endless ocean and time dragged on, not only would the voyage be badly delayed, but supplies would become a problem as well. Compared with the next two threats, though, those were trifles.

Those two threats were sea beasts, and the weather. In eight cases out of ten the giant treasure ship could weather them safely—but there remained a two-in-ten chance of mishap, and a single mishap could prove fatal.

If they suddenly encountered a super-tier sea beast above the Sea-Cleaving Stage, such as a giant electric eel, could the giant treasure ship still guarantee its safety? The answer was hardly reassuring.

Likewise, if extreme weather struck, the giant treasure ship could hardly be counted safe either.

At this moment, the crowd gathering on the deck was growing uneasy. The sea fog itself was not frightening; what they feared was what might lurk behind that dense fog—nothing at all, or a pack of savage sea beasts, or a monstrous wave vast enough to capsize the treasure ship.

Seeing Wei Zhao and Shangguan Lan'er appear, the people spontaneously gathered around them. Though the West Island mission was nominally led by three elders of the Sandie Pavilion, everyone knew they were merely masters of ceremony. All three were only at the Nascent Soul Stage, and their authority was, if anything, less than that of Wei Zhao, a newly promoted disciple.

Moreover, Wei Zhao was the guardian handpicked by Shangguan Tianxia and the envoy representing North Island on this visit to West Island. When a decision truly had to be made, by reason and by right it ought to be his to make.

"Envoy Lin, the entire route ahead is swallowed by sea fog. We cannot make out the situation at all. Pressing on blindly will likely court danger. What do you think we should do?" one of the elders asked on behalf of the assembly. Strength commanded deference; not all elders were fools with their noses in the air—when the time came to bow their heads, they bowed faster than anyone, for the old grow crafty with the years.

Wei Zhao smiled at that and turned to Gongyang Jun and Lan Tieshan. "I am only a junior newly admitted to the sect. Since Hall Master Gongyang and Senior Brother Lan are both here, the decision is naturally theirs to make."

All eyes turned to the two of them. Their cultivation far outstripped Wei Zhao's, and their words would carry far more weight than his.

At that, Gongyang Jun and Lan Tieshan both glanced at Wei Zhao, a certain unfathomable depth in their eyes. Though the three were not remotely on the same level, Wei Zhao's past conduct had already earned him a place in their regard; and for him to show such good sense at a moment like this would gratify anyone.

Yet both men now wore grave expressions. The sea fog before them was exceedingly dense, hindering spiritual sense beyond all measure; even experts of their caliber could not overcome it. Though they were not so badly off as the others, whose spiritual sense was utterly stymied, their range of perception was still severely limited.

"My spiritual sense reaches only fifty zhang around me," Gongyang Jun said, and said no more.

"The same for me," Lan Tieshan said flatly.

At this the crowd's faces grew tenser still. Fifty zhang of perception was nowhere near enough for navigation, especially for a colossus like the giant treasure ship. At such a distance they would have no time even to detect danger, let alone avoid it—unless they simply stopped dead in place.

Now even Wei Zhao felt a headache coming on. The Ghostly Thing's spiritual sense covered a far greater range than theirs, but it was likewise insufficient to guarantee safety. To press on blindly would be to gamble with the lives of everyone aboard; one mishap, and the likely end was total annihilation.

"In that case, we will anchor here and wait to see how things develop," Wei Zhao had no choice but to decide.

The others nodded one after another. It was the only option left. True, stopping out here on the open sea carried its own dangers, but stillness was better than motion: whatever unforeseen circumstance arose, they would at least have a little time to react.

"But this sea is thick with peril. Even anchored here, we must not relax our vigilance. We must tighten our watch," Wei Zhao continued. (To be continued) R466