Chapter 364: Solitary Island, Giant Vessel

“My head feels so heavy!” This was Han Li’s first sensation upon regaining consciousness.

After he and Qu Hun began teleporting within the yellow light, he suddenly felt immense pressure from all sides in the hazy yellow surroundings. Fortunately, the Great Teleportation Token in his hand emitted a faint cyan glow just in time, immediately relieving the pressure. However, the spiritual power within his body began to drain frantically into the token.

Han Li had long been prepared for this and wasn’t overly alarmed. These changes had been mentioned in the ancient texts he had read about the “Great Teleportation Token.”

In the blink of an eye, the artifact stopped absorbing spiritual power, and the yellow light dissipated. He and Qu Hun found themselves in a pitch-black place.

The light was too dim for Han Li to make out their surroundings clearly. But the area was dead silent, suggesting no one else was around. Relieved, Han Li lifted his leg to step out of the formation.

But as soon as he took a step, the world seemed to spin around him. His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, nearly vomiting from the discomfort. Han Li knew this was a side effect of long-distance teleportation. The severity of his reaction was entirely due to his current low cultivation level.

However, he had no time to dwell on this. He immediately ordered Qu Hun to destroy the teleportation formation.

Expressionless, Qu Hun drew the massive silver sword Han Li had given him and hacked one corner of the formation into pieces.

Seeing this, Han Li finally felt at ease.

He sat on the ground for a while, gradually adjusting to the darkness.

Slowly, he began to sense that this place seemed like an abandoned room—not only pitch-black but also reeking of decay. Reaching out a hand, he felt a thick layer of dust on the ground.

Strangely, this made him feel even more reassured. At the very least, there seemed to be no immediate danger.

After some time, when the discomfort had subsided, he pushed himself up with one hand and slowly rose to his feet.

He then took out a Moonlight Stone from his storage pouch, illuminating the room. As he had guessed, it was a long-abandoned stone chamber, empty except for a stone door ahead.

Han Li glanced back at the destroyed teleportation formation, hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the stone door and pushed it lightly. To his surprise, the door swung open effortlessly.

“Where is this…?” Han Li murmured in astonishment.

Before him stretched a long bluestone staircase, ascending gradually into the darkness, its length unknown. A layer of dust covered the steps, clearly untouched for a long time.

He looked back at the room he had emerged from and realized it was nothing more than a small cave carved into the mountain.

After a moment of contemplation, Han Li shook his head with a self-mocking smile and began slowly ascending the stairs. Qu Hun followed closely behind, never leaving his side.

The staircase appeared long, but after rounding a corner, Han Li spotted the exit—a massive boulder blocking a circular opening.

Frowning, Han Li commanded Qu Hun without hesitation, “Split it open!” He then took a step back.

Qu Hun strode forward, raised the silver sword, and sliced through the giant rock as if it were tofu, cleaving it into several pieces in just a few strokes. Blinding sunlight streamed in, accompanied by slightly damp, fresh air.

Han Li took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

Since teleporting here and detecting the strange odor in the air, he had been holding his breath, not daring to inhale. Now, he could finally breathe freely again.

Yet, he was still puzzled. Why was the air here so damp, with a faint salty taste? It was unlike any air he had ever encountered.

With this question in mind, Han Li stepped past Qu Hun, squinted against the bright sun, and scanned his surroundings.

The sight that greeted him left him stunned. As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but endless, azure blue water stretching to the horizon.

Han Li stood in a daze for a long time before finally snapping out of it.

“Is this the legendary ocean?” he wondered inwardly, a mix of surprise and excitement stirring within him.

The largest body of water he had ever seen before was a massive river in Lan Zhou, merely several dozen zhang wide. An expanse as vast as this was something he had only read about in books. Witnessing it in person was an entirely different experience, and he was utterly awestruck.

After gazing out for a while, Han Li finally looked down to assess his location, a trace of confusion crossing his face.

He found himself on a fairly high cliff, with the ocean waves crashing against the rocks at its base not far below.

Seeing this, Han Li stroked his chin, lost in thought.

The color of the seawater was different from that of the legendary Boundless Sea but matched the description of a normal ocean in books. It seemed he had indeed teleported out of Tian Nan. The question was, which region’s coast was this?

Then again, the name of the place didn’t matter much to him. Having left Tian Nan, he was completely in the dark, unfamiliar with any paths or routes.

After pondering this, Han Li didn’t immediately take flight on his artifact. Instead, he closed his eyes and slowly released his spiritual sense to detect any nearby cultivators.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense, a strange expression on his face.

Without a word, he summoned his Divine Wind Boat, flashed onto it, and soared into the sky without any attempt to conceal himself. Once dozens of zhang high, he halted the boat and stood at its prow, surveying his surroundings.

In every direction, his eyes met the same deep blue shimmer. The sparkling, undulating waves nearly dazzled him.

Directly below him was a solitary island about ten li in diameter. The cliff he had emerged from was merely a protruding small stone mountain on this isolated island.

Han Li rubbed his nose and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

This was trouble. Although the place seemed safe, he couldn’t possibly cultivate on this island. The spiritual energy here was far too sparse!

Even if he wanted to accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs, he needed a place with decent spiritual energy. Otherwise, even if he applied the green liquid, the spiritual plants would still wither the next day. The more valuable and spirit-rich the herbs, the higher their demand for spiritual energy—a fact that left Han Li feeling quite helpless.

He guided the Divine Wind Boat in a wide circle around the island, finally confirming that there were no signs of any coastline or other islands nearby. Moreover, apart from rocks, trees, and a few small snakes, the island had no living creatures.

With a sigh, he flew back to the cave.

Once inside, without a second thought, he collapsed into a deep sleep at the cave entrance. The days and nights of sleepless repair work had left him utterly exhausted. All troubles could wait until he had rested and regained his energy.

Under Qu Hun’s watch, Han Li slept soundly for a full day and night.

Upon waking, he went alone to the mountaintop and gazed out at the ocean, lost in thought.

After an unknown length of time, he expressionlessly rode his artifact down from the summit. At the base of the cliff, he found a suitably sized rock and resealed the cave entrance.

Then, with Qu Hun in tow, he hovered nearby for a moment before fixing his direction toward where the sun set and flew off at high speed without looking back.

Han Li reasoned that since someone had built a teleportation formation on this island, there must be other islands or land nearby. Otherwise, who would go to the trouble of constructing such an expensive ancient teleportation formation on a deserted island?

Of course, Han Li had no idea which direction was correct. But he had already decided to fly in this direction for several days and nights. If he found no traces of cultivators or mortals, he would simply change direction and try again.

Though this method was extremely clumsy, it was Han Li’s only option on this unfamiliar sea. Fortunately, his storage pouch was well-stocked with spirit stones, so he didn’t have to worry about running out of spiritual power.

Perhaps luck was on Han Li’s side today. After flying for less than a day, he spotted a massive ship on the ocean.

Overjoyed, Han Li thought to himself that dealing with mortals was far safer than interacting with cultivators.

However, he found the ship rather peculiar. It had no masts or sails. Instead, a dozen enormous fish—unlike any he had ever seen or heard of—were pulling the ship swiftly forward at the bow.

Though these giant fish were massive and covered in sharp teeth, Han Li clearly sensed no spiritual energy from them. They were not sea demons or monsters. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared approach the ship so casually!