Chapter 2087: Sea of Thunder

“It seems to be correct. It should indeed be the Demon Ape Reef.” After gazing at the mountain peak for a long while, Saintess Qianqiu finally exhaled lightly and spoke.

“According to Fellow Daoist Qianqiu, the island lies in the direction the demon ape is facing, a month’s journey away in the sea. That means we should head southwest.” The feathered-robed girl examined the mountain peak for a few moments before calmly stating as she looked toward the southwest.

“According to the message left by our clan’s esteemed elder, the island should indeed be in this general area. However…” Saintess Qianqiu hesitated slightly.

“At this point, Fellow Daoist, is there anything you still cannot speak openly about?” Seeing this, Patriarch Long frowned and spoke with a hint of displeasure.

“Brother Long, you misunderstand. It’s not that I am withholding anything, but the esteemed elder, in addition to the clues mentioned earlier, also hinted at the end that we descendants must be extremely cautious when approaching the island, as if there were some unknown danger nearby. However, the elder’s final words were vague, and we do not know the specifics, which is why I did not mention it earlier to the rest of you,” Saintess Qianqiu explained.

“Such a thing! If even your clan’s esteemed elder, a Mahayana existence, felt the need for caution, it must be extremely dangerous for us. We must prepare some defensive measures before proceeding,” Han Li said, his expression turning grave.

“Indeed. At this point, Fellow Daoists, any backup measures you have should be prepared in advance. Later, I will set up several formations on the great ship to enhance its power by at least half,” the elderly Confucian scholar from the Spirit Race coughed lightly and said.

After a moment of contemplation, Patriarch Long also spoke solemnly:

“I have two ancient stone puppets in my possession. Though their offensive capabilities are limited, their defensive power rivals that of a Body Integration cultivator. However, activating them requires a dozen or so days of preparatory rituals.”

“I have a set of demon banners with considerable power. I can deploy them on the ship as well,” Han Li said after a brief pause.

This set of demon banners had been obtained from a certain Demon Race Venerable he had slain, and their power was indeed formidable for ordinary Body Integration cultivators.

“I have raised several Frostwater Rhinos. They are exceptionally tough and can exhale potent icy breath. We can use them to replace the current sea beasts,” Saintess Qianqiu suggested after some thought.

Seeing that Han Li and the other late-Body Integration cultivators had taken the lead, the rest of the group quickly conferred and also produced various treasures…

Everyone understood clearly that these were not their true life-saving trump cards. However, with these preparations, the great ship’s survivability had greatly increased, and everyone felt much more at ease.

Soon after, the great ship changed course and sped toward the southwest. Many began bustling about on the deck.

Han Li planted his set of demon banners at key points on the ship. The elderly Confucian scholar, meanwhile, began inscribing runes and patterns on the ship’s surface and embedding formation plates into it.

Before long, the entire ship had been transformed. The sea beasts pulling it were replaced by eight blue-glowing, five-to-six-zhang-long rhino-like creatures.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, the great ship was still speeding across the Demon Source Sea, but the once-calm black waters had become turbulent. Towering waves crashed against the ship from all directions. The dark clouds overhead had descended to a mere fifty or sixty zhang above the sea.

From within the clouds came the roar of violent winds, and silver arcs flickered incessantly, with massive bolts of lightning occasionally striking the ship. However, the vessel was enveloped in a greenish light barrier, and the lightning merely flashed briefly upon impact before dissipating harmlessly.

At the ship’s bow stood Han Li, Patriarch Long, Saintess Qianqiu, and others, engaged in hushed discussions with grave expressions.

“We’ve been in this area for seven days and still haven’t found the island. Could the danger mentioned by your clan’s esteemed elder refer to these storms?” Patriarch Long asked, his face dark as he watched the waves outside.

“Brother Long, you jest. Of course not! The real issue is that our spiritual senses are severely disrupted here. We can only detect movements within ten li, making it much harder to locate the island,” Saintess Qianqiu replied with a frown.

“Fortunately, Brother Han and Brother Bai possess spirit eye techniques that allow them to see farther. Otherwise, we truly would be searching for a needle in a haystack,” Patriarch Long remarked, glancing at Han Li and the white-shrouded Bai Qi before sighing.

At that moment, Han Li’s eyes glowed blue as he peered into the distance. On the other side, Bai Qi, enveloped in white light, had an indistinct beam of light shooting from his forehead, extending like a phantom into the surging waves.

“Brother Long, don’t place too much hope in my Spirit Eyes. Unlike Brother Bai’s innate ability, mine was cultivated later and consumes a great deal of spiritual energy with each use. I cannot employ it too frequently,” Han Li said, retracting the blue light from his eyes and turning to offer a wry smile.

“Brother Han, you are too modest. Even if your Spirit Eyes cannot be used continuously, assisting Brother Bai will still greatly increase our chances of finding the target,” Saintess Qianqiu said with a light laugh.

Han Li twitched his lips in another wry smile but did not argue further. Instead, he channeled his spiritual energy and reactivated his Spirit Eyes.

Patriarch Long and Saintess Qianqiu, lacking such abilities, remained on deck, lost in thought. Their expressions were calm, revealing nothing of their inner deliberations.

Time passed slowly.

After another round of observation, Han Li withdrew his Spirit Eyes and took a moment to rest before casually reactivating them to scan the distant sea.

This time, however, after just a few flickers of blue light in his pupils, his expression shifted to one of shock and suspicion. He abruptly channeled most of his spiritual energy, causing the blue light in his eyes to intensify dramatically—so much so that even a glance from afar would sting the eyes of onlookers.

This sudden change naturally drew the attention of Patriarch Long and Saintess Qianqiu. Neither disturbed him, instead watching his every move with a mix of surprise and anticipation.

“Brother Bai, could you look toward the area five thousand li in my direction? I need to confirm if I’m seeing correctly,” Han Li said after taking a deep breath.

“Five thousand li? Brother Han, you can see that far? At such a distance, I can only barely attempt it,” Bai Qi replied in astonishment before reluctantly nodding.

He turned his head, redirecting the beam of white light from his forehead toward the area Han Li indicated. The white light around his body brightened further.

“There does seem to be something there, but it’s too far for me to discern clearly. I cannot confirm whether it’s an island,” Bai Qi finally said after a long pause, his white light dimming.

“Fellow Daoists, what exactly did you see?” Patriarch Long could no longer hold back his curiosity.

Saintess Qianqiu also listened intently.

“There is a region shrouded in lightning, and within it, a dark shadow. However, the lightning obscures the details, making it difficult to see clearly,” Han Li stated plainly, without any pretense.

“Lightning? We have lightning here as well. What’s the difference?” Saintess Qianqiu frowned in confusion.

“It’s hard to explain in detail. You’ll understand once we get closer,” Han Li replied, shaking his head with a peculiar expression.

“Good. Change course immediately!” Patriarch Long commanded without hesitation, pointing toward the eight Frostwater Rhinos pulling the ship.

The great ship shuddered slightly before veering toward the area Han Li had indicated.

Under Patriarch Long’s summons, the other Spirit Race members and the feathered-robed girl emerged from the cabins, their faces alight with excitement.

Half a day later, the ship arrived several thousand li away and finally caught sight of the area Han Li had described.

Ahead, on the pitch-black sea, a vast expanse of silver lightning cascaded like a waterfall from the sky, striking the water and forming countless floating orbs of electricity that burst apart, creating a sea of thunder. The deafening roar filled the heavens.

Through the curtain of lightning, a massive dark shadow could vaguely be seen within the thunderous sea. However, the blinding flashes made it impossible for ordinary eyes to discern anything clearly.

But at this distance, Han Li and Bai Qi, with their Spirit Eyes, had no trouble confirming that the shadow was indeed a colossal island—one entirely encircled by the same thunderous sea.

No matter which direction they approached from, they would have to force their way through the lightning.

“If the so-called danger refers to this lightning, while troublesome, it shouldn’t be impossible to breach,” Patriarch Long mused as he studied the thunderous sea.

Saintess Qianqiu remained silent, her brows tightly knit.

“Brother Long, if that’s what you think, you’re mistaken,” Han Li suddenly said after carefully observing the area above the thunderous sea, his eyes flashing blue once more.

“Brother Han, do you have another discovery?” Patriarch Long asked, startled.

Han Li’s expression was grave as he replied, “Look carefully above the thunderous sea. There’s something far more dangerous than the lightning itself.”

Patriarch Long and Saintess Qianqiu immediately focused their gazes upward, their expressions darkening as they finally noticed the faint, swirling shadows lurking within the storm clouds—shadows that seemed to pulse with an eerie, malevolent energy.

“It seems we’ve found our danger,” Saintess Qianqiu murmured, her voice barely audible over the roaring thunder.