System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

179: The fragmented map points to an impending storm.The throbbing was extremely faint, like a guttering candle in the wind, yet it was undeniably real. It was completely different from the sensation he had felt when sensing the chaos ancestral talisman fragments before. It wasn’t an attraction from the same source, but more like a... mark, a guide, or perhaps, an encrypted resonance.

Ye Chen’s heart stirred, but his expression remained unchanged. He walked slowly toward the old man’s stall, pretending to casually examine several pieces of Ore and seaweed.

The old man lifted his cloudy eyes and glanced at Ye Chen, saying feebly, ”What has Fellow Daoist taken a fancy to? These are all worthless trinkets; a few Spirit Stones or Medicinal Pills will do.”

Ye Chen’s gaze finally landed on that leather fragmentary map, and he reached out to pick it up. It felt rough to the touch, made of an unknown material that seemed extremely tough, having resisted decay throughout the years. The lines and arrow markings on it were crooked and irregular, looking more like a child’s scribbles.

”Boss, how much for this old piece of leather?” Ye Chen asked in a flat tone, as if it were just a casual inquiry.

The old man glanced at it and said lazily, ”Oh, that thing. It was found inside the shell of an old, dead ’Phantom Sound Conch.’ I don’t know what it is, and it’s been sitting here for a long time with no takers. If Fellow Daoist is interested, just give me a bottle of Medicinal Pills for healing or restoring Protective Aura.”

Phantom Sound Conch? Ye Chen knew of this sea beast; its shell sometimes nurtured strange pearls capable of recording sound or images, but he had never heard of it containing a leather fragmentary map. He attempted to inject a trace of imperceptible Chaos Gang Qi into the map.

Another anomaly occurred!

The moment the fragmentary map came into contact with the Chaos Gang Qi, the dark brown lines on its surface actually seemed to come alive, wriggling slightly and emitting an extremely faint spatial fluctuation! And that blurred arrow marking also faintly pointed in a specific direction!

At the same time, the throbbing from the chaos ancestral talisman became clearer, as if confirming something!

This fragmentary map was indeed not simple! It required the power of Chaos to be activated before it would reveal some of its mysteries!

Ye Chen suppressed the surprise in his heart and withdrew his Protective Aura without showing any emotion. The fragmentary map immediately returned to its worn and ordinary appearance. He pondered for a moment before taking out a bottle of high-quality ’Essence Returning Pills’ suitable for Earth Fiend Realm Cultivators and handing it to the old man.

”Is this bottle of pills enough to trade for this map?”

The old man took the pills, uncorked the bottle, and sniffed. His cloudy eyes instantly lit up, and he nodded repeatedly. ”Enough! More than enough! Thank you, Fellow Daoist! This scrap map is yours!” Fearing that Ye Chen might change his mind, he quickly thrust the fragmentary map into Ye Chen’s hand and then tucked the pills into his robes like a precious treasure.

Ye Chen put away the fragmentary map and stayed no longer, turning to leave the stall.

Returning to the quiet courtyard Su Hao had arranged for him, Ye Chen immediately set up an isolation Restriction and took out the fragmentary map once more.

He scrutinized it carefully, stroking the lines on the map with his fingers. The direction of the lines seemed chaotic, but when perceived through the perspective of Chaos power, one could discover an extremely obscure spatial trajectory hidden within. Under the stimulation of the Chaos power, the arrow marking pointed firmly toward the southeast.

He took out the sea map Jade Slip gifted by Su Hao and sank his Divine Sense into it, comparing it with the direction indicated by the fragmentary map.

According to the Green Jade Island sea map, heading deep into the southeast would gradually lead away from the relatively safe ’Reef Belt’ and into a dangerous area known as the ’Mist Sea.’ The annotations regarding the ’Mist Sea’ on the sea map were very brief, with only a few warnings: Enveloped in eerie mist year-round, interferes with Divine Sense, easy to lose one’s way, powerful sea beasts appear occasionally, unstable space, enter with caution!

And the ultimate direction indicated by the fragmentary map seemed to point straight into the depths of the Mist Sea!

”Mist Sea... unstable space...” Ye Chen’s eyes flickered. Places with unstable space were often accompanied by spatial cracks or hidden nodes. This might be exactly one of the clues he was looking for to leave the Guixu Sea!

The value of this accidentally obtained fragmentary map was likely far beyond that bottle of Essence Returning Pills!

He tried to inject more Chaos Gang Qi into the fragmentary map, hoping to trigger more information. However, other than the lines glowing slightly and the arrow becoming clearer, the fragmentary map did not reveal any more content. It seemed the Chaos Gang Qi he injected had only reached the minimum threshold for activation; to fully decipher it, he might need more pure Chaos Origin power or to satisfy other conditions.

”It seems that if I want to uncover all the secrets of this fragmentary map, I must personally take a trip into the depths of the Mist Sea.” Ye Chen made his decision.

Over the next few days, while continuing to consolidate his cultivation and familiarize himself with the power of the Peak Ninth Level of Disha Realm, Ye Chen also used Su Zhi and Su Hao to learn more details about the Guixu Sea, especially concerning the ’Mist Sea’ and ’Ten Thousand Reef City.’

According to them, the Mist Sea was a natural barrier between the outer and inner parts of the Guixu Sea, covering a vast area and filled with dangers. Not only was the environment harsh, but it was also inhabited by outlaws and eerie sea races who did not belong to the three major forces. Occasionally, bold Cultivators would form groups to explore it, but barely one in ten would return alive, and those who could bring back valuable information were as rare as phoenix feathers.

As for Ten Thousand Reef City, it was located in the central-western part of the Guixu Sea, extremely far from Green Jade Island. Even on the fastest flying boat, sailing in a straight line without rest, it would take several months. The journey would also require crossing several known dangerous sea regions. Without a detailed sea map and guards of sufficient strength, it was nearly impossible to reach.

On this day, Ye Chen was practicing his sword techniques in the courtyard, integrating the newly comprehended artistic conceptions of ’Protection’ and ’Heaviness’ into his Guixu Sword Intent. This gave his sword light a layer of continuous, rock-steady defensive power in addition to its sharp annihilation.

Su Zhi came to visit, a hint of worry showing in her expression.

”Senior Ye.” After saluting, she seemed to hesitate.

”What is it?” Ye Chen sheathed his sword and stood still, his breath steady.

”Senior, do you... plan to leave Green Jade Island?” Su Zhi asked softly.

Ye Chen glanced at her and nodded. ”I have troubled you for many days; it is indeed time to leave.”

A look of ’as I thought’ appeared on Su Zhi’s face. After hesitating for a moment, she still said, ”Senior, you saved the lives of myself and many Cultivators on the island, so I shouldn’t say more. But... I have recently received some news that the ’Black Skeleton Pirate Group’ does not seem to have given up. Their chief, ’Blood Shark,’ is a powerhouse at the Peak Ninth Level of Disha Realm, and he is extremely vindictive. You killed one of their leaders; they will never let it go. If you go out to sea alone, I’m afraid...”

She didn’t continue, but her meaning was clear: she was worried Ye Chen would be targeted for revenge by the pirate group.

Ye Chen’s expression was calm. ”It matters not. If they come, I will simply kill them.”

His tone was flat, yet it carried an unquestionable confidence and decisive killing intent.

Hearing this, Su Zhi’s heart was shaken. Looking into Ye Chen’s deep and calm eyes, she suddenly felt her worries were somewhat redundant. The strength of this Senior Ye was likely far more terrifying than she had imagined.

She took a deep breath and pulled a palm-sized, exquisitely shaped green conch from her Storage Ring, handing it to Ye Chen. ”Senior, this item is called the ’Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Conch,’ and they come in a pair. I have the other one. If Senior encounters any emergency at sea or needs the help of Green Jade Island, you can contact us through this. Although the distance is limited, it can also serve as a warning within a certain range.”

This Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Conch wasn’t a particularly precious treasure, but at this moment, it represented a heavy sentiment.

Looking at Su Zhi’s sincere and worried eyes, Ye Chen pondered slightly and accepted the conch. ”You are thoughtful.”

Seeing Ye Chen accept it, a relieved smile appeared on Su Zhi’s face. ”Then I shall not disturb Senior’s quiet cultivation. I wish Senior a smooth journey and that you achieve your desires soon!”

She bowed once more and withdrew from the courtyard.

Ye Chen stroked the green conch in his hand and looked toward the southeast, toward that unknown region called the ’Mist Sea.’

A storm might indeed be coming. But he was fearless.

Three days later, Ye Chen bid farewell to Island Master Su Hao. Su Hao repeatedly tried to persuade him to stay to no avail, so he had no choice but to prepare a generous travel gift, including some Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills local to the Guixu Sea, and a more detailed sea map of the surrounding waters (though it still didn’t cover the core areas). He personally saw Ye Chen off to the harbor.

Ye Chen did not board any vessel from Green Jade Island. With a movement of his body, he transformed into an inconspicuous grey stream of light, soaring into the sky and heading southeast, piercing through the air!

His speed was so fast that many Cultivators at the harbor looked on in awe!

Su Hao watched Ye Chen disappear into the horizon and murmured to himself, ”Fellow Daoist Ye... is truly a dragon among men. I fear the Guixu Sea is about to be stirred into waves because of him once again...”

...Half a day after Ye Chen left Green Jade Island.

Hundreds of miles southeast of Green Jade Island, in a sea region filled with hidden reefs, three bone ships flying black skeleton flags slowly emerged from behind a massive reef like ghosts.

Standing at the bow of the leading bone ship was an exceptionally tall, bald man with a bare upper body, revealing lean muscles and countless scars. His face was ferocious, and a cruel and violent light flickered in his single eye. His body emitted the powerful aura of the Peak Ninth Level of Disha Realm!

He was none other than the chief of the Black Skeleton Pirate Group—Blood Shark!

He held a bone talisman that was constantly flashing with red light, his eyes looking gloomily toward Green Jade Island as his mouth curled into a sinister grin:

”Killed my man and still think you can run? Pass down the order: all ships, chase him for me! Notify the ’Mist Ghost Shark’ people that the target has appeared; act according to plan! I want him to know the consequences of offending me, Blood Shark, in these waters!”

”Yes, Chief!”

Sinister laughter and shouts echoed on the bone ships. The three bone ships adjusted their direction, their hulls surging with demonic light as their speed suddenly surged, charging after the direction Ye Chen had left like three black arrows!

Beneath the sea surface, several even larger and more eerie shadows also moved quietly in pursuit.

A hunt and siege targeting Ye Chen had quietly unfolded upon the Guixu Sea.