332: Chapter 331: A Strange Place 332: Chapter 331: A Strange Place Hou Niao found himself shrouded in darkness, with large fish constantly swimming nearby.
He could feel the narrow space, but here, he was safe.
From the start of the battle, he sensed something unusual, from the tiger shark’s particular attention to the slight abnormality of his two companions; so, even though he wasn’t clear where the danger was coming from, it didn’t mean he was unprepared.
Just as Bai Qingqian thought, a person like him, how could he possibly leave his life here for some measly resources?
His backup plan was simple: the family of Chi Ru.
Just like Brother Duanmu said before leaving, don’t rely on others to help during critical moments.
If you don’t open your mouth, how would anyone know what you need?
It’s not a fantasy novel where someone will always come to your rescue, right?
Therefore, as soon as the battle started, he spoke up, conveying through his Divine Sense to Chi Ru to standby underwater; this was also one of the reasons why he had to circle around with the three tiger sharks at the beginning of the battle.
Chi Ru didn’t respond, but he knew it heard.
The space he was in now was inside Chi Ru’s mouth, together with the little Chi Ru, a bit crowded; these little ones no longer seemed so small to him, each one twice his size, and quite restless.
He estimated that in less than a year, their mother would no longer be able to carry them in her mouth on long journeys.
His physical condition was very bad, not just ordinarily bad.
What were originally two wounds had now become three, especially that last leech bite, which he would remember painfully.
But he had no choice—if he dealt with the leech, he couldn’t kill the Daoist.
Faced with two options, he decided to satisfy his mood first!
Series of surprise attacks, did they really think he was a vegetarian?
In the Cultivation World, talent may grant some people natural gifts, potential may vary in magnitude, but some things require cumulative effort, and can’t be achieved with just talent and fortuitous encounters forever.
In this sense, surviving danger is the best learning experience, irreplaceable!
His experiences at lower realms had been relatively smooth, relying on the Sword Techniques he learned in the Soul Realm, he looked down upon all the other mountains, but that wasn’t his true capability; and sure enough, once he entered Tongxuan, his true form was exposed, struggling multiple times on the brink of death.
When rescuing the Bai family in the Poplar Forest, it was a close call, thanks to several Daoists; he nearly got buried alive on Crab Island, thanks to the newly learned Thunderbolt Path; and this time, his savior was Chi Ru.
This made him realize a very important issue: his combat system had flaws!
He used to blame all this on insufficient Cultivation, and later on his incomplete swordsmanship…
but now that his Cultivation was no longer so weak, his control over the Flying Sword was showing signs of success, Earth Element Escape was proficient and natural, and he was on the threshold of the Thunderbolt Path, but why was his combat strength still not satisfactory?
This was a problem worth pondering; if left unsolved, his path ahead would continue to have dangers, and he might not be as fortunate to survive them as he had been these times.
The key lay in the Flying Sword!
It hadn’t unleashed the power it was supposed to.
In the battle with the tiger shark, whether in the air or in the water, the method he ultimately used to solve the problem was Close Combat Sword Skills while he gained nothing from the expertise of a Sword Cultivator, which was frustrating.
Is this really how the art of the Flying Sword is supposed to be?
After entering Tongxuan and the limited exchanges he had with fellow disciples, and several encounters with Daoists, his Flying Sword had not played a decisive role;
He could attribute all this to the fact that he had entered the realm not long ago, his training with the Flying Sword was insufficient, his speed slow, his power weak, his variations scarce, and so on.
If he persisted, perhaps he might ultimately acquire a strength comparable to that of Yu Zhengxing.
However, he just couldn’t understand: was the real Flying Sword supposed to be ?
Now, his Flying Sword Skill had merely become a supplementary means in combat, which he found intolerable, as it restrained him and prevented him from fighting with a free and fulfilled heart.
He had many thoughts, but currently lacked a clear direction; yet he knew he couldn’t go on .
Traveling aimlessly within the mouth of the mystical creature, time-wise, he had already far exceeded the distance from the shellfish farm back to Crab Claw Island.
He didn’t know where this creature wanted to take him, and the reason he neither stopped it nor asked was because he felt that Crab Claw Island might not be the right place to return to at the moment.
He had already escaped two assassination attempts and didn’t believe his luck would last forever.
Changing his training location might be a good idea.
Since he had no suitable place in mind, why not leave the initiative to this silent creature?
The most urgent matter for him now was the injuries on his body.
After dozens of days, he felt the creature slow down and knew they were probably arriving at their destination.
He looked forward to this aimless journey; as a young man, he had dreamt of wandering the world with only his horse and his Lonely Sword, without any particular purpose, which was probably every boy’s dream.
But as he grew older, he realized how naive such thoughts were.
Whether mortal or cultivator, everyone had different burdens to bear, weighing on their shoulders, making true freedom an impossibility.
Everyone was trying their best to live, striving to survive with all their might…
The mystical creature finally opened its mouth, and several little ones, having been stifled for so long, rushed out eagerly.
To them, whether it was a new place held no significant meaning, for the seawater was always the same.
But for Hou Niao, it mattered because he was not a fish.
Gazing at the somewhat hazy horizon in the distance, shimmering in the light of dawn, he couldn’t be sure what this place was.
But one thing was certain; this island was not small.
Hovering in the water and looking at the mystical creature beside him, he wasn’t sure if he should ask.
What he didn’t expect was that the creature seemed to have no intention of explaining.
It opened its mouth wide, reluctantly swallowing the little ones back, then turned its head and left without regard.
He didn’t know why the maternal creature was so unwilling to speak, but since it left him here, there must be a deep meaning that he just couldn’t grasp at the moment.
He believed the creature bore no ill will toward him; after all, there was an understanding between them after a year of coexistence.
Since that was the case, then he might as well go ashore and take a look.
After dozens of days of rest, the external injuries inflicted by the whale had long healed, and the cold mana of the Daoist had been expelled.
The only concern was the leech he could not find, which made him uneasy.
He knew nothing about such ferocious creatures of the Cultivation World, and still hadn’t figured out in what ways it had harmed him.
He could only search for answers slowly.
For now, he needed to determine whether this was an island or a continent.
Channeling his mana, he was ready to rise into the air, as there was no more direct way to discern the nature of this place than from the sky.
However, the mana that previously flowed normally now refused to heed his call, as if his Dantian no longer belonged to him.
Alarmed, he quickly tried all the abilities he possessed and found that the circulation of mana in his body seemed to be constrained by some invisible force, unable to function normally; like his Flying Skill, the slight release of mana was no longer enough to support the weight of his body, and that was why he couldn’t fly.