After the Nebula Boat traversed more than ten star sectors and saw no further trace of the Golden-Winged Starship, the group finally brought the vessel to a halt, letting it drift in the void.
There were no markings for this sector on their star charts; no one knew where they had ended up. Getting lost was the greatest taboo when traveling the void. If one’s luck was poor, they might never find their way back in their lifetime unless they ascended to the Immortal Realm.
Everyone split up to search through every star map they possessed. Unfortunately, this area was clearly a blind spot; it appeared neither on the star charts nor in any of their regional maps. At this, the group couldn't help but curse God-Lord Fengchi. That eccentric madman—why had he chased them for sport?
"Let's find a planet to investigate first. Flying aimlessly like this isn't a solution," Li Xue said. Their supply of high-grade spirit stones was running low. They had originally brought enough to tour five star sectors, but now, the stones were nearly exhausted thanks to that damned, twisted Fengchi and his absurdly fast Golden-Winged Starship.
"Sister Li, we’re almost out of high-grade spirit stones," Ji Rufeng said helplessly.
"Sigh. If it comes to it, we’ll just have to use the Thunder Cloud Boat," Yu Ming suggested.
"That’s our only option. Let’s rest and reorganize first," Li Xue decided. She thought to herself that if things truly became desperate, she would have to send Xiao Lin back to Jinming Star to borrow more. The Dream Realm had the ability to record the last point of entry. Originally, her intention for everyone to travel together was so that if one party encountered danger, they could escape through the other's connection, but unfortunately, their overall strength was simply too lacking.
The Nebula Boat landed on the only planet in sight, and Bai Xingyu moved to stow the vessel away.
This was a world shrouded in dense mist. Not daring to be careless, the group remained on high alert. Li Xue took this opportunity to carefully record the surrounding scenery into a jade slip. She summoned the Purple Phoenix, intending to have it pass the slip to Li Lin once he emerged from seclusion, and to ask him to bring some high-grade spirit stones while he was at it.
Inside the Dream Realm, Li Lin emerged from his seclusion and received the jade slip. He immediately returned to the Xuedan Workshop on Jinming Star. Seeing that everything at the workshop was normal, he rushed to the Fenghua Alchemy Courtyard at the Yuxuan Sect. He handed the jade slip to Bai Fenghua, asking for help in identifying that star sector, before hurrying to Yu Nanqing’s residence.
"Senior Brother, you mentioned before that any Thunder Cloud Boats I refine in the future should be given to the sect, right?" Li Lin asked, getting straight to the point.
"Mhm, that’s right. I can make the call on that," Yu Nanqing replied, looking quite pleased to see Li Lin out of seclusion.
"Then, can I get an advance on the spirit stones?" Li Lin asked.
"Eh? Junior Brother, are you short on funds?" Yu Nanqing asked, a bit surprised. It was rare for an alchemist to be lacking in spirit stones.
"I have an urgent need for high-grade spirit stones. As you know, the Nebula Boat consumes them at an incredible rate," Li Lin explained helplessly.
"True, that is the case. How many do you need?" Yu Nanqing asked.
"The more, the better," Li Lin replied.
Yu Nanqing’s eye twitched. He pulled out a storage bag and tossed it to Li Lin. "There are five thousand high-grade spirit stones in here. That should be enough for your Nebula Boat to make dozens of round trips to the Yuanshi Star."
Li Lin curled his lip. "If we’re being hunted by some high-level cultivator, even this won't be enough."
Yu Nanqing’s eye twitched again. "I don't think there are many people in the Primordial Star Region who would dare hunt you. Besides, ordinary flying vessels can't keep up with your Nebula Boat anyway."
Li Lin suddenly thought of something and asked, "What vessels are better than the Nebula Boat?"
Yu Nanqing thought for a moment. "The Sword Cloud Boat of the Tie family on Jinming Star, the Heaven-Winged Starship of Yuanshi Star, and the Golden-Winged Starship of Jinyi Star are all superior to the Nebula Boat. However, if your Nebula Boat were to be upgraded, it would likely be on par with them."
"Oh, thank you, Senior Brother. I’ll take my leave now!" Li Lin left as soon as he had the stones.
Yu Nanqing shouted after him, "Junior Brother, once you return, you owe the sect ten Thunder Cloud Boats! That’s your deposit!"
Li Lin nodded and returned to Bai Fenghua’s alchemy courtyard. Bai Fenghua was already waiting for him. "You came out of seclusion in such a rush; did your mother and the others run into trouble?"
"Yes, they’re trapped in a certain star sector. I heard they fled there while being pursued by God-Lord Fengchi of Jinyi Star." Having learned some details from the Purple Phoenix, Li Lin couldn't sit still. Now that he had borrowed the stones, he needed to rush to them; he couldn't rest easy knowing his mother and friends were in danger.
Bai Fenghua knit his handsome brows, feeling quite shocked. God-Lord Fengchi of Jinyi Star was not someone to be trifled with. Why would he pursue juniors? Had he taken a liking to the Nebula Boat? No, that didn't make sense; the Golden-Winged Starship was far superior to the Nebula Boat. Perplexed, he shared the information he had found with Li Lin.
As it turned out, that star sector was indeed a blind spot in the Primordial Star Region. It was mentioned in ancient archives as the "Sea of Clouds Star Sector," but no one had ever been there—or rather, those who went never returned, or at least never spoke of it. In short, no star map had an accurate location for it.
However, the archives did contain a brief description of the Sea of Clouds. As the name suggested, the sector was filled with natural mists and clouds. Upon entering, one was highly likely to lose their sense of direction or even lose their "original heart." It was a truly perilous region.
Hearing this, Li Lin could no longer remain seated. He borrowed another five thousand high-grade spirit stones from Bai Fenghua and returned to the Dream Realm.
Li Xue and the other four had been wandering for over a month, yet they could not find a way out of the misty labyrinth. Although they managed to narrowly avoid the dangers they encountered thanks to Li Xue’s powerful divine sense, everyone was exhausted. Yu Ming, Ji Rufeng, and Dongfang Jing were becoming increasingly irritable, completely losing the composure expected of Core Formation cultivators.
"I’m starting to feel like this place is similar to the sensation of facing one's inner demons," Li Xue said to the group.
"Inner demons? Could it be an illusion array?" Bai Xingyu seemed to realize something. She pulled out a multi-colored stone. "This is a Five-Colored Illusion Stone I obtained during a past trial. It’s specifically used for breaking illusion arrays." As she spoke, she performed several hand seals. The stone suddenly glowed with vibrant light, and everyone felt their minds instantly clear.
Yu Ming, Ji Rufeng, and Dongfang Jing regained their clarity in a flash. They immediately heightened their vigilance, realizing they had nearly lost their wits.
"That’s better. It seems it really was an illusion array," Li Xue said, breathing a secret sigh of relief. She had been considering just taking everyone into the Dream Realm, but she was unwilling to retreat so easily.
At that moment, Li Lin’s spiritual tether began to vibrate violently. Li Xue performed a hand seal, and Li Lin appeared before them.
"Xiao Lin?!" Ji Rufeng, Bai Xingyu, and Dongfang Jing widened their eyes. Dongfang Jing cried out, "Oh no, I’m hallucinating! I’m seeing Xiao Lin!"
Ji Rufeng cast a Spirit Eye technique on himself. He saw him too and said, "Me too. It seems we need to be careful; this illusion array is truly powerful!"
"Haha, oh dear, I’m hallucinating too! None of what you see is real!" Li Xue clutched her stomach, laughing under her breath.
Bai Xingyu, however, frowned. Her Five-Colored Illusion Stone was specifically designed to break illusions, and she had tested it many times. She shouldn't be seeing hallucinations anymore—at the very least, the three-zhang radius covered by the stone’s light should be safe. How could this phantom of Li Lin appear?
***
