Chapter 559: Thorns Everywhere

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Above the dome of the sky, there lay a vast expanse of clouds.

Chen Fei glanced around curiously, not so much intrigued by the sea of clouds, but rather by the fact that the five of them were currently shrouded within a single white cloud, blending into the entire ocean of clouds.

Cloud Gathering Stones, all owned by Guo Huasheng, allowed them to gather white clouds around their bodies, concealing their figures seemingly out of thin air.

If an ordinary person were to witness this scene, they might mistake the five individuals for celestial beings descending from the heavens. After all, soaring through clouds and mist had always been the image of immortals and gods in the imagination of ordinary mortals.

With the cover of the Cloud Gathering Stones and the Suppressing Breath Rings veiling their every breath, even if there were third-rank sea monsters inspecting from below, they wouldn’t be able to detect the slightest trace.

Attempting to advance into the rear of the sea monsters by walking from the seabed was certainly unrealistic; that area was the true home ground of the sea monsters.

Not to mention those third-rank sea monsters, the First and Second-Tier sea monsters were also nothing to scoff at. Although these first and Second-Tier sea monsters posed no threat to the five individuals, they could easily expose their whereabouts.

The deeper they ventured into the rear, the greater the danger of being exposed after such revelations.

Their mission objective lay over two hundred miles away, a distance that wouldn’t require much time at the current speed of Chen Fei and his companions. However, starting thirty miles outside of Sea Dominion City, the number of sea monsters began to surge significantly.

Although they were in the sky, shielded by the Cloud Gathering Stones, Chen Fei and the others still slowed their pace.

Before leaving the city, Xu Wucheng had specifically instructed them that the main objective of this mission was to gather intelligence. As for the destruction required during the mission, although Xu Wucheng hadn’t explicitly stated it, the others understood perfectly well that they wouldn’t be carrying out such orders.

They were deep in the rear of the sea monsters. While not quite in the heart of their territory, considering the sheer number of sea monsters, even a single spit from one of them could be enough to drown the five of them.

Quietly slipping in and out would be the most perfect way to complete the mission.

If it weren’t for the urgency of this assignment, Xu Wucheng wouldn’t have even considered taking on such a task.

The rewards for this mission were generous, but it also meant that the mission would be brutal. Moreover, sending two teams to complete the task indicated the belief that one team alone would easily suffer casualties within.

Xu Wucheng had considered whether they should fly over from a higher altitude, but without the cover of the cloud sea, the risk of being discovered would be much greater, making it an impractical choice.

Xu Wucheng’s expression was solemn, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings to prevent any unexpected situations. He was even cautious not to use his mental power too much, fearing that the sea monsters might sense any abnormality in his mental state.

However, relying solely on visual perception still had its limitations, even for someone like Xu Wucheng, who was at the late stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

No one spoke. Tong Linyun gripped his towering giant blade, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

Guo Huasheng ceased his soliloquy, his right hand gripping the formation plate, prepared to activate the formation immediately if the situation turned unfavorable.

Qin Haishan’s expression was solemn. Among the five, he knew that his combat strength was probably the weakest. Both Xu Wucheng and Tong Linyun were beyond comparison; one was at the late stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, and the other was at the mid-stage. There was simply no comparison.

Guo Huasheng could unleash formidable formations with a wave of his hand, and based on the glimpse of his capabilities seen previously in the courtyard, Qin Haishan knew he wouldn’t fare well in a direct confrontation.

As for Chen Fei, Qin Haishan deeply believed that he was the leader of the alliance. Qin Haishan had long accepted Chen Fei’s leadership.

Among the five, he was the weakest. Therefore, if a situation arose where the others were occupied, Qin Haishan knew he would be the most vulnerable.

Thus, Qin Haishan’s mental state was actually the most tense at the moment, diligently sensing any possible anomalies in their surroundings.

Eighty miles out of the city, everything seemed calm. However, the speed of the five individuals had slowed down significantly, afraid to let the cloud they were in appear out of place amidst the sea of clouds.

Half an hour later, at ninety miles out of the city, Xu Wucheng suddenly stopped, raising his right hand, prompting Guo Huasheng to quickly control the Cloud Gathering Stones to halt.

“There are sea monsters ahead, let’s take a detour!”

Xu Wucheng’s voice echoed in the ears of Tong Linyun and the others as he pointed to another direction before slowly flying forward.

Tong Linyun and the others cautiously followed behind. However, just a moment later, Xu Wucheng halted again for the same reason: sea monsters lurking ahead.

Xu Wucheng remained composed, scanning the surroundings and choosing another direction to proceed.

After some twists and turns, relying on Xu Wucheng’s visual perception, the five of them struggled to advance another twenty miles. At this point, they had covered just over half of the journey.

However, in this area, the density of lurking sea monsters began to increase.

These were all sea monsters of the Third-Tier or higher. Although they maintained some distance from each other, sea monsters could use their mental power to observe, making it easy to detect any slight movement.

Unlike martial artists, sea monsters had a coarser mental power due to the differences in their body structures compared to humans. But even if it was rough, it was still a manifestation of mental power.

Therefore, Xu Wucheng led the group at an increasingly slower pace, while the direction of their progress began to change, no longer moving straight ahead.

Looping around, Xu Wucheng pondered whether they could find a place with slightly looser defenses and take advantage of the opportunity to enter.

With the sky being so vast, Xu Wucheng didn’t believe that every place would be heavily guarded.

After circling for a few minutes, Xu Wucheng felt that the number of lurking sea monsters ahead had decreased slightly.

However, Xu Wucheng didn’t rashly lead the team forward. The closer they got to the target area, the more sea monsters there were. It was evident that the sea monsters were indeed preparing something, hence their cautiousness.

Since they were so cautious, the sudden appearance of this security loophole seemed somewhat suspicious.

The white clouds formed by the Cloud Gathering Stones drifted with the wind as Xu Wucheng gazed ahead, feeling indecisive.

Without the ability to use mental power, the limitations on martial artists were significant. As for the ocular techniques Xu Wucheng was currently employing, they were only average.

While they were usable, they hadn’t reached an extremely proficient level. They were just the kind of ocular techniques that most practitioners at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm could access, lacking the comparability to those inherited by top factions.

Xu Wucheng’s realm had reached the late stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, and his usual thoughts revolved more around how to reach the pinnacle of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

For this kind of common secret technique, although it required some effort to comprehend, it wasn’t possible to devote all one’s energy to it.

“There are quite a few sea monsters lurking ahead,” Chen Fei’s voice echoed in the ears of Xu Wucheng and the others.

Xu Wucheng looked somewhat surprised at Chen Fei, as did Tong Linyun and Guo Huasheng. Only Qin Haishan wasn’t particularly surprised.

Back in the Haiyue Cave, Chen Fei had already demonstrated his keen insight, remaining undetected by the opposing party within a radius of tens of miles.

Qin Haishan had asked Yu Shoucheng, who had witnessed everything from the outside, about it afterward, and Yu Shoucheng had nothing but praise.

“Can you see those sea monsters?” Xu Wucheng whispered.

Xu Wucheng didn’t immediately dismiss Chen Fei’s statement just because Chen Fei’s cultivation was only at the early stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

Xu Wucheng knew his own strengths and weaknesses. Although he was the strongest among the five present, in terms of defense, he was actually on par with Tong Linyun.

As for formations, while he wasn’t completely clueless, he definitely couldn’t compare to Guo Huasheng.

Regarding healing abilities, Xu Wucheng could only heal himself or provide basic treatment to others; he couldn’t achieve immediate healing effects like Chen Fei.

“I can see some.”

Chen Fei nodded, pointing ahead and continuing, “Within the next twenty miles, there’s only one sea monster. But beyond that, the number of sea monsters will increase significantly. It’s a trap!”

Chen Fei wasn’t using Heavenly Eye at the moment, just simple Star Gazing Art.

However, among Chen Fei’s various ocular techniques, Star Gazing Art was the one with the strongest long-distance vision. The other ocular techniques were more about tracing origins and flows.

Chen Fei didn’t immediately step forward to lead the way because he didn’t know the specifics of Xu Wucheng’s ocular technique.

One should never underestimate other practitioners at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, especially those with higher cultivation levels than oneself.

Xu Wucheng was a formidable late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm practitioner, so Chen Fei needed to assess the situation first. From Xu Wucheng’s hesitation earlier, Chen Fei understood that Xu Wucheng could see less than he could.

Seeing Chen Fei’s detailed explanation, Xu Wucheng’s expression couldn’t help but change slightly.

“How many sea monsters were there ten miles away just now?”

Xu Wucheng didn’t immediately choose to believe Chen Fei, instead pointing back in the direction they came from and asking.

“Three of them. One was ten miles away in the Xun position, another fifteen miles away in the Li position, and the third one was twenty-one miles away in the Kun position. Their appearance should be like this.”

As Chen Fei spoke, he grabbed a handful of clouds, transforming them into the image of the sea monster he had seen. It was an octopus, but it had far more than just eight tentacles.

Tong Linyun and Guo Huasheng glanced at Chen Fei, then at Xu Wucheng.

Chen Fei’s confident manner and the fact that he even described the appearance of the sea monster furthest inside made it seem like he wasn’t just making random claims.

More importantly, now that they were behind the sea monsters, randomly making claims would only lead themselves and others into danger.

Xu Wucheng looked at Chen Fei in astonishment. The positions Chen Fei mentioned for the first two sea monsters matched exactly with what Xu Wucheng had sensed himself.

What surprised Xu Wucheng the most was the last sea monster.

Xu Wucheng had vaguely sensed a sea monster lurking there, but it was just a vague feeling, and he couldn’t be completely certain. He had only relied on his experience to judge that something was amiss there.

Yet, Chen Fei not only pinpointed the location but even depicted the appearance of the sea monster.

In other words, without using mental power and simply relying on ocular techniques, Chen Fei could clearly see the scene twenty miles away, and possibly even farther.

Achieving this in an open area wouldn’t be considered remarkable.

However, the five of them were currently in the midst of a sea of clouds, where their vision was severely obstructed. To accomplish this under such conditions was no easy feat.

Tong Linyun and Guo Huasheng saw Xu Wucheng’s expression. Although Xu Wucheng hadn’t spoken yet, his expression said it all. Chen Fei’s answer was correct.

Moreover, from Xu Wucheng’s gaze, it seemed that Chen Fei’s ocular technique just now had exceeded Xu Wucheng’s expectations.

A smile appeared on Tong Linyun’s face involuntarily. To have both healing abilities and such powerful ocular techniques, it seemed that Xu Wucheng had unexpectedly stumbled upon a treasure when he recruited this seemingly ordinary young man..