Chapter 2016: The Situation Shifts

The woman in the feather dress took a deep, hard look at Su Yi, then said with a charming smile, “Why thank me? We’re setting aside a grudge with a smile. Going forward, we’ll be traveling companions. We naturally ought to look out for each other, don’t you think?”

Su Yi nodded in complete agreement. “Well said.”

He smiled, and the others smiled, too. It was just that the meaning behind their smiles was different.

Only the woman in the conical hat frowned as she took in this sudden “harmonious scene.” All she could think was,

Are those two complete idiots? I just saved their lives, but they didn’t even notice! They’re already trying to throw their lives away again!

In the end, she sighed to herself and set the matter aside. No amount of compassion could save someone from themselves. If someone really wanted to throw their life away, there was no stopping them.

The glittering golden bridge pierced the sky, leading deeper into the Chaotic Skies Watershed.

The water churned on all sides, and turbid waves towered into the heavens, but the golden bridge seemed as firm as a mountain. Walking on it was no different than walking on flat ground.

The group continued further in. Ol’ Fiend Thunder led the way, activating the Bagua mirror. The light emanating from it continuously extended the glittering golden bridge beneath their feet.

Boom!

Suddenly, a ferocious creature shot out of a wave, like a gigantic python shrouded in strange and terrifying death qi. It ruthlessly lunged at the golden bridge.

Its long, thick tail was like a mountain range in motion. The bridge shook on impact, and golden light scattered.

The python was indeed terrifying. It could have slain a Great Profound Stage expert with ease.

“Die!” The man in beast skins took a step forward, raised his spear, and thrust the air.

Boom!!

The vicious beast’s massive body split and dissipated into death qi that billowed into the surrounding air.

“So strong!” Wu Lingchong stared. The Demigod’s attack was simple and direct, yet utterly tyrannical.

“The Chaotic Skies Watershed is full of such creatures. Most are manifested from the remnant souls of the experts who’ve perished here over the years,” explained the mature beauty in the feather dress. “They might look strong, but they’re nowhere near as terrifying as the Ghost Gods of the City of the Lost.”

She looked at Su Yi and Wu Lingchong and said, “What are you visiting the City of the Lost for?”

“We’re looking for someone,” said Su Yi.

The woman in the feather dress looked stunned. “Do you have friends or family trapped in the City of the Lost?”

“I’m not sure,” Su Yi said casually. “They vanished a long time ago. I have no way of knowing whether they’re alive or dead, but I still have to look for them.”

The woman in the feather dress said thoughtfully, “But do you understand how dangerous the City of the Lost is? Few who enter the City of the Lost ever make it out alive.”

“Even if it were far more dangerous, I’d have to go,” Su Yi said calmly. “And what about you? What do you intend to do in the City of the Lost?”

“That’s our business. It’s best that you don’t pry,” the woman in the conical hat said icily.

But the woman in the feather dress said with a gentle smile, “We really can’t share the specifics, but broadly speaking, we’re after the same thing as you. We’re trying to save someone.”

“Oh?” Su Yi hadn’t anticipated that.

The mature beauty in the feather dress proved quite the conversationalist, and she took the opportunity to ask about their origins indirectly. Su Yi told her his name, but he avoided sharing any other information.

To his surprise, the old-timers reacted in surprise to his name, not because it was familiar, but because they’d obviously never heard it before.

Su Yi immediately concluded that they had no idea what had happened at the six outposts he’d recently passed through. It was even highly likely that they didn’t know about the Nine Great Heavenly Gods’ joint bounty!

Otherwise, they’d surely have recognized his name.

“The situation doesn’t look good. Lu Meng, Madam Qianyu, protect Miss Li Shuang!” Ol’ Fiend Thunder bellowed!

The man in beast skins and the woman in the feather coat were instantly solemn. They gazed into the distance and saw a dense swarm over the horizon. Thousands of the creatures typically hidden beneath the waves were headed their way.

There were just too many of them! The sight was enough to make their scalps go numb with fright.

“Activate!” The woman in the feather dress waved her palm, and a silver wheel took to the sky, reflecting countless resplendent, dreamlike full moons.

“Hah!” The man in beast skins swung his spear, which suddenly rumbled, boomed, and fired a beam of blood-red light into the firmament. It ripped through the air with heaven-shaking force.

He and the mature beauty in the feather dress worked together to protect the woman in the conical hat while Ol’ Fiend Thunder continued paving the path ahead.

Boom!

The swarm stirred up towering waves as it charged their way. The creatures were strange and highly varied. Some were like vengeful ghosts, while others were like primordial ferocious beasts or swooping vicious birds. Others still attacked from beneath the waves.

They were like an endless army. They threw the entire stretch of water into chaos, and they relentlessly assailed the golden bridge.

When this grand battle broke out, Ol’ Fiend Thunder’s Bagua mirror lit up, blasting through the ferocious beasts ahead of it with unstoppable, tyrannical ease.

His companions, meanwhile, stuck close to him, protecting the woman in the conical hat all the while. The two of them were terrifyingly strong too, and they blasted the vicious creatures to death from the sidelines, one by one.

Su Yi and Wu Lingchong followed at the tail end of the group. Numerous creatures charged at them from behind, too. There were so many of them as to blanket heaven and earth, and they stirred up massive waves.

Su Yi grabbed a dense pile of talismans and flung them.

Boom!

Over one hundred talismans exploded at once, like colorful divine lights blooming in the sky with shocking force, noise, and momentum. The blasts threw the entire stretch of sky into chaos.

Ol’ Fiend Thunder and his companions looked over, stunned.

Every vicious creature around Su Yi had been blasted to bits on the spot!

The terrifying aftershock swept outward, making the surrounding waters cave in with a bang. Waves extended outward in all directions.

Ol’ Fiend Thunder and the others gasped.

Who is this kid? Where did he get so many talismans?

Moreover, based on their power, every last one of them was a killer weapon within the Great Realm level. They were shockingly valuable, but that Su Yi kid tossed over a hundred of them at once as if they were worthless. It’s shocking!

Only Wu Lingchong understood. The treasures were part of the spoils Su Yi had accumulated over the past two months. Su Yi had plenty of others just like them.

Ol’ Fiend Thunder and the others couldn’t afford to give the matter any further thought. They pushed their way ahead.

Every time the beasts attacked from behind, Su Yi threw a bundle of talismans at them. They were wondrously powerful and startlingly effective.

Even Wu Lingchong’s heart ached at the sight of it. He couldn’t help but transmit, “Daoist Brother Su, isn’t this a bit wasteful?”

Those were all secret treasures of the Great Profound Stage! Every last one of them represented a considerable amount of time and effort for a Great Profound Stage cultivator. They were meant to serve as killer weapons kept in reserve.

Yet Su Yi was burning through them without even blinking.

Su Yi just said airily, “They’re external items of little use to me. How could you call it a waste? Even if I use them all up, I’m sure I’ll acquire plenty more soon enough.”

Wu Lingchong laughed bitterly. What could he possibly say to that? Ultimately, Su Yi… had no shortage of wealth!

Shortly afterward.

The group broke through the beasts encircling them and arrived in the heart of the Chaotic Skies Watershed.

Mist permeated the air. The wind and waves were calm, without even the slightest of ripples. There was no more sign of those vicious beasts.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Everything was silent and unmoving. There wasn’t even a breeze. The strange stillness was unsettling enough to drive one to panic.

A floating landmass was dimly discernible deep within the mist.

It was a barren place, without so much as an inch of grass, yet an ancient, mysterious, and massive city towered over the landscape.

The black city’s skies were shrouded in blood-red lightning year round. From time to time, crimson lightning bolts cleaved through the sky, staining heaven and earth the color of blood.

The City of the Lost!

One of the eight most legendary and mysterious forbidden zones in the River of Epochs!

Rumor had it that once, a long, long time ago, numerous gods perished here. Their vengeful souls transformed into inauspicious spirits that wandered the City of the Lost to this day.

Over the years, practically none of those who entered the City of the Lost ever returned, no matter their cultivation base.

Ol’ Fiend Thunder and his companions approached this ancient, barren continent. All of them felt a heart-palpitating chill course through them, as if eyes were staring at them from the darkness.

But when they looked closer, they didn’t sense anything at all out of the ordinary.

“This place really is as sinister as the rumors say,” the man in beast skins said with a frown.

Ol’ Fiend Thunder turned to look at the woman in the conical hat. “Miss Li Shuang, that’s the City of the Lost. Don’t you think it’s about time you kept your end of our bargain?”

The woman in the conical hat said, “I have to see my father first.”

Ol’ Fiend Thunder crowned. “But what if he died a long time ago?”

“Even if he’s dead, given my father’s cultivation base, I’m sure he’s out there as a Ghost God!” the woman in the conical hat said with staunch conviction. “There’s no way he simply vanished!”

Ol’ Fiend Thunder’s expression shifted erratically, and his companions scowled.

The woman in the conical hat said coldly, “Renege on our deal now, and you’ll receive nothing at all!”

Su Yi and Wu Lingchong watched from not far away. They’d just realized for the first time that Ol’ Fiend Thunder and the woman in the conical hat weren’t on the same side.

“We agreed to escort you safely to the gates of the City of the Lost. We in no way agreed to accompany you inside,” Ol’ Fiend Thunder said with an icy glare. “Yet now, you’ve turned around and said you won’t fulfill your end of our bargain until you’ve seen your father. Tell me, how do you plan to find him?”

“I’ll search for him in the City of the Lost alone,” the woman in the conical hat said coldly.

Ol’ Fiend Thunder snickered. “How is that any different from suicide? And if you die, how will you fulfill your promise?”

Suddenly, he seized the woman in the conical hat by the throat, his gaze sinister. “Miss Li Shuang, I’ve been putting up with you this entire time. Now, you’d best give me what you promised. Otherwise, I’ll chop you to pieces outside the City of the Lost and scatter your ashes to the wind!!”

The woman in the conical hat said calmly, “I might have little hope of escaping your clutches alive, but if I want to die, you can’t stop me. And if I die, won’t you have done all this work for nothing?”

Ol’ Fiend Thunder’s expression darkened, and his eyes surged with murderous intent, but in the end, he said, “Lu Meng, keep an eye on the little bitch.”

He then tossed her to the man in beast skins, who caught her and held her aloft like a chicken. “Got it!”

Meanwhile, Ol’ Fiend Thunder whipped his head around and fixed his sinister gaze on Su Yi.