Chapter 1477: Heavy Heavy

“Something needs to change.” Danxia Zi said heavily after holding on for a while longer. Looking at the current situation, it was very unlikely they would be able to deliver the Ghost Dragon Boat across the stomach lake even with their strengths combined. It was equally unrealistic to turn back and return to the shore as well. They needed to think of a solution now, or they would fall into the stomach lake.

What would happen if they fell into the stomach lake? The bones and corpses were the answer. They did not want to test if they could withstand it if at all possible.

“Hang on for a bit. I’m going to fly around for a bit and see if there are clues in regards to our current situation.”

Old Man Profound Firmament appeared out of the Ghost Dragon Boat in a flash, but...

“Wow!”

He began plummeting as soon as he left the confines of the Ghost Dragon Boat. He only caught himself when he was about three meters from the lake surface.

Even so, it was clear from his expression that it wasn’t easy.

Danxia Zi called out, “What’s going on, Elder Profound?”

“I’ve grown heavy.”

Old Man Profound Firmament replied with a severe expression, “My muscles and bones feel like mountains, and my flesh and blood feel like the earth. It is all so heavy.”

As a Sage, his art had reached the profound, and his body had transcended mortality. He could make himself bigger or smaller, lighter or heavier as he wished. To give an example, he could become as heavy as a mountain, or he could become as light as a feather.

However, he was unable to control or alter his weight right now. He could not make himself as light as a feather.

The strange thing was that he felt no discomfort whatsoever. If not for the fact that he was using oceans of force to keep himself from falling right now, he still wouldn’t realize that he had become so heavy.

Now that he thought about it, he didn’t realize it sooner probably because the Ghost Dragon Boat was bearing his weight. It became obvious as soon as he left it.

“I guess it’s not just the Ghost Dragon Boat that’s become heavy. We have become heavy as well,” Ye Qing commented. He could tell because the Ghost Dragon Boat had lightened considerably after Old Man Profound Firmament left it.

Danxia Zi nodded but did not make a hasty decision. He said, “Let’s wait and see if Elder Profound finds a clue.”

Although Old Man Profound Firmament was barely three meters above the lakewater, and his body was just as heavy as ever, he wasn’t completely helpless. He plummeted uncontrollably earlier only because he was caught completely off guard.

Unfortunately, Old Man Profound Firmament found nothing even though he was observing the stomach lake at close range.

“This makes no sense. How can there be nothing?” Old Man Profound Firmament scratched his head and pondered for a moment. He then flicked his finger and discharged a wisp of force into the stomach lake, stirring it up a little.

A small ripple appeared on the lake, but that was it. The wisp of force was quickly corroded by the lakewater.

They had already tried probing the stomach lake using their spiritual power earlier, so they knew that it was extremely corrosive. However, it wasn’t until he tested it at close range that Old Man Profound Firmament realized that it was far more corrosive than they had initially imagined.

Even as a Sage, he reckoned that he wouldn’t last more than half a teatime before he dissolved into a pile of bones.

This was assuming that extreme corrosiveness was the only danger in the stomach lake also. Who was to say that there weren’t other threats such as Strangers and Anomalies lurking underneath the waters?

Luckily for them, Old Man Profound Firmament found nothing when he probed the stomach lake either. It was the one silver lining to their predicament.

Next, Old Man Profound Firmament flew around for a bit and scanned everything within a radius of a hundred meters. Still, he found nothing at all.

It was such a cursory search, and yet it had taken him an unbelievable amount of time to do so. Worse, he had lost enough true qi and force it was as if he was fighting another Sage on the same level as him at full strength.

Since he found nothing in the stomach lake, Old Man Profound Firmament tried other methods to decrease his weight such as teleporting, changing his size, riding clouds, transforming into light and so on. It was all futile. He could neither eliminate nor escape the sense of weight.

In the end, Old Man Profound Firmament had no choice but to return to the Ghost Dragon Boat.

Old Man Profound Firmament felt like a terrible burden had been lifted off his shoulders—literally—after he returned to the Ghost Dragon Boat and let out a huge sigh of relief.

However, Ye Qing and Danxia Zi frowned slightly.

The reason was simple. Their burden had increased massively.

“Did you find anything, Elder Profound?” Both Ye Qing and Danxia Zi looked at Old Man Profound Firmament at the same time.

The Sage took a couple deep breaths before shaking his head. “No. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing wrong with the stomach lake. I’ve tested other methods to no avail either.”

Danxia Zi frowned deeply. “This isn’t good.” Old Man Profound Firmament was powerful and in possession of a wide repertoire of skills. If even he could not think of a solution, how could they?

“Did you find anything, Qingyou?” Ye Qing raised his eyebrows and looked at the woman who had stayed silent this whole time.

Old Man Profound Firmament and Danxia Zi subconsciously looked at Feng Qingyou. Now that they thought about it, she was the woman who discovered the maggot’s secret first before anyone else. Who knows, she might repeat that feat?

“I have an inkling,” Feng Qingyou replied with a smile, “but I do not know if it is true or not.”

“What inkling?” Old Man Profound Firmament and Danxia Zi’s eyes lit up. “Tell us!”

Her theory could be wrong, but anything was better than being completely clueless.

“According to a book called ‘On Mountains and Seas’, there exists a Stranger called Heavy Heavy to the south of the South Mountain and above the Abyssal Waters in ancient times. Intangible and formless, Heavy Heavy is as tiny as a speck of dust and cannot be viewed by the naked eye or perceived by one’s senses.”

Feng Qingyou continued, “Heavy Heavy enjoyed attaching itself to other objects. If it attached itself to a leaf, then the leaf would become as heavy as a hill. If it attached itself to a feather, then it would become as heavy as the earth. Heavy Heavy often attached itself to boats and passengers as they were crossing the Abyssal Waters and making them incredibly heavy.”

“Because of its size and imperceptibility, it is usually too late for the passengers by the time they notice that something is amiss. They would have sunk tens of thousands of meters into the Abyssal Waters, never to escape or be reborn.”

“So, you’re saying that we’ve encountered Heavy Heavy, Qingyou?” Ye Qing asked.

“It’s possible,” Feng Qingyou said. “Our current situation somewhat matches the legend of Heavy Heavy somewhat.”

“That said, I have never seen a Heavy Heavy in my life. I do not know if the legend is true or just falsehood either. It is possible that the Stranger does not even exist.”

“Heavy Heavy? I’ve never heard of it either.” Old Man Profound Firmament remarked while rubbing his chin. He hadn’t even heard of the title of the book Feng Qingyou mentioned, so...

“Let’s assume that it’s Heavy Heavy and work from there.” Danxia Zi asked, “How do we deal with Heavy Heavy, Miss Feng?”

“Heavy Heavy cannot be seen or perceived. It is incredibly difficult to kill normally as well.”

Feng Qingyou explained, “However, Heavy Heavy is terribly afraid of spiciness. That is why the boatmen and the passengers of the Abyssal Waters always covered themselves in pepper powder before departing. Some even choose to eat raw pepper and take every precaution.”

“Also, pepper or pepper powder will reveal Heavy Heavy.”

“Pepper?”

Danxia Zi looked at Old Man Profound Firmament. “Would you happen to have pepper with you, Elder Profound?” “No. Why would I bring pepper with me?” Old Man Profound Firmament shook his head but said, “However, I have a Magia called the Flesh Creation Spell. It can transform any flesh with spiritual energy in it into anything, including pepper.”