Chapter 74: The Phantom Reefs and the Empty Stone Monsters
“Eight hundred nautical miles to the northeast.” The sea chart of the Archipelago was deeply etched into Chu Yun’s mind. Recalling it now, his eyes flashed. “Isn’t that the Phantom Reefs? It’s perpetually shrouded in mist, with countless reefs. Ships that enter never return, a forbidden zone on the navigation charts. The Phantom Reefs are as notorious as the Serpent Algae Sea, one of the most dangerous areas in the Archipelago. There’s a great opportunity there?”
Chu Yun referred to his memories from his previous life but found nothing useful.
“There shouldn’t be any treasures or wealth in the Phantom Reefs.” However, the current World has been altered so much by me. The Shu Family, which was originally on the verge of collapse, is now one of the most powerful factions. Ning Tianwang, one of the two overlords of the Archipelago, was killed by me before he could rise to prominence. The Tie Family’s influence has been suppressed, and military strategists of Dragon Dao’s caliber are long dead.”
“In my previous life, there was no special invasion of the Archipelago by the Jianghan Kingdom. However, Yi Yan’s divination suggests it’s better to believe it than to dismiss it.”
With that thought, Chu Yun made a decisive resolution to set out immediately, heading alone for the Phantom Reefs.
He wore the Swift Grass Shoes and was enveloped by the Colorless Rainbow Demon, transforming into a colorless rainbow, and flew away at lightning speed.
It was night, the moon a perfect disc hanging in the sky. The night was gentle, and visibility was clear.
Chu Yun ascended to a high altitude, overlooking the sea. The islands below had shrunk to the size of exquisite models, their lights blazing. Fleets patrolled the surrounding waters, maintaining vigilance. This was the front line, and the atmosphere was tense. Fifteen thousand nautical miles away lay the Shui Family’s territory, their island defense line.
Naturally, the blank sea area in the center was not calm either.
Small and large skirmishes and ambushes were unavoidable. This was the place for scouts from the Shu Family and the Shui Family forces to shine.
“Did you hear that?” On a secluded, uninhabited island, a Shui Family scout suddenly looked up, his expression tense.
The other person listened intently, not too sure. “Did that sound like a roar just now?”
Both then instinctively looked up at the night sky. The moonlight, like water, illuminated the entire sea area. There wasn’t a wisp of cloud in the sky, and visibility was crystal clear.
“There’s no one there.”
“Alas, it seems I was just being jumpy.”
“Hehe, it’s nothing. For us scouts, being jumpy isn’t bad. What we fear is complacency and overlooking crucial intelligence.”
The man beside him encouraged his companion a few words, completely unaware that they had just missed the significant intelligence of “The Young Master of the Shu Family leaving the island alone.”
The Colorless Rainbow Demon had now reached the cultivation level of a nine-thousand-year-old Spirit Monster. Not only had its speed increased dramatically, but it was also exceptionally stealthy. Chu Yun concealed his figure, flying past. Even if there were people along the way, they could only hear a faint whistling sound from the high heavens, unable to see Chu Yun’s form.
This was because Yi Yan had previously stated that the Shui Family forces had already been dispatched.
Chu Yun did not delay, using his maximum speed. After fifteen minutes, he reached his destination.
Under the moonlight, this Phantom Reefs area was shrouded in thick, grey mist. At the edge of the mist, faint reefs could be seen, layered and dense. Further in, visibility was severely obstructed, and the grey mist was almost black.
Chu Yun slowed down and cautiously entered.
Within the Phantom Reefs lived a unique type of Demonic Creature.
They were called Empty Stone Monsters. These stone monsters resembled reefs on the outside, making them difficult to distinguish. However, their interiors were hollow, capable of swallowing everything and digesting it within their stony bellies.
These were Demonic Beasts with dual attributes of Earth and Space. However, their internal space was unstable and tended toward destruction, rendering them unsuitable for storage.
Furthermore, these Empty Stone Monsters were exceptionally difficult to subdue. When faced with an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, these stone monsters would usually self-destruct. Their self-destruction was terrifying, often creating small spatial rifts. The self-destruction of an Empty Stone Monster at the Great Demon level could even drag a Spirit Monster to its death.
“Enter the Phantom Reefs from the southeast direction, proceed straight for five hundred paces, then stealthily move three hundred and fifty paces north, and then walk six hundred and sixty-six paces southwest.” Following Yi Yan’s calculated path, Chu Yun stealthily advanced, counting his steps in his mind while cautiously remaining alert. The deeper he went, the denser the grey mist became, carrying a chilling aura. Visibility was extremely low; Chu Yun could only see about ten paces ahead.
In all directions—front, back, left, right—there was only mist. Even the sea beneath his feet was separated by the grey fog. Only the faint crashing sound of waves against the reefs could be heard.
As he ventured deeper, his field of vision, which was initially ten paces, gradually shrunk to five paces.
Looking around, he saw a world of grey mist everywhere.
If Chu Yun hadn’t possessed a resolute will and Yi Yan’s calculated path, he would have long been lost and utterly demoralized.
This was even with him using the Colorless Rainbow Demon and taking shortcuts. By concealing his figure, he avoided the attacks of the surrounding Empty Stone Monsters, saving himself a great deal of trouble.
“No wonder it’s a forbidden zone for ships in the Archipelago. This place is no less dangerous than the Serpent Algae Sea.” Chu Yun could feel the dense Demonic Energy around him. While the number of these Empty Stone Monsters might not compare to the thousands or tens of thousands in the Serpent Algae Sea, each stone monster was at least at the Great Demon level.
Along the way, Chu Yun had sensed over twenty Spirit Monster auras. And this was just a corner of the reef zone.
He could imagine that if his presence were discovered, he would be attacked by at least twenty Spirit Monsters and countless Great Demons.
Even with the Eight Trigrams Battle Formation, it would be a certain death trap.
If General Rabbit were here, he would probably have legs of jelly by now and be unable to move.
However, Chu Yun had long since tempered his mind. In his previous life, he had faced situations hundreds of times more dangerous than this. He remained calm, and as he stealthily proceeded, he pondered, “With so many Spirit Monster stone monsters, I wonder if there are any Tribulation Demons?”
These Empty Stone Monsters only possessed High-grade potential, meaning they could only cultivate to the Spirit Monster stage and no further. However, in every Demonic Beast race, there were always instances where some individuals broke through their original limits due to fortuitous encounters, reaching a higher level. These exceptional individuals were often the Kings of their respective races.
For example, in the Serpent Algae Sea. Serpent Algae were High-grade potential Demonic Plants, capable of cultivating to the Spirit Monster stage. However, the Serpent Algae King possessed Supreme-grade potential and could cultivate to the Tribulation Demon stage.
Similarly, in the Endless Forest, the Riot Ape was of High-grade potential, but the Riot Ape King was of Supreme-grade potential and had now cultivated to the level of a ten-million-year-old Tribulation Demon.
The same applied to the Cloudwing Tiger, Rotting Poison Gecko, and so on. Their respective races were of High-grade potential, but their kings transcended one level, possessing Supreme-grade potential.
As for Demonic Beast races that themselves possessed Supreme-grade potential, such beasts were often difficult to breed, had scarce populations, and lacked a clan king.
“Hmm? Why is there wind and waves ahead?!” After stealthily proceeding for a while longer, Chu Yun suddenly stopped, his expression filled with surprise and uncertainty.
The whistling wind swept through, and the grey mist formed a massive vortex, continuously spinning around a central point.
What lay within this swirling mass of grey mist? Chu Yun was curious about this inexplicable phenomenon but wanted to avoid it even more. His keen intuition sensed a trace of danger. Yet, it was blocking his path.
Chu Yun became extremely cautious, gritting his teeth and forcing his way into the vortex.
Inside the vortex, the wind raged, its force so great that it made his footing unstable. The grey mist swirled and scoured all around, making it impossible to see what lay ahead.
Chu Yun’s eyes were wide open, but they were useless. It felt like walking through a dense forest on a dark night, the grey mist as thick as ink, rendering him blind.
He gritted his teeth and pressed onward. Silently counting his steps, he suddenly felt the pressure around him lessen, and his vision cleared.
He had entered a space.
The grey mist had been pushed back, forming a dense, spherical curtain of black.
It was very quiet here; the roaring wind was also cut off, as if he were in another world.
Chu Yun looked back and saw that behind him, the dense grey mist was still roaring, swirling, and spinning, but it was blocked by an invisible wall, raging only on the other side.
“This is a spatial force field.” Chu Yun, with his extensive knowledge, immediately recalled the energy walls used by earth gods to separate realms, such as the one in the Search Divine Palace that separated him from the sea of fire. His own Star Sea Dragon Palace Immortal Pouch had once been hidden in the sea, using a spatial force field to keep out the seawater.
In contrast, the Zi Zai Mountain Immortal Pouch of the Ten Thousand Beasts King, having merged with nature, had a spatial force field that was almost imperceptible.
In the center of this tranquil space lay a massive reef, two Zhang high.
A Spirit Monster-level Empty Stone Monster!
Chu Yun recognized it instantly, understanding why he had sensed such an intense Spirit Monster aura. Along the way, he had sensed over twenty Spirit Monster stone monster auras, but this was his first close encounter with one.
Its surface was dark, closely resembling ordinary reef rocks. It was currently in a deep slumber, unresponsive to its surroundings. The spatial energy it unconsciously emitted formed a wall, isolating and stirring the grey mist.
Chu Yun carefully circled it and continued forward. Once an Empty Stone Monster fell asleep, it slept very deeply. Even stomping on its head and shouting loudly wouldn’t wake it.
However, if any hostile intent were directed at it, or if a powerful attack reached it, it would immediately awaken and unleash a formidable counterattack.
On the rest of his journey, Chu Yun encountered three more Spirit Monster stone monsters at close range.
However, to his surprise, when he finally reached his destination, what greeted him was… yet another Spirit Monster stone monster. This stone monster’s cultivation was clearly far superior to any of the Empty Stone Monsters he had seen. Chu Yun estimated it to have at least eight thousand years of Spirit Monster cultivation.
This situation was something that even Yi Yan had not foreseen.
“The end of the path is actually a stone monster. Could it be that the so-called great opportunity is this Empty Stone Monster?!” Chu Yun frowned, pondering deeply.
He felt something was amiss; there had to be something he had overlooked.
His rich experience from his previous life in exploring hidden places proved invaluable. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he darted forward, crashing directly into the giant stone.
*Boom!*
The next moment, he entered the hollow interior of the giant stone.
“Hongshang Fairy! Don’t be foolish. Submit to me, and I will grant you freedom.” Before he could even get a clear look at the interior of the stone, a grand, arrogant voice entered his ears.
