Chapter 144
From the academy to Mechanism Island, they could only take a boat by water route, which took about an hour to reach.
Disciples could also find their own ways to get boats for travel.
Zhang Xiangyan used a private boat that wouldn't be recorded by the academy for tracking movements.
Only the agreed-upon five people were on the boat.
Nian Qiuyan saw Li Jin Shuang following Yu Sui and didn't ask much, as if he had already guessed.
On the boat, Yu Sui spoke her first words to Nian Qiuyan: "Are you certain my Senior Brother has already taken the Silver River Water you hid?"
Nian Qiuyan maintained his usual demeanor, answering gently: "Pretty much certain."
"Then where is he now?" Yu Sui asked again.
Nian Qiuyan looked toward Mechanism Island's direction but didn't answer immediately.
Because he couldn't divine Mei Liangyu's location.
Whether he tried Zhongli Shan or switched to Xing Chun, he couldn't calculate their whereabouts.
He feared the three had encountered some mishap in the abyss sea. That area of ocean indeed concealed many dangerous things.
Nian Qiuyan withdrew his gaze and said: "We'll know once we get there and take a look."
Yu Sui continued watching him: "If my Senior Brother really got the Silver River Water, what will you do?"
But Nian Qiuyan smiled: "I'm only responsible for taking the Silver River Water out of Inverted Moon Cave. The rest isn't my concern. What about you, have you figured out what to do?"
Yu Sui looked away toward the sea surface, sighing softly with a troubled expression: "I need to find a way to get it back from Senior Brother."
Nian Qiuyan said: "That shouldn't be easy."
Yu Sui also said: "First I need to find where he is and whether the item is in his hands."
The two stood on the stern deck, feeling the sea breeze. Their conversation briefly stopped, falling into quiet. After a while, Zhang Xiangyan's figure appeared behind the upper railing, his posture relaxed as if he'd come out for pleasure. He looked down at the two below and smiled: "Are you finished talking?"
Yu Sui and Nian Qiuyan both looked up simultaneously.
Zhang Xiangyan peeled an orange, his eyes slowly moving between the two as he asked: "If you're done talking, give me a straight answer. How should we handle the Silver River Water matter?"
Nian Qiuyan ignored him. The Love Parasite wasn't removed yet, so he wasn't afraid of Zhang Xiangyan at all.
Yu Sui clearly displayed her dislike for him on her face without reservation: "First go to the abyss sea to confirm whether the Silver River Water is still there. If Senior Brother really took it, then find Senior Brother and get the Silver River Water back."
Zhang Xiangyan stared at Yu Sui with interest, asking her: "How will you get it back?"
Yu Sui said with a stern face: "Find a way to get it back."
That was like saying nothing.
Zhang Xiangyan scoffed: "Little Princess, you don't think that by acting cute with Mei Liangyu and saying some nice words, he'll listen to everything you say and willingly return the Silver River Water, do you?"
Yu Sui maintained her naivety to the end, confidently refuting him: "Why wouldn't that be possible?"
Zhang Xiangyan was stunned: "That's possible?"
Yu Sui said: "Do you know how much Senior Brother likes me?"
Zhang Xiangyan: "..."
He really couldn't see how much he liked you.
Nian Qiuyan touched his forehead, somewhat amused.
Zhang Xiangyan took a bite of orange, thought for a moment, then laughed out loud: "Everyone knows you and Gu Qian are childhood sweethearts with deep affection. Would Mei Liangyu really be so tactless as to interfere?"
Yu Sui asked him: "Have you ever loved someone? Do you know what it means to be unable to help yourself?"
Zhang Xiangyan choked on the orange juice, bent over coughing, coughing heart-wrenchingly. Nian Qiuyan couldn't hold back either, turning his back and leaning on the boat railing, lowering his head to laugh silently.
Yu Sui acted as if she hadn't seen anything and turned to leave. The question of how to handle Mei Liangyu was muddled through by her again.
……
Getting to Mechanism Island, then making their way to the abyss sea took considerable time.
When they set out, the sky was clear for thousands of miles. Near the abyss sea, they saw dark clouds blocking the sun, waves surging, everything gloomy and ominous. To Yu Sui, it seemed like an apocalyptic scene. Once they entered the storm center, whatever it was would be mercilessly crushed.
Daytime was better than nighttime, at least without the soul-shaking thunder.
Zhang Xiangyan discussed going underwater with Luo Fu. Nian Qiuyan set up divination arrays by the sea. According to him, going underwater during the day carried the least risk.
The Taoist "Lightning Attraction Array" could also stabilize the chaotic Five Elements energy on the sea. Combined with the Technical Arts School's military divination to change the terrain, they could safely enter the water.
Yu Sui couldn't participate in these matters. Zhang Xiangyan's three tacitly assumed she had no role, only asking Yu Sui to watch the Lightning Attraction Array from shore.
Before going underwater, Nian Qiuyan reminded: "There are many sea whirlpools here. After entering the water, be careful not to get close to them."
"Just avoid them." Zhang Xiangyan said indifferently, "These things don't appear suddenly."
Luo Fu used many talismans before successfully deploying the Lightning Attraction Array. A golden lightning bolt silently flickered above the sea area, breaking through part of the gloom, dispersing the dark clouds and revealing some skylight.
Zhang Xiangyan's military divination technique cordoned off the sea area under the Lightning Attraction Array, making this section of ocean calm and peaceful, unaffected by chaotic Five Elements energy.
The three entered the sea together to search for the Silver River Water.
Yu Sui stood on shore watching, while Li Jin Shuang gazed at the area above the Lightning Attraction Array, lost in thought.
"I'll go up there to look." Yu Sui said.
Li Jin Shuang turned to look at her: "Up there?"
"Up there." Yu Sui pointed to the high cliffs beside them.
Sea waves continued crashing against the cliff stone walls. The thunderous roar was weakened due to the formation, sounding distant and unclear.
But visually, the sensation remained shocking.
Li Jin Shuang, worried something might happen to her, followed along.
Yu Sui explained on the way: "They said there are many sea whirlpools here, but I can't see any from the shore."
From the mountain heights, one could see farther and more.
The two reached the mountain peak where the wind was strong, blowing their clothes and hair about wildly. The sound of wind filled their ears. Yu Sui raised her hand to hold down her hair that was blown across her eyes and saw the endless azure sea.
She usually stayed within the academy, occasionally going to the Outer City. What she saw were all land and tall buildings. She rarely thought about Taiyi actually being islands surrounded by the great sea.
Passing by outside the academy, seeing portions of the sea area, nothing was as shocking as what she witnessed now.
Looking out at this moment, there was no end in sight. The gloomy sky hung low as if about to collapse. There was no fog on the sea, the light was dim, and all the seawater in Yu Sui's field of vision was floating and undulating, rolling waves toward Mechanism Island's direction.
Even waves that were still very, very far away continuously repeated this motion.
Yu Sui's attention was drawn to the spinning sea whirlpools in the distance. Not just one, but countless numbers, distributed not densely but incredibly numerous.
The centers of the sea whirlpools appeared empty, yet were full of chaotic Five Elements energy tearing at each other. If anything fell in, it would be instantly devoured.
Li Jin Shuang was also amazed by the scene before them, not speaking for quite a while.
Yu Sui frowned slightly, pondering in her heart what unexpected situations Senior Brother might encounter if he went underwater. Before she could think of any answers, she saw something strange happening on the sea.
Two sea whirlpools were approaching each other.
"They're... moving." Li Jin Shuang said, raising her hand to point in a certain direction, indicating for Yu Sui to look. "Those two sea whirlpools are about to collide."
The sea whirlpools approached at a considerable speed. After a while, the edges of the two sea whirlpools collided with each other, rubbing against each other briefly before merging into one, forming a larger sea whirlpool.
The sea whirlpool's range expanded, its center grew larger, and it looked more terrifying.
Yu Sui held down her hair and said: "Do they naturally move?"
Li Jin Shuang frowned: "Sea whirlpools are all in fixed positions. I've never heard of them moving, nor have I heard of them merging with other sea whirlpools."
Moreover, sea whirlpools weren't common phenomena. Having one in the sea was already rare.
Near the abyss sea of Mechanism Island, at a glance there were nearly a hundred. Even though they were still far away, if they could move, they might devour and approach the shore.
Yu Sui joked: "Those two are abnormal. Surely not all of them can move."
Not long after she finished speaking, Li Jin Shuang discovered more sea whirlpools moving.
They merged with each other, changing from individual small sea whirlpools into large sea whirlpools.
Yu Sui: "..."
She looked down at the bottom of the cliff. Sea waves crashed against the cliff walls, splashing white foam. In the raging waves, Yu Sui said: "They can come back alive, right?"
It looked rather difficult.
If those sea whirlpools could move, the people in the water would be caught off guard. Maybe while swimming, they'd run right into one.
Could Senior Brother and the others have encountered this situation too?
Otherwise, Yu Sui couldn't understand why Mei Liangyu's Wind-Listening Ruler positioning was in such a distant place.
But if they were caught in a sea whirlpool and encountered that powerful chaotic Five Elements energy, was there still a possibility of surviving?
Yu Sui gradually frowned.
The two watched the movements on the sea. Among the sea whirlpools that were moving and merging with each other, they discovered a new situation.
On the sea surface that originally had nothing, small whirlpools suddenly appeared. The Five Elements energy at the whirlpool centers began expanding. Seawater retreated from the center, forming circular sea whirlpools that wrapped the Five Elements energy.
Yu Sui and Li Jin Shuang witnessed this scene, couldn't help blinking to confirm they weren't seeing things. After glancing at each other, they looked back at the sea whirlpool that had just appeared out of thin air.
The sea whirlpools continued merging with each other and being newly born, all moving toward Mechanism Island's direction.
Silent terror descended at this moment.
The sea whirlpool centers devoured the Five Elements energy of this heaven and earth, drawing more dark clouds and fierce winds. The sea wind was violent, making Yu Sui on the cliff raise her hand to shield herself.
Something was wrong.
It felt very wrong.
What was in this stretch of sea?
Before seeing these sea whirlpools' abnormalities, Yu Sui hadn't been too worried about Mei Liangyu. Though she never said it, in her heart, Senior Brother was indeed very capable.
His self-protection ability was much stronger than her own.
"Below." Li Jin Shuang reminded Yu Sui. The two saw a sea whirlpool form in the ocean near shore. The instant the sea whirlpool formed, it swallowed Luo Fu's Lightning Attraction Array.
The Lightning Attraction Array that maintained stable Five Elements energy was devoured. After the golden lightning flickering in the air disappeared, violent storms immediately descended.
The sea whirlpool that had swallowed the Lightning Attraction Array disappeared again after a short while.
Yu Sui's eyes widened at the sight. Catching a glimpse of the scene in the distance on the sandy ground, she grabbed Li Jin Shuang and ran: "Someone's coming."
People were using Wind-Riding Techniques to rush toward the abyss sea.
Leading the group were people wearing red-black robes with a golden bird spreading its wings embroidered on the shoulders, the Wenyang family's mark.
Wenyang Zhou and Wenyang Xiu, the two brothers, were among them.
Following were Situ family practitioners in red-gold robes. Leading them was a woman in red robes, but she was expressionless, with a circle of golden thin lines around her slender, pale neck.
Situ Jin followed beside the red-robed woman, her eyes cautious.
The red-robed practitioners from the Murong family all carried mechanism packs on their backs, looking somewhat grave.
Last were the Baili family practitioners. Their left shoulders were embroidered with green bamboo patterns, and they all had circles of green rope at their waists.
Yu Sui and Li Jin Shuang hid behind mountain rocks, quietly looking out. Li Jin Shuang whispered: "All four major Mechanism families are here."
That wasn't all.
Yu Sui looked into the distance.
Those three familiar yet strange figures instantly traveled from far away to the sandy ground using Wind-Riding Techniques.
Academy Saints had also come.
Military School's Leng Rouyin, Agricultural School's Ou Rushuang.
And one more person.
Red silk ribbons floated slowly beside the woman. When she walked, her posture was graceful. On her slender white wrists were golden iron piece bracelets that made crisp tinkling sounds as she moved.
Her light pink gauze outer robe moved without wind, unable to conceal the overly pale skin beneath the gauze.
The woman's eyes were fox-like and seductive, yet her gestures were majestic and proud, making people dare not look too much.
Yin-Yang School Saint, Wu Huaiwei.