Chapter 154
The Spirit Bird docked on the left side of Northern Kun City, next to the area below the giant whale's head. This place was called Water Gate, specifically for ships to dock.
Due to the special terrain, disembarking here allowed one to see the full view of Northern Kun City.
Standing on the helm were Situ Ling Kui and Baili Mo.
Situ Ling Kui maintained the same expression constantly. No matter how realistically the skin texture was crafted, the expressions between her brows and eyes and the demeanor in her pupils were difficult to change.
Baili Mo appeared very refined on the outside, even delicate, and spoke slowly, directing the Mechanism School practitioners on the Spirit Bird to dock the ship steadily.
As soon as the Spirit Bird was secured, Baili Mo gazed at the distant place emitting thick smoke. A tower-like tall building was half destroyed, with curse patterns bright on the tower body, protecting the other half of the building that burned with fierce fire and thick smoke.
The ground spreading out from the tower as the center had collapsed into sinkholes, revealing large areas of dark, gaping holes, with some edges still bearing scattered remnants of fire.
"That location... should be the Communication Courtyard. No wonder we couldn't contact them before." Baili Mo looked at the collapsed ground below the half tower and pondered, "It seems Northern Kun City had problems first, which caused the delay in news about the Sea Whirlpools."
It was just that this black smoke and fierce fire made it hard to judge what exactly had happened.
Situ Ling Kui looked at the place emitting black smoke in Northern Kun City and spoke with a voice crisp as jade striking jade, coldness washing over them: "Ring the bell to find people."
Baili Mo bowed his head in acknowledgment and extended his hand to the side. Someone handed him a bow and arrows.
This Second Grandmother of the Situ family seemed uninterested in investigating other matters and wasn't anxious. What she currently cared most about was finding Situ Jin.
The Spirit Bird had docked. On the other side, Murong Lie and others were leading some Mechanism School practitioners off the ship, meeting up with Northern Kun City practitioners who had hurriedly rushed to Water Gate upon receiving the news.
Ou Rushuang didn't follow them. He stood at the edge of the highest deck, with Zhang Xiangyun's group of three standing behind him. Ou Rushuang faced away from the three, his gaze fixed on the half tower emitting black smoke ahead, his expression unreadable.
In Northern Kun City, golden ancient bells hung above every tower. Golden bells were scattered everywhere, but only after striking the great golden bell on Phoenix Tower could the other golden bells be rung.
Baili Mo nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring, aiming at Phoenix Tower which faced a Golden Crow directly. The tower had spread crimson wings on both sides, with lifelike phoenix wings still dropping red flowing light downward.
The phoenix wings were layered upon each other, stacking from many to few, until at the peak there were only two slender phoenix feathers receiving the brilliant golden light cast down from the First Generation Golden Crow.
The great golden bell was at Phoenix Tower's throat.
The gentle and refined Baili Mo nocked his arrow and drew the string. Protective energy ignited around his body. When using Five Elements Energy, his entire person became extremely sharp, and even the movement of his five fingers slowly tightening was filled with intimidating power.
His gaze locked onto the great golden bell, gathering all his strength into one arrow. The fingers hooked on the bowstring relaxed, and the people on the helm heard the sound of air being cut. The long arrow disappeared with a "swoosh," flying toward the great golden bell at high altitude at a speed barely visible to the naked eye.
The moment the long arrow struck the great golden bell, it only shook lightly without making a sound. The bell body swayed, sending out invisible energy waves, followed by one bell chime after another, deep and loud. With the great golden bell as the center, it spread in all directions throughout Northern Kun City, and the golden bells on other towers also resonated with deep calls.
The energy waves spreading from the great golden bell were searching for their targets, not outsiders, but Wenyang Xiu and Situ Jin.
The invisible sound waves spreading from the golden bell could reach every corner of Northern Kun City, whether above or below ground. As long as the targets were in Northern Kun City, they would definitely be detected.
Situ Ling Kui moved her eyeballs, looking toward the rear of Northern Kun City.
Pleasant phoenix calls rang out from the distance, with red light shooting skyward. A fire phoenix could vaguely be seen spiraling and dancing, followed immediately by a second red light shooting skyward from behind Northern Kun City's whale tail.
"Huh?" Baili Mo saw these two locations and looked surprised. He lowered his bow-holding hand and touched his chin with the other: "How could they be so far away? How did they avoid the Spirit Bird's patrol and arrive ahead of us?"
Situ Ling Kui didn't ask many questions and directly ordered: "Bring them back."
The Situ family practitioners behind her responded and immediately scattered, using Wind-Riding Techniques to rush toward those two red lights.
Seeing Situ Ling Kui also move, Baili Mo turned his neck to look at her: "Second Grandmother, you're going too? Then about the Sea Whirlpools..."
Situ Ling Kui stopped and looked back at him with an expression that showed no joy or anger, yet made Baili Mo withdraw his hand from stroking his chin and instinctively become alert to respond.
"Please go take a look first." Situ Ling Kui said.
Baili Mo repeatedly agreed, nodding as he watched Situ Ling Kui leave following the fire phoenix's red light guidance. After she left, he raised his hand to scratch his head, looking at the half tower emitting black smoke and sighing softly.
Another troublesome matter had been placed in his hands.
Baili Mo led people off the ship and saw Murong Lie and others still waiting on the road ahead.
The one who came to greet them was Northern Kun City's Second City Lord.
The Second City Lord was a tall young man. Though he was a Mechanism School practitioner, he didn't belong to any of the Four Great Mechanism Families.
Murong Lie listened to the Second City Lord's explanation with a serious expression, making his already stern face look even more intimidating.
"How is it?" Baili Mo walked over slowly, "What's the situation ahead?"
"Sounds like nonsense." Murong Lie looked at the solemn Second City Lord and said in a deep voice, "But it seems to be the actual situation."
Baili Mo looked at the Second City Lord and heard him repeat his straightforward explanation: "Three days ago, a Sea Whirlpool fell onto Northern Kun City from above, affecting areas including the Communication Courtyard, Puyang Tower, and the Forging Platform."
"A Sea Whirlpool fell from above?" Baili Mo laughed upon hearing this and even gestured with his hand. He stared at the Second City Lord but found the other party wasn't laughing, so he withdrew his hand, "Are you sure it was a Sea Whirlpool?"
"Many people saw it then, including many practitioners who were forging mechanisms at the Forging Platform." The Second City Lord gestured for them to look at the half tower emitting black smoke ahead, "This Sea Whirlpool's appearance had no warning and defied logic. It ignored all of Northern Kun City's defensive barriers, the Golden Conches detected no anomalies, and after briefly appearing, it didn't devour everything inside the Sea Whirlpool."
As the Second City Lord explained, recalling the scene of the incident, his Adam's apple moved, and his voice became somewhat hoarse with lingering fear: "The Sea Whirlpool appeared quickly and disappeared just as quickly. Because the Communication Courtyard was devoured, we couldn't contact the surface to report. On the other hand..."
"There was fire in the Sea Whirlpool." The Second City Lord pointed to the remnant flames at the edge of the collapsed ground, "Fire that devours Five Elements Energy. At first, it couldn't be extinguished no matter what, and there was no way to enter the fire to investigate. Fortunately, it doesn't spread, and as it burns, the fire becomes smaller and smaller."
Just hearing these words made Baili Mo feel it was absurd, but looking at the remnant fire ahead, the half-remaining Puyang Tower, the collapsed ground, and the burning black smoke, he felt what the Second City Lord said might very well be true.
This was not easy to handle.
Baili Mo felt troubled in his heart.
The Second City Lord led them to the edge of the collapsed area. Black flames flickered, and the burnt smell of fierce fire could be detected from far away. The flames were less than a foot high, and even approaching closely, one couldn't feel any heat.
Many Mechanism School practitioners nearby were marking places where remnant fire remained, signaling others not to approach.
Baili Mo wanted to step forward, but was stopped by the Second City Lord's outstretched hand: "If accidentally burned, it can't be extinguished."
Murong Lie pulled off the empty pouch worn at his waist and threw it over. The seemingly nearly extinguished flame suddenly grew several feet high after the pouch hit the ground, instantly burning the just-landed pouch to ashes.
After watching, Baili Mo silently stepped back two paces, creating distance.
Murong Lie's expression looked somewhat grim: "Sea Whirlpools appearing out of nowhere is already strange enough, and now they bring this bizarre flame..."
After pondering for a moment, Baili Mo suggested: "This time we'll probably need people from the Water Vessel to come take a look."
Murong Lie and he exchanged glances. Both knew about the Water Vessel researching Sea Whirlpools to deal with Strange Fire. Now their own people said a Sea Whirlpool suddenly appeared and swallowed half a tower and the Communication Courtyard of Northern Kun City, and after the Sea Whirlpool left, it left behind this strange fire that couldn't be extinguished.
These things made it hard for the two not to think of Strange Fire's existence.
Murong Lie asked: "Where are the others?"
The Second City Lord said: "This flame blocks the path above, making entry impossible. The Great City Lord took others underground, trying to enter the center to investigate. But because many places below aren't connected, roads need to be cleared, so they haven't come up yet."
Speaking of this, the Second City Lord couldn't help feeling anxious: "This time the losses for us are enormous. Many goods that needed to be delivered next month are gone, and several underground mechanism warehouses also seem to have been affected by the Sea Whirlpool..."
"We'll calculate the losses later. The urgent matter is resolving the Sea Whirlpool issue. Otherwise, if it comes again, our losses won't be limited to what's before us." Murong Lie interrupted him with a gesture and turned to Baili Mo, "You return to the Spirit Bird to send the message back. I'll go below to investigate."
Baili Mo nodded. Before leaving, he looked at the still-burning flames, feeling uncertain and suspicious.
……
Ou Rushuang stood with his hands behind his back, facing away from the three behind him, his expression cold. He had been looking at the place emitting black smoke, but the fire phoenix's call and the skyward red light made him shift his gaze toward the rear of Northern Kun City.
He hadn't spoken for a long time, and the silent atmosphere made all three behind him uncomfortable.
Luo Fu crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the ship's edge with an expressionless face. Though he appeared calm and composed, the veins at his temples were faintly bulging, and he even forgot to keep Zhang Xiangyun and Nian Qiuyan separated.
Though Zhang Xiangyun's injuries had been treated, the large bloodstains on his clothes still looked disturbing. Sweat now beaded on his forehead, and he had restrained his usual cynical attitude, showing more respect when facing Ou Rushuang, his face still somewhat weakly pale.
Nian Qiuyan stood right next to Zhang Xiangyun, eyes downcast, quietly trying to reduce his presence.
Seeing Zhang and Luo's attitudes, Nian Qiuyan understood that the person Zhang Xiangyun mentioned who wanted the Silver River Water was one of Taiyi Academy's Agricultural School Saints, Ou Rushuang.
Ou Rushuang said indifferently: "You followed all the way here, wasn't it to give me something?"
Zhang Xiangyun replied hoarsely: "The item was lost and hasn't been found yet. We came this time to confirm its location, but encountered Sea Whirlpools..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ou Rushuang interrupted: "Then where is its location?"
Ou Rushuang turned around, his calm gaze sweeping over Zhang Xiangyun and settling on the downcast Nian Qiuyan, speaking slowly: "Was it lost, or given to someone else?"
Zhang Xiangyun also glanced at Nian Qiuyan from the corner of his eye, consciously leaving this question for him to answer.
Ou Rushuang stared at Nian Qiuyan, seemingly calm and unruffled, yet the three could feel targeted oppressive force, silently and invisibly choking their necks, pressing down on their shoulders and heads with weight, making their hearts squeeze and beat rapidly with panic and fear.
When people are panicked, they have no time to think.
"It was lost." Nian Qiuyan looked up at Ou Rushuang, meeting the other's calm yet turbulent gaze, saying neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Silver River Water's special toxicity can only be neutralized by Six Mysterious Wood. Six Mysterious Wood grows in the deep sea, difficult for ordinary people to reach. When originally placed here, we never expected there would come a day of Sea Whirlpool outbreaks."
After hearing this, Ou Rushuang's expression didn't change much. He continued staring at Nian Qiuyan and asked again: "You mean the Sea Whirlpool devoured the Six Mysterious Wood containing Silver River Water?"
Nian Qiuyan said: "Looking at the current situation, it's not impossible."
Ou Rushuang turned to look at Zhang Xiangyun: "What do you think? Is this possible?"
Zhang Xiangyun lowered his head: "It is indeed possible."
Ou Rushuang nodded: "Then you go into the Sea Whirlpool to find it."
These words made even the constantly silent Luo Fu's eyelids jump, and he and Zhang Xiangyun both looked up at Ou Rushuang. These two were very clear about Ou Rushuang's working style.
Since Ou Rushuang said this, he would really make them enter a Sea Whirlpool to retrieve the item.
But if they entered a Sea Whirlpool to find Silver River Water, they would have no chance of coming out alive.
Besides... the Silver River Water might not actually have been swallowed by a Sea Whirlpool.
Zhang Xiangyun gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "There's another possibility."
"Oh?" Ou Rushuang raised an eyebrow slightly, listening as Zhang Xiangyun said, "A few days ago, Mei Liangyu, Xing Chun, and Zhongli Shan also came to the Abyss Sea and disappeared in the sea. I suspect Mei Liangyu took the Silver River Water. Since the Silver River Water theft began, Mei Liangyu has been secretly investigating."
Ou Rushuang turned around again, looking back at the half tower emitting black smoke: "Since you have a suspect, what are you waiting for? Do you want me to personally search?"
Zhang Xiangyun said in a deep voice: "No, we'll go find him now."
"You and Nian Qiuyan are both Technical Arts School disciples, skilled in divination. Finding people shouldn't be difficult." Ou Rushuang said, "Find him before leaving."
Zhang Xiangyun clenched his five fingers into a fist, placing it by his lips and coughing lowly: "I'm injured and lack strength. I'm afraid divination might have errors. Better let Nian Qiuyan do it. He's more skilled in this area."
These words focused everyone's attention on Nian Qiuyan.
Nian Qiuyan sighed: "I only have one divination left today."
Zhang Xiangyun smiled without warmth: "I think you don't want to find Mei Liangyu. Mei Liangyu taking the Silver River Water was also at your instruction, wasn't it?"
Nian Qiuyan didn't even look at him: "What benefit would that give me?"
Zhang Xiangyun sneered: "You know very well."
Ou Rushuang turned sideways, ignoring the two's argument. He walked toward Nian Qiuyan, and under Zhang Xiangyun's somewhat gloating gaze, reached out and lightly patted Nian Qiuyan's shoulder. Nian Qiuyan groaned and frowned.
"Find the person, retrieve the lost item." Ou Rushuang's hand lightly pressed on Nian Qiuyan's shoulder. Though it seemed he wasn't using much force, sweat could be seen on Nian Qiuyan's forehead, "Sea Whirlpools can become an excuse for losing things, and also become the cause of your death preventing your return to shore."
Nian Qiuyan could feel an overwhelmingly powerful Five Elements Energy gripping his heart, making breathing difficult. Under such pressure, he took a deep breath and slightly pulled at the corner of his mouth with a somewhat helpless smile: "I was just thinking, if Mei Liangyu found Silver River Water in the sea and encountered danger preventing him from surfacing, he would have summoned Saint Chang Gen long ago."
Ou Rushuang smiled slightly: "I see, so you're waiting for Mei Liangyu to summon Saint Chang Gen?"
Nian Qiuyan said: "I'm thinking maybe it wasn't Mei Liangyu who took it at all."
"Good." Ou Rushuang nodded, "Then all three of you go into the Sea Whirlpool to search."
Nian Qiuyan just looked up when he was pressed down by a force and knelt on the ground. Ou Rushuang withdrew his hand and looked at Zhang Xiangyun nearby: "Because of Silver River Water, the lodgings were searched, we lost the Divine Mechanism False Beast, lost the Outer City stronghold, and how many Xuankui members died? The Silver River Water still hasn't been found. Is this how you handle affairs?"
Zhang Xiangyun lowered his head: "Give me one more chance. I will definitely find it."
"Before finding it, first throw him into a Sea Whirlpool." Ou Rushuang's gaze was ice-cold, looking at Nian Qiuyan kneeling on the ground unable to get up.
Zhang Xiangyun hesitated for an instant. Nian Qiuyan supported himself with one hand on the ground, slightly pulling at the corner of his mouth: "Please calm your anger. This last divination of the day, I'll do it."
Ou Rushuang couldn't relax his vigilance and still said coldly: "If you can't find him, throw him into a Sea Whirlpool too."
He withdrew the Five Elements Energy suppressing Nian Qiuyan, and only then did Nian Qiuyan breathe with relief.
Nian Qiuyan had no time to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. He pulled off the Divine Wood Signs tied at his waist, drew a circle on the ground with one hand, placed the Divine Wood Signs in the center, and after marking several curse patterns, input Mei Liangyu's information into them. Terrain patterns appeared in the divination diagram, and a wisp of golden light floated from the Divine Wood Signs, forming the character "Mei" above the divination diagram, swaying unsteadily.
The Technical Arts School's Soul-Fixing Divination was most accurate for finding objects and people.
Nian Qiuyan had already provided enough information to the divination diagram, all related to Mei Liangyu. After providing sufficient information, the complex mountain, water, forest, and sea terrain patterns on the diagram began to rotate.
The golden light in the form of the character "Mei" returned to the Divine Wood Signs.
Zhang Xiangyun saw Nian Qiuyan flip the Divine Wood Signs to the other side with almost no effort, his expression momentarily complex.
The black side of the signs began flashing different patterns:
Blue flowing seawater patterns.
Crimson swaying flames.
Collapsed ground emitting black smoke.
A tower with only half remaining.
Nian Qiuyan picked up the Divine Wood Signs and stood up from the ground, extending them toward Ou Rushuang and saying in a low voice: "It seems he's not very far away."
Ou Rushuang looked down at the location shown by the Divine Wood Signs' divination, turned to look into Northern Kun City, at that place emitting black smoke that could be seen even from the Spirit Bird.
"Since you can find Mei Liangyu's location, you can also find where Silver River Water is." Ou Rushuang looked up again, staring at Nian Qiuyan, "You insist on one divination per day, and I won't make things difficult for you. These two will go find Mei Liangyu, while you wait here. When the time comes, perform another divination to locate Silver River Water."
Nian Qiuyan seemed to have no dissatisfaction, putting away the Divine Wood Signs with a low laugh: "How could this be considered making things difficult? Being able to rest here, I'm quite willing."
Zhang Xiangyun glanced at him, thinking what nonsense he was talking. Staying here with Ou Rushuang was the most uncomfortable, but since it was Nian Qiuyan who would be uncomfortable, he was too lazy to care. He immediately accepted the order: "I'll go find Mei Liangyu first."
Luo Fu, who had been leaning against the ship's edge, finally straightened up, ready to act.
……
Northern Kun City had many hidden levels underground.
The Forging Platform was also divided into upper and lower levels, the upper level on the ground, the lower level underground. The forging furnace fires were connected, and as long as they weren't shut down, they wouldn't be extinguished.
The furnace fires used by the Mechanism School also had great origins, requiring special Profound Gold Stones to ignite. Not only were they hard to find, they were also very expensive, but the Sea Whirlpool directly swept away both furnaces and fires together.
What the Four Great Mechanism Families forged here wasn't just mechanism axis bodies, but also various rare weapons and exotic treasures.
The hidden levels underground in Northern Kun City were mostly warehouses, storing large quantities of forging materials and completed mechanisms. Large mechanism items were stored below, as well as things requiring secrecy that couldn't see light.
The underground terrain of Northern Kun City was extremely complex. This complexity was originally for secrecy, but now that the Sea Whirlpool had caused such chaos, the complex terrain became troublesome. Because those bizarre flames blocked the way, they couldn't directly enter the center to assess losses and the situation, so the Great City Lord and others had to keep detouring forward.
But whenever they encountered flames brought by the Sea Whirlpool ahead, they couldn't break through and could only find other ways around.
In the upper half of Northern Kun City, located at the deepest part underground, was the "Coiling Dragon Stone Cave."
The water-seeping stone cave had densely packed openings above, with several Buddha statues of varying heights in the center. The largest was a sitting Buddha with a kind face and slight smile, seemingly responding gently to everyone who looked at it.
On its left and right were two standing Buddhas, majestic and heroic in posture, holding Demon-Subduing Pestle Staffs in demon-conquering, heaven-subduing poses, their eyes filled with intimidating battle intent.
Water seeped through the stone surface, darkening its color. The broad wall that seemed endless was filled with hundreds and thousands of small Buddha niches, some empty, others containing different small items.
Below the stone cave wall was a straight passage, with a frozen underground river on the outer side of the passage. Whether on the frozen underground river or the water-laden stone cave wall, there was a circle of swaying, flickering flames, trapping the three people dropped by the Sea Whirlpool in the passage.
Xing Chun crouched by the shore using some firelight, looking down at the ice surface. The ice reflected blurred shadows. He touched his chin, then pinched his own face, sighing softly before turning back:
His two good brothers were still leaning against the passage wall, unconscious.
One had toxins still uncleard from his body, the other had consumed too much Five Elements Energy in the Sea Whirlpool and hadn't recovered from Five Elements Energy Chaos.
Xing Chun patted his own face and stood up, thinking to himself, only I'm left, I must hold on. Got to keep one alive to collect their bodies.