darknovel Chapter 42 Searching for the Three Immortal Islands
Chapter 42 Searching for the Three Immortal Islands
The vast East Sea, with its boundless blue waves, resembles a giant sapphire inlaid on the edge of the primordial continent. The power of water element is extremely abundant, completely different from the heavy feeling of the earth that Zhen Yuanzi is familiar with.
He stood on the clouds, his divine sense like an invisible spider web, extending in all directions to scan every inch of the sea, from the surging surface to the deep trenches, not missing a single abnormal energy fluctuation.
On the sea, sunlight casts countless golden glints, and waves gently lap against the sky, making a rhythmic splashing sound.
Occasionally, a giant Kun fish leaps out of the water, stirring up thousands of waves.
In the distance, schools of manta rays spread their bird-wing-like fins, gliding on the crests of the waves and emitting melodious calls.
Deeper still, amidst the colorful coral reefs, various strange sea creatures swim leisurely, exuding a rich aquatic atmosphere.
However, as a fragment of chaos, the Three Immortal Islands have their own way of hiding. The mysterious mist surrounding them makes it difficult for even a peak Great Luo Golden Immortal like Zhen Yuanzi to find them using conventional methods, like looking for a needle in a haystack.
His divine sense swept across the islands brimming with spiritual energy. Some islands were covered with towering ancient trees, others with exotic flowers and rare herbs, and still others were inhabited by aquatic spirits with considerable cultivation. However, none of them were the targets he was looking for.
Time flies. On the East Sea, the sun rises and sets, the tides ebb and flow, and hundreds of years pass in the blink of an eye. During this long search, Zhen Yuanzi witnessed countless wonders of the East Sea:
On the night of the full moon, merfolk gather on the reefs, weeping tears that turn into crystals; when a storm comes, lightning snakes weave through the dark clouds, illuminating the silhouettes of giant beasts in the deep sea; on calm, waveless days, the sea is like a mirror, reflecting the starry sky, as if it were another sky.
Zhen Yuanzi's divine sense tirelessly swept across billions of miles of sea, exploring countless islands brimming with spiritual energy, turbulent sea eyes, and even the settlements of some aquatic creatures, but he still failed to capture the unique Daoist charm belonging to the Three Immortal Islands.
Even with his unwavering Dao heart, he couldn't help but feel a slight, barely perceptible unease and doubt.
Could it be that the memories of later generations are wrong? Or perhaps the time for the Three Immortal Islands to emerge has not yet come, and it cannot be forced?
He hovered among the clouds, gazing at the boundless blue waves below, and for the first time, his heart wavered. The East Sea was truly vast; even for a Great Luo Golden Immortal, finding three deliberately hidden immortal islands in such a vast sea would be no easy task.
Just as he was about to give up and think of another method, a faint, almost fused with the surrounding innate spiritual energy, strange aura suddenly swept across the edge of his spiritual network like a cunning fish!
This aura... is ancient, obscure, and carries a sense of indifference and death, like the return of all things to nothingness, completely different from the lively and vibrant innate spiritual energy in the primordial world!
It was the chaotic energy that permeated the endless void before the creation of heaven and earth!
Although this aura was faint, it carried an essential nobility and antiquity, as if it came from another era, completely out of place in the present-day wilderness.
"Found it!" Zhen Yuanzi was overjoyed. The restlessness caused by the long search vanished instantly, replaced by clarity and certainty.
The Three Immortal Islands were formed from fragments of chaos, and the chaotic aura emanating from their periphery is their most prominent characteristic! Following this trail will surely yield results!
His divine sense immediately locked onto the direction from which that aura originated, and he transformed into a faint stream of light, silently fleeing in that direction.
He moved slightly, and the next moment he appeared like a ghost in the general area where the chaotic airflow dissipated.
This place seems no different from any other sea area, with calm waves and the interplay of sunlight and cloud shadows.
On the sea, several seagulls circled leisurely, occasionally swooping down to catch the shimmering silver fish.
In the distance, several small rocky islands dot the blue water, covered with salt-tolerant seaweed and some low shrubs.
Sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting dappled shadows on the sea, making everything seem so peaceful and ordinary.
However, Zhen Yuanzi suppressed all distracting thoughts and pushed his divine sense, which was at the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, to its limit. Like the most precise probe, he scanned and analyzed every inch of the spatial structure and every energy ripple within a radius of ten thousand miles.
His divine sense pierced through the azure seawater, penetrating to the seabed thousands of feet below, where another world lay:
Giant seaweed swayed like a forest, schools of luminous fish swam like a galaxy, and all sorts of strange sea creatures darted among the coral reefs.
At first, everything was still "normal".
The chaotic currents seemed to have passed by by chance, leaving no trace.
On the sandy seabed, several giant giant clams are slowly opening and closing, revealing lustrous pearls inside.
A group of brightly colored butterflyfish frolic among the corals;
Deeper still, a massive whale-like creature was swimming slowly, each sway of its tail stirring up turbulent undercurrents.
Everything seemed so natural, so harmonious, as if that wisp of chaotic energy had never appeared.
But Zhen Yuanzi was exceptionally patient; he firmly believed that his perception was never wrong.
He hovered in the air, his eyes slightly closed, his aura subtly merging with the seawater beneath his feet and the sky above his head. He no longer relied solely on his divine sense, but rather used his profound understanding of the laws of heaven and earth to "sense" the difference of this place.
He seemed to have become a part of this sea, feeling every turn of the current, sensing every rise and fall of the tide, and experiencing every change in the wind and clouds.
Time passed slowly, and the light and shadow on the sea changed constantly as the sun moved.
At noon, the sun shines directly, turning the sea a deep blue; at dusk, the setting sun paints the sea golden; after nightfall, the moon rises, its silvery light spilling across the waves, making the entire sea seem as if it's covered with a layer of shattered silver.
Between sunrise and sunset, Zhen Yuanzi maintained that mysterious state, breathing and pulsating in unison with this sea.
In a moment of profound clarity, just as the new moon rose and the sea was at its most shimmering, he "saw" it!
In that seemingly seamless void, there exists an extremely subtle "fold" or "fault" that is almost integrated with the space itself.
This fault is not visible to the naked eye, nor can it be directly detected by magic; it is more like a clever "grafting" and "disguise" at the level of spatial laws.
It is like a highly skilled embroiderer who has perfectly sewn another piece of fabric onto the original brocade, with stitches so fine that they are almost imperceptible.
Unless one has a profound understanding of the Dao of Space, or possesses an extremely keen sense of perception like his, and is aware in advance of any possible anomalies, there is no way to discover them.
Deeper within this spatial rift, he sensed a perfectly formed, incredibly profound innate array!
This formation is not arranged by external objects such as array flags or array plates, but is naturally generated by the Great Dao. Its structure is not a simple defense or attack, but presents a stable triangular support posture. Three different but common Daoist rhythms—the vastness of the heavens, the weight of the earth, and the wisdom of man—interweave with each other and circulate endlessly, forming a perfect and stable independent system.
It tightly seals, distorts, and hides all the internal energy, light and shadow, and even the secrets of heaven.
This great formation is like a small world of its own, both connected to and isolated from the outside primordial world, and its ingenuity is breathtaking.
"The Primordial Three Powers Grand Formation!" Zhen Yuanzi understood. The three powers of Heaven, Earth, and Man are one of the basic frameworks that constitute the primordial world. The primordial grand formation based on this is extremely stable and concealed, which explains why it is so difficult to find.
This grand formation, drawing upon the power of Heaven, Earth, and Man, has achieved a perfect balance, much like a precisely functioning cosmic model. Any external intervention could disrupt this delicate balance.
Faced with this mysterious formation, Zhen Yuanzi did not entertain the slightest thought of breaking it by force.
Firstly, this formation has a deep foundation and is connected to the origin of the Chaos Fragments. Forcibly breaking it, even if he has extraordinary cultivation, will consume a lot of energy and may even trigger a backlash from the formation, causing unpredictable consequences.
Secondly, such a large commotion could not be concealed. The East Sea is within the territory of the Dragon Clan. Although the three clans seem to be keeping a watchful eye on this great Daoist, if they find out that he has discovered a celestial island formed from fragments of chaos here, it is hard to guarantee that trouble will not arise and cause unnecessary problems.
Thirdly, and most importantly, violently breaking the formation could damage the natural layout of the three immortal islands within the formation, and even harm the origin of any potential innate spiritual treasures or spiritual roots, which would be a net loss.