Chapter 651: Return to a Place of Old
"Don't get complacent, everyone. There's no telling what other manners of strange creatures we could encounter in this place."
As soon as Shi Chuankong's voice trailed off, a giant twin-headed crocodile rushed out of the swamp with mud all over its body, opening one of its mouths in an attempt to swallow the entire flying boat whole.
"You spoke it into existence, Brother Shi," Fox 3 said with an amused smile.
Shi Chuankong paid no heed to him as he made a hand seal, conjuring up a seemingly extremely thin silver light barrier around the flying boat.
The twin-headed crocodile crashed into the silver light barrier, both of its heads were instantly pulverized upon impact, as if a gargantuan mountain had fallen upon them.
"This thing's not very smart, but it certainly has strength to spare," Immortal Lord Hot Flame remarked.
"There's something else up ahead," Han Li suddenly said, an Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword appeared in his grasp, following which he sprang up into the air before slashing his sword forward.
A streak of azure swordlight was released, vanishing into the swamp up ahead in a flash before exploding violently. Folloow current novÊls on nov/3lb((in).(co/m)
An agonized roar rang out as a huge volume of blood gushed into the water, and immediately thereafter, a creature that was identical in appearance to the strange fish from earlier, except enlarged by tenfold, rose up to the surface with its body already sliced into two.
The silver flying boat was able to fly straight down the middle between two halves of its body, and Fox 3 chuckled, "With the two of you standing on guard duty, I don't have to worry about anything aside from piloting the boat!"
As the flying boat rushed into the illusory smoke, the latter was also surging toward the former, and it didn't take long before the two made contact hundreds of kilometers away from Serene Floating Island.
As soon as the flying boat entered the pink smoke, it immediately slowed , and everyone released their spiritual sense to scour the surrounding area.
"As expected, spiritual sense is severely restricted within the illusory mist, so we won't even be able to discern our location," Fox 3 said.
"In that case, let's be a bit more careful, and we'll each focus on one direction," Shi Chuankong suggested with a cautious expression.
As for Han Li, his brows were slightly furrowed, and there was a hint of surprise in his heart. Even with his immense spiritual sense, his sensory range within the illusory mist was only around a dozen kilometers.
"It's fine, I'll be able to sense it if the sect ruins emerge," Immortal Lord Hot Flame assured.
He flipped a hand over as he spoke to produce a longan-sized pink bead, which appeared to be no different from a normal clam pearl, except it was riddled with tiny golden runes that were flashing incessantly.
"What's that?" Shi Chuankong asked.
Around the sea of flowers was a series of intricate pavilions and pagodas that connected to the palatial structures in the distance, and there was a group of gorgeous celestial maidens in palace dresses standing on a covered bridge.
Some were holding delectable spirit fruits, some were holding flagons of fine wine, and some were carrying palace lanterns as they made their way gracefully toward the nearby pavilions.
There were many immortals seated in these pavilions, sharing wine, reciting poetry, or playing go, and it seemed that Han Li's group had unwittingly stumbled its way into a banquet.
The flying boat immediately drew to a halt at Fox 3's behest, and he turned to Shi Chuankong as he said, "Your Divine Spirit Pills don't seem to be working, Brother Shi. Why are these illusions only becoming more and more potent?"
"The Divine Spirit Pills are working as intended, it's just that this illusion is too powerful. If we hadn't taken those pills, we would've most likely already become completely immersed in the illusion and be unable to discern it from real life," Han Li explained in Shi Chuankong's stead.
He hadn't taken his Divine Spirit Pill, so he was aware of just how powerful this illusion was. If he hadn't already channeled his Spirit Refinement Technique to protect his own consciousness, even he would've most likely already fallen prey to it.
"Fellow Daoist Li, can you dispel this illusion with your spirit eye ability?" Immortal Lord Hot Flame asked.
"My spirit eyes can only help us avoid danger, but it can't dispel illusions. However, I think Fellow Daoist Shi can perhaps dispel part of the illusion by using his spatial law powers to force back some of the nearby illusory mist," Han Li replied.
"Theoretically, that's possible, but it would be far too taxing, and I won't be able to dispel any illusions that encompass large areas, so I'm afraid that's not a very feasible solution," Shi Chuankong said as his brows furrowed slightly.
"How about this? We'll have Fellow Daoist Li use his spirit eyes to help us avoid danger, while Fellow Daoist Hot Flame uses his True Mantra Bead to detect for teleportation arrays. Once we discover something, we'll get Brother Shi to dispel the illusion in that area. As for myself, I'll continue to pilot the boat," Fox 3 proposed.
Han Li and Shi Chuankong exchanged a glance upon hearing this, and both of them nodded in approval of this proposal.
Immortal Lord Hot Flame naturally had no reason to object, and with that, the flying boat slowly continued onward.
"Turn left once we emerge from this field of flowers," Han Li instructed as he scoured his surroundings with his Infernal Devilish Eyes.
"You want me to crash straight into that bridge?" Fox 3 asked in a hesitant manner.
"Trust me," Han Li insisted, and Fox duly obliged, guiding the boat in that direction.
After emerging from the field of flowers, the boat turned left and crashed straight into the covered bridge, only for it to completely disintegrate upon contact, and Han Li's group passed straight through the bodies of the celestial maidens on the bridge.
"From here, go straight for about seven hundred feet, then turn right..."
Under Han Li's guidance, the flying boat was able to traverse through one illusion after another, and around an hour later, the boat was passing through an illusory pond when Immortal Lord Hot Flame suddenly exclaimed, "I've found it!"