Chapter 644: Eight Directions Deserted Sea

A true dragon's roar had preceded them, and now, a chorus of dragon cries echoed in response as Jiyuan and the dragon host crossed the boundary between the Desolate Sea and the East Sea. This was no mere brief passage through ocean currents like when he traveled by realm-traversing boat, but a true entry into the vast, open Desolate Sea. The moment they entered, fierce astral winds immediately assailed them from above.

Surrounded by flood dragons and accompanied by true dragons, the mere astral winds naturally posed no threat to the dragon host. They continued to ride the wind and break the waves, their speed undiminished.

By this point, the dark clouds the dragons had brought with them had long dispersed. Jiyuan gazed at the distant sea, noticing that even with sunlight falling upon it, the water remained turbid. Far from being a clear blue, the sea displayed various mottled colors. This was primarily due to their location at the confluence of the Desolate Sea and the East Sea, where colliding currents created varying depths of turbidity in the Desolate Sea, resulting in a splotchy, variegated appearance. Further out, it was likely to become uniformly murky or even black.

Upon reaching the Desolate Sea, much of the ocean's beauty seemed to vanish. To Jiyuan, at times, it looked as if the water had been polluted by a past life's industry. Yet, he knew that while this water affected the living environment of marine creatures, it was not inherently harmful.

The dragon host flew for more than ten days after entering the Desolate Sea, gradually slowing down. This was mainly because the astral winds above the sea surface grew increasingly intense. As for the waves, influenced by the winds, they could be calm one moment and then surge into towering giants dozens of meters high the next. The strength of these astral winds meant the dragons could no longer maintain their previous high speed by sheer physical force; they would have to expend demonic energy to control and ride the wind.

However, the dragons clearly did not wish to deplete too much stamina and magical power just for travel. Jiyuan watched as a flash of light emanated from Huang Yuchong, who stood on a cloud not far away. In an instant, he transformed into a massive old yellow dragon, his body and whiskers over a hundred feet long. Then, a long, piercing roar burst from his mouth.

"ROAR————"

"All dragons, follow me into the depths of the Desolate Sea!"

"Roar…""Roar…""Roar…"

Dragon roars echoed one after another. On the sea surface, splashes erupted continuously as flood dragons plunged into the water.

"Mr. Ji, shall we also enter the Desolate Sea?"

Old Dragon Ying Hong asked Jiyuan. Most of the dragons had already submerged, and only Old Dragon Ying Hong's group, with over twenty flood dragons, remained with Jiyuan on the white cloud.

"Dragons are the lords of the sea. I shall follow Old Master Ying's arrangements."

"Good. We shall also enter the sea! ROAR————"

With a long roar from the old dragon, the white cloud plunged directly into the ocean at high speed.

"Crash!"

Water sprayed everywhere. Jiyuan's vision was suddenly filled with seawater, and the sounds of flowing water and mist mingled all around. However, the impact of the Desolate Sea's turbidity on visibility was negligible for Jiyuan; after all, with his "extraordinary" sight, even crystal-clear water wouldn't make much difference.

All around, both near and far, large white bubbles rose from the surface and descended into the sea, marking where flood dragons had entered the water.

Jiyuan and Old Dragon Ying Hong maintained their human forms, while Ying Ruoli and Ying Feng had already transformed into chi-jiao dragons. Their two twenty-zhang-long chi-jiao bodies glowed with a crystalline red light, accompanied by the hues of five-colored glazed glass. Ying Ruoli and Ying Feng positioned themselves one on each side, their dragon bodies gliding beneath Jiyuan and the old dragon, carrying them as they plunged through the waves. The dragon maiden transformed a step faster than Ying Feng, taking Jiyuan first, leaving Ying Feng to carry his father, who felt a slight pang of envy.

The old yellow dragon led the way, so Jiyuan's group didn't need to do anything extra; they just followed along. The surroundings were murky, the currents turbulent, and the dragon host continually moved forward and downward.

As the dragons swam, the surrounding seawater slid past them. In Jiyuan's vision, the eyes of the flood dragons beside him glowed with an amber luminescence, becoming the only sources of light in the progressively darkening sea.

Jiyuan had never imagined riding a dragon before, given their well-known arrogance. Yet, Ying Ruoli, who carried him, showed no hesitation. Even in the turbulent currents of the Desolate Sea, the dragon's movement was incredibly steady, causing Jiyuan no discomfort whatsoever.

Because dragons needed to maintain a certain distance from each other while swimming, Old Dragon Ying Hong and Ying Feng were still dozens of feet away from Jiyuan and Ying Ruoli.

"Uncle Ji, the upper layers of the Desolate Sea are still affected by the astral winds, causing turbulent currents, and the force of the winds can even penetrate the water. But the closer you get to the seabed, the more vibrant life becomes."

Ying Ruoli's clear and pleasant voice emanated from her dragon mouth, creating a slight psychological contrast for Jiyuan.

"Mhm, tell me more about the Desolate Sea. I'd like to broaden my knowledge."

"Hehehe… As you wish, Ruoli accepts the task."

The dragon maiden chuckled softly, then began to recount what she knew about the Desolate Sea to Jiyuan.

"Actually, the upper reaches of the Desolate Sea aren't always ravaged by astral winds. Some areas even enjoy perpetual calm weather and sunshine. These places are treasures within the Desolate Sea, mostly occupied by sea monsters, and often comprise special islands... It's rumored that the Desolate Sea is boundless, and there's some truth to that. The further out you go, the larger the Desolate Sea becomes; no one can claim to have fully explored it. However, there are dragons who have flown rapidly in one direction, reaching extremely distant parts of the Desolate Sea. That area is almost a dead zone. Once you cross the boundary into the 'Outer Frontier Dead Zone,' the ocean surface above is violent, with external astral malevolence pouring down, while volcanic heat erupts from below, scorching the seawater like a cauldron. The vastness of that region is immeasurable."

Jiyuan frowned. Immeasurable vastness? He, Jiyuan, didn't believe that. It wasn't the boundless starry sky; how could the Desolate Sea truly be endless? It was more likely that no one had explored its true extent.

By now, Jiyuan had long abandoned the idea that this world was a planet. After all, he had flown high into the sky countless times. While the terrain had its ups and downs, and there might even be large-scale, imperceptible arches or depressions, the overall structure was not planetary. It was more likely a generalized concept of a round sky and square earth. Even so, Jiyuan didn't believe the land was infinite; that seemed absurd.

Just as he was thinking this, the dragon maiden suddenly added,

"Actually, some senior dragon cultivators have suggested another possibility: they feel that the 'limitlessness' of the Desolate Sea's outer frontier might just be an illusion, perhaps due to something disturbing our spiritual senses, making us circle without realizing it… In any case, not many dragons are foolish enough to try that."

That was certainly a possibility. Jiyuan nodded slightly.

The dragons' unhindered swimming speed in the water was not much slower than their flight. After reaching a certain depth, they indeed began to see more marine creatures. As they approached the seabed, some bioluminescent marine vegetation and special aquatic organisms appeared in the Desolate Sea, adding color to the dark, murky depths.

Such a place easily brought to Jiyuan's mind terms like thalassophobia. Even now, had he not been with the dragon host, he would be unwilling to wander in such an environment.

"Roar"

Ying Ruoli let out a soft dragon cry, and a glow flashed across her body. In Jiyuan's vision, streaks of light, like extremely fast ripples, spread outwards, flashing across the seabed, past schools of fish, and through the various aspects of the Desolate Sea. It wasn't just Ying Ruoli; Ying Feng and other flood dragons also performed similar actions occasionally, somewhat akin to a more mystical dragon sonar.

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

Distant sounds occasionally drifted over. To Jiyuan, some of the dragon roars sounded like prolonged whale songs.

The dragons gradually spread out, maintaining greater distances from each other, dispersed over a large area of the seabed, often separated by tens or even hundreds of li.

"Uncle Ji, when Dragon Lord Huang first reached the Desolate Sea, dragon corpse worms were already visible in this area. Of course, they are all extinct now, but we will still investigate this area as we pass through."

Jiyuan looked down at the seabed. Although in terms of conventional sight, his vision at this moment was indistinguishable from blindness, he could still feel the residual thunder and fire energy on the seabed, which must have been left by Old Yellow Dragon's spell years ago.

"Dragon corpse worms have a habit of clustering and actively seeking out their kind to reproduce, almost without exception. So, they typically form a continuous line. Once you find one, it's not hard to find the others."

This time, the dragon host, comprising four true dragons and three hundred flood dragons, aimed to search a vast area, extending at least five thousand li in a straight line from where the monstrous worm was killed, and pushing forward at least one hundred thousand li. If no dragon corpse worms were found this time, the dragons would most likely put the matter aside for now.

Although there was a legend among dragons that dragon corpse worms might genuinely cultivate to a significant degree and learn to avoid danger, dragon corpse worms are usually surrounded by smaller worms. As long as one dragon corpse worm is found, with a true dragon leading the team, it wouldn't be difficult to root out the others.

"Have mercy, Dragon Lord, mercy… Ugh!"

Distant screams faintly reached them. Jiyuan's gaze swept over, and he saw demonic energy rising and then quickly dissipating. It seemed that some well-established demon in the Desolate Sea had met its end at a dragon's maw. Hungry dragons on a long journey would not bother with pleasantries.

Jiyuan had nothing to say about this. He wasn't so idle as to lecture the dragons on which demons in the Desolate Sea were innocent or pure; at most, he might influence Ying Ruoli and Ying Feng.

Since beginning the search, Jiyuan had been with the dragon host for over three months, and they had already passed the location where Old Yellow Dragon had killed the monstrous worm. This day, Jiyuan was resting, seated on the dragon's mane at Ying Ruoli's neck, when his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"Hm?"

"Uncle Ji, what's wrong?"

Jiyuan frowned and took a feather from his sleeve. He had just felt a warmth in his sleeve, but there was no change when he took it out. He knew it wasn't a mere illusion.

"Nothing, I just felt a slight tremor in my mind. Perhaps I was mistaken."

Ying Ruoli immediately took note. How could Uncle Ji be mistaken about anything? That was unlikely. Perhaps he didn't want her to worry? Or perhaps even Uncle Ji wasn't certain yet?