Chapter 781: Heavenly Yu Chaos

Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu arrived at Tianyu Continent after a long journey, where they witnessed the endless frozen landscape of the west coast. The entire coastline, for a considerable distance offshore, remained frozen. Not to mention fishing boats, even ordinary large ships simply couldn't navigate.

Of course, they hadn't taken any realm ferry or used any powerful sky-traveling treasures; they had simply flown all the way. So, even before reaching Tianyu Continent, they had vaguely sensed that winter seemed to be setting in. Upon arriving, they found the situation there particularly extreme.

Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu had landed by the sea some time ago. Both gazed out at the vast ocean, remaining silent for a long while.

"Interesting. Has it reached this extent?" Bei Mu said, somewhat puzzled, as he looked at the frozen coast, while Lu Shan-jun remained slightly frowning.

"This probably isn't something that can be achieved by casually casting some divine ability or spell, is it? The four seasons are a matter of natural law. Who could possess such powerful magic?" This wasn't merely about lowering the temperature or causing snow. Lu Shan-jun pondered for a long time, even unsure if his master, acting with full power, could genuinely alter the natural climate, and such an act would certainly incur significant karmic consequences.

Of course, in the common understanding of mortals, changing the weather is simple; even snow in June or sudden rain on a clear day would qualify.

"Indeed, this is no longer a mere change in one city or region."

It was snowing heavily. The two had stood for nearly half the night, their bodies covered in thick snow. When they moved, a casual shake would send a cascade of snow sliding off.

Due to the snow and clouds obscuring the sky, the mid-night coastline appeared somewhat dim. However, after walking for a while, Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu spotted flickering lights in the distance, not on the shore, but beyond the coastline. Without much exchange, they naturally headed towards the lights. Neither of them was mortal, so their footwork was extraordinary. In just a moment, the distant lights were close at hand.

Looking out at the frozen sea near the shore, there seemed to be many shadowy figures around the lights. Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu stepped directly onto the ice, approaching until they stopped dozens of feet away, observing the bustling crowd.

There were over twenty men in total. Some held torches, others carried frames and iron basins, and nearby was a horse-drawn flatbed cart with bundles of unknown items piled on it.

"Heave-ho... heave-ho..."

"Thump-thump-thump-thump..."

A group of men, armed with long-handled shovels, continuously chipped away at the ice. When one tired, another took over. After a long struggle, the thick ice surface was finally breached by their combined efforts, forming a moderately sized hole, and everyone was excited.

An older man lowered a long pole, tied with a white streamer, into the ice hole. Feeling the slight resistance of the water current on the pole and seeing the white streamer slowly straighten with the flow, a hint of joy appeared on his face.

"It's good, we can cast the net!" "Alright!"

"This is great! We've been working from day to night, there must be fish!"

With excitement and hope, everyone grew even busier. The bundles on the flatbed cart turned out to be coiled fishing nets, which were now all unloaded and systematically lowered into the ice hole, bit by bit. Since boats couldn't go out to sea and winter food supplies weren't abundant, this was their only chance to try their luck.

"Heave-ho, heave-ho" chants rose and fell. After a long period of work, and finally backfilling some snow into the prepared ice holes to prevent them from freezing quickly, the group of men finally finished their night's work. They then repeatedly bowed towards the sea, muttering phrases like "May the Dragon King bless us," hoping for a good catch.

Just as they were about to leave, someone suddenly noticed figures standing a short distance away.

"Are there people over there?" "Where?"

"Oh, yes. Oh dear, are those... not people?"

"Speak, speak up! Who are you?"

The group of men grew tense. These were troubled times. They all grabbed shovels and steel forks from the cart, pointing them at the two distant figures. The leading men even pulled out their amulets from their chests, continuously praying to them. At that moment, the amulets began to emit a faint glow, which simultaneously heartened the fishermen and made them even more nervous.

Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu remained silent, merely observing the group. While the amulets weren't particularly powerful, they were genuine artifacts. Bei Mu was about to raise his hand when Lu Shan-jun chuckled softly, turned, and departed before him. Bei Mu glanced at Lu Shan-jun's back, then lowered his hand and followed.

The twenty-odd fishermen nervously clutched their tools and torches, watching the two figures slowly disappear into the darkness, having made no sound from beginning to end. It was a long while before they gradually relaxed. They quickly gathered their belongings and left, hoping for good luck when they returned to collect their nets.

Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu walked across the ice, quickly leaving the fishermen far behind. Although they had only watched these fishermen at work, they had learned a lot.

"Those amulets don't look like something a few fishermen could obtain, nor something an ordinary mortal sorcerer could easily refine."

"Indeed. The fact that they can fish here all night suggests there aren't many demonic creatures beneath the ice or nearby."

"Did the Dragon Clan intervene?" "Possibly."

Of course, Lu Shan-jun also thought that these fishermen likely had little leftover food at home; otherwise, who would come out at night in such freezing weather to try their luck?

As they were pondering, they suddenly sensed something unusual beneath the ice. They exchanged glances and looked into the distance. In their sight, beneath the ice layer of the sea, a winding dark shadow was moving. The shadow was dozens of feet long, and occasionally, as it brushed against the ice, a cracking sound would emanate from the surface.

The dark shadow moved extremely fast, weaving left and right, and soon swam from beneath the ice to the spot where Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu stood. The two instantly leapt into the air as the shadow arrived, ascending on the cold wind.

The dark shadow stopped directly beneath Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu, seemingly sensing the two figures in the air. A faint draconic aura, accompanied by draconic might, rose.

'Flood Dragon!'

Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu had a simultaneous realization, understanding what was beneath the ice.

"Who are you, and what brings you here?" The flood dragon beneath the ice emitted a low, questioning voice. Its words contained a suppressive power, but it wasn't particularly strong for Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu.

Lu Shan-jun bothered not to speak, while Bei Mu spoke first, slowly descending from the air and cupping his hands towards the ice with a smile. "Brother Lu and I are merely passing by. Having not ventured out for a long time, we've noticed the unusual weather. May I ask, esteemed one, what is the reason for this?"

Bei Mu, of course, knew some of the internal affairs of the Heavenly Revelation Alliance on Tianyu Continent, though he hadn't learned much before arriving. Since this flood dragon clearly leaned towards the righteous path, it was a good opportunity to glean some information. However, the flood dragon clearly didn't easily trust the two. Although the demonic aura was faint, it made him slightly wary; these two were likely not simple individuals.

"Oh, this weather change is indeed unusual, but there's nothing major beyond that. If you head north from here, it will improve, with the four seasons being normal. You two can go and see for yourselves."

North? Lu Shan-jun gazed north from the air. That direction seemed to be cloudless for thousands of miles, but beneath the calm, though no aura was visible, he could faintly perceive a subtle Dao essence. This was a spiritual feedback, like a flickering candle flame hinting at something. Having spent time with Ji Yuan, Lu Shan-jun was familiar with this sensation. He realized that the Dao essence likely indicated the presence of someone with profound magic and extraordinary cultivation.

"Bei Mu, there must be powerful immortal cultivation forces over there, perhaps even true immortals."

"What?"

Hearing Lu Shan-jun state it so bluntly, Bei Mu was slightly startled and looked down at the flood dragon's shadow beneath the ice. It was at that very moment he looked down.

"Roar—"

"Boom..."

A dragon's roar erupted, and the ice layer suddenly shattered, sending thousands of gallons of seawater blasting upwards from below. Wild draconic energy surged forth, a massive dragon's maw bit upwards from beneath, and its claws swiped towards the sky.

"Bang..." "Boom..."

The surrounding ice continued to rupture, as demonic light and fiendish energy clashed violently, causing a changing aurora to appear in the sky. The sound clearly terrified the nearby fishermen. Those heading home quickened their pace, while those sleeping at home were startled awake, cowering under their blankets, afraid to move. Only a few, despite their fear, managed to glimpse the beautiful aurora in the sky through their windows.

Everything fell silent after a little over an hour. A demonic light and a fiendish aura rapidly fled towards the interior of Tianyu Continent. On the sea near the shore, besides shattered ice, lay a flood dragon with almost no life left in it. Dragon blood flowed down onto the broken ice and into the sea, drifting far, far away with the currents.

During their swift escape, Lu Shan-jun's expression was cold, but his thoughts raced. It seemed the Heavenly Revelation Alliance had gone awry and intended to operate openly now. Skirmishes and clashes were likely to become frequent, and this direct confrontation with the flood dragon was just the beginning. He only hoped his master would approve of certain decisions.

As they swiftly flew, they could sense dense resentment and malevolent energy in some directions, along with many converging Yin energies, even two streams of Yin energy clashing. Yet, no divine light appeared, indicating that both were spirits or vengeful ghosts. This conflict between Yin spirits and ghosts on the ground indicated that the underworld in that region had, to a considerable extent, collapsed.

Suddenly, a demonic cloud streaked across the distance, with two streams of immortal light pursuing closely behind. Beams of magical light flashed between them, clearly indicating a chase and battle.

"Lu Wu, I think we should steer clear."

"Hm, good point."

Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu briefly exchanged words and reached a consensus. For now, they had no intention of getting involved in trouble. They changed their aerial direction, lowered their altitude, and discreetly continued their escape.