In the dark blue depths of a vast sea, a small, inconsequential figure could be spotted. Compared to the creatures swimming nearby, this figure was like an ant, but they respected it.
This figure had a human shape and swam among the Lunar Bat Rays! These ferocious beasts were known to protect the sea at night, and they're a sign of peace.
Xu Kai had no idea he would encounter them.
Moving his arms and legs, he swam alongside the bat rays, slowly losing himself to the exhilarating feeling.
For some reason, they saw him as someone they needed to protect. Xu Kai's eyes reflected the soft, mystical glows emanating from their bodies.
He swam under one, gasping in shock at its enormous size. Just the wingspan was over 50 feet!
Each of these beasts was a behemoth! Strangely, they were only visible at night.
After some time, Xu Kai's senses tingled, a sign that he was encroaching on dangerous territories.
Knowing the outcome would be unpredictable, he was about to retreat, but he detected an enticing smell.
After weighing his gains and losses, Xu Kai followed the Lunar Bat Rays. He carefully stayed in the middle, and soon after, the water became turbulent.
'What's going on?'
He asked himself. When he saw white flowers spread over the sea bed, his eyes almost fell out.
The petals were shaped like clams.
Several sea creatures swam around, but no predators were seen. Curious, Xu Kai swam to the sea bed and plucked a petal.
Whoosh—! As it was glued to the hollow of his palm, he felt odd. Something was strange about his body.
His height!
All of a sudden, his legs were muscular and long, as were his arms. Looking down, he gasped at his firm chest and well-defined abdomen.
This body was simply perfection!
In the depths of the sea, amongst several creatures small and big, a 185-cm-tall, lean, muscular man with long silver hair cascading down to his back could be seen staring at himself in great shock.
Xu Kai blinked several times but still couldn't believe it. Opening his right palm, he discovered that the petal had merged with his skin and was slowly burning away.
"What kind of plant is this?" He gasped. Xu Kai looked around, trying to see if he had seen this place before. However, after scrutinizing it for a long time, he discovered that he had never heard of or seen a place like this.
In fact, if he measured the distance between this place and the island, it would make no sense as to why no one has ever found such a miraculous herb.
This herb has the ability to transform a man into a different, temporary body.
Xu Kai sat on the sea bed and closed his eyes. Immediately, Xu Kai's soul body materialized within the Soul Sanctum.
As he walked on the tranquil water, ripples spread outward. Looking down, he saw that his soul body didn't change.
It was still his normal fourteen-year-old self.
'It would be heaven-defying if a herb could change the state of one's soul.'
He turned back and walked into the darkness that acted as a border. As Xu Kai walked into the darkness, his eyes in the real world opened.
The petal on his skin had grown even smaller.
'Can I remove it?' The moment his finger touched the petal, it disconnected from his skin and became a real petal once again.
He touched his hair and discovered that it had reverted to being short, and his height had decreased.
'This…!'
Xu Kai looked at the vast numbers with wide eyes. 'If I sell all these, I'll be crazily rich! I'll be able to buy pills and medicinal recipes for medicinal baths!'
Suddenly, his brows furrowed.
'Would I gain from selling them, though? The lineage families will undoubtedly want to know the source, and they will eventually alert the mainland. Such an herb will cause a major upheaval that extends beyond my control. Moreover, keeping it a secret will help me conceal the Soul Palace.'
After determining how to use it, Xu Kai strolled around, contemplating the appropriate name for them.
Since he might be the first person in the world to see them, the naming rights belonged to him.
'Shap shifting plant? No.'
'White body creating herb? Still as bad.'
'Creation herb…?'
'I'll name it white herb. A simple, fine name.' As he nodded in appreciation of the name, the Lunar Bat Rays began to release ripples from their bodies.
As they did so, their bodies became more transparent. The same thing happened to the field of mysterious white herbs.
Alarmed, Xu Kai attempted to uproot them, but his hand moved through the herbs instead! He persisted, but his efforts were futile.
Eventually, the field and the Lunar Bat Rays vanished into thin air. The moment they vanished, Xu Kai found himself just below the sea surface, the rays of the rising sun illuminating the skies.
"It can't be that I lost that field?!" Regret and anger overtook him, but the moment he set his eyes on the petal held in his right hand, his heart calmed.
'The Lunar Bat Rays are the key to that field. Good, I'll search for them this night!'
Xu Kai made up his mind and began swimming toward the shores when he encountered a large boat heading in the same direction.
He was greatly alarmed, so he swam under the boat and heard voices.
"Boss, what are we supposed to do with the fey?"
"Don't you have ears?! We sever the boy's limbs, and the fey is our spoil. I'm thinking of selling her." A voice responded harshly.
"Just look at her. She's such a little fairy. I bet we'll sell her for a decent price."
Hearing that thug-like voice, Xu Kai trembled. Without being told, he knew someone from a lineage family had hired these thugs to deal with him.
He looked at the petal on his head, and a gleam flashed through his eyes.
****
Aboard the large boat, five men were discussing the gains they would get from selling Mo Qingxian when the clouds suddenly turned dark.
Rumble —! Rumble —!
"Is it about to rain in autumn?" A man said it in disbelief.
To their disbelief, it began to drizzle. After a gentle drizzle, the downpour became a heavy torrent.
The sea became restless, forcing them to rush to the boat's vital parts.
"What is going on?" Their leader bellowed in both fear and anger.
Boom—! A Skylark burst out of the water, transformed into a man and landed on the boat.
A large amount of water splashed on the boat, and the silver-haired man who landed on one knee slowly lifted his head.
His gleaming crimson eyes struck fear into their souls.
"W… What in the world are you?!"