Xie Ying was poisoned by the Immortal Mushrooms, and though she reacted quickly, Mo Xiang's three-thousand-year Dao level meant that while ineffective in combat, his poison was of the highest grade.
She felt lethargic and sleepy, seeing stars before her eyes; all her energy went into retrieving the Green Centipede Hook. Suddenly, the Cave Spirit Zither was snatched away. Frantically, she cast a spell to retrieve it, combined it with the Green Centipede Hook and Xin Metal Sword Qi, and launched an attack. However, Shi Feiyang inverted the Five Elements, flipping everything upside down.
In her perspective, the Cave Spirit Zither flew upward, and the Green Centipede Hook and Xin Metal Sword Qi also slashed upward. After she made her move, the Cave Spirit Zither started flying downward, while the hook and sword continued upward. In a moment of distraction, the zither disappeared into the churning waters of the lake.
Shi Feiyang first seized the Cave Spirit Zither, sealed it with a spell, and stored it in the Jade Box. He then devised a way to forcefully retrieve the five-star divine axe.
Xie Lin, seeing her sister's Magical Treasure taken, was frantic and furious, hurling insults like "wretched beast" and "evil creature" thousands upon tens of thousands of times while driving the axe, hook, and sword to fiercely attack.
Shi Feiyang continuously flipped space, turning the three-hundred-fathom deep lake into a huge hourglass, shifting it back and forth. The two sisters inside felt nothing; they kept flying in one direction, having traveled at least a few thousand miles, but in reality, they were still circling in the same spot.
The five-star divine axe, with unrivaled sharpness, was tried three times by Shi Feiyang, who failed to capture it each time, every attempt breaking through the golden Dragon Claw formed by his Dan Qi and nearly reaching him. Eventually, while the sisters' energies were concentrated on the axe and hook, he shifted the universe again, deceiving them from one side to the other, and seized the two sword energies.
He sealed the Xin Metal Sword Qi and then declared, "You two insolent maids, relying solely on the Magical Treasures gifted by your elders to wreak havoc and slaughter indiscriminately. Now that I've removed these poisonous fangs and spurs, let's see what arrogance you have left!"
It was only then that the witches from Immortal City realized the gravity of their situation. Xie Ying, especially, having lost the Cave Spirit Zither and the Xin Metal Sword Qi, grabbed her sister, Xie Lin, who was crazed with anger, "This Demon Dragon is unlike any demon we've encountered before; we've fallen into his trap here, and there's nothing we can do about it. Now, our only option is to defend with all our strength and wait for our father to come to our rescue."
Xie Lin, more deeply poisoned than her sister, had taken a Spirit Pill to detoxify but still suffered from an unsettled divine soul, feeling heavy-headed and light-footed. Upon hearing her sister's words, she stopped trying to act tough. They both sat cross-legged side by side inside the Demon Extinguishing Divine Light Shield, concentrating and channeling their energies, retracting the hook and axe to protect themselves, yet unable to contain her anger, Xie Lin exclaimed, "Don't get cocky, you evil creature! We have already managed to inform our father. He will be here soon, and he will flay and dismember you!"
Shi Feiyang, hearing that they had informed Xie Shan, did not know what spell or Magical Treasure they had used, but guessed that given Xie Shan's doting nature, he surely had left them a contingency plan.
He knew he could not delay any longer; the two Immortal City sisters alone could win by geographical advantage, and he could not break through the Demon Extinguishing Divine Light Shield in a short time. He could perhaps try refining with Dan Fire for forty-nine days, but continuing the fight was pointless. Once Xie Shan arrived with the Buddhist top-tier Magical Treasure, the Heart Lamp Flower Lamp, his death was certain.
Fortunately, he had already planned his escape. He dove to the bottom of the lake, then said to the two young girls, "I am heading to the East Sea; come with me."
"Wherever brother goes, I will follow," said a small head popping out from the top of the Black Ganoderma on the Immortal Mushrooms, smiling warmly.
Shi Feiyang gathered the two Immortal Herbs, roots and all, and placed them into the Jade Box. Then, he shot up into the air and, as he passed by the Immortal City sisters, he intended to leave them with a few harsh words but thought better of it, deciding to wait for another day to settle the score.
He left Dinghu Peak at high speed, caught two birds in the sky, and cast a spell to send them to find the Red Snake and the Xuan Turtle to relay his message, telling them that he had headed to the East Sea and to keep themselves safe and hidden, promising to meet again if fate allowed.
After a moment's thought, he caught four more birds and sent them to Dragon King Temple to find the villagers, instructing them to say that their children had been abducted by the two Immortal City sisters, who were identical twin girls named Xie Ying and Xie Lin, with a father named Xie Shan who was a highly virtuous monk in his past life. He told them to dismantle the Dragon King Temple, melt it down, and cast three divine statues, one large and two small, with their names engraved on them. They were to rename the temple as "Xie Wang Temple," pray day and night for the return of their children, and they would surely be answered.
Fortunately, Shi Feiyang encountered no trouble this time and had left the land safely and smoothly.
Upon reaching the sea, he stowed the Mica Tent and plunged into the ocean from the sky.
Having lived on Dinghu Peak, the murky, salty taste of the seawater was not to his usual comfort compared to the clean lake waters, but the advantage was that the sea was truly vast!
Endless and boundless, his thirteen-zhang-long body in the ocean was like a worm. Once he dived deep, there was infinite space in every direction—up, down, and all around.
He stretched his muscles and swam freely through the sea.
If a human were in the deep sea, a sense of fear would arise, with the brain ominously imagining a massive creature suddenly appearing and swallowing them whole due to the dark unknown surrounding them.
However, being forty meters in body length, there were not many in the Shushan World larger or longer than him, especially since he had cultivated two inner cores.
He was the top predator in this great ocean!
First, Shi Feiyang dived into a school of mackerel, stretching over twenty to thirty li and numbering in the tens of millions. Terrified by his arrival, they frantically tried to escape, but they could not swim as fast as he could, and he stirred them up thoroughly.
Next, he found a pod of orcas, intelligent enough for simple communication. He asked them about the sea routes, and the orcas told him that they had come from the North Sea; a cold current from the North Sea was passing through, and they were following it to warmer waters.
As a dragon, he continually dived deeper until reaching the seabed, weaving through underwater mountains. There were all kinds of marine life in various bizarre shapes, some glowing, some hiding in the sand that would suddenly spring out, biting at his nails or tail as he passed by...
The sunlight only reached a thin layer on the surface of the ocean, going dark about a hundred zhang down – he found neither the Dragon Palace nor the Immortal Mansion. Traveling along the seabed, he headed steadily eastward—the terrain got lower, the water grew deeper, and the sea life became sparse.
Finding the seabed dull, he found a giant sea beast, a creature unique to the Shushan World, resembling a whale but longer, usually a hundred zhang. Shi Feiyang caught a large one, measuring over one hundred and fifty zhang from head to tail. Clinging onto its shoulders with his dragon claws, he let the creature swim rapidly, not exerting any effort himself.
Frightened, the sea beast darted off, trying to shake off the "little fellow" on its back. Its speed was like an arrow released from a bow, shooting forward underwater. Shi Feiyang stayed still, only twisting its neck to correct the course when it deviated, leaving the creature no choice but to carry him eastward.
After having his fill of the sea beast, he switched to a few sword sharks and two walruses.
Finally, he found a giant sea turtle, whose shell was nearly a hundred zhang wide and floated on the surface like an island reef. The giant sea turtle was also heading eastward, to the southern Xingyuan of the East Pole Great Wilderness Mountain to pay respects to Lu Yu on her birthday.
Only after asking did Shi Feiyang find out that at the edge of the Eastern Extreme was the East Pole Great Wilderness Mountain, inhabited by two immortals, famously known as Elder Kuzhu and Lu Yu among the Cosmic Six Strange. The giant sea turtle referred to Lu Yu as Madam Lu.
Beyond the Great Wilderness Mountain was a vast ocean territory spanning ten thousand li with tens of thousands of islands and shifting sands. The terrain was treacherous, the climate harsh, and countless demons lurked within. The two elders of the Great Wilderness had subdued these creatures, allowing them to cultivate there but forbade them from harming people or outsiders from injuring them. Many demons in the area possessed thousands of years of Dao Level and powerful Mana, having cultivated inner cores. They never ventured out due to the elders' strict orders.
Sensing its impending fate, the giant sea turtle also wanted to take the opportunity of Lu Yu's birthday, as many other creatures were bringing gifts, to seek apprenticeship under her, hoping to find a place within the ten thousand li ocean territory to transcend its tribulations.