This was because they could tell from Ou Yangming’s actions that he valued the stone very much.
Nonetheless, even they did not expect the stone’s aura to be so fearsome.
It was an indescribable momentum, such that nobody could survive it.
Ni Yinghong, Jiang Jiumei, and Hong Feiyu froze at the same time, and it was extremely difficult for them to even move an inch as though invisible powers were restraining their bodies. Even so, they were in better states as compared to Multi-armed King Kong.
The king kong was still running madly when it sensed the frightening pressure coming from its back, and it could not break free from the pressure too.
It was experiencing what Ou Yangming and the little red bird felt when they previously watched the scene between the dragon and the phoenix. Its body stiffened when it leaped into the air, and it fell hard from mid-air.
Accompanied by an earth-shattering sound, Multi-armed King Kong’s body crashed into the ground like a mountain, causing a massive hole to be formed on the ground.
The people and the big yellow dog on the steel platform could not help but roll out and were thrown into the air.
Ni Yinghong and Jiang Jiumei were appalled. They tried to struggle but still could not free themselves from the terrifying aura. The latter had the cultivation base of Extreme Grade, but the former was only in Yin Grade, so she might not be able to stand falling from a high spot.
Just as Ni Yinghong was panicking, a figure flashed to catch her and danced in mid-air to drift toward Jiang Jiumei to catch her too.
On the other hand, Hong Feiyu and Big Yellow fell hard to the ground.
Nevertheless, the two of them had thick skin and were flesh, hence they were not injured though they were dizzy from the fall.
Ou Yangming gently fluttered to the ground and supported the young ladies so that they could find their footings. It was then when they realized that the horrifying aura had somehow disappeared.
“Lil’ Ming, what’s… Going on?” Ni Yinghong grumbled.
Although she was grateful to Ou Yangming for saving her at the last moment, he was the culprit behind the incident.
“Elder Sister Ying, it was an accident.” The young yellow smiled bitterly and added after a pause, “King Kong, get up.”
“Roar…”
The king kong roared and immediately got up to cast a flattering smile at Ou Yangming and the little red bird.
Ou Yangming reprimanded it, “Did you forget how to run?”
Multi-armed King Kong shrunk its neck and felt like it was treated unjustly, but it dared not defend itself.
The young fellow scoffed, then he lowered his head and spoke in a pleasant tone, “Elder Sister Ying, stay here with the rest for 2 days. I need to return to Canghai City, but I’ll come back once I’m done.”
Ni Yinghong was moved, and he asked, “Lil’ Ming, is that stone really so important?”
Ou Yangming answered after some thought, “It’s extremely important.”
“Okay, come back as soon as possible.” Ni Yinghong was reluctant to part with him, but she was not one that would ignore the general interest. Since the young fellow said that it was such an important matter, she would not stop him.
After giving the others a few instructions, Ou Yangming summoned the goshawk and hopped on it. With that, they zoomed back to Canghai City.
He was exhilarated at the moment. Even if the jade stone in his hand had already cooled down, he and the little red bird spotted a great opportunity.
A treasure!
The jade stone was not an ordinary mineral; it was a treasure itself, and it was a part of a giant treasure map.
When Ou Yangming and the little red bird filled the peculiar stone with the mental powers, it instantly released an intense and forceful aura. The other people were so deterred by the daunting aura that they could not move, but the young fellow and the little bird sensed many extraordinary things.
“Chirp, chirp…” The little red bird kept jumping on Ou Yangming’s shoulder as it could not control itself due to the excitement. Not to mention the young fellow and the goshawk, even it might not know what it was talking about.
Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and said snappily, “Lil’ Red, speak the human language!”
The little red bird flapped its wings and finally settled down. It was overjoyed as it expressed, “Lil’ Ming, we made a fortune!”
“Lil’ Ming?” Ou Yangming was stunned.
“Yes, it’s a pretty good name, so I’ll call you that from now on!”
Ou Yangming’s mouth twitched. The term of address was only used between him and Ni Yinghong; apart from the young lady, nobody dared to call him that.
Despite that, seeing how thrilled the little bird was, Ou Yangming made a wise choice by not wanting to correct it. Explaining to the little fellow would be a tough but fruitless job because it would still act as it wished even if the young fellow gave a thorough explanation. Since that was the case, he would take a step back on such a trivial matter.
He curbed his thought and asked, “What do you mean when you say we made a fortune?”
“Hmph, I don’t believe that you can’t tell.” The little red bird was indifferent. “Aren’t you hurrying back because you want to find the whole map?”
Ou Yangming smiled embarrassedly. “This peculiar stone must’ve been left behind by an elder from the Phoenixes, right?”
“The Phoenixes’ power is so pure and powerful, so that must be it.” The little red bird nodded and continued, “This was left behind by a senior in nirvana, and it’s waiting for fated ones. Hehe, we’re the fated ones!”
“You’re really thick-faced…” Ou Yangming could not help but laugh.
“What are you talking about?” The little bird was displeased. “Tell me then—who else in this world could’ve solved the mystery?”
Ou Yangming pondered for some time but could not find an answer.
The peculiar stone carried an aura unique to the Phoenixes, and it could not be faked at all.
Besides, putting aside the Phoenixes, the amount of mental power required to fill the stone alone was not something that could be provided by ordinary cultivators.
Even when Ou Yangming and the little red bird went all-out, they barely managed to reach the initiation standard after 3 days. The young fellow really could not think of anyone else in this world with such remarkable mental power.
Moreover, even if someone like that was found by chance, or a supreme powerhouse from a clan could fill the stone with his or her mental power, none of them could break the seal of the Phoenixes’ power.
In a way, the object’s real function could only be brought into play in the hands of Ou Yangming and the little red bird in this world.
“Lil’ Ming, even if this peculiar stone isn’t a treasure map, it’s a treasure itself. If we use it appropriately, we’ll benefit greatly from it,” the little red bird noted while blinking its large eyes.
The stone contained a marvelous rune, which was a switch. It could only be opened if there was abundant mental power.
Once the peculiar stone was opened, it would become an energy storage. If Ou Yangming and the little red bird were depleted of energy in the future, they could withdraw powers from it to feed themselves.
Given that the two of them could only fill up the stone after taking turns throughout 3 days, one could imagine the amount of mental power stored inside.
Perhaps a treasure of such level was prepared for a Venerable One.
At the very least, Ou Yangming and the little red bird would be suspected of wasting natural resources if they used it. Having said that, neither of them noticed it, and the young fellow even subconsciously regarded the item as his.
In actuality, the outcome was already destined due to the Phoenixes’ aura.
The goshawk blinked while flying, and it was impassioned. ‘It’s a treasure from the Phoenixes. If word spreads, how great of a disorder and how many chang
es will there be?’
However, the goshawk quickly decided that it would not publicize the news even if it rots in its heart.
Once the goshawk gave all it had, it was naturally much faster than Multi-armed King Kong. As such, the enormous Canghai City was in sight after a few hours.
When the goshawk closed its wings and began to descend, countless screams could be heard on the walls. On top of that, some figures also rushed toward the walls.
Ou Yangming was relieved after seeing the familiar figures. He gently tapped the goshawk, which lowered its body and landed outside the city. Following that, he flashed and jumped up to one of the walls.
The soldiers on the wall saluted him with respect at once after seeing who he was. They idolized him very much.
After a brief moment, Feng YIyuan, Peng Huachi, and the others arrived one after another. They were puzzled after seeing Ou Yangming because they could not understand why the powerhouse suddenly returned.
Feng Yiyuan smiled brightly and was about to ask Ou Yangming when the young fellow beat him to it by retrieving the peculiar stone and asked, “Senior Feng, where did this stone come from?”
The others were dumbfounded, and they finally realized that Ou Yangming hurried back because of the small stone.
Peculiar stones were incredibly rare items in the universe, but someone with a status like Ou Yangming’s could easily obtain some without effort.
That said, the young fellow rushed back because of one of those stones. At this point, the others were either dazed or full of anticipation, but they began to regard the stone as something different.
Feng Yiyuan took a deep breath and answered in a deep voice, “Master Ou, that peculiar stone was a treasure found in the sea 2 years ago. We couldn’t identify it and didn’t know if it’s valuable, so we presented it to you.”
“2 years ago?” Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows.
He seemed to have acquired the mysterious and unique Military Fire from the Military Fire Badge around that time too.
Even though he did not know if the two were related, he certainly became more curious.
“Which sea did you find it from? Bring me there.”
“Ah, Master Ou, you’ve had a tiring journey, so how about…”
“Bring me there! Immediately! Now!” Ou Yangming uttered bluntly.
The other people exchanged glances and became more aware of how important the object was.
Feng Yiyuan shut his mouth at once and said, “Okay, we’ll go now.”
Chapter 520 - Set Sail
A ship set sail from the shore for the boundless sea.
Ou Yangming knew it would take up a lot of time and would worry Ni Yinghong and the others if he went to sea at this time. Nonetheless, he could not care too much because he wanted to obtain more peculiar stones or treasure maps.
Navigating on the sea was an extremely difficult task. Perhaps some experienced sailors could identify sea areas that they had been before.
However, they would be dumbfounded and would not be able to find anything if they flew in the sky. In particular, ordinary sailors would become jelly and would fall butt-first to the ground without being able to do anything upon seeing the goshawk.
Therefore, Ou Yangming gave up the thought of riding the goshawk and chose the time-consuming method, which was setting sail on a ship.
Needless to say, it was also because the spirit turtle was already handled. If the Aquatics were still attacking the city, none of the boats could have gone to sea.
Whether it was Feng Yiyuan and his people, or Peng Huachi and his people, they did their utmost for Ou Yangming without slacking or being half-hearted. They arranged the fastest ship in Canghai City, so much so that the sailors even did their best without bringing up any conditions when they heard they were going to serve the young fellow.
As for safety issues… Since Ou Yangming, who subdued the Aquatics’ spirit beast, was on the ship, would there even be a problem?
Besides, Feng Yiyuan and Nian Xinran had even boarded the ship to cater to Ou Yangming. There might be internal strife on the boat, but there would not be safety issues at all.
Nevertheless, after sailing for a day and a night, the captain approached the big bosses worriedly and invited them to the ship’s bow, where he informed them with respect, “Sirs, our ship has been targeted by the Aquatics’ ferocious beasts.”
Ou Yangming looked at the sea in shock. It was his first time going to sea, and he only saw a vast blue sea when he looked into the distance. As for the Aquatics’ ferocious beasts mentioned by the captain, he did not notice any of them at all.
Faced with Ou Yangming’s questioning look, the captain began to have beads of sweat on his forehead, but he dared not delay the matter at all. He immediately answered, “Sir, the beasts are following us underwater; our sailors heard them.”
“Heard them?” Ou Yangming was surprised. “Can they be heard?”
“Yes.” The captain smiled bitterly. “Some ferocious beasts from the Aquatics are huge, so they make loud sounds when they move around. Nothing can be spotted on the surface, but experienced sailors can monitor them by using special tools at the bottom of the ship’s hold.”
Ou Yangming was curious, but he did not really want to acquire those tools.
He felt that probing with mental power was much more effective than using those tools. Moreover, he would probably need to practice for a long time to grasp the usage of those tools. At the end of the day, his losses would outweigh his gains.
“How many beasts are there?” Feng Yiyuan asked in a deep voice.
“Sir, there are at least 3 of them.” The captain’s voice was trembling.
He had encountered beasts in the sea in the past. Those large beasts had notable combat powers, such that he needed to pay a huge price to drive away or kill even one of them. If there were 3 of them, they were most likely doomed.
Feng Yiyuan and Nian Xinran looked at each other. They felt like it was a tricky problem.
“Let me take a look.” Ou Yangming grinned. He released his mental power, which instantly entered the sea and spread.
It took only a brief moment for Ou Yangming to find the fierce beasts mentioned by the captain, but the captain was mistaken about the number of beasts. There were actually 5 beasts that followed underneath and behind the ship.
Among the first fierce beasts, there were 2 great-ancestor-level half-spirit beasts and 3 Yang Grade half-spirit beasts.
Even so, the half-spirit beasts could usually contend with opponents above their ranks, which was the greatest power of their geographical advantage.
“Sir, are we going to continue?” The captain asked carefully.
Ou Yangming answered after some thought, “Don’t worry and continue to advance. If the beasts want to attack us, we’ll handle them.”
The captain was startled for a while as though he had something to say.
Feng Yiyuan pulled a long face and reprimanded him, “Aren’t you going to get going! Hmph, didn’t you hear what Master Ou said? He could eliminate even the Aquatics’ spirit turtle, so he’ll kill the remaining little clowns since there are only a few of them!”
The captain dared not say too much, hence he quickly gave the order. Before long, the ship moved faster than before.
Despite that, Ou Yangming could sense that the 5 powerful vicious beasts were still pursuing them closely. Instead of acting rashly by launching an attack, they carefully approached the ship.
It was evident that they were incredibly afraid of the aura released from the ship.
Nian Xinran went forward and asked softly, “Master Ou, how about I bring some men into the water to warn them?”
“Is that necessary?” Ou Yangming asked him in return with a smile.
“Yes,” Feng Yiyuan responded, “The Aquatics fear the strong but bully the weak. Once we show them how capable we are and let them know they won’t gain anything from fighting against us, they’ll naturally leave.”
Nian Xinren nodded and called out to several men. They retrieved their weapons and changed their suit, then they jumped into the water and dove deep.
On the other hand, the captain ordered the others to slow down the ship. He did not plan to sail far away while the assigned men fought the savage beasts.
Soon enough, there were billows underwater. Subsequently, 5 massive sea beasts emerged one after another. They were different in size and species, but they were similar in the sense that the auras were fearsome.
Feng Yiyuan only took one glance before he exclaimed, “Oh no!”
He glanced at Ou Yangming and recalled what the young fellow said as he rolled his eyes. Following that, he made up his mind right away.
“Master Ou, I’ll go assist General Nian.”
Ou Yangming nodded and said, “Thanks.”
With that, Feng Yiyuan waved his hand and led the Feng family’s powerhouses to join the fight.
Before Feng Yiyuan and the rest joined the tangled fight, the Humans’ cultivators were in a disadvantageous spot. If Nian Xinran had not risked his life to fight, some of them would have been killed in the water. As soon as a new force joined them, the Humans and the Aquatics were in a stalemate, and they could get rid of each other in a short period.
Ou Yangming shook his head as he watched. If they were not deep in the sea, the threatening beasts could not contend with the people, who had a greater force.
Over here, the Humans’ powers were very much limited, whereas the Aquatics could unleash their greatest might. One party’s loss would be another party’s gain—the balance for victory or defeat was naturally slanted.
Just as Ou Yangming hesitated if he wanted to make a move to swiftly solve the problem, he was shaken up, and his face darkened.
This was because he sensed 2 more formidable beasts coming with the waves.
The 2 aquatics were also great-ancestor-level half-spirit beasts. One of them was similar to a gigantic swordfish, which swam unbelievably fast.
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