Chapter 4: Maritime Space

A quarter of an hour later, Li Qing walked out with a look of confusion on his face.

This interrogation had differed somewhat from what he had expected.

He had simply answered questions he had already rehearsed many times in his mind—such as why he was there and how he had been injured—and was then allowed to leave.

"Could it be the influence of Wei Xuan's father?" Li Qing wondered, puzzled.

He had acted subserviently to appease Wei Xuan earlier precisely for the sake of this investigation, but he hadn't expected it to be so simple.

***

Inside the Enforcement Hall, the square-jawed Hall Master was in the back chamber, respectfully reporting the results of the investigation to a female cultivator in white.

"Did you find anyone suspicious?" a crisp female voice rang out.

"No suspicious persons were found."

The Hall Master spoke respectfully, despite the fact that the female cultivator's cultivation level was lower than his own.

"Was the background of that disciple from just now clean?" the woman continued to ask.

She had a faint feeling that the last disciple to enter had answered too perfectly, and that his physical strength was relatively high.

"That disciple's background is absolutely clean. He is the orphaned son of a pair of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators who were once in our Inner Sect."

After the Hall Master finished speaking, he looked at the beautiful woman with a sense of helplessness.

Such a massive incident had occurred within the sect, and he was merely following orders to investigate.

However, he didn't take it to heart.

Aside from the core personnel who held power, the Outer Sect was filled with nothing but Qi Refining stage disciples.

The event that had just occurred lasted only a brief moment, yet it had unleashed a force like a mountain collapsing or a sea roaring, causing the water level of the surrounding vast sea to drop by several feet.

Such a disturbance was something even a terrifying Golden Core cultivator would struggle to cause, let alone an Outer Sect disciple.

All the man wanted now was to get through the current situation; the investigation itself had nothing to do with him.

The Hall Master looked at the woman in white, remaining silent as he waited for her final decision.

The white veil covering her face could not hide her stunning aura.

But he dared not look too closely; she was famous within the sect, and more importantly, she had a powerful background that he could not afford to offend.

"Could it really be the legendary 'Whale Swallowing' natural phenomenon?"

A crisp, melodious voice tinged with a hint of doubt came from beneath the veil.

"Fine then. It’s a pity the Spirit-Suppressing Talisman bestowed from above wasn't used."

Before the Hall Master could respond, the woman transformed into a streak of light and vanished before his eyes.

"As expected of someone from that circle," the Hall Master sighed.

On the surface, her strength was inferior to his, but if they were to truly fight, he feared he would be unable to withstand her.

The white veil she wore was actually a top-grade magical artifact, which showed just how deep her family's resources were.

The Spirit-Suppressing Talisman she mentioned was a second-tier talisman. While it lacked great lethality, its unique effects made it extremely precious.

A Spirit-Suppressing Talisman could suppress the soul, causing it to lose consciousness, naturally forcing all secrets to the surface.

***

Outside, Li Qing was completely unaware that he had narrowly escaped a disaster.

He only wanted to rush back to his cave dwelling as quickly as possible to investigate the strange changes in the Sea-Suppressing Pearl within his body.

Li Qing wished he could fly back on a sword immediately.

Unfortunately, he had no flying sword, nor the ability to fly.

Ordinary Qi Refining cultivators only possessed enough spiritual power to fly on artifacts once they reached the late stage of Qi Refining.

His pent-up frustration could only be channeled into his legs, utilizing his mid-stage Body Refining cultivation to sprint rapidly.

Upon returning to his cave dwelling, Li Qing carefully checked his surroundings once more. Finding nothing unusual, he shut his door tight.

A short while later, the door opened, and Li Qing left the room with a hesitant expression.

He still didn't feel safe investigating his internal condition here; the massive disturbance from earlier still left him feeling lingering fear.

He certainly couldn't go back to that previous spot, so he had to find another hidden location.

***

At a remote edge of the outer island.

A green-clad figure was meditating in the crevice of a giant boulder.

After confirming no one was around, Li Qing submerged his consciousness into his mind.

As soon as his divine sense entered his mind, Li Qing felt a massive suction force.

Panic erupted in his heart, but before he could react, his soul transformed into an arc of light and rushed toward the Sea-Suppressing Pearl.

Then, Li Qing’s vision went black. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a strange sea area.

Wherever he looked, there was only clear blue water. Compared to the sea he had seen before, this area clearly had a darker hue.

"This is inside the Sea-Suppressing Pearl?" Li Qing thought, finding it hard to believe.

Yet, even if he couldn't believe it, he had to accept the fact, for he clearly remembered rushing toward the pearl.

He carefully examined the size of the sea area; it was several hundred feet across.

Surrounding the sea was a gray-brown void; it looked like a body of water that had appeared within a vacuum.

Upon entering, Li Qing immediately felt a sense of familiarity, as if this space had been created for him.

He felt as if he were the creator of this sea.

Seeing a piece of duckweed in the water, Li Qing tried to control it to flow in the opposite direction.

Suddenly, an undercurrent rose from beneath the sea, and the duckweed was swept directly into it.

Li Qing’s mind became increasingly clear, and he began to test his ideas within the space.

Several hours later, Li Qing opened his eyes, a look of wild joy on his face.

He had actually obtained a small world of his own; it was more like a legendary "Cave Heaven" treasure.

The only strange thing was that his small world had no land, only a sea.

What made him even happier was that the Sea-Suppressing Pearl also had the ability to gather and absorb spiritual energy.

Based on his current perception, the concentration of spiritual energy was no less than that of his cave dwelling on Qingyun Peak.

In other words, he was now carrying a first-tier spiritual vein with him.

Although it was still a gap away from the core of a true first-tier spiritual vein, it was enough to delight Li Qing.

If he were in his cave dwelling now, he could absorb the spiritual energy of two first-tier spiritual veins simultaneously.

Li Qing felt a faint sense of anticipation; according to his senses, the Sea-Suppressing Pearl was far from finished evolving, though he wasn't sure if that was related to his own strength.

Just then, he suddenly noticed a disturbance in his internal spiritual power.

Li Qing’s face lit up with joy; he knew the reason for his body's reaction.

"Finally, I'm going to advance."

After saying this, Li Qing sat cross-legged and focused his mind on the spiritual power within his body.

He began to guide his "Water Control Technique" to circulate through his body.

Each cycle drew the spiritual energy radiating from the Sea-Suppressing Pearl into his body, converting it into pure spiritual power.

Li Qing was using the spiritual energy inside the Sea-Suppressing Pearl to advance to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Several days later.

"Boom!"

Several thick streams of spiritual power surged from Li Qing's body, the blue energy condensing and circling around him.

In a short while, a shield formed of blue spiritual power appeared around his body.

The aura of the fourth level of Qi Refining spread outward.

"Fourth level of Qi Refining."