Chapter 233: Frost-Fog Lock · Breaking the Storage Ring

Chapter 233 Frost-Fog Lock · Breaking the Storage Ring

Deep in the night, Kunpeng Sea.

Xiao Chen, the suspected hidden sect heir, finally spotted a small island after seven days and nights of nonstop flight. This would serve as his temporary refuge.

Learning from past mistakes, he carefully retrieved his formation disk and deployed the Wild Goose Return Formation before settling down on a rock for a brief rest.

"Let me calculate... This makes exactly thirty days. The Kunpeng Sea is truly vast beyond measure."

The starlit sky reflected across the sea surface. While breathtaking at first sight, the endless expanse had grown monotonous after prolonged observation.

At Xiao Chen's escape speed, he should have traversed at least 1.5 million kilometers—though he'd definitely covered over 1.3 million kilometers in the past month.

Yet aside from increasingly scarce resting spots, the surroundings remained unchanged.

If not for an unexpected fish migration midway revealing new marine species, he might have doubted whether he'd been going in circles.

However, Xiao Chen hadn't been idle these past days.

In the Kunpeng Sea, sea creatures were abundant and unchallenged by other cultivators. Along his journey, he'd spotted numerous golden core sea beasts, successfully obtaining seven demon cores—including five mutated ones.

After resting for two hours on the island, he felt sufficiently rejuvenated.

At dawn, Xiao Chen rose early, immediately sensing a surge of exceptionally dense spiritual energy from the east. "Hoo~... Refreshing."

"Speaking of which, this place is truly remarkable. The spiritual energy concentration is absurdly high."

With the unobstructed sea surface, he could clearly witness the sunrise—a colossal golden orb emerging from the horizon.

During this process, spiritual energy waves comparable to Third Stage spirit veins would sweep across the sea, bringing indescribable comfort to all cultivators and spirit fish.

Honestly, the only drawbacks were the lack of land and isolation from supplies—making it unsuitable for sustaining large numbers of low-level cultivators.

Otherwise, establishing a sect here would make cultivation progress twice as efficient.

"Hmm, if that's the case, could hidden sect lineages be hiding here?"

A sudden realization struck Xiao Chen. If a small group of cultivators found a sufficiently large island—even without natural spirit veins—the ambient spiritual energy alone would be equivalent to having all disciples stationed at a Third Stage spirit vein.

"I wonder if I might encounter one of these hidden sect lineages."

Xiao Chen had seen countless jade vials before—containers for poisons, porcelain bottles for venomous substances, even bone vials holding Demonic Daopills—but never had he encountered an unassuming earthen jar like this one. Naturally, his curiosity about its contents surged.

"Let me check this one first—the one aged just a year", he said, selecting the youngest jar after a quick survey. Better to start with the least valuable in case there were hidden rules he didn’t know.

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

As soon as he peeled off the red paper seal, a sound echoed from inside the jar. Something was tapping against the lid as if alive!

Xiao Chen froze. This wasn’t right. Storage Rings couldn’t hold living beings—it was common knowledge in the cultivation world.

"Waaah~!"

When no response came, a childlike wail erupted from the jar.

Xiao Chen sucked in a sharp breath. Suddenly, he wasn’t so eager to open it anymore. Not out of fear, but to avoid the inevitable disgust.

Still, he lifted the lid. Inside lay the half-finished head of an infant corpse, its eyes closed. The moment the cover lifted, it grinned, its tongue snapping upward like a serpent’s. Thin and long, it hissed through the air.

"Thud!"

Xiao Chen slammed the lid shut, exhaling slowly.

The Eastern Territory could think whatever they liked, but this was undeniably Demonic Dao to him.

"Guess I should live up to my title as Demon-Slaying Guard and do my duty."

He gathered all the jars, stacked them together, and incinerated them with his Ninghuo Palm. After discarding the ashes and other useless debris, he turned to the remaining loot:

Sixty portable formation disks, twenty Third Stage spirit herbs, thirteen small manuals, eleven Spirit-Containing Treasure Boxes, and a collection of bottles and jars.

First, he inspected the formation disks—five sets of Third Stage formations. Likely prepared by underlings, they struck him as mundane. The spirit herbs were similarly unremarkable, destined for sale.

But the thirteen manuals intrigued him. Especially the eight retrieved from Dai Tianrui’s Storage Ring.

"Top-tier material, yet no title? Could these be true disciple secret techniques?"

Flipping one open, he found only vivid illustrations—nude cultivators locked in intimate embraces.

"Seriously? You needed this?"

He snorted, but noticed a faint checkmark scribbled beneath the illustrations. Flipping backward, he found marks on every page except the last two.

The remaining five manuals were more conventional—three mystic rank spells and two Yellow Tier Spells.

The first Yellow Tier manual, Cold Light Ice Soul Needle, refined frigid energy into an Ice Soul Silver Needle, ideal for piercing shield-type artifacts. The second, Snow Surge Spirit Armor Art, was a straightforward defensive technique.

"These don’t look half bad", Xiao Chen mused.

Though he’d soon depart for the Mercy Sea, where disguises were unnecessary, he considered the risks: Golden Core cultivators might recognize him, and his signature spells, amplified by hexes, were too conspicuous.

"Better to switch things up for now", he decided.

Learning new spells was effortless for him, though he’d never collected many—his existing ones sufficed. Only the Yin Corpse Sect’s bounty forced this change.

"Time to open the treasure boxes."

He lined up seven Spirit-Containing Treasure Boxes, hesitating before the first.

"Praying never helped before. Guess it’s all on luck now."

He opened the first box. Inside lay an exquisite gilded butterfly hairpin, its wings adorned with rubies forming a heart shape. Each gem was a Third Stage fire-element spirit pearl, glowing crimson when activated.

"Beautiful craftsmanship… but it’s just a decoration."

The next five boxes revealed more trinkets: a phoenix-patterned silk ribbon, a Peony-embroidered gown, and fragrant sachets for female cultivators.

"Are you kidding me? This guy’s obsessed!"

The sixth box, however, held a Dao Crystal. Unlike the fire pearl, its runes were unfamiliar—neither of the Five Elements.

"Not again…"

A note beneath read: "For Sister Suo Ruo, a String Resonance Dao Crystal I gathered specially. –Rui"

Xiao Chen sighed. "At least the last five are from direct disciples."

The first held an Earth Surge Purple Vein Fungus, a Third Stage herb accelerating true mana refinement tenfold for ten days. If processed into Earth Surge Purple Vein Pills, it could yield three doses.

"Guess I’ll need a pill forging master in the Mercy Sea."

Next, a box of Dual-Origin Spirit Earth—ideal for cultivating Fourth Stage herbs in half the time. A treasure for minor clans, but perfect for auction.

Then three Heavenly Azure Sword-Cleansing Leaves, capable of purifying even life-bound Flying Swords like his Wind-Thunder Pair Blades.

"A shame there’s only three. Thirty could make a pseudo Treasure Artifact."

The next Dao Crystal was water-element—common but usable. The final box, however, held a half-inch spearhead, its tip stained crimson.

"A fragment worth storing?"

Injecting true mana, he felt the residual aura of a Great Spirit Beast’s heartblood. A fleeting vision of a thousand-meter-tall elephant flashed—a Hua Shen yao beast.

"Killed a Nascent Soul beast? This could forge a powerful artifact… or yield a drop of heartblood for Body Cultivation."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end