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Continuing the voyage across the vast ocean, Su Wen began to feel the onset of boredom. On the sea, everything was volatile; waves and storms could arrive at any moment, yet it was also monotonous. After a long time, the repetition became wearisome.
Rumble!
Gu Rong retracted the sailboat, and Su Wen's group took to the sky. A colossus below spat a highly oppressive jet of water toward them.
"Damn it, why are there more whale-type spirit beasts in the near-shore waters?" Su Wen said in disbelief.
They had been at sea for only five days, yet they had encountered two ten-thousand-year-level whale spirit beasts in succession. There had to be a reason. Setting aside whales, almost any sea spirit beast exceeding ten thousand years would not live so close to the coast. Only the deep sea was suitable for such large, high-aged creatures.
While Su Wen was shocked, Gu Rong was ecstatic. Wasn't this exactly like someone delivering a pillow just as he was getting sleepy?
"Since you've come, leave the Whale Glue behind!"
When hunting spirit beasts on the continent, he felt a bit of a psychological burden, knowing that the numbers were dwindling year by year; he usually exercised restraint to avoid indiscriminate killing. However, the sea spirit beasts were said to be infinite, and he wouldn't show the slightest mercy.
Dugu Bo's eyes also lit up. He moved before Gu Rong could strike. "Brother Gu, let me take this one."
He transformed into a sky-reaching giant serpent, and emerald-green poison gas filled the surroundings.
Gu Rong frowned and shouted at Dugu Bo, "Old Poison, show some restraint! Don't let the poison contaminate the Whale Glue."
"This old man knows more about pharmacology than you do," Dugu Bo snorted, but he nonetheless reined in his toxic aura. Within a short fifteen minutes, he killed the twenty-meter-long giant whale.
After extracting the Whale Glue, the group quickly vacated the area.
"The age of this whale is higher than the Devouring Heaven Whale from two days ago—at least twenty thousand years. You two, try it and see the effect." Dugu Bo tossed the Whale Glue to Su Wen for processing, then looked at Dugu Yan and Ning Rongrong.
"Though we don't know why there are so many high-level whales in the near-shore area, it's not for us to worry about. On the contrary, it's to our advantage."
Gu Rong nodded in agreement with Dugu Bo but cautioned, "This is the ocean, after all. We must remain vigilant."
"If we keep finding Whale Glue to consume, I feel Rongrong might be able to attempt a five-thousand-year third ring, and Sister Yan could absorb almost any ring below the ten-thousand-year mark," Su Wen mused.
Why didn't I have this 'all-you-can-eat' Whale Glue treatment back then? he thought. However, the purpose of the glue was to raise the spirit ring limit, and since Su Wen would soon be able to replace all his rings with higher-aged versions of the same type, age was no longer a limiting factor. He wasn't too envious.
The Mystery of the Gathering Beasts
Following this, Su Wen and the others became more cautious. Having encountered two ten-thousand-year whales in a row, they realized something was amiss.
During the subsequent voyage, they indeed encountered other ten-thousand-year sea spirit beasts: a 20,000-year Octopus monster, a 30,000-year Sabre-toothed Shark, and, just as they neared Wraith Island, a Demon Whale with a cultivation as high as 50,000 years.
This Demon Whale was left for Xiao Zhan to handle. After he finished it, the Whale Glue was processed and divided into four portions for the four juniors. Because the Demon Whale's age was so high, even Su Wen and Xiao Huo—who already needed ten-thousand-year rings—had hope of raising their endurance limit by four or five thousand years. This was a value that could not be ignored.
However, Su Wen soon felt the familiar sensation of being "consumed by desire."
"Dammit, this is uncomfortable."
He activated his spirit to keep himself awake. Even so, he felt a wave of distress as his rationality was gradually eroded by physical desire. Although his spirit kept him sane, the constant, recurring cycle of temptation was unpleasant. During the absorption process, he tried pouring spiritual power into the Phantasmal Spirit Eye and found that his consciousness instantly cleared, no longer bothered by the desire.
Arrival at Wraith Island
The next day, Su Wen felt the changes in his body. "Not bad; it should raise my limit by about a thousand years." His physical fitness was the strongest of the four, so his improvement was naturally the smallest, and this was the result of him actively mobilizing spirit power to maximize the effect rather than just refining it.
"I wonder if the principle behind Whale Glue can be imitated." Su Wen decided to spend some time later reviewing the energy pathways the Whale Glue took through his body to simulate the process.
A spirit power circulation route was a versatile tool; cultivation methods could be realized through it, and so could secret techniques. Su Wen utilized his super perception to the fullest in this regard.
"Wraith Island is just ahead," Gu Rong announced.
Su Wen looked into the distance. A large island came into view, covered in a dense, primitive forest that exuded an ancient aura.
"The abnormal concentration of high-level sea spirit beasts we met on the way must be related to this Wraith Island," Dugu Bo said.
"Yes. In fact, I've already guessed the reason, and I can preliminarily conclude that the Void Silver Moon Tapir is either on Wraith Island or nearby," Su Wen added.
"Oh? Little Wen, you mean these sea spirit beasts were all drawn here by the Tapir?" Dugu Bo was thoughtful and, with Su Wen's reminder, quickly understood the root cause.
"The sea spirit beasts we encountered shared a common trait: they often fall into deep slumber, sometimes for decades or centuries. It is said that the Void Silver Moon Tapir has the ability to swallow nightmares."
Ning Rongrong was amazed. "Could it be that these sea spirit beasts gathered here just to get a good night's sleep?" She felt the reason was absurd.
"Think about it. If your sleep quality is poor, you wake up every few years. If you sleep well, you have beautiful dreams for a century. Since the Tapir helps them swallow their nightmares, it's not hard to understand why they would gather here."
There was a gap between the perspectives of spirit beasts and humans, so even an absurd-sounding reason had its logic.
At this moment, the small boat carrying Su Wen and the others reached the shore of Wraith Island. Jumping onto the sandy beach and looking up at the trees—some dozens of meters tall—the group sighed in awe.
"The life aura here is exceptionally rich," Su Wen remarked. Every large spirit forest gathered the origin energy of the Douluo Continent, making the life aura dense and suitable for growth.
"Wraith Island might just be an island, but there are definitely spirit beasts over 50,000 years living here," Gu Rong reminded everyone once again to be cautious. He prioritized safety above all else.
(End of Chapter)