25: Setting sail on the desolate sea, a first exploration of Guixu.

The night passed in silence, with only the endless sound of the Desolate Sea tides.

The next morning, when the first faint ray of light struggled through the gray canopy to illuminate the cave, Gongsun Yu was the first to open her eyes. She felt an unprecedented sense of openness and fullness within her body; not only had her injuries fully healed, but her spiritual power had also advanced significantly, almost touching the threshold of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage. Recalling the feeling of that warm and powerful force circulating within her body last night, her cheeks flushed slightly. She stole a glance at Lin Xuan, who was regulating his breath at the cave entrance, and an indescribable sense of gratitude and palpitation welled up in her heart.

Su Wanqing and Qu Feiyan also woke up one after another. After a night of rest, both of them had recovered quite a bit. Su Wanqing remained cold and self-restrained, though there was a hint of imperceptible softness in her gaze toward Lin Xuan. Qu Feiyan had returned to her lazy and enchanting posture, as if the complex emotions of the previous night had never existed.

Lin Xuan sensed that everyone had awakened and ended his meditation. He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the refreshed trio, and finally landed on the rough animal-hide sea chart.

"How are you feeling? If there are no issues, we shall set off today and follow the map to meet that 'Return to Ruins'." Lin Xuan's tone was calm but carried an unquestionable determination. Staying trapped on this isolated island was not a long-term solution; only by taking the initiative could they find a glimmer of survival.

The three women looked at each other, and all saw determination in each other's eyes.

"No problem!" Gongsun Yu was the first to respond, waving her small fist as if to prove she had fully recovered.

Su Wanqing and Qu Feiyan also nodded slightly.

With the decision made, there was no more delay. The four left the cave and came to the beach at the edge of the island. Facing the vast ocean, how to cross it became the primary issue. Flying through the air consumed a huge amount of energy, and it made them obvious targets, easily attracting unknown dangers. Moreover, they had no ready-made flight Magic Treasures or boats on them.

Lin Xuan's gaze fell on the incredibly thick, black ancient wood that had been washed ashore by the waves. These ancient woods were as hard as iron and contained faint traces of Spiritual Qi, making them excellent Materials for building a simple raft.

"We will use local resources to build a raft and cross the sea."

His Golden Core Stage cultivation came in very handy at this moment. Lin Xuan pointed his fingers like a sword, and golden Sword Qi flickered, easily cutting through the hard ancient wood. Su Wanqing used ice-type Spells to assist in shaping and reinforcing it, while Qu Feiyan used secret techniques to treat the wood, increasing its toughness and corrosion resistance. Gongsun Yu was responsible for collecting tough vines to use as ropes.

With the four of them working together, in less than half a day, a black wooden raft about five zhang long and one zhang wide, with a sturdy structure and a simple (even somewhat rough) design, had taken shape. Lin Xuan even carved a few simple water-avoiding and wind-controlling runes on the bow of the raft; although their effect was limited, they could still save a lot of spiritual power.

Just past noon, everything was ready.

"Let's go!"

Lin Xuan gave a low shout, and his spiritual power activated the runes on the raft. The black raft slowly left the beach and sailed into the ink-blue, turbulent Desolate Sea.

The raft cut through the waves, its speed not fast, but it was steady. Lin Xuan stood at the bow, his Golden Core Divine Sense scanning the sea ahead and around them like a radar, vigilant against any possible danger. Su Wanqing and Qu Feiyan stood on either side, while Gongsun Yu acted as support in the center.

The first part of the journey was quite calm. Apart from the slightly larger waves, they didn't encounter any trouble. Under the gray sky, the endless seawater presented a deathly ink-blue, with only the waves broken by the raft bringing a trace of Life Qi.

However, the dangers of the Desolate Sea soon began to reveal their ferocity.

After sailing for about two hours, Lin Xuan's Divine Sense suddenly stirred, and he shouted sharply: "Watch out underwater!"

Before his voice had even faded, the sea surface to the left of the raft exploded! Several strange fish as thick as buckets, covered in dark blue scales and with a single horn on their heads, leaped into the air. They opened their giant mouths filled with fangs and lunged at the raft, carrying a fishy stench! These strange fish emitted a ferocious aura, and their strength was comparable to the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Stage!

"It's a One-Horned Arrow Shark!" Qu Feiyan recognized this sea beast. Her enchanting eyes turned cold, and her hands flew, causing several blood-colored lotus flowers to rapidly expand in the wind, crashing into the incoming Arrow Sharks.

Su Wanqing drew her ice sword, and the biting Sword Gang crisscrossed, freezing patches of the sea surface into icy domains, restricting the movements of the Arrow Sharks. Gongsun Yu's thunder light silver ring transformed into bolts of lightning, precisely striking the most vulnerable single horns of the Arrow Sharks.

Lin Xuan did not intervene; most of his focus remained on controlling the raft and guarding the more distant sea areas. These Foundation Establishment Stage sea beasts were perfect for the three women to practice with and to hone their team coordination.

The battle ended quickly, with seven or eight One-Horned Arrow Sharks all slain, staining a patch of seawater red. But the smell of blood seemed to attract more uninvited guests. In the subsequent journey, they encountered several more waves of attacks from sea beasts, including a swarm of jellyfish that could spray corrosive acid, Shadow Shuttle Sharks that were adept at hiding and ambushing, and even once, a giant octopus tentacle tens of zhang long, with an aura comparable to the Peak of the False Core, reached out from the deep sea, nearly overturning the raft!

Fortunately, Lin Xuan acted in time, a condensed ray of Star Sword Qi severing that tentacle and resolving the crisis. This made everyone realize even more clearly the danger of this sea area.

Traveling day and night, after experiencing several perilous battles, based on the guidance of the sea chart and the estimated speed of the raft, they should have gradually approached the area marked with 【Return to Ruins?】.

The surrounding scenery began to become eerie. The color of the seawater became increasingly deep, almost ink-black. The gray clouds in the sky began to rotate, forming a huge vortex shape. The Spiritual Qi in the air became extremely chaotic and violent, and a low, ancient-sounding suction force even faintly emerged, pulling the raft involuntarily, accelerating it toward a certain direction.

"We seem to be... almost there." Gongsun Yu looked at the boundless, dark vortex prototype ahead that seemed to connect the sky and the sea, her voice trembling slightly.

The vortex had not yet fully manifested, but the aura it emitted was already heart-palpitating. It was as if in the center of that vortex, there existed a huge void capable of devouring everything.

Lin Xuan's expression was extremely grave as he exerted all his strength to stabilize the raft, resisting that increasingly strong suction force. He could feel that the space in the area ahead was extremely unstable, even more chaotic than a Void Realm passage before it collapsed.

Should they continue forward, intruding into that unknown dead zone, or stop here and look for another way?

The raft tossed and turned in the violent turbulence, like a falling leaf in a storm. Everyone's gaze turned to Lin Xuan, waiting for his decision.

Lin Xuan looked at the dark distance that seemed capable of devouring everything, a trace of determination flashing in his eyes.

"Adjust the direction, sail along the edge of the vortex! We will first investigate and clarify the situation!"

He chose a relatively safe plan: neither rashly rushing into the core nor easily giving up this only clue.

Under his control, the raft struggled to change direction and began to sail cautiously along the edge of the huge, invisible vortex. Everyone held their breath, knowing that at this moment, they were walking on the edge of life and death.