26: At the edge of the vortex, the legacy of ancient cultivation

The raft was seized as if by an invisible giant hand, violently tossing in the furious turbulent currents as it struggled to navigate along the edge of the massive dark whirlpool. The deeper they went, the more powerful the sucking force emanating from the center of the vortex became, as if trying to rip out their very Divine Souls. The ink-black seawater churned, forming countless secondary whirlpools of varying sizes, emitting a low, booming sound like the wailing of ten thousand ghosts.

The gray clouds in the sky had completely transformed into a slowly rotating gigantic funnel, connecting with the sea surface below. Electric snakes darted through the clouds, illuminating this desperate place in alternating flashes of light and dark, adding to the terror.

Lin Xuan fully activated his spiritual energy, pouring his Golden Core Stage cultivation without reservation into the raft's simple runes. A pale golden halo barely enveloped the raft, resisting the external tearing force. Veins were popping on his forehead, and his Divine Sense was highly concentrated. He not only had to stabilize the raft but also constantly perceive the complex, ever-changing turbulent currents and hidden surges in the water ahead. The slightest mistake would result in the destruction of the boat and the death of everyone.

Su Wanqing, Qu Feiyan, and Gongsun Yu also performed their respective duties. Su Wanqing used exquisite Ice attribute Spells to freeze the giant waves that occasionally crashed onto the raft's bow, while Qu Feiyan continuously cast Spiritual Arts to neutralize the eerie water vapor that could corrode the spiritual energy shield. Gongsun Yu tightly gripped the thunder light silver ring, vigilantly watching the surroundings to guard against sea beasts that might launch surprise attacks from the chaotic waters.

In this area, ordinary sea beasts were almost extinct; only the bizarre existences capable of surviving such harsh conditions were truly intimidating.

“Hard to port! Avoid that undercurrent!” Lin Xuan suddenly shouted sternly, simultaneously pushing his hands sharply to the right. The raft narrowly scraped past the edge of an almost invisible water blade that nevertheless emitted a terrifying tearing force, causing the raft to groan with a grating sound.

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

“This cannot continue; the spiritual energy consumption is too fast!” Qu Feiyan panted slightly, her charming face losing its usual lethargy, replaced by solemnity. Maintaining the raft's stability and defense was an extremely heavy burden for their Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation.

Lin Xuan naturally understood this. His gaze swept like a hawk over the strangely shaped reefs and the faintly visible architectural wreckage half-submerged underwater, all battered by the chaotic energy at the edge of the whirlpool. Suddenly, his Divine Sense stirred, locking onto a relatively calm stretch of water about a few miles ahead, encircled by several huge black reefs. In the center of that water, a small stone platform seemed to be exposed above the surface, and on the platform... a faint Formation spiritual light flickered!

“Over there! Something is unusual!” Lin Xuan did not hesitate. He controlled the raft, enduring the immense pressure, and steered laboriously toward the stone platform.

The closer they approached, the more they felt an invisible force field around the stone platform, slightly repelling the violent turbulent currents and suction, forming a relatively safe “safe harbor” with a diameter of about a hundred zhang.

The raft finally sailed into this calm water, and everyone sighed in relief, as if they had suddenly entered a windless inner port from the stormy seas.

Approaching the platform, they saw it more clearly. The stone platform was about ten zhang square, built entirely from a dark cyan material that was neither metal nor stone. Its surface was covered with dense, ancient runes, most of which were now severely worn. In the center of the platform stood a trapezoidal stone stele, partially broken. Embedded in the top of the stele was a fist-sized, cracked, dull transparent crystal stone. The faint Formation spiritual light emanated precisely from this crystal and the few runes at the stele's base that were still operational.

“This is an... Observation Formation Platform?” Su Wanqing carefully examined the remaining carvings on the stele, a hint of surprise flashing in her clear, cold eyes. “It seems to have been set up by an Ancient Cultivator to observe this 'Gui Xu.'”

Lin Xuan leaped onto the stone platform and reached out to touch the icy stele. As his Divine Sense probed it, he immediately sensed an extremely weak yet incredibly tenacious residual will, along with some fragmented pieces of information.

【...Observation record... Whirlpool stable period three hundred years... Active period one hundred years... Devours all things... Suspected to lead to...】

【...Energy core about to be exhausted... No successor... Regret...】

The information was intermittent but confirmed their speculation. This Gui Xu was not always so violent; it followed a periodic pattern. And the Ancient Cultivator who established this platform seemed to have ultimately failed to continue the observation, perhaps due to exhausted resources or other reasons.

Lin Xuan's gaze fell upon the cracked crystal stone at the top of the stele. This should be the Formation Platform's energy core, now on the verge of collapse.

A thought struck him, and he attempted to inject a trace of pure Golden Core spiritual energy into the crystal.

Buzz—

The crystal vibrated slightly, and the cracks on its surface seemed to light up with an almost imperceptible glow, but it quickly dimmed again, as if that small amount of spiritual energy was merely a drop in the bucket.

“The energy has been depleted for too long; it’s almost completely dead.” Lin Xuan shook his head. If it were in good condition, given the grade of this Formation Platform that allowed it to stand here for countless years, its energy core would certainly be extraordinary and perhaps offer them great help. Unfortunately, it was now of little use.

However, just as he was about to withdraw his hand, the immortal abode pivot token imprint, which had been dormant inside him, suddenly transmitted an extremely faint pulsation! At the same time, he sensed that beneath the stone platform, deep within the dark cyan material, a certain aura was hidden—one that shared the same origin as the immortal abode pivot token, but was far more ancient and much weaker!

Could it be... Lin Xuan bent down, pressed his palm tightly against the surface of the platform, and fully activated the immortal abode pivot token's sensing ability.

A moment later, a sharp light flashed in his eyes! Buried beneath the core base of this Observation Formation Platform was a jade fragment, about the size of a fingernail, dull in color, and almost completely fused with the base material! The aura of the same origin came precisely from this fragment!

He carefully used Sword Qi to cut open the hard base material and retrieved the fragment. The fragment was cool and smooth to the touch. Besides the faint aura, there were no spiritual energy fluctuations whatsoever, as if it were just an ordinary stone.

But Lin Xuan could feel that the immortal abode pivot token had an instinctive attraction to this fragment.

He tried moving the fragment closer to the imprint on his palm.

The instant the two touched, a sudden change occurred!

The fragment suddenly glowed with a hazy clear light, and like mercury, it slowly fused into the imprint of the immortal abode pivot token!

【Ding! Detected 'Ethereal Immortal Abode' Core Fragment (Minor), initiating Fusion...】

【'immortal abode pivot token' authority has been weakly enhanced. Perception range increased, and sensitivity to spatial fluctuations strengthened.】

A perception clearer than before surged into Lin Xuan’s mind. He seemed able to “see” the flow pattern of the Gui Xu whirlpool’s chaotic energy more clearly, and he even faintly sensed that in a specific direction of the whirlpool, the tearing force appeared to have an extremely brief, periodic weakening node!

Although still dangerous, this was undoubtedly valuable information!

“How is it?” Su Wanqing asked, seeing the strange look on his face.

Lin Xuan briefly explained the situation, omitting the System notification, saying only that he had found clues left by predecessors and gained a better understanding of the Gui Xu’s patterns.

“So, it is possible for us to find a timing to enter or pass through the whirlpool?” Qu Feiyan’s charming eyes lit up.

“Only possible, and the risk remains immense,” Lin Xuan said with a solemn expression. “But it offers a sliver more hope than blindly forcing our way through.”

He looked toward the massive dark whirlpool that seemed capable of devouring everything, calculating the time and direction of the periodic weakening node.

On this Observation Formation Platform left behind by the Ancient Cultivator, they seemed to have found a sliver of hope that was not entirely despairing. However, grasping this thread of hope required immense courage, and... luck.