The floating ice on the sea drifts aimlessly without direction.
If left unchecked, it could easily drift backward.
And behind them, the Great Whirlpool resembled a massive maw that devoured everything in its path, tightly following at their rear.
Just a glance at it gave the terrifying illusion of being pulled into its depths.
Broken planks spun around in the whirlpool.
Though the ship had only splintered moments ago, much of its wreckage had already been swallowed by the whirlpool.
Ji Yutang stood with her back to Li Jingyu, her eyes fixed ahead, feeling somewhat dizzy.
It seemed as though the entire world had become unreal, with heaven and earth reversed, and the cosmic order disrupted.
In the whirlpool, everything was twisted by an overwhelming force, losing its original form, making it difficult to distinguish one thing from another.
Throughout this process, a mysterious, indescribable energy permeated the air.
“Are you alright? Do you need help?”
Li Jingyu’s voice came from behind.
Ji Yutang snapped out of her daze and shook her head.
“I’m fine,” she replied.
After some contemplation, she asked, “How did this Great Whirlpool come to be?”
“I don’t know,” Li Jingyu replied succinctly.
She turned to stand beside Ji Yutang, glanced briefly at the whirlpool, and then looked away.
“The whirlpool is a manifestation of the changes in yin and yang. Only the power of creation can tear everything to shreds.”
As she spoke, she reached out and grabbed a plank that was rapidly being sucked into the whirlpool.
“Daoist Friend Ji, do you know how to build a boat?”
Li Jingyu asked.
Ji Yutang: “…” She didn’t know how to, but artifact crafting principles were universal, and she had read relevant Daoist texts.
Plus, she had some hands-on experience with weaving grass mats.
Pulling at the corners of her mouth, she confidently declared, “I’ll figure it out as I go.”
Li Jingyu blinked, taken aback by this response.
Figure it out as you go?
She furrowed her brows in thought for a moment and then asked, “The current popular methods for refining artifacts all require the use of spiritual power. Does your heritage include other techniques?”
Ji Yutang remained silent.
The Dragon Sutra was a classic Daoist text, containing dragon-related divine abilities, but the only part remotely connected to artifact crafting was “internal refinement of the dragon pill.”
She looked down at the Biluomu Wood at her feet, and without even needing a knife, she conjured a dragon claw to hollow out the wood’s center.
Li Jingyu didn’t disturb her, watching with a soft smile.
However, as she observed, something began to seem off… This was indeed a boat, but it was clearly built using mundane techniques, with no magical restrictions.
A slightly bigger wave could easily smash it apart.
“Ice will melt, but Biluomu Wood won’t,” Ji Yutang, with her keen senses, noticed Li Jingyu’s astonished gaze and puzzled expression.
In that instant, she understood what the other was thinking.
She pursed her lips and explained, “Ultimately, for a cultivator, a boat is merely a tool to cross the sea. As long as we can neutralize any danger in advance, it doesn’t matter what the boat looks like.”
Ji Yutang knew her idea was rather unconventional.
Li Jingyu’s silence only deepened her embarrassment, so she quickly raised her voice and said, “You have spiritual power, you can perform a bit of refining. After all, I’m not the only one who’ll be sitting in this boat.”
A flush crept up Ji Yutang’s cheeks, eventually spreading to the tips of her ears.
Li Jingyu kept her gaze fixed on Ji Yutang, and after a moment, she smiled softly and replied, “Alright.”
Her gentle voice was like the breeze in April, brushing against Ji Yutang’s face.
Gazing into those beautiful eyes, Ji Yutang felt her heart begin to drown.
But she quickly snapped back to reality, her emotions a chaotic mix of shame and frustration.
The words “No, don’t” formed on her lips but were swallowed before they could be spoken.
Turning her back to Li Jingyu, she took a deep breath, reminding herself of all the times she had been humiliated.
Slowly, her eyes grew cold, like frost forming in the depths of winter.
“What’s wrong?”
Li Jingyu noticed the change in Ji Yutang’s demeanor and asked, puzzled.
Ji Yutang calmed herself, then turned with a composed smile.
“I’m fine. Daoist Li, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Life-Bound Artifacts are born from visualization, but they require precious materials for the refining process.
Once upgraded to a Life-Bound Treasure, the artifact can become part of one’s path to immortality, a crucial piece of the cultivator’s Dao body.
No one would ever entrust such an important process to another person.
Thus, any cultivator serious about their progress must learn some form of artifact crafting.
However, different paths of cultivation lead to different methods.
At first, the boat still looked like a regular boat, but as the magical restrictions were applied, its form gradually transformed, eventually becoming the large “Jewel of the Rising Tides.”
Ji Yutang: “…”
“Sorry, I only know this one method,” Li Jingyu said, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.
Her apology was quite sincere.
Ji Yutang let out an “Oh,” her smile a bit odd, and her thoughts began to wander.
She uses the Beidou visualization technique, but her artifact is a jewel.
Is it because she doesn’t know how to refine anything else?
Or is her artifact refining skill just lacking?
Ji Yutang found an odd sense of balance and comfort in her thoughts.
Ran Guzhu humiliated me like that, but even she has things she can’t do, right?
Li Jingyu cleared her throat softly.
“Though it’s different from a boat in appearance, with the restrictions applied, unless we encounter sea monsters beyond our cultivation level, we should be fine.”
She regretted agreeing to Ji Yutang’s suggestion to refine the boat, wondering if it would’ve been better to just bring out her own sea vessel.
Ji Yutang nodded and pretended to praise, “Heaven is round, and the Earth is square. A round vessel that reflects the heavens isn’t so bad, actually.”
Being inside a restricted sphere was certainly better than floating on ice.
The restrictions above blocked much of the yin energy, and only a few remnants hit her body, making it bearable.
This situation suited Ji Yutang, and it was even more beneficial for Li Jingyu.
While refining the “Round Vessel,” Li Jingyu connected it to her Jewel of the Rising Tides, allowing the gathered yin wind to be absorbed into the jewel, which she used to refine her spiritual power.
The Great Whirlpool pursued them from behind, but as long as they didn’t look back, they wouldn’t be sucked into it.
As for the sea ahead—perhaps they had good fortune, for they did not encounter any sea beasts beyond the Foundation Establishment stage.
After several battles, they managed to deal with their enemies.
Having drifted on the sea for over half a month, they finally began to glimpse a white, misty coastline in the distance.
“Have we finally reached the end?”
Ji Yutang was too exhausted to care whether she was traveling with Ran Guzhu or anyone else.
Life at sea had taken its toll on her, leaving her haggard, with her clothes caked in blood and grime, and her hair disheveled.
“Probably?”
Li Jingyu’s words were cautious.
It seemed like they had encountered land, but as they drew closer, they realized it was just an enormous sheet of floating ice, stretching endlessly in all directions.
They could only rely on the flow of yin energy around them to determine whether they had truly left the Xuanming Yin Region.
Sitting cross-legged across from Ji Yutang, Li Jingyu’s clothes were still immaculate, untouched by dust, just as they had been when they set out.
Ji Yutang let out a weak groan.
She regretted using up all the energy stored in her Xuanxiang Pearl; she didn’t even have enough spiritual power left to cast a simple cleansing spell.
The Dragon Sutra contained the divine ability “Heavenly Dragon Unblemished,” but with her current level of cultivation, she had no hope of learning it.
As Ji Yutang’s mind wandered, a clean handkerchief, scented with a familiar fragrance, suddenly fell over her face.
She jolted in surprise, just as Li Jingyu’s fingers brushed against her cheek.
“You—” Ji Yutang stared at Li Jingyu, stunned.
Li Jingyu smiled gently and cast a cleansing spell, removing the dirt from Ji Yutang’s body.
