"What kind of deep grudge does he have with your Elder Liu, the one from the Tracking Hall?" Evan Yang thought for a moment and asked.
"You even know about that?" The man exclaimed in shock.
"Tell me about it." Evan Yang pressed.
The man had no choice but to answer, "Phantom Elder belonged to the Phantom Sect, which had some conflict with the Liu Family. Later, somehow, the Liu Family wiped out the Phantom Sect, and Elder Liu even called on some Fiend Palace people for help."
"And then?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously.
"After that, Phantom Elder came for revenge and fought Elder Liu. The Fiend Palace Lord had to step in and drive Phantom Elder out, restricting his movements. If he was ever found again, Fiend Palace would keep hunting him."
"So that's how it is. They've got this kind of feud." Evan Yang muttered.
"Why are you asking all this?" The man asked suspiciously.
"None of your business. Go back to sleep." Evan Yang knocked him out again, then left the tower and stepped outside.
Outside, it was still pitch-black. Phantom Elder was nowhere to be seen, and there was no sign of movement even after so long.
About half an hour later, there was finally a reaction. When Evan Yang appeared again, he was facing an endless sea.
A sea in the void? Evan Yang was puzzled. He’d seen the Death River before, but never anything like a sea.
The sea was mixed with three colors, and it was hard to tell how deep the water really was.
"Where is this place?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously.
"This is a place where you get twice the results with half the effort," Phantom Elder replied with a smile.
"What's so special about it?" Evan Yang looked around—there was nothing but sea, and even the water was black, making it look eerie.
"Black Sea. I don’t know its original name—I just stumbled upon it by accident," Phantom Elder muttered.
"Black Sea? What's so special? Is it just called 'black'?" Evan Yang looked at Phantom Elder suspiciously.
"Come on, I haven’t even explained yet," Phantom Elder said.
"Then hurry up and explain," Evan Yang said, staring at the endless sea.
"Stick your hand in the water and see for yourself," Phantom Elder said.
Evan Yang hesitantly put his hand in. The first thing he felt was incredibly pure energy—if top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore counted as one unit of energy, then this black water was at least a hundred times stronger.
"How does it feel?" Phantom Elder asked, grinning.
"Very pure," Evan Yang replied.
"See? I wasn’t lying. The deeper you go, the denser it gets. You can cultivate much faster here," Phantom Elder said with a smile.
Evan Yang looked out, unsure what might be at the sea’s deepest point. All he could see was that the farther out, the darker the color got.
"With such a good place, how come nobody else knows about it?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously.
Phantom Elder laughed, "Kid, I’d love to bring more people here and nurture them, but this Black Sea—well, the more you use it, the less there is. I don’t dare use it recklessly. It barely affects me anymore, but for you, at the Spirit-God Realm, you can absorb a lot more."
"Alright, so why did you pick me? Just because Elder Liu is hunting me?" Evan Yang asked.
Phantom Elder grinned, "Kid, stop hiding. You came here years ago. At first I didn’t notice you, but when you survived the Death River, I was shocked. When I tried to find you, you’d vanished."
"You knew about that too?" Evan Yang hadn’t expected Phantom Elder to notice him so early.
"What do you think? The Fiend Palace forced me into hiding, so of course I need helpers. You may seem small now, but your potential is huge. With a few thousand years, you’ll be just fine," Phantom Elder said, smiling.
A few thousand years? Evan Yang looked at Phantom Elder suspiciously.
"Why are you staring at me? Isn’t this place tempting enough?" Phantom Elder looked at Evan Yang.
Evan Yang thought for a moment and said, "Tempting, sure, but the price is steep. Aren’t you afraid I’ll just run away?"
"Heh, of course I won’t let you run," Phantom Elder said, smiling at Evan Yang.
Before Evan Yang could react, Phantom Elder pushed him down.
"You!" Evan Yang cried out in shock, just as he tried to get up, the black water sucked him under.
"Don’t bother struggling. The pull of this black water is strong. Want to leave? Wait until you reach my realm, then we’ll talk," Phantom Elder laughed.
Evan Yang tried to speak, but his whole head was already submerged.
Seeing Evan Yang go silent, Phantom Elder took out a disk-shaped object. It instantly expanded, covering the entire Black Sea.
Evan Yang felt the sky darken—he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. He was completely soaked, not sinking from gravity, but from the water’s suction.
"Damn old man, I’ll settle the score with you when I get out," Evan Yang muttered, frustrated.
He explored for a while, found nothing but black water, and finally, helpless, decided to enter the tower.
Once inside the tower, the external suction disappeared instantly. Winter and the others saw Evan Yang soaking wet and looked at him suspiciously.
"Master, what happened to you?" Derek asked, puzzled.
"Don’t ask. Some old monster kicked me into the sea," Evan Yang said, frustrated.
"No way, Master—which old monster? Someone from Fiend Palace?" Derek was shocked. Winter and the others watched Evan Yang curiously.
"No, actually it’s someone Fiend Palace doesn’t like," Evan Yang sighed.
"Then why did he kick you into the sea?" Derek asked, puzzled after hearing Evan Yang’s explanation.
Evan Yang helplessly explained what happened to everyone.
Derek and Kai Hart were still young and didn’t know much about Fiend Palace, so they weren’t clear on who Phantom Elder was.
"Is the sea outside really that strange?" Winter asked curiously.
"Yeah, it should be. But the effect is much greater for those with lower cultivation," Evan Yang said, knowing that the concentration would affect people differently.
Derek and Kai Hart exchanged a glance, then Derek spoke up, "Master, let us go out. Our cultivation is pretty low anyway."
"That’s exactly what I was thinking. I’ll bring you out one at a time and make sure you can survive before letting you cultivate there," Evan Yang said, being extra cautious since he didn’t know how the Black Sea would affect others.
This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
Everyone nodded, so Evan Yang brought Winter out first. Just like Evan Yang, Winter was instantly pulled into the water.
"Feels a bit like that old senior’s star, but the difference is one was due to gravity, and this is because of the liquid," Winter said.
"How fast can you circulate your spiritual power here?" Evan Yang asked, knowing that comparing cultivation speed meant checking how long it took to complete one cycle.
"Twice as fast as before. Not bad," Winter replied.
"Only twice?" Evan Yang asked, surprised.
"Yeah. What about you?" Winter asked.
"I can circulate a hundred times faster here. As for the deepest part, I have no idea," Evan Yang muttered.
"A hundred times faster?" Winter exclaimed.
"Yeah," Evan Yang nodded.
"Looks like it’s related to cultivation. The higher your realm, the less obvious the effect," Winter said, puzzled.
"That’s probably it. Let me have Derek try," Evan Yang said, then brought Derek out.
As soon as Derek came out, his whole body felt like it was boiling.
"Master, it’s so hot!" Derek exclaimed.
"Hot?" Evan Yang asked, surprised.
"Yeah, my spiritual power circulates five or six hundred times faster—my body’s about to explode," Derek said, frustrated.
Evan Yang realized Derek’s cultivation was too low, causing his energy to circulate too fast and exceed his body’s limits. He said, "You’d better go back to the tower and wait until you reach the Spirit-God Realm before coming out again."
"Ah?" Derek muttered, a bit frustrated.
"If you don’t want to explode and die, stay in the tower," Evan Yang sighed.
Derek had no choice but to go back. That left only Evan Yang and Winter as suitable candidates.
Even though Evan Yang could circulate energy a hundred times faster, his body could handle it. As for Winter, it barely affected him—his cultivation speed just doubled.
"You can try going farther ahead. Maybe it’s even faster there," Evan Yang said to Winter, remembering what Phantom Elder had said.
Winter nodded and started swimming forward, while Evan Yang watched him gradually disappear into the distance.
"Use voice transmission, don’t go too far. If you get too far, I won’t be able to sense you," Evan Yang said, realizing that as Winter swam farther, his spiritual sense couldn’t detect him—like the surroundings were pitch-black.
"Got it," Winter replied.
Once they kept a safe distance, both began to cultivate.
Evan Yang crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and laid his hands flat, floating underwater like that.
Winter did the same.
Outside, Phantom Elder had no idea what was happening to Evan Yang, who was suppressed below. Sitting on a nearby mountain, he muttered, "Let’s count the time. I’ll check every hundred years—it should be fine."
So Phantom Elder planned to open this place in a hundred years to check Evan Yang’s cultivation progress.
Evan Yang was suppressed, but Fiend Palace was getting anxious.
The Fiend Palace Lord’s youngest son couldn’t be found in the human world. When he heard that the Tracking Hall people had contacted Evan Yang, he immediately shifted focus from the human world to the Fiend Realm, searching everywhere for Evan Yang.
Meanwhile, the cloaked figure monitoring the exits between the human world and Fiend Realm saw someone one day.
That person was completely covered by a cloak, making it impossible to see what they looked like inside.
"Why are you here?" the cloaked figure asked suspiciously.
"The Palace Lord’s youngest son is missing. I wanted to check with you—have you seen this person?" The man in the cloak took out a portrait.
"Yeah, he went inside a while ago," the cloaked figure replied.
"Has he come out?" the man in the cloak asked, puzzled.
"No, why?" the cloaked figure asked curiously.
"He captured the Palace Lord’s youngest son. If he hasn’t left the Fiend Realm, he’s still there. That makes things easier—we’ll have Fiend Palace search everywhere. You keep watch here and don’t let him leave," the man in the cloak said.
"He captured the Palace Lord’s youngest son?" The cloaked figure was surprised—he’d personally watched Evan Yang enter the Fiend Realm that day.
"Just keep watch. If he comes out, capture him immediately and send him to Fiend Palace," the man in the cloak said.
"Alright," the cloaked figure nodded.