Pure white light enveloped everyone as they entered the light pillar, obscuring their vision momentarily. When their sight returned,

*Plop*

Sounds of splashing echoed as it turned out the place where Zhu Bufan and his companions emerged was midair, and instantly, all fell into the water.

"Is this... the fourth layer? What a joke, isn't this supposed to be a vast sea? Although the water isn't salty." Having swum back up, Zhu Bufan opened his eyes and looked around, only to see a boundless expanse of blue water, like an endless ocean shimmering with blue waves.

*Splash Splash Splash*

While speaking, the others also emerged one by one from underwater. Facing the endless blue waters, everyone was somewhat stunned. None of the six had reached the Earth Rank, so naturally, they couldn't truly step in the air. Even counting Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling's Fake Stepping in the air, the other four—Wang Hui, Yue Lan, the Grand Steward, and Shan Ling—still needed to swim.

Especially Shan Ling, who had never seen such waters from birth. If not for the Primordial Qi autonomously protecting her and keeping her afloat, she might have become the first cultivator to drown. Of course, even though she could keep her head above the water, her movements were rather unsightly, a hundred times more pitiful than children just learning to swim.

Looking at the vast water and the nearly invisible Heavenly Pillar at the horizon, everyone was rendered speechless. If truth be told, their landing spot was the farthest from the Heavenly Pillar, and to make matters worse, the fourth layer's terrain was this frustrating kind.

"Take it out." Just as Wang Hui and the others were speechless, Huo Ling suddenly extended a hand towards Zhu Bufan, "I know you have quite a few, Flying Talismans."

"You do realize those are expensive, right?" Seeing Huo Ling straightforwardly asking for Flying Talismans, Zhu Bufan muttered before reluctantly taking out six Flying Talismans and distributing them to everyone.

Crushing the Jade Talismans, six patches of pale cyan Spiritual Energy lifted the people in the water, rapidly propelling them towards the direction of the Heavenly Pillar.

"Is there any land here at all? I'm fed up with this watery scene," after more than an hour of flight, everyone still hadn't spotted a single patch of land to set foot on. Seeing this, Wang Hui couldn't help but lament with a bitter smile. After all, professions like Alchemists and Artifact Refiners who utilize Fire Element Primordial Qi feared places filled with abnormally dense Water Element Spiritual Energy the most.

"No way, it's quite fascinating. I've always seen lightning fall but never imagined a place with so much water!" On the contrary, Shan Ling of the Thunder Clan seemed quite interested in the endless blue. After all, in the Thunder Marsh Layer, water is considered rare. In Thunder Marsh, there's only one source of water, which is the deep underground water. As for actual lakes, rivers, and streams, forget about it.

Time passed by in this tedious journey of flight, and after two hours of flying, they still couldn't see the shadow of land. The duration of the Flying Talismans had reached its end, and they were forced back into the water.

"This won't do. Judging by our current pace, it's somewhat impossible to reach the Heavenly Pillar using these Flying Talismans in hand. I'm afraid I don't have enough of them." Frowning as he looked toward the still distant Heavenly Pillar, Zhu Bufan couldn't help but express his concern.

Just as everyone was exasperated by the endless azure landscape, suddenly, white waves surged in the distance. Quickly, the waves rushed toward the group and when they came closer, everyone realized that these were not just waves, but a school of Shui Mi charging towards them like galloping horses treading on water.

"What is happening?" As they saw the frenzied approach of the many Shui Mi, everyone was startled, with no hesitation, Zhu Bufan pulled out more Flying Talismans and distributed them to the group. Before the Shui Mi arrived, everyone was finally able to break free from the water's grasp and soared up into the sky.

"This isn't right! They seem afraid of something, as if something is chasing after them," Wang Hui observed as they soared into the sky, noticing the panicked expressions of the hundreds of Shui Mi which clearly suggested they were being chased by something.

Hearing Wang Hui's words, Zhu Bufan's heart tightened. He had personally experienced the ferocity of the Shui Mi; as First Rank peak Demon Beasts, their combat power in a water environment might surpass that of Second Rank Demon Beasts. Yet, these hundreds of Shui Mi were being chased to such a sorry state by some entity. One could imagine just how formidable the pursuer was.

"This is bad! Let's leave this place first, there might truly be something fearsome around!" Sensing the ominous situation, Zhu Bufan quickly spoke to the group, and everyone agreed with him. Utilizing the power of the Flying Talismans, they rapidly escaped toward the right.

"Wuuu"

Just as Zhu Bufan and the others had moved a short distance away, suddenly, a mysterious cry came from behind. Looking back, the once mildly rippling water surface due to the Shui Mi's crossing suddenly began to churn violently. Then, a gigantic black fin, as big as a small mountain, suddenly burst from the water surface.

The fin revealed only the tip of the iceberg, but it was enough to startle everyone looking down. They didn't know when, but the originally azure waters below had been overshadowed by a massive dark figure, its gradually surfacing silhouette striking awe into their hearts. The size of this underwater creature was something they had never seen before, and though the shadow kept moving forward, it seemed to have no end.

"Quickly get away from here! That's a Beiming Kun! This creature is at least a thousand li long, let's flee now while it hasn't fully surfaced, otherwise when it comes out of the water, you all will be struck by it!" Just as everyone was astounded by the rapidly becoming clear shadow below, Emperor Yan urgently spoke to Zhu Bufan with a tone he had never used before. Hearing Emperor Yan's words, Zhu Bufan immediately relayed the message to the others.

Hearing that the creature below was a Beiming Kun sent a chill down everyone's spine. The Beiming Kun, the ruler of the waters, was a creature well-known to few. With a huge body, even the Divine Beast Xuanwu had to bow down to it. And when the Beiming Kun reached the pinnacle of its cultivation, it could transform into a Kunpeng and become one of the true Divine Beasts.

Everyone had only heard of this legendary ruler of the waters and had never really seen one. Hearing Zhu Bufan's warning that there was a chance of being struck by the Beiming Kun emerging from the water, everyone naturally fled outside the range of the dark shadow with all their might.

'Splash!!!'

Finally, as the group desperately pushed forward, they managed to get out of the range of the dark shadow by several hundred meters. At that moment, the enormous dark shadow in the water finally burst forth from the surface. Witnessing it reemerge, the ink-black mass seemed like a mountain range in the water, once again sending deep shockwaves through everyone's nerves. This was no longer a Demon Beast; it had essentially turned into a small continent!

"Eh, on that Beiming Kun... there are people?" Just as everyone was shocked by the land-like Beiming Kun, the sharp-eyed Huo Ling suddenly noticed that there were people moving on top of the Beiming Kun!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.