From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

The ticket inspector was actually quite moved.

Even though he had initially made things difficult for this powerful magician, the magician hadn't actually harmed him, only bluffed him. Now, not only had the magician saved the entire ship, but he was also being considerate of him...

More importantly, besides his parents back home, this young man was the third person who cared whether he was tired from work!

but.

Some passengers also believe that Jiang Liu orchestrated the whole thing himself, with the ultimate goal of changing their perception of Easterners!

However, it is an undeniable fact that Jiang Liu possesses superhuman strength. To safely leave this dark, gloomy, and turbulent sea, we may need to rely on his power. Therefore, we can only think about it in our hearts and dare not say it out loud.

It was at this moment.

The fierce winds at sea subsided quietly, and even the surging waves calmed down, becoming almost like a mirror. Only the passing ships created ripples on the surface of the sea.

"Has the storm passed?"

"This is so strange! I've never seen a seascape like this before!"

"The dark clouds in the sky have not yet dispersed!"

"..."

on board.

Sailors and passengers alike came to the deck, looking at this strange sight with surprise, doubt, or panic. Even the captain had never seen such a seascape before.

after all--

This is the ocean!

Not a lake!

Logically speaking, it's impossible for such a situation to occur without any ripples.

What's the situation now?

A bead of sweat appeared on Lu Jin's forehead, not from nervousness, but from feeling stuffy.

The air seemed to stand still at that moment, without even a breeze, as if the entire ship, along with the people on board, had entered a stuffy, airless chamber.

"I don't know either." Jiang Liu circulated his Qi throughout his body, which ensured his physical and mental comfort, but he could no longer sense the changes in the energy of this sea area.

The ocean is so mysterious and unpredictable that even the most learned masters of Taoism and Buddhism dare not claim to have a sufficient understanding of it!

This is a forbidden zone that humanity has yet to explore!

Just as Jiang Liu was about to hold the Hunyuan Pill in his hand to further deepen his connection with heaven and earth, Gu Qian's expression turned serious, and he said to him, "This is a sign that the dragon fire is about to erupt!"

"Dragon fire?"

Jiang Liu inquired about the reason.

"It's a kind of flame that can burn on the seabed, with bright, blazing light."

Gu Qian explained to Jiang Liu, Lu Jin, and Jonathan, who could understand Chinese, "It can only burn on the seabed. Once it surfaces, it disappears. It's not hot, it won't hurt anyone, and it's non-toxic."

"An underwater volcano?" Jonathan's first thought was of an underwater volcano erupting.

But Gu Qian immediately dismissed this possibility. As Dragon Otters, when they were not bound and trapped in the Paper Boat Home by the Black Scale Merfolk, they usually roamed the seabed, hunting merfolk and sharks. Occasionally, they would see dragon fire illuminating a sea area, but they had never seen any seabed lava.

Furthermore.

If an underwater volcano were to erupt, the seawater in the corresponding area would inevitably be scorching hot, but the Dragon Otters did not feel it at all.

"It may be a phenomenon formed by the condensation of sea air."

Jiang Liu seemed to be deep in thought. "The Eye of Guixu in the South China Sea is migrating to the East China Sea. This is a kind of energy pattern. Under the refraction and reflection of the seawater, the sea air flows and may form a kind of radiance similar to flames."

It might be some kind of refraction phenomenon.

Like a rainbow after the rain.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin understood, but Jonathan was completely baffled, simply because he had no idea about the concept of "qi".

Gu Qian and the others were also unaware of the aura.

Although their ancestors were the Hentian clan, they left Guixu a thousand years ago and became sea people in the paper boat on the back of the giant turtle. They had no written language, and even the inheritance of the sea-penetrating array pattern was carried out by the older generation by hand, engraving and drawing it on the bodies of the new generation.

Although some gossip and supernatural tales have been passed down orally, the reason for the migration of Guixu is completely unknown. All that is known is that the Mermaid used the Jianmu tree to ascend to the moon and obtain the elixir of immortality…

# Chapter 476 Dragon Fire (Part 2)

Just as Jiang Liu and Lu Jin were discussing dragon fire, the calm seabed seemed to be ignited by fire, reflecting a dazzling display of flames.

Everyone couldn't help but lean against the railing and look down.

Such a wondrous sight—

They had never heard of it before.

Jiang Liu then used his mental energy to scan the area. Even though seawater is "viscous" than air and has much greater resistance, he was still able to detect a range of nearly 100 kilometers.

In his perception, these dragon fires were not real flames, but rather, as he imagined, a phenomenon produced when the Qi of the Void circulated in the sea.

But it is more than just a harmless natural phenomenon.

Because the dragon fire originated from the local energy patterns at the bottom of the sea, Jiang Liu could vaguely sense the intricacies within it.

This dragon fire—

It's a kind of mirage!

During the ordeal at Ping Mountain, Chen Yulou explained to Jiang Liu about the miasma, which is a kind of miasma formed by thousands of poisonous insects in the mountain breathing out poisonous gas. It can confuse the mind in mild cases and corrode human bones in severe cases.

But the real "mirage" originates from a word:

Mirage.

That is, the refraction and reflection of light create an illusory appearance of objects that exist in the distance.

However, under the influence of the Qi formation, it is possible to transform the false into the real, just like the ghostly abode of Lanruo Temple, forming a peculiar space that resides within the circulation of Qi.

If we consider "Journey to the West" as a guide to strange and wondrous tales, then Sun Wukong mentioned the existence of "mirage" to Tang Sanzang during the Tongtian River ordeal.

In Sun Wukong's description, there are nine kinds of dragons, one of which is the mirage. When the mirage releases its energy, it is like a pavilion in a shallow pond. If a great river is flooded, the mirage will appear in this form, and birds will fly up and come to rest. Even if there are tens of thousands or thousands of you, they will all be swallowed up in one breath.

This refers to the mirage formed by atmospheric phenomena, not the dreamlike illusions created by ordinary light refraction and reflection.

at this time.

The undulating flames in the sea, when connected, formed a crystal palace. Though not real, its glittering brilliance dazzled the sailors and foreigners on the ship, who wished they could immediately dive into the water to explore the underwater palace.

"Brother Jiang, what is this?" Lu Jin was also stunned by the scene and his lips trembled. "Could there really be a dragon palace at the bottom of the sea?"

"There is definitely no Dragon Palace, but perhaps it was the ancestors of Gu Qian and the Hentian clan who used the Qi of Guixu in the past."

Having said that, Jiang Liu sighed softly. The Hentian clan had long since left Guixu, making a living on the giant tortoise-shaped paper boat. Although they had left behind some oral traditions and the techniques of penetrating sea array patterns, it was difficult for them to give a coherent explanation—

It's hard too!

Taking the Transparent Sea Array Pattern as an example, after Jiang Liu received the documents from Gu Qian and the others, he understood the essence: a Qi refining method similar to alchemy.

Instead of traversing the three gates and nine orifices or the eight extraordinary meridians, they use special drugs and acupuncture techniques to tattoo their bodies, connecting acupoints and nerve nodes on one side of the body to form an array engraved on the body. This allows them to move underwater for extended periods and also alters their body structure, giving them fins on their backs and gills on their sides.

Cultivating one's nature and life force?

No, it doesn't!

The main ability of the Ocean-Penetrating Array Pattern is to assist them in swimming in the sea and to passively increase their health when assisting the paper boat in "Returning to Origin," but its efficiency is not high.

Now that the paper boat is destroyed, they can no longer find a giant sea turtle to build a new one... and they don't know how to build it either.

While the Transparent Sea Array Pattern has its unique features, allowing one to transform into a fish and swim in the sea, it ultimately cannot compare to the internal cultivation techniques of various sects.

The only thing Jiang Liu could learn from was that this acupuncture and tattooing technique, combined with medicine, could help any ordinary person control their Qi.

After all, Qi exists within everyone's body. So-called aptitude is simply a matter of whether a person can perceive and control this kind of energy.

With the aid of medication, acupoints are stimulated, and Qi is guided to flow spontaneously according to the pre-printed Touhai Array pattern on the body, thereby exerting supernatural abilities.

However, Gu Qian and the others did not understand the principle behind it, and the Transparent Sea Array Patterns on their bodies were only engraved by their elders.

Therefore, it's impossible to get them to reveal any secrets; at most, you can ask them if they know any strange tales or stories about this "dragon fire."

Gu Qian did indeed know some rumors about "Dragon Fire" and "Dragon Palace," and said to Jiang Liu and Lu Jin, "My father once told me that Dragon Fire is unpredictable, and if one day it forms the shape of a palace, that will be the moment when the gate to Guixu opens!"

"If the Mermaid is to ascend to the moon, she must also open the gate between the Void and the outside world."

Gu Dui also said, "Dragon fire is also called dragon lantern, which will attract the attention of the Sea Dragon King."

"The Sea Dragon King?"

Jonathan got excited, "Is it the dragon I imagined? A dragon with wings, that breathes fire, that specializes in stealing gold and silver?"

Nothing more!

In Western legends, the dragon is depicted as a large, flying, fire-breathing lizard that loves gold. Especially in fairy tales, the dragon is portrayed as malevolent, abducting princesses and waiting for brave warriors to rescue them…

"Unlike the dragons you're familiar with, the dragons here are animal-shaped, closer to snakes... In general, they're reptiles."

Jiang Liu stroked his chin. "But if we're talking about science, our dragons are actually more realistic. Only the ocean can support their enormous bodies for rapid movement."

"Your Western lizard dragons rely on wings to fly through the sky, and they also need to maintain physical strength, unlike birds with hollow skeletons. Therefore, their body density is such that even cannons cannot penetrate them."

Jonathan shrugged, completely unconcerned about the differences between Eastern and Western dragons; he only wanted to know if Eastern dragons shared the same habits as Western dragons and whether they collected a large amount of treasure.

"In our mythology, the Dragon King of the Sea lives in the Dragon Palace and possesses all the world's rare treasures. However, considering reality, it's more likely that a creature like a giant sea serpent that has acquired Qi attacked the ships, causing the gold and silver treasures on board to sink to the bottom of the sea." Jiang Liu compared the mythology with reality and analyzed the possibility that was closest to reality.

Reality is different from mythology.

Gold and silver are no different from other things in Qi cultivation; they are just a form of currency or a material. Few cultivators pursue gold and silver.

For animals that have obtained Qi, apart from the Northeast and a small number of spirits who cooperate with humans in cultivation, most of the creatures that have obtained Qi live in deep mountains and forests and have no need for human currency. Even those that live close to human villages, such as the monkeys in the Ping Mountain area, only directly rob villagers of their food and clothing, and would never rob them of money or similar items.

Before they could refine their transverse bones, speak human language, and have the idea of ​​entering human society, these beings who had obtained Qi had no need for money at all.

In other words, if there really is a Sea Dragon King in this sea area, then it should just be a huge sea serpent that has obtained Qi, and its purpose in attacking ships is definitely not for money, but because the ships have entered its territory, or simply to devour the people on board.

Ordinary wild beasts will not eat people unless they are extremely hungry, as there is little meat and many bones, making them difficult to swallow.

However, beings that have obtained Qi are different; they can sense that the innate Qi contained within the human body is much purer than that of ordinary beings.

There are standards for demons and ghosts that have become powerful and have had contact with humans to eat people. They specifically choose scholars because ancient scholars have more or less knowledge of the way of cultivating qi. Even if they cannot cultivate supernatural abilities, they still have qi sense, which is much purer than that of ordinary people, and their primordial yang is even more precious.