June 7, 2018

South of Heaven-Reaching City, Northern Vine Country, Endless Nether Sea.

In June, the Nether Sea is a scene of boundless azure beauty, with clear waters like flowing gemstones, shining with an enchanting vibrancy. The golden beaches shimmer, their smooth and fine sands seeming gentler than the ocean itself.

The Northern part of the Nether Sea is known for its mesmerizing scenery, attracting thousands of tourists annually for splendid holidays, especially young couples and newlyweds drawn to its passionate beauty. Hotels, inns by the sea, secluded beaches hidden by rocks, and lush jungles have all been graced by the essence of human life.

However, in June 2018, the most picturesque stretch of the Northern coast: Fairy Beach, was closed off to tourists, denying countless visitors, their anticipated joy. The reason for the closure was that this area had been monopolized at a high price by a certain powerful force.

This naturally left many tourists disgruntled, especially those with immortal cultivation, or those worldly influential visitors, who intended to bypass the barrier and negotiate with the dominating party behind it, but a gentle yet irresistible force kept them all at bay.

Those who sensed the profound antiquity within this power wisely chose to retreat.

In today’s Xiangzhou Continent, civilization was rapidly reviving, and forward-thinking cultural concepts had begun to take root. Although the barrier between immortals and mortals was distinct, and ranks within both realms were strict, ideas of equality were gradually spreading. Generally, acts of appropriating natural beauty as personal property were considered rebellious, meriting universal condemnation.

But there are always exceptions, and the people monopolizing the place were just one of them.

They are cultivators from the Cyan Lotus Academy, one of the Three Academies.

The name Cyan Lotus Academy was sufficient to excuse all privileges.

At this moment, on the northern beach, dozens of cultivators in pure white robes stood somewhat helplessly on the golden sands, unable to open their eyes under the dazzling noon sun and the vast blue waves.

These cultivators, who usually loathed sunlight like rabid dogs in the Cyan Lotus Academy, were accustomed to staying indoors all day. Suddenly arriving at a sunlit beach, they shivered like cockroaches doused with strong acid.

And while these cultivators were dazed and confused, the voice of the academy’s dean came from overhead.

"Alright, everyone’s in position. Now, I’m going to talk about the mission requirements for this off-site experiment."

The academy cultivators, known for their excellent discipline, immediately mustered the resolve to listen attentively to the dean’s speech despite their discomfort.

"First, let me clarify the purpose of this research task: to further enhance our academy cultivators’ comprehensive experimental abilities and adaptability to complex environments. Additionally, it’s to improve the effectiveness of the 2000-series experiments and accelerate their progress. Hence, I decided to conduct the project off-site, moving the experiment site from within the academy to the Nether Sea, one of Xiangzhou Continent’s most peculiar ecological locations."

After a simple opening statement, the dean continued to explain.

"While Senluo can simulate over ninety percent of Xiangzhou Continent’s environmental climates with its complete ecological system, the peculiar geographic characteristics of the Nether Sea far exceed the current simulation limits of Senluo. Articles on researching the Nether Sea remain consistently popular in the geography field. Moreover, according to reliable clues, a critical node in the 2000-series project is also in the Nether Sea."

Before the words were fully spoken, a cultivator squinted, shivering, and raised a hand: "I have a question."

"I know your question. The 2000-series experiment aims to create a new species with all the biological traits suited for immortal cultivation, especially in swordsmanship. According to our current information, the cultivators with the best swordsmanship talent on the Xiangzhou Continent derive their talents from the Nether Sea, specifically near the northern waters—Xiao Bai was saved on this very beach by the sect leader who happened to be fishing here during vacation."

Upon hearing this explanation, the raising hand immediately nodded and lowered.

Though a bit of a stretch, the reasoning was logically sound. The 2000-series experiment has reached #2113, with over seventy percent of the pure biological trials completed, the next step inevitably involving the adaptability to the Immortal Dao. According to the original framework, mutational experiments would also be attempted on various substrates to determine the best evolutionary direction. But now the dean has directly chosen the Xiao Bai clue as the research direction, which is not unreasonable.

To pursue Xiao Bai’s trail and uncover the truth of the Nether Sea is imperative—unless Xiao Bai personally agrees to become a test subject at the academy.

Thinking of this, many scholars lamented the debate that happened within the Sword Academy.

Out of academic spirit, Dean proposed a highly practical proposal to the other party, which could significantly boost research levels related to the Xiangzhou Continent and also satisfy the physiological needs of that single old woman. However, the other party irrationally rejected the proposal, causing a major setback in Xiangzhou’s Immortal Dao theoretical development.

Of course, the people of Cyan Lotus Academy were used to this; in the vast mortal world filled with ignorant and indiscriminate common fools, truly insightful and wise individuals were extremely rare, so everyone had long accustomed themselves to the lonely and heroic struggle.

Let her be foolish, after all, the advancement of civilization itself requires overcoming multiple challenges, so it doesn’t matter if there are a few more obstacles.

And the Dean’s decision to relocate the experimental site to the Nether Sea is obviously a secondary option after rejecting the primary plan, and it also serves as a more ideal solution.

Then someone raised their hand to ask a question.

"Dean, do we need to conduct research and exploration of the Nether Sea next?"

Wang Jiu said, "Of course, but your main task is to analyze the samples discovered during the exploration. I’ve already brought all the necessary equipment. The workload will be substantial, and you’ll need to bear with it for a while."

The Academy cultivators responded with confident smiles: "Dean, you’re underestimating us. Putting in effort for academic research is just routine for us."

"Indeed, which of us hasn’t pulled all-nighters in the Academy? Moreover, we cultivators naturally have more vitality than ordinary people, so going three to five days without sleep is no problem at all."

"Even with intense mental work, enduring for days and nights isn’t a pressure. Especially since this time we’re traveling far, we already brought auxiliary medicines and such, so please feel free to assign tasks!"

For a moment, morale was high, displaying a spirit ready to be utilized.

Truly, Wang Jiu’s biochemistry model Zhang Lan was too successful, winning at the Sword Fighting tournament without a fight due to overwhelming strength, greatly boosting the morale of the Academy cultivators.

For those devoted to academic research, nothing is more inspiring than real research results. Perhaps in the Sword Academy, biological modification technology seems dubious, but for the Academy, this is the correct path of the Immortal Dao!

And the success of the biochemical model Zhang Lan also greatly encouraged the cultivators involved in the related research, firmly deciding to continue the research. Also, many other groups of cultivators joined upon hearing the news, swiftly expanding the research team and accelerating the project’s progress.

Wang Jiu’s biological experiments did not stop because of Zhang Lan’s success; instead, they accelerated forward. On the eve of the Sword Fighting tournament, gratifying results emerged consecutively, and Zhang Lan’s practical success continuously verified many previous academic hypotheses. Now is the stage of project rapid advancement, so naturally, everyone is prepared for overtime work.

However, at this time, these naive cultivators had no idea what their declarations would ultimately signify.

——

Meanwhile, Wang Jiu also made preparations to penetrate the Nether Sea.

The proposal for this expedition to the Nether Sea was indeed a result of his spur-of-the-moment thought, but it truly achieved a win-win situation, simultaneously solving the progress issue of the 2000 series experiment and the urgent Demon Race problem.

Moreover, objectively speaking, these cultivators can be considered essential for the journey to the Nether Sea. To uncover the truth of the Nether Sea, Wang Jiu alone is not enough. Unless his Sword World could instantly recover to over 20%, the Celestial Divine Sword would be powerless facing the famous mysterious sea on the Xiangzhou Continent, and even with Zhao Chenlu, it wouldn’t suffice—this person has been too lax in the decades since his revival, severely lacking in restored strength, and can’t offer much help.

Instead, the more than thirty Academy cultivators brought along, regardless of their True Essence Realm, are at least skilled in academic research. Working together under Wang Jiu’s guidance, they can burst out with remarkable work efficiency.

At least in the biochemical modification experiments conducted in Senluo previously, these cultivators have fully proven their capability. The same work, even if given to two Zhao Chenlus, might not be completed in time, but a well-coordinated team of Academy cultivators executed Wang Jiu’s requirements effortlessly.

Now, it’s time for them to demonstrate their value in the Nether Sea.

Looking at the vast stretch of azure waters before him, Wang Jiu took a deep breath.

The gentle sea breeze, along the Sword Spirit True Form conjured by the Illusion Sword Technique, seeped into the interior of the Sword World. The slightly salty smell gently brushed over the Demon-Pointing Sword.

This infinitely sharp longsword, however, gave no response.

Not unexpected, yet still not enough.

For once, Wang Jiu sent a signal of distrust to the Demon-Pointing Sword. Then, the pure white Sword Body trembled slightly, soaring high into the sky, flying towards the distant deep sea.