In the region of time-space distortion, conventional methods of perception are unreliable. Sight, hearing, smell—human perception systems established in stable space-time crumble instantly when their foundations are shaken.

Feeling the fragmented scenes before him, hearing the piercing sounds like the screams of demons, and the spirit wind wildly tearing through his internal organs, Wang Jiu sighed silently in his heart.

This was the disaster that befell the investigation team three hundred years ago.

Time-space distortion is not a linear overlay; it suddenly changes in quality upon reaching a threshold. This caused the investigation team to instantly lose the ability to perceive the outside world as they crossed the gap. The higher the cultivation level of the cultivators, the more severe the impact.

Because for those with shallow cultivation levels, conventional five senses remain important means of perception. In the world of the Immortal Dao, distortion of the five senses is commonplace, so sudden changes do not cause much panic.

But for those with high cultivation levels, external perception relies more on the Primordial Spirit touching the Heaven and Earth Spirit Wind and Dao Laws. This method of perception is more advanced and precise, usually unaffected by ordinary interference methods. However, the unavoidable side effect is that this perception method is highly fragile.

Just as strong perfume can directly destroy a dog’s sense of smell. If a cultivator heavily relies on the Heaven and Earth Spirit Wind and Dao Laws as a perception medium, once time-space is shaken, facing distorted, violent spirit wind, they suffer from dizziness at the least, and severe damage to the Primordial Spirit at the most.

The Saint Sect’s investigation team at that time, having too many experts not relying on the five senses, encountered catastrophic disaster the moment they crossed the gap boundary.

However, for the Celestial Divine Sword, a super adaptability to time-space is innate, although the channels used within the Sword World to perceive the outside, like Dragon’s Chant Flower and Hundred-Lock Vine, do not possess time-space elasticity, Wang Jiu, the Sword Spirit, was accustomed to time-space distortion. Even if signals from the outside world were distorted, once processed by the Sword Spirit, they could immediately be restored to their correct form.

So for Wang Jiu, the broken scenes lasted only a moment before returning to normal.

The sea surface ahead was now as black as ink, and the clouds in the sky were pressing down heavily like an iron lid, enveloping everything densely. Not far away, a fleet was quietly floating on the sea. The leading flagship was entirely silver-white, made of top-quality Profound Silver, and its size was astonishing, as long as two hundred meters and fifty meters high. If placed on land, it was a behemoth, but on the boundless sea, it was like a lone boat.

Behind the Profound Silver flagship, three slightly smaller ships followed, each made of rare materials scarcely seen on the Xiangzhou Continent. The cost of these four ships alone was enough to leave many people speechless.

"...It’s that investigation team."

Zhao Chenlu said softly.

"Mm, I see the Saint Sect mark." Wang Jiu, with better eyesight, had already seen the emblem of the Saint Sect on the flagship’s side, "It seems their investigation ends here."

"Without specialized training, suddenly encountering a time-space gap, this was an inevitable result." Zhao Chenlu shrugged, "They did quite well. From their position, they were five hundred meters from the gap point, a record not too big nor too small on the Jiuzhou Continent. It’s remarkable they struggled so long... But since the Qing Province event, no one takes this record seriously anymore."

Speaking, Zhao Chenlu laughed, "It’s really funny, back then people really tried to storm the Shang Girl’s stronghold in Qing Province through the front door. The Money-keeping Girl spared no expense to protect her wealth, creating a millennia-old Cyan River Array full of time-space distortion. Even those in Central Province knew better than to attack head-on, else face annihilation. Yet her ten thousand Spirit Stones array failed to trap a single young intruder, who reversed the millennium-long chaotic time river straight to the core, breaking the array without a fight. Later, the Money-keeping Girl, furious, went to demand compensation from Xingyun Manor who set the array, demanding they bankrupt themselves to settle it. Xingyun Manor barely managed to pay the deposit for the compensation before being wiped out by the Demon Race, and the Money-keeping Girl made a formal record of the bad debt. Really, thinking about it, it’s so sad."

Zhao Chenlu laughed a few times, then sighed, "Though, Jiuzhou Continent back then was really full of talent, hidden dragons and crouching tigers. I was a leader among those who laughed at Shang Lanfei, but rationally, the Cyan River Array wasn’t for just anyone to break. I observed from outside for a moment, and my Primordial Spirit was pulled askew by the Cyan River, let alone breaking in personally. To reverse the flow and reach the core, it’s unimaginable how powerful the Divine Techniques must have been. I always thought even those old guys from the Myriad Immortals Alliance couldn’t lightly break the Cyan River Array. Among people I know, only you could accomplish this feat. But this was denied when I sought confirmation from you. So, who really broke the Cyan River Array back then is a mystery that intrigues me."

Wang Jiu thought for a moment and said, "It was actually me."

Zhao Chenlu froze at this reply, nearly falling into the pitch-black sea.

"It was really you!? Why did you storm the Cyan River Array!?"

Wang Jiu replied seriously, "The sword scabbard I bought from Shang Lanfei’s Sword Refining Hall was shoddy. According to the sales contract at the time, they should compensate me over three times the value, but Sword Refining Hall delayed compensation, so I had to find her personally to dispute. However, Shang Lanfei was quite credible, and she compensated me on the spot."

"...It’s such a reasonable reason! Wait, from that time you and her were...? Damn it, the Shang Girl, a lifetime deceiving as a merchant, bankrupted countless people, and she wasn’t smitten by a Heavenly Tribulation, but found a connection with you over this reason?"

Zhao Chenlu gritted her teeth for a while and then asked, "But when I asked about this back then, you clearly denied it!"

Wang Jiu said, "Because I promised Shang Lanfei I would never mention it to anyone else, and even if asked, I would firmly deny it."

"...Then why are you suddenly admitting it now? Have you finally realized that a sweet and charming woman like me is more trustworthy than that girl who loves to flaunt her intellect?"

There wasn’t a hint of expectation on Zhao Chenlu’s face as she asked.

Sure enough, Wang Jiu replied, "The validity period of my agreement with her was ten thousand years, and now that period has expired, I can truthfully tell you. At that time, it was indeed I who broke through the Cyan River Array, and the experience of breaking the formation was very memorable for me. I had just begun to master Sword Dao, and had a rudimentary understanding of the path of time and space, but the twisted and chaotic scenes I witnessed in the Cyan River Array completely refreshed my knowledge of time and space."

Zhao Chenlu said, "The concept of time and space, until before the Demon Race invasion, was a top-tier, intricate puzzle on the Jiuzhou Continent. Among those who claimed to see through the mysteries of time and space, eleven out of ten were frauds. It was ultimately thanks to the Demon Race that showed us the true nature of time distortions that we managed to solve several key theoretical problems. The fact that you managed to break through the Cyan River Array back then just proves that you are indeed the man I love."

Wang Jiu said, "Breaking the array back then wasn’t purely because of strength alone. I have an innate resistance to time and space, and ninety percent of the Immortal Techniques within the Cyan River Array were completely ineffective against me, so many formations along the way were brute-forced by me. Shang Lanfei’s use of the Cyan River Array to guard her home was indeed effective against other cultivators, but it happened to leave a huge flaw for me. And she wasn’t aware of it at all, overly confident in the Cyan River Array. The Silver Gate placed as a backup wasn’t even activated, considering the cost-saving idea."

"...Truly the money-keeping Shang Lanfei."

Said Zhao Chenlu, as she landed on the silver flagship.

As she touched down, Zhao Chenlu brushed her hand lightly over the deck, and her fingertips were immediately stained with a layer of Silver Frost.

"This level of corrosion must be at least a thousand years old. Unless the Saint Sect purchased inferior Profound Silver, it shouldn’t have deteriorated into powder within a thousand years, even if it had been neglected." Zhao Chenlu suggested, pointing to the door leading to the cabin, "Do you think there might be living people inside?"

Wang Jiu said decisively, "Impossible."

In this special area of the Nether Sea, space-time was heavily distorted, and the closer to the core, the more intense the distortion became.

At the location where this fleet came to a halt, the time scale had diverged significantly from the outside world.

"I didn’t bring measuring equipment, but a rough estimate suggests it’s at least over five times the time. They’ve been ’missing’ for 300 years, and considering the passage from the gap to this place and the equilibrium value, it’s preliminarily estimated they’ve spent at least over 1100 years in the Nether Sea. Their natural lifespans wouldn’t exceed 300 years at most. Hence, inside should be corpses that are aged 800 years; the thought is mildly thrilling, isn’t it?"

With that, Zhao Chenlu pushed open the door.

A roaring gale rushed out to meet them.

Zhao Chenlu sidestepped without surprise, watching as a cloud of black dust scattered to the ground.

Carefully avoiding the dust, Zhao Chenlu flipped through a historical document detailing the exploration team, and said, "Judging by the volume of this dust, this should be He Hongrui?"

Wang Jiu glanced at it, "There’s a large amount of metallic elements, it’s indeed Deputy Captain He Hongrui who reforged a Vajra Body."

"The Vajra Body can’t withstand thousand-year sea winds of the Nether Sea either." Zhao Chenlu sighed, "In that case, it seems there might be no valuable data within the ship either?"

"Not necessarily." Wang Jiu pondered for a moment, as the White Sword slowly floated toward the passage inside. "Be careful, don’t damage the cabin."

"Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of experience with this kind of corpse-collection work."