40. The ship came to a halt.

Tu Lixian led them to pay their respects to Elder Yang. After the laughter subsided, a heavy gloom settled over them. The crystalline dew hanging from the corners of Qi Lingshan’s crescent-moon eyes felt as if it were tugging at everyone’s heartstrings.

Then there was Pu Qingyue; the mere thought of Elder Yang’s kindly smile was enough to make her break down completely.

Once the memorial was over, the group returned to the wooden shed on the deck to rest.

"Junior Sister... I never imagined Fan Yijun had been possessed by an evil spirit," Tu Lixian said with a complex expression. Their laboratory was now down to only three people. He paused, then added, "It is all the fault of Huang Qiushan and Huang Dongshan. We trusted the wrong people; otherwise, we wouldn't have been reduced to this."

"What’s done is done. We must look forward," Qi Lingshan said. After everything she had been through, she no longer showed any signs of weakness, displaying instead a resolve to face the challenges ahead.

*She has changed,* Tu Lixian mused inwardly, struck by how much she had transformed.

...

Three more days passed. The Ghost Ship finally crossed the legendary Ruomu Divine Tree. They caught a glimpse of what this mythical tree truly looked like.

During these past few days, the woman in the wedding dress and the purple-clad girl had not appeared, as if they had vanished into thin air.

Lin Fan did not slacken his cultivation, for he did not know what they would face next. Could there be entities even more formidable than the woman in the wedding dress or the girl in purple? Everything remained unknown.

Over ten days had passed, and their original food supplies were exhausted. They had to rely on consuming Golden Crow blood to sustain their vitality. Fortunately, there was an abundance of it—enough to last for a year.

That day, Lin Fan watched the sunset on the horizon. Ever since crossing the Ruomu Divine Tree, the distinction between day and night had become clear. A thousand-mile stretch of red clouds painted the sky in shades of orange and yellow, creating a scene as breathtaking as a masterpiece painting.

After a dozen days of relative peace, the group’s tense nerves began to relax.

Suddenly—

"Brother Fan, come quickly! There are coffins floating beneath the Blood Sea..." Chen Cunyuan’s voice rang out from a distance.

Lin Fan looked toward the sea. The original "Blood Sea" was gone, though they still habitually called it that. He saw coffins drifting across the surface. They were of all shapes and sizes—some dozens of meters long and over ten meters high, their massive black stone surfaces covered in green moss; others were as small as two meters. As far as the eye could see, the water was densely packed with coffins.

"What kind of creatures were these for? They’re as big as houses; they certainly aren't human. We must have reached some kind of dock."

At that moment, the Ghost Ship’s speed began to drop, slowing until it nearly came to a complete halt.

"The ship has stopped?!"

Everyone could hardly believe it. The Ghost Ship had stopped? After traveling with them for over a month, they had assumed it would never stop, yet it had ground to a halt so abruptly.

Chen Cunyuan and Qin Fen looked ahead, but there was no dock—only an endless expanse of floating coffins.

Just then—

"Whoosh!"

A swift, spiraling attack struck toward Lin Fan. It moved with the speed of thunder and lightning, aiming directly for the space between his brows.

"Clang." Lin Fan drew his sword to parry. With a surge of spiritual energy, he shattered the attack with a single strike.

Over the past ten days, Lin Fan had been opening one meridian per day, and the number of silver meridians in his body had reached an astonishing fifty-eight. He swatted the attack aside with ease.

At the same time, the woman in the wedding dress reappeared. Her flawless, jade-like hand pressed toward Lin Fan’s chest, a terrifying surge of spiritual energy erupting from her palm, possessing the power to crumble mountains.

"Hmph!" Lin Fan struck again. This blow was even faster; had the woman not pulled back quickly, he would have nearly severed her entire hand.

He had not sought them out, yet they had come for him.

The woman in the wedding dress frowned slightly. "You’ve opened over fifty silver meridians? No wonder your strength has increased so quickly. I underestimated you. I should have killed you back at the Blood Stele."

When she first encountered him at the Blood Stele, he had only just opened a single spring. In just one month, his strength had surged this much. If she had killed him then, the odds would have been much better.

Lin Fan did not waste words. As he swung his sword, he threw a punch at the woman. The force of the blow echoed like a war drum, fiercer than anything he had shown before, carrying a potent, aggressive momentum.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

The woman retreated several steps, then leaped off the Ghost Ship, which caught him by surprise.

Looking down, he saw her landing on the floating coffins, her figure flickering like a star before vanishing from their sight.

Suddenly, Lin Fan’s expression shifted, turning to one of extreme rage. Aside from the woman in the wedding dress, someone else had left the ship: Fan Yijun. She was carrying the unconscious Qi Lingshan over her shoulder. Before leaving, she looked back and smiled. "I’ll take care of your senior sister for you. The Ghost Ship has reached its destination. If you want her back, follow me—if you have the guts."

Fan Yijun seemed entirely unconcerned, as if she were baiting him to follow. With that, she leaped away and vanished from view.

"Lin Fan... Dr. Qi has been taken..."

Qin Fen ran out from the wooden shed. Just moments ago, Fan Yijun had appeared out of nowhere, struck him down with a single palm, and snatched the unconscious Qi Lingshan.

The woman in the wedding dress must have conspired with Fan Yijun—one to distract him, the other to seize the hostage. It was this that had caught Lin Fan off guard.

"I know," Lin Fan said, his eyes flashing with cold light. He longed to give chase immediately and kill her, but he turned to Chen Cunyuan and the others. "Dr. Qi has been kidnapped. I cannot sit idly by, but I am worried about you all..."

"I’ll go with you," Chen Cunyuan said without hesitation. "I’ve been practicing the combat moves you taught me every day for the past month. My punch is at least a few thousand pounds now; I can definitely help you."

After Chen Cunyuan’s physical mutation, he possessed immense strength, and his lantern-sized fists were devastating.

"The Ghost Ship stopped suddenly, and I can't be sure what kind of place this is. Besides, Chu Yucheng and Pu Qingyue need protection. You should stay here," Lin Fan said, turning to Qin Fen. "You, come with me."

"Understood!" Qin Fen agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

Lin Fan looked at the rest of the group. "Rest assured, I won’t abandon you. At most, I will return in five days, regardless of whether this is land or not."

"Understood. Take care of yourself."

Chen Cunyuan, Chu Yucheng, Pu Qingyue, and Tu Lixian stood by the ship’s railing, watching them depart. They felt a mix of anticipation and anxiety.

They would have to leave the ship eventually; remaining on board forever would only lead to a stalemate. The ship stopping was, perhaps, a good omen.

"Splash—"

Lin Fan and Qin Fen landed steadily on the floating coffins, stepping across them to give chase. Soon, their figures were swallowed by the underworld mist.

At the same time, in the deepest part of the Ghost Ship, where the mist swirled in absolute darkness, a creature slowly lifted its head. It peered out at the floating coffins, a deep, resonant voice echoing through the gloom: "Have we arrived?"

The words sounded like a soliloquy. No one knew what manner of creature it was... and no one knew of its existence.