“So those ships were all essence fusion objects?” asked Nyla, who was inspecting the vessel with curious eyes.

“I guess so. Anyhow, a ship this big requires about ten thousand spirit stones to make it to the other side of the lake, and I’ve lost enough wealth today. I’ve already added half, so would you guys mind contributing a bit?”

Nolan threw a spatial bag at her that contained ten thousand ordinary spirit stones, the equivalent of a million golden cards. These days he didn’t think twice about parting with such a fortune, since the Divine Spirit Fountain was basically an endless well of wealth.

“Alright,” said May, grasping the wheel in an uncertain manner. “Usually I can just control it with my spiritual sense, but since I can’t do that right now…” She fumbled around for a few moments, but failed to figure out how to operate the ship. “Let’s see, maybe if I move this lever here?”

Nolan hurried over to her side and quickly found a wooden button on the backside of the wheel. As if a magic spell had been cast on the masts, the sails all unfurled of their own accord as the ropes that bound them disappeared into nothingness, showing that they had been created by a basic construction arrayment. The ship lurched as soon as he clicked the button, at which point it shot forward at a startlingly rapid pace, tearing apart the dock that it was still tethered to. Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Meadowsview, the countless thick, musty ropes that had kept the ship in place hadn’t been created by any arrayments, which resulted in the destruction of one of their larger docks. As Nolan and his friends sailed away, flailing pieces of fractured wood could be seen trailing behind the vessel.

Evidently the lever that May had moved controlled the speed that the ship would sail at, and she had unwittingly adjusted it to its maximum output. Both he and May tumbled backward and crashed into the wall behind them, the others now hidden from view by the surrounding mist as they also suffered from the sudden movements that rocked the ship. Thankfully the vessel had been made from some extremely sturdy wood, for an ordinary one of the same size would surely have been damaged after so many violent collisions with the churning waves that defined the day.

Since his spiritual sense was currently suppressed, Nolan was quite disoriented as he lay beneath May, who had landed atop him in an extremely lewd position and was constantly pressing into him every time the ship lurched or shook. While it might have looked pleasant, he could hardly breathe, and thanks to the effects of the formation he was no longer able to use his inner energies to keep his blood oxygenized.

“Can you get up?” he tried to say, but his smothered words brought about a strange, high-pitched reaction from May, who was currently sitting on his face. The initial fall had kicked up May’s robes in a way that assured as direct contact as possible, with only a thin pair of lacy underwear doing a poor job of separating his face from her most private areas. With no other choice, he grasped her butt and pushed her away from his face as he made a desperate bid to suck in a breath. In doing so, he was afforded an in-depth view of all that had just been smothering him.

Hey, Uncle Grey. You seeing this? She was wearing the lewd pair of pine-coloured underwear that the old ghost had made for her with Jun’s help, which he found pretty hilarious.

Trust me, dear disciple. I am.

He glanced at his hands as May excused herself and climbed off of him, carefully heading over to the steering wheel to lower the lever to a reasonable setting. Man, I was right up in there. Having been caught off guard, he couldn’t help but wonder if May was secretly a pervert or something. He was positive that a few of the times that she’d pressed into him had been intentional, a thought that momentarily made him happy as hell.

“To think that it only took that much to knock me down,” muttered May, who appeared to have already forgotten about what had just happened. “I don’t like being this weak. Not out here.” She glanced out at the wild waters, hardly any of which was visible. Slowly but surely, they were calming down.

Was it a legit mistake, or is she just trying to play it off as an accident?

Putting all unnecessary thoughts aside, Nolan couldn’t help but agree with her. The loss of his spiritual sense left him feeling naked, rendering him unable to respond to things like the sudden change in footing that he’d just experienced. He regained his balance as soon as the ship slowed down, at which point the others came over to check up on them.

“Are you guys okay?”

He assured Sean that he was fine, since his body was still as sturdy as ever despite the fact that his cultivation was sealed. “Just lost my balance for a sec there.”

“I don’t blame you. It feels so weird without my spiritual sense, kind of like I can’t see things properly anymore.”

“Yeah,” agreed Esteban, “I feel like I lost one of my eyeballs.”

The white-haired woman seemed uneasy, though she didn’t bother to engage with any of them and simply found a secluded place to sit nearby to the mainmast.

Since they had effectively slipped away from the sect and were impossible to detect while within the seemingly endless sea of mist, everybody that had contributed to the recent flight from the Desolate Spirit Tower took advantage of their current respite to find different spots on the deck where they could sneak in some rest. As the only person with even a vague idea of where they currently were, May manned the helm while the others collected themselves. Nolan didn’t miss the nervous glances that she kept casting in all directions, as if they might suddenly face a source of extreme danger at any moment. When her behavior persisted for nearly half an hour, he broke away from Nyla and Lyra, who he’d just been talking to, and strode over to her with an impatient look on his face.

“Alright, what’s up? You keep sketching out, so you’re clearly worried about something. What is it?”

“That’s…” She glanced at the others, who had quieted down to hear her response. Her beautiful complexion was mired with worry, and she was visibly uncertain about how to word her explanation. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to worry you all, not after all we’ve just been through.”

“When are we ever not worrying?” These days, the only time that Nolan had any peace of mind was when he was isolated in the abandoned world of Nia. “What is it? The less we know the harder it’ll be to deal with anything that might happen.”

“Well, it’s not just one thing.” A slender hand swept through the air, motioning at the mist around them. “Of all the times for the formation to be activated, it had to happen during a thunderstorm. Not only were the clouds converted into mist, but the energies they contained served as fuel for the formation. That means that the formation is as powerful as possible right now.

“On top of that, this mist only works against humans and regular creatures, but has no effect on demonic cores.”

“So if a beast has demonized, then they’ll be unaffected by the formation?” said Nyla. “Are there many demonic beasts in these waters?”

“That’s the problem,” sighed May. “There’s a heavy presence of Origin Energy at a certain area in this lake. Any creature that spends more than a few weeks in its vicinity will demonize, without exception. Even humans will lose their minds after a certain point.”

Sean ran over to the railing and looked around with angst. “What, so you’re telling us there’s a ton of demonic beasts in this lake?”

“Not exactly,” said May. “There are a good number, but the lake is vast. The chances of running into some aren’t too high, especially the ones strong enough to damage this ship. What worries me is… Hmm, have you all heard of the spirit of the lake?”

Nolan recalled the story that May had told him back in Elmer, when she had been disguised as the girl named Avril. The spirit of the lake had killed everyone in her hometown of Shellson, including her family, due to something that the white-haired woman and the Falling Rain Sect’s current sect master had done. Not knowing enough, he kept his mouth shut like the rest of his friends.

“It’s a very powerful Genesis-staged beast that demonized ten years ago, just a short ways away from my hometown. Oddly enough it retained its consciousness, and it generally keeps to itself as it steadily absorbs Origin Energy in that special area that I mentioned.”