CHAPTER 279: CHAPTER 279: THE FRACTURED SEA, FERRYMAN

Though the Eternal Wood Emperor had burned his origin power and was weakened, he was still a Core God. Even with Douglas’s breakthrough to Stage 10, he was no match.

Johnnie never expected Douglas to break the space seal and escape.

The Eternal Wood Emperor looked at Johnnie, face grave, and said."Stage 10 is strong, but it’s still not a match for a Domain. However, Stage 10 experts carry fate’s blessing and can draw a bit on the laws of Heaven. They can force open my space seal. Under normal conditions, I could still suppress it. But that guy’s space artifact is very strong. It even carries a hint of time power, so it can slip through my seal with ease."

Blessed by fate? Laws of Heaven?

Johnnie frowned. Fate tied to lucky chances, and the laws of Heaven were the strongest of all laws.

"Heaven’s Chosen!"

He thought of Douglas’s other identity. The many lucky chances he got must be tied to his Heaven’s Chosen status.

As for Johnnie, he was not a Heaven’s Chosen. He was the Heavenslayer, reborn.

His fast growth came from knowledge of his past life.

And he had a feeling he was stealing Douglas’s Heaven’s Chosen luck. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have obtained the Map of Heaven and Earth.

But it was still far from enough.

If he wanted to protect Earth, he had to become much stronger. He also had to seize the ancient artifacts on Douglas.

Especially the Celestial Mirror and the Demon-Refining Pot—both were vital to him.

Johnnie glanced at the Induction Compass in his hand. It had gone still.

Douglas and another expert who held an ancient artifact had both moved beyond its sensing range.

"Let’s go. To Dragon Island." Johnnie said. He stopped killing the dragon beasts and headed for the Fractured Sea, ready to enter Dragon Island.

With the merman leader guiding them, they wouldn’t get lost at sea.

The sea was calm as glass.

Johnnie and the others pushed on at full speed and reached the Fractured Sea three days later.

Rumble!

Ahead, dark clouds packed the sky. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and fierce winds whipped up towering waves. This was the Fractured Sea.

Johnnie’s face grew solemn. The black clouds stretched without end, like a giant beast ready to devour them.

All of Dragon Island was wrapped by this sea. To reach it, they had to pass through this thunderstorm zone.

"My lord, once you cross this storm, you can enter Dragon Island. I can only take you this far." the merman leader said respectfully. Staring at the storm ahead, he looked terrified and didn’t dare go on.

Johnnie nodded and didn’t force him. He let the merman leave.

"Let’s go." He led the way toward the storm.

Boom, boom...

The wind howled. Waves surged. The heavy, gloomy clouds kept rumbling, like the end of the world. Its power was no weaker than the heavenly tribulation for becoming a god.

"What a strange place." the Eternal Wood Emperor said, frowning at the storm.

There was also a special suppressive force here. Flight didn’t work.

They stood on the sea’s surface, all with grim faces.

"Senior, even you aren’t sure you can get through?" Johnnie asked.

He had thought that after so many heavenly tribulations, with his body tempered, he could cross this storm. Now he saw he was wrong. This storm was bizarre, even more terrifying than a heavenly tribulation.

The Eternal Wood Emperor shook his head. "The outer edge can’t threaten me. But if we go deep, I may not be able to withstand it."

That made things hard.

Johnnie looked at the storm before them. It went on forever. If they couldn’t cross it, they couldn’t enter Dragon Island at all.

Nalorin Sylvia said."Master, should we look around elsewhere? Many experts came for the Dragon Pulse secret realm. We can’t have met none of them. Maybe there’s another way through the storm."

She felt there might be a weak point somewhere in it.

Johnnie nodded. For now, that was their only choice.

Just as they were about to leave, a voice came from the storm zone.

"Are you heading to Dragon Island?" It was an old woman, standing on a tiny skiff. The boat rocked hard in the storm, looking like it would flip any second, yet each time a wave hit, it settled back down and held steady.

Johnnie frowned. The old woman felt... strange.

"Senior, can you tell what her level is?" he asked the Eternal Wood Emperor in a low voice.

The Eternal Wood Emperor shook his head slightly, looking puzzled. "She doesn’t feel very strong to me, but that skiff is odd. It shouldn’t be weaker than an ancient artifact."

Ancient artifact?

Johnnie took out the Induction Compass. It didn’t react, so it probably wasn’t an ancient artifact.

The old woman smiled, deep wrinkles gathered on her brow. "I am the Fractured Sea’s ferryman. I can take you through this storm."

Johnnie was wary. They wanted to cross the storm, and a ferryman just happened to show up? Way too convenient.

"What’s the price?" he asked.

"Free." she said, still smiling.

"Free?" Johnnie grew even more cautious. He didn’t believe in free rides.

"We don’t take free rides." he said, turning to leave.

"Wait." The old woman quickly stopped him. "You’re a man of principle, I see. Then I won’t hide it. To board, you must hand over half of the treasures on you."

Half their treasures?

So she did have an angle.

Johnnie frowned. "Even if we agree, how would you know it’s really half?"

Her smile widened. She pointed at the skiff. "I don’t know. But it does. Once we enter the storm, only by offering half your treasures can we pass safely. If not, the skiff can’t bear our weight, and we’ll all die in the storm."

"A boat that special?" Johnnie glanced at it. "I’m afraid this little skiff couldn’t even hold half of what I carry."

Her eyes lit up, but there was no greed in them. She said calmly."Seems you’re all quite wealthy. Since you asked the price, the terms change: ten thousand Spiritual Stones per person, and I’ll take you through safely."

"You take Spiritual Stones?" Johnnie asked in surprise.

Spiritual Stones were precious to others, but to him they were nothing.

Inside the Map of Heaven and Earth there was a huge Spiritual Stone vein. They had mined it for a long time and still hadn’t exhausted it. Conservatively, there were hundreds of millions of Spiritual Stones left.

Thirty thousand Spiritual Stones were a drop in the bucket for him.

Johnnie stayed cautious and asked."Granny, you won’t go back on your word once we reach the storm, will you?"

"No. We ferrymen keep our promises." the old woman said, full of conviction.

Johnnie fell silent and exchanged looks with Nalorin Sylvia and the Eternal Wood Emperor.

Both of them shook their heads helplessly. They had no way to cross the storm.

"Fine. I’ll trust you this once. Here are thirty thousand Spiritual Stones. Take us to Dragon Island." With a thought, Johnnie took out thirty thousand Spiritual Stones.

The old woman weighed them in her hand and said."Young man, that’s not enough."

"Not enough?" Johnnie’s face darkened. "Didn’t you say ten thousand Spiritual Stones per person?"

Her gaze turned deep as she stared at him, her smile growing wider. "It is ten thousand per person. But you also carry other life auras. I can sense over a million of them. Which means you owe another 1.3 million Spiritual Stones."

"Old hag, are you trying to extort us?" the Eternal Wood Emperor snapped.

Johnnie frowned. Could this old woman sense what was inside his Map of Heaven and Earth?

She glanced at the Eternal Wood Emperor, unfazed. "Small business, honest trade. If you don’t like it, you can hand over half your treasures instead."

"Master, does the Mountains and Rivers Realm have that many living beings?" Nalorin Sylvia asked in a low voice, thinking of the Map of Heaven and Earth.

She had entered the Map of Heaven and Earth many times and explored it on purpose. There shouldn’t be that many lives.

Johnnie was puzzled too. Was there some hidden secret in the Map of Heaven and Earth?

No—those were the Blood Spirits formed by the Crimson Soul Demon.

"I need a moment." Johnnie said.

He vanished, entered the Map of Heaven and Earth, and found the Crimson Soul Demon.

As expected, more than a million Blood Spirits had gathered here again.

So that old woman really could sense the life auras inside the Map of Heaven and Earth.

"The Crimson Soul Demon, only condense Blood Spirits when I tell you to." Johnnie warned. Then he used the Myriad Sword Technique and began slaughtering the Blood Spirits.

Countless sword lights flashed and fell like rain. Wherever they passed, Blood Spirits dropped in swaths.

The Crimson Soul Demon fell silent with fear, cursing Johnnie in his heart for being unreasonable.

Earlier he complained the Blood Spirits were forming too slowly; now he wouldn’t let him form them at all.

If he could beat Johnnie, he wouldn’t put up with this.

In less than half a day, the Blood Spirit army was wiped out. After making sure none had escaped, Johnnie had the Mechanical Golem clean up the field. With a thought, he exited the Map of Heaven and Earth and reappeared at the edge of the storm.

"Granny, how many Spiritual Stones do I need to pay now?" he asked calmly.

The old woman glanced at Johnnie, frowning. "Over a million Spiritual Stones should be nothing to you. But you still slaughtered over a million lives. You’re really ruthless."

Johnnie didn’t care.

She paused, then said."Now you only need to pay me ninety thousand Spiritual Stones."

Ninety thousand?

Johnnie was doubtful. There weren’t only nine living beings in the Map of Heaven and Earth. The Mechanical Golems alone numbered over ten thousand.

No, she probably can’t sense mechanical life.

Even so, there should be at least twelve life auras—and counting the dragon egg being nurtured, that made thirteen.

But she sensed only nine, which meant there were some people she couldn’t detect.