Dual Cultivation God Returns

Chapter 618 On the horizon

There was a terrace on top of a slightly less tall and wider tower of the ship, large pieces of white cloth put over wooden frames above it to provide a comfortable shade from the sun, and vibrant green plants planted in pots everywhere.

This terrace was specially furnished and prepared for the ladies of the Dao Family to comfortably spend their time during long cruises as they could all sit together or spread throughout it in small groups.

After all, with Wu Long aboard the ship there was no storm or bad weather for them, as they voyaged under a perpetually perfect sky.

Ever since the last earthquakes that shook the Three Continents, the radius affected by the anomaly of the Central Sea has been reduced, and the coastal line became more accessible.

Of course, that did not make it safe as Demonic Sea Beasts were also able to surface from the deep depths, so only Treasure Ships like this one were able to traverse it.

Occasionally, a vortex would appear in the sea water around the ship, as a Demonic Sea Beast would be caught up in it and then hauled back to the depths of the sea by the current, as Wu Long didn't bother with Demonic Cores of small fry like this, only making sure they did not disturb the voyage.

Though sometimes, when the beast was of a higher tier, it was allowed to approach so that it could become target practice for Feng Yi, or experience in hunting for Cao Mei's mercenaries.

After leaving the coastal line of the Wood Spirit Continent and entering the Eastern Sea, however, the number of high-tier beasts immediately dropped so the surroundings became completely peaceful.

Luo Mingyu and Nie Xiwang were busy the whole time, locked in long discussions.

Their conversations made Gong Cui and Wu Mengqi sleepy, most others disinterested or bored, while outright causing headache for Feng Yi and Bi Rui.

For the two, however, those discussions were seemingly incredibly exciting, as even while keeping their peaceful and calm tones of voices and demeanors, there was a glint in both of their eyes.

Thus the two were sitting at a slight distance from the rest, and only Xue Bing, Wei Lan, Song Lingfei and Yu Huan were quietly listening without participating, sitting by their side.

Meanwhile, Gong Cui was playing a new piece she just finished learning for a larger group that included all other members of the Dao Family and Wu Long.

As he was listening to the music, Wu Long lightly closed his eyes with a smile, savoring the feeling that the notes carried.

The gentle sea breeze then changed directions which should have muffled the sound, but Gong Cui skillfully manipulated the Sound Qi that brought the music stably to them.

At that moment, as Wu Long felt the notes travel across the wind, he had a realization.

He knew this feeling, so he tenaciously gripped onto it, not letting it slip out of his grasp.

He knew the fleeting nature of it so he concentrated on pondering it further and explore it, until finally, a new Dao Rune manifested itself within him, and as if pulled by gravity was then attracted to the Core within his Dantian, finding its very own orbit around it.

The new Dao Rune, which Wu Long recognized as a Sound Rune, was seemingly influenced by the others that were already under his control, as their orbiting around his Core created something akin to a field of force.

That was what allowed him to instantly take control of the Cold Rune before, when he did not have a way to even begin approaching its control, and now allowed him to effortlessly make a connection with the Sound Rune as well.

With this he finally confirmed that his progress with the Dao Runes had a snowball effect.

The more Dao Runes he manifested and controlled, the easier it became for him to first grasp a hint of the Rune's existence, as his perception toward them expanded much like with weapon mastery that he told Bi Rui about, then contain it within himself as it no longer was able to escape under the influence of that 'field', and then gain control over that new Rune as the other Runes he already controlled exuded a combined influence on the new one.

In return, however, the threshold of his understanding of, and actual insight into the Dao Rune, in order to manifest and then use it, was greatly lowered by this simplification of the initial process.

It now required only superficial, surface level understanding of its underlying principles to freely wield the Dao Rune.

It did not mean he could never gain such deeper insight after he got control of the Rune, but it represented a dangerous trap.

After all, it was quite easy to slip into the habit of not completely understanding the power of the Runes and abandon deeper contemplation of them when his control over their powers expanded seemingly on their own.

It was, however, a trap that was childish in front of Wu Long, who had a habit of always gaining deep understanding of whatever power he gained, and loved to pick apart whatever knowledge he obtained.

This was the reason he was a little uncomfortable when he first started using the Slaughter God Tyrant Vortex Art and the Sublime Heavenly Sequence.

Even if both techniques gave him tremendous power, he could not feel comfortable using them without understanding where that power came from and how it worked.

Thus most of his efforts after starting to cultivate them were pointed at contemplating those two techniques, which brought on the vast improvement he gained in just one month and a half after the battle with Gu Zhen.

The same was with the Dao Runes, as he immediately started contemplating the newly obtained Sound Rune while still listening to the music played by Gong Cui that brought him the initial inspiration.

In fact, Wu Long was not the only one in the state of inspiration and realization, as all of the ladies sitting around were making rapid progress in their respective areas of expertise. Even Luo Mingyu and Nie Xiwang sitting slightly further away stopped their conversation and closed their eyes, entranced by the music.

And more than anyone, it was Gong Cui who was in the deepest state of sudden enlightenment, as it was her who started it all.

When Wu Long closed his eyes with a blissful expression on his face while listening to her performance, it reflected in the eyes of the young musician who gained sudden insight into the Music Dao, entering a trance-like state.

And as a Music Dao cultivator, entering sudden enlightenment during a performance deeply affected anyone who could hear it, thus allowing everyone around to gain tremendous benefits.

*~...twangggg~*

The last note of the performance fell, still lingering in the silence that came after as only the distant sounds of waves, and the gentle flapping of the pieces of cloth above their heads reached the ears of everyone on the terrace.

*clap* *clap, clap*...

After some time, as everyone finally finished savoring the magic of this performance and their eyes were open again, a clap resounded, followed by some more, and then a long round of applause filled the terrace as the maiden sitting before her Zither blushed with a happy and at the same time bashful smile.

"Land!"

As they were showering Gong Cui with praise and words of admiration, a distant cry resounded from the front part of the ship, turning the gazes of everyone to the horizon, where a line different from the usual sea slowly started expanding to the sides.

"The Island Kingdom of Lihai..."

Cao Mei ran up to the edge of the terrace, placing both hands on the railing and pushing up to take a better look, a whisper full of excitement coming from her lips.

This child-like adventurous spirit and excitement at visiting new lands brought warm smiles on the faces of Wu Long, Cao Xiang, Wei Lan and Sui Luxiao, while some slightly less intense, but still filled with the wonder of new lands expressions appeared all around.