The ocean bordering the eastern side of Great Wei was known as the Eastern Sea. Less than thirty kilometers from Great Wei's shores lay a vast chain of islands. Humans, sea clans, barbarians, and even ancient yaos all lived there together in chaotic coexistence.

As evening approached and the tide rolled in, pale waves crashed endlessly against the shoreline. Lin Zheyu stood at the edge of the coast, letting the icy sea wind buffet against him as he gazed toward the distant horizon.

"The spiritual qi is getting denser and denser!"

After leaving the territory of Great Wei, Lin Zheyu could clearly feel the spiritual qi in the air growing denser. Correspondingly, the demonic qi within it also increased.

As the salty sea breeze swept over him amidst the rich spiritual qi, Lin Zheyu felt a faint sense of discomfort. Martial artists were naturally less affected by demonic qi to begin with, and since he had never opened the Bridge of Heaven and Earth, the influence on him was even weaker than on ordinary martial artists.

Even so, he still felt mildly uncomfortable here. The demonic qi intertwined with the spiritual qi continuously seeped into his body, steadily consuming his blood qi.

Most cultivators carried treasures capable of isolating demonic qi and purifying spiritual qi whenever they left the grotto heaven realms. However, Lin Zheyu possessed no such treasure, which was why the discomfort felt more obvious to him. Still, it was nothing serious. It felt more like being bitten by mosquitoes at times. Annoying, but hardly harmful. After adjusting to it for a while, he simply stopped paying attention to it.

Information regarding the Eastern Sea surfaced in Lin Zheyu's mind, and an amused look appeared on his face. "Chaotic Star Sea... What a coincidence. This place is also called the Chaotic Star Sea."

The islands, thirty kilometers from the eastern coastline, were scattered densely across the sea like stars strewn across the heavens. Combined with the utter chaos of the region, the area had earned the name Chaotic Star Sea. Cultivators and mortals lived side by side here, while humans and foreign races coexisted in disorder.

Lin Zheyu took out the final tracking compass. The positioning of Shi Weiping, the Martial Alliance traitor, was far more precise than that of the other two targets.

Before joining the Martial Alliance, one not only had to pass the Heart Questioning Trial and swear a Great Dao oath, but also leave behind either essence blood or an item that could be used to track one's location. The price of betrayal was unimaginably severe.

Lin Zheyu truly could not understand what benefits could possibly have driven Shi Weiping to betray the Martial Alliance.

Suddenly, a burly man burst out from the turbulent sea near the shore. Bare-chested, with sharply defined muscles, he radiated powerful and vigorous blood qi.

"A yao martial artist?" Lin Zheyu glanced at the man, his expression shifting slightly.

He sensed traces of a yao martial artist aura from the man. Yet after examining him more carefully, Lin Zheyu realized the burly man cultivated only ordinary martial arts. The demonic aura within him was something he had been born with.

As his perception spread outward, Lin Zheyu quickly understood the reason. All living creatures near the coastline, whether humans, fierce beasts, or marine life, carried traces of a demonic aura within them.

The burly man hoisted a massive blue sea fish over his shoulder and called out to Lin Zheyu, "You're from somewhere else, aren't you? Night's about to fall. The seaside gets dangerous after dark. I'd advise you to leave quickly."

Lin Zheyu smiled and cupped his fists toward the man. "Many thanks for the warning. I understand."

As darkness descended, the demonic qi in the air grew increasingly active, faintly showing signs of overwhelming the spiritual qi.

The burly man returned the greeting. Seeing that Lin Zheyu had no intention of leaving, he stopped trying to persuade him further and departed with the giant fish in hand. Watching the man's retreating figure, Lin Zheyu found the situation rather interesting. Misfortune and fortune truly went hand in hand.

Although the people living along the coast carried denser demonic aura within their bodies than those elsewhere, years of nourishment from the rich spiritual qi had also made their physiques far stronger than the people of Great Wei. Their martial cultivation aptitude was generally superior as well.

After pouring powerful blood qi into the compass and confirming Shi Weiping's location once more, Lin Zheyu smiled faintly. He stepped forward into the air and calmly strode across the sea.

"Holy shit, an immortal!"

"What's there to be shocked about? You've never seen the world."

"Exactly. You must be new around here."

A burst of noisy chatter rose from the shoreline. Because of the dense spiritual qi, the Chaotic Star Sea attracted many cultivators, and flying immortals were far more common here than in the Great Wei. The locals who had lived here for years were long since used to such sights.

The sea churned violently as powerful beasts emerged endlessly from the depths below. A massive tentacle suddenly shot out from the deep sea, whipping toward Lin Zheyu to coil around him.

A saber flash swept through the air, and the gigantic tentacle was severed in an instant. The two halves crashed into the ocean, sending towering waves surging across the sea.

A Foundation Establishment realm sea beast! There are way too many powerful sea beasts in these waters...

Lin Zheyu looked at the enormous creature thrashing beneath the sea and was inwardly astonished.

In barely a dozen kilometers, he had already encountered three sea beasts above the Martial Innate realm. Every one of them contained dense demonic qi within their bodies. The demonic and spiritual qis had fused, turning them into creatures resembling half-demonic monsters.

At night, as the demonic qi became increasingly active, the sea beasts grew correspondingly more violent.

"Hm? These runes... The runes condensed inside these sea beasts seem somewhat similar to the ones on my body."

Lin Zheyu's expression shifted slightly as delight surfaced on his face.

The golden runes on his body were demonic patterns produced through cultivating demon arts, then further condensed under the combined effects of the golden energy within him and the immense restorative power of Origin Force. Under normal circumstances, Lin Zheyu would never have been able to cultivate such runes.

Yet within these sea beasts, he had discovered rune imprints that shared certain similarities with his own golden runes. The realization filled him with delight.

Shi Weiping is extremely skilled at hiding. While I'm staying in the Chaotic Star Sea, I can use the time to study the rune imprints inside these sea beasts.

At first glance, the two seemed very similar. But upon closer inspection, the runes inside the sea beasts merely resembled Lin Zheyu's golden runes while still possessing major differences. Even so, studying the runes condensed within the sea beasts would greatly help him understand the golden runes on his own body and pave the way toward creating the third stage of the Primordial Golden Body.

Suddenly, three enormous tentacles came crashing toward Lin Zheyu with terrifying speed. They moved so quickly they were nearly impossible to see, appearing only as black blurs tearing through the air.

"Perfect timing!" Seeing the incoming attack, Lin Zheyu grinned. His figure swayed slightly before vanishing from the spot in an instant.

The next moment, three icy saber lights slashed out from the void itself. Wherever the saber light passed, the terrifying fluctuations it released caused tiny cracks to appear in the surrounding space.

Under the razor-sharp blade, the massive tentacles were chopped into countless writhing segments that twisted violently as they fell toward the sea. This time, however, Lin Zheyu did not allow them to drop into the ocean. After finally managing to cut them off, he naturally intended to keep them for proper study. Even if he failed to discover anything useful, they would still make for excellent seafood.

A furious roar echoed from the depths of the sea. After losing four tentacles in succession, the giant beast beneath the ocean seemed to realize how troublesome Lin Zheyu was. With another enraged howl, it rapidly retreated into the deep sea.

Lin Zheyu watched the creature disappear with some regret in his eyes. The deep ocean was incomparably dangerous, and fighting underwater placed enormous restrictions on his combat strength. He had no desire to recklessly venture down there, especially at night when demonic qi was at its most active.

"Forget it. There'll be plenty of opportunities later. There's no need to rush."

Lin Zheyu shook his head slightly before stepping forward and speeding toward his original destination.