Hai Dafu was speaking when he was suddenly interrupted by a panicked voice: "Captain, something terrible has happened! Chen Jinshui is dead! You must come quickly!"
Bang!
Upon hearing this bad news, Hai Dafu's face turned ashen. He kicked the stool aside and rushed out of the room.
A moment later, a large crowd gathered around the mast on the deck, and in the middle of the crowd lay a stiff corpse with a strange smile on its face.
At this moment, everyone present was filled with unease, their faces showing a variety of expressions, including panic, gloom, and anxiety.
After carefully examining the body, Hai Dafu's expression turned even more grim.
Based on his more than 100 years of experience, the Jinshui brothers died by severing their own heart meridians, and it was definitely not murder.
Another suicide!
Hai Dafu stood up and asked everyone, "Was there anything unusual about Jinshui before he died?"
Immediately, a tall, burly man said in a panic, "Jinshui wanted to jump into the sea earlier, but after I stopped him, he... he suddenly laughed, a chilling laugh, and then he severed his own heart meridian."
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Boss, let's get out of this awful place!"
"Yes! If we stay here any longer, everyone will die."
"Captain, please give me a straight answer!"
Faced with everyone's pleas, Hai Dafu said without hesitation, "Take the skeleton of the spirit whale onto the deck, and then we'll leave here immediately."
"OK!"
After a cheer, the crowd immediately began retrieving the spirit bones.
A quarter of an hour later, the Dafu, carrying the spirit whale bones, quickly sailed away from this sea area.
However, death seemed to have its sights set on this wealthy ship.
Even after leaving this sea area, suicides continue to occur.
Faced with unknown and bizarre events, cultivators seemed to become helpless mortals, dying one by one without warning.
The number of crew members on the Dafu ship dwindled rapidly.
In just one day, the original 36-person crew of Dafuhao had been reduced to 12.
Faced with such a perilous situation, Chen Lao Er reported the strangeness of the blue light flame to Hai Dafu two days ago, and didn't even bother to hide the astonishing "secret" of Xiao Tian Ling Jue.
Hai Dafu immediately called Zhao Sheng over to inquire.
Zhao Sheng immediately informed the captain of his theory that everyone who came into contact with the light would commit suicide.
Once this "window paper" was torn down, the "truth" was immediately revealed: "The ghostly blue flame is the murderer!"
After questioning all the survivors, Hai Dafu breathed a sigh of relief; none of the remaining people had ever touched the light flame.
This can be considered a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.
However, as the old saying goes, good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly!
Soon, the Dafu encountered another strange event.
As night fell, a thick fog suddenly rose over the sea.
The fog was so thick that the sea could not be seen beyond two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters).
To avoid losing its course, the Dafu immediately stopped and waited for the fog to clear.
The next day, as soon as the sun came out, the thick fog quickly dissipated, and the Dafu continued its journey home.
However, at night, thick fog suddenly enveloped the Dafu.
This is a bit strange, but encountering foggy weather while sailing is quite normal.
On the third day, the fog dissipated at sunrise. But by nightfall, the thick fog returned just in time.
On the fourth day,
The fifth day,
...
This situation continued for seven days in a row, and even the most carefree person began to notice something strange.
Calculating the distance, the Dafu's voyage over seven days covered more than three thousand nautical miles.
Logically speaking, they should have already left the foggy sea area, but...
Hai Dafu summoned all the survivors, including Zhao Sheng, Chen Lao Er, Hai Lan Er, and Li Mu.
Looking at everyone, he asked seriously, "What do you think the situation is like now?"
The group looked at each other, but no one spoke first.
Seeing this, Hai Dafu directly called out, "Li Mu, you speak."
Li Mu thought for a moment, then said with a serious expression, "Boss, we're probably lost!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts sank.
Just then, Zhao Sheng shook his head and said in a deep voice, "I think we've not only lost our way, but we've been going around in circles for the past seven days."
Hai Dafu's expression turned serious upon hearing this. "Xiao Tian, what evidence do you have to support your claim?"
Zhao Sheng pointed to the sea, "The evidence is underwater."
...
Half an hour later, Hai Dafu emerged from the water with an extremely gloomy expression.
He brought back terrible news: the ocean graveyard was right beneath their feet.
In other words, after seven days of wandering, the Dafu returned to its starting point.
As night fell, the Dafu ship, disregarding the fog, fled at full speed.
After a night, the sun rose and the fog dissipated. Hai Dafu dived back into the sea and then surfaced with an even more gloomy expression.
Two months have passed in the blink of an eye, and the Dafu is still stuck in this sea area.
That day, Hai Dafu gathered everyone together and announced something.
"I'm going to explore that pure Yin spiritual vein. Who among you wants to come with me?"
No sooner had the words been spoken than someone stepped forward.
"Wow!"
Count me in!
"We should have gone a long time ago. Heh heh, the bold die while the timid starve!"
After these statements, as many as eight out of the twelve people were willing to go.
However, Zhao Sheng was not among these people.
Zhao Sheng had his own plans; after all, he could cultivate anywhere.
Now that he has a ship full of spirit whale meat and no shortage of cultivation resources, his most important task is to improve his cultivation level; everything else can wait.
While Zhao Sheng remained silent, Hai Dafu glared at his daughter and said in a deep voice, "Lan'er, you are not allowed to go!"
Hailan'er said coquettishly, "Father, I want to go."
Hai Dafu replied without hesitation, "If I say no, then no!"
Hailan'er wanted to argue a bit more, but her father waved his hand to shut her up.
After careful consideration, Hai Dafu decided to leave half of the people on the ship, and the others who were not afraid of death would follow him.
Thump, thump!
Ripples spread across the sea, and the figures of Hai Dafu and his six companions quickly disappeared beneath the waves.
Hailan watched longingly as everyone dived into the sea.
At this moment, Li Mu walked up behind her and comforted her, "Lan'er, don't worry! The boss will be back soon."
Hailan'er asked hopefully, "Uncle Mu, is what you're saying true?"
"Of course, don't forget that your father is a Foundation Establishment Level 6 cultivator."
However, a day passed, and Hai Dafu and the others did not return.
Two days,
Three days
Four days later, Hai Dafu and the others were still nowhere to be found.
Li Mu's expression changed at this point.
As agreed beforehand, they would send back messages promptly, regardless of whether there were any new discoveries.
But what's going on now that they've disappeared without a trace?
Another day passed, and when the sun rose again from the horizon, Hailan'er finally couldn't wait any longer.
On the deck, Hailan'er, her face streaked with tears, cried out in a sobbing voice, "Uncle Mu, let me go! I need to find my father!"
She struggled several times to go into the sea, but could not break free from Li Mu's iron grip.
Li Mu said coldly, "Going now will not help. All we can do now is wait."
"Let me go! Let me go!"
As they were talking, Zhao Sheng came out of the cabin and happened to see the two arguing.
Although he was unwilling to admit it, he was probably in grave danger for Hai Dafu and the others.
Zhao Sheng stepped forward and struck Hai Lan'er on the back of the neck with a palm strike, knocking her unconscious.
Zhao Sheng caught her limp body and looked at Li Mu, saying, "Cangtou, I'll take her down to rest."
With an approving look, Li Mu instructed, "Keep a close eye on her for me, and make sure she doesn't do anything foolish!"
After Zhao Sheng nodded, he suddenly asked, "Cangtou, what should we do if the captain doesn't come back?"
"What should we do? Let's just take it one step at a time!" Li Mu turned to look at the shimmering sea, his expression wistful.