"New situation!? What is it?"
Fan Cheng straightened up, his expression grave.
The soldier replied truthfully, "It is said that strange items have been found floating on the Endless Sea. These are items never before seen in the Great Desolation, and their shapes are very peculiar."
Peculiar-shaped items?
Fan Cheng was filled with uncertainty and asked, "Take me to see them."
"Yes!" The soldier rose and led the way.
Soon, Fan Cheng and the副将 arrived at the coast of the Endless Sea.
The Endless Sea was vast and boundless, stretching as far as the eye could see. Layers of mist still clung to the surface of the sea, not yet fully dispersed.
"It's these things." The soldier pointed to several peculiar-shaped items on the ground.
Fan Cheng's gaze fixed on them, and his brow immediately furrowed.
These items were indeed very strange. Even with his extensive knowledge, he had never seen anything like them in the Great Desolation.
The strange objects on the ground looked like jars and bottles, but their shapes were unlike those found in the Great Desolation.
This was because these peculiar objects were brightly colored, made of strange materials, and bore peculiar text and patterns.
Fan Cheng wrapped his hand in spiritual energy and picked up a "jar" to examine it. He found that these "jars" were very fragile, thin, and made of a material he had never seen before. He also couldn't recognize the text on them.
"What in the world are these things? Did they drift over from the Endless Sea?" He looked in the direction of the Endless Sea, his heart filled with confusion.
Could it be that some kind of life existed on the other side of the Endless Sea?
"General, there is a glass bottle here, with a cork sealing the opening." The soldier protected his hand with spiritual energy and picked out a glass bottle from among the strange objects.
The glass bottle was transparent, and one could see a piece of paper inside, which was not waterlogged.
Fan Cheng took the glass bottle and examined it. He was very tempted to open it and see what was written on the paper, but in the end, he did not.
Because these items came from the Endless Sea, he feared there might be some trickery involved. If he opened it rashly, he might release something sealed within.
"Seal these items temporarily and keep them away from the military camp. Treat them with caution!" Fan Cheng ordered.
He could not rest easy about these items from the Endless Sea and did not want them near the military camp.
"Yes! General." The soldier acknowledged the order.
"Continue to send people to scout the Endless Sea and report any new developments immediately!"
Upon returning to the military camp, Fan Cheng immediately retrieved a jade slip and wrote down everything that had happened that day. Finally, he drew a pattern he had seen on the 'strange jar' onto the jade slip.
However, his drawing skills were poor, and the finished product only bore a slight resemblance to the pattern on the 'strange jar.'
Yet, he was quite pleased with himself, believing he had a talent for drawing.
After sealing the jade slip, Fan Cheng called for a messenger to send it to the imperial capital.
At first, he hesitated, wondering if he should have the messenger bring the strange objects floating on the Endless Sea to the imperial capital for the Emperor to see.
After much thought, he finally gave up.
Although the strange objects looked ordinary and unremarkable, he could not be at ease with anything that came from the Endless Sea, nor would he dare to send it directly to the imperial palace.
If something were to go wrong and affect the Emperor, his life would not be enough to atone for it.
He would also be filled with guilt. The current Emperor was exceptionally talented, wise, and virtuous, and was the person he respected most.
Therefore, he had to consider the Emperor's well-being and not bring unknown things near him.
...
In the imperial capital of Da Qian, within the imperial palace.
Xu Mo stayed in his sleeping quarters, meditating cross-legged on the bed.
Beside him lay many rare heavenly treasures, which he used as cultivation resources.
With a thought, a large bronze cauldron materialized from within his body and appeared before him.
The bronze cauldron exuded an ancient luster, etched with incredibly complex inscriptions that would cause dizziness and discomfort to anyone who gazed upon them.
Xu Mo skillfully placed the heavenly treasures into the Chaos Cauldron, and the cauldron began to operate, refining them.
Blazing chaotic flames burned within the cauldron, melting all the heavenly treasures into strands of pure spiritual energy that fed back into Xu Mo's body, enhancing his cultivation.
Feeling his cultivation realm slowly rising, Xu Mo exhaled softly.
"Crimson Gold Mud, Sky Flame Flower, Fire Shell Mushroom, Flood Dragon Scale..."
"These have already been refined by the Chaos Cauldron dozens of times. Refining them again now yields minimal results. To further increase my cultivation, I need to find new heavenly treasures."
Xu Mo put away the Chaos Cauldron and stopped refining heavenly treasures.
This was because the increase in cultivation from further refinement was too small; it was better to cultivate on his own.
The Chaos Cauldron was incredibly powerful and could refine heavenly treasures to increase cultivation, but it had its limitations.
The first time the Chaos Cauldron refined a particular heavenly treasure, it provided the most significant increase in cultivation.
The second time, the increase in cultivation would be reduced, and so on.
After about dozens of refinements, the cultivation that the Chaos Cauldron could provide became negligible.
Therefore, Xu Mo had to constantly find new heavenly treasures to ensure his cultivation progressed.
However, in the Eastern Region of the Great Desolation, most of the heavenly treasures he could find had already been refined by him. It was not easy to find new ones.
"But this is enough. The strongest person in the Great Desolation currently is only at the Heaven-Treading realm, and I have long surpassed that, reaching a higher realm."
Xu Mo smiled slightly, not too anxious about his cultivation realm.
Thinking about the matter of the Endless Sea, his mood quickly turned somber again.
When he was at the Heaven-Treading realm, he had ventured into the Endless Sea and encountered those mists. That time, he had almost perished there.
The mists were incredibly bizarre, capable of devouring almost anything. Even his Heaven-Treading realm cultivation could not resist them.
"The mist receding, is it a good or bad thing?" Xu Mo murmured to himself, extremely cautious about what was happening in the Endless Sea.
A gentle knock sounded on the door of the sleeping quarters, and Gongsun Rou's voice came from outside.
"Your Majesty, the eastern garrison has sent news from the Endless Sea."
"Enter!"
The door opened, and Gongsun Rou, wearing a purple nightgown, gracefully entered. The nightgown clung tightly to her delicate body, perfectly accentuating her curvaceous figure.
The curves of her chest and hips were round and full, like perfect semi-circles. The lower part of the nightgown had two slits on either side, revealing her fair, long, and slender legs.
At this moment, Gongsun Rou's eyes were languid and alluring, making even Xu Mo unable to resist looking at her more.
"What news has the eastern garrison sent?" Xu Mo asked with a serious expression.
Gongsun Rou knelt before Xu Mo and presented a jade slip.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, General Fan and his men have discovered some strange items on the Endless Sea."