Feng Lanxi stared at the map with growing doubt, then looked back up at the Wuyou Sea. Her eyes widened.
"Song Daoyou, are you sure we're in the right place? My Senior Brother was just here recently, and it was perfectly fine back then!"
How did it suddenly become a desert?!"
She couldn't make sense of it. The Wuyou Sea was massive. How could such a drastic change go unnoticed by cultivators?
Song Wanníng's gaze remained locked on the desolate expanse, her expression heavy with unease.
But within her spiritual sea, she was already questioning the merfolk: "Little one, what happened to your home? Did someone destroy it?"
The merfolk was on the verge of tears. Its eyes were red, lips trembling as it answered, "I don't know either! When I was captured, the Wuyou Sea was still normal!
What do I do now? My precious Jiao-Jiao is still waiting for me to come back! What if something happened to her?!"
The thought of harm coming to its beloved nearly made the merfolk cry.
Song Wanníng twitched at the corners of her mouth, then looked back at the endless sand.
"Should we go take a look?"
The sudden transformation of the Wuyou Sea clearly wasn't natural.
Feng Lanxi's interest was piqued too. "For a place like the Wuyou Sea to turn into a desert... I'm really curious what could've caused it. Come on, let's check it out together."
The two rose into the air and flew over the desert.
The Wuyou Sea covered an enormous region, rich in resources, often visited by cultivators searching for materials. The deep waters were home to countless aquatic beasts, many with high cultivation—making the area both lucrative and dangerous. But now, all those powerful beasts were gone. Not a single trace remained.
They spent an entire day flying over the area, but found nothing unusual.
"Everything looks fine," Feng Lanxi murmured, overlooking the expanse. "But something still feels... off."
She couldn't explain it. There was just a strong sense of wrongness that she couldn't pinpoint.
Song Wanníng nodded. She felt it too.
"Could it be... a formation?"
While she was an expert in alchemy, her knowledge of formations was limited. She only knew basic ones. If there really was something strange at play, she wouldn't be able to detect it alone.
"A formation? But there's never been one reported here before."
Feng Lanxi had considered the idea too. After all, to make an entire sea vanish, there had to be something powerful at work.
Yet the change hadn't alarmed anyone nearby.
"I'll call my Senior Brother. He's a formation expert. He'll definitely see something we missed."
Without hesitation, she sent out a messaging talisman.
Her Senior Brother had been at the Wuyou Sea recently. He should still be nearby.
Sure enough, he was in a nearby city and could arrive soon.
Feng Lanxi breathed a sigh of relief and stuck out her tongue sheepishly. "I'm decent with artifact crafting and have studied formations a bit, but compared to my Senior Brother? There's no contest!
Even our master says that if he fully focused on formations, he'd already be a master by now."
She beamed with pride, as if it were her own praise.
Song Wanníng naturally knew who she was talking about. That man was a gifted artificer, already a grandmaster at a young age, with people lining up to request his works.
"Alright, let's wait for him, then."
She nodded and turned to continue scanning the skies.
Feng Lanxi followed, flying in another direction.
...
A day later, Yu Cheng arrived as promised.
He wore a robe of deep green silk, handsome and refined, gliding swiftly on the latest flight-type artifact he had developed.
"Song Daoyou!"
Yu Cheng greeted her with a smile.
"Yu Daoyou, long time no see. You're even more dashing than before," Song Wanníng teased lightly.
The tension on Yu Cheng's face eased, and a faint smile appeared.
"You're as stunning as ever, Song Daoyou." The smile dispelled much of the mystery surrounding him, leaving behind a surprisingly sincere charm.
"Senior Brother, hurry and check if there's a formation here!" Feng Lanxi tugged at his sleeve impatiently. They had been waiting long enough.
Yu Cheng's expression turned serious. "Let me take a look."
He pulled out a compass-like device and soared upward. The compass spun rapidly in his hands. Following its guidance, Yu Cheng shifted directions again and again, his expression growing more solemn.
Song Wanníng watched him closely, intrigued by the tool he used.
There were many artifacts capable of detecting or breaking formations, but most were like standard formation-breaker cones, useful only against simpler setups.
In her past life, Ye Chuxue had obtained an immortal artifact in a secret realm that rendered all formations useless in her eyes. That treasure had allowed her to traverse every forbidden ground in the cultivation world.
Song Wanníng had been envious ever since, though she never found out where Ye Chuxue had obtained it.
Now that Ye Chuxue had left Wentian Sect and gone to the demon realm, perhaps she had already run into that "devoted" male supporting character—the young master of the demon clan.
If so, that was bound to be an entertaining disaster.
While her thoughts briefly drifted, Yu Cheng finally spoke up.
"There's definitely an ancient restriction here."
He looked at Song Wanníng and Feng Lanxi gravely.
"And not just any formation. It's an extremely domineering one—The Celestial Shift Array.
Sounds ordinary, but its power is terrifying. It can swap two locations using the array. I've only seen mentions of it in ancient texts. I never thought I'd see one with my own eyes..."
Yu Cheng's face lit up with excitement, as if he had encountered a worthy challenge.
"You're saying someone switched the Wuyou Sea with this desert?!" Feng Lanxi gasped. This was her first time hearing of such an overwhelming array.
Song Wanníng's eyes sharpened. The scale of this formation was beyond alarming.
Whoever set it up—what were they planning?
"This array was infamous in ancient times. You've heard of the Medicine King Sect, right? They once tried to move their entire sect using this exact method. But the attempt failed in the end. The requirements to execute this array are outrageously strict, and nearly impossible to decipher. Whoever pulled this off... must be a monster."
Yu Cheng looked both impressed and intrigued. He desperately wanted to meet whoever had laid this formation.
But Song Wanníng suddenly furrowed her brow.
Medicine King Sect...
That name instantly reminded her of Ye Chuxue.
But Ye Chuxue had gone to the demon realm. Unless...
Her gaze turned sharp. She looked up at the sky, sensing something faint in the air. Such a complex formation might be impossible for others. But for the so-called Son of Heavenly Dao? It was not beyond reach.
A surge of murderous intent surged in her chest. She forcefully suppressed it, but the chill in her eyes refused to fade. Looking down at the desert, her fingers curled tightly.
"Is there any way to get through this and reach the real Wuyou Sea?"