The salty sea breeze on the beach was blowing on his face. Xie Qingke turned his back to the sea, made a gesture with his hands, and said to the people on the shore.
"Nie!"
Zhu Sha said something with a smile, and then jumped onto the ice floe first.
The remaining five people in the Ninth Courtyard also smiled and jumped onto the ice floe. Seven people stood on it, but they only occupied less than half of the area.
The students in the Second Academy looked at it with some envy, but did not move.
"You guys come together too." Xie Qingke looked at the others and said.
"Is this... okay?"
"What's not allowed? There's nothing in the sea that we alone may not be able to cope with. Since we encounter it, let's go together so we can have someone to take care of us. It won't be too late to separate again after we find out the situation."
Cheng Lin said with a smile.
The other students also expressed their agreement.
Although there is competition between various colleges, this competition is also limited.
Especially now that there are not only Xia monks but also Su people on this floating land, it is always good to help them in this situation.
"This...well...it's really too much trouble for you tonight."
Song Xianzhen felt a little embarrassed.
As the head of the major colleges, the students of the Second College naturally have their own arrogance.
Song Xianzhen was the number one in the Second Academy. Although he looked calm and not arrogant on the surface, his pride was hidden underneath.
If it were normal, they might not accept Xie Qingke's invitation at all, just for "pride".
However, tonight they first saw a giant dragon rushing towards them, and then they almost got involved in an international diplomatic incident.
If it weren't for the people from the Ninth Academy, or to be precise, Cheng Lin and Xiao Ningyu Shi, they might have been forcibly taken out of the projection and then subjected to severe interrogation. This is very possible.
It is conceivable that once involved, the better outcome will be ruined future.
This experience not only allowed them to accept the favor of the Ninth Academy, but also rubbed away a lot of their pride.
However, as a result, Song Xianzhen and others always felt that they owed too much.
"We may still work together in the future, but to say this is to be ridiculous."
"Okay, then let's push the ice floe."
So the teams from the Second Academy also jumped on, and one of the students with the "wind" attribute blew the strong wind backwards, pushing the ice floe toward the depths of the sea.
…
This is quite an amazing experience.
More than a dozen people stood evenly distributed, and the two teams of perception team members were like two radars, constantly scanning the surroundings.
The others held their weapons cautiously, guarding against possible crises.
The night is already dark.
The salty air surges on the sea surface.
The sky was originally quite bright, but at this time it was also covered by dark clouds, making this unfamiliar sea area even more mysterious and unpredictable.
The students took out their search flashlights from their backpacks and turned them on.
As a result, more than a dozen swords pierced the endless sea like lightsabers in science fiction blockbusters.
However, no matter how hard they tried to observe, they still could not break through the range of 100 meters around them.
"There is mist floating on the sea."
Liang Pi said.
Everyone has discovered this, and it is this mysterious mist that blocks the detection of sensory abilities.
"We have reason to believe that there is something hidden behind this heavy fog. My personal guess is that it is an island." Liang Pi added.
This time, someone finally asked: "Why?"
"Do you still remember the voice that appeared in our heads before?"
"What song are you talking about?"
"To be precise, it's the poem after the song ends... Let me call it a poem. It's the sentences that Senior Cheng recited. Do you remember? One of them mentioned 'an isolated island surrounded by the sea'." Liang
Pi explained.
His words awakened everyone's memory.
"I also remember this sentence, it's very possible."
"The sea...the isolated island...the thick fog..." Fu Zhongting murmured with lowered eyebrows, and suddenly asked, "Don't you think this is very familiar?"
"Familiar? You mean..."
"The projection of an island that appeared before, when there was an image of Senior Cheng, was also an island wrapped in thick fog." Fu Zhongting said in a serious tone.
There was silence on the ice floe.
After a while, the fourth-grade girl from the second courtyard spoke:
"I think I roughly understand what you mean. The last projection confirmed that the island is where the sect founded by Senior Cheng is located. It can be inferred that the thick fog surrounding the island is also the work of Senior Cheng. So this time, in front of us,
What we saw is most likely the same 'Shanmen Ruins' left by Senior Cheng, or something similar?"
"Smart! That's what I mean." Fu Zhongting glanced at her appreciatively.
The girl couldn't help but twitch her lips, feeling a little proud.
"Your analysis does make some sense, but combined with the image of the dragon rushing before, it is obvious that this place is related to those mythical creatures."
Song Xianzhen also interjected, then turned to look at Cheng Lin: "What do you think?"
"Ah? I think...it makes sense."
Cheng Lin concealed his embarrassment.
This feeling of being speculated and discussed in person is really strange.
Just when Cheng Lin was about to change the topic.
Suddenly, he felt the ice floe beneath his feet swaying slightly.
Xie Qingke's voice changed slightly:
"The water flow has changed and we are entering deeper into the fog!"
Everyone became energetic, stopped talking, and looked around cautiously.
The surrounding fog has indeed become much thicker, and the field of vision has further narrowed. Now, everyone can barely see a dozen meters around them.
"My senses have failed."
Zhu Sha's face looked a little ugly.
"mine too."
The students from the Second Academy also spoke up.
"Don't panic, everyone, keep your positions, and don't mess up the formation... We are not on flat ground now, and it might easily capsize." Cheng Lin said, making a joke that was not humorous at all.
His voice was very calm, with a sense of peace that made people relax involuntarily.
After speaking, he lowered his head and looked at the water patterns on the edge of the ice floe.
It was discovered that after entering this area, the ice floe was almost moving against the current, which inevitably caused the traveling speed to slow down.
Everyone waited in silence, tense, and for a while there was only the sound of ice floes breaking through the water.
The silence is terrifying.
Suddenly, a team member exclaimed briefly.
Just as everyone was about to turn their heads to look, they felt the ice floe beneath their feet sinking slightly, as if they had hit something.
Then, the bright light from the searchlight focused on it.
"It's a ship, a very shabby ship!"
someone said.
It was indeed a wooden boat, not very big, just one of those offshore fishing boats that could only accommodate a few people working on it.
The ship was very dilapidated, the bottom was almost rotted away, and only the rusty metal and the remaining rotten wood were left to barely piece together a shape.
This boat obviously came downstream.
Immediately after impact with the ice, there were some signs of disintegration.
As the ice floe continued to move forward, the broken ship finally completely fell apart and turned into a few tattered and wet logs, scattered from both sides.
"What's going on with this ship? They're obviously not used by those dragon-like creatures."
Xiao Ningyu asked.
Cheng Lin pursed his lips and said nothing.
This is naturally not used by the giant dragon, but should be a fishing and hunting tool for the dragon servants.
Although the area of this island is not small, its resources are still limited. Considering the background of the Dharma Ending Era, the dragon servants were unable to return to the land, so they could only rely on fishing and hunting to obtain food.
What surprised Cheng Lin was that after so many years, the ship did not completely rot... Well, it should be the effect of this ritual formation.
…
The fog was thick and the view was obstructed.
Going against the current, there is no other light source around except the light source of the searchlight.
The scenery around them was unchanged, giving the students the illusion that they were not moving forward at all.
Only Xie Qingke, who maintained the existence of the ice floe, and the student from the Second Academy, who continued to create thrust, could confirm that they were still sailing through the declining spiritual energy reserves in their bodies.
Go upstream.
I don’t know how long has passed, it seems like minutes, it seems like hours.
Finally, the sound of collision was heard again from the ice floes.
"Peng."
Cheng Lin and others clearly felt the vibration under their feet.
"What did you hit again?"
"Is it still a ship?"
someone asked.
After a two-second pause, I got an unexpected answer: "We... seem to have docked."
Ashore?
Cheng Lin looked over in confusion and saw that the front end of the ice floe was hitting a dark, round rock.
The surrounding water surface is extremely shallow and covered with sand and rocks. Only the tail end of the ice layer is still immersed in the water.
The ice boat seemed to have inadvertently climbed onto a beach.
"Don't move yet."
Song Xianzhen said something, then took out a light stick from his backpack.
It's the kind of thing that will glow on its own and illuminate a certain area if you throw it over.
He threw it forward, and the fluorescent stick disappeared into the thick fog and disappeared. It just made a "snap" sound, as if it fell to the ground.
Then, a little bit of light guided its landing point through the thick fog.
"Everyone, please go ashore carefully and don't separate!"
Seeing this, Cheng Lin said, jumped off the ice boat first and walked forward.
At this time, the sky was dark, and the thick fog blocked the last bit of starlight.
Even if "wide-area vision" is turned on, Cheng Lin's field of vision is greatly restricted.
Holding a dagger in one hand and a lighting flashlight in the other, he cautiously explored the surroundings to confirm that there was no danger.
Too much time had passed, and Cheng Lin didn't know what the island had become.
"It's safe. The fog in front seems to have lightened up a lot."
Cheng Lin walked a few hundred meters inside, then turned back and said.
Everyone went ashore one after another and found that it was indeed a beach-like terrain, empty except for stones.
After walking a few steps inside, I could clearly feel that the terrain was rising, which further confirmed my previous speculation about the "island".
And the fog has indeed become a lot thinner.
With the help of lights, the field of view was restored to about fifty meters.
Then, they were surprised to find a damaged city wall in front of them.
"This place is indeed a ruins!"
Zhu Sha's tone was excited and her eyes were bright.
Immediately, everyone took out their mobile phones in unison, took pictures with the lights, and moved forward carefully.
The walls are tattered and long.
There was an air of desolation in the darkness.
They did not climb over recklessly, but walked along the city wall, trying to understand the terrain.
After walking for a while, they suddenly stopped.
Here, a huge gap appeared in the city wall, and a tall arch stood in the gap. It was also dilapidated, with countless cracks on the surface, and vegetation growing wildly in the gaps.
"There seems to be writing on it!"
Suddenly, Fu Zhongting keenly discovered that there were several simple, strange and unfamiliar "writings" on the top of the arch.
Cheng Lin looked up. He had not acquired the "dragon language" and could not interpret it through knowledge.
But he recognized the appearance of the two "words" and had seen similar patterns before.
Therefore, he instantly understood the meaning of these two words: