CHAPTER 303: CHAPTER 303: THE MYSTERIOUS GIANT SHIP

Xia Mian also slightly squinted her eyes; the ship was moving, yet no matter how it moved, it couldn’t approach the shore.

Song Ke’s face gradually showed a trace of anxiety, "Miss Xia, today’s Sea Market is quite unusual."

Xia Mian responded with a faint "hmm," not really putting much thought into this oddity.

The Sea Market would only randomly teleport to other places, and they weren’t in mortal danger, which put her somewhat at ease.

The young man rowing the boat looked a bit apologetic, "Brother Song, let me try again."

The young boatman once again tried hard to row towards the shore; the oars moved, the water flowed, yet the boat still couldn’t get close to the shore.

Song Ke’s face grew more and more solemn, being on the sea felt like an unrooted duckweed, and that feeling of not being able to land one’s feet on solid ground was deeply unsettling.

Xia Mian squinted her eyes slightly, her gaze once again falling on the group of people from the Artifact Refining Sect.

They didn’t approach any merchant’s ship but were rowing back and forth on the sea as if searching for something.

They seemed unconcerned about whether they could leave the Sea Market before it closed.

Xia Mian glanced over at the Tianshan Saintess; they also didn’t stop in front of any merchant’s ship and were constantly rowing back and forth on the sea.

"It seems they’re looking for something?" Xia Mian lightly squinted her eyes, "What are they looking for?"

Lu Zechuan’s expression changed slightly, "This place feels very strange to me, it’s not advisable to stay for long."

After Lu Zechuan finished speaking, his slender fingers gently tapped the side of the boat, and the lush seaweed beneath the sea grew wildly, touching their boat’s bottom in an instant.

With the support of the seaweed, the boat’s speed immediately increased.

They were a bit closer to the shore, but still, the exit, though seemingly near, remained unreachable.

A shadow of doubt flashed across Lu Zechuan’s dark eyes, feeling that this Sea Market was peculiar in every way.

Just as that thought arose in Lu Zechuan’s mind, he saw the group from the Artifact Refining Sect anchor their boat at the horizon where water met sky.

The men from the Artifact Refining Sect stood at the bow, their gaze on the water’s surface, focusing in silence, muttering as if reciting some spell or perhaps uttering some secret code.

Song Ke looked at this scene and snorted with a frown, "These guys, like yin souls, are everywhere!"

Yet Xia Mian lightly curled her lips, "Flies are drawn to rot; maybe they heard some rumor, thinking the Sea Market might yield some treasure!"

Xia Mian said it casually, but the boatman seemed to have a thought, glancing at the Artifact Refining Sect’s group and muttering, "Recently, the Sea Market has indeed been quite tumultuous."

Xia Mian turned back and looked at him, her eyebrows slightly raised, "Hmm?"

The young man hesitated for a moment, then said mysteriously, "To be honest with you, recently, merchants at sea have been mysteriously disappearing, even the ships they rely on for livelihood are nowhere to be found..."

Song Ke’s eyebrows raised slightly, "Now that you mention it, I realize there are indeed fewer merchant ships at the Sea Market today than usual!"

The young man’s expression was tinged with concern, "It’s unknown where those people have gone, whether they’re alive or dead."

Song Ke’s expression shifted slightly, his gaze slowly falling on the Tianshan Saintess’ ship, noticing those women had already drawn their weapons, casting a furtive glance toward their direction.

Initially, Xia Mian wanted to leave quickly to steer clear of trouble, but now, she became curious about the impending events.

Based on the behavior of the Artifact Refining Sect and the Tianshan Saintess, it didn’t seem like they were searching for treasure!

As Xia Mian pondered, a long, lingering flute melody suddenly floated across the sea, and as the flute sounded, a thick mist suddenly arose over the sea.

The young boatman’s face changed; he had been ferrying passengers in the Sea Market for over a decade and had never witnessed such a scene.

The dense fog gradually spread from afar, continuously covering merchant ships.

Ships enveloped in the mist disappeared without leaving a trace, unable even to make a sound.

The fog, drawing near everyone, was like a monster’s giant maw, swallowing everything on the sea in an instant.

Song Ke’s face looked grim, "Miss Xia, I’m sorry, I didn’t know things would turn out like this..."

But Xia Mian smiled at him, "It’s okay."

They still weren’t sure what was in the mist; things hadn’t yet reached an irretrievable state.

Xia Mian’s gaze once again fell on the group from the Artifact Refining Sect, noticing that they were deliberately glancing in her direction.

Xia Mian’s eyes narrowed, feeling more strongly that something was amiss.

Could it be that these people weren’t after some treasure, but rather, they were after her?

Just as that thought came to Xia Mian’s mind, the mist immediately covered the Artifact Refining Sect’s ship, and the group vanished without a sound into the fog.

The boatman’s face turned ashen, "Brother Song, this isn’t the mist that teleports us away; this mist makes me feel uneasy..."

Song Ke was also anxious but forced a smile to comfort the young man, "It’s fine, you’ve been here at the Sea Market for so many years, and haven’t you always been fine!"

As he spoke, the fog slowly approached Xia Mian’s ship.

In the instant before being enveloped, Xia Mian casually set up a barrier around the ship.

Amidst the dense fog, visibility was zero, but fortunately, everyone was still on the same boat, allowing them to watch over one another.

Lu Zechuan gently held Xia Mian’s hand, his dark eyes narrowed, slowly surveying the surroundings.

It was very quiet, so silent that they could hear each other’s breathing.

It felt like being back in the womb, with occasional faint splashes of water around them.

"Miss Xia..." Song Ke was somewhat panicked and moved closer to Xia Mian.

Xia Mian waved her hand at him, gesturing for silence.

Song Ke understood and obediently closed his mouth.

The Little Black Cat perched on his shoulder, ears perked up, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

In the deathly silence, a beam of light pierced through the fog, striking their boat directly.

Against the light, Xia Mian squinted and saw a massive ship, like a cruise liner, slowly sailing towards their boat.

On the deck of that enormous ship, there seemed to be shadowy figures standing.

The dappled light fell around Xia Mian’s boat, as if placing an invisible cage around them.

The large ship gradually approached Xia Mian’s boat, on the verge of colliding with it, yet showing no sign of stopping.

Xia Mian’s eyes turned cold, and with a flick of her fingers, a waterspout shot up into the sky, rushing towards the large ship.

The enormous impact almost capsized the large ship!

The people on the deck of the big ship immediately cursed loudly, "Who? Who dares to block Master Xiao’s way!"