Molting the Mortal Coil

Chapter 822: Deep Shore

It turns out the city got its name because it was actually somewhat close to the shoreline of a major land mass. Sage had no idea where it was in relation to the Tianxia Empire, but upon seeing so many different people here, he realized it could be anywhere. In fact, Im not even sure Im on the same planet anymore. I might be on another one or even in a Hidden Domain.

There was something of an undersea cliff near this landmass and it dropped down thousands of feet deep to where Deep Shore was located. There was also a city upon the landmass, and after asking about it specifically, Abyss Bay was on a gigantic island and its inhabitants also knew little about the location of any continents. It was a popular place for raising families and was filled with mortals. Those who wanted to visit it had to sign Blood Contracts to restrain them from causing harm accidentally.

Sage wasnt sure if he wished to visit, but he was eager to head out into the sea. After properly gathering information and getting aquatic products in production on the Inner World, he finally moved to the City Gates and prepared to venture outside. He entered the array version of an airlock which was a sort of barrier array in the shape of a bubble. Once he was inside the bubble shrunk rapidly around him. Then he passed through it like a layer of soap and he found himself in the open water. Once he moved away the bubble bulged out of the side of the city again and another Cultivator entered it.

Now that he was outside of Deep Shore, Sage got a better look at the Formation Array that was surrounding it. The barrier was nearly transparent, something that he might label as glowing glass. It was only from certain angles that he could see thin veins of golden glowing energy rushing through it. It was in the shape of a hemispherical dome, like a giant bowl over the top of the city. Yet, at the same time, it seemed somewhat thicker near the top and Sage couldnt help but wonder if there was some sort of lens type light magnification going on. Especially since now that he was outside of the city it seemed much darker than before.

Sage didnt immediately switch into his true body. Within the technique librarys of the Timeless Master and the Fu Clan, there were plenty of techniques related to movement and convenience in different environments. He had nothing to worry about when it came to not having to breathe and swimming around. In fact, he even had something of an advantage because of his recent gains in the Violent Sun Sect. The Violent Sun Sect was a group of Body Cultivators and Body Cultivators didnt use Qi Techniques. Instead, they relied upon their powerful bodies to perform superhuman feats. They didnt use their Qi to manipulate the water to push them, or release gusts of wind as propulsion. They simply used their powerful muscles to swim faster. On top of that, the Violent Sun Sect used great pressure to cultivate their bodies and one of the best places to find great pressure was in the deep sea. As such the Violent Sun Sects swimming techniques were particularly exquisite.

While it might seem ridiculous for there to be swimming techniques, there was a very good reason for them. Different swimming strokes were more efficient or effective at different speeds or in different conditions, and Body Cultivators had bodies that could be hundreds or even thousands of times more powerful than a mortal. The swimming techniques of Body Cultivators were drastically different to take advantage of their superhuman physiques. There were even a few techniques and Magic Tool blueprints that acted like swim fins. With so much strength, a Body Cultivator was actually limited in how much force they could apply by a lack of surface area. In fact, this part of the Violent Sun Body Instruction went even deeper. Not only did these techniques apply to the water, but also to the air. With how much experience they had under the sea, the Violent Sun Sect became experts at using their physical body to manipulate liquids.

As Body Cultivators they might have seemed like they only had muscles for brains, but somewhere along the line they became very adept at matters involving fluid motion and pressure. It was only after Sage had thoroughly researched and studied the Violent Sun Body Instruction before he realized there were so many advanced concepts hidden within. The manual was focused on teaching how to perform the moves and not the how or the why behind them. Even so, he saw that the ones responsible for developing these techniques were extremely knowledgeable. That, or theyd merely stumbled upon these things over absurdly long periods of trial and error. Thinking about it more and given the lifespan of Cultivators, he wouldnt be surprised if it was the latter.

Sage shot through the water at high speed, and was glad that he had performed the proper preparation and changed into a tighter outfit. The people of this world didnt have a material like neoprene to make wetsuits out of, but they still understood that wearing loose and flowing garments became a hindrance while trying to swim under the water. The Wardrobe Spider that Sage wore spun clothing out of silk, which was already one of the better materials to use under the water here. There was also expensive leather and hide suits created out of sea creatures that were said to be more protective, and they were already experimenting with different designs on the Inner World, but Sage chose to start out with simple silk.

For his first outing, Sage didnt worry about hunting anything. Instead he just took the chance to familiarize himself with swimming around in the deep sea. It was somewhat disconcerting to stay under the water for so long without any thoughts about heading to the surface for air. Thankfully, hed already grown accustomed to such a thing while training in the Sunfire Pagoda back at the Holy Flame Sect. Where it differed was in the variety of life around him. The Sunfire Pagoda was just a training ground while this ocean was teeming with life, though it did take him a little while to notice it all.

At first, he just saw a few groups of fish swimming in the distance. The area outside Deep Shore was a wide clean bed of sand. In the distance there was a rocky wall that led steeply upwards like an undersea cliff. There were supposed to be countless lifeforms hiding among the rocks. Outside of that rocky wall, there were strong currents caused by the tides up above. This constant motion swept the sand clean on the ocean floor. It made this part of the ocean look somewhat devoid of life, like a pristine beach under the sea.

Sage's opinion was changed as soon as he got a little close to the sea bed. A large pincer shot out of the sand towards him, but Sage was already long gone from his original position. A jade colored aura sprung to life around him and a long blade shot out of his wrist. He swung his arm and a cloud of sand rose up around him. Sage stopped in place, watching a huge crab the size of a single bedroom home swimming away from him. As the dust settled, a huge pincer was laying on the sand. Sage cut it off at the wrist, but there was a larger part of the crabs arm on the sand beside it. The crustacean had voluntarily detached the rest of its arm and fled in a hurry. The huge crab had a set of smaller legs at its rear that had paddle-like flippers on them which it was using to swim away at a rapid pace.

Even as easily as he had evaded the crab, Sage still chose to activate his Foresight and soon found out that the crab was not the only thing under the sand.