Shi Yan sat cross-legged on the wooden boat, utterly engrossed in comprehending the Beidou Xingluo (Big Dipper Star Array), poring over it day and night, constantly connecting his Star Soul with the Big Dipper's seven stars, drawing upon their might to condense his self-created array.

Gradually, his understanding of this self-made Beidou Xingluo deepened. He could now mobilize the stellar power of the seven stars within three minutes, forging them into seven meteorites laced with Beidou Star Iron to constitute the full array.

Once condensed, the Beidou Xingluo was intimately connected to his spirit; it could strike any visible target according to his will. The explosion resulting from the collision of these seven meteorites, forged from Beidou Star Iron, was potent enough to severely wound a warrior who had just entered the Heaven-Rank realm. While this power was less formidable than the fusion derived from his three life-forms—the Profound Ice Chill Flame, the Sacred Spirit God, and the Earth Core Fire—it possessed the crucial advantage of being reusable, its strength undiminished by continuous casting.

Most significantly, he vaguely sensed that the Beidou Xingluo he currently commanded was far from its ultimate potential. He had a premonition that as his grasp of the stellar domains and his profound comprehension of stellar mysteries increased, the might of the Beidou Xingluo would continue to ascend. The current power he wielded was perhaps merely the surface layer; one day, this self-created divine ability would unleash a force that would genuinely shock him.

Unaware of the passage of time during his ascetic practice, he remained wholly immersed upon the wooden boat, losing track of how long he had been there.

One day, as the boat unexpectedly drifted into a vast, perpetually dim stretch of sea, Shi Yan abruptly snapped out of his deep contemplation. He looked up at the dusky, miasmic fog, sensing the strangeness of this maritime region, and instinctively released his divine sense.

The moment his divine sense left his Sea of Consciousness and detached from the confines of his mind, it felt instantly bound, as if caught in a swamp, unable to dissipate. It seemed subject to some external force field, making it difficult to reflect the surrounding environment back into his Sea of Consciousness. In this sea area, the gray, murky haze covering the heavens acted as an immense cage, possessing a sinister magic that prevented any entering warrior from relying on their divine sense to perceive what lay nearby.

His expression shifted slightly. Shi Yan calmed his heart to observe, suddenly realizing that the connection between his Star Soul and the myriad stars above had also been severed. He could no longer feel the power of the Nine Heavens' stars, nor borrow even a sliver of their energy. Gazing at the gray fog, a tension gripped Shi Yan's heart as he suddenly understood where he had arrived: the Dark Magnetic Miasma.

This was the most bizarre and mysterious sea region at the extreme east of the Endless Sea, eternally shrouded by the gray haze for billions of years, never once dispersing. Within the Dark Magnetic Miasma, divine sense was nullified, and all forms of Heaven and Earth power ceased to exist, affected by the intense magnetic field. This peculiar magnetic field had always persisted, exhibiting strange properties capable of influencing a warrior's soul and plunging them into bizarre illusions. Even the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth was entirely absent.

Rising from the small wooden boat, he stood still, closing his eyes to sense carefully. Shi Yan finally confirmed that he had reached his destination. On Sun Island, Xia Xinyan had told him of the strange wonders of the Dark Magnetic Miasma—that beyond it lay the heart of the Divine Grace Continent; that it harbored various powerful demonic beasts and countless lost treasures of Heaven and Earth; and that the mysteries within made it an excellent place for a warrior to temper themselves.

The current situation in the Endless Sea was incredibly complex, with the powerhouses of major factions searching relentlessly for him. Since the split of his three life-forms, his true cultivation realm remained at the second level of the Nirvana realm. Despite his confidence in being able to contend momentarily with an average Heaven-Rank warrior, he had no assurance of surviving an encounter with a God-Rank master, given the mysteries surrounding him.

Therefore, he wisely chose to temporarily avoid the direct conflict swirling within the Endless Sea. Eager to accelerate his power enhancement before his physical body underwent further mutation, he had resolved to enter the Dark Magnetic Miasma. On one hand, he sought to use its environment to hone himself; on the other, he hoped to locate Xia Xinyan within its depths. When he parted ways with Xia Xinyan, she was with Ye Changfeng and Lin Yaqi—both of whom had emerged from the Dark Magnetic Miasma. He had a premonition that Xia Xinyan was still with Ye Changfeng, and possibly both were within the Miasma, fueling his desire to reunite with her in this place.

The wooden boat glided slowly across the sea surface.

Sensing the environment, Shi Yan's expression gradually changed, a flicker of astonishment entering his eyes. If there was no Heaven and Earth spiritual energy here, and other Heaven and Earth powers were suppressed by the Miasma, how would he replenish his vital essence once it was depleted? The condensation and advancement of vital essence were inseparable from spiritual energy. Without it, if his power was exhausted in battle, what recourse would he have?

Thinking this, Shi Yan’s heart tightened. He quickly submerged his consciousness into the Phantom Void Ring and retrieved an Upper-Grade Yuan Crystal. Before entering the Abyss Battlefield, Yang Lao had given him hundreds of Upper and Extreme-Grade Yuan Crystals, which he had kept stored in the ring. Due to his mysterious martial soul, which allowed him to recover and gain strength through combat, he rarely used the crystals. But entering such a bizarre place where spiritual energy was absent immediately brought the Yuan Crystals in his ring to mind.

Holding a Yuan Crystal in his palm, Shi Yan suddenly circulated his energy, attempting to draw upon the spiritual essence contained within the crystal. A strange event occurred. The moment the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy within the crystal was stirred by his power, it emerged only to be instantly neutralized by the Dark Magnetic Miasma, vanishing before it could permeate his palm and transform into absorbable refined energy.

Ineffective!

His face changed again, and Shi Yan’s expression grew grave, even entertaining the thought of retreating from the Dark Magnetic Miasma. According to Xia Xinyan, this region was infested with ferocious beasts and fraught with inexplicable dangers. Here, the only thing he could truly rely on was the power within his body. If his vital essence could not be replenished, every drop he expended would be permanently lost. This progression would eventually drain him entirely. If he were still trapped in the Miasma and faced danger then, how could he possibly survive?

He had to seriously consider this dilemma. The deeper he thought, the heavier his heart became, finding no solution.

While wavering, he suddenly looked up at his surroundings and realized he seemed to be lost... There were no sun, moon, or stars to fix his bearings; all around was only the gray sea surface, devoid of obstacles, hidden reefs, or islands—the scenery was utterly uniform. Yet, the water beneath his boat was not placid. He looked down for a while and discovered that the currents flowed without order, constantly altering the direction of his boat. Unconsciously, the vessel had changed course countless times. Under these conditions, even turning back might not lead him the way he came; the direction he chose to reverse might actually lead him deeper into the Miasma, toward the center of the Divine Grace Continent.

Musing on this, Shi Yan offered a bitter smile and subconsciously shook his head. Such was fate; it seemed even turning back was impossible. Since that was the case, he might as well continue to drift, hoping to witness some marvels within this Dark Magnetic Miasma. After thinking for a moment, he relaxed, abandoning his anxious thoughts. Adopting a mindset of letting fate guide him, he sat back down on the wooden boat, no longer injecting energy into it, allowing the currents to carry the boat slowly in a direction he could not discern.

Calming his mind, conserving his divine sense and vital essence, he drew in his aura, gazing straight ahead, patiently waiting for any special occurrence that might arise at any moment.

Without the sun, moon, or stars, without any sense of time, drifting aimlessly on the wooden boat, he had no idea how long he wandered or where the vessel had carried him.

One day, Shi Yan, who was still sitting peacefully on the boat, suddenly felt his eyes brighten. The wooden boat beneath him gently lifted off the surface. Without any external force, it began to move slowly forward. He had definitely not applied any extra power. Ahead, the mist was dense, and indistinctly visible were colossal dark shapes. These shadows hovered in the air like mountain ranges, majestic and grand, yet giving off an intensely bizarre and unsettling feeling.

His spirit instantly tensed. Shi Yan became exceedingly cautious, his eyes glowing sharply as he stared intently at the enormous shadows ahead, unsure what they were. Gradually, the boat beneath him approached one of them, and the floating shadow slowly revealed its true form.

They truly were mountains! Peaks hundreds of meters high, bizarrely suspended above the sea surface, drifting in mid-air, moving slowly forward. On these peaks, there were flowers, grasses, and trees, but no visible living creatures or demonic beasts. It was unknown where these peaks originated, yet they floated in the sky like inflated balloons, seemingly unbound by gravity. Between the peaks, the space was empty, with no physical force connecting them.

Shi Yan was utterly astonished. He quickly calmed his senses and discovered that gravity truly did not exist here. Furthermore, a faint gray mist was rising from the sea surface below, and this gray vapor seemed to possess a strange buoyancy, causing the boat beneath him to float into the sky as well.

With a shift of his intention, he abandoned the wooden boat, his figure drifting effortlessly. By expending only a small amount of vital essence, he moved himself to the summit of one of the peaks. Seated on the peak, he gazed down from above, using his eyes to scrutinize the marvels of this place.

Beams of multicolored light suddenly shot out from a mountain peak ahead. Shi Yan fixed his gaze, observing, and realized these light beams were clearly being emitted from within the bodies of warriors. The direction from which the beams originated was only a few thousand meters away, but because his divine sense was useless and the surrounding area was shrouded in dark mist, he could not discern the appearance of the warriors releasing this power, nor could he ascertain their realm or cultivation.

Having been solitary on this sea for a long time, he sat silently on the peak for a while, suddenly deciding it would be better to go and investigate. He knew little about this strange Dark Magnetic Miasma, and the warriors appearing here might be able to alleviate some of his confusion. With this thought, he urged a little more vital essence and moved unhurriedly toward that direction.