Chapter 327 - 292: Cultivating Anew

Chapter 327: Chapter 292: Cultivating Anew

"Fell overboard?"

The sailor nodded hastily.

"Yes, yes! I think he jumped in on purpose! Could the tsunami have scared him out of his mind?!"

The corner of the General Manager’s mouth twitched. Ignoring the sailor’s nonsense, he walked to the edge of the deck and looked in the direction the sailor was pointing.

After watching for a moment, the General Manager nodded, looking thoughtful.

"General Manager, hurry up and save him!" the sailor said anxiously, seeing the General Manager do nothing.

"That’s enough. Get back to your duties. He doesn’t need saving. He’ll be back soon enough."

With that, the General Manager left, leaving the dumbfounded sailor behind.

’He doesn’t need saving?’

’Didn’t the man go crazy and try to kill himself?’

’Then why the hell did he jump in?’

’Did he think it was too hot up here and wanted to jump in to cool off?’

’Isn’t that just plain crazy?!’

...

The moment Jiang Xu jumped into the Youxian Sea, a biting chill rushed in from all directions, like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, making him shudder.

The water pressure increased with his depth.

At first, he felt an uncomfortable compression in his chest, and a ringing buzzed in his ears—a result of the water pressure on his eardrums.

Jiang Xu didn’t immediately use the Wave-Breaking Spell or take any other measures. Instead, he tried to rely on his own strength to adapt to the underwater environment.

He tensed his muscles and held his breath, working to overcome the physiological reactions to being underwater.

The surrounding seawater was dark and silent, with only the faint light from the distance and the sound of his own heartbeat for company.

Jiang Xu could feel the currents flowing over his skin. The touch of every undercurrent made him tense.

He did his best to relax, allowing his body to yield to the flow of the water. He slowly regulated his breathing, and his heartbeat began to steady.

Even without activating the Wave-Breaking Spell, Jiang Xu relied on the formidable physique and Spiritual Power granted by his Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivation to quickly adapt to the underwater pressure and environment.

Despite lacking the aid of the Wave-Breaking Spell, Jiang Xu could still maintain a certain degree of speed and directional control in the water.

Though he was in the water and lacked the boost from the Wave-Breaking Spell, he relied on his memory of swimming strokes he had seen in his past life to try and maintain his speed and direction.

Jiang Xu bent his arms, keeping his elbows close to his sides and his palms facing each other.

It was as if he were hugging an invisible rock in the water, and then he swept his arms wide apart.

Next, Jiang Xu crossed his arms in front of his chest and gently flipped his wrists.

He pushed down and back along his body’s centerline, using the water’s resistance to propel himself forward.

At the same time, his legs formed a scissor shape.

His knees bent and his feet came together, like a frog’s hind legs coiling to spring.

Then, he kicked forcefully outward, his feet tracing a wide arc under the water, using the force to push himself forward.

This was the breaststroke.

In his past life, he had never received any systematic training and had only been to a swimming pool a few times.

But the powerful body control of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator still allowed Jiang Xu to execute the movements perfectly.

After swimming around like this for a while, he had more or less adapted to the aquatic environment.

Jiang Xu floated motionlessly in the water, feeling as if he had become a fallen leaf, drifting with the current.

Or perhaps a fish, swimming freely.

Being physically in the water, the feeling was completely different.

He could clearly feel the veins of the currents, experience the water’s resistance and buoyancy, and perceive the subtle changes brought about by his every movement.

Jiang Xu discovered that compared to simply relying on Magic to manipulate the water currents, interacting with the seawater through his own muscle strength and coordination allowed him to more genuinely grasp the essence and principles of the Water Element.

By not using Magic and relying solely on his own power to interact with the seawater, Jiang Xu gained some new insights.

He now had a new idea.

Before entering the water, Jiang Xu’s plan had been to use the unique underwater environment to complete the final part of the Wave-Breaking Spell’s Star Map.

But once he was truly submerged in the Youxian Sea, he realized that Cultivation in the water was completely different from Cultivation on the outside.

Here, Magic was no longer a simple matter of casting and control.

It needed to be closely connected with, and even fused with, the environment to maximize its effectiveness.

All Magic, regardless of its effectiveness or how Skilled one was at using it in the outside world, would naturally undergo a cataclysmic change once brought into the sea.

Perfecting the Wave-Breaking Spell’s Star Map wasn’t just about finishing the last part underwater; it required a complete overhaul and re-understanding of every single spell that comprised the Star Map.

Therefore.

Jiang Xu planned to take the forty-nine spells that made up the Wave-Breaking Spell’s Star Map and meticulously study and practice each one in the seawater environment.

He would master their behavioral patterns underwater to ensure every spell could exert its proper power in the ocean.

Only after he had fully mastered them could he allow the spells to form the Star Map.

The scale of this undertaking was, to say the least, immense.

But Jiang Xu had already made up his mind.

If he didn’t do this, the final Star Map he assembled would likely not meet his standards at all.

Although it would require more time, this experience had deepened Jiang Xu’s understanding of both the Star Inference Spell and Magic in general to a new level.

Overall, the pros far outweighed the cons.

...

「Half a month later.」

The General Manager gazed at the distant seawater, his eyes far-off and his expression somewhat doubtful.

Half a month ago, he had heard from a subordinate that someone had gone mad after the tsunami and jumped ship.

He had been startled at the time and rushed over to investigate.

However, when he checked for himself, he discovered the person was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

He didn’t seem to be seeking death; he was very calm after jumping in, showing no signs of struggle.

So, the General Manager had judged at the time that, although he didn’t know what possessed the man to jump, the man was clearly conscious and had jumped of his own volition. It wasn’t the madness the sailor had claimed.

Besides, he was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The General Manager wasn’t worried he wouldn’t be able to get back up after jumping in.

Thus, the General Manager hadn’t paid it much mind at the time and went to attend to other matters, though he did keep the incident in the back of his mind.

After a phase of work on the ship had concluded, the General Manager suddenly realized that the crewman who had jumped... seemed to have never returned!

This left the General Manager a bit dumbfounded.

’It’s been half a month!’

The Dharma Ship had been repaired a few days ago, and its speed had returned to normal.

At the Dharma Ship’s current speed, it was no longer something an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator could catch up to, especially not from within the sea.

’Could it be that when he first jumped into the sea, he never intended to return to the ship?’

’Did the man who jumped decide the voyage was too dangerous and plan to return to Lu Cun Island?’

’No, that’s not right either.’

’The Dharma Ship had already been a good distance from Lu Cun Island by then.’

’And in the vast, open ocean, without a Sea View Map and a Guiding Compass, one would quickly lose their way and be trapped at sea forever.’

’Could it be...’

’...that guy really did lose his mind and want to die?’

The General Manager couldn’t make sense of it.

But just then, the General Manager’s body suddenly tensed, and he went on alert.

In the water ahead, a strange ripple began to emerge from the distance.

The ripple moved from far to near with incredible speed, extending from the deep seabed all the way to the surface.

Suddenly, a column of water burst from within the ripple, shooting toward the sky before crashing down in a torrent.

A figure was revealed in the center of the downpour. Then, like a meteor streaking across the sea, it shot straight for the Dharma Ship.

His form glittered crystalline in the sunlight, trailing a long wake of water behind him—a winding ribbon of blue that adorned the azure sea, both breathtakingly beautiful and powerfully impressive.

It was none other than Jiang Xu, the man who had jumped into the sea half a month ago. He cut a dashing figure, surrounded by the faint, shimmering light of water ripples. He stood upon a water lotus condensed from seawater, and his speed was actually a notch faster than the Dharma Ship’s.

The General Manager’s eyes widened as he stared at the approaching Jiang Xu, who was heading in his direction at High Speed.

The man’s clothes were damp, but he showed no signs of fatigue; on the contrary, he looked invigorated.

Only now did the General Manager realize there was a third possibility.

This Cultivator hadn’t gotten lost or given up. Instead, he had used this half-month to cultivate in the sea, and the results were clearly astonishing!

When the General Manager saw him jump into the water half a month ago, the man had looked like a complete landlubber.

But judging by his performance now, he was already something extraordinary!