"We're underwater, the barrier is about to collapse, we need to escape," Ling Yun said softly, holding Xiao Rou's hand.
The Heavenly Eye, glowing with a faint black light, flew to the two of them. The black ribbons it emitted had formed a massive black curtain stretching for countless miles, even covering the entire sky, as it absorbed the last of the barrier's energy.
The barrier beneath the darkness suddenly emitted a final, brilliant flash, like a star before an explosion, before shattering with a deafening roar.
Chapter 363 The Assassin of the Coastline
Seawater cascaded down from the sky like a waterfall. After the Heavenly Eye absorbed most of its energy, the remaining barrier was no longer sufficient to support the vast space. Under immense pressure, the seawater immediately poured in, even instantly forming a sea eye with a diameter of several kilometers.
Ling Yun and Xiao Rou simultaneously leaped into the air, heading towards the sea eye. The immense pressure of the seawater almost made the two superhumans faint the instant they were engulfed. Fortunately, they had already activated their mental energy fields for protection and were rapidly ascending towards the surface at rocket speed, so they didn't feel that the pressure of the seawater was particularly terrifying.
All the black light ribbons instantly returned to the Heavenly Eye's body, and then the Heavenly Eye quickly caught up with the rapidly rising Ling Yun, disappearing in a flash from his chest.
With two splashes, Ling Yun and Xiao Rou emerged from the sea. Unlike ordinary people, not only their heads but their entire bodies rose above the surface until their feet touched the water. The silver light of their mental energy field flicked, shaking off most of the water, and their clothes, which had been soaked with seawater, immediately became dry and warm.
It was nighttime in reality. After traveling for such a long time within the ancient barrier, although time within the barrier differed from real time, seeing the star-studded night sky again and smelling the slightly salty, moist sea air, the two couldn't help but feel as if they had returned to another world. Even in the pitch-black night, on a vast sea where there was no one for miles around, Lingyun and Xiaorou still felt an extraordinary warmth, and for a moment they couldn't help but want to shout: "World, we're back!"
The two walked slowly on the sea, hand in hand. For people with superpowers, they only need to use a little bit of telekinesis to achieve a balance of gravity by using the buoyancy of the seawater. For Ling Yun and Xiao Rou, it was a piece of cake.
The sea was calm and still, with gentle ripples on the surface. Despite the darkness, Lingyun and Xiaorou's vision was unaffected. They strolled forward as if walking in a vast plaza. The scenes they had experienced within the barrier were still vivid in their minds; they needed time to process those thrilling trials.
"Honey, has the Sky Eye returned?" After walking for a long time, Xiao Rou asked softly.
"It's back." Ling Yun nodded and said. He had sensed the Heavenly Eye entering the barrier, but he couldn't understand why it automatically flew back into the barrier without being summoned. From any perspective, the Heavenly Eye seemed like a mysterious treasure with no life or consciousness. But for some reason, after experiencing the danger of the barrier, Ling Yun felt that the Heavenly Eye was more like a living entity, even possessing its own emotions and preferences.
The two were still clueless about the secret of the Heavenly Eye. However, having become accustomed to its strange behavior, Lingyun and Xiaorou no longer found it odd. Instead, they felt a sense of familiarity when they heard the pulsating sound. The Heavenly Eye seemed to have reached a tacit understanding with the two, making them feel exceptionally at ease. In fact, the Heavenly Eye played a crucial role in several of Lingyun and Xiaorou's dangerous encounters.
Only when it encountered the Realm Spirit this time did the Heavenly Eye seem to reveal its true characteristics as a supreme treasure. Needless to say, just the ability to display the macroscopic world alone is enough for this small black bead to destroy the entire world. The shock it brought to Ling Yun and Xiao Rou was far more than just a simple awe. This small black bead was truly a genuine treasure of heaven and earth, even more powerful than Ling Yun and Xiao Rou had imagined.
"It's a pity our boat is gone, and we don't know where we are now," Ling Yun said with a wry smile. The two of them had entered the barrier in a smuggled boat, which was left in the passageway leading into the barrier. Now, it had naturally been reduced to fragments along with the barrier.
Xiao Rou rolled her eyes at him: "It's good enough that you can keep your life, you want to keep the boat too? I think this is good too. We should not be far from the American coastline. While the sea is calm, we should speed up. It should be faster than taking the boat. I just don't know how much time has passed and whether we can still track the trace of the aura that took Xia Lan away."
Ling Yun used his microscopic perception to check the rate of cell shedding and said, "It should be alright. According to the time comparison between the inside and outside of the barrier, only one day should have passed in reality. We can still find traces of aura in the deep sea, and at the same time, we can determine the direction."
"It's only been one day, haha, honey, it feels like a year has passed," Xiaorou said with a sigh. Indeed, the adventures within the barrier had left an extremely deep impression on the girl, and even now Xiaorou still couldn't completely detach herself from the world within the barrier. Although a day in reality felt incredibly long inside the barrier.
“Wife, you can feel it too? This is more like a girl now, unlike before when she was always cold and aloof, like an ice queen.” Ling Yun said, and began to generate a panoramic view above the sea to detect direction and traces of her presence.
He suddenly discovered that his ability to generate panoramic views had easily broken through the previous distance limits. The panoramic view generated an overhead perspective thousands of meters above the sea, showing the entire sea. Before entering the barrier, his best ability was to extend the panoramic image to a height of several hundred meters.
After emerging from the barrier, Ling Yun clearly felt that his power had increased to an incredible level. Moreover, it was not the kind of steady increase, but a huge leap across a realm. His mental energy field was enough to support a panoramic view thousands of meters high without even needing to manifest within his body. Compared to before, his mental energy field was not only stronger, but also purer.
The trials within the barrier weren't in vain. Although each time was a brush with death, the benefits gained from overcoming them were self-evident. Ling Yun thought to himself, glancing at Xiao Rou. His girlfriend's face was flawless, like a piece of beautiful jade, its whiteness radiating a captivating glow. Compared to Ling Yun, Xiao Rou's growth rate was even more astonishing. If one only looked at her restrained telekinetic field, she was practically unrecognizable from before entering the barrier.
The panoramic view quickly detected lingering traces of their presence. Ling Yun roughly determined their location and was surprised to find that they were only a few hundred kilometers from the west coast of the United States. This was much closer than where they had entered the barrier. After a moment's thought, Ling Yun understood what had happened. The barrier hadn't stopped moving while absorbing them; instead, it had sunk to the seabed and continued to flow with the underwater currents, bringing them so close to the west coast. Fortunately, the current wasn't in the opposite direction; otherwise, their attempt to smuggle themselves in would have been a waste of time.
"Based on the current distance calculation, even if we only use half our speed, we can reach the shore by dawn," Ling Yun said after a rough calculation. The panoramic view not only allows us to see higher, farther, and with a wider range, but also has a newly developed ability that can accurately calculate distances and multipliers, displaying the distance from Ling Yun's feet to the shore with almost perfect accuracy. This undoubtedly provides Ling Yun with more precise information.
"What are your plans for going to the US Bureau of Supernatural Abilities? Will you just go directly to them?" Xiaorou asked.
“They won’t admit it if we go directly to them.” Ling Yun shook his head. “We can only investigate secretly. Only if we find evidence against Xia Lan will they admit it. But it’s hard to say whether it was really the American Superpower Bureau that did it. However, the traces are here, so we can’t be wrong.”
Following the trail of their scent, the two sped westward. The distance of several hundred kilometers was only a few hours for them. When the first rays of the morning sun, tinged with red, appeared behind them, Lingyun and Xiaorou could already see the dark coastline in the distance.
As the sun rose higher, it shimmered the sea. The two were lucky; for several hours, they encountered no storms or waves, not even a single danger from a large sea creature. They traversed hundreds of kilometers as if on a leisurely stroll. Despite not having drunk a drop of water for days and nights, Lingyun and Xiaorou felt neither thirsty nor hungry. For those with supernatural abilities, fasting was merely one aspect of cultivation, and eating was simply a means to satisfy their appetite. The higher the level of a supernatural being, the less dependent they were on food and water. Especially for those of general rank and above, going months or even a year without food or water was normal.
As Ling Yun expected, this was another deserted coastline. It was impossible for a trace of aura to pass directly across a crowded beach. Even a super strong person would avoid causing public alarm.
The two stepped onto the shore, their feet sinking into the waves. Ahead lay a light-colored beach, beyond which stretched a small forest. Through the sparse branches and leaves, they could vaguely see the vast, desolate western wilderness. Apart from a few asphalt highways that resembled twisted snakes and scattered bushes and desert vegetation, there was no sign of human habitation. It seemed that the two would have to endure a long journey before reaching any American city.
Fortunately, the barrier contained the passports and green cards that Zhang Yunfeng had prepared for the two of them. Moreover, language was not a problem for Ling Yun and Xiao Rou, as English is a universally recognized language in the world, and even ordinary people can manage a few simple sentences.
Suddenly, the two stopped in their tracks, their gazes fixed on the dark rocks near the shore. Two figures, one large and one small, stood motionless there, their backs to Ling Yun and Xiao Rou. Without close inspection, it was easy to mistake these two figures for part of the rocks. Although they were two living people, they showed no signs of life or energy fluctuations, making them difficult for even those with supernatural abilities to detect.
If Ling Yun and Xiao Rou hadn't been much more perceptive than before, and if they hadn't deliberately concealed their forms, they probably wouldn't have easily noticed them.
Ling Yun felt a chill run down his spine. If these two were to secretly conceal their aura and launch a sneak attack, it would be difficult to detect them. Of course, this was under the premise that Ling Yun did not use the Eye of Illusion. Since the barrier was created, the Eye of Illusion had become extremely sensitive to changes in energy. It could detect the slightest movement, and even the bursting of a bubble several kilometers away was within Ling Yun's grasp.
Hearing the two figures stop their footsteps, the two figures slowly turned around. Ling Yun and Xiao Rou exclaimed in surprise again. One of the figures had a familiar face. The short figure was a thin, sallow-faced but handsome young man. He was the same superhuman who had stolen Xiao Rou's Heavenly Eye from the ferry when they were smuggling people across the border. Ling Yun had tricked him into leaving with a fake, but they never expected to meet him again on the deserted shore. Judging from his appearance, the young man had realized that the Heavenly Eye he had stolen was a fake.
The taller figure was a rather stern-faced young man, probably in his thirties. His appearance was ordinary, with nothing particularly special about him, except that when he occasionally rolled his small eyes, a captivating glint of light appeared.
"It's them!" The boy pointed at Ling Yun and Xiao Rou, his young face filled with righteous indignation, as if the two had a blood feud with him. This startled Ling Yun and Xiao Rou.
"We've waited a whole day and night, and it wasn't for nothing." The ordinary-looking man said calmly without a smile, "You two have finally arrived. Since you're here, leave the Heavenly Eye behind."
"Oh?" Xiao Rou and Ling Yun exchanged a glance. Ling Yun said with a half-smile, "Heavenly Eye? What is the Heavenly Eye? I have no idea."
"Stop pretending." Before the ordinary man could speak, the boy said angrily, "You deliberately let me steal the fake Heavenly Eye, do you think I can't see through it? Hand over the Heavenly Eye now, or don't blame us for being impolite." He glared angrily, trying to make a fierce and menacing expression.
He was originally handsome with delicate features and a pitiful, honest appearance, but he insisted on putting on an old-fashioned and rude act, which made people laugh. Ling Yun and Xiao Rou were taken aback and couldn't help but grin.
Seeing that the two men didn't take him seriously at all, a flash of anger and ruthlessness appeared in the boy's eyes. Half of his body suddenly became ethereal, and he leaned forward as if to charge forward. However, the ordinary man simply reached out and gently patted his shoulder, and the boy immediately stopped all his movements.
"Gentlemen, please hand over the Heavenly Eye." The ordinary man ignored Ling Yun's words and spoke calmly as before.
Ling Yun smiled. This was the first time he had encountered such a public robbery, and the man did it so naturally. It seemed that he had gotten used to doing this all the time. He guessed that if he didn't give it to him, the other party would just take it. As for why the man and the boy knew that Ling Yun possessed the Heavenly Eye, Ling Yun was not surprised. After the battle in Hong Kong, almost all superhumans knew the secret of the Heavenly Eye.
"Why should I give it to you? I don't even know you," Ling Yun said.
"Because if you don't give it to me, I'll kill you." The ordinary-looking man remained calm.
"Do you assassins talk so much nonsense?" Ling Yun chuckled.
Chapter 364 Pan Yuling
"How did you know?" The man's eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light, and his tone turned icy. His question, however, implicitly admitted that he was the assassin.