Cultivating with Bragging System-Chapter 629 - 289 The Biggest Search and Rescue Scene in History: Senior Brother, Where Are You?_1

In the blink of an eye, several months passed. The desolate island remained quiet and empty, with no sign of human activity. The surrounding sea was calm, as if it had been this way since time immemorial.

HUM!

A blue light emerged from the seabed, so dazzling it illuminated the surrounding waters with a crystal-clear light. It was a treasured mirror. Its radiance penetrated the depths of the sea, scouring every inch of the area.

WHOOSH!

The blue light flew back to the desolate island, landing in Yu Xiaolong's hands.

His face was pale when he opened his eyes. Seeing several pairs of eyes looking at him, he couldn't help but shake his head in resignation. Disappointment filled the faces of the others, and they sighed silently.

It had been several months. They had been searching the seas in every direction, trying to find any trace that Wang Xiu was still alive. Unfortunately, they had found nothing. The treasured mirror in Yu Xiaolong's hand was a genuine Immortal Artifact called the Eightfold Mirror. It had recorded Wang Xiu's aura, and not even a single drop of his blood in this vast ocean could have escaped its detection. Yet after so much time, there was still no sign of him. It was as if Wang Xiu had never existed, a thought that inevitably led to despair.

ROAR—

A sizable landmass appeared on the sea's surface, overgrown with grass and moss, steadily approaching from the distance. Only as it drew closer did they realize a vast shadow lurked beneath the land, something of unbelievable substance. It was an enormous Ao.

It docked beside the desolate island, bowed respectfully to Ao Canghai, and made sounds that ordinary people could not understand. After listening, Ao Canghai's eyelids drooped. He waved his hand, his expression unchanging.

The Big Ao departed.

Ao Canghai turned to face the others and shook his head. "Still no news."

The Dragon Clan were the overlords of the sea, ruling over all the spirits of the Sea Clan. Commanding lesser lifeforms was incredibly simple for him. The problem was that he had already issued over a hundred commands, reaching every race within these ten thousand miles of ocean and ordering them to search with all their might, yet not a single useful clue had been found.

It seemed Wang Xiu had truly vanished.

Zhao Qingyu, Meng Ran, Han Yi, and the others were all using their own methods to do similar things, and all were achieving similar results.

...

"No worries. Let's rest for a bit, then we'll widen the search area and try again!" Yu Xiaolong said, swallowing a few recovery elixirs before generously offering some to the others.

Although they had clashed on Longhuang Island, their shared efforts over this time had brought them considerably closer.

Ao Canghai looked down at the elixir Yu Xiaolong offered him but did not take it. Instead, he said suddenly, "I have to go."

The others stared at him.

Gazing at the tranquil sea, Ao Canghai explained, "My clan has sent me thirteen messages in a row, urging me to return at once."

Everyone fell silent. It wasn't just Ao Canghai; they had all received similar messages.

Longhuang Island was no more. The Guantian Mirror in the Nine Heavens had regained its function, allowing those above to see everything here. Upon learning that the venture had ended in failure, they were naturally regretful but said nothing more. The great powers whose chosen prodigies hadn't been front-runners were especially relieved. Take the Yi Clan, for example. Their prodigies had all perished before even reaching Longhuang Island. They had been furious at first, but this news made them feel much better. After all, a scenario where no one succeeded was far better than one where a single party won.

Now that the Longhuang Island affair was concluded, those in the Upper Realm certainly wanted the surviving youths to return quickly. Staying in the Cangyuan Realm was meaningless and would only delay their cultivation.

However, whether it was Saintess Zhao Qingyu of the Xuan Tian Sect, Meng Ran—Confucius's direct disciple from the Heaven Dao Academy—or Ao Canghai of the Dragon Clan with his Five-clawed Golden Dragon bloodline, they all kept putting off their respective factions. Their purpose was the same: they wanted to see a resolution. No one was willing to believe that Wang Xiu had simply died like this.

Yu Xiaolong glanced at Ao Canghai. "So soon? But there's still no word on Wang Xiu."

"Is it really that there's no news," Ao Canghai replied, looking back at him, "or that we're unwilling to accept the most likely news? Are we just refusing to admit that everything we've been doing lately has been pointless?"

A heavy silence fell over the group.

Longhuang Island itself was a minor world, and the Dragon Palace within it was a world-within-a-world, governed by exceedingly profound spatial laws. Not to mention, Wang Xiu's final enemy had been an Earth Immortal. Under those circumstances, Wang Xiu could have perished in a void fissure, been devoured by chaotic spatial turbulence, or simply been obliterated entirely. In short, countless possibilities could have made him vanish completely, without a trace.

Their search in this area of the sea had been nothing more than a gamble on the slimmest, most optimistic possibility. The answer was now obvious. Luck was not on their side. Therefore, regardless of which of the other possibilities had occurred, they lacked the power to find any trace of Wang Xiu—not even a single drop of his residual Essence Blood. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

...

They all understood the logic. But for months, no one had dared to voice this thought, deliberately avoiding it. Now that Ao Canghai had broken the unspoken taboo, the atmosphere grew somber. No one spoke. Even the wind over the sea seemed to quiet down, as if afraid to disturb them.

"We have to try again!" Yu Xiaolong insisted.

"Our situations are different," Ao Canghai replied, his face devoid of expression.

Ao Canghai was undoubtedly the hope of this generation of the Dragon Clan. Sending him to the Lower Realm to contend for the Origin of Zhulong had been an incredibly risky and audacious gamble. If anything had happened to him, the Dragon Clan might have continued its decline for thousands of years. Now that the Origin of Zhulong was out of reach, they were naturally desperate for him to return as soon as possible to prevent any other mishaps.