Chen Jiuyang, Luo Xingchen, Wu Shuang'er, the middle-aged man, and a servant entered the ship.
Now, the middle-aged man had vanished.
To be tricked right under the nose of Chen Jiuyang, a peak ninth-level Emperor Realm cultivator, was truly chilling.
Luo Xingchen's hands trembled slightly, her expression momentarily dazed, "I don't remember who disappeared?"
As for Wu Shuang'er and the mortal, they were in despair.
Where had they arrived?
Chen Jiuyang remained calm, his mind racing.
What could cause someone to disappear?
He seemed to recall something.
"Swish—"
With a spread of his fingers, shadowy blades appeared, sweeping across the spot where the middle-aged man had stood.
But they met empty air, striking nothing.
Chen Jiuyang frowned, "Did I guess wrong?"
Immediately, Chen Jiuyang's expression changed. The image of the middle-aged man rapidly faded from his mind. Within a thousandth of a breath, Chen Jiuyang lost all memory of him:
"Did someone really disappear?"
Chen Jiuyang, at the ninth level of the Emperor Realm, was equivalent to an immortal in the cultivation of the immortal path, just a step away from becoming a Martial Dao Red Dust Immortal.
Luo Xingchen was also not weak in cultivation.
Their combat power could suppress the world. If they encountered an enemy, they would eliminate them with all their might.
But everything that was happening now was beyond their comprehension.
This kind of unknown strangeness, where a living person vanished before their eyes and their memory of them was erased, clouded their minds. Even though they could shatter stars, they felt powerless.
Luo Xingchen asked in a deep voice, "Brother Chen, what should we do? If all these people disappear, we'll be next."
Chen Jiuyang frowned and said, "We can only continue forward. That way, there's a sliver of hope. If we retreat, the Four-Nine Tribulation awaits us."
"Before we find any clues, we must not use any divine abilities."
Only now did Chen Jiuyang realize that this place was similar to the previous villages: Sheng Village, Si Village, and Guiyi Village. It was a refining ground for the second origin great dao laid out by 'Zhuang Wu's' Dao Fruit.
Similarly, this place might not only contain 'Zhuang Wu's' Dao Fruit's origin great dao, but also the origin great dao of other Dao Fruits, which could explain the current bizarre situation.
If that were the case, rashly using divine abilities would put them at a disadvantage.
"I understand," Luo Xingchen replied in a deep voice.
Chen Jiuyang flicked his finger, and vast Emperor Realm Dao power surged forth, illuminating the ship's interior with golden immortal light, scanning like a sonar detector.
But there was no response.
"Let's keep moving forward."
They arrived at the entrance from the first to the second level of the ship. Bai Riyue and Qi Wushuang had already reached it but did not rashly push the door. Beside them, only one young woman remained, Wu Shuang'er's personal maid.
Qi Wushuang said with a solemn expression, "I can sense great danger behind this door. Perhaps it's where we can find clues."
Luo Xingchen directly pushed the door open with force. The entire door turned to dust. The six of them stepped onto the stairs and entered the second level of the ship.
The scene before them changed abruptly. Inside, there was a spatial formation, a massive palace with a hundred steps. Before the palace gate on the steps stood a bizarre bronze statue of a nine-tailed fox, but its head was missing.
A strange, faint fragrance wafted throughout the grand hall.
The group began to ascend the steps. Midway, Chen Jiuyang's footsteps suddenly stopped. He turned his head and said,
"The rain has stopped."
"Wuwuwu~"
Immediately, a chilling ghost wind howled, making their scalps tingle.
"Ah!!!"
Wu Shuang'er screamed again, her body going weak.
"Clang!"
Before the palace, the sound of a wind chime suddenly rang out.
"Brother Chen!"
Luo Xingchen said in a deep voice.
Chen Jiuyang's gaze shifted back. He saw that the empty space before the palace was now occupied by over a dozen human skins suspended in the air.
As the ghost wind swirled, the dozen human skins turned their faces towards Chen Jiuyang and the other six. The blood-drenched skins stared directly at them.
"It's those dozen people who disappeared since boarding the ship!"
Chen Jiuyang's pupils contracted. He seemed to recall something, yet also not.
"What should we do?" Bai Riyue's expression was grim.
Qi Wushuang said, "They are merely human skin ghosts. Just burn them."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and flicked a finger. Quasi-Emperor level magical power surged out, instantly igniting the dozen human skins.
"Whoosh!"
A fierce fire erupted, consuming the dozen bloody human skins. The smell of burnt flesh and blood filled the air, making them nauseous.
Chen Jiuyang's eyes widened suddenly, and he quickly exclaimed, "Brother Qi, stop!!!"
Qi Wushuang immediately frowned and ceased channeling his power.
Chen Jiuyang, being a prodigy from the Crippled Elder Village, would not speak without reason. Now that they were all in the same boat, he wouldn't ask them to stop if it would harm them.
He then noticed the grim expressions of Bai Riyue and Luo Xingchen. He looked at his hand and his face turned ashen.
The finger that had unleashed his magical power had silently vanished. Purple-gold blood flowed from where the finger had been!
And he, a quasi-Emperor prodigy, had been affected without even realizing it, struck silently!
Qi Wushuang's face turned extremely unsightly. He gritted his teeth and said, "Thank you, Brother Chen."
Chen Jiuyang's expression was also very grim. He said in a deep voice, "We must find a solution quickly."
"Now that the rain has stopped, the strange phenomenon that caused people to disappear inexplicably seems to have ceased."
"I suspect this ship contains more than one origin great dao, making it quite dangerous."
The others nodded slowly.
"Wuwuwu~"
The dozen human skins suspended in the air before the palace stared at Chen Jiuyang and the others. The skins trembled slightly, as if mocking them.
Bai Riyue said, "The Four-Nine Tribulation offers a sliver of hope. We need to enter this palace to investigate further."
Luo Xingchen said, "I'll use my avatar to scout ahead."
As he spoke, another avatar of Luo Xingchen appeared. Just as it was about to walk towards the palace to investigate, Chen Jiuyang raised his hand to stop her: "Fellow Daoist Luo, wait a moment."
Luo Xingchen saw Chen Jiuyang's solemn expression, and he said loudly, "Your cultivation is still a little lacking. This time, I will investigate."
As the word 'I' was spoken, an avatar identical to Chen Jiuyang appeared. Except for the absence of the Yan Sheng Saber at his waist, everything else was basically the same.
This point caused Qi Wushuang and Bai Riyue to narrow their eyes.
Then, Chen Jiuyang's avatar stepped onto the stairs and walked towards the palace. The human skin ghosts before the palace did not attack Chen Jiuyang, but merely emitted a chilling hiss.
A moment later, Chen Jiuyang frowned and said, "The connection with the avatar is lost."