Super Gene Ⅱ: Evolution

Everyone else also saw there's a ship on the sea, and it was drifting towards them.

It was a three-masted ship, the hull entirely pitch black, yet the sails were as white as paper, swaying up and down with the ocean waves, coming towards the shore.

"There seems to be writing on the sails." Di Esi observed carefully, reading aloud, "Transport souls, not people; transport people, not souls; leaving the ship means no landing, your soul will perish."

"Does this mean that only by taking the ship can one reach the other shore? If one crosses the sea physically, their soul will be doomed? But what does 'transport souls, not people; transport people, not souls' mean?" Lin Shen pondered with furrowed brows.

Unable to figure it out, he looked at Xiaoye, hoping to gain some useful information.

"I've never seen these things, nor have I heard of them from my father," Xiaoye said, then added, "But I have heard of a myth in a certain religion where there's such a ship that guides people into Paradise. That ship has no bottom, and if a person stands on it, their body will fall into the water and drown, leaving only the soul on the ship, completely unaware that their body has died, being taken to Paradise. I wonder if the effect is the same with this ship here."

Everyone felt a tightening in their hearts upon hearing this. After struggling so hard to enter the Celestial Court physically, none wanted to abandon their flesh.

As they spoke, the black ship with white sails had approached closely. The ship was as large as a cruise liner, no less than those massive ones.

They ascended to look down onto the ship, seeing that its deck was perfectly intact—nothing like the bottomless ship Xiaoye had mentioned, which made them sigh with relief.

The ship continued forward until it reached the beach, then stopped, silent and motionless, with no sound besides wind and waves.

"Is there anyone on the ship?" Lin Shen shouted at the ship, but there was no reply.

No one dared board the ship, not before they deciphered what "transport souls, not people; transport people, not souls" meant.

"Why not send a pet to test it out?" Xiaona suggested.

Others had indeed thought of such solutions, but hesitated to propose them due to other concerns.

"That's a good method, let's give it a try," Lin Shen said, seeing that no one had a better idea, and summoned a pet to land on the black ship.

The Nirvana Level serpent landed on the deck, and the terrifying scene unfolded in the next second.

Fog-like light rose from the serpent's body, dissipating as it left.

In just a second, the serpent seemed to lose consciousness, collapsed on the deck, and rapidly rotted away, turning to ash within mere breaths, blew away into the sea by the wind.

They looked at each other in confusion; this wasn't transporting souls, but rather destroying both body and soul.

"Woo!" A strange sound emanated from the ship, akin to the sound of a horn.

"Calamity-crossing Ship countdown to departure: one quarter-hour until departure. Passengers wishing to journey to the other side must board prior to departure. After the Calamity-crossing Ship sets sail, the bitter sea will engulf the world. Don't miss the last boarding moment," the eerie voice echoed again in the sky.

Indeed, as they expected, any living being boarding the ship would trigger events.

Xiaona's face looked not so good; lamenting, she said to Lin Shen, "I didn't think it would be like this. I shouldn't have suggested sending a pet on board."

Lin Shen replied with a smile, "It's a necessary part of the process, something that was bound to happen sooner or later. Your suggestion was fine."

"But what do we do now? If we board, we'll die, but not boarding as that bitter sea engulfs the world must be equally dangerous." Xiaona worried.

"It's alright, we're here to cross the sea. Instead of wasting time, we should face the challenge sooner," Di Esi said, unusually comforting.

Xiaona perked up a little, asking, "So should we board the ship or not?"

"Body and soul are one; you can't transport either separately and survive; both must embark together," Di Esi stated.

"Doesn't that mean we'll die whether we board or not?" Xiaona replied.

Lin Shen summoned another pet, directing the Nirvana Level serpent towards the sea.

As soon as the serpent touched the sea, it melted like snow, instantly merging with the ocean, leaving not a trace, not even a ripple.

Lin Shen thought quickly, "Ordinary things can't withstand these horrific waters, but the Great Emperor's Divine Artifact might be different. I refuse to believe the sea can dissolve such an artifact."

While considering, Lin Shen planned to have Xiaona test with the Purple Gold Gourd. If it could withstand the corrosive water, they could cross the sea using it instead of the black ship.

"Let me try; I might be able to board," Ouyang Yudu said, raising the jade umbrella and heading towards the ship.

"No need to risk it, there are other ways," Lin Shen hurriedly said.

"I have some confidence; let me test it first," Ouyang Yudu said and was already climbing up.

As he set foot on the ship, light mist emerged around the jade umbrella but couldn't penetrate its coverage. Even beneath the umbrella, Ouyang Yudu remained untouched by the misty light.

Seeing this, everyone beamed with joy. Ouyang Yudu, holding the umbrella, circled on the deck, returning with no harm but rather a rosier complexion, more vibrant than before boarding.

"I can break this ship's peculiarities; join me on the ship," Ouyang Yudu raised the umbrella high, its mysterious light transforming into a massive canopy, allowing everyone to gather beneath and board together.

With Ouyang Yudu and the umbrella's protection, they experienced no ill effects upon boarding the black ship. The light mist outside absorbed by the umbrella, increased its brilliance.

A quarter-hour later, the overwhelming sea engulfed the beach, and the ship sailed with the waves, gradually entering the ocean.

On the deck, they watched the sea waves dance with the storm, seeing ghostly figures standing in the ocean, gazing at them aboard as if searching for replacements like water ghosts, no matter how they focused, the figures' faces remained unclear.

The figures on the sea rose and fell, appearing and disappearing, but none climbed aboard, and as the black ship proceeded, they ventured into the ocean's depths.

"I wonder if those figures are people who tried crossing in the past, leaving only their souls here," Di Esi sighed softly.

As the words fell, the invisible ghostly figures in the sea suddenly rushed toward the ship like a tide.

Their concern grew, unsure whether Ouyang Yudu's umbrella could withstand the endless ghostly figures.

In the next second, they saw the figures touching the umbrella's light, transforming into mist and getting absorbed into it.

As numerous ghostly figures turned into mist, drawn into the umbrella, the light on the umbrella grew more intense, enveloping even Ouyang Yudu, who started emanating radiant white light, resembling an immortal basking in immortal light.