Chapter 113: The Secret of the Ghost Ship

“Could it be that they have arrived?” Huafeng wasn’t certain. In this noisy environment, he couldn’t concentrate enough to release his spiritual energy to sense what was happening outside.

“Just follow this passage straight ahead, and you’ll be able to leave this place. The rest of the way, you’ll have to manage on your own! I’ll go check the situation,” Xingtian said, then dashed swiftly toward the area with the strongest sound fluctuations, leaving Huafeng and the other five standing there in a daze.

“Are all the sea clan people really this bold?” Yunmeng stuck out her tongue, her mood lifted by their narrow escape.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Let’s just get out first,” Bai Feng advised.

“Maybe they just don’t have time to bother with us. Let’s go!” Wang Yue said, pulling Shuangning along. Li Long followed behind, while Huafeng and Yunmeng walked side by side. Until they had fully recovered their strength, any worries or speculations they had could not be verified.

In the Sea Clan’s security control room, the signal alarm lights flickered incessantly. Many young people dressed simply moved among the consoles.

“The energy shield has been struck by an unidentified object; energy is steadily decreasing. The charging system is insufficient, and the shield’s energy is below 50%... Warning... Warning... Three high-energy humanoid lifeforms detected...”

The system’s alert tones rang out continuously. The long-absent chaos among the Sea Clan members was gradually giving way to a semblance of order.

“Three people almost overwhelmed our energy shield? What is the strength of these intruders?” Xingtian hurried into the command center, shocked by the chaotic situation before him.

“Reporting, Captain! The system estimates the intruders’ strength at the Yuan Saint level according to the continental power evaluation system, though their exact rank is unclear. The other two are high-level Yuan Emperors,” a well-built Sea Clan young woman responded expressionlessly.

“Experts at the Yuan Saint level?” Xingtian was stunned. “Bring up their images immediately!”

The Sea Clan maiden quickly operated the touchscreen before her, and soon an image appeared on the central screen.

In the display, three figures in Taoist robes, their long hair flowing, moved as effortlessly underwater as on land. They struck the energy shield with powerful blows one after another. With each impact, the Sea Clan’s territory trembled increasingly, like the onset of an earthquake. It seemed they were about to break through.

“Who are you, powerful ones? Why do you assault our Sea Clan territory?” The venerable elder finally stepped forward to negotiate, the situation reaching a critical point.

“Finally, someone comes forward. I thought all of you Sea Clan folk were just hiding turtles! A few hours ago, you captured several young people in the central plaza of the Atlantis continent in the North Atlantic, didn’t you?” Zhang Sanfeng withdrew his attack, the aura of a Yuan Saint unmistakable.

Standing nearby, a warmth akin to sunlight radiated from him. Even the chairman of the Sea Clan Elders Council couldn’t help but inwardly admire such formidable cultivation. Though confident in his own strength, he realized that there was always someone stronger—Eastern cultivators were not to be underestimated.

“That’s true, but I believe this is just a misunderstanding. I have already instructed Xingtian to release them. Soon, you will be able to meet them,” the elder said with reluctance but had no choice but to swallow his pride for the moment.

Meanwhile, Huafeng and the others passed through the corridor, seeing rows of somewhat dilapidated ships lining both sides. Among them was the infamous ghost ship, the “Gobi Hafen”!

“Huafeng, what are you looking at?” Yunmeng noticed him staring intently at one vessel.

“Do you know this? It’s the most incredible ghost ship of the 20th century—the Danish training ship ‘Gobi Hafen’.”

This five-masted schooner, in 1928, carried 80 young aspiring sailors on a round-the-world training voyage. On December 4th of that year, it departed from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to continue the next leg of its journey.

About a week later, the “Gobi Hafen” had sailed 400 nautical miles away. The base received a telegram reporting smooth sailing and the crew in good condition. But after that, no further news came, and the ship never returned to its home port of Copenhagen. Curiously, multiple ships traversing the Atlantic reported encounters with this fully rigged ship at various locations.

In January 1929, residents of the British Tristan da Cunha Islands in the South Atlantic sighted the vessel drifting between the island and the Cape of Good Hope during a strong gale. A few days later, the winds ceased, and the Danish organized a search, which yielded no results. Later that year, Chilean fishermen also spotted the ship while working at sea.

Following reports, local maritime rescue teams launched searches but returned empty-handed. The disappearance stirred widespread attention in Denmark. Many trainees aboard came from wealthy or noble families, who soon lost faith in the official search efforts.

They then raised funds privately to organize searches, but still found nothing. Thus, it was believed that the “Gobi Hafen” had sunk and that no one could have survived.

The group listened, captivated. Wang Yue continued, “The story of the ‘Gobi Hafen’ did not end there.”

Twenty years later, on the night of October 7-8, 1959, the Dutch cargo ship “Strat Magelhans” sailed off Africa’s southern tip. Captain Bit Argyle suddenly spotted a large sailing ship approaching head-on. The ship ignored all signals and warnings, forcing Captain Argyle to take evasive action to avoid collision. Soon after, the fully rigged vessel disappeared into the morning fog. Argyle suspected it was the long-lost “Gobi Hafen.” If correct, the ship had drifted at sea for twenty years, earning its reputation as a true “ghost ship.”

Such mysterious incidents still occasionally surface in modern times. Reports often describe abandoned speedboats found at sea, stocked with ample food, drinks, lifesaving gear, and communication devices—yet no sign of their owners. Investigations almost always conclude: “Everything appears normal, but the people have vanished.”

No one can definitively say what happened aboard these ill-fated ships, but many believe that someday the full truth or the true culprit will be revealed. Humanity trusts in its wisdom to unravel the supernatural, which ultimately belongs to the natural order. History holds the answers.

“So what does the ghost ship’s presence here mean? Could the Sea Clan be the instigators?” This question lingered among them, but for now, the mystery of the ghost ship had to be set aside.

As Huafeng and his companions walked and talked, the trembling finally subsided. They gradually emerged from beneath the dome’s coverage. Looking up toward the exit, the elegant figures of Zhang Sanfeng, Dan Qiusheng, and Yichenzi appeared before them.