When the massive waves settled, the pitch-black sea regained its stillness. The fleet that had blocked the channel was gone without a trace.
Zhang Yuanqing looked far into the distance, focusing his senses. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary and sensing no eerie ghostly aura with his spiritual perception, he let out a breath of relief. "The crisis is resolved for now."
"Phew..." The others silently exhaled, their taut bodies relaxing. Even so, lingering fear gripped their hearts at the memory of the overwhelming barrage just moments before.
If not for Xiahou Aotian, a Scholar backed by immense family wealth, their paddle-wheel ship would have sunk in that assault. The trial had barely begun, yet they had already weathered a life-or-death crisis.
Truly worthy of an S-rank dungeon.
"Freaking brilliant, truly brilliant!" Brother Red Chicken spared no praise.
Xiahou Aotian scoffed lightly and tilted his haughty chin up. "In every story, the protagonist is always the one who turns the tide and plays the greatest role, while the supporting cast only needs to gaze upon him in admiration.
"I, Xiahou Aotian, am the born protagonist, your rock and support. Here, I would like to specifically commend Yuanshi Tianzun. Although he slacked off the entire time and contributed practically nothing, the necklace he gave me allowed me to evade multiple attacks and successfully assemble the counterattack cannon."
Immediately afterward, his gaze swept over Yin Ji and Natsuki's Love, an eyebrow cocked with a smirk. "You two possess quite the looks. Try currying favor with me, and there will be a place for you in my harem."
Then he looked at Eagle of Freedom and added, "You won't do. Born in the Beautiful Confederation, yet you are not beautiful enough."
Eagle of Freedom's lips twitched violently. Her fists clenched, released, and clenched again.
Natsuki's Love inhaled deeply, forcing herself to stay calm.
Yin Ji turned her head away, fixing her eyes upon the tranquil, profound sea, seemingly afraid she might not be able to stop herself from hitting him.
"Did this guy's condition get worse?" Brother Red Chicken was evidently a Fire Specialist with half a brain; comparing before and after, he cleverly deduced that Xiahou Aotian's chuunibyou had intensified.
His condition really had worsened. Pairing the Lucky Necklace with chuunibyou was cringeworthy enough to make one's toes curl through the seabed. What sane person tries to build a harem in an S-rank dungeon? Zhang Yuanqing gave a dry cough and said, "In that case, my dear protagonist, please return my necklace."
Xiahou Aotian immediately scowled, displeased. "Yuanshi Tianzun, you have zero awareness of what it means to be a supporting character. You ought to present this item to me as a gift and beg for my protection, thereby securing a spot in the protagonist's party.
"Whatever. You're the one missing out on fortune anyway."
Still, he was not shameless enough to hoard the item, taking off the Lucky Necklace and tossing it back.
Evidently, he still possessed some moral bottom line.
Zhang Yuanqing caught the necklace and stowed it into his inventory.
Without the Lucky Necklace, Xiahou Aotian recalled his words just now, and his expression froze instantly.
Even as someone who saw himself as a shonen manga protagonist, he found what he had just said rather shameful.
However, losing the Lucky Necklace also reminded him of an immensely important matter...
The cannon itself was not worth much; what was truly precious was the energy pack. It was strategic-grade gear advanced by the Xiahou family to Saint-stage members.
At eighty million apiece, the energy packs were simply too expensive. The clan could not bear to gift them outright to talented juniors—their finances could not endure it—yet they could not leave them without trump cards either.
So the black-hearted clan elders had slapped their foreheads and cooked up a rotten idea: advancing them to the clan's younger generation.
What did advancing mean?
As long as you didn't use it, the energy pack seemed to belong to you. But the moment you used it, you had to pay the clan an eighty-million-yuan usage fee.
What did eighty million mean? That was the price of a top-tier Saint-stage item, or the annual revenue of a mid-sized enterprise.
Though Xiahou Aotian owned quite a few items, they were essentially his fixed assets, and only a handful were truly worth over ten million—none of which he could sell.
He would have to liquidate multiple Transcendent-stage items, as well as real-world properties and stocks, just to scrape together such a colossal sum of cash.
Thus, Xiahou Aotian wanted to negotiate with his teammates to see if they could split the cost.
Yet he had just proclaimed grand ambitions of gathering a harem and taking underlings, only to turn around and ask to split the bill. It was undeniably humiliating.
In the end, money triumphed over pride. Hardening his resolve, Xiahou Aotian cleared his throat and said, "Um, this protagonist has a matter to discuss with everyone. Well... ahem, about the cost of that energy pack—could everyone chip in? Once we leave the Spirit Realm, could each of you wire me eight million?
"Don't worry, you're not getting a bad deal. I'm covering thirty-two million all by myself."
With that, he looked at everyone expectantly.
The others pretended to admire the surrounding scenery, as though they had heard nothing.
Eagle of Freedom sneered, "What a cheap protagonist!"
Xiahou Aotian's handsome face flushed bright red. Gritting his teeth, he turned silently toward the stern to steer the ship.
The halted paddle-wheel ship started moving again. Since Yin Ji had lost many spirit servants and they were short-handed, Zhang Yuanqing summoned Ghost Bride and Little Doubi, ordering mother and son to serve as crew.
With sparse baby hair, Little Doubi blinked his innocent, wide eyes, utterly bewildered as Ghost Bride carried him off to tread the paddle wheels.
"Sister Yun Meng, I burned through too much spiritual power. Give me a massage, will you?" Brother Red Chicken walked up to the Qinghe maiden with familiar ease and made an audacious request.
"A-a massage?" Yun Meng looked baffled and at a loss.
"Healing!" Zhang Yuanqing prompted.
"Oh, oh..." Yun Meng realized with a start. She hurriedly placed her small hand on Brother Red Chicken's shoulder. A gentle green light flared, wisps of it sinking into his body and making him nearly groan in comfort.
Zhang Yuanqing and the others had not expended much power and did not need treatment.
Standing on the battered deck, each person gazed toward a different direction to watch the sea.
By now, the paddle-wheel ship had traveled far from shore. Looking as far as the eye could see, one could faintly make out the vague, tiny silhouette of Yashan Island.
*It will take at least another hour to reach the island. The next wave of danger should arrive soon...* Zhang Yuanqing visually estimated the distance and reached a judgment.
Even though Xiahou Aotian had blown the intercepting fleet to pieces through the power of throwing money at the problem, Zhang Yuanqing did not believe that fleet was the main-quest ghost ship the Demon Lord had mentioned.
Because it was simply too easy.
The previous team might not have possessed Xiahou Aotian's cannon, but anyone matched into an S-rank dungeon had to be an elite. Among them was a genius like the Demon Lord, alongside vital items from the Jianghuai Branch and the Xie family.
Dealing with a fleet would not have been difficult for them.
*Therefore, the true ghost ship has yet to appear...* Thoughts raced through Zhang Yuanqing's mind, and he remembered the Demon-Subduing Pestle.
*Should I take out the Demon-Subduing Pestle right now and beg the Empress to terminate this S-rank dungeon, or wait until real danger strikes? Better wait a bit and see what comes next,* Zhang Yuanqing muttered to himself.
Just then, Brother Red Chicken rested his arms on the bulwark, pulled his gaze back from the distance, and looked at Eagle of Freedom. "Hey, banana, what do Enforcers in Heaven's Punishment actually do?"
Perhaps because they had shared a brush with death, Eagle of Freedom merely snorted coldly and replied in a foreign language:
"The Enforcers' duty is to enforce the laws of the Heaven's Punishment organization. Anyone who violates the law—whether of an orderly profession or an evil profession—shall be punished. Beneath the sky, all living beings fall under our jurisdiction."
"What does that mean?" Brother Red Chicken couldn't understand.
"Basically the Brocade Guard—the emperor's lapdogs," Zhang Yuanqing localized the translation.
Brother Red Chicken came to an instant realization.
Eagle of Freedom cast a dissatisfied glare at the young genius of the Five Elements Alliance.
Natsuki's Love added, "The Enforcers are primarily composed of Wind Mages. Heaven's Punishment was originally formed from two major professions: Wind Mages and Thunder Mages. Wind Mages excel in speed and flight, coupled with considerable lethality, so they make up the Enforcer division, tasked with pursuit, arrest, and hunting down enemies.
"Thunder Mages possess fierce, domineering temperaments and are renowned for unyielding uprightness. They established the Inspector division, which investigates internal violations and misconduct. Of course, 'upright' is relative; let's just say the group tends to be comparatively righteous, but don't go imagining them as Judge Bao."
Eagle of Freedom declared proudly, "Heaven's Punishment is the most powerful and vast organization in the world. It possesses the breadth of mind to embrace all rivers into the sea. Any orderly profession can shine and thrive by joining Heaven's Punishment—something the Five Elements Alliance, rife with bureaucracy and nepotism, can never match."
Natsuki's Love remarked flatly, "Embracing all rivers might be true, but so is harboring scum and villainy."
Eagle of Freedom scoffed, "Your country has an old saying: in a large forest, all kinds of birds dwell. Is everyone in the Five Elements Alliance truly law-abiding? Never mind me—Yuanshi Tianzun would probably be the first to disagree, wouldn't he?"
Zhang Yuanqing remained silent for a moment, then revealed a chilling, Demonic Eye-esque sneer. "You're right. That's why I intend to purge the world!"
The surrounding Saints were startled by his smile.
Zhang Yuanqing hastily laughed it off. "Just kidding! I was doing an impression of Heavenly King Demonic Eye."
Brother Red Chicken was left stunned. "I've never met Heavenly King Demonic Eye, but damn, that grin of yours was wicked as hell."
Eagle of Freedom scrutinized Yuanshi Tianzun, frowning. "Do you have some kind of mental illness? The way you looked just now was identical to the zealots I've seen. That's not something an ordinary person can fake."
Brother Red Chicken habitually played devil's advocate. "Nah, just too much internal heat. When we get back, I'll brew some soup for you to cool your fire."
Hearing this, the aloof Yin Ji turned her head and examined Yuanshi Tianzun closely.
By then, however, Zhang Yuanqing had already reverted to his cheerful, socially shameless persona, grinning. "Ever since I caught a mental illness, my mental health has never been better."
Eagle of Freedom still brooded over Natsuki's Love's words. Glancing at Brother Red Chicken, she sneered, "And this top dog of the Antler Gang—under which Elder in Soup Province do you serve? No need to make excuses. Ninety percent of rogue practitioners in this world who manage to reach the Saint stage definitely have a backer.
"Among non-governmental rogue organizations, small fries aside, anything that develops some scale and momentum is inevitably backed by a major organization or a Spirit Realm clan."
"It's the Deer Head Gang," Brother Red Chicken corrected. Squinting, he smiled. "Soup Province has seven Elders, and only two belong to the Fire Specialist profession. Guess which one."
At this moment, the Fire Specialist brimmed with aggressiveness and danger, truly displaying the aura of an underworld boss.
*Non-governmental rogue organizations of any scale are all backed by official factions or Spirit Realm clans? That's something I never considered before. The Palace of Halting Slaughter gave me an ingrained impression of rogue groups, but in reality, there aren't many independent factions like the Palace of Halting Slaughter with 'sovereign autonomy'...* Sensing the tension, Zhang Yuanqing turned to Yin Ji and asked:
"Deacon Yin Ji, do you know what items the Jianghuai Branch and the Xie family lost here? The bounty quest didn't specify."
Sure enough, this question drew the Saints' attention.
Yin Ji did not hide anything, replying in a gentle tone:
"The Xie family's item is a fragment of a certain rule-based item. I don't know the specifics, only that the complete rule-based item is the clan treasure of the Xie family. The reason it was lost here is that the one who entered the dungeon back then was the great-great-grandson of the Xie clan's ancestor—exceptionally gifted, with high hopes of becoming the next clan head.
"As for the Jianghuai Branch's item, it should be the Yin-Yang Dial. It also has a nickname: the Rogue Dial."
A fragment of a rule-based item? Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
The clan treasure of a Spirit Realm family was most likely a Dominator-stage rule-based item.
Even a part of it would be enough to make any Saint present filthy rich.
"Why is it called the Rogue Dial?" Brother Red Chicken asked.
Yin Ji recalled, "The Yin-Yang Dial has one half white and one half black; white represents life, and black represents death. If the dial's pointer lands on white, nothing happens. If it lands on black, it devours the life force of all living beings except its owner.
"However, as long as one can correctly answer its questions, one gains a chance to spin again. Those questions are extraordinarily indecent, which is why it's called the Rogue Dial. As for what specific questions it asks, I have no idea."
It was an item of the Five Elements Alliance after all; for her to know this much already demonstrated remarkable erudition.
*Just how indecent are these questions...?* A surge of intense curiosity rose in Zhang Yuanqing.
"That item sounds pretty shady," Brother Red Chicken voiced his opinion, and the three women nodded in agreement.
For a moment, silence fell. The cool and glamorous instructor, Natsuki's Love, glanced at Zhang Yuanqing's waist bag a few times and asked with slight curiosity:
"Yuanshi Tianzun, what's inside your waist bag?"
*Don't bring up my waist bag...* Zhang Yuanqing maintained a poker face. "Why do you ask?"
Natsuki's Love smiled faintly. "Nothing. Just curious."
Just then, Yin Ji, who had been looking into the distance, turned her gaze back and said calmly, "Because Yuanshi Tianzun has been deliberately evading me, terrified that I might notice his waist bag."
The moment those words were spoken, all eyes fell on Zhang Yuanqing's waist bag.
Natsuki's Love smiled. "So you noticed as well."
As an experienced Deacon, she would never pry into another person's secrets unprovoked. But she had seen how Yuanshi Tianzun kept trying to block his waist bag with his body, looking terrified that Yin Ji might catch sight of it.
His guilty, furtive movements had actually already caught Yin Ji's attention; the latter had glanced toward his waist bag several times, whether intentionally or not.
Thus, Natsuki's Love brought it up to give Yuanshi Tianzun a nudge.
*W-was I that obvious...?* Zhang Yuanqing looked calm on the outside, but inside he was grimacing. He truly was terrified that Yin Ji would notice the Cat King Speaker in his bag.
Because he cared so much, he drew attention to it.
Just as he was at a loss for how to explain, he heard Yin Ji murmur softly nearby:
"I don't really care."
With that, she turned her eyes back toward the vast ocean.
*If you knew there was an audio recording inside of you calling the Demon Lord 'dearest brother,' you wouldn't be saying that...* Zhang Yuanqing muttered inwardly while breathing a sigh of relief.
Yin Ji's words were actually meant to put him at ease.
She truly was a gentle, understanding older sister figure. Of all the women Zhang Yuanqing had known, few made him feel as comfortable and relaxed as Yin Ji did.
And that was even while she deliberately kept her distance from everyone.
Thinking about it, it wasn't hard to see why the Demon Lord had fallen so deeply in love with her.
A fallen soul whose personality had drastically twisted, having tasted the bitter chill of humanity, suddenly encountering such a tender, sweet, and breathtakingly gorgeous older woman—it must have felt like finding a harbor for his soul. Wouldn't falling for her be the most natural thing in the world?
A pity it had been an ill-fated romance.
Then again, if word ever got out that the Cat King Speaker was in my hands, I'd probably be hunted down by all of the Demon Lord's old flames. That would be far more dangerous than being targeted by evil organizations.
Just then, Xiahou Aotian's holler came from the stern:
"Something's not right, everyone! It looks like we've been spinning our wheels in place the whole time!"
The Saints immediately stopped their chatter and turned to look at the sea, searching for reference points to determine their position. Sure enough, they discovered that distant Yashan Island was still minuscule, while the shore behind remained far away yet had not disappeared.
Over half an hour had passed, but they seemed stuck in the exact same spot, having made no progress at all.
Possessing sharp observation, Natsuki's Love rushed to the bulwark and leaned over to look down. "The ship has been moving this entire time. Why hasn't our position changed?"
"A ghost maze?" Brother Red Chicken looked toward the two Starlord companions.
Zhang Yuanqing and Yin Ji shook their heads in tacit agreement.
If it were a ghost-induced maze, it would be impossible for them not to notice.
The group exchanged glances, suddenly sensing that things were bad. Yun Meng of the Qinghe tribe spoke up:
"S-should I fly into the sky to take a look?"
Yin Ji pondered for a few seconds before saying, "All right! But remember, you can fly for five minutes at most. After five minutes, no matter where you are, you must return."
Yun Meng nodded. Immediately, vast swathes of white feathers sprouted from beneath her skin, tearing through her garments. Her arms transformed into broad wings, her neck elongated into a slender stalk, her head shrank, and her mouth extended into a sharp beak.
Within two or three seconds, she beast-morphed into a 1.5-meter-tall, snow-white crane.
The crane spoke in human tongue: "Off I go!"
With a rustle of flapping wings, she took flight and soared toward distant Yashan Island.
Everyone's eyes followed her. They watched as the crane flew a certain distance, only to abruptly wheel around and fly back, circling endlessly above the paddle-wheel ship.
"Isn't that just a ghost maze?!" Brother Red Chicken pointed at the silly crane flying in circles and looked at the two Starlords.
"No, it isn't a ghost maze."
Our protagonist made his entrance. Xiahou Aotian strode over on the creaking deck boards and declared in a solemn voice:
"This is most likely an array! From the moment we boarded the ship, we fell into an array. The seabed, the surface, and even the sky are all affected by it."
This made things tricky.
Eagle of Freedom asked, "Then what should we do?"
Seeing no one reply, she took a deep breath, dropped the reserve and pride of the Free Confederation, and switched to Chinese:
"Then how do we pass through the array? How do we reach Yashan Island?"
Xiahou Aotian pointed to the pitch-black sea. "Enter the sea and break the array!"
Brother Red Chicken and Eagle of Freedom exclaimed in unison:
"Are you insane?"
"How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den? How can you find life without plunging into death?" Xiahou Aotian puffed out his chest, head held high. "This is precisely the quintessential trial meant for a protagonist."
Brother Red Chicken looked at him skeptically. "I think you're just despairing because you have to shoulder that eighty-million fee all by yourself."
Xiahou Aotian's expression froze, and he snapped furiously, "You vulgar Fire Specialist, stop bringing up eighty million! Why would a protagonist lose his mind over eighty million?!"
*Enter the sea to break the array?* A flash of inspiration struck Zhang Yuanqing. He suddenly realized what the Demon Lord had meant in the audio about defeating the ghost ship.
Perhaps the Demon Lord had not been referring to a battle on the surface, but a battle beneath the waves.
A fierce underwater struggle was the true original main quest of the Sea of Yashan.
Yin Ji gazed down at the abyssal sea. A few seconds later, she pulled her gaze back, her limpid eyes turning toward Zhang Yuanqing. Softly, she asked:
"Yuanshi Tianzun, what do you think?"
Chapter 349