Divine Beast Creator-Chapter 1265 - 1266: Invitation

"This..."

After listening to Feng Yuan recount the story about Dou Yanlan’s father, Qi Chen felt it was a bit tricky to handle. Without a solution in sight, he knew that bringing it up directly could lead to unpredictable outcomes given what he knew about Dou Yanlan.

"Either way, I’m not sure what to do about this. But for now, it’s not something extremely urgent. After all, aren’t we out here traveling and enjoying ourselves?"

With a chuckle, Feng Yuan wrapped an arm around Xiao Ji’s neck and, walking over to Yang Hongzhi, gave him a few prideful pats before saying smugly,

"Now you can take it easy and focus on preparing for the Regional Beast Tamer Tournament~."

"How is the situation... at the frontlines?"

Although even Delong Tower was drawn into the affair later, Qi Chen wasn’t entirely certain about what had transpired. As for Long Boduo, that guy had wandered off who knows where to have fun. But Feng Yuan and the others didn’t really care—after all, he was a Divine Beast. Especially in the Black Sea, there were virtually no human forces that could threaten him, and even the storms in the ocean posed no danger at all.

"Still okay. Idiots on their side caused some trouble. I’m pretty sure he’s figured it out by now, hasn’t he?"

Glancing at Najia, Feng Yuan could see through his composure to notice the subtle unease. It wasn’t surprising though; that was just his personality.

"Ha~ The border issues are being handled by those Divine Beasts for now. So, time to relax and have some fun~."

Stretching lazily, Feng Yuan spoke excitedly. Though he always acted as if he didn’t care, he had been rather concerned that something catastrophic might happen at the borders. But now... well, with most of Divine Land Region’s Divine Beasts stepping in, no one could reignite the conflict without facing their overwhelming suppression. There wouldn’t be any uproar in the near future.

"Divine Beasts stepping in?"

"Yeah, with things getting that explosive, affecting the entire Divine Land Region—how could anyone hope for more fighting? At least not until the culprits are caught. There’s no way they’d allow the battles to continue."

Lying casually on a lounge chair aboard the ship, Feng Yuan remarked offhandedly. Najia nodded in agreement and said,

"Right now, the ambient energy intensity across the Divine Land Region is declining. The Sky Energy Circulation hasn’t recovered, and the Earth Energy Circulation has been damaged by them. In the foreseeable future, it looks like the region might face a Spiritual Medicine shortage."

After all, those materials were directly influenced by energy circulation. When the overall energy circulation’s intensity was insufficient, the growth rate of such materials would naturally suffer greatly. Worse yet, there might even be cases of withering or loss of spiritual essence.

"That’s none of our concern anyway."

Feng Yuan dismissed the matter nonchalantly. At worst, they could get supplies from other regions, right? Besides, Xiao Ji rarely needed those things to begin with; at most, they might be required for evolution. And even then—it’d just be a tiny amount. He could always ask the Divine Beasts for some.

"Well, there’s some truth to that."

Najia dropped the conversation without objection. After all, even he occasionally contemplated who among the Divine Beasts he could approach to gather some materials. Though Najia didn’t need them himself, Xiao Hui and Xiao Hei still required cultivation, so he couldn’t exactly neglect their needs.

"No solutions?"

Yang Hongzhi, glancing back and forth between Feng Yuan and Najia, asked anxiously. Feng Yuan chuckled and shook his head as he responded,

"Nope. Unless Delong Tower is willing to lower the Starlit Sea’s energy circulation intensity to compensate for the Divine Land Region’s, there’s no other way. Even so, it’s not something that could restore the original energy intensity in a short time."

While it was technically possible to actively draw and inject energy circulation, it was an incredibly complicated process. Even if it could be done, it would disrupt the original pathways. As for harm-free solutions? That would require connecting the energy circulation of the Starlit Sea to gradually balance themselves with Divine Land Region’s. But this would only result in both regions having a shared, averaged energy level. Though better than the current state, it would never return to its original form. In fact, the Starlit Sea might end up facing problems instead.

"In any case, this isn’t something for us to worry about. Are we still going diving later?"

"Do you even check the time?"

Qi Chen walked over, overhearing Feng Yuan’s question, and spoke with an exasperated expression. By now, the sun was casting its final rays of light, ready to dip below the horizon soon. Gently patting Feng Yuan’s shoulder, Qi Chen said,

"Dinner’s ready. Let’s go."

"Tch. All this time dealing with border issues—I didn’t even get to enjoy myself properly today."

Grumbling in dissatisfaction, Feng Yuan mumbled between bites of dinner. If not for the border incident, today he could’ve joined Qi Chen and the group to dive in the ocean for fun.

"How did it turn out?"

Though Feng Yuan had already been back for a while, Dou Yanlan hadn’t found the right chance to ask. By the time he returned, it was close to evening, and she had been busy preparing dinner. Sure, Delong Tower could easily fetch food from somewhere else, but since they were traveling, the occasional act of cooking their own meals added to the experience and was more enjoyable.

"Not bad, I guess. At least with the other side causing such big trouble, things have quieted down for the time being."

If it still escalated into a fight after all this, Feng Yuan would truly be speechless. By then, he wouldn’t hold back either—Eclipse and Xilnais wouldn’t just observe from the skies; they’d step in and crush everything. After all, when the other side wasn’t even willing to deal with their own mess, what right did they have to interfere with Eclipse and Xilnais?

During casual conversation, Dou Yanlan noticed Feng Yuan seemed like he had something to say but kept hesitating. She found it odd; wasn’t he the type to speak his mind directly? Why the hesitation now?

Though unsure whether she should ask, she decided to wait it out. Knowing Feng Yuan’s personality, he’d definitely crack eventually.

At that moment, a boy transformed from Long Boduo ran in and exclaimed,

"You guys already started dinner?"

"How should we know where you ran off to or if you’d even come back?"

Feng Yuan glanced at Long Boduo, who was holding up a massive shell. He said,

"What do you think about roasting this?"

"Where’d you get that?"

Though he directed the question at Long Boduo, Feng Yuan’s gaze shifted to Delong Tower. Shouldn’t they mind? Picking up on his unease, Delong Tower chuckled and remarked,

"If he can catch it, it’s his to keep. Why would something like this bother me?"

Delong Tower clearly didn’t see itself as a babysitter for marine life. If someone recklessly caused destruction in the ocean, it would intervene. But catching fish? That was of no concern. Otherwise, what would the Maritime People eat? And what about the humans, Spirit Beasts, and other animals living by the sea?

"An underwater ruin? Such an odd place exists?"

Hearing Delong Tower’s invitation, Feng Yuan was taken aback. From the recorded history of human activities on the ocean, something like that shouldn’t exist, should it? Leaving aside the question of whether long-abandoned structures would sink to the seabed, even if they didn’t—who built them? The Maritime People made use of Spirit Beasts’ natural abilities. As for humans from other places? They couldn’t even manage to live far from the mainland.

"Seems to have descended from the Outer World, much like the Emerald Ruins. But previously, it was sealed off by the Starlit Sea’s power. It might have broken free of that seal due to recent disturbances in the energy circulation. Although—it shouldn’t be anything too problematic."

"Looking for me to help explore it? Sure, why not. An oceanic ruin? Sounds pretty interesting. Just need to let Hongzhi know first."

Glancing briefly at Delong Tower, Feng Yuan considered it and spoke. As for Qi Chen and the others? Such an intriguing site—they’d most likely be eager to join. But Yang Hongzhi was different; Feng Yuan wasn’t sure what he’d think, so he needed to ask. A ruin located in the Starlit Sea? With Delong Tower present, there shouldn’t be any real trouble, right?

As the ruler of the Starlit Sea, if Delong Tower couldn’t even manage ocean storms, it might as well retire.

Still, this oceanic ruin felt peculiar to Feng Yuan. Previously sealed, why leave it floating on the surface instead of submerging it as they usually did with dangerous ruins? Was it because this particular ruin was too powerful to confine underwater?

Being an artifact from another world, could it be hiding something unique inside, like the Emerald Ruins?

"That ruin—it feels off somehow."

Agunas turned toward Delong Tower and spoke. Even he could sense something unusual. After all, the Starlit Sea’s standard practice was to seal dangerous ruins deep underwater. A ruin floating at the surface? Could it mean the entity inside was too strong to submerge?

Understanding Agunas’s misgivings, Delong Tower explained,

"It’s probably just an ordinary ruin. It was sealed off previously only because... well, it wasn’t particularly useful. That ruin can only float on the ocean’s surface. Perhaps even its creator didn’t know what it was meant for."

He had some understanding of its "creator’s" nature—anything deemed to have potential value would be hoarded, regardless of whether it was actually useful or not.