The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 1239 - 659: Enemies Meet Again (Part 2)

That is to say, the core zone has yet to be traversed... Zhao Douan wondered:

"So where is the core zone of the Silent Sea?"

"I don’t know."

"Huh?!"

The Old Heavenly Master shot him a look of ’why are you so surprised?’ and explained:

"The Sea God doesn’t have a physical form, and neither does the core of the Silent Sea. When I was young, I trained in the East Sea several times and attempted to find this so-called core, but to no avail.

According to the speculations of the Heavenly Master Mansion’s generations of priests, that so-called core should only appear when the Sea God is awake. Once the Sea God sleeps, it hides. So we are very fortunate; at this time, the Sea God is not asleep."

...No, I don’t think this counts as "fortunate"... Zhao Douan murmured to himself.

Zhang Yan Yi suddenly stroked his beard and said:

"Speaking of which, my third disciple recently sent a message back to the capital, saying she was in the East Sea. I wonder if we will encounter her this time. If we find her, our journey might be smoother."

The third disciple of Old Zhang?

Zhao Douan hesitated for a moment before recalling, among the Zhu Dian lads, he’s met Zhong Pan, Yu Xiu, Han Zhao, Gongshu Tianyuan, and Jin Jian, but has yet to encounter the third one.

Considering that each generation of Zhu Dian lads comes in pairs of a male and a female, the third one should be a girl...

This made Zhao Douan a bit expectant.

He glanced at Old Zhang with newfound admiration; though the old man has few disciples, he truly has the air of "students everywhere".

...

Under the azure sky, the sea breeze gently ruffled the hems of their clothes and strands of their hair.

Under Ji Yue’s guidance, the vessel sailed steadily and swiftly towards the archipelago, moving at an incredible speed.

Hours passed in this way; the morning fog had long dispersed, but by afternoon, the sky suddenly turned somber.

"Boom—"

The thunder in the heavens startled the few in the cabin awake. Zhao Douan walked to the deck and looked up, only to see a cover of dark clouds, with streaks of lightning visible.

The sea had turned to a murky gray, churning violently, making the ship rock.

"Plop..."

A drop of rain wavered down from above, striking the dry deck and spreading quickly.

Both the sky and sea carried a disquieting aura.

"Is the maritime climate this changeable?" Zhao Douan asked in puzzlement.

The Old Heavenly Master, with a grave expression, spoke in a deep voice:

"It’s not atmospheric change but us entering a dangerous sea area. Do you feel it? The suppression is increasing."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Douan quickly tried to move his Qi Mechanism. The familiar stickiness surged in his mind again, greatly reducing the efficiency of his Qi Mechanism.

His heart sank as he muttered: "Is it the Sea God?"

At this moment, Jin Jian, who was snoozing in the cabin, murmured and stretched her legs, leaning on her magic wand, rubbing her eyes as she came out. The priestess took glasses from her pocket and placed them on her nose, her expression uneasy:

"Master, my mana has dropped again..."

It wasn’t just her.

Everyone present experienced suppression and weakening.

This meant they were very close to the Sea God.

"Something’s wrong, it shouldn’t be like this..."

Native Ji Yue came from the stern, her pure white pupils gazing blankly at the tumultuous sea, saying:

"Even if the Sea God is not in the Sleeping Moon, its presence should only be felt once entering the Silent Sea. But we are far from the nearest island... Why has the Sea God’s divine might spread over such a large area? Could the Anger Moon be early?"

Zhao Douan looked at her suddenly:

"Anger Moon early?"

Ji Yue nodded obediently and explained:

"Every summer, the Sea God becomes extremely awake and fierce for a period, which we call the ’Anger Moon’. It doesn’t strictly last a month; it could be longer or shorter.

During the Anger Moon, all sea areas near the Thousand Islands are covered by the Sea God’s rage, making any activities on the sea dangerous."

Zhao Douan and Zhang Yan Yi exchanged a glance, each seeing the trouble in the other’s eyes.

"Continue forward," Zhao Douan pondered for a moment, then commanded.

Time waits for no one; he couldn’t afford to wait here for months.

Moreover, given the combat strength of those on the ship, even weakened, as long as they don’t confront the "Sea God" directly, they fear no danger.

The sails billowed, the wooden ship moved swiftly, like an arrow from a bowstring.

Throughout the rest of the journey, everyone stayed silent.

Suddenly, the black-skinned priestess cloaked in a cape spoke:

"Master, there’s someone ahead!"

Zhao Douan and the Old Heavenly Master both sensed a dangerous aura emanating from beneath the pitch-black sea ahead.

Zhao Douan’s ears twitched; he could even catch the muffled sound of water being parted as a massive creature swam beneath.

"Master, shall I go down to take a look?"

Tuoba Weizhi twisted her waist, walking with long strides to the ship’s side, her posture hinting at readiness.

Zhao Douan turned to look at Zhang Yan Yi, whose pupils emitted a faint azure glow, concentrating intently on the sea surface.

At this moment, the glow in his pupils faded, and the old man gently shook his head. Zhao Douan said:

"Not necessary just yet."

Just then, amidst the sound of "splashing" water, something suddenly surfaced from the sea in front of the ship. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

It was a massive "monster," its body nearly ten zhang long, with its spine slowly emerging while seawater cascaded down its sides.

The back of this "monster" was flat and wide, covered in a layer of slick black scales. At its flanks, where the scales extended, lay blubber similar to that of a whale.

This aquatic creature only revealed its back, like an iceberg floating on the surface, while its larger portion remained submerged.

What surprised Zhao Douan and the others was that there were over a dozen people standing on the "monster’s" back.

These were men and women, mostly middle-aged, all donned in robes traded from the Yu Country to the East Sea, resembling Taoist attire. However, their hair was unkempt, and instead of wielding swords, they held iron forks.

Now, a thin "membrane" around these people burst, and they looked at the few on the ship expressionlessly.

The leader, a middle-aged man with deep facial creases, spoke in a deep voice:

"The Eastern Sea Thousand Islands are in lockdown! We are the island’s patrol team. Outsiders leave immediately; during the lockdown period, no foreigners are allowed!"

Lockdown?

Are these the local magicians of the Thousand Islands?

Zhao Douan was taken aback.

Ji Yue walked over from the stern and explained softly:

"During the Anger Moon, the Thousand Islands dispatch experts to form patrol teams, riding ’bone whales’ to seal off this sea area to prevent outsiders from angering the Sea God, causing disaster to those on the islands."

Such is the case, how troublesome... Zhao Douan frowned, with no mind to bicker with these natives.

But it seemed that forcing their way through would only lead to constant trouble.

As he pondered how to negotiate with these people, Ji Yue suddenly seemed struck by lightning, staring intently at the leading middle-aged man on the bone whale, breathing heavily, and whispered a name:

"Qingmu!"

At the same time, a woman in her twenties at the end of the team on the bone whale also saw Ji Yue on the ship. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she called out:

"Ji... Ji Yue? Is that you?!"

Zhao Douan turned his head in surprise:

"Do you know these people?"

Ji Yue clenched her fists, nails nearly piercing her palms, her pale eyes locked on the man named "Qingmu," speaking with hatred:

"He’s one of the top five elders on the Thousand Islands. Back then, when I was chosen to sacrifice to the Sea God, I refused. It was he who led others to capture me. It was chaos, he killed my parents and pursued me relentlessly."

What a coincidence? Zhao Douan was startled.

Zhang Yan Yi spoke softly and calmly:

"An elder-level magician, unquestionably of the Worldly Realm."

In the Worldly Realm, one is undoubtedly a powerhouse anywhere, and back then, an elder was an overpowering presence for Ji Yue to contend with.

However, in front of those on this ship, the Worldly Realm was as mundane as a turtle in water.

"Ji Yue?! You dare to return!"

Elder Qingmu, with deep-set creases, also recognized Ji Yue, and his expression changed.

He glanced at Zhao Douan and the others, his eyes especially resting on Zhang Yan Yi’s priest robe for a moment, seemingly understanding something. His eyes sharpened as he spoke coldly:

"Good, back then you betrayed the island’s traditions, angered the Sea God, and narrowly escaped from my grasp. Today, you have completely turned traitor, leading Yu Country people to the Thousand Islands with malicious intent and hidden schemes!"

Behind him, more than a dozen magicians also began to stir.

Evidently, the memory of Ji Yue defecting from the Thousand Islands years ago was still vivid.

Elder Qingmu glanced at the others but only focused on Zhang Yan Yi, raising his iron fork high, speaking in a deep voice:

"Is there a Heavenly Master Mansion priest on board? I have no intention of antagonizing the Heavenly Master Mansion. Just hand over this traitor and leave, and I can represent the Thousand-Island Cultivators to spare you a life!

But if you continue to be stubborn, hehe, even the on-record priest of the Heavenly Master Mansion won’t make me show mercy while killing!"

On the ship.

The expressions of the people immediately became vivid and intriguing.