Chapter 119: Arrival at the Deep Sea

With his superior sensory skills, Xiao Zi could clearly perceive a vast number of ghost-masters surrounding both the ocean and the coastline. It was evident that these ghost-masters were there to prevent him from reviving the deep sea.

"Humans have really spared no expense this time to stop me from reviving the deep sea," he mused.

If nothing else, the number of auras he could detect exceeded a hundred. The weakest among these were B-rank, there were a plethora of A-ranks, and even the legendary S-rank was present. Over a dozen high-level spokespersons, usually as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, had gathered. Is this the true strength of the five great nations? How impressive.

Given this lineup, attempting to force his way through would be pure suicide. Even if he were S-rank, let alone his current B-rank status, he wouldn't dare play such a game. However, this situation was well within his expectations.

His "Spirit Shadow" skill allowed him to enter the world of shadows. According to his experience, the so-called shadow world consisted of places not directly illuminated by sunlight. If that were the case, the ocean—especially the deep sea—was a realm of absolute darkness. He wondered if he could use his skill to sneak through directly. If so, it would save him a great deal of trouble.

With this in mind, he looked at the Third Princess, who was gazing intently into the sea. "Can you sense the target's location at the bottom of the ocean?"

The Third Princess patted her chest. "Don't worry, as long as we reach the seabed, I can find it!"

At least the Third Princess was somewhat reliable. Taking her and Wang Hui with him, Xiao Zi dove into the sea without hesitation. As expected, once he was a few hundred meters deep, he was able to activate his Spirit Shadow skill and enter the shadow world. He didn't have time to overthink it, as Wang Hui would suffocate if he waited any longer. While the Third Princess, as a spokesperson for the Sea God, was not afraid of the water, Wang Hui was inept at using his energy; the ocean actually suppressed him, leaving him as fragile as a normal human. It was quite possible he might truly drown.

Upon entering the shadow world, Wang Hui immediately began to gasp for air, having nearly suffocated. Ignoring him, Xiao Zi turned to the Third Princess. "Well? Can you sense it from here?"

The shadow world was connected to the outside, though distances were magnified by roughly three times. This meant that what would be a one-meter distance in the physical world required three meters here. Fortunately, their auras were perfectly sealed, making it impossible for those outside to detect their location.

The Third Princess nodded. "Yes, but it's deeper. Much deeper."

That sounded a bit strange, didn't it?

Regardless, Xiao Zi led the Third Princess and Wang Hui downward at full speed. The journey was incredibly long, and Xiao Zi lost track of time until the Third Princess finally sent a signal.

"We're almost there!"

At the same time, Wang Hui’s eyes lit up. "Almost there? Finally? Are we finally almost there?"

During the journey, Wang Hui had repeated the same question countless times: "Are we there yet? How much longer? I'm so hungry!" And the Third Princess had constantly replied: "It's still below, even deeper!"

Hearing that they were close, Wang Hui perked up, as if the endless, dark shadow world suddenly sparkled with color. But the Third Princess's next sentence plunged his colorful world back into darkness: "We've reached the depth, but it's still further ahead."

Wang Hui was silent, his mental state on the verge of collapse. "Are you messing with me?"

Compared to Wang Hui's impatience, Xiao Zi’s mood was actually quite good. At this depth, there were no human auras. This made sense; he didn't know exactly where they were in the deep sea, but it was incredibly profound—likely too deep for current human capabilities. The water pressure was immense; one would probably need at least A-rank strength just to reach this point. Even then, they might have drowned on the way down, which was likely why no one had arrived yet.

Xiao Zi’s guess was largely correct, though he was mistaken about one thing: it wasn't just a lack of technology, but the fact that large-scale submarine travel was too slow. Furthermore, having to transport equipment all the way from the Lighthouse Nation meant they hadn't arrived even after three days.

Guided by the Third Princess, Xiao Zi pushed forward toward the target. Finally, he felt an energy so powerful it seemed boundless. What a massive amount of energy! Xiao Zi was certain that if he combined all the bizarre creatures, ghost-masters, and spokespersons he had encountered since arriving in this world, they wouldn't amount to even one-thousandth of this energy.

Is this the power of the Sea God? That doesn't seem right. Shouldn't a god's strength be suppressed when entering the mortal realm? Why was this Sea God different from others? But there was no point in overthinking it now; the most important thing was to revive the deep sea, complete the system mission, and reach A-rank.

Upon reaching the destination, Xiao Zi was dumbfounded. The scale of the site far exceeded his imagination.

A massive disc stood on the seabed, emitting a strange green glow. Due to being submerged for so long, the giant disc was covered in green seaweed, but even so, it couldn't hide the dense, strange runes carved across its surface. He had lost count of how many times he had seen these runes, but every time, they were inextricably linked to the gods. Though he couldn't understand them, he felt a deep curiosity about these mysterious symbols.

Atop the disc sat a colossal orb of energy, from which that extreme power radiated. Even Xiao Zi felt immense pressure just by looking directly at it.

In the shadow world, no one other than Xiao Zi could perceive the outside, so he released everyone and constructed a small space using his own energy. Once they emerged, the Third Princess immediately hurried to the base of the disc and reached out her hand. The moment she touched the surface, the energy orb began to spin rapidly.

It spun faster and faster, causing a massive whirlpool to form in the ocean, as if it intended to pull everyone in. Xiao Zi immediately released a surge of energy to anchor himself and Wang Hui, while the Third Princess remained completely unaffected, her expression one of pure enjoyment. Her eyes glowed with a pale blue light, and her body began to float.

At that moment, the system’s notification chimed in Xiao Zi's mind:

[Deep sea revival detected. Please use your energy to disintegrate the seal of the Heart of the Ocean to complete the revival.]

"The Heart of the Ocean?" Xiao Zi looked at the giant energy orb. That must be it.

Xiao Zi teleported to the side of the orb, endured the crushing pressure, and channeled a stream of energy directly into it. "Break for me!"

He never waited even a second when it came to increasing his strength. But the moment his energy merged with the orb, the entire sphere turned a blood-red color that matched his own energy. This crimson light instantly stained the entire ocean. The orb expanded like a bursting balloon and shattered. Countless violently volatile energies erupted from the core, spreading rapidly in all directions. Everywhere the blood-red energy touched, the very nature of the environment changed, becoming terrifyingly surreal.