Stranger Danger

"There's a third Sage hiding in the City of No Return?" Fang Qionghua's brow furrowed slightly. "Do you know who they are?"

"No. However, I am certain that they are related to Xuan Youxuan in some ways."

Wu Shengshui shook his head wryly. "I'm sure that the Sage intentionally allowed me to sense their presence. There is no way I could have detected them otherwise."

"The reason why they did this is clear. They are warning us not to stray from our goals."

What were they going to do just now? They were going to kill Xuan Youxuan and plunder the riches of the City of No Return, of course.

Therefore, this Sage was very likely the mastermind behind Xuan Youxuan.

"I see!"

Wei Duanliu exclaimed in realization, "It looks like Xuan Youxuan's background is bigger than we thought."

"That makes sense. Without a Sage to back him up, there is no way he could have transformed the City of No Return into the Profound Alliance's biggest money squandering establishment in just a matter of decades."

"I wonder who's the Sage behind him?"

Wu Shengshui sighed. "That is not something we are qualified to fathom. All we need to do is to report back to the island lord."

They might be Half-Sages holding lofty positions, but they were well aware that they were just moths—barely bigger than ants—in the eyes of a Sage.

All were ants before a Sage. There was a reason no one had ever questioned this saying. This was doubly true in a place like the Profound Alliance where the law of the jungle reigned supreme.

To put it bluntly, you were nothing unless you were a Sage.

"You're right. We've achieved our objective anyway. The rest has nothing to do with us."

Wei Duanliu cast his captive a look and fell silent. Then, they all disappeared.

......

The sun was bright and welcoming, and the sea breeze was brushing the surface of the sea, kicking up waves and scattering starlight everywhere.

A single boat was making its way through the dazzling sea while surrounded by clouds.

The boat looked like it was moving at a leisurely pace, but it was the opposite. It crossed several kilometers of distance in just the blink of an eye.

On the boat, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou were standing shoulder to shoulder and gazing at the endless sea before them.

Suddenly, Ye Qing spoke up. "Do you think he will take action?" A small smile spread across Feng Qingyou's lips. "He should. He is a Sage after all."

As if on cue, they heard a rumble that sounded both like a thunderclap and an angry roar.

The gentle breeze abruptly transformed into a raging gale, and the bright, clear sky was covered in dark clouds in an instant.

A storm had overcome this area in practically the blink of an eye.

The sun and moon were shrouded, and the rain was pouring furiously. It was so dark it felt like nighttime.

The gale blew up waves that stretched tens of kilometers tall and stirred the seawater within a radius of thousands of kilometers. It was like the apocalypse was upon them.

If someone were to look down on this sea region from above, they would find what looked like a contorted human face on the sea.

Every time the face exhaled, the wind howled, and the clouds gathered.

Every time the face inhaled, the waves churned, and the rain poured like a waterfall.

Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou remained calm despite the sudden and terrific storm that had beset them, however. Their boat continued to sail forward smooth, steady and fast as well.

The wind could not touch it, and the waves could not capsize it.

It was almost as if the boat and the sea existed in two different spacetimes.

"Here it comes..."

It was at this moment Feng Qingyou curled her lips into a smirk.

The seawater below the boat abruptly fell downward as if a hole had suddenly appeared at the bottom of the sea. Everything including the boat began sinking.

It wasn't just the boat's vicinity either. The sea within a fifty-kilometer radius was sinking as well.

A black hole spanning fifty-kilometers in radius had suddenly taken form. Countless gallons of seawater were pouring straight down to the abyss.

Again, if someone was looking from above, they would realize that this black hole was the mouth of the human face.

This was just the beginning. The human face was just beginning to open its mouth, meaning that the black hole was rapidly increasing in size and expanding in every direction.

Not only that, a terrific suction force was coming from the black hole. Like the eye of a titanic vortex, the surrounding seawater was being drawn into it at an accelerating pace.

Even the rain and wind were being pulled into it, and the result was a gigantic, seemingly world-ending tornado that bridged the distance between the sky and the sea.

Mountains of dark clouds were stacking on top of each other until they looked dense enough to crush an entire city.

At the center of the black hole and above the mouth was the boat.

Right now, the boat was wobbling unsteadily as if it was straining to resist the suction force. It was slowly but surely falling into the black hole.

"He plans to eat us. I wonder if his stomach is big enough to fit the two of us though?" Ye Qing chuckled.

"I'll be back shortly," said Ye Qing before diving straight into the black hole.

As soon as Ye Qing dove into the black hole, it immediately started shrinking rapidly. It was because the mouth of the human face was closing.

Just a few breaths later, the mouth was fully shut. The black hole had disappeared as well.

After the mouth slammed shut, and the human face disappeared, the raging storm and sea immediately returned to calm.

The wind was still howling in the sky, and the dark clouds still blotted out all light, however. In fact, they were becoming worse than before.

Strangely, the mad gale could neither blow apart the thick clouds or stir up a single ripple on the sea surface. In fact, the sea surface within a radius of hundreds of kilometers looked perfectly smooth like a mirror.

All might be calm and still on the sea surface, but it was a completely different story underneath the sea.

Sometimes, the seawater would bloom into all sorts of colors. Sometimes, it would dissolve into shapeless chaos. Sometimes, it would conjure all sorts of illusions. Sometimes, sounds of impact could be heard from somewhere. Sometimes, the seawater became entangled...

For a moment, all was silent.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

Then, what sounded like a drumbeat came from the bottom of the sea.

At first, it sounded extremely soft and gentle. Over time, it grew louder, heavier, and faster.

When the thumping noises had joined into one continuous noise, the calm, tranquil sea surface slowly began wrinkling like a piece of cloth; breaking like a broken mirror.

It wasn't just at one place. It was happening everywhere. It was happening dozens of kilometers away.

Thang...

It was at this moment a bell rang, crisp and clear.

The bell chime did not sound intense or impassioned, but it was incredibly obvious amidst the backdrop of drumbeats.

It did not sound out of place though. In fact, it fit in with the drumbeats perfectly.

The bell chime was sonorous and clear, the drumbeat was fierce and impassioned. The bell chime was continuous, and the drumbeat was grandiose.

As the melody continued, the pitch black bottom of the sea slowly became dyed by dark yellow. It was thick and heavy, grand and majestic.

Slowly, the light grew brighter and brighter like a sun was rising from the bottom of the sea.

Every filth and darkness within thousands of kilometers was cleansed by it.

Even the massive face that spanned thousands of kilometers was quietly twisted and destroyed by the blast of dark yellow light.

Rumble!

The moment the face came apart, a thunderous boom shook the entire sea region. Then, the seawater shot up toward the mad gale and dark clouds occupying the sky, the light dyeing it dark yellow and giving it the appearance of a mountain instead of a wave.

The mad gale abruptly ceased, and the dark clouds scattered instantly.

In just the blink of an eye, the sun was bright, the wind was calm, and the sea was still once more.

When the dark yellow mountain made of waves climbed to the highest point of the sky, it shone brightly for a moment before scattering into a golden rain. It looked positively fantastical.

It was amidst the golden rain when Ye Qing floated downward and landed softly on the boat.