Chapter 151 - The Powerful Seafolks
"No, the Treacherous ocean is the second most dangerous place on the Elon Continent, after the Demons Grave. Even if Soul Refiner enters it, they might not be able to return. And something as great as the heart would only grow in the depths of the Treacherous ocean. The dangers in the depths are several times deadlier than those on the outskirts. Youngman, you must not go to the Treacherous ocean. I can't let you sacrifice your life to save this old bag," Christopher said sternly. He was a disciple of one of the great clans, he read plenty of books about the dangers of the world, including the Treacherous ocean. As a result, he knew about the Treacherous ocean extremely well.
"Sect Leader, I'm not doing this solely for you, I'm doing this for the both of you. Just like how much you love your granddaughter, I love that little dragon. If this demon Dragon heart could save him, I will get it. With the heart, I can not only save him but also suppress your curse. You can't just give up and die Sect Leader, your granddaughter deserves better, she needs you" Michael spoke resolutely. He needed to go to the Treacherous ocean, no matter how great the dangers were to save the baby dragon. He did not fear it at all, as he had a gut feeling that this trip may bring the system back online.
"Christopher, your disciple fought the Celestial energy without getting himself blown to death. Although it is rather dangerous to him, I think he can take care of himself if he's careful." Lailah 's nature-like voice appeared from one side.
"What? You survived fighting the Celestain energy descent?" Christopher immediately became stunned. He stared blankly at Michael while great billows blew in his heart. For Michael, he did not realize how great a feat that he survived fighting the Celestial Energy descend. If he had known before that he could have exploded into a bloody mist, he wouldn't have chosen to even get near the Celestial Energy. It was the reason the two students of Laila were stunned to see him disrupt the Celestial Energy while being a mere Body Strengthening cultivator.
"I could have died? Those bitches" having heard the way Lialha talked about him surviving the Celestial Energy, he realized that it was a miracle he survived. He cursed at the two women who pushed him into the fight knowing that he could die made him want to kick the crap out of them. What if I died? The mere question put a few cold sweats on his back
Michael showed those grave thoughts behind his head, nodding slightly, "Sect? Leader, you should believe that I have the strength now. I'll definitely find this Demon Dragon heart in the Treacherous ocean and save you both"
He reassuringly patted the old man's hand before leaving the cave. Raising his head, he looked at the cloudless blue sky before sighing deeply, He slowly suppressed his jumpy emotions. Today's encounters were like a dream to him; he had never thought that he would find the supposed to be the dead grandfather of Claire on the Rainbow islands where he came looking for the so-called Doctor who then turned out to be Lailah Alden.
"Copycat, eight great clans, Celestial Energy...damn this day has been a ride" He exhaled deeply.
"Well, why am I still thinking that this Lailah is hiding something?" He rubbed his chin when he heard Lailah's voice from behind.
"You need to think this through. What you seek can only be found in the depths of the Treacherous ocean. Do you really plan on going?" Lailah 's voice appeared from behind. He turned back to see her gracefully walking towards him carrying the baby dragon in her hand.
There seemed to be ripples in her eyes. They were alluring as if they could suck in the souls of people, which stunned Michael. However, with Michael's willpower, he did not lose composure, "Please inform me of the whereabouts, Lady Alden."
Lailah stared fixedly into Michael's eyes. Michael did not show any signs of retreat and stared back at her. He remained calm throughout.
This lasted for a while before Lailah finally nodded, "The Treacherous ocean is known for its illusions. Various apparitions will appear, and the deeper you go, the stronger the illusions become. If you even slightly lose focus, you will become lost within. Your willpower should be enough to barely handle ordinary illusions.? Without this death-kissed dragon, you asked me the same question,? I would have just given you a map and sent you on your way but this is a blessing in disguise"
"I knew she's up to something" deep within those serene eyes, Michael noticed a hidden intention thanks to his ability to read people.
"You can't notice this but this dragon radiates both the aura of the living and the dead because its soul is half a step into the realm of the dead. Using this dragon's aura, one can avoid being detected by most of the apparitions in the Treacherous ocean. Since this decreases the danger of traveling into the ocean by several folds and the Demon Dragon's heart is also extremely useful to me, I'll come with you" she said while caressing the baby dragon's greyish scale, he was still lying dormant in her hands.
"Aren't I a lucky bastard?" Hearing her words, Michael was pleasantly surprised and his confidence in this trip into the Treacherous ocean increased greatly. Although he still didn't know the full extent of her power, she was able to change the laws of the world as well as disperse the Celestial energy through her veena melody, which was shocking enough.
Soon after Lailah discussed something with her students, Michael and Lailah headed for the Treacherous ocean together, leaving behind Johana and Nerita to guard the island.
The sky was fine and cloudless, it fused with the northern seas far away, as if it was a beautiful piece of art. With a slight wave of her hands, she covered both of them with Celestial Energy to soar through the sky. Michael's body jerked before they already became faint blurs, shooting across the sky silently as there was not even a whistling of the wind.
"Lady Alden, if you don't mind me asking, can you tell more about the Sea folk?" As they flew, Michael asked, looking towards Lailah. At first, he wanted to ask why was she healing a few people of Royal Land under the name of 'The Doctor' but weirdly, she did not ask him how did he find her identity, therefore, Michael did not choose to question her intentions in case she had her own selfish reasons that she did not want him to know.
Considering even his encyclopedia of this world, Gaya, had little to no knowledge about the so-called Sea Folk, he decided to get some info on them from Lailah.
A sliver of shock flashed across Lailah 's eyes. She turned and glanced at Michael, asking, "why do you want to learn about the Sea Folk?"
Michael hesitated slightly before saying, "To be honest, as a guy who loves to travel around the world, I want to know more about the places and races I have little knowledge of. People in Bredia don't have much knowledge about the Sea Folk race, Lady Alden"
She stared at him for a moment, she could tell he was genuinely interested in knowing more about the Sea Folk and since they have a long way to go, she didn't mind telling what she knew about the Sea Folk to pass the time.
"Their existence is similar to magical beasts. They also cultivate by absorbing the Arch energy and can take human forms and speak human language. They don't possess intelligence any weaker than humans, either. The Sea Folk race inhabits the very bottom of the sea and takes up a rather large region of the oceans, while the entire region is encased by an extremely powerful barrier. This barrier was created personally by the Water God during primordial times, and even Fusion stage cultivators like me can't break the barrier. Not only does it separate the seawater, it holds it back at a range of several thousand meters. At the same time, it protects the Sea Folk from invasions of another species" She paused for a moment and went on,
"To the Sea Folk, this barrier acts as if it doesn't exist. Although it's unbreakable to most of the people on land, it will let anyone under the Core Strengthening stage enter the sea domain"
"Anyone under Core Strengthening stage...hmm" he took a note in his mind as she continued,
"I've visited the Sea Folk twice before. Although I don't know the situation there very well, I have some rough, general knowledge like they not only hate humans, but they also disapprove of them very much. If human experts want to survive there, they must be extremely cautious. Once they offend a member of the sea folk race, they will receive the hatred and pursuit of various other Sea Folks until they die or escape from the sea domain which is very unlikely once the sea folks put a target on them"
Michael pondered in silence for a while before continuing his questions, "Lady Alden, just how powerful is the Sea Folk? Compared to the humans in the Elon Continent, are they stronger or weaker?"
"The Sea Folk is very powerful," Lailah said sternly. "In the ancient times, all the races except the Sea Folks waged war with each other for resources, lands, and whatnot. All sides suffered great losses, and several half immortals fell, ending their legacies. Since the Sea Folk never took part in these ancient wars, their strengths and legacies were preserved perfectly. Although there aren't as many Half Immortals across the entire Sea Folk as the ancient times, it's still not something the Elon Continent or the beings living on the land can match. It's just that the Sea Folk evolved from marine organisms, so they're only made to inhabit the sea. In the sea, it's much easier for them to achieve greater results in cultivation. But once they leave the sea, cultivation becomes severalfold more difficult. They have always stayed in the sea and have basically never come to the land. This is because the sea is their holy land."