Chapter 423 - 423: Underwater Cave, Mystic Realm Anchored (2)
The village made up of giant coral had completely collapsed, reduced to a desolate grey, and the remnants around hinted that a massacre had occurred here not long ago.
Upon sensing that something had gone wrong with the army guarding the Mystic Realm Gate, the Dragon King’s City evidently dispatched another army to investigate. Naturally, they found their way to the catfish village, which lay on the path in and out of the basin.
Clearly, the Dragon King’s City had vented their anger on the catfish villagers, killing them.
However, without paying much attention and after a quick look, they passed by from the side.
Advancing through the narrow underwater canyon, they quickly arrived at the end of the canyon, where the Mystic Realm Gate still stood silently before the rock wall.
Without hesitation, Ji Chen urged the Tyrant Azure Dragon and was the first to step through.
Upon entering, the surroundings instantly came alive, a gentle sea breeze brushing against their faces, and the sunshine exceptionally bright.
After scanning the area, there were no enemies in sight.
Once the Crown of the Ocean’s troops had all emerged from the Mystic Realm Gate, the group continued their journey.
As the saying goes, “Delay leads to changes.”
They were at least two days away from the Crown of the Ocean, and not a moment of time could be wasted.
At this point, he was left with only three legions: the Dragonblood Legion, the Azure Dragon Legion, and the Soul Servant Legion.
The other three legions each had their own tasks. The Knight Legion was guarding the Dragon King’s City’s treasury, while the Naga Legion and the Guardian Legion were protecting the archway.
Without the burden of these legions, their travel speed increased significantly.
In just over a day, they returned to the New Moon Islands.
Wilus had received word of their return through the warning lighthouse and was waiting at the harbor in advance.
“My Lord, didn’t you say you’d be away for quite some time this time? Why have you returned so soon?”
“How many days have I been away?”
“Approximately ten and a half days,” Wilus replied.
“Ten days?” Ji Chen was secretly surprised. Excluding the three and a half days of travel, he had spent a full seven days in the Great Luminescent Sea Realm?
But then he thought about it. The Great Luminescent Sea was located in the deep sea and relied solely on fluorescent plants for illumination. There was no distinction between day and night, so not feeling the passage of time was entirely normal.
Back to his senses, Ji Chen gave an order.
“Later, I intend to permanently anchor a Mystic Realm Gate near the New Moon Islands. Do you know of any suitable places to place it?”
“A Mystic Realm Gate?” Wilus was momentarily puzzled. He certainly knew what a Mystic Realm Gate was, but he had never heard that a Mystic Realm Gate could be artificially anchored.
Seeing his puzzled expression, Ji Chen briefly explained.
Wilus suddenly realized, and a look of admiration appeared in his eyes. He hadn’t expected that in such a short period, Lord Ji Chen would actually conquer an entire realm. He truly deserved to be their lord!
He quickly began to think, and after a moment, he nodded in agreement.
“My Lord, since this is intended as a backup base, the entrance and exit should be placed in a relatively hidden location, not easily discovered.
Considering the possibility of future discovery, we should choose a location that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Furthermore, since most of the realm is filled with seawater, it should be placed underwater, preferably in the ocean.
And there happens to be a suitable location near the New Moon Islands!”
Wilus, as the steward of the Crown of the Ocean, was well-informed about the Crown of the Ocean and the New Moon Islands. After a brief moment of thought, he quickly came up with a solution.
“It’s located beneath the cliffs on the north side of the main island. According to the investigations of the Guardian Legion, there is a large underwater cave in that area that is exceptionally well-hidden. It connects to several different entrances at different locations.
Regardless of the direction, you can access it through those underwater caves, making it an ideal placement for the Mystic Realm Gate!”
Upon hearing this, Ji Chen didn’t hesitate and immediately said, “Take me there.”
“Please wait for a moment. I will have Lord Daro of the Guardian Legion accompany you…”
Soon, a group of soldiers from the Guardian Legion arrived, escorting Ji Chen to the north side of the main island.
The north side of the main island was mostly dominated by steep cliffs, and the area was filled with numerous rocks and treacherous sea waves. Due to the terrain and the strong sea winds, the waves here were extremely turbulent, and there were many hidden underwater currents. One small mistake by a ship could result in it being smashed against the rocks and cliffs, utterly destroyed.
Any ship that saw this place would instinctively steer clear of it.
With their familiarity with the area, the Guardian Legion was able to dive underwater at an inconspicuous spot, avoiding the invisible yet dangerous underwater currents, and descended to a depth of four to five hundred meters underwater.
This depth was sufficient to isolate most non-aquatic creatures from prying eyes.
They entered a dark underwater cave in a black rock wall, and after descending about a hundred meters, they arrived in a space the size of several football fields. There were a dozen or so openings of varying sizes on the surrounding rock walls, leading to different places.
Ji Chen looked around and was very satisfied with the location.
This place was extremely hidden, and without the guidance of the Guardian Legion, it would be very difficult to find, even with the omniscience map.
The only minor drawback was that it was a bit too dark, but once the Mystic Realm Gate was anchored, they could transplant some bioluminescent plants from the Great Luminescent Sea to solve that issue.
Standing at the central position, Ji Chen took out another dimensional key.
These two dimensional keys were like twin siblings. As soon as this dimensional key appeared in the main world, it faintly established a connection with the Great Luminescent Sea realm drifting in the endless void.
A nearly invisible “ribbon” floated between them, allowing them to be connected.
The key emitted a brilliant white light, illuminating the entire cave as if it were daytime.
After a moment, the white light gradually dissipated, and a slowly forming arch-shaped Mystic Realm Gate emerged, its rippling color not black but a deep blue.
At the same time, the Great Luminescent Sea suddenly began to violently tremble, the seawater roiled intensely, and giant rocks fell, terrifying countless aquatic beings and leaving the human kingdoms staring at the sea with immense fear as massive waves surged.
Sonia, who was stationed at the Dragon King’s City, watched as the buildings in the city shook violently, her expression turning solemn.
“Has it begun…”
A soldier from the Coral Palace exclaimed in panic, “Lord of the Coral, the entire Great Luminescent Sea is suddenly trembling, and many buildings in the Dragon King’s City have collapsed!”
“Don’t panic; this is the commotion caused by Lord Ji Chen’s connection between the Great Luminescent Sea and the main world. It will soon be over.”
A Coral Palace soldier hesitated for a moment and asked, “My Lord, do we really have to submit to that human Lord? Can’t we remain independent?
After all, the Great Luminescent Sea belongs to our aquatic race, not that human Lord’s…”
Sonia shook her head. “Who the Great Luminescent Sea belongs to is no longer something we can decide. Without Lord Ji Chen’s intervention, the Coral Palace might have already been destroyed by the Dragon King’s City.
And don’t forget, the power of Lord Ji Chen… He alone is capable of destroying half of the Coral Palace.”
Upon hearing this, the Coral Palace soldiers recalled the invisible currents outside the Coral Palace that had routed the Dragon King City’s army, and they shivered in fear, no longer daring to speak.
Dragon King City’s prison.
Diago watched the constantly shaking buildings, his face filled with a hint of despair.
He knew that the Great Luminescent Sea had already connected to the main world, and there was nothing that could stop that human from ruling over the Great Luminescent Sea anymore.
Thinking about this, he glared at Andar in the opposite cell and cursed vehemently.
“You fool! Look at what monsters you’ve brought in!
If I ever get out of here, I’ll drag you to the tomb of the Water Dragon Kings from all eras and beat you to death!”
Andar was already at a loss, and he began to regret his actions.
If he hadn’t asked that human for help in the first place, perhaps none of this would have been discovered, but there were no “ifs” now…
Underwater cave near New Moon Islands.
Looking at the fully formed Mystic Realm Gate in front of him, Ji Chen’s face showed a trace of joy. He waved his hand and had Alice control one of the Soul Servant Ocean Guardians to enter and test if it could pass through.
The Soul Servant disappeared into the gate and reappeared after a moment.
At this point, it was almost certain that the Great Luminescent Sea had connected to this place.
Seeing this, he confidently stepped inside.
Before him were Herald, the Naga Legion, and the Guardian Legion who had been guarding the gate, and he finally let go of his worries.
He almost wanted to laugh out loud.
Looking at everything around them, it seemed somewhat unreal.
Did this incredibly rich realm really belong to the Ocean Crown?
Thinking about the immense resources contained within, Ji Chen’s mood was ecstatic.
This was far better than the Skeleton Realm with just a bunch of skeletal sticks, by a factor of tens of millions..