Time flowed like water, and in a blink, three days had passed.
On the endless azure sea, clusters of hazy mist were already visible.
"Your Highness Lingyu Princess, we are about to enter the Misty Sea Area."
Deputy General Hong Ye stepped onto the deck and respectfully addressed Lingyu Princess.
"Hmm, Deputy General Hong, you understand affairs at sea better than I do. Just give the orders for anything that needs attention."
Lingyu Princess nodded slightly and smiled, her gaze falling on the sea mist not far ahead.
She spent most of her time cultivating in the Imperial City, and this trip out, to the Misty Sea Area, which could barely be considered a Forbidden Land at sea, made her quite curious.
This was also why she chose to travel with the ship.
"Understood."
Hong Ye respectfully acknowledged, then bowed to Shi Po, who was standing nearby, before striding away.
"Shi Po, you know a lot about the sea. Is there anything special about this Misty Sea Area?"
Lingyu asked softly.
"Among the known 絕地 in the East Sea, the most dangerous are the Dead Sea Vortex and the Wind Thunder Hell. Even a powerful Grandmaster might not escape if they enter them. In comparison, the danger level of this Misty Sea Area is only in the lower ranks of the 絕地, and only the most core area is quite dangerous."
Shi Po seemed to know the East Sea very well, speaking plainly as if reciting a family treasure.
"Although it's unclear how this strange mist came into being, it probably only harbors a few Yao Beasts."
"However, our journey won't take us to the core of the Misty Sea Area, so the probability of encountering Yao Beasts isn't high. And even if we do encounter a Sea Yao Beast, it won't be a problem with this old woman here."
Her tone was calm, but her words were full of confidence.
After all, Yao Beast-level exotic beasts are only equivalent to human Divine Transformation Realm.
However, the physique, talent, and other aspects of Yao Beasts are clearly superior to human Martial Artists.
Therefore, ordinary Divine Transformation Realm Martial Artists find it difficult to deal with Yao Beasts.
Although there are some examples of extremely powerful Yao Beasts that can contend with Grandmasters across realms.
But those are, after all, only a few.
She didn't believe they would encounter a Yao Beast of that level in this Misty Sea Area.
If they were unlucky enough to encounter one on this trip.
As a true Grandmaster expert, and possessing a Dragon Bloodline.
In the ocean, her strength would not only not be discounted but would even be enhanced, making her fully capable of handling it.
What's more, besides her, a genuine Grandmaster expert, there were nearly ten Divine Transformation Realm Martial Artists on this trip. Ordinary Yao Beasts could be dealt with without her intervention.
In the cabin.
Lin Sheng slowly opened his eyes, absorbing and refining all the coldness in the room before speaking.
"Come in."
Soon, the cabin door opened, and Shui Zhi walked in.
"Young Master, we are about to enter the Misty Sea Area."
Shui Zhi bowed and said.
"Are we there already? That's quite fast."
Lin Sheng's eyes showed a hint of surprise. According to the original estimate, it would take another two days to reach the Misty Sea Area.
It seems the speed of this military warship is not comparable to ordinary merchant ships.
"How far is it to Storm Reef?"
"In my humble opinion, it should still be five days away."
Shui Zhi thought for a moment and replied.
"Five days? Alright, just let me know when we get there."
Lin Sheng nodded.
After a few more words, Shui Zhi bid farewell and left.
Lin Sheng then immersed himself in cultivation again.
He had gained some insights into the cultivation of his Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture, and his cultivation efficiency had improved significantly. He decided to use this time to refine as much Demonic Charm as possible.
Soon, evening arrived.
Three giant warships, tearing through the dense fog, sailed through the hazy mist.
Each warship was illuminated by strong firelight.
In the Misty Sea Area, visibility was greatly affected, and these firelights served as a connection between them to prevent falling behind and getting lost.
In the seawater, large schools of fish could be seen swimming. Instead of being frightened by the enormous warships, they followed closely.
On the deck, Lin Sheng gripped the railing, his gaze fixed on the seawater.
Having just finished his cultivation, he was quite curious about this Misty Sea Area, so he naturally came out to take a look.
"These sea fish are Sea Ghost Fish. Don't let their small size fool you; their sharp teeth can even bite through steel, and they are quite fierce. Cannibalism among their kind is also common."
As if noticing Lin Sheng's gaze, Hong Ye on the deck smiled and explained.
His attitude towards Lin Sheng was also quite polite.
"Sea Ghost Fish? I wouldn't have thought they were so fierce."
Lin Sheng raised an eyebrow.
From their appearance, these Sea Ghost Fish seemed quite harmless.
Their scales were crystal clear, reflecting specks of light under the dim moonlight. Their two bulging eyes occupied nearly a third of their head, making them look quite cute, and they had a considerable appeal to women.
From their occasionally opening and closing mouths, one could indeed see dense, sharp teeth the length of a finger.
This made Lin Sheng think of piranhas on Blue Star.
However, piranhas were clearly no match for these Sea Ghost Fish.
"You must not be deceived by their appearance, Your Excellency Lin Sheng. Do you know why these Sea Ghost Fish always follow behind us?"
Hong Ye smiled mysteriously.
"Why?" Lin Sheng asked softly.
"Naturally, it's to wait for our ship to be destroyed so they can swarm over and have a feast."
Hong Ye smiled.
"Ordinary ships can't last long against the sharp teeth of these Sea Ghost Fish. These Sea Ghost Fish are also one of the great dangers of the Misty Sea Area. However, warships made of black gold iron wood are naturally not included; even if they break their teeth, they can't harm the ship in the slightest."
"Are there no Sea Ghost Fish in other sea areas?"
Lin Sheng asked, somewhat confused.
"Of course there are, but the number of Sea Ghost Fish in other sea areas is not large enough to pose a threat. Only in the Misty Sea Area do such dense schools of Sea Ghost Fish appear. As for why, Hong does not know, it might be related to these gray mists."
Hong Ye shook his head slightly and explained.
"After all, there are also many special sea beasts in the Misty Sea Area that are rarely seen in ordinary sea areas, all of which are quite troublesome. I estimate we will inevitably encounter a few on this trip."
Lin Sheng listened quietly. As a military officer of the East Sea.
Hong Ye undoubtedly knew a lot about the Misty Sea Area.
After hearing what he said, the Misty Sea Area became even more mysterious in Lin Sheng's mind.
These hazy mists couldn't have appeared out of nowhere.
Besides obscuring vision, these mists also had a certain shielding effect on the five senses.
Even with his current perception, being in the gray mist only allowed him about half of his usual range.
For ordinary people, anything beyond two meters in front of them would likely be completely lost.
"I wonder what secrets this Misty Sea Area holds?"
A thought flashed through his mind.
He pondered whether he should go into the sea to investigate.
Just as he was thinking, Lin Sheng suddenly looked up at the leading warship several hundred meters ahead.
Because of the obscuring gray mist, visibility was severely affected, but based on the strong firelight from it, its location could still be accurately determined.
And with his focused eyesight, he could still roughly see the figures moving hurriedly on the ship.
Something seemed to have happened.
Just as he was about to remind Hong Ye, a dull horn blast already came from the warship ahead.
The sound was deep but extremely penetrating, clearly audible even with the gray mist obstructing it.
"Something happened!?"
The moment he heard the horn, Hong Ye's expression became stern.
"Your Excellency Lin Sheng, please be careful. I'll go take a look."
After saying that, Hong Ye quickly headed towards the ship's command room.
Watching the other party leave, Lin Sheng's thoughts shifted, and he had already switched to having the Aurora Jellyfish enter his body.
With the ten points of perception enhancement, the gray mist's influence on his perception instantly diminished significantly.
Frowning again, he saw giant shadows circling the warship ahead on the sea surface several hundred meters away.
Not only that, but several massive shadows were also rapidly approaching the warship beneath his feet.
"This is..."
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly, wanting to clearly see what these enormous shadows were.
As the shadows drew closer, their true forms finally revealed themselves.
These massive shadows were not giant sea beasts, but rather peculiar sea beasts the size of buckets, round-bodied and covered in long black spines.
They looked like enlarged pufferfish, only without any visible eyes or mouths or other organs on their bodies.
The long spines on these pufferfish were interlinked, and each massive shadow consisted of at least a hundred strange pufferfish gathered together.
Moreover, the bodies of these strange pufferfish seemed to be expanding at a visible rate.
In just a few breaths, they had already grown by a third.
"What are these things?"
Lin Sheng frowned, having to admit that the sheer number and variety of sea beasts in the East Sea far exceeded his imagination; many he had never even heard of, let alone seen.
Just as he was thinking of going into the sea to catch one and see what these pufferfish were.
He heard the crisp clatter of mechanisms shifting from the sides of the warship.
On both sides of the ship, giant cannons, each as thick as a bucket, had emerged.
Bright yellow fire ignited in the muzzles, and the next moment, deafening roars erupted.
On the sea surface, giant waves tens of feet high surged.
The massive shadows formed by the strange pufferfish were instantly blown to pieces.
However, these scattered shadows showed no intention of re-aggregating, only to be followed by several more loud bangs from the ship, smashing the shadows again.
This time, the strange pufferfish that survived the explosion seemed to be startled.
They frantically dived underwater and soon disappeared.
The same situation was unfolding on the warship ahead.
After a few cannon shots, the crisis was averted.
"How can these cannons have such power!?"
At this moment, Shui Zhi, Bai Can, and others were also alarmed by the commotion and quickly emerged from the cabin. Seeing the giant cannons on the ship, they were all astonished.
Bai Can's eyes widened, his face filled with shock.
"Indeed, the power is immense."
Lin Sheng also spoke softly, his heart also moved. The power of these cannons was indeed somewhat beyond imagination; each shot was probably no less than a full-strength attack from an Early Stage Divine Transformation Realm Martial Artist.
And this warship was equipped with as many as eighteen giant cannons.
Under a barrage of cannon fire, high-level sea beasts would probably evaporate instantly.
Even weaker Yao Beasts, if hit by cannon fire, would likely not escape the fate of severe injury.
"With such powerful warships, this operation will be much easier."
Shui Zhi also sighed with emotion.
Hong Ye now also stepped out of the cabin.
The stern expression on his face had long since vanished, replaced by a relaxed smile.
"Those sea beasts are a troublesome kind called Thorn Fish, rarely seen here, and only appearing in schools in the Misty Sea Area."
"These Thorn Fish intertwine with each other and secrete a large amount of highly corrosive mucus, which corrodes ships. Even black gold iron wood, with its excellent corrosion resistance, would inevitably suffer damage if exposed for too long."
Upon hearing this, Lin Sheng and the others nodded.
The name Thorn Fish was quite apt.
However, the fact that Hong Ye, an experienced deputy general at sea, had to deal with them carefully, indicated that these Thorn Fish were quite troublesome.
Shui Zhi's face beside him showed surprise.
"I didn't expect there to be so many of these things in the Misty Sea Area. Luckily, I didn't encounter them when I came in last time; otherwise, with the merchant ship I rented before, I probably wouldn't have been able to get away unscathed."
Hearing Shui Zhi's words, Hong Ye nodded in agreement.
"Ordinary ships are indeed difficult to deal with such a scale of Thorn Fish. If we're talking about it, such a large number of Thorn Fish are usually only encountered in the deeper parts of the Misty Sea Area."
"We've only just entered the middle section here, so encountering so many Thorn Fish is truly rare. It seems our luck isn't good."
As he spoke, a hint of doubt flashed across his face, but it quickly vanished.
"This time, all three warships are equipped with ample cannonballs. Even if there were several times more of these Thorn Fish, as long as they are promptly defeated, they won't pose much of a threat."
At this moment, a sharp hissing sound suddenly came from beneath the sea, interrupting their conversation.
"What's going on? What's that sound?"
Bai Can asked, puzzled, scanning the sea surface but finding nothing unusual.
The others also carefully examined the sea surface but likewise found nothing.
"It's at the bottom of the ship!"
Only Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said in a deep voice.
"The bottom of the ship?"
Hong Ye was startled, but quickly realized something and his expression changed.
"Could it be that some Thorn Fish have already attached themselves to the bottom of the ship!?"
Realizing the seriousness of the problem, he immediately wanted to shed his armor and go into the sea to investigate.
"Deputy General Hong, let me go instead."
Lin Sheng spoke slowly, and as his voice fell, his figure had already deftly leaped into the seawater.
As soon as he entered the seawater and approached the bottom of the ship, the originally deep blue water had turned pitch black, and it felt somewhat viscous.
Even large bubbles continuously emerged from the surrounding seawater, as if it were boiling.
"Good corrosive poison."
Looking at the black water surrounding his body, Lin Sheng commented.
At this moment, he had reached the bottom of the ship, where he saw numerous Thorn Fish, like burrs stuck to clothing, firmly adhering to the ship's bottom, densely packed together, numbering in the hundreds, which made one's heart turn cold.
"To think there were so many, even I didn't notice. These Thorn Fish are indeed troublesome."
Lin Sheng was quite surprised.
He grabbed two Thorn Fish with both hands and directly pulled them off.
However, their entire bodies' sharp spines remained attached to the ship's bottom, embedded within it.
Clearly, the toughness of these spines was even greater than that of black gold iron wood.
Lin Sheng frowned, and the next moment, a golden glint appeared in his eyes.
Instantly, these Thorn Fish clinging to the bottom of the ship, as if startled, quickly detached from the ship's bottom and darted into the depths of the sea as if fleeing, soon disappearing from view.