Chapter 4: Breaking the Sea

Thinking about this, Miss Vilyric suddenly recalled the special form that Xi Fu Lin had mentioned at the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, where different worlds overlap to create a massive three-dimensional structure composed of multiple planes.

As the legendary birthplace of creation, the Original Land once had more gods and more frequent exchanges with the outside world than the Ancient Spirit Realm, even if the Earth Mother Goddess herself seldom traveled between worlds. Gaining such knowledge would be quite easy.

If what was said is true, with the spatial structure between two worlds typically overlapping like two faces of a box, then Ming Lan’s mention of “diving into the sea” makes perfect sense.

“So, what exactly do we need to do? Just to be clear, although the 【Noah’s Ark】 has many functionalities, transforming into a submarine isn’t one of them.”

When it came to the key topic, Ming Lan also ceased her joking demeanor and nodded seriously.

“If we use the method commonly employed by the Lingyin Merchant Association, we would generally first seal and protect the entire hull with a large barrier and then dive down into the sea at a specific location.”

“But you all should know that under the deep sea, the pressure of the water increases rapidly with depth. The deeper you go, the greater the pressure the shield must endure, and the environmental conditions between worlds are ever-changing. Even someone with considerable experience can’t accurately determine how deep we need to go to complete the 【crossing】.”

“If we linger too long under the deep sea, causing the shield to break, the seawater and pressure would rush in, and nearly all living beings from above would be doomed.”

“Thus, the requirements for protection are extremely stringent. Even with the financial resources of the Immortal Island, it would take a very long time to collect materials to create a one-time-use barrier generation device to ensure the safety of the crossing.”

Understanding her point, Miss Priestess nodded slightly.

“Mm… so what we’re really doing isn’t making the ship swim like a fish in the sea, but just continuously drilling down in a specific direction. That interpretation should be correct, right?”

“That’s generally the meaning.”

After pondering for a moment, Vilyric mused.

“If it’s just about withstanding the pressure and onslaught of seawater, I could manage that, but how do we make the ship dive down fiercely like a deep-sea torpedo? The 【Noah’s Ark】 wasn’t designed for that.”

Ming Lan nodded.

“Our usual practice is to hang a dense heavy object outside the shield to drag the ship down. It might be a clumsy method, but it’s efficient…”

“Hey, wait a minute… I just had an idea that might solve both problems at once.”

Like a light bulb turning on, the black-haired girl suddenly turned to the quietly listening but giving no constructive input Miss Swordswoman, and they exchanged a blink.

“Hong Yan, have you practiced what I had you work on during this time?”

“Ah? Oh… The method you taught was indeed very effective! Since coming back from that… underground world, my sense of spirit, which once felt ethereal, has become much clearer. I’ve even started to exhibit traces of that power, but since we’re on a ship, I haven’t had the chance to try it out yet…”

Certain someone, ever eager for chaos, nodded with a satisfied smile.

“Perfect timing! Now you have a great opportunity to fully familiarize yourself with that power until you’re worn out!”

Finally unable to find an opportunity to insert herself in the conversation, Miss Le Qiao Qiao couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Boss… what exactly are you guys hinting at? What’s this diving into the sea, opportunity stuff? I can understand each word individually, but when they’re together, totally lost!”

“It’s okay, you’ll figure it out soon.”

…

After that, 【Noah’s Ark】 continued sailing on the increasingly quiet vast ocean for over a day. Once the concentration of spiritual energy in the air decreased to nearly zero and it was hard to find any visible life under the sea, it gradually came to a stop.

Here it is, the destination on the sea chart provided by the Immortal Island, leading to the gap between worlds that allows access to the Original Land.

As previously mentioned, each method for crossing between connected worlds differs, and here as well, there exist some strange rules. One of them is that only objects conceptualized as “boats” can pass through the gap.

In other words, if a biological entity tries to forcefully dive into the sea, even reaching the seabed under water pressure, nothing would happen.

Thus, they had to arrive by ship.

After making ample preparations and ensuring that all accompanying personnel returned to the ship’s cabin, fixing themselves to stable structures that wouldn’t easily move, Vilyric, along with Hong Yan, Ming Lan, and the ever-curious Miss Thief, came to the deck to begin “diving into the sea.”

Thanks to some clever tricks, the versatile skill of 【Radiant Protection】 was temporarily sufficient to block seawater and pressure, after all, if the plan went smoothly, they wouldn’t really need to face that force directly.

After a signal was given, Vilyric raised her hand to expand the light shield, enveloping the whole 【Noah’s Ark】 floating quietly on the surface of the sea in a massive impenetrable golden sphere.

Though this would make it difficult for outside oxygen to enter, Miss Priestess had intentionally expanded the range quite a bit. As long as they completed the crossing within a certain timeframe, there shouldn’t be any issues.

Now, the most crucial step came.

“Are you ready?”

“……Mm!”

With a smile directed at the gray-haired girl standing confidently at the front of the deck, and receiving a nod in affirmation, Vilyric didn’t delay and waved her staff!

【Joint Combat Contract】，connect!

“Uh…”

The massive energy that surged into her body caused the swordswoman to instinctively let out a frustrated yet vaguely delighted groan, her fair cheeks flushing with an unusual hue as her attributes rapidly ascended.

However, Vilyric had already rehearsed this multiple times beforehand, and Hong Yan was also accustomed to the immense power temporarily granted by someone else, so there wouldn’t be any panic.

Feeling the power entering her, she immediately proceeded as planned, raising her hand to grasp the hilt of her sword, her gaze calm and resolute as the sword’s essence emerged.

An invisible sharp intention flowed out, as if she were about to split the heavens and earth.

Even though the False Ultimate was merely a mimicry of the true Ultimate, a trump card belonging to Divine Beings, and its principles were obscure, it was still powers that did not belong to humans.

Creatures above the Fourth Realm couldn’t possibly grasp its true might, and Hong Yan was no exception.

But, thanks to her exceptional supportive abilities, Miss Priestess Vilyric could elevate anyone far beyond their original realm and even couple it with some peculiar boost magic to force them past that threshold.

Although it still differed greatly from the complete False Ultimate, it was enough to showcase a glimpse of that power.

That power, absolutely not belonging to mortals.

“Absolute Sword… Swallow Return!”

“Zheng!!!!!!”

The single-hand grip on the sword hilt tightened, and the blade exploded into a blur, the qi and momentum reaching their peak at this moment converged. That once made even Vilyric gasp in awe—a perfect sword strike, roared once again into existence!

Moreover, it was sharper than ever before!

“Boom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The calm and serene deep sea was cleaved apart by the terrifying sword intent, creating an astonishing rift extending to the horizon, dozens of feet wide, plunging straight into the deep sea!

Taking advantage of this moment, Vilyric pushed the light shield enveloping 【Noah’s Ark】 forward!

“Bang!!!”

That “golden egg” tilted and began to plunge beneath the bisected sea surface.

   

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