Chapter 860: Reminiscing
As soon as Zhou Huai stepped out of the ruins, the surrounding scenery changed, and the sea breeze, carrying the salty smell of the present world, rushed towards him.
Chun had been waiting for a long time, and seeing that Zhou Huai was unharmed, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The two exchanged a glance but said nothing.
Zhou Huai put away the Abyss Blood Battle Armor, and the dark red light re-condensed in mid-air into a huge abyss dragon.
"roar--"
As soon as Xiao Hei appeared, it raised its head and roared, its voice clearly showing dissatisfaction. Its huge head came close to Zhou Huai, white breath coming out of its nostrils.
"Master is biased! That was an extremely rare high-level monster corpse, its flesh and blood were highly nutritious! You actually let those stinky bugs eat it all, and didn't even leave me a drop of soup!" Xiao Hei complained through the mental contract, his vertical pupils full of resentment.
Zhou Huai patted its dragon horns.
"You greedy little guy, you still haven't finished digesting the meat from that alligator snapping turtle."
Zhou Huai laughed and scolded, "So you've already got your eye on Poseidon's corpse? Don't you understand the principle of not biting off more than you can chew?"
Little Black shook its big head and muttered something unsatisfactorily.
Chun watched from the side, her expression grave.
"Stop talking nonsense, let's go quickly." Chun raised her head and looked at the gloomy sky, her tone urgent, "I can feel his presence, he's already here."
Zhou Huai nodded and leaped onto the dragon's back.
"Little Black, let's go!"
The dragon flapped its wings, stirring up a whirlwind as it fled into the distance.
However, it had only flown less than ten kilometers.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, Little Black's massive body crashed into an invisible barrier and was bounced back.
"roar--!"
Little Black let out a furious dragon roar, shook its dizzy head, and steadied itself in mid-air.
Zhou Huai stared intently at it.
In the void ahead, a transparent wall of air stretched across the sky, completely sealing off this sea area. With Xiao Hei's impact, complex array patterns appeared on the air wall, radiating intense energy fluctuations.
Chun stared intently at the patterns.
“It’s Mr. Duan.” She gritted her teeth. “He’s coming.”
"Is there a way to leave?" She turned to look at Zhou Huai.
Zhou Huai stared at the enormous wall of air without changing his expression.
"Don't worry, he can't stop me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Huai raised his right hand.
"Sea-Severing Nether Chains!"
Dark golden chains roared out from the void, accompanied by a heavy metallic scraping sound. Zhou Huai held nothing back, pouring all his mana into them. The Netherworld Chains erupted with a blinding ghostly light, their ability to counter barriers fully activated, lashing fiercely at the air wall in front of him.
"Snap—!"
The array patterns were cracked under the blow, and then shattered with a bang, revealing a huge gap.
Zhou Huai put away the chains without hesitation.
"Victor, spatial jump."
Spatial forces instantly enveloped Zhou Huai, Chun, and the demonic dragon. The surrounding space distorted, and the people and dragon vanished without a trace, leaving only the howling sea.
...
Not long after Zhou Huai and the others left.
At the edge of the shattered barrier, ripples spread through the air. A figure dressed in a black tuxedo stepped out of the void, holding a ruby cane and wearing a black top hat.
It was Mr. Duan.
He stood in mid-air, glancing down at the dissipating fragments of the array below, his expression unreadable. The sea breeze ruffled the hem of his clothes, and his eyes flickered slightly.
"They run pretty fast."
He spoke calmly, his voice echoing across the sea.
"The Netherworld Chains... I never expected that not only did you obtain this thing, but it could also have such an effect."
Mr. Duan stroked the tip of his cane and smiled slightly.
"Zhou Huai, you're getting more and more interesting."
He didn't use his abilities to track them. The other party possessed spatial skills; chasing them now would be a waste of time. Besides, his primary target was beneath the ruins.
Mr. Duan turned around, looked at the entrance to the ruins hidden in the deep sea, and went straight in.
...
Inside the ruins of Castrandis.
The oppressive aura that once enveloped the heavens and earth has vanished. The vast Dead Sea below has been completely transformed. After the sea god was devoured by the insectoids, the remaining blood and venom have polluted the ocean into a nauseating dark green.
Amidst the chaos, a dilapidated flatboat drifted alone.
On the small boat, the red-haired strong man and others were bandaging each other's wounds, covered in blood, but with a relieved peace on their faces.
Old Master Mo sat at the very front of the small boat, his hands folded on his knees, his eyes slightly closed.
Suddenly, his brow twitched slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes, looking up at the sky not far away.
There, a figure dressed in a black tuxedo appeared without warning.
Mr. Duan has arrived.
The red-haired burly man and the others also noticed something amiss and looked up. When they saw the face clearly, everyone tensed up and gripped their weapons tightly.
Mr. Duan ignored those gazes. He looked down at the battlefield, at the polluted ocean, and at the surface where not even a trace of the sea god's aura remained, his pupils contracting slightly.
Soon, his gaze fell on Old Man Mo at the front of the flatboat.
Old Mo did not get up or pick up his weapon; he simply sat there calmly, meeting his gaze.
The sea breeze whipped up blood-red splashes of water around the small boat.
Old Mo spoke slowly, his hoarse voice echoing across the vast sea:
"Long time no see, Mr. Duan."
Mr. Duan's right hand, which was holding his cane, twitched slightly. Then, he extended his left hand, removed his top hat, and bowed slightly in a hat-tipping gesture.
"It has indeed been a long time, Mr. Mo," Mr. Duan replied with a smile.
After performing the hat-tipping ceremony, Mr. Duan put his black top hat back on. Leaning on his cane inlaid with pigeon-blood rubies, he calmly swept his gaze across the murky sea below, polluted by the remains of the sea god.
“What a terrible environment.” He frowned slightly.
After speaking, Mr. Duan casually waved his hand downwards.
There were no fluctuations of magic power, nor any flashes of skill light. But with this action, the turbulent Dead Sea suddenly calmed down.
The churning, dark green poisonous water and the hundred-meter-high waves were instantly smoothed out by some invisible force, leaving not a ripple.
Immediately afterwards, the ocean began to rapidly transform into land.
Rocks and soil emerged from nothingness, rapidly replacing the seawater.
In the blink of an eye, vegetation sprouted on the newly regenerated earth.
Ancient trees rose from the ground, vines intertwined, and wildflowers swayed. In just a few breaths, this boundless ocean filled with death was completely transformed into a vibrant land.
The dilapidated flatboat made a muffled thud and landed steadily on the grass.
The red-haired burly man and the scarred-faced man, along with other top experts from the Seventh World, were all frozen in place. They had witnessed countless forbidden spells and divine artifacts, but what they were seeing before them completely transcended the scope of professional skills.
Transforming the sea into land, creating things from the void!
Although Mo Lao and the others knew how powerful Mr. Duan was, they were still shocked by his methods, and an uncontrollable chill rose in their hearts.
Ignoring the astonishment of the crowd, Mr. Duan slowly descended from mid-air, leaning on his cane.
The moment his feet touched the grass, the soil churned and reshaped, and a villa rose from the ground with him at its center. Bluestone paths, carved wooden windows, vermilion pillars, even the koi in the pond seemed to come to life.
Mo Lao and the others felt a blur before their eyes and found themselves in a pavilion in a separate courtyard.
The stone table in front of Master Mo rippled and transformed into a solid wood tea table. On the tea table, a pot of freshly brewed tea was steaming.
“I remember you used to love drinking this ‘Frosty Night Fragrance’ when you were forging iron by the furnace.”
Mr. Duan walked over and sat down on the bamboo chair, looking completely at ease, as if the earth-shaking technique he had just performed was merely a casual dusting.
Mr. Mo did not sit down.
He stared intently at the familiar yet unfamiliar man before him, asking expressionlessly, "Duan, what do you mean by this?"
Mr. Duan picked up the purple clay teapot and poured two cups of tea.
“It’s perfectly normal for old friends to meet again, have a cup of tea, and reminisce, isn’t it?” He pushed the teacup in front of Elder Mo, a gentle smile on his lips. “Try it. Modern tea always feels a little lacking. I’ve put a lot of effort into recreating the taste of our Seventh World back then.”