Chapter 448 - 299: Pagji Island 2

Before long, a brilliant blue coastline appeared.

Along the coast were moored enormous ships of all shapes and sizes, each with a unique design and forged from unknown materials.

As the Five-Colored Flowing Light Armor zipped past, Han Ning also spotted traveling Soul Beasts, modified much like the Gray Demon Whale.

There was a giant turtle as large as a football stadium, a snail that seemed to carry a mountain on its back, and a massive eagle bearing various structures... These Soul Beasts rested in neat rows in an open area near the sea, with countless black dots moving in and out below them.

Because the Five-Colored Flowing Light Armor's entry was unauthorized, these sights were just a blur. In the blink of an eye, it had flown past Pagji Island and was heading back to the Gray Demon Whale under Cang Tong's command, following the navigational chart.

"Excuse me, Teacher Sage, Teacher Hom, what kind of organization is this Merfolk Sea Alliance?" Han Ning retracted his Spiritual Power and posed the question to Sage, who had quietly entered the command room. He then relayed what had happened on the other side to everyone present.

They were all outsiders; only Sage and Hom, natives of the Purple Crystal World, would know anything.

"The Merfolk Sea Alliance?" Upon hearing the name, Sage and Hom both frowned and shook their heads, clearly having never heard of such an organization.

"Although I've never heard of any Merfolk Sea Alliance, the presence of a Beast Master means Pagji Island is likely inhabited by one or more intelligent races of a certain size, and they've formed a relatively complete civilization and social structure," Hom said.

"The Celestial Sea covers nearly one-fifth of the Purple Crystal World's surface and is home to countless intelligent races and Soul Beasts. The overseas islands are as numerous as stars in the sky. Based on my past travels, this type of alliance is usually formed by several smaller, less powerful intelligent races banding together to resist stronger ones. They're most likely neutral, developing by welcoming passing merchants and trading local specialties for outside resources."

Sage stroked his chin, speculating,

"Pagji Island is on the outer edge of the Subspace storm zone, so the races living here will be a bit stronger than those in the outside world, and the travelers passing through are bound to be powerful as well. But as long as we follow the local rules and pay the docking fee, nothing dangerous should happen. After all, there are far too many similar alliances in the Purple Crystal World."

"Cang Tong, don't recall the Five-Colored Flowing Light Armor just yet. Send it back to the authorized zone on the west side of Pagji Island and have it ask a local Beast Master about the situation," Sage suggested.

"Alright."

Cang Tong nodded and, without another word, once again commanded the Five-Colored Flowing Light Armor, which hadn't gone far. It broke through the clouds and silently descended toward a bustling port.

He found a towering, humanoid creature that had just stepped off a massive wooden ship. It had reddish skin and a head covered in red tumors. Using a spiritual message, he asked:

"Hey, friend. I'd like to ask you something."

As he spoke, Cang Tong released the invisible Spiritual Suppression of a Tier Four Beastmaster and signaled the Five-Colored Flowing Light Armor to retrieve a War General Level Soul Beast Crystal Stone from under its carapace and toss it into the red-skinned creature's palm.

Judging by the Spiritual Fluctuation emanating from the creature, its Spiritual Level couldn't be higher than Tier Two. It was an easy target to control.

"GULP~"

The red-skinned creature froze in terror upon feeling Cang Tong's Spiritual Suppression. The sound of bursting bubbles echoed from the tumors on its head as it replied shakily with its own Spiritual Power,

"Please... ask away."

"Tell me about Pagji Island. Registration rules, local customs, the surrounding environment," Cang Tong inquired.

The red-skinned creature quickly explained:

"Guh, gulp~ Pagji Island... is currently controlled by the Merfolk and Sea Deer races. They belong to the Merfolk Sea Alliance, which is composed of three sea races and is hostile toward the Deep Sea Race. They're neutral toward other races. The docking fees are quite expensive, with several different tiers..."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you."

A moment later, Cang Tong withdrew his Spiritual Power and let the red-skinned creature leave.

Then, he found a few more easy targets and asked about the local situation.

The answers he received were nearly identical to what the first creature had said, confirming that this was indeed the general situation on Pagji Island.

"I don't see any problem. Given Grey's length and tonnage, the daily docking fee is one Lord Level Soul Beast Crystal Stone. It's not cheap, but it's acceptable," Cang Tong said, looking at Sage.

"The docking fee is twice as expensive as in the outside world, and that's not even counting the cost of replenishing resources. Considering this is the Subspace storm zone, it's actually quite cheap." Sage nodded. "We can dock."

With the highly respected Sage giving the go-ahead, and after a detailed discussion among the group, a plan for docking Grey was formulated.

...

「Two days later.」

Under clear skies, a massive Gray Demon Whale appeared in the Sky Domain west of Pagji Island.

It revealed its full form and slowly descended toward the sea just off the coast of Pagji Island.

About ten minutes later, a large, transparent flying fish with two pairs of wings flew over from the direction of Pagji Island.

Standing on the flying fish was a creature with blue scales covering its cheeks, coarse features, and the lower body of a fish.

He guided the flying fish, looking down for a moment before hovering above Grey's command room and emitting a Spiritual Fluctuation powerful enough to envelop it:

"Travelers from afar, do you wish to dock at Pagji Island?"

A few seconds later, Sage walked out of the command room. He glanced impassively at the flying fish above, then extended a hand and pointed in front of himself.

The other being understood and quickly lowered his altitude, coming level with Sage.

When the being got a clear look at Sage's face, a shocked expression appeared on his.

"A Witch... a Witch Spirit Person?"

Sage's brow furrowed instantly at his words. "What about the Witch Spirit People?"

"No... no, you misunderstand. It's just that Witch Spirit People are extremely rare on Pagji Island... They... aren't they supposed to be..." The Guide waved his hands frantically.

"Supposed to be what?" Sage's expression turned serious.

"I'm not entirely sure myself. News from the mainland says the war between the Witch Spirit People and the Alataku People has reached a fever pitch. Both sides' main forces have reportedly taken the fight to an Otherworld plane far from their homelands. It's been a long time since we've seen any Witch Spirit People in a remote place like Pagji Island," the Guide said with a small laugh.

"I see." Sage's expression returned to normal. He got straight to the point. "My Soul Beast needs to dock and rest on Pagji Island for a while. Can you handle the registration?"

The Guide's eyes lit up. "Leave it to me, my lord. My name is Shuili, and it's a pleasure to serve you. Now, please have your Soul Beast follow me to the port for registration."

Sage didn't say a word. He pulled a War General Level Soul Beast Crystal Stone from his robes, casually tossed it to Shuili, and turned to step back inside the command room.

Shuili caught the Crystal Stone, his expression growing even more joyful. He quickly guided his flying fish to the front of Grey and began making a series of hand gestures.

「Half an hour later.」

Grey slowly descended into a supply depot at the Pagji Island port.

The depot's infrastructure was exceptionally crude. It was nothing more than a vast, empty expanse of packed yellow earth.

Every few kilometers, a colossal Soul Beast over 2,000 meters long was resting here.

By comparison, Grey's size was merely average; it didn't stand out among the various other giants.

In this Exotic Realm, the faces coming and going were no longer familiar human ones, but a bizarre and motley collection of visages.

Adhering to the principle of not staring impolitely, Han Ning didn't curiously scrutinize the faces of the surrounding Alien Races. Instead, he accompanied Sage to the port's registration office to complete the procedures.

The two of them followed Shuili to a building constructed from white seashells.

Not far away stood two members of an Alien Race with a few light blue scales on their cheeks.

A scattered line of passersby was queued up, handling their registrations.