The cloudless, clear sky suddenly pressed down into darkness.
Before the hurricane had even truly arrived, the surface of the sea was already being pressed down into a hollow by its terrifying aura.
“Host, the typhoon is here.” The little fox lay on Yun Shu’s shoulder, looking up at the approaching darkness over the sea.
The blue whale behind Yun Shu let out a weak cry. It was at death's door, yet it could still sense the danger descending from above. It lifted its massive tail, trying to shield Yun Shu beneath it.
“Zhuzhu, danger…”
“Xiao Lan, it’s fine, don’t worry about me.” Yun Shu pressed her hand against the top of the blue whale’s head. “I am saving you all.”
There was no time to explain. The hurricane began to roar, and the seawater churned violently. The portal of the Return Formation had been activated.
The giant typhoon from thirty thousand kilometers away was forcibly dragged to this sea area by the Return Formation’s portal. Its appearance happened without any transition.
In an instant, the clouds churned into a massive vortex. Winds rushed in from all directions, eventually merging and twisting into visible, grayish-white air pillars.
Those air pillars pierced straight into the seabed, plowing deep, bottomless furrows into the ocean surface. Waves were tossed hundreds of feet into the air, shattering into billions of cold water droplets that crashed against the golden light wall of the Abyssal Tower Boat like a torrential thunderstorm.
The tower boat rocked violently. Shen Jue gripped the railing tightly, his fingertips turning white. On the deck, some soldiers had already lost their footing and fallen, yet no one let out a cry of alarm.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed outside the light wall, at the center of the sea being torn apart by waterspouts. The Divine Lady stood at the heart of the storm. She remained as steady as a mountain.
Her silver-white hair fanned out in the currents and wild winds like seaweed, and her magnificent, water-blue fish tail swayed gently.
On the tower boat, someone spoke with a trembling voice, “Are those terrifying anomalies… a Heavenly Punishment?”
“Will the Divine Lady be alright?”
These words tightened a string in everyone’s hearts. They had all heard of how the Divine Lady had once been punished by the Heavenly Dao in Yecheng for saving the suffering commoners. Now, witnessing the Divine Lady resolve a natural disaster followed by the birth of more heavenly anomalies, how could they not worry?
Shen Jue’s eyes suddenly turned red. “Zirang, you have always been clever. Can you think of something? Is there any way to help the Divine Lady avoid the Heavenly Punishment?”
Feng Chunya also looked at Pei Du with expectation. For the first time, she hated how slow-witted she was; if she were a bit smarter, perhaps she could help the Divine Lady.
Pei Du, who bore the high hopes of Shen Jue and Feng Chunya, sighed and shook his head. He spoke in a hoarse voice, “We are merely mortals under the Divine Lady’s protection. We cannot even leave this celestial ship shielded by the light wall, so how can we speak of helping the Divine Lady?”
For a moment, a dead silence fell over the deck.
Everyone could only watch helplessly as the waterspouts, which seemed intent on destroying everything, swirled toward the Divine Lady. Their hearts were gripped by an invisible hand, making it difficult to breathe.
Yun Shu had no idea what kind of beautiful misunderstanding the people on the tower boat had concocted until the little fox reminded her.
Its voice carried a hint of panic. “Host, this is bad! The male lead’s Favorability has hit 70 again!”
“They seem to have misunderstood that you are receiving a Heavenly Punishment from the Heavenly Dao because you resolved the disaster and saved those marine creatures.”
Yun Shu: “…”
This conquest mission was truly a hassle. Shen Jue’s Favorability was a completely uncontrollable factor; if she wasn't careful, he might accidentally send her away from this world.
The key problem was that she didn't have time to deal with him right now.
The little fox suddenly had a flash of inspiration. “Host, how about we secretly drug the male lead and make him sleep indefinitely? That way, it’ll be impossible for his Favorability to increase…”
It had completely forgotten how it used to urge Yun Shu to conquer the male lead. Now, it only wanted to follow Yun Shu to conquer the stars and the sea to earn massive amounts of Shock Value. Only by earning more Shock Value could it upgrade its functions and make things easier for Yun Shu.
Drugging him was indeed a solution, but Yun Shu had another concern. She whispered, “The recovery of the south and the unification of the realm are imminent. Drugging Shen Jue and making him sleep at this time would disrupt the army’s morale. Furthermore, Shen Jue is the male lead of this book world and a key element in turning the unreal into reality. The Great God will surely be watching him closely.”
“Oh right, Host, you’re more thorough. I forgot about that old fogey, the Great God,” the little fox said. “Even though I can hide what we’re doing, the male lead’s Favorability is held in the Great God’s hands. That thing is cunning; it monitors the fluctuations of Favorability at all times. If there’s no movement for a long time, it will definitely notice something is wrong and come looking for trouble.”
Yun Shu thought for a moment and said to the little fox, “Don’t drug Shen Jue. Go over there while invisible and just knock him out.”
This was a last resort. She still had many things to finish and couldn't let Shen Jue continue to increase her Favorability. It was simply too dangerous.
“Host, leave it to me!”
As the little fox spoke, it put on its human skin, picked up a heavy piece of reef rock, and dashed toward Shen Jue on the tower boat.
Shen Jue was oblivious to the impending danger. His eyes were fixed solely on the figure being swallowed by the pillars of wind.
In the final moment, what he saw was the Divine Lady’s silver-white hair scattered by the violent air currents and her water-blue fish tail emitting a strange glow amidst the grayish-black walls of wind.
Immediately after, the wind pillars closed in, wrapping her entire being into that rotating, thundering abyss of lightning.
“No—”
“Divine Lady—”
He instinctively tried to jump off the tower boat, but he was bounced back onto the deck by the golden light wall, his head slamming heavily against the gunwale.
Seeing this, the system seized the opportunity, gripped the heavy rock, and gave him another blow, knocking Shen Jue completely unconscious.
Everyone on the tower boat was weeping. Consequently, no one noticed that Shen Jue had passed out.
On Yun Shu’s side, she began reciting her lines, playing out the scene of struggling against the Heavenly Dao for the sake of worldly justice.
“In resolving this natural disaster, I have disrupted the order of the Heavenly Dao. It is only right that I accept its punishment. I shall bear it alone, without a single regret.”
“But I still believe—”
“Saving all living beings is never a mistake!”
Though they were just a few short sentences, they rang out with power.
Everyone gazed at the Divine Lady in the storm with profound grief, feeling her sense of responsibility even more deeply. At the same time, their faith in her reached an unprecedented height.
Feng Chunya was already streaming with tears. “The Divine Lady shouldn't have had to suffer punishment. It is the mortal world that has burdened Her.”
Pei Du’s eyes were also red. “How fortunate is the mortal world to receive the favor of a deity who loves all living beings so much.”
Among the soldiers on the deck, some were crying so hard they nearly fainted. They kept pounding on the golden light wall, trying to rush out to offer their meager strength for their God, even if it meant being ground to dust.
“Zhuzhu!”
The blue whale didn't know Yun Shu was acting. Seeing her surrounded by the storm, tears of blood flowed from its eyes.
Rate on N.U.
