232: Chapter 232 Uneasy

"Hurry and keep up!" Vice-Captain Weiyue, holding a silver-white longsword, saw Han Li approaching and said to him. With a flicker of the white wings on her back, only an afterimage remained in place, while her physical body had already reached a place far away.

Han Li pinched a Dharma seal, and blue flames immediately surged out from his body. His figure then streaked across the sky, leaving a trail of blue light.

When Han Li caught up to Vice-Captain Weiyue, he discovered that the color of the sky here was as pitch-black and gloomy as the sea surface. Even though it was clearly daytime outside, once inside, he could not even see his own fingers.

"Han Li, keep close from now on. The Weird Energy here is even denser and can confuse your perception. If you are not careful, you will get lost here." Vice-Captain Weiyue parted her red lips, a rare expression of solemnity appearing on her beautiful face.

The two flew forward. Through the intense blue light on Han Li's body, they could still see the remains of some Weird Beasts floating on the sea surface, clearly the result of Captain Galen and the others' actions.

The two did not fly for long. After just a moment, they caught up with the captain and his group, who were currently hovering over the sea, quietly waiting for the two to rendezvous.

"This can already be considered the outer perimeter of the Tianhai Sanctuary. Before entering, we will first perform some tests here." Seeing the two arrive, Captain Galen nodded and said to them.

Outside the range of the Tianhai Sanctuary, they could act as they had before, but once inside the range of the black clouds, they could no longer operate separately like this.

"Tests?" Hearing Captain Galen say this, Han Li turned his gaze toward the white-haired old man in the middle of the team.

He was currently fiddling with an instrument in front of him. The instrument was three meters long, sharp at both ends and wide in the middle, constructed entirely of white metal, with many small holes in the center, though it was unclear what their purpose was.

"This object is called an 'Energy Meter,' used for measuring data such as the density and quality of various energies. However, once it is used to test Weird Energy, this precious Energy Meter will be directly scrapped, so it is generally not used." Seeing Han Li return to the team, Ai Wen came to his side and explained to him.

"Can it also test Heaven and Earth energy? Truly incredible." Han Li looked at the instrument in surprise and exclaimed.

At this moment, the white-haired old man in front of the instrument took out a white sphere. The sphere was composed entirely of pure energy, and the energy contained within it could even reach the Dou Sheng level.

This was one of the hard currencies circulating in the Fighting Qi Continent, the "Spirit Orb." As for the other hard currency, it was Citizen Points, but because the scarce items in each sanctuary were slightly different, Citizen Points did not have as much authority for certain items as before, which led to the popularity of the "Black Market."

Of course, as pure energy, there was generally no difference between the official Spirit Orbs and those in the Black Market.

When the Spirit Orb was placed into the Energy Meter, the sharp ends of the Energy Meter immediately released white beams of light. One shot straight into the sky, breaking through the thick black clouds, and one plunged deep into the seabed, stirring up rolling dust on the ocean floor.

"Hum, hum..." The air around the light beams twisted, emitting a vibrating humming sound.

This commotion clearly attracted quite a few Weird Beasts. Han Li could clearly perceive that Weird Beast auras were gradually approaching from both the seabed and the clouds above.

Sure enough, only a few dozen seconds later, a strange snake with six wings on its back drilled out from the thick black clouds. Upon discovering Han Li and the others, it immediately let out a sharp hiss.

Seeing this strange snake appear, Han Li did not hesitate. He stepped forward in front of the group and pinched a Dharma seal. Nine Fire Flood Dragons immediately emerged behind him, each with an aura no weaker than that of the six-winged strange snake, opening their huge mouths and staring menacingly at the six-winged strange snake in the sky.

Sensing the sudden rise in temperature between heaven and earth, and watching the Fire Flood Dragons that kept provoking it, the strange snake immediately roared at the sky, shattering a large patch of clouds, and then rapidly dove down.

"Boom!" One of the Fire Flood Dragons behind Han Li circled around and collided straight with the strange snake. A brilliant blue radiance flared, and the flames instantly ignited the clouds, causing the surrounding temperature to rise again and again until the ocean began to boil, only then did it begin to gradually subside.

However, before it had completely subsided, several large black fish swimming in the depths of the sea released intense, undisguised malice toward the group.

"Clang!" Seeing this, Vice-Captain Weiyue narrowed her beautiful eyes and flicked the silver longsword in her hand toward the sea surface. A sword light suddenly flashed. Han Li only felt a blur before his eyes; the space where the sword light passed instantly left traces of being cut, and the pitch-black ocean beneath his feet actually split apart directly!

It was unknown what kind of energy influenced it, but the cut pitch-black sea was smooth as a mirror. A portion immediately sank, making these mountain-sized chunks of seawater appear at different heights. On the uppermost pitch-black seawater, gray auras faintly emerged, falling in streaks toward the seawater below.

At this moment, the sky was filled with blue dazzling light, the pitch-black ocean rose and fell, and dense gray mist rolled continuously.

Han Li looked at Vice-Captain Weiyue holding the longsword, somewhat dumbfounded. The strength of a Dou Sheng was simply too terrifying!

And it was said that Vice-Captain Weiyue was only a Two-Star Dou Sheng. What kind of might would Captain Galen, the Three-Star Dou Sheng who had yet to make a move, display when he attacked?

Han Li was also clear that in the Dou Sheng stage, even a small difference in Realm could result in a strength gap of two or three times. If Vice-Captain Weiyue and Captain Galen differed by an entire major Realm, then even ten Vice-Captain Weiyues might not be a match for Captain Galen!

"The results are out. According to the data from the Energy Meter, Weird Energy has not erupted here again." The white-haired old man suddenly spoke up.

As he retracted the Energy Meter, the white energy beams that pierced through heaven and earth also immediately disappeared.

"Then what kind of change could have occurred?" Hearing the white-haired old man's words, Captain Galen was not reassured, but instead became more worried, saying with a frown.

If it were another Weird Energy eruption, even handling it would have some reference, but this kind of unknown change was what made people feel most uneasy.

The white-haired old man did not show a worried expression, but rather said with some pleasant surprise: "Although the values do not indicate a re-eruption of Weird Energy, the density of Weird Energy is indeed slowly rising. There must be some unexpected change here; it is definitely a major discovery worth researching!"

After the white-haired old man finished speaking, he immediately fixed his fiery gaze on Captain Galen, as if telling him that the opportunity must not be missed.

"Density level two, it is indeed within a controllable range. We can try, but if the change is too great, we must still evacuate in time." Looking at some values on the Energy Meter screen, Captain Galen nodded and said.

Aside from the initial eruption, the density of Weird Energy is mostly at levels two to three, and multiple Weird Energy eruptions at the same location can even exceed level one.

However, this phenomenon is extremely rare, so it is called a Special-Grade Forbidden Zone, and in the entire Fighting Qi Continent, only the Eastern Continent has one.

When Captain Galen confirmed they would continue forward, the group set off again. This time, when they encountered Weird Beasts, the group did not leave first, but waited until Han Li or Vice-Captain Weiyue had attacked before continuing forward.

"Han Li, can you still hold on?" Captain Galen looked at the returning Han Li and asked with concern.

"No problem. Dealing with these level-two Weird Beasts is not difficult." Han Li replied immediately.

Usually, a forbidden zone of a certain level has Weird Beasts of that level. Like this level-two forbidden zone, although it reached the level of a level-one forbidden zone when the Weird Energy first erupted, at that time, there would be strong individuals specifically tasked with containing the level-one Weird Beasts within it.

After those level-one Weird Beasts were contained and taken away, what remained were the level-two Weird Beasts that had been infected and mutated by the aftermath.

There are many such Weird Beasts, and the danger is not very great. Even if all of them were contained, the endless Weird Energy would again infect and create level-two Weird Beasts, so it is not worth wasting precious time dealing with them one by one.

When a huge vortex appeared on the sea surface, Captain Galen stopped and turned back, saying: "Beneath the vortex is the former Tianhai Sanctuary. We will enter from here. There are countless Weird Beasts in the Tianhai Sanctuary. Han Li, prioritize safety and remember not to act alone."

After Captain Galen finished speaking, a pale cyan energy shield appeared from his palm, covering everyone.

The energy shield enveloping the group fell into the vortex, ignoring the pull of the vortex, and fell rapidly straight downward.

After about three minutes, the cyan energy shield suddenly dimmed, its color gradually blending into the black, and then the speed of descent gradually slowed down, landing on a huge piece of architectural debris in the pitch-black darkness.

In the silence, no one spoke, and the energy shield, which had turned black, seemed to know the direction in this endless darkness, constantly drifting slowly into the distance.

Although it was pitch-black all around, Han Li and the others were no ordinary people; they could all see the terrifying scene around them through the pitch-black seawater.

In the darkness, countless giant, strange sea beasts lay quietly in wait. They varied in size and were silently dormant in this underwater city.

Their bodies were extremely huge. In this underwater city, each one was like a huge black mountain, densely packed and continuous, like an endless black mountain range.

Their huge bodies, which trembled slightly from time to time, were enough to cause the surrounding seawater to circulate rapidly, forming vortices here and there, stirring up patches of gravel and sand.

Han Li and the others moved slowly through this range of Weird Beast mountains. In such a situation, even with Han Li's Heart-Nature, he could not help but hold his breath.

The surroundings were silent, and the black energy shield drifted slowly through the endless pitch-black seawater, heading in a fixed direction.

After about several hours, a large area of crystal debris appeared before their eyes. These crystals had been soaked in the black seawater for a long time, and faintly, they could reveal some dull blackness.

But these continuous crystal palace ruins still illustrated the peerless elegance of this place in the past.

And upon reaching here, the number of Weird Beasts around had obviously decreased significantly.

"Ai Wen, the measurements here are left to you." Arriving at the central location of the crystal palace, Captain Galen looked at Ai Wen beside Han Li and said.

"Very well, Captain Galen." After Ai Wen nodded, she took out several precision instruments.

The research points were divided into two locations: one measuring the Weird Energy eruption point, and one measuring the infection data around the Weird Energy eruption point. The white-haired old man was responsible for the former, while Ai Wen was responsible for the latter.

"Vice-Captain Weiyue, Han Li, you two are still a group. Protect Ai Wen well here. After Ai Wen finishes the measurements, you should retreat first." Captain Galen instructed Vice-Captain Weiyue and Han Li.

Seeing Vice-Captain Weiyue and Han Li nod, Captain Galen then took the others and left the place.

After Captain Galen and the others left, although Ai Wen had taken out the instruments, she had no intention of turning them on, as if she were waiting for something.

Sure enough, about a few minutes later, a violent tremor suddenly erupted in the distance. Even from far away here, one could clearly perceive that terrifying energy aura.

Under this terrifying aura, countless Weird Beasts like black mountains woke up one after another. The strange aura shrouded the entire ocean, stirring up a large amount of water to rush toward the source of the tremor.

Seeing this scene, Ai Wen immediately set up an instrument with a strange appearance. The instrument had a triangular stand underneath, and on top was a white metal ball that kept rotating.

As a Spirit Orb was placed in, this strange instrument instantly opened a barrier, shrouding the surrounding range of several hundred meters within it. If any Weird Beasts from the outside happened to pass by here, they acted as if they could not see it and passed directly by, heading into the distance.

Han Li watched the huge Weird Beasts swimming rapidly overhead. Vaguely, he could still feel some of the anxiety of these Weird Beasts; it seemed that the place where the tremor erupted was extremely important to them.

Therefore, Han Li's task here was very leisurely; he only needed to pay attention to the changes in the surroundings and guard against Weird Beast attacks.

In contrast to here, in the distant sea area where energy was constantly surging, in just a short moment, Han Li perceived that the seawater in that sea area had completely disappeared, while the seawater here was constantly pouring in, forming a rather strange scene.

"Alright!" Ai Wen's voice rang out. Han Li and Vice-Captain Weiyue, who were on guard, immediately turned around.

After Vice-Captain Weiyue and Han Li exchanged a look, Vice-Captain Weiyue picked up Ai Wen, and the three immediately shot straight up into the sky, heading toward the sea surface.

This scene undoubtedly attracted the attention of quite a few Weird Beasts, but most of the Weird Beasts had no intention of chasing them; their focus at this time was still on the Weird Energy eruption point in the distance.

But there were still a few Weird Beasts that targeted the three of them and swam rapidly toward them.

However, the speed of Vice-Captain Weiyue and Han Li was extremely fast. In just a while, they shook off these chasing Weird Beasts.

Crossing through the thick black clouds and arriving high above, Vice-Captain Weiyue put Ai Wen down.

Put down, Ai Wen had an uneasy expression. She frowned tightly and said: "Something is not right. The data this time actually has no abnormalities!"

"What do you mean?" Hearing Ai Wen's words, Han Li immediately asked.

"You mean, the change in the number of Weird Beasts this time is man-made?" Vice-Captain Weiyue pondered for a moment and said, but her tone immediately became somewhat cold.

"It is just a possibility. This kind of situation generally does not form actively. However, those people from the True God Sect often actively attract Weird Beasts." Ai Wen looked at Vice-Captain Weiyue, feeling somewhat uneasy in her heart. Although the True God Sect had not completely torn off the mask with the Continental Council, given their methods of operation, no matter what they did, it would not be surprising, which indeed made people feel uneasy.

"Perhaps this is the reason for the increase in Weird Beasts. Hmph, scum of the True God Sect... Since that is the case, I cannot escort you ashore. However, nothing will happen; at this time, most of the Weird Beasts in the Heavenly Palace Sea have been drawn to the eruption point, so returning the same way will be much safer. Han Li, Ai Wen is left to you. Take Ai Wen and leave this place, and wait for us on the shore." Realizing this, Vice-Captain Weiyue was clearly worried about Captain Galen and the others and wanted to turn back to investigate.

"This..." Han Li hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

With his current strength, staying here indeed could not provide much help. Rather than that, it would be better to first escort Ai Wen away.

Seeing Han Li nod, Vice-Captain Weiyue gathered radiance in her hand. A silver longsword covered with mysterious patterns appeared in her palm. Then, with a slight tremor of her wings, her figure sped toward the black clouds beneath her feet.