CHAPTER 412: CHAPTER 397: THE GATEWAY TO THE NEW CONTINENT

The morning sun dyed the clouds on the horizon golden, blending with the rainbow colors of the Divine Force Barrier, casting their reflection upon the sea, where the waves refracted the light in dazzling brilliance.

The Dominating Throne hovered above the sea, unmoving and imposing.

"The sea, oh, is all water~ Lazybugs are still in bed~"

Ink Orchid sang out with deep feeling, flapping her wings as she smacked them, rudely waking Dragon Cypress.

"Sigh——"

Dragon Cypress was speechless and let out a long sigh.

"The sun’s up! Time to set out!"

Ink Orchid urged energetically.

"Oh——"

Dragon Cypress shook his head hard, using spiritual power to connect with the Dominating Throne to check the Origin Force reserves.

After over ten days of consecutive flight, nearly half had been used up.

"To be safe, we’ll need to replenish Origin Force again. Judging the distance, when we’re directly opposite Scarletlight Mountain, let’s take a detour there..."

"Oh! Great! While we’re at it, we can visit Mulberry and the Divine-Given Scarletlight Seed, also the Wood Tangerine Divine-Given Seed at Areca’s place, and the little Primordial Spider!"

Ink Orchid went on, suddenly becoming sentimental and worried: "Areca’s not around, can Mulberry take good care of the little Primordial Spider? It’s been so long, will those little guys still recognize me?"

"Of course they will! Those little things have great memories."

Dragon Cypress piloted the Dominating Throne into the air, flying just beneath the Divine Force Barrier at a height of forty to fifty meters above the sea.

They hadn’t been flying for long when the wind began to rise over the sea.

Thick black clouds drifted in from the other side of the Divine Force Barrier, completely unhindered.

The sunny, brilliant morning had, in a blink, turned to overcast skies, and the sea roared in great waves.

"Fate is just like the weather on this sea; drastic changes always strike without warning..."

Ink Orchid, bored, lounged on her back atop the Throne, rambling on endlessly.

"Be careful you don’t get struck by lightning!"

Dragon Cypress warned sternly, controlling the Dominating Throne to soar upwards at speed, piercing through the gaps in the clouds to fly above the sea of clouds.

Ink Orchid rolled over, crawled to the edge of the Throne, and craned her neck to look down, completely absorbed.

Bathed in sunlight, the clouds showed shades of gray and white, billowing turbulently, flashing with light now and again, quickly followed by the deep rumble of thunder.

Water vapor, ascending high, condensed to form clouds.

When the clouds amassed enough, they released lightning.

Then came the drenching rain, falling and returning to the sea.

Again and again, the cycle went on.

Such a grand and wondrous spectacle of thunderstorms—they’d seen it before, but it never got old.

"The world created by the Natural True God is just so much fun!"

Ink Orchid suddenly leaped up, waving her forelimbs in delight.

"Hmm——"

Dragon Cypress worried deeply.

Each year’s crop of Black Lotus Seeds, Ink Orchid ate the most, but it never seemed to have any effect.

"Dragon Cypress!"

Suddenly, Ink Orchid paused in the midst of her random antenna and claw-waving celebrations.

"Dragon Cypress?"

"Hmm?"

"Over there!"

Ink Orchid raised a claw, pointing into the distance.

"Origin Force fluctuation?"

Dragon Cypress’s demeanor shifted to serious, accelerating the Dominating Throne.

Ink Orchid focused on her perception, flying forward a while longer; gradually the sensation became clearer, and she declared with certainty:

"Origin Force fluctuation! Quick! Let’s go down!"

Dragon Cypress scanned the area, picked a thinner patch of clouds, and shot through it. The Dominating Throne dived steeply downward.

The black clouds hovered so low they nearly pressed against the sea.

Gale and deluge, the sea surged with monstrous waves.

The Dominating Throne trailed a long blue tail of Primordial Energy, hugging close to the Divine Force Barrier as it sped along.

"Ahead! Ahead! The Origin Force fluctuation is very faint, so we can rule out the possibility of a Land of Origin Force."

Ink Orchid analyzed, directing their heading.

It was indeed faint—Dragon Cypress focused hard, but sensed nothing unusual yet.

They kept flying for a while.

Up ahead did seem to be an anomalous Origin Force fluctuation.

Getting closer...

"Stop!"

Ink Orchid called for a halt.

The Dominating Throne hovered just above the waves.

Below, wave followed upon wave.

"The seafloor!"

Ink Orchid pointed a claw downward.

She was right.

There was a current of Origin Force seeping out from deep beneath the sea, so diluted by the time it spread to the surface that its range was just a radius of four or five hundred meters.

Near the Divine Force Barrier, Origin Force from the neighboring continent seeped through, nearly masking this odd fluctuation.

So close, if not paying attention, one could easily miss it.

Only Ink Orchid had the skill to spot it from such a distance.

—With such a small scale, it couldn’t be a seafloor Land of Origin Force.

—Definitely not a seafloor Land of Origin Force.

—It’s a bit similar to a Starship Passage...

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were probing and suddenly their eyes both lit up.

"The Origin Force fluctuation here is really similar to the Starship Passage by Rednan Mountain!"

"Almost the same!"

"Beneath the sea?"

"Doesn’t seem too deep. Maybe it’s on top of an undersea mountain range."

"Are there ferocious monsters below?"

"...Not sure."

"Can the Dominating Throne dive?!"

Dragon Cypress wasted no words, directly steering the Dominating Throne to plunge beneath the sea, descending rapidly.

Another thirty meters down, the water stilled.

Thirty more meters and, under intense water pressure, the Dominating Throne’s ’Hydrology Shield’ consumed even more Primordial Energy.

At a depth of a hundred meters the Throne’s inherent Hydrology Shield was being squeezed and compressed.

Dragon Cypress activated his own Hydrology Shield ability, adding another layer to stabilize it firmly.

Diving deeper, the Origin Force concentration began thickening.

"Dragon Cypress! I’ve sensed the exit of the Origin Force seepage!"

"Back up a bit!"

The Dominating Throne shifted backward.

"A little to the left!"

The Dominating Throne shifted left.

Dropping straight down.

While controlling the Throne to uphold the Hydrology Shield against great water pressure, Dragon Cypress also spread out his spiritual power, scanning in all directions.

Just as they’d estimated, at over three hundred meters’ depth they detected silt—a vast undersea mountain range.

A bit farther down.

Numerous holes of various sizes appeared, crowded by strange and bizarre deep-sea creatures, with thick flows of Origin Force spraying out from those cave mouths.

A sweep with spiritual power confirmed it: Starship wreckage, and specifically, the portion broken off at the midsection.

"Dragon Cypress..."

Holding her breath to probe, Ink Orchid confirmed there was no danger nearby; astonished, anxious, and full of hope, she asked:

"A Starship Passage leading to the neighboring Origin Force Continent?"

"Seems like it..."

"Which entrance?"

"Let me see..."

Dragon Cypress manipulated the Dominating Throne to float backward a little, scanned intently, and quickly locked onto the widest main passage at the center.

The Dominating Throne drifted in.

They sped ahead.

It took a little while to reach the end.

The Origin Force came from a side passage on the left, but it was too small for the Throne to fit through.

Without waiting for Ink Orchid to ask, Dragon Cypress kicked off and leapt out of the Throne; his Hydrology Shield stuck tight to his carapace, just enough to resist the surrounding pressure.

The Dominating Throne shrank drastically, until it was just the right size for Ink Orchid to slip inside and small enough to pass through the passage.

Splitting his focus, Dragon Cypress used water to push himself forward while also maneuvering the Throne onward.

It wasn’t far—soon they reached a torn gash about three or four meters wide.

Through the break and onward was a sloped, upward-leading tunnel ten meters wide, clearly heavily reinforced with powerful Earth System Abilities.

The Dominating Throne expanded to full size. Dragon Cypress returned to the throne, piloting it swiftly upward.

Soundlessly, the Throne broke the surface.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid simultaneously unleashed spiritual power and Soul-Setting Ability to probe in all directions.

They both froze in surprise.

Their Soul-Setting abilities were halted by a layer of Origin Force Energy embedded within the rock walls.

Spiritual power still worked—they swept the area to confirm that they were inside a massive cave, fifty or sixty meters in diameter.

In the center of the cave was a passage about ten meters wide, connecting to the seafloor below, with the Dominating Throne hovering above it.

The cave’s vaulted ceiling was etched all over with dense characters and lines.

A map!

A huge, long oval-shaped map.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were dumbfounded.

On close inspection, this map included four continents.

Looking closer, Dragon Cypress recognized Cloud Trace Continent. The one next to it should be Dragon Bamboo Continent.

Of the other two continents, one was probably the one they were on now.

Studying it again, the characters carved on the map were about seventy to eighty percent similar to those used in the Huagi Knowledge Hall. With a little guessing, they could make them out.

The map only recorded terrain—mountains, rivers, climate—but no information on Insect Tribe settlements.

The Dominating Throne rose straight up.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid’s spiritual powers locked simultaneously onto a majestic metallic gate embedded in the rock wall.

Not an Outworld Civilization Artifact, but a creation wrought by Insect Clan Warriors using Metal Abilities.

Over ten meters tall, more than eight meters wide—a massive sliding door. Carved nearly life-sized upon it were two lifelike Flame Spider reliefs.

Colored by unknown means.

One was all ochre yellow—a Native Breed Flame Spider Warrior.

One was deep purple verging on black—a Round Purple Flame Spider Warrior.

All around the cavern walls were carvings of lush forests, birds and beasts; of Native Breed Flame Spiders managing their territories; of Flame Spider Caravans carrying goods across the continents.

No doubt, this cave was built by both Native Breed Flame Spiders and Roving Merchant Flame Spiders together.

Ink Orchid waved her antenna all over, exclaiming: "Wow! Dragon Cypress! Dragon Cypress! I get it now!"