The mist was deep and murky.
Neither of them spoke. They simply followed the sea monster deeper into Holy Spirit Island.
There were no evil spirits.
Nor did they come under attack again.
Everything was calm, as though nothing was amiss.
Yet beneath that stillness, something seemed to be brewing, making the atmosphere around them increasingly oppressive.
"Heh."
Jiang Qiao gave a silent chuckle.
His gaze was cold.
The beach was only a few kilometers from the island's central region.
Woods.
Hills and marshes.
And the stone valley where Mary had stayed in Deep Space, which looked like a jumble of artificial rockeries.
At last.
They reached a clearing.
There was nothing there.
It was utterly barren.
Even the thick black mist.
Had thinned here.
It seemed to bear out Mary's words: the sinister creatures from the ocean disliked land and were unwilling to venture too far inland.
The only thing in this area.
Was a rickety flagpole at its very center.
It was about two meters tall.
A brightly colored flag hung from it.
"This flag came from my homeland. It depicts a locally revered deity. When we went to sea, we hung it on our ship in the hope that it would bring us good luck."
Mary spoke.
"Oh?"
"A deity on a flag? I thought high-level Awakened didn't believe in that sort of thing."
Jiang Qiao chuckled.
"It was just a hopeful wish," Mary said softly. "After my husband and I landed on the island, we came here first. Following tradition, he planted the flag here to mark our arrival."
"I couldn't find it afterward, so I thought something had taken it."
"I never imagined we'd fallen into Deep Space."
"My husband had only just entered the Eighth Tier, but he could already delve into the mysteries