At the previous doorway, Lu Li summoned two Shadow Assassins and ordered them to slip into the water and inch their way forward. When the Deep Ones came to extract the sacrifices, the two Shadow Assassins seized the opportunity to cause trouble, stirring up one commotion after another to help Lu Li sneak past. He canceled the summon just in time.
This way, Lu Li mingled among the human sacrifices and was taken to the entrance by several Deep Ones. They put bubble-like helmets on each of their heads, making Lu Li look as if he were cosplaying a Celestial Dragon.
After the bubble helmets were put on, Lu Li and the others were led outside the door. It was a sealed room, and as soon as they entered, the door behind them shut. Cold seawater began pouring in from somewhere, and before long, it had submerged everyone. Lu Li and the other humans could breathe freely inside their bubble helmets, but they could barely move in the water.
The sealed room opened from the other side, and the Deep Ones hauled Lu Li and the others out. Through the blur, he could make out some cylindrical buildings in the distance. They had just come out of a cylindrical building themselves, though he could only see even that much thanks to his Dark Vision.
This was the bottom of the sea. Although some buildings gave off light, the currents made it difficult to see. This was Ihasli, the Deep Ones' city. They conducted most of their rituals and breeding here. The rest of the time, they were usually alone, enjoying the eternal, unchanging silence and chill of the seafloor.
As soon as the human sacrifices emerged, the water pressure left them dizzy, and they vomited inside their bubble helmets. Lu Li quietly gauged the pressure. It seemed to have been reduced by some unknown means. Even some hybrids struggled with the high pressure, but it was still far too much for the frail human body. In this environment, people wouldn't last long before the pressure crushed their internal organs. It looked like these people were about to be killed as sacrifices.
The Deep Ones escorted the humans toward a nearby altar. Lu Li watched the Deep Ones' society with interest. Most of their buildings were cylindrical, and the streets were practically devoid of other creatures. After thinking it over, he came to one conclusion: the Deep Ones were all shut-ins, immersed in their own worlds and worshipping some colossal shut-in who might be asleep or sealed away. They spent their long lives in idleness.
Meanwhile, far away, Hu Wenxu and Gao Xiaowen began putting their own infiltration plan into action. The captured hybrids hadn't revealed the passage in the village, but they had pointed out the sea where Ihasli was located. Then they were killed.
The two wanted to reach the seafloor. They could both swim, but they would likely die from lack of air before they got there. To reach Ihasli, they first had to solve the problems of breathing and water pressure. On a nearby island, they found a group of natives. After threats and bribes, they learned that the tribe had traded people with the Deep Ones for years, and that their tribal shaman could also descend to Ihasli on the seafloor.
The tribal shaman wasn't very powerful. His limited lifespan and other factors had made him a fervent Deep One Fanatic. They threatened the human traitor with his life, and got him to explain how to go underwater. After eating a fishy-tasting seaweed, the two briefly grew gills on their faces, allowing them to breathe underwater. A membrane also grew over their bodies, letting them withstand most of the water pressure and move freely beneath the sea.
As Lu Li was being escorted to the altar for sacrifice, Hu Wenxu and Gao Xiaowen had already infiltrated the outskirts of Ihasli. The city wasn't very well defended. There weren't many intelligent species living underwater; aside from the Deep Ones, there were only the Merfolk. The two groups hated each other, but at least they managed to keep to their own territories.
The altar on the seafloor was much larger than the one in the room above, and it was covered in runes as well. Long spears made of unknown materials lay around it. On top of the altar sat a grotesque lump of flesh. Human and Deep One heads would periodically sprout from it, bellowing in an unknown language before withering and disappearing again.
Beneath the lump of flesh lay a number of stark-white bones. Several Deep Ones stood guard around the altar, not daring to approach it. When they saw the sacrifices being brought over, the guards actually breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, they celebrated too soon.
A tentacle suddenly shot out from the lump of flesh and swept up one of the guards at lightning speed, dragging him inside. A moment later, a few bones were squeezed out of the mass and fell onto the altar.
"Hey, you're too slow! The sacrifices didn't arrive in time, and you put us in danger, you bastards!" one of the Deep One guards rasped in a sharp voice. It seemed to have some kind of magic in it, allowing them to hear him clearly underwater. The guard hurriedly picked up a spear from beside the altar and stabbed one of the human sacrifices. Blood spread through the water. They removed the bubble helmet, then used the spear to carry the sacrifice to the lump of flesh.
"We couldn't help it. One of the sacrifices caused trouble earlier," a Deep One replied, stepping forward to help. The lump of flesh extended its tentacles and swallowed the sacrifice. Several Deep Ones picked up spears, preparing to feed it. The Deep Ones were stronger than the hybrids. Perhaps they had once been hybrids themselves, but after generations of life underwater, their bodies had mutated more completely, greatly enhancing their strength, speed, and other abilities. Some Deep Ones could even learn spells and use magic.
As Lu Li watched the sacrifices being speared and carried to the lump of flesh, another Deep One approached him with a spear. Lu Li breathed out, ready to make his move, when a surge of turbulence suddenly erupted nearby. A mass of bubbles and debris swirled in the current, knocking several Deep Ones off their feet and drawing their attention. Lu Li seized the chance to swim to the side of a nearby cylindrical building, where he watched the altar from a distance.
A tall Merfolk swam into view, accompanied by a number of other Merfolk and two human figures: Gao Xiaowen and Hu Wenxu. Ihasli was like a hornet's nest that had been stirred. Deep Ones and hybrids quickly swam in from all directions.
The tall Merfolk had three markings on each cheek. His blue skin was scaleless, and his pale belly and slightly curled tail were visible as he opened his sharp-toothed mouth in fury. Invisible magic carried his imposing, terrifying voice through the water. "So you really are summoning Him. You damned wretches, you dared plot against my daughter. Prepare to die!"
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