The warship continued north, crossing the deep blue sea, passing through waters once ravaged by storms and regions of hidden currents that had once led the fleet astray.
The journey home went far more smoothly than the journey out.
The storms still raged, but the waves they whipped up parted to either side upon touching the Soul Guidance Shield covering the hull, no longer posing any threat to the fleet.
The hidden currents still surged, but under Zheng Ning'an's control, the warship's Soul Tool Core supplied a steady flow of energy, keeping the vessel on its planned course.
Zhao Heng remained silent on the journey home.
He stood at the bow, his gaze resting on the deep blue waters slowly receding ahead of him, silent and thoughtful, feeling that faint yet impossible-to-ignore unease in his chest.
Zhao Heng was thinking about the Trade Divine Palace.
He thought about that golden palace suspended high in the sky, the enormous balances slowly revolving in midair, and the streak of light that had poured from the balance before him.
The Goddess of Trade had never appeared. From the beginning of the transaction to its end, the goddess herself had never stood before him.
He had merely stated his request in the divine palace, and then the transaction had been established.
Zhao Heng did not know how this transaction would be carried out.
He did not know whom the Goddess of Trade would send, or how she would deal with the Evil Emperor.
Nor did he know what price the Sun-Moon Empire would have to pay, or exactly what compensation the goddess demanded. Zhao Heng could make sense of none of it.
Zhao Heng could only wait.
Wait for the Goddess of Trade to come and fulfill the transaction herself, or wait for it