Across Earth Pass Island's three-thousand-li expanse, waves charged like ten thousand galloping horses, crashing thunderously against the reefs.
Dark clouds pressed low over the horizon. The Two-Yi Six-Yang Array had been driven to eighty percent of its power, its azure and white spiritual light weaving together like ten thousand flying swords into a net that wrapped the entire island tight.
Ordinary Voice Transmission Talismans arriving here were like moths plunging into flame. The instant they touched the array's edge, the Six-Yang True Fire burned them into wisps of smoke with a sizzle, a sight that would make anyone's heart tighten.
Unless a Communication Array surpassed the Two-Yi Six-Yang Array in sophistication, it could not transmit messages to Earth Pass Island either.
The Two-Yi Six-Yang Array had already destroyed many incoming messages. Now there was a sense of wind filling the tower before a mountain storm.
At that moment, thirteen thousand li northeast of Earth Pass Island, a vast cloud of black mist suddenly billowed up, like ink poured into the sea, blotting out the sky and sun.
A black treasure ship a full hundred zhang long and over eight zhang high came cleaving through the waves. A purple-bronze flood dragon's head stood raised at its prow, its jaws gaping as though to swallow the dark clouds filling the sky.
Snake-shaped patterns as thick as the mouth of a bowl covered the hull, gleaming coldly blue beneath the clouds. It bore down with truly menacing force.
This was the Snake Spirit Way's Snake Spirit Treasure Ship, the sea-subduing weapon of terror belonging to the local Human Tier Branch Altar.
Ten war boats followed the treasure ship like ten sharp arrows. A triangular snake banner stood at each prow, its red-scaled patterns snapping in the wind like scarlet snakes slithering beneath the