A grave matter

The twisted and incomplete patterns, symbolizing spiritual energy, left the three extraordinary experts at the bow and stern of the ship stunned upon seeing the condition of the little dragon's body. They could not hide their astonishment.

If the dragon's transformation was an accident, a "fortuitous encounter" while roaming the vast ocean, then the similar changes appearing on the little dragon shattered Xu Qi'an, the nine-tailed fox, and Pearl's hopes, making them realize that the situation was not good and something serious might be about to happen.

The nine-tailed celestial fox coiled around the little dragon man and brought him closer, squinting its bright, beautiful eyes to examine the dazzling patterns.

"Xu Ningyan!"

Her voice was gentle yet solemn.

Xu Qi'an naturally understood her meaning, raised his hanging hand, and a thumb-thick "black snake" emerged from his sleeve.

The black serpent soared toward the silver-haired enchantress, its body swelling into a black-scaled dragon as thick as a water vat and six zhang long. Two-thirds of its body lay on the boat, while one-third of its body was dragged in the seawater.

The nine-tailed fox took a deep breath, suppressing the dizziness, and focused intently on the patterns on the skin of both creatures.

After comparing them, she found that the patterns on both were equally disordered and distorted, and of the same nature, but the spiritual connotations they symbolized were different.

"The markings on his chest are of the earth element, the markings on his legs represent spiritual energy, and the markings on his tail seem to be... space?"

With her extensive knowledge of Gods and Devils, the silver-haired enchantress deciphered the power symbolized by each pattern.

"It's different from what's on the dragon, but the twisted and chaotic essence is the same; perhaps they both encountered mutations in the same place."

Xu Qi'an combined the clues and deduced the result.

Then, he looked around at the Mermaid Queen and the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, and said with a smile:

"It seems there really is an amazing place overseas."

Previously, when Xu Qi'an asked where the descendants of Gods and Devils could obtain spiritual essence that did not belong to their own bloodline, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox and the Mermaid Queen replied that they had never heard of such a place and that it did not exist.

"And it appeared recently."

The silver-haired enchantress still couldn't accept that spiritual essence could be condensed later in life, but the facts were undeniable.

"This is not a good thing."

Pearl shook her head, her delicate brows furrowing, and her thoughts entered Xu Qi'an's mind:

"Both Mo Yu and this patrol guard have gone mad; it's clear there's a price to pay for this."

Mo Yu is the dragon that Xu Qi'an turned into a puppet.

The way she frowned was so delicate that it always made men feel a pang of tenderness.

Sure enough, once looks reach a certain level, what truly determines the winner is figure and temperament, except for the Flower Goddess, who has an unfair advantage. Xu Qi'an sighed to himself, then turned his thoughts back to the main topic.

"How long has it been since you last visited the Arsu Islands?" he asked, looking at Pearl.

The Mermaid Queen tilted her head slightly and said uncertainly:

"About three or four years."

The descendants of Gods and Devils don't have as strong a sense of time as humans, so Pearl doesn't consciously try to remember the time.

"Moyu's territory is in the Western Sea, far from the Arsu Islands. If this situation only occurred recently, theoretically, it's impossible for Moyu to have experienced the same anomaly as the patrol guards of the Arsu Islands."

Xu Qi'an analyzed.

Pearl said softly:

"The leader of the Arsu Islands is a descendant of a dragon, and Mo Yu is also a descendant of a dragon; there must be some connection between them."

This connects the dots: Mo Yu and the ruler of the Asur Islands went on an adventure together, but encountered an accident and were infected with chaotic and distorted Gods and Devils energy—the patterns are the external symbol of this spiritual energy.

It's reasonable and normal for the "island lord" to bring a guard when he goes on an expedition, which explains why the little dragonman and the third-grade dragon both exhibited the same mutation.

The silver-haired enchantress thought of the little dragon corpse she had first encountered and pondered:

"So, like Mo Yu, that guy also lost his mind and, after returning to the Arsu Islands, indiscriminately slaughtered the island's inhabitants?"

"That guy" refers to the island owner.

As Xu Qi'an retrieved the dragon, he said:

"Go to the Arsu Islands immediately to check the situation."

The Mermaid Queen and the Silver-Haired Enchantress looked eager to try.

It concerns the inheritance of the spiritual essence of Gods and Devils, and is closely related to them.

Xu Qi'an sensed a hint of "big news." The power of Gods and Devils and demons, also known as spiritual essence, is something that is naturally present in one's bloodline.

Before them was the Black Jade Flood Dragon, and behind them was the Little Dragon Man, both of whom were tainted with spiritual essence that did not belong to them.

This is by no means unusual.

In the pitch-black, boundless ocean, several figures, wielding steel forks and swinging their long tails, nimbly swam through the deep sea.

Their limbs are like oars, and their tails and spines form a curved "line" that cuts through the seawater, creating a dense cloud of bubbles as they swim.

In addition to their body structure adapted to swimming, they are also born with the ability to control water, from using water currents to increase speed to creating raging waves and tsunamis to overwhelm their enemies.

"Reef" is the captain of the Dragonman Guard, commanding twelve warriors from the Dragon Tribe. As he swam, he said:

"Beware, according to intelligence provided by the Luan Clan, the Fallen One is nearby. One of our brothers was brutally murdered by him. The Fallen One possesses brief teleportation abilities; be wary of his sneak attacks."

His voice, carried clearly through the seawater, reached the ears of the twelve dragon tribe warriors behind him.

Enabling sound to travel smoothly through seawater without distortion is also one of the dragon people's abilities to control water.

Upon hearing this, the twelve dragonmen couldn't help but grip their steel forks tighter.

Their mission was to hunt down a fallen member of their own kind who was wreaking havoc across the Arsú Islands, causing widespread fear among the island's inhabitants.

And there are many others like him who have fallen into depravity.

In their efforts to purge these corrupted beings, the six tribes suffered heavy casualties.

"Reef" was a large and strong man, a size larger than his subordinates behind him, but even he was not confident that he could avoid the attacks of the Fallen.

"Brothers, we are the descendants of the 'dragon,' the valiant warriors of our tribe. It is our mission to protect the Arsu Islands and our homeland, a mission passed down to us by our ancestors from generation to generation."

"Our ancestors protected the archipelago, giving us our home to live and thrive. Today, it is our turn to protect our home for future generations."

The dragon's face on the "reef" revealed an expression of resignation to its fate.

The descendants of Gods and Devils in the Arsu Islands are different from those in other places; they not only worship the strong, but also the noble strong.

Therefore, every team leader must not only be the strongest person in the team, but also the person with the noblest character.

When civilization develops to a certain level, individuals will shift from obeying power to obeying morality.

This is why it is said that subduing people by force is only temporary, while subduing them by virtue is the only way to win them over in the long run.

The descendants of Gods and Devils in the Arsu Islands have developed a "moral code".

After patrolling intently for a long time, the team did not encounter any Fallen Ones.

"Have they already left this area?" "Reef" guessed, while letting out a sigh of relief.

It would be best to avoid encountering the depraved.

Just then, a dragonman behind him called out:

"Captain, look up."

"Jiao" felt a jolt in his heart, startled. Before he could reprimand his subordinate, he looked up following his gesture. Sunlight pierced the seawater, creating shimmering waves, and a shadow was rapidly sailing on the surface.

Boat?

Dragonmen are no strangers to ships, because some weaker descendants of Gods and Devils with different water abilities also build ships to cross the sea.

For example, among the six tribes of the Arsu Islands, the descendants of the Earth King 'Pimu', the ordinary people of this tribe almost never go to sea, otherwise they will drown in the sea unless they have a large enough vehicle.

"Let's go up and take a look!"

As the captain, "Jiao" took the lead and rose to the surface, followed closely by the twelve Dragon Guards.

The fact that they need to cross the sea by boat indicates that they are not good at swimming. Dragon people have a natural advantage in swimming, so they are very confident.

Besides, it's a good opportunity to ask the people crossing the sea about their situation.

With a "splash," waves broke through the water's surface one after another. Captain "Reef" and twelve dragon-man patrol guards stood on the sea as if walking on flat ground, scrutinizing the people on the ship.

Their first notice was of the alluring fox spirit and the pure and beautiful mermaid queen, but before they could even appreciate the beauty of the two females, their attention was forcibly drawn to the male at the bow of the ship.

"What kind of male is this?" The dragon people looked at Xu Qi'an with curiosity and surprise.

The Arsu Islands are tens of thousands of miles away from the Kyushu continent, and humans almost never come here. The descendants of Gods and Devils on the islands would never cross the ocean to travel to the Kyushu continent.

Therefore, they had never seen what humans looked like.

The male creature at the bow of the ship is unlike any other male they have in mind. It is more harmonious and better looking, but also more "weak" because it lacks scales that symbolize defense, exaggerated muscles, and sharp parts that serve as weapons.

As the dragonmen sized up the three of them, Xu Qi'an was also sizing up the dragonmen.

There was no bloodlust or madness, and the person was perfectly conscious. Was the situation in the Arsu Islands different from what I had expected? Xu Qi'an pondered and stroked his chin.

In his imagination, the Arzú Islands must be in dire straits.

The island has even been destroyed.

At this moment, the dragonmen finally noticed the dragonman corpse on the deck.

The Fallen Ones. Their vertical pupils, like those of snakes, suddenly contracted, and their breathing became more rapid.

The dragons easily deduced what had happened: the bloodthirsty, crazed fallen one encountered the ship and, driven by his killing instinct, attacked the three people on board, but was no match for them and was killed.

No wonder we didn't encounter any Fallen Ones; they had already been hunted down by the three powerful figures on the ship.

Pearl moved closer to the ship's side, glanced at the dragonmen, and said in a gentle voice:

"I am the queen of the Merfolk."

Mermaid Queen?!

The thirteen dragonmen looked at each other, realizing that they were not qualified to meet the Mermaid Queen.

Therefore, their identities cannot be accurately determined.

Pearl turned to look at Xu Qi'an and transmitted her thoughts:

They don't know me.

Having too high a status isn't always a good thing. Xu Qi'an flicked his sleeve, and a small black snake slid out.

The little black snake swam and danced in the air, roared "Awoo!" and its body swelled up, transforming into a dragon tens of feet long.

An extraordinary aura instantly filled the sea area. The pressure from the higher beings made the thirteen dragon people tremble. The patterns covering the dragon bodies were concealed by Xu Qi'an's aura, so the dragon people could not see them.

Otherwise they would faint on the spot, or in severe cases, lose their minds.

"Master Mo, Master Moyu."

The reef lay motionless on the sea surface, but it seemed to have recognized the dragon.

Why is Lord Moyu with them?

Didn't he die during his expedition?

"Jiao" had a jumble of thoughts in his mind, with various guesses flashing through his mind.

He no longer doubted the identity of the Mermaid Queen; only the extraordinary could be associated with the extraordinary.

Seeing the tall, imposing dragonman adopt a submissive posture, Pearl asked softly:

"Is this dragon-man on the deck one of your kind?"

The reef remained crouched, "Yes, Queen!"

Pearl frowned and asked the crucial question:

Why did he become like this?