Cave Refuge

Zachary was now navigating through waters that, in fact, were designated as extremely dangerous by the Imperial Court in their public announcement.

It was much like how South of Colorful Clouds had announced areas of toxic fungi distribution before the disaster, for those who loved to eat fungi, it essentially acted as a professional map published by the authorities.

Based on the pre-disaster territorial divisions, their first destination should still be within the country's borders, not abroad, likely situated between the East Sea and the Yellow Sea, where there was an enormously large maritime whirlpool.

Under normal circumstances, massive whirlpools like these had also appeared at sea before the disaster, generally related to underwater currents, with durations that varied in length, but they always eventually dissipated.

And to both marine life and human vessels, they were equally lethal traps – fall into one, and death was almost certain.

However, according to information publicized by the Imperial Court, there were creatures living within this whirlpool, and not only could they move freely in the maelstrom, but they could also use Illusion Technique to create mirages similar to Fata Morgana, visually deceiving passing creatures and luring them closer, leading them into the whirlpool.

According to intelligence provided by foreigners, these beings living within the whirlpool resembled the merfolk of legend.

The Fishmen that Zachary had once slaughtered en masse to feed the Three Flags, although having two identical words in their names, in reverse order, looked vastly different in appearance.

If Fishmen had the bodies of men with fish heads, then merfolk closely matched the familiar image of mermaids, with the upper bodies of humans and the lower halves of fish.

Moreover, these merfolk not only possessed the well-known ability to use Water System Magic but were also adept in Illusion Technique, and they had enchanting voices capable of charming others with their song.

During his journey, Zachary noticed the shortcomings of choosing a submarine route for his Companion Spiritual Treasure.

If he was single-mindedly rushing on his way, Zachary's Companion Spiritual Treasure could dive to the appropriate depth to avoid miscellaneous troubles.

But if he wasn't in a rush and wanted to appreciate the scenery along the way, then the submarine form of the Companion Spiritual Treasure wasn't ideal, because even though it could also move forward on the surface of the water, ultimately, such a vessel was meant for use beneath the waves, not above them.

So after traveling for a few days, Zachary collected his Companion Spiritual Treasure into his Sea of Consciousness, opting instead for the Wave Rider as his craft.

As his Cultivation Level rose, Zachary once again reforged the Wave Rider. Although it was reduced in size due to not adding extra materials during the reforging, its quality had significantly improved, now reaching the level of a Spiritual Treasure.

In terms of durability, it likely surpassed most of the Companion Spiritual Treasures—after all, there weren't many survivors like Zachary who could use a Blood-Colored Mysterious Core to enhance the material of a Companion Spiritual Treasure.

Beyond that, the Formations newly inscribed on the Wave Rider not only added several layers of protection to the ship but also introduced new movement formations. As for offense, Zachary had equipped it with a few strategic Magical Weapons.

Though the Magical Weapons Zachary added were only of Magical Weapon quality, their strategic nature meant they were capable of either enormous single-target damage or had a wide area of effect.

After Zachary's reforging, the Wave Rider, though downsized, was vastly different in essence from its former self.

The only regret was that even the powerful strategic Magical Weapons Zachary had reforged were still unable to inflict any damage on Mysterious Ships after testing.

When those strategic Magical Weapons targeted Mysterious Ships, the ships seemed as if they existed in another space; all attacks, even if they hit the Mysterious Ships, only raised splashes in the water beneath, leaving the ships on the surface completely unharmed.

This suggested that Mysterious Ships likely belonged to the category of rule-based creations. Companion Spiritual Treasures gained through absorbing Mysterious Cores fell into the same category, but the weapons on the Companion Spiritual Treasures could not only damage Mysterious Ships but also inflict similar damage on other targets.

However, the weapons on Mysterious Ships could only be upgraded by consuming Dark Green Mysterious Cores, so a great majority of Companion Spiritual Treasures, even if they acquired such ranged weapons, were fairly limited in the damage they could inflict on ordinary warships or Large-Sized Ships.

In terms of practical utility, Melee Weapons now offered the best cost-performance ratio; regardless of the type of melee weapon or the level of Mysterious Ship it targeted.

Once close combat ensued, they could invariably overpower the opposing Mysterious Ship, prevent fusion into a Mysterious Realm, and then others on board could also board and combat the Mysterious Ship.

Alas, every advantage comes with its drawback; although Companion Spiritual Treasures could attack Mysterious Ships and other targets, they could not, like Mysterious Ships, ignore attacks from any enemies bar those that followed the same rule-based system as Mysterious Ships.

This meant that Companion Spiritual Treasures could both target and be targeted by all enemies.

When Zachary arrived at the Great Whirlpool following the navigation, he thought this area, flagged as an extreme danger zone by the Imperial Court, would be bypassed by others, and there shouldn't have been anyone else here.