Chapter 423: Chapter 425: The Bubble-Blowing Crab, Exploring the Shattered Plane

The flight speed of the Elf Unicorns was not considered slow; at the very least, they could reach 400 kilometers per Sunshine Hour, comparable to that of Dawn Bats of the same Level.

Especially since these Demon Beasts favored by Elves could also cast Wind Magic, which greatly accelerated their flight speed.

This adventurer team led by Lide flew south from Green City, and to the south of Green City lay the Lost Sea, where the Fishman Tribe was located.

Indeed, that Divine relic was not located on land, but in the sea.

Lide also found it quite peculiar when he heard about it.

It wasn’t strange that the Divine relic was in the sea, but it was strange how the Elves seemingly ran off to the sea out of the blue and found the relic.

But Ariel’s answer was even more metaphysical–a revered elder amongst the Elvis Elves, who had awakened a mystical Talent, sensed a pulse that made her heart flutter, so she set off to explore the oversea…

The conversation about this Talent ended there, as such matters of Talent were simply beyond discussion.

In the Main Plane of Glory, each race had its unique abilities, and the Elves’ exceptional intuition was not an empty phrase; awakening any kind of Talent seemed not at all surprising for these favored children of nature.

During the flight, the atmosphere was rather quiet. Lide did not speak, and neither did the few Elves.

The Red-eyed Lady clad in a black cloak was even more reticent, as for Andabella and Betty at the end, both were of the sort who were tough but spoke little.

The wind roared past their ears as the Elf Unicorns spread their wings to fly.

Looking down from the sky, vast expanses of withered yellow were starting to appear on the ground.

The footsteps of the Frost Month were drawing increasingly near.

Feeling all this, Lide couldn’t help but sense a growing urgency in his heart.

He hoped everything would go smoothly this time, that he would gain enough Divine Stones to fully control the powers of Blood Control and the Bloodline… But he always felt some unease in his heart, as this journey didn’t seem like it would be easy.

After a full three Sunshine Hours of full-speed flying, the Elf Unicorns finally reached the airspace above the Lost Coast.

Each glance at the ocean from the sky gave Lide a distinct impression.

The azure water appeared like a swath of blue satin, slightly curling before spreading out at the ends of the earth and sky.

The sea breeze, carrying the scent of salt, brushed against the face, evoking images of waves slapping against rocks and fish swimming leisurely in water.

This was, in fact, Lide’s second visit to the sea. The last time was several years ago when the rise of the Undead Empire disrupted the routes for obtaining Magic Materials from the Crimson Mage Tower, and under pressure, he had to find new channels for material acquisition, thus setting his sights on the Fishman Tribe.

At that time, he even fought a battle against the Blue Star Fishman Tribe, with the scene of tens of thousands of deep-sea creatures spread across the sea’s surface still lingering in his memory.

However, it was after that war that Dawn City began to tread the path of rapid development.

Thinking of this, Lide suddenly remembered exchanging a mixed-blood Mermaid with part of the Golden Bloodline for a tentacled creature of the Blue Star Tribe.

And the system’s description of that Mermaid, who was human by day and Mermaid by night, haunted him–a secret hidden within her, capable of changing the fate of the Main Plane of Glory.

Yet over the years, that Mermaid had been under constant surveillance in Dawn City, and no significant secret had been uncovered so far.

Putting these thoughts aside, Lide returned to the present, thinking that he might see that Mermaid again upon his return; perhaps she was connected to the impending great calamity–the Ancients’ arrival.

An event that could utterly transform the landscape of the Main Plane of Glory seemed to be the only one fitting the bill.

“Lord, we need to continue flying for another two Sunshine Hours…” Ariel reported to Lide after confirming her bearings above the coast.

“Lead the way,” Lide instructed.

“Yes.”

Upon receiving the order, Ariel gently stroked the mane of the Elf Unicorn, which immediately lifted its wings and sped off in another direction.

The others quickly followed suit.

Entering the open sea, the coastline swiftly vanished behind them.

Looking down, a carpet of tiny islands and reefs dotted beneath them grew fewer the farther they veered from the shore.

Unbeknownst to Lide, who was in the lead, Betty and Andabella behind him had been closely watching his back the entire way.

One looked on with joy, the other with hesitation in her gaze; it seemed both were preoccupied with their thoughts.

Two Sunshine Hours later, amidst the roaring sea wind, Ariel who was leading suddenly slapped her Elf Unicorn, coming to a halt above a sea island a thousand blades in width.

“Lord, we have arrived,” she announced.

Not only did Lide feel a surge of spirit, but everyone’s eyes also brightened.

After more than five Sunshine Hours of flying, covering over 2000 kilometers, they had finally arrived.

“On the island below?” Lide asked, looking down a few times, his smile faltering slightly as his gaze turned somewhat solemn.

Other than the blue deep sea below, there was only the irregular island, a thousand blades in length and width, scattered with rocks.

Trees about seven or eight blades high covered most areas of the island.

The problem, however, was that he felt a frightening pulse of life emanating from the island below.

That island didn’t seem like an island, but more like a living creature.

A terrifying thought.

With a size a thousand blades in length, if it indeed were some kind of creature, it would undoubtedly be so formidable that it would make one’s legs go weak. If on land, it could easily obliterate cities.

“Yes, Lord,” Ariel confirmed with a hint of cheerful expression, then nudged the Elf Unicorn to descend sharply and within a few breaths, she floated above the sea’s surface.

Then, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Ariel approached to within a hundred blades of the island’s shore and started to chant softly with slightly parted lips.

The ancient Elf language sung out with melodic notes, which even the most proficient of opera singers, present at this moment, would marvel at.

But Lide’s expression grew tense. He sensed that as the Elf sung, the pulse of life on that island awakened; if previously it was like stagnant water, it was now like a Storm brewing on the sea’s surface.

A thunderous boom echoed through the air.

In just a short moment, the sea within thousands of blades’ distance from the island shuddered.

Then, under the astonished gazes of everyone, the island roared thunderously, abruptly rising dozens of blades higher.

The surrounding sea began to surge and backflow frantically due to the island’s sudden elevation, creating a huge vortex.

In the center of the vortex, which was large enough to swallow a battleship a hundred blades long, the island continued to rise, and snap–suddenly, two huge pincers thrust out from the front end of the island.

A life form that left Lide dumbfounded appeared before him.

A crab, yes, a crab.

A giant crab with a backshell piled high with an island a thousand blades in length and width was standing up.

The entire sky and sea seemed to shrink in comparison to this colossus.

It was terrifying to the extreme.

Lide drew in a breath of cold air, suppressing the shock in his heart and began to scrutinize this huge creature carefully.

The giant crab before him was entirely blue, blending perfectly with the hue of the sea, and its robust shell was even thicker than the walls of human cities.

The eyes on its two antennae were more than ten times thicker than ordinary houses, and as they moved back and forth, it seemed as though the whole world was reflected in their gaze.

Such a terrifying creature made the White Blade high Mage Towers before it seem as insignificant as grains of rice.

Lide’s rough estimate of the two huge crab claws was that they were three to four hundred blades in length; a mere wave of them could whip up a whirlwind around it, and not to mention trapping a person–Green City’s solid walls would seem like foam before these pincers.

The giant crab stood like an Abyssal Giant Beast from apocalyptic myths, where one glance could shatter a person’s courage and resolve.

If one had not seen it with their own eyes, no one could have imagined that such a terrifying creature could exist in the world…

Having beheld this crab, Lide was truly startled, and only one thought lingered in his mind.

If this fellow was steamed… how big of a bowl would be needed for the dipping sauce?

Could one person eat it in three years??

“Lord Ilo, this is our Elf friend–the Ancient Space Crab, an elder of the Elvis Elves has already formed an Elf Contract with it. As long as we don’t attack, it won’t harm us.”

At this moment, Ailer flew beside Lide and introduced with a touch of pride,

“The bubbles spit out by the Ancient Space Crab will form individual real-existing spaces, hence the name Space Crab.

Of course, once these bubbles burst, the spaces formed will also dissipate.

The Ancient Space Crab also has a very unique habit; it likes to collect various shattered Planes and then wrap them up with its spatial bubbles…”

Following Ailer’s introduction, Lide’s gaze moved to the crab’s mouth.

Indeed, the colossal crab was constantly blowing bubbles.

Each of these bubbles seemed to flicker with countless images, as if they were not mere bubbles, but living worlds.

Each time a bubble burst, he could sense fluctuations in spatial energy.

“The Divine relic has been enveloped by its bubbles?”

Lide’s mouth twitched, this was too outrageous. Alright, you’re a crab that’s grown so big, but now the bubbles you spit out can also envelop entire spaces, isn’t that too monstrous??

Filled with some curiosity, he opened the Ancient Space Crab’s attribute panel.

Ancient Space Crab

Level: Demigod–lv30

Talent: ???

Bloodline: ???

Skill: ???

A level 30 Demigod?

Lide’s complexion stiffened, was this guy a bit too formidable?!

There is such a boss in the Main Plane.

He took a deep look at the colossal crab, inwardly letting go of the thought of steaming it.

It’s not that I’m chickening out, it’s just that my home doesn’t have a pot big enough… and to steam such a big crab, how much firewood would be burned? It really isn’t worth it.

“Ailer, can this crab be trusted?”

If this beast happened to cause the spatial bubbles to burst while they were inside… Oh, that would be quite a spectacle.

“Lord Ilo, rest assured, the energy contained in the Divine relic is too immense, the Ancient Space Crab has only hidden the entrance within its spatial bubbles. Even if the bubbles burst, they can’t harm us.”

Assured by her words, Lide nodded slightly, his gaze flicking to the empty area beside him.

“Father God, there is no danger…”

After receiving the familiar sensation in his mind, Lide nodded slowly.

“Ailer, I trust you, lead the way.”

Upon hearing these words, Ailer’s face quietly revealed a bit of emotion; after all, bringing Lide into the skills of such a terrifying creature like the Ancient Space Crab was a huge risk for him.

She had secretly speculated before coming here that after Lide reached the Main Plane, he would surely lose some power due to the Main Plane’s rules, and the Ancient Space Crab might pose no small threat to him.

What she feared most was being unable to persuade Lide, but at this moment, his actions greatly endeared him to her.

“Lord Ilo, rest assured, I guarantee with the honor of the Elves that the Ancient Space Crab will not harm us.”

Lide smiled, “Let’s start.” He naturally would not naively explain that it was Asreaga that made him feel at ease.

With her orders, Ailer nodded and turned, urging her Unicorn closer to the Ancient Space Crab.

“ep… nl… if…”

With an elegant lilt, the Elf language flowed slowly from her mouth, the Ancient Space Crab’s huge eyes fixed intently on Ellie, emitting a series of ethereal sounds akin to nothingness, as bubbles kept bursting forth from its mouth.

After a moment, the exchange between the two was complete. Lide was completely baffled by what he had heard, but Asreaga understood.

“Father God, the Elf communicated with the crab about entering the Divine relic site, with no extra arrangements…”

Lide nodded slightly at this. Did this mean they had their own humanoid translation machine?

When Ellie returned to Lide’s side, the Ancient Space Crab forcefully spat out a gigantic bubble, more than 100 blades in diameter.

Looking inside the bubble, one could faintly discern a landmass within it.

It was quite mysterious.

“Lord, I have communicated with the Ancient Space Crab. After we enter the bubble, it will open a passage and transport us directly to the Divine relic site…”

“Alright, commence the action.”

Now that Asreaga had confirmed there was no danger, Lide didn’t hesitate anymore. After all, exploring Divine relics came with inherent risks.

His skill, Blood Rebirth, gave him inner confidence and fearlessness.

After receiving the command, Ellie turned her head to signal to the Elves behind her, then turned around and urged her Unicorn towards the expanding bubble.

Pop~

When Ellie and the Unicorn entered the bubble, it didn’t burst. On the contrary, it very accommodatingly enveloped her, and she disappeared inside, no longer visible from the outside.

Seeing this, the Elves behind her didn’t hesitate, each urging their Unicorns to fly into the bubble.

After the Elves, the Red-eyed Lady and Andabella, who had been glancing at Lide now and then, began to enter, leaving only Lide and Betty outside.

With no one else around, Lide’s expression softened slightly as he turned to glance at Betty, the Northern Land Valkyrie beside him.

“Stay behind me.”

Betty was slightly startled, her eyes still vigilant, but her heart inexplicably softened.

“Okay,” she replied, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked towards the immobile giant crab.

The presence of the gigantic crab, which seemed to cover the sky and earth, exerted immense pressure on her. Although the crab didn’t radiate malice, mere existence was the greatest threat in front of such a massive being.

After instructing Betty, Lide no longer hesitated, urging his Unicorn to slowly approach the bubble.

The bubble resembled a semi-transparent glass–visible was the scenery inside, reflecting the light from outside.

He could glimpse a vast landmass rising and falling within, but it was more like seeing flowers through the fog.

When the Ancient Space Crab saw Lide approaching the bubble, its focus sharpened, watching him intently as its pincers opened subconsciously.

Lide, noting the crab’s change, eyed it sharply. After confirming that his Transcendent Threat Perception did not signal any danger, he was reassured.

Facing such a colossus, anyone would feel tremendous pressure, especially since the creature was a Level 30 Demigod.

After steadying his mind, he patted the Unicorn and charged directly into the bubble with a pop.

The sensation was like passing through a mist–cool and icy.

After passing through the bubble, space in front of him suddenly twisted, and the light momentarily became chaotic, everything blurring around him.

Lide’s face showed little change; he could feel the space around him altering as if he had passed through several Space Gates.

After a few breaths, the twisted space finally smoothed out, and the light once again brightened.

Feeling the stabilization around him, Lide immediately turned to survey his surroundings, but the scene before him was rather surprising.

Broken, chaotic, disordered–these were Lide’s most immediate impressions of the area.

The light within was very dim; looking up, the space seemed enshrouded in grey mist, as if wrapped in grey silk.

What was more astonishing was the surrounding environment–if the Spider Plane was a mountain hanging upside down, this Plane was the shattered earth become disjointed islands suspended midair.

The scene looked like the aftermath of a Plane’s collapse, a vision of apocalypse.

Lide took a deep breath and looked down slightly.

Below, just like the sky, was murky.

The lands that should have been present in a normal Plane, complete and interconnected, had disappeared.

“A shattered Plane. I didn’t expect it to be so utterly fragmented…”

While Lide was observing his surroundings, not far away, two large fragments collided with a bang.

The debris from above scattered all around, but bizarrely, the pieces didn’t fall. Instead, they continued to float.

This caused the gaps between the massive floating islands to be filled with an abundance of debris.

The disordered environment felt akin to the weightlessness of outer space.

Though the Plane’s rules hadn’t entirely disappeared, standing on those large islands, gravity could still be felt.

Here, Lide thought, was a Plane on the brink of death.

The lifespan of the Underworld’s Spider Plane might be just a hundred years, but this Plane might have only three to five years left… it wouldn’t even be surprising if it collapsed right now.

The loss of spatial energy was too severe; this Plane was beyond saving, destined to break apart.

No wonder the Elves were so eagerly pressing on to explore before the arrival of Ancient times. If they waited any longer, it’s possible the Plane would cave any day.

Sigh~

As Lide surveyed the area, not far away, space suddenly shattered, and Betty, riding a Unicorn and wielding a huge sword, appeared.

Upon seeing Lide, the fierce killing intent in her eyes immediately relaxed.

Lide glanced at the girl but said nothing, turning his gaze towards the Elves already waiting on a large fragment hundreds of blades wide.

With a kick to the sides of his mount, the Unicorn flapped its wings and flew forward.

In midair, gravity was lost, allowing even motionless objects to float, and the dense debris annoyed him so much that he had to cast a Magic Shield on the Unicorn.

After a few flaps of his wings, Lide slowly descended beside the elf.

It was magical, standing on the ground, that floating, weightless sensation instantly disappeared.

Betty followed suit and landed on the ground as well.

As soon as Lide touched down, Airi immediately said,

“Lord, this plane is on the verge of collapse, the quicker we retrieve what we need, the better.”

“Where is the divine relic?”

Lide didn’t waste any words and got straight to the point, “After the seal on that Evil God is broken, will this plane be affected?”

He hadn’t had many thoughts when he arrived, but now he was genuinely concerned that the plane might shatter instantly after the birth of the Evil God, rendering the trip a total waste.

“Lord, the seal of the divine relic is not related to the plane… As long as we can withstand the first wave of impact, the Evil God will be repelled from this plane by the will of the main plane, and we will have ample time to obtain the items with the relic’s energy.”

The Level 23 elf spellcaster Guneera then spoke up.

This sounded simple, but everyone knew that the first wave of impact after the Evil God broke the seal was the hardest to withstand.

Facing the pressure of the Evil God, the thought alone made them feel suffocated.

That was an Ancient Evil God who had been sealed away, not some benign entity. Once it broke free, the pressure those Transcendent beings faced would skyrocket.

This was also the reason why, even after gathering three Transcendents, they still sought out Lide–without powerful enough force to counter the Ancient Evil God, it was very likely that one of them, or more, might fall here…

“Take me to the Sealed Land.”

Lide waved his hand dismissively, no longer engaging in unnecessary talk.

Only after seeing the divine relic’s specific situation could he make a decision; listening to their explanations now was useless.

Hearing this, the group dared not delay any further and commanded the unicorn to take flight immediately.

Flying in such a chaotic and unordered environment really tested one’s patience.

These shattered pieces of land could move any moment in midair, who knew when an island might suddenly appear on their path.

However, everyone present was no weakling; troublesome as it was, they easily evaded them.

What puzzled Lide was that there was life on these broken lands, even in such an environment–stripes and tusks decorated the poison snakes.

Some of the floating islands were even home to hundreds of them, entangled together, their hissing sounds chilling to the spine.

And the unicorns had to fly through the huge gaps between these land blocks, making the closely packed poison snakes on either side even more disgusting.

After glancing a few times, Lide grew curious about what these snakes fed on to survive.

“It seems that the Evil God sealed here is likely related to snakes…”

But there were just too many Evil Gods associated with snakes. Lide shook his head; the little information provided was pitiful. He couldn’t learn any specifics, and the elves’ messages were no better, offering nothing substantial.

After flying between gaps for two Sunshine Hours at a slow pace, the team finally came to a stop.

“Lord, that area up ahead is where the Evil God is sealed…”

Hearing Airi’s voice, Lide, who had been keeping to the rear, intentionally or unintentionally protecting Betty, brightened up.

He urged the unicorn to speed up, arriving next to Airi.

Suddenly, his view widened.

Before him lay a vast expanse of land that hadn’t yet collapsed.

The land below stretched out, approximately twenty kilometers across.

Withered plants and vegetation were everywhere, and the spotted poison snakes had completely overrun the place; their sheer numbers could send shivers up an ordinary person’s spine.

What shocked him most was the outer region of the land.

This land was not stable; every now and then, he could see pieces breaking off as though under the influence of some force, with the broken parts slowly rising into the sky and floating away.

But it seemed as though a giant hand prevented those broken pieces from coming too close, which allowed for an expansive view.

The image struck Lide with awe; even the apocalyptic scenes depicted in church murals were no different, were they?

With every shattering of land, a bit more of the murky nothingness below expanded; the land was being picked apart bit by bit, like a cookie.

Seeing this caused a stir within Lide; when this land fully crumbled, perhaps that would mark the day the entire plane stepped into death.

“Let’s go in.”

Lide took a deep breath and didn’t linger any longer; time was of the essence. Unsealing the seal, he didn’t know what threat they would face, and the situation outside was urgent; they couldn’t afford too many delays.

He sensed that the only threat around was at the center of this yet unfractured land, where it seemed an Abyss Demon God lay in wait, possibly awakening at any moment…

Airi exchanged a glance with the elf beside her and, without further ado, followed Lide in.

Upon flying over the land mass, Lide clearly felt the force of gravity, causing the unicorn to slow down somewhat.

Below, the colorful spotted poison snakes, upon sensing the invasion of outsiders, reacted like enraged bulls, collectively lifting their heads toward the sky, continuously making unnerving hissing sounds.

This scene was extremely disconcerting; as they flew above, the ground was thickly packed with intertwining, soft-bodied spotted snakes. Should they fall, a most brutal massacre awaited them.

Even the elves, who cherished natural life, looked a bit pale at this sight.

Unexpectedly, the calmest ones turned out to be Andabella and Betty, the two girls. Their faces remained composed, as if those disgusting snakes didn’t exist at all.

Lide turned to survey the group before shifting his attention forward; the snakes were not worth his concern. Rather, his intent was focused on the massive threat ahead.

The closer to the central area he got, the stronger the threat he perceived.

It seemed there was an Abyssal Giant Beast ahead with a maw wide enough to swallow the plane, waiting for their arrival.

And what sort of evil presence was sealed inside the divine relic, whether the surrounding treasures consisted only of Divine Stones or if there were other items of value as well…

All were waiting for Lide to lift that layer of mist.