205: Chapter 205 Ootakemaru, there's no time...

Far away.

On another island.

Jinguji Ayane stood before a broken altar, looking up slightly.

She saw that the initial island, originally enveloped in mist, had the fog completely cleared.

A black-red bridge nail fell from mid-air, pinning a section of the central broken bridge.

Subsequently, a new bridge extended from the island where Lu Cheng was, spanning the sea and connecting to other directions.

Jinguji Ayane watched quietly for a few seconds.

Her team members from Sakura Island also saw that scene.

Someone couldn't help but whisper.

"The Dragon Kingdom Team... has already cleared an island?"

"So fast?"

No one answered.

Because the answer was already right in front of them.

They hadn't just cleared an island, they had also triggered the deep mechanism of the Wanhai Archipelago.

That bridge nail was proof.

Jinguji Ayane took a deep breath.

She knew Lu Cheng was strong.

She had already seen it during the arena battles.

But knowing it was one thing.

Actually seeing Lu Cheng break through an island in such a short time was another.

She had originally thought she had grasped a part of this ruin's secrets in advance.

At least in the third exploration, she wouldn't be slower than Lu Cheng.

But now it seemed... if she dragged it out any longer, her so-called "sincerity" might not even qualify to be offered.

"Jinguji?"

A Sakura Island team member next to her looked at her.

"Are we going to continue exploring according to the original plan?"

Jinguji Ayane shook her head.

"It's too late."

She raised her hand.

The Kagura bell on her wrist rang lightly.

The crisp bell sound spread across the island.

The originally gloomy sky suddenly quieted for a moment.

Subsequently, Jinguji Ayane floated up slowly.

Her white and red shrine maiden robes spread in the wind, black hair slid from her shoulders, and the red string at the end of her hair swayed gently.

She formed hand seals with both hands.

White paper talismans flew out from her cuffs, rotating around her.

The bell sound became clearer and clearer.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

Every time the bell rang, the Source Power on the island vibrated once.

Behind her, a huge phantom slowly materialized.

It was a woman wearing ancient ritual robes.

Her face could not be seen clearly; one could only see her wide sleeves, long hair hanging down, and it looked like she was holding a string of divine bells in her hand.

The moment the phantom appeared, the wind on the entire island changed direction.

It was gentle, yet it made people unable to breathe.

The Sakura Island team members retreated one after another; they knew what was going to happen next!

Jinguji Ayane closed her eyes.

The Kagura bell shook lightly in her palm.

"Please descend."

Her voice was very soft.

The next moment, the island shook.

At first, it was just the stone surface underfoot cracking.

Immediately after, the entire island began to sway.

Boom!

The mountain in the distance collapsed.

The reefs on the coast sank into the water one by one.

The originally unified island actually began to split from the center.

The cracks spread all the way outward, tearing apart the mountains, forests, altars, rivers, and coastlines.

The surrounding sea also became violent at this moment.

Tsunamis rose from four directions, and walls of water tens of meters high slammed into the island, only to be forcibly blocked by the talisman barrier in mid-air.

In the sky, thunder and lightning mixed.

The dark clouds were extremely low.

Bolts of purple-white lightning struck the sea, illuminating the surging waves in a ghastly white.

She had used her own Qi to forcibly awaken the core of this island.

Jinguji Ayane opened her eyes.

Deep in her pupils, faint golden bell patterns faintly appeared.

Boom!

The center of the island cracked completely.

A huge hand reached out from the crack.

That hand was covered in dark red scales, with thick finger bones and a black eye pattern on the palm.

Immediately after, a second hand appeared.

Then, the head.

A huge monster stood up from the depths of the island.

It was tens of meters tall, covered in red-black armor, with bone spurs resembling ghost horns on its shoulders and back.

Its head was hideous, its face like a ghost, or perhaps like it was wearing a broken samurai mask.

Two curved horns grew on its forehead, with lightning coiling around the tips.

An old, broken mirror was embedded in its chest, with several cracks on the surface, and black-red light flowing inside.

Several broken weapons hung from its waist.

Behind it, it dragged a thick black tail, the end of which looked like a scimitar.

As soon as it appeared, the surrounding tsunamis seemed to be suppressed by its aura.

The terminal issued a red warning instantly.

[Hidden target awakened]

[Target Name: Otake Maru]

[Rank Assessment: Peak Battle General]

[Status: Incomplete Revival]

[Warning: This target possesses multiple weapon projections, thunder and fire attacks, and Ghost God Might.]

Otake Maru slowly looked up.

Its scarlet eyes locked onto Jinguji Ayane in mid-air.

The next second, it opened its mouth and let out a roar.

The sound wave collided with the barrier.

A large number of paper talismans burned on the spot.

Jinguji Ayane's face turned slightly pale, but she did not retreat.

She raised the Imperial God Sword in her hand.

The huge shrine maiden phantom behind her also raised its hand accordingly.

"Form Ranks."

She spoke softly.

The Sakura Island team members dispersed immediately.

Although they were shocked by the monster in front of them, they were, after all, geniuses selected from the younger generation of Sakura Island.

Several people quickly stood in their positions.

Paper talismans fell to the ground.

Barrier patterns unfolded from under their feet.

Otake Maru took a step forward.

The island crack widened again.

It raised its hand, and several weapon phantoms behind it flew up simultaneously.

Broken sword.

Long spear.

Giant axe.

Black bow.

Each weapon was entwined with thunder and fire.

"Defense!"

A team member beside Jinguji Ayane shouted in a low voice.

Several layers of paper talisman barriers stacked together.

The next second, the weapon phantoms crashed down.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The barrier shattered continuously.

Several team members were knocked back simultaneously.

Jinguji Ayane did not move.

The huge phantom behind her rang the bell gently.

As the bell sound fell, the originally scattered paper talismans gathered again, turning into a long white ribbon that wrapped around Otake Maru's arm.

Otake Maru swung its fist down.

Jinguji Ayane's figure disappeared instantly.

When she reappeared, she was already standing on the monster's shoulder.

The Imperial God Sword slashed down.

A white blade light flashed across Otake Maru's neck.

Clang!

It wasn't the sound of flesh being cut.

It was more like the blade slashing against extremely hard iron.

Only a shallow knife mark was left on Otake Maru's neck.

It reached back and grabbed at its shoulder.

Jinguji Ayane tapped her toes and retreated lightly.

At the same time, the attacks of other Sakura Island team members arrived.

Paper dolls turned into a flock of white birds, pouncing on Otake Maru's face.

Spirit familiars rushed out from the formation patterns, biting its legs.

Barrier chains flew up from all directions, wrapping around its wrists, waist, and tail.

Otake Maru roared.

Thunder and fire exploded.

Most of the chains were shattered.

But Jinguji Ayane had already completed the second hand seal.

The huge phantom behind her slowly lowered its head.

The divine bell sound fell.

The broken ancient mirror on Otake Maru's chest suddenly lit up.

A blurry figure was reflected in the mirror.

That figure looked like the person who had killed it a long time ago.

Otake Maru's movements stalled for an instant.

It was that instant.

Jinguji Ayane held the sword with both hands and fell from mid-air.

White and red sleeves fluttered in the thunder.

The tip of her sword aimed at the crack in the ancient mirror on Otake Maru's chest.

"Slash."

The blade light fell.

Splat!

The Imperial God Sword pierced into the crack of the ancient mirror.

Otake Maru let out a painful roar for the first time.

The surrounding barrier patterns contracted simultaneously.

The Sakura Island team members gritted their teeth and poured all their Source Power into the formation.

Dozens of paper talismans turned into white flames, rising from under Otake Maru's feet, pressing its huge body back into the island crack bit by bit.

Otake Maru struggled frantically.

Thunder and fire exploded, and the tsunami surged backward.

But the huge phantom behind Jinguji Ayane stood in mid-air, the divine bell in her hand ringing continuously.

The bell sound suppressed the ghost roars.

The talisman fire suppressed the thunder and fire.

The Imperial God Sword suppressed the ancient mirror.

Finally, the ancient mirror on Otake Maru's chest shattered completely.

Crack!

Its huge body stiffened.

Then, starting from its chest, cracks spread rapidly across its body.

Red-black armor shattered.

Ghost horns broke.

Its tail sank into the crack.

Otake Maru looked up and let out a final roar.

The entire island shook violently in this roar.

Then, its body collapsed with a bang, turning into a large amount of black-red fragments, which were swept into mid-air by the sea breeze.

The terminal prompt popped up.

[Hidden target killed: Otake Maru]

[Points obtained: 10k]

[Island hidden mission completed]

[Wanhai Archipelago main quest clue unlocked]

The Sakura Island team members breathed a sigh of relief almost simultaneously.

Some sat directly on the ground.

Some had arms still shaking.

Jinguji Ayane also landed back on the ground slowly.

Her face was pale, there were fine beads of sweat on her forehead, and her fingers holding the Imperial God Sword were still tight.

But she didn't stop.

Because she knew the truly important thing hadn't appeared yet.

After Otake Maru shattered, a red light rose from the crack in the center of the island.

Black-red fragments, thunder and fire residue, and ancient mirror powder were all swept up by that red light.

Finally, they condensed into a red bridge nail.

The bridge nail flew toward the central broken bridge.

Clang!

The second nail fell.

The central broken bridge lit up again.

This time, the red light could be clearly seen from the initial island where Lu Cheng was.

On the Dragon Kingdom Team side, Jiang Xuance stood by the bridge, looking up into the distance.

"Another bridge nail?"

Xu Xinglan opened the map.

"Looking at the commotion, it should be that shrine maiden from Sakura Island..."

Just as she finished speaking, light footsteps came from the bridge deck not far away.

Everyone turned their heads.

Jinguji Ayane was walking along the newly appeared bridge.

She was followed by several Sakura Island team members.

Their condition wasn't good; it was clear they had just experienced a bitter battle.

Jinguji Ayane's black hair was a bit messy, and the red string at the end of her hair was still there.

Her face was paler, but her eyes were still clear.

She walked to Lu Cheng and stopped.

The two stared at each other from a few steps away.

She raised her hand.

Three swords appeared in front of her.

The first sword was entirely crimson, with fine fire patterns on the blade.

The second sword glowed with a pale golden light, with thunder patterns engraved on the sword spine.

The third sword was deep cyan, the blade was extremely thin, and there was a faint sound of wind around it.

The three swords floated side by side.

The terminal prompt popped up accordingly.

[Mission Item: Three Bright Swords]

[Description: Key mission item for Wanhai Archipelago]

[Composition: Otōren, Kotōren, Kenmyōren]

She pushed the three swords in front of Lu Cheng.

"For you."

Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow.

"For me?"

Jinguji Ayane nodded seriously.

"This is my sincerity."

When she said this sentence, her Chinese was much more fluent than before.

At least she didn't say sentences like "Coming out for tourism."

Lu Cheng looked down at the three swords floating in front of him.

He reached out and grasped one of them.

It was very light to hold.

Just like the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi.

It didn't have the pressure a real Divine Artifact should have.

Nor did it have the sharpness to cut through heaven and earth.

It was more like a mission item simulated with high precision.

Lu Cheng looked at it for a few seconds and said:

"This thing is fake, what's the use of it?"

The Sakura Island team members' expressions became a bit strange when they heard this.

This was the key item they had just fought to the death to obtain.

And yet, this guy's first sentence was that it was fake?

Although in a sense, he was right.

Jinguji Ayane didn't get angry, though.

She nodded gently.

"It is useless for now."

"However..."

She looked up at the central broken bridge in the distance.

"It will be useful when we get there."

Lu Cheng followed her gaze.

On the central broken bridge, the black-red bridge nail and the red bridge nail had pinned two broken locations respectively.

The other broken parts of the bridge were still shrouded in mist.

That broken bridge didn't look complete.

But its presence was very strong.

It was as if all the routes of the entire Wanhai Archipelago would eventually converge there.

Lu Cheng withdrew his gaze.

"There?"

Jinguji Ayane nodded.

"Pseudo-Takahara."

Lu Cheng frowned.

"Where is that?"

Jinguji Ayane was silent for a moment.

The sea breeze blew over, lifting her hanging black hair.

Her voice was very soft.

"A place abandoned by the gods."

After this sentence fell, the surroundings suddenly became a bit quiet.

The Dragon Kingdom Team members looked at each other.

Xu Xinglan captured the key point immediately.

"You know what's deep inside this ruin?"

Jinguji Ayane looked at her.

"I know a part of it."

Tang Zhiwei smiled.

"So you're using three swords to trade for cooperation?"

Jinguji Ayane nodded seriously.

"Yes."

"I said before, I have sincerity."

Just at this moment, Snow Spirit suddenly raised its head from Lu Cheng's shoulder.

It looked at the surrounding sea, its ears twitching slightly.

"Papa, the water has risen."

Almost at the same time, everyone looked down at the edge of the bridge deck.

The seawater had indeed risen... it wasn't very obvious.

But for a Martial Artist, this kind of change couldn't escape their perception.

The seawater, which was still a distance away from the bridge deck just a moment ago, had risen a bit by now.

At the edge of the initial island in the distance, the originally exposed reefs were submerged by the seawater, and under several newly formed bridges, water began to slap against the bridge body.

Jinguji Ayane frowned slightly and said:

"We have to hurry... there is no time left..."

ps : These past two days have been very busy ( . • ́ ︿ • ̀ . ) 48 hours slept only 4 hours ( • ̥ ́ ˍ • ̀ ) Tomorrow update resumes ~ ~