519: Chapter 519 Hidden Dungeon

"I knew it was a Quest List; I've unlocked a Hidden Easter Egg!"

Clouds drifted around Zhou Yan, exuding a sense of Immortal Qi.

He examined his hands, then touched his face and the long, dark green hair hanging before him.

Although he was already certain with the help of his Divine Sense, Zhou Yan still drew a circle in the air, intending to manifest a water mirror for comparison.

Instantly, a massive wind pressure swept through, followed by the roar of a Dragon. The hurricane blew his long hair everywhere, covering Zhou Yan's face and momentarily obscuring his vision.

"Pah, pah," Zhou Yan spat out the hair stuck to his mouth, rubbed his eyes, and looked at the wonder that had suddenly appeared before him. "Holy crap, is this... my doing?"

In the previously calm sea of clouds, a gargantuan "mirror" suddenly appeared, making Zhou Yan look like an ant in comparison.

The massive mirror was composed entirely of flowing water, its frame inlaid with the surrounding sea of clouds, looking dreamlike and ethereal.

Zhou Yan was somewhat shocked, but he still took two steps forward to look at his reflection in the mirror.

"Isn't this the young Meng Zhang?"

"Only the clothes are different, and there's an extra pair of horns."

[Reference image of Young Meng Zhang]

"This unfamiliar, powerful strength, and this appearance..."

"In other words, because I violated the rules too severely, I've entered the third area, and even my appearance and state have been distorted."

Based on Zhou Yan's deductions about these rules, that so-called Marine Animal Museum likely doesn't exist; it's probably a trick played by the School of Life that Li Hua mentioned.

That non-existent space should be overlapping with the Hot Spring Area, accessible only after being contaminated by violating rules, or through a special channel of the School of Life.

As for the employees, the ones here are also very strange. Becoming an employee itself should count as a form of contamination. After all, the rules have changed; following web novel tropes, it means becoming the minions of an evil god.

Like vengeful spirits seeking substitutes, one can only escape by finding a scapegoat or some other method.

However, under Zhou Yan's maneuvering, he and Li Hua could be said to be both heavily contaminated and in an employee state. Logically, they should have reported to the evil god long ago.

It was only under the effect of the Power Of Faith that they were able to maintain their sanity.

"According to the process, my sacrifice is complete, and I've become a toy serving that evil god. I can now go find the evil god's true body."

"But what's with this appearance? What kind of dream is this Dream Dragon having? Why is Meng Zhang involved, and this power..."

Zhou Yan couldn't quite describe how strong he was now, but the water mirror before him and the feeling that he could destroy anything already said it all.

"What Prodigy dares to cause destruction in the sacred grounds of the Heavenly Court!"

Zhou Yan looked to the left, where a large troop was charging over grandly.

There were crabs, lobsters, and some weirdly-shaped seafood, and the leader at the front was a koi fish.

A sweep of the System panel revealed that the panels were all unknown, which made Zhou Yan frown. However, the power he felt within seemed capable of crushing them.

"What are you looking at!"

"Seize him and take him to the Lingxiao Palace to be dealt with by the Dragon God, Your Majesty!"

At the koi's command, a few crabs and prawns near him looked at each other, their gazes eventually turning cold as they charged forward with weapons in hand.

They immediately restrained Zhou Yan, trying to pin him down.

Zhou Yan originally wanted to resist, but upon hearing they were taking him to see the evil god himself, he abandoned the idea. He went along with it, dropping to one knee and pretending to struggle.

However, one of the crabs' eyes flickered, and it pressed down harder, only for the long halberd to snap right against Zhou Yan's body.

This startled the seafood group, causing them to back away slightly. But seeing no change in Zhou Yan, who was still kneeling on one knee and seemingly struggling against their weapons, they were somewhat at a loss.

Seeing this, the koi was also furious. He slammed the longsword in his hand onto the ground and pointed at the crab, cursing loudly.

"What the hell are you guys doing!"

"Son of a— ouch!"

"Hold your damn weapons properly, for fuck's sake! What are you all doing!"

Zhou Yan's face was flushed red, looking as if he were straining against the pressure, but in reality, he was holding back laughter.

This Koi Spirit looked so comical, and combined with his tone and actions, it was too hard to keep a straight face.

In the next moment, the crab's form began to blur and gradually vanish. The previously enraged koi also calmed down, coldly said, "Escort him back," and turned to leave without another word.

Just like that, Zhou Yan was placed in shackles and escorted away.

And Zhou Yan could no longer laugh.

Oh no, could that crab have been the person I was supposed to save? It seems I've messed up big time.

He could feel a Soul ripple from the crab before it vanished, streaking rapidly into the distance before its aura disappeared as well.

"What's wrong, Great Master?"

Agu Ru looked at the frowning Lv Yang before her, her face filled with curiosity.

Meanwhile, Lv Yang sighed as he looked at a crab in the Aquarium that had suddenly stopped moving.

"Another innocent life has been lost. We must resolve this as quickly as possible."

Lv Yang's words made Agu Ru and the others gasp. Their team had now expanded to eight people.

Among these eight, some were Incarnations of monsters that Lv Yang had dealt with in one shot, while others had been rescued from the Aquariums.

But hearing that someone had died, they couldn't help but panic, and fear began to spread through the crowd.

"Great Master, maybe... maybe we should leave first," a white-haired old man said worriedly, hugging the little boy beside him.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at them with various expressions in their eyes.

The old man gritted his teeth and continued.

"According to what you said, Great Master, we are still in a contaminated state, otherwise we wouldn't be here. We've only changed from those 'aquatic products' back into humans, and we could be contaminated and change back at any time."

"So, could you let us leave first? I know you want to save more people, Great Master, but my grandson and I are truly weak. Staying here won't be of any help... what do you think?"

After he finished, everyone looked at Lv Yang again. Seeing this, Lv Yang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He naturally knew that their staying wouldn't be of use, but if they left, others would also think about leaving.

Although he saved people purely out of his own volition and didn't plan to rely on their strength, it was unknown if they would violate the ban and enter again after leaving, or harm other travelers to eliminate their own contamination.

Originally, relying on the prestige from saving them, Lv Yang could have saved everyone before leaving, but he hadn't expected this accident.

"What are you talking about!"

Agu Ru suddenly spoke up, harshly rebuking the old man.

"Is your life a life, but others' lives aren't?"

"We were all saved by the Great Master. Staying here doesn't require much effort from you; the Great Master handles most of the trouble. As our numbers grow, it's clearly getting safer. If something goes wrong after you leave, what then? Do you expect the Great Master to save you again!"

"That's enough."

Lv Yang interrupted Agu Ru and nodded to the old man. "Old man, take the child and go. According to the rules, if you walk along the wall, you'll find an alley. Just silently chant 'hot spring' in your heart, and you can leave."

"Thank you, thank you, Great Master! If I get the chance, I will definitely repay you!" After saying this, the old man quickly left with his grandson, his movements quite agile, not at all as weak as he had claimed.

After the old man left, the rest of the group also had other thoughts, but before they could speak up, Lv Yang dismissed them first.

Watching everyone leave, even her former employees, Agu Ru sat on the ground powerlessly.