Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 342 The Terrifying Aspect of the Nanling Sea, No Mercy! [2 More]

Chapter 342: 342 The Terrifying Aspect of the Nanling Sea, No Mercy! [2 More]

This was a response from the depths of the sea.

The seawater was completely blocked outside, and Yan Tingfeng condensed a barrier with his inner strength, ensuring that Ye Wanlan could breathe.

His other hand still held a knife.

As he swung the knife, the seawater was cleaved open.

The waves roared as if to surge forward, but they were utterly incapable of harming him.

Even though his body and spirit had both been severely injured three hundred years ago, which forced him into a three-hundred-year-long slumber, upon awakening he still needed to take medicine for an extended period.

Yet he remained the Supreme Martial Arts Master of old, possessing the power to command the entire Martial World.

How could a generation’s Martial World overlord truly be frail and weak?

Ye Wanlan was taken aback for a moment, then felt the dantian that had been depleted from saving too many fishermen begin to stir to life again.

YanTingfeng was transferring his inner strength to her, the power flowing through her limbs and bones, allowing her to breathe normally at last.

"That is indeed sweet and beautiful," Yan Tingfeng laughed again and said to her, "But Xiao Wan, you are still very young."

So at least for now, it wasn’t the time.

Ye Wanlan did not ask questions like "How did you find me?".

She was currently beneath the deep sea, where not even light existed.

Even if Division 723 urgently dispatched a deep-sea submarine, they couldn’t have found her this quickly.

Ye Wanlan could feel that if it weren’t for the Imperial Jade Seal turning into a beam of light and entering her body, she would have sunk even deeper already.

Initially, her inner strength should have lasted until she surfaced, but the waters of the Nanling Sea were truly bizarre, causing her inner strength to be consumed at a rate exponentially, perhaps tenfold, faster than normal.

It was as if she was trapped in quicksand, being continuously dragged downward.

She had not expected that anyone would really come to find her.

Let alone to receive such a response.

With new inner strength, Ye Wanlan quickly pierced a few of her acupoints with a needle: "When did you learn Latin?"

Yan Tingfeng blinked lightly: "A long time ago, I didn’t exactly ’learn’ it - I only know a few famous quotes. What about you, Xiao Wan?"

"Also a long time ago," Ye Wanlan grasped his arm, "Thank you."

Thank you for letting her hear the response.

"There are unknown creatures beneath the Nanling Sea that have not yet been discovered by mankind," Yan Tingfeng held her as they swam upwards, "Whatever these ’unknown creatures’ might be, such a large disturbance can’t have gone unnoticed by them; we must leave this place immediately."

Ye Wanlan’s eyes darkened: "Unknown creatures?"

This claim had at least been rumored since the Yong Dynasty.

Folklore said that the Emperor who founded the Yong Dynasty was brave and good at warfare, conquering from the north to the south.

He then commanded people to build exceptionally sturdy ships, aiming to conquer the oceans.

But when he sent his vanguard to explore the seas, three hundred men and ten ships disappeared without a trace in an instant.

There were no bodies, nor any wreckage of the ships.

It was as if they stepped through a door into nothingness, entering another world, vanished from the homeland.

However, this spurred on the Yong Dynasty’s founding Emperor’s desire for conquest and competitive spirit. He originally planned to continue sending people to the Nanling Sea to uncover whatever lay beneath the sea, had it not been for the State Preceptor who dissuaded him.

The State Preceptor humbly beseeched Heaven, inquiring about the nation’s fate, and received only one answer—

If he forcibly conquered the Nanling Sea, the Yong Dynasty would ultimately reap no benefits.

Hence, the Yong Dynasty’s founding Emperor gave up on this plan.

Later on, during the Yin and Xi Dynasties, Emperors still harbored this dream, yet every dispatched ship would vanish without a trace upon reaching the midway point.

The Ning Dynasty, being one of the most powerful dynasties of Shenzhou, had both Great Ancestor Ning and Ning Zhaozong harboring similar thoughts, but for safety’s sake, they never acted on them.

This is why to this day, the central realm of the Nanling Sea remains an unregulated area.

Yet entering the modern society, while ships occasionally disappear, most maritime routes from Shenzhou to the Global Center are smooth sailing.

Over time, people started to forget these old occurrences, attributing them to the underdevelopment of ancient technology which caused ships to lose direction during their voyage.

But Ye Wanlan didn’t think so.

On the contrary, Shenzhou’s ancient technology far surpassed that of other regions, especially with the great invention of the Compass.

An occurrence once or twice, or even three or four times, might be attributed to coincidence, but after more than a dozen similar incidents, it must be due to some peculiarity within the Nanling Sea itself.

"Indeed, recently the most widespread rumor is that of the lost ancient continent, Atlantis," Yan Tingfeng said, "This rumor spread from the Global Center to Shenzhou."

Ye Wanlan softly repeated: "Atlantis..."

Legend has it that Atlantis was a nation with an advanced civilization during Ancient Times.

According to individuals from the Global Center, Atlantis was destroyed by an ancient great flood ten thousand years ago, and the entire continent sank beneath the sea, with no news thereafter.

But there have always been those who insist that Atlantis was not destroyed; that the great flood was merely a ruse by the rulers of Atlantis to distract the public, with the real intention to move the entire nation from the land to beneath the sea.

Some say that the rulers of Atlantis foresaw the great catastrophe of Shenzhou and therefore made preparations well in advance.

Others claim that Atlantis still exists under the sea; it’s just invisible to humans.

Because after so long, the two species can no longer be considered identical; Atlantians, after all, can breathe underwater.

But these are all mere rumors; to this day, no one has truly seen the so-called Atlantians.

"There are even more extravagant stories, claiming that the Nanling Sea is inhabited by a merfolk tribe," Yan Tingfeng said indifferently, "They lure ships with their singing, causing them to disappear."

Light grew increasingly bright, and the sea surface was not far off.

"Xiao Wan, let’s go up," Yan Tingfeng also took a light breath, "Division 723 will soon declare this area a restricted zone."

The two continued their ascent, while in the depths of the sea, darkness still prevailed.

But a flash of light sparkled, then disappeared quickly.

**

"Splash!"

Ye Wanlan and Yan Tingfeng burst out of the sea, with the sound of a helicopter overhead, a ladder descending from the sky.

"Xiao Wan, come." Yan Tingfeng reached his hand out to her, "You first."

Ye Wanlan had regained some strength by now, enough to move freely.

After the two climbed onto the helicopter, it quickly left the area and later touched down in a secured zone of South City.

"Sir!" Bing He ran over in a panic, "Miss Ye, are you all right?"

Yan Tingfeng took the blanket from Tie Ma’s hands and covered Ye Wanlan with it: "I’m fine; please ask the Master of Penglai Observatory to examine Xiao Wan."

He was about to leave but was held back by Ye Wanlan grabbing his wrist.

"My inner strength was depleted rapidly under the sea, and you were no exception," Ye Wanlan’s tone was assertive, "Stop, and rest first."

Yan Tingfeng paused and then smiled: "Alright."

His inner strength had indeed been greatly depleted, confirming to him that there was something peculiar about the Nanling Sea.

So, Yan Tingfeng sat down cross-legged to restore his energy.

"Xiao Wanlan, we finally meet," Penglai Observatory Master hurried to Ye Wanlan’s side, "Let me check your condition first."

The Penglai Observatory Master practiced Penglai Daoism and was naturally a Taoist physician.

After ascertaining Ye Wanlan’s current physical condition, he let out a sigh of relief: "It’s all good, thank goodness. Heaven knows how Elder Rong and I couldn’t locate you; we were so anxious."

He quickly wrote a prescription, ordered Rong Yu to go cook the medicine, and began to help Ye Wanlan regulate her meridians, expelling the seawater from her body.

"Cough cough cough!" Ye Wanlan coughed a few times, "Thank you, Master, I feel much better."

"Ah, what thanks between us," Penglai Observatory Master waved his hand, "I heard from my disobedient disciple that you could take her to the drama set to watch the TV series. Just take me along too, and I’ll be content."

Old Master Rong glanced at him and huffed: "Character!"

The revered Master of Penglai Observatory, a practitioner of the Daoist Arts, was actually a fan of dramas.

"Old Rong, I’m too busy to squabble with you now," Penglai Observatory Master snorted, "If you weren’t so useless, how could our Xiao Wan have encountered such an incident?"

Old Master Rong retorted furiously: "Nonsense! It’s you who are useless, why haven’t you reached the level of Moving Mountains and Overturning the Sea? Just move the sea away!"

"Young ones, Grandfather, stop arguing," Rong Qi held his temples, "This isn’t the time for bickering."

The two old men glared at each other and kept their distance.

Ye Wanlan took the bowl of medicine from Rong Yu’s hand and drank it slowly.

After pondering, she still pinched a few Silver Needles and pierced herself, her body finally feeling thoroughly relieved and lighter.

Outside the room, Yan Tingfeng had also restored about half of his inner strength after an hour.

He stepped outside, gazing at the vast sea, and tapped his earpiece: "Still no findings?"

The suddenness of this incident inevitably pointed to a hidden mastermind, and certainly not just the two hooded assassins killed by the Penglai Observatory Master.

"Young Master, we’ve just located where those people are! It’s an unnamed island, with at least a hundred individuals," Bing He’s voice came through the earpiece, "How shall we proceed?"

Yan Tingfeng replied with a detached tone, "Kill."

Leave none alive.