The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 721 Is this mirage... close to the East Sea Dragon Palace?
Shen Le gasped softly.

He had seen enormous whirlpools before. The secret realm that the red-bridal woman took him to, the entrance to which they entered was a huge whirlpool, capable of swallowing even the largest warships in the navy.

He had also seen underwater wonders, whether plunging from a cliffside waterfall into the clouds or flowing along the waterway to the vast, deep pool at the entrance to the Dragon Palace—

However, none of them could inspire the same awe, or even fear, he felt as strongly as the whirlpool before him.

The whirlpool stretched as far as the eye could see. Shen Le lay on the gunwale, straining to see outwards, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't discern the whirlpool's boundary.

Neither the light emitted by the Xuan Yuan scales nor the light raised by the bow of the Yun Kun ship could penetrate the seabed with such weak power that it could not reach the water waves at the edge of the whirlpool.

Even if he exerted all his mental power, he couldn't touch it at all—

The composition of this deep sea was unknown; as soon as his spiritual energy reached out from the ship's side, it felt like entering a quagmire, every inch forward was fraught with difficulty…

No, it wasn't a swamp. Shen Le had a feeling that above this vortex, there was "emptiness":

There was no water, not a single drop. Instead, a clear, transparent light shone from beneath the whirlpool, a beam shooting straight into the sky. The seawater above seemed to be lifted high by this beam of light.

Shen Le even saw a large, snow-white bird fly quickly over the whirlpool, flap its wings slightly, brush past the ship, and soar directly into the sky!
"This is it! Charge down!"

Xuan Yuan gave a soft shout, and its fins and tail thrashed violently as it plunged downwards with all its might. With its movement, a strange wave of water enveloped it and Yun Kun, carrying them both downwards.

Yun Kun struggled and broke free from Xuan Yuan's guidance. He swam twice in the direction of the whirlpool's rotation before plunging headlong into its center.
There, in the place where the light shines brightest, should be the target, the "gateway" to the mirage!
"and many more--"

Xuan Yuan seemed to cry out in surprise. The sound seemed to come from ahead, yet also from behind. Shen Le didn't listen, nor did she turn around; she simply gripped Yun Kun's rudder tightly.
A series of cracking and creaking sounds suddenly rang out rapidly around Yun Kun, on the top and bottom of the boat, and in the water that enveloped Yun Kun!
The sound was like cutting, like squeezing, even like a giant mouth biting down on Yun Kun and chewing it forcefully.

The ship suddenly shuddered, and the tallest and thickest mainmast in the center of the deck bent slightly, while the snow-white sails on the mast trembled violently.

On the deck, all the paper figures bent over, then struggled to straighten up, making a gesture of raising their arms high and pushing upwards:

【Hey--】

What is that?!
Something is squeezing and pressing down on Yun Kun!

Even though the terrifying pressure didn't penetrate the barrier and reach the humans on the deck, it still made several Special Affairs Bureau operatives and experts turn pale.

The bespectacled young man and the two middle-aged agents gasped for breath, each kneeling forward and opening their arms to embrace the most precious piece of equipment.
The young man who was in contact with Shen Le, despite his trembling legs and disordered breathing, rushed to Shen Le, drew his pistol from his waist, and pointed it to the sky.

"Go away!"

Get out!

Shen Le shouted the same thing in his heart. He gripped Yun Kun's rudder with both hands, and the heat flowed in generously into Yun Kun's body.

At the same time, inside the engine compartment, the jade crystal walls surrounding the miniature nuclear reactor suddenly shone brightly.

The power that normally absorbs energy from the reactor, converts it into spiritual energy, and stores it in the jade bricks was largely drawn out and added to the water wall surrounding Yun Kun, which forcefully withstood the external pressure!
Yun Kun charged forward headlong. Shen Le remained silent, desperately channeling her power into it. Colorful light flashed around them as Lan Zhuang gathered all the spiritual energy she could influence, erecting a defensive spell.
The blue lamp flickered with electric light, weaving an ultimate defense around everyone;
Forty-nine small swords swam across the entire ship. Li Xingtang stood up, his hand on his sword, and a half-foot-long blue light shot out from the tip of the sword...

Suddenly, the copper plate on Shen Le's chest vibrated slightly, emitting a barely audible buzzing sound.

With just that one tremor, all the pressure around Yun Kun vanished, completely dissipating. The small boat rallied its spirits and plunged headlong into the center of the whirlpool, into the place where the light was brightest!
【Wowh ...

The instant I plunged into the vortex, a tremendous feeling of weightlessness surged through me, as if I were being propelled out of a large mass of sticky glue. The speed was incredible, and there was nothing in front of me to stop me.

With this sudden acceleration, Shen Le was one thing, but if the Special Affairs Bureau personnel hadn't been pulled back in time by the women in skirts, they would have almost been thrown off the ship's side!

They swam downwards, downwards, straight down. Xuan Yuan swam quickly beside them, resisting the force of the swirling water walls, swimming with a fairly comfortable and graceful gait.

Yun Kun, however, shot through the void like an arrow released from a bow, and plunged towards the colorful earth beneath his feet.

In its panic, it frantically beat all the sails and even tilted the masts to the left and right, trying to create as little resistance as possible for the ship:

Slower!

Slower!

Stop it!!!

A silent gale rose, gently lifting Yun Kun's body and slowly setting it down.

Once the boat came to a stop, Shen Le finally had the leisure to look around and observe the mirage, exclaiming in amazement along with the little ones:
"It's so beautiful..."

Only then did he see the entire mirage clearly. At this moment, he was in a vast underwater canyon:

The rugged, steep black rock walls rise thousands of feet, their tops invisible. On both sides of the canyon, colorful coral reefs and giant sea anemones are scattered and mottled, flowing naturally with the current.

Countless glowing corals, jellyfish, strange deep-sea plants, as well as giant clams, giant shells, and crystals embedded in the rocks, all emit soft halos of various colors.

These lights converged, illuminating the valley floor with a dazzling array of colors, creating a dreamlike and enchanting scene. To the uninitiated, it would seem as if they had entered a fairyland.

"No... these lights... these lights are just embellishments, just decorations... the light I saw up there just now must have had another source..."

Shen Le looked around. The light emitted by these plants, animals, and minerals was like fireflies compared to the bright moon when compared to the pillar of light rising from the vortex.

Where exactly is the center of the mirage, or the center of the secret realm?

"follow me!"

Before anyone could figure out what was going on, Xuan Yuan had already landed, leaning towards Yun Kun. The canyon below the vortex was completely dry, yet it didn't transform into human form, still swimming in the void like a fish.
"The transaction takes place over there. Let's go take a look. You can come out, but those other people would better stay inside the boat and not move."

Xuan Yuan swayed his tail fin, offering his instructions. Shen Le smiled, leaped out, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Yun Kun on the ship's side:
"Can Yun Kun grow a little bigger? It's too small, it's feeling cramped!" "A little bigger would be fine." Xuan Yuan swam ahead, leading the way.
"Being the same age as me is fine, but if you're any older, some places will be harder to walk on!"

Yun Kun shuddered with joy, instantly doubling in size, then doubling again, until it grew to the same length as Xuan Yuan.

Shen Le floated on the ship's side, looking at the few special affairs bureau guys on the deck through an invisible barrier. She found it quite strange to see that they were several sizes smaller than her.

Xuan Yuan has already moved forward rapidly:
"Come, come, let me introduce you to some of the great demons of this place! Embroidered-faced Lord! Embroidered-faced Lord!"

Shen Le watched as the great white shark shook its head and tail, charging towards the bottom of the canyon, to a relatively flat plaza.

In the square, all sorts of aquatic monsters gathered, bustling about, creating a scene reminiscent of a lively human market.

Some live in clans, with a large group of their kind setting up stalls together;

Some people wandered around the square, browsing from stall to stall;

Some fish were waving their fins, tails, claws, and pincers, blowing bubbles, and it was unclear whether they were bargaining or arguing.

Some creatures drive their own kind, or other aquatic creatures, and throw them in front of other aquatic creatures, who then grab them and eat them.
There were also several exceptionally large demons, perched high in several directions of the plaza, each surrounding a vast empty space...

The entire scene was bizarre and fantastical, almost magical. The sounds of rushing water, deep gurgling, sharp popping, and the tinkling of pearls colliding filled the air.

Shen Le looked left and right, his eyes darting around, unable to take it all in. As for the special affairs bureau personnel on the Yun Kun deck, they each set up their instruments and started snapping photos of the outside world, almost mesmerized by what they were seeing.

It was only because Xuan Yuan led the way that Shen Le didn't lose her way and was led to the northeast corner of the square, in front of a giant crab.

The crab was as big as a truck, and its carapace was covered with tiny, faintly fluorescent corals arranged in strange, natural patterns: this is probably the origin of the name "Wenxiu Gong" (meaning "embroidered man").

When Shen Le arrived, it was holding a huge piece of ore with one of its pincers and bargaining with an octopus demon waving several tentacles.

The sounds of crabs slurping and octopus monsters hissing mingled together, accompanied by the claws and tentacles waving from both sides, creating a dazzling spectacle.

"Embroidered Master! Ink Shadow Lord!" Xuan Yuan swam over to greet them first, then pulled Shen Le over.

The crab demon slowly turned its body, its two metallic eye sockets shifting position to stare at Shen Le:

"Outsiders? Humans?"

"Shen Le greets fellow Daoist." Shen Le stepped forward slowly and bowed.
"Master Wenxiu, Lord Moying, I have come from afar. I heard that there is a mirage here, so I came with Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan to take a look."

He silently circulated his inner energy, and a surge of intense heat rose up, creating a misty haze around him. He paused, reached into his pocket, and, with focused concentration, pulled a crystal from his bracelet.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."

At first glance, this crystal appears clear and flawless, but upon closer inspection, it is layered with runes and inscriptions. It is a standard spiritual jade specially prepared by the Special Affairs Bureau to store spiritual energy.

The tattoo artist's pliers clicked and clanked a few times before picking up a piece of pink, glowing coral and presenting it to Shen Le:

"How about I trade this for it?"

"Trade with him! Trade with him!" Two secret agents from the Special Affairs Bureau shouted excitedly in Shen Le's earpiece.
"We can trade anything we've never seen before! If we get unique materials from the deep sea, we'll make a profit!"

Mo Yingjun's tentacles also reached out. Shen Le glanced at them, immediately took half a step back, and the bright white defensive barrier around him expanded outward by a foot:
Don't come over here!

On your jet-black tentacles, several bright blue rings expand and contract repeatedly. What kind of creature are you?!
"Mr. Shen, Mo Yingjun means no harm, please rest assured." Amidst the octopus's gurgling sounds of spitting water, Xuan Yuan promptly offered an explanation:
"At our level of cultivation, we can control our abilities and won't poison you!"

Shen Le took out another piece of standard spirit jade and exchanged it with Mo Yingjun for several fist-sized gemstones that emitted a faint green light and were full of spiritual energy.

Soon, a group of brightly colored fish demons, with fish tails on their lower bodies and human-like upper bodies, swam over and unfurled a piece of mermaid silk towards Shen Le.

Shen Le thought for a moment, discussed it with the two special affairs bureau guys for a while, and then the guys rushed into the cabin to operate the machine, creating a 3D-printed loom...

Next, a huge giant clam shell was traded for some spirit jade in exchange for pearls and Shen Le, and it was specified that it should be polished into a round shape the size of a fingertip;

Two seahorses brought some dried seaweed and a fragrant fungus similar to Ganoderma lucidum.

After a while, the old tortoise that Shen Le had met in the South China Sea slowly crawled over and shook out several blue crystals radiating a rich aquatic energy from its shell for Shen Le...

This series of transactions seemed to solidify Shen Le's position. Soon, he secured a separate stall—a raised, rocky platform in the square.

"This is my usual spot; usually, no one dares to disturb me." Xuan Yuan's demonic power rose up around him, creating an open space and pushing away the few curious little fish that were peeking out.
“Those guests can come out for a bit, as long as they don’t leave the stage, I’ll make sure they’re fine.”

Yun Kun jumped slightly, shrinking to about a foot in size, then quickly shook his body. Soon, several members of the Special Affairs Bureau were revealed, and they laid out instruments and goods on the table:
Exquisite porcelain, brightly colored fabrics that don't easily fade, sealed bottles of fine wine, and some small, delicate alloy tools...

"Mine! Mine!"

A large shrimp excitedly rushed forward, slammed two jade-like bones in front of them, and grabbed a military knife:

"I want this!"

"Is this a human's mirage?" Another seashell demon fluttered over and landed in front of the platform, looking left and right at the screen set up by the Special Affairs Bureau guy:
"Can I exchange it for pearls?"

"Human wine... thirty-year-old Shaoxing wine! Good stuff!" Shen Le glanced sideways, watching the sea serpent bite through the mud seal and plunge in:

You didn't cultivate on land and then migrate to the sea, did you?
Otherwise, why would you like drinking?
The special affairs bureau staff were extremely busy. They had to record the fluctuations of the monsters and underwater specialties, and they also had to do business—the "local specialties" brought by the special affairs bureau were very popular.

Shen Lexian stood aside to keep them in line, and casually asked:

"Ms. Xuan Yuan, how close is this sea city to the East Sea Dragon Palace?"

(End of this chapter)