The next few days saw a return of normalcy, as the guests went shopping, went to the QR pod cafe, saw movies, ate at restaurants, and all the other activities they could enjoy during their stay.
In a meeting room, the leaders, ministers, and Huoran were discussing their cooperation. Talks went on about the number of spots, the schedule, the price, and transportation logistics.
In the pod cafe, lines of people went to get their fix of their favorite activities, whether it was fighting, Sage, the new racing mode, or watching a movie or tv series.
Greymane had returned to the pack, and was standing in front of a bed with a wolf laying on it.
"How is the Pack leader?", he said to the only other one in the room.
"Not well, that new merchant that recently was competing with Merchant Tan disappeared before the leader's condition. I now believe that Merchant Tan did not poison our leader like the other accused and we fell for some ploy", the other wolf replied.
"Shaman Thunderclaw, have we the means to revive our leader from this poison?", Greymane inquired.
Thunderclaw shook his head, "The poison used is a very unique and powerful toxin. Other than keeping him asleep like this and hoping he can resist it over time, I don't have a solid plan to assist."
"I may have a way, but I need to know if it's safe to move him", Greymane told the healer.
" I have an array formation that can keep him stable for a couple days", Thunderclaw offered, "but it will require a high amount of Qi to keep it operating for a few days."
Greymane pulled out a few spirit gathering arrays and some high quality spirit stones out of his storage bag, "Prepare the leader for travel."
A caravel was sailing towards an island chain in an unusual manner. The captain of the ship was constantly bellowing orders , but after a few hours it arrived at a hidden port. A few men stood waiting as the small ship docked and anchored before calling out, "Capt'n Mo, you's and Capt'n Fan are supposed to be at Nanying. Why you's here?"
"Just take me to see Admiral Chen, you pair of scabby sea bass, a rare opportunity has presented itself, but we are sorely lacking in the means to pursue it", Mo admonished his welcome crew.
"What'ver, follow us", said the men before they made their way through the port.
Mo looked around and relaxed, 'Always good to be home.'
The port had many ships of different sizes in its vicinity, and it was bustling with activity as crews of pirates unloaded stolen goods or had ships leave port to acquire more. While there were a few drunk men sleeping in unusual locations, the port was cleaner that some might imagine. Most walkways looked cluttered with containers and people, but everyone seemed familiar with it and walked through without troubles. The three men walked for almost ten minutes before they arrived at tall wooden door. The door had a detailed design carved into it, and the two men knocked loudly before stepping back with serious faces.
"Welcome Captain Mo, I have heard that you had returned early, to what do we owe the honor?", Admiral Chen spoke as he placed his quill down and stood up.
Mo nevously stood there before replying, "I don't deserve any honor, please excuse my arrogance."
"Im very busy, let's get to the main reason for your visit", Admiral Chen spoke.
"I'm here to report that about a week ago, the Whiter Tiger Sect and thirteen of its allies flew out to the island that the powerful Senior cultivates on", Mo reported, "They haven't left yet, and we believe they found something."
Chen was silent before leaning his head back and looking up, "Take this seal and see Captain Sao and the Zheng twins. Have them follow you back and the four of you should be able to ambush the White Tiger sect as long as their Sect leader isn't there."
"He was there, Admiral", Mo added.
"They must have unearthed something good if he went personally", Chen frowned, "Ok, take this talisman with you. It should keep their sect leader busy long enough to snatch their gains and run."
"Ay Ay admiral", Mo saluted and walked out, making his way to the harbor. He relaxed when he almost reached Sap's usual spot, but he frowned when he thought about they Zheng twins, even for pirates, their reputation was extreme.
"Captain Sao, the admiral sent me your way to get assistance", Mo called out.
"Just great ol' Mo, what ar' you gettin' me involved in", Sao acted annoyed but agreed when he saw the admiral's mark.
"It will be you, me, and Fan just like old times, we will do a smash and grab", Mo explained, "Unfortunately, I was told to bring the Zheng twins as well, so we will need to watch our back."
Sao narrowed his eyes, "is tha' so."
"I'm over on the east dock, and will be heading out again once I talk to them", Mo said as he walked outside.
Mo made his way over to the ship of the Zheng twins, they always stayed there unless Chen made them come out. He made his way to the captain's room and knocked on the door.
"Yi, Zuyi, are you in there? It's Old Mo", Mo announced his presence.
Two scantily dressed women appeared as the door opened.
"Old Mo, you finally came to visit us", Yi smiled.
"Have you finally decided to partake in our services?", Zuyi giggled.
"I have to decline, we have orders from Chen", Mo replied while sweating.
"Oh a trip, do you want to ride with us?", Yi questioned.
"I'm afraid not, I'm heading to my ship", Mo said as he disembarked, "Just follow along with me and Sao, we will go meet up with Fan."
He could hear the girls cheer and began ordering the ships under their lead to cast off as he walked away. He took one more detour to Captain Fan's fleet to inform them of the situation before heading back to his fleet.
"All ships, you have six hours to prepare and then we'll depart", Mo announced to his fleet, "Ship Captains, come see me and let your first mates get things ready for now."
Mo sat down, and briefed them all on the plan before releasing them back to their ships.
Six hours later, the fleets of Mo, Sao, Fan, and the twins had gathered together. Mo signaled everyone, and the new armada started making their way towards Fan.
King Zeng of the Merfolk was in front of three formations of soldiers, "We have been quiet for too long and no one fears us anymore. First, a dastardly fiend kidnapped the princess, second, some evil cultivator stole a portion of the kingdom using unknown demonic rituals, and third, one of our guards that watch the devil's island was killed in the line of duty. We must make our enemies fear us again using the strength of the merfolk clan."
The crowd cheered and swam to their animal companions. The merfolk began moving and were followed by a wide range of sea life. Giant eels, squids, and Octopi helped transport the slower animals such a cone snails, mantis shrimp, lobsters, and crabs. Sharks moved in large numbers, sea snakes slithered through the seaweed, and giant Eagle rays acted as cars and buses as merfolk held onto it and swam together. Scores of sword and sailfish led the charge, dragging huge jellyfish behind them and long Bobbit worms traveled the sea bed. The other sea clans didn't join the march, they only deployed forces to protect their territory. They included the whale, shark, snake, and turtle clans. The shark and snake clans were known for their more aggressive and dominant behaviors, which is why many of the younger members swam with the merfolk and joined their endeavor. As the mass movement of undersea creatures was in progress, Wei Huoran sat in his room, meditating.
Huoran felt he had reached a good point with runes, arrays, and talismans, and his artifact refinement skills couldn't advance quickly now due the need to new knowledge and procedures. He decided that it was time to dive back into alchemy, not only had more potent herbs been harvested lately, but he was generally curious about different mixtures of the essences and their reactions. He had been spending his days entertaining the guests, cultivating his strength, and widening his knowledge base through simulated experiments.
"Test 375, 1 milligram of Frostflower essence, 1 mg of Dream Lily essence, and 1 mg of catalyst made from Spirit Peonies and…"
Quanliyuan suddenly interrupted his test, "Xiao Ran, a massive amount of sea creatures have entered the area around the island from the southwest and are headed our way."
"What? Lockdown everything and activate the Grand Array", Huoran responded.
"Now over three hundred flying ships from the east have appeared, also heading in our direction", Quanliyuan added.
"What the hell is going on?", Huoran wondered.