The clear, cloudless sky suddenly darkened beneath an oppressive gloom.
The hurricane had yet to truly arrive, but the surface of the sea had already been pressed down by its terrifying force, forming a massive depression.
“Host, the typhoon is here.”
The Little Fox lay atop Yun Shu’s shoulder, staring up at the darkness drawing ever closer across the sea.
Behind Yun Shu, the blue whale let out a feeble cry.
It was on the verge of death.
Yet even in its weakened state, it could still sense the danger descending from above. Its enormous tail lifted slightly, trying to shield Yun Shu beneath it.
“Pearl, danger…”
“Little Blue, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Yun Shu reached out and pressed her hand against the blue whale’s head. “I’m saving you all.”
There was no time to explain.
The hurricane began to howl, and the sea churned violently.
The portal of the Return Formation had already activated.
The enormous typhoon located thirty thousand kilometers away was forcibly dragged to this stretch of sea by the portal of the Return Formation.
Its arrival came without the slightest transition.
In the blink of an eye, the clouds had twisted into a vortex.
Winds surged in from every direction before slowly merging together, twisting into gray-white columns visible to the naked eye.
The columns plunged straight into the depths of the sea, carving bottomless trenches across its surface. Waves were hurled hundreds of meters into the air, then shattered into countless icy droplets that pelted the golden barrier surrounding the Xuan Yuan Tower Ship like thunderous rain from the heavens.
The ship rocked violently.
Shen Jue gripped the railing so tightly that his fingertips turned white.
On the deck, some soldiers lost their footing and fell hard onto the floor, yet not one of them cried out.
Every eye was fixed on the sea beyond the barrier, on the waters being torn apart by the waterspouts.
At the very center of the storm stood the Goddess.
She remained utterly unmoved.
Her silvery-white hair streamed through the currents and raging winds like drifting seaweed, while her magnificent aqua-blue fish tail swayed gently.
Someone aboard the ship spoke in a trembling voice. “Could those terrifying phenomena be Heaven’s punishment?”
“Will the Divine Lady be all right?”
Those words caused everyone on the deck to tense.
They had all heard how the Divine Lady had once been punished by the Heavenly Dao in Yecheng after saving the suffering people there.
Now, having witnessed the Divine Lady dispel a natural disaster with their own eyes, and seeing the heavens produce such strange phenomena afterward, how could they not be worried?
Shen Jue’s eyes suddenly reddened. “Zirang, you’ve always been clever. Can you think of something? Is there any way to help the Divine Lady avoid Heaven’s punishment?”
Feng Chunya also looked at Pei Du expectantly. For the first time, she hated how foolish she was. If only she were a little smarter—perhaps then she could help the Divine Lady.
Pei Du, burdened by the hopes of Shen Jue and Feng Chunya, sighed and shook his head. In a hoarse voice, he said, “We’re merely mortals protected by the Divine Lady. We can’t even leave this immortal vessel enclosed by the golden barrier, let alone help the Goddess.”
The deck fell into a deathly silence.
All they could do was watch helplessly as the waterspouts, seemingly capable of destroying everything, swept toward the Goddess. An invisible hand seemed to tighten around their hearts, making it difficult to breathe.
Yun Shu had no idea what sort of beautiful misunderstanding was taking place aboard the ship until the Little Fox reminded her.
Its voice held a trace of panic. “Host, this is bad. The male lead’s favorability has risen to seventy again.”
“They seem to have misunderstood and think that you’re being punished by the Heavenly Dao for dispelling the natural disaster and saving those sea creatures.”
Yun Shu: “…”
This strategy mission was truly troublesome.
Shen Jue’s favorability was completely beyond her control. If she let her guard down for even a moment, he might send her straight to her death.
The worst part was that she had no time to deal with him right now.
The Little Fox suddenly had an idea. “Host, how about we secretly drug the male lead and make him sleep forever? That way, he won’t be able to keep increasing his favorability…”
It had completely forgotten how it had once urged Yun Shu to pursue the male lead. Right now, it only wanted to follow Yun Shu as she conquered the stars and seas and earned mountains of Shock Value.
Only by earning more Shock Value could it upgrade its functions and make things easier for Yun Shu.
Drugging him was not a bad idea, but Yun Shu had another concern. She lowered her voice and said, “The south is about to be conquered, and the unification of the realm is imminent. If we drug Shen Jue now and leave him unconscious, it will disrupt military morale. Besides, Shen Jue is the male lead of this story world and the key to turning the false into reality. The Lord God is sure to keep a close watch on him.”
“Oh, right, Host. You really do think things through. I forgot about that old geezer, the Lord God.” The Little Fox said, “Although I can conceal what the two of us do, the male lead’s favorability is in the Lord God’s hands. It’s extremely cunning and keeps constant watch on the fluctuations in his favorability. If there’s no change for too long, it’ll definitely notice something is wrong and come after us.”
Yun Shu thought for a moment, then said to the Little Fox, “Don’t drug Shen Jue. Sneak over there and knock him out instead.”
It was the only solution she had left.
There were still many things she had yet to accomplish. She couldn’t allow Shen Jue to keep increasing his favorability. It was simply too dangerous.
“Host, leave it to me!”
As it spoke, the Little Fox switched to its human form. It casually picked up a piece of reef and charged toward Shen Jue aboard the ship.
Shen Jue had no idea that danger was approaching.
His eyes held only the figure being swallowed by the wind columns.
At the very last moment, he saw the Goddess’s silvery-white hair scattered by the violent currents, while her aqua-blue fish tail emitted an otherworldly glow within the gray-black wall of wind.
Then the wind columns closed in, engulfing her entirely in that spinning abyss of thunder and lightning.
Acting on instinct, he tried to leap from the ship, only to be thrown back onto the deck by the golden barrier. His head struck the ship’s railing with a heavy crack.
Seeing its chance, the system hurriedly seized the hefty reef in its hands and struck him again, knocking Shen Jue completely unconscious.
Everyone aboard the ship was crying.
As a result, no one noticed that Shen Jue had already passed out cold.
Meanwhile, Yun Shu began reciting her lines and putting on a performance of defying the Heavenly Dao for the sake of justice in the world.
“I have dispelled this natural disaster and disrupted the order of Heaven. I ought to suffer Heaven’s punishment, and I shall bear it alone without complaint or regret.”
“Saving the common people has never been a mistake!”
The few brief sentences rang out with solemn force.
The crowd gazed sorrowfully at the Goddess within the storm. Their hearts were filled with a deeper understanding of her sense of responsibility, while their faith in her reached an unprecedented height.
Feng Chunya was already weeping uncontrollably. “The Divine Lady never should have been punished. It was the mortal realm that dragged her down.”
Pei Du’s eyes were red as well. “How fortunate the mortal realm is, to have received the protection of a divine being who cares so deeply for all living creatures.”
Many of the soldiers on the deck were crying so hard they nearly fainted. They repeatedly struck the golden barrier, trying to rush out and offer their Goddess what little strength they possessed. They would gladly shatter themselves to pieces for her.
“Pearl!”
The blue whale had no idea that Yun Shu was merely acting. Seeing her surrounded by the storm, tears of blood streamed from its eyes.
