Chapter 244: 028: Blood Sea, Waterfall, and Wall

Shadow Sea Domain, eastern entrance.

“Splash! Splash! Splash!”

The seawater slapped against the hull of the Parrot, producing crisp, rhythmic sounds as the ship swayed with the rising and falling waves.

Lynch and a group of sailors stood on the deck, gazing out at the distant sea with expressions filled with doubt.

“What is… what’s going on?”

“The seawater… why has the seawater turned like this…”

“Red… red water…”

“It looks like blood…”

In the distance, several miles ahead, the originally deep blue seawater had now turned a crimson red, eerily resembling fresh blood. Even from afar, one could smell the piercingly sharp scent of blood in the air.

Lynch frowned: Could it be? Just my luck, running into the Sea of Blood…

The Sea of Blood was a peculiar natural phenomenon commonly found in the Deep Sea Regions. During certain periods, the water in specific areas would mutate, transforming from regular seawater into blood-like liquid.

This blood water had an intensely stimulating effect on marine creatures. Beings exposed to its baptism would lose all sense of reason, becoming feral and violent, consumed solely by a desire to kill. The entire blood-soaked area would then devolve into a battlefield teeming with madness and slaughter.

“We’ll have to take a detour…”

It was out of the question to venture into the Sea of Blood. It was a merciless battleground filled with mid- and high-level Sea Beasts locked in combat. Even Second-leveled Lord Level, and sometimes Third-tier King Level, Sea Beasts would be drawn to this carnage.

In such an environment, it was impossible for Lynch and his small vessel to navigate safely through.

As for waiting it out until the Sea of Blood dissipated, that was also impractical. The duration of this phenomenon was entirely unpredictable. If luck was on their side, it might end in seven or eight months; if not, it could last a decade or longer.

“But then, which way should we go?”

Frowning, Lynch picked up the Magic Sea Chart and carefully studied it.

This was a critical route on their journey to the Shadow Sea Domain. The other directions either passed through territories claimed by high-level sea king species or were outside the routes established under the treaty between Wizards and the Sea Clan, making passage extremely challenging.

“The Great Waterfall? What’s this place?”

It was at this moment that Lynch noticed an unobstructed passageway on the sea chart, labeled as “The Great Waterfall.” He had no idea why it bore such an odd name.

However, this route wasn’t situated within the territories of high-level Sea Beasts and was under the treaty’s designated safe passage zones.

Yet, curiously, based on the traffic markings on the sea chart, vessels heading towards the Shadow Sea Domain rarely chose this route. It was clearly an excellent path, so why didn’t others use it?

“Forget it, let’s go check it out first.”

Since the sea chart marked the area as a safe maritime zone with negligible dangers, Lynch decided to explore it.

…

A little over a month later, Lynch arrived at a sea region known as the Great Waterfall. At this moment, everyone aboard the ship, including Lynch himself, was utterly dumbfounded. They finally understood the meaning behind the “Great Waterfall” label on the sea chart.

It was—truly—a waterfall!

“Good heavens!”

“What am I looking at? This is insane!”

“A waterfall!”

On the deck, everyone stood by the ship’s railing, gazing at the distant sea. Shock and disbelief were written all over their faces.

Far away on the ocean surface, an enormous waterfall abruptly emerged.

Its estimated height? At least several dozen kilometers. Yes, just the vertical height alone towered straight up, piercing through the clouds.

As for its width…

It stretched endlessly to the left and right, with no visible end to the waterfall in sight.

Spanning the seas, it sliced through the ocean, dividing it into two distinct halves.

The vast, overflowing waters cascaded downward, creating the illusion of a towering aqueduct city wall built atop the ocean itself.

“This is beyond belief!”

Even for a Wizard like Lynch, this magnificent sight was overwhelming. At this moment, he finally began to genuinely understand the meaning of the phrase: “The world is vast, very vast.” Such a spectacle was absolutely unheard of, even in the realm of Ancient Relics.

After his brief astonishment, Lynch quickly composed himself and frowned in thought: How could they traverse this?

The crashing waters from this tremendous height created a dense mist over the area, and even from a great distance, the waves’ sheer turbulence could be felt with each surge. Who could say what sort of chaos lay within?

With a ship as small as theirs, even approaching such a force of nature was impossible. Even if they managed to get close, how could they ascend? The waterfall’s height spanned dozens of miles. Draining Lynch’s spiritual power wouldn’t even come close to lifting the ship to the top.

Now Lynch understood why no one used this route. The unfortunate reality was that he had no other option left.

Blocked by the Sea of Blood on one side and this unscalable waterfall on the other, was this journey destined to end in failure?

“Master Wizard, why not… try blowing that conch shell? Didn’t you say the Catfish Monster left it as a tool to summon its help when we faced trouble?” At this moment, Grupa suggested from the side.

Lynch nodded. “It’s worth a shot…”

He retrieved the conch left behind by the Catfish Monster from his Space Ring and brought it to his lips. With a gentle blow, a deep, muffled sound reverberated into the distance. There appeared to be nothing special about it—it resembled an ordinary shell, devoid of any peculiarities.

If not for sensing a faint Spiritual Field dispersing from the conch, Lynch would have suspected the Catfish Monster had tricked him.

’The ocean has its own methods of communication. Let’s wait and see.’

One day…

Two days…

After nearly two weeks of waiting, just as Lynch was on the verge of giving up, the Catfish Monster finally showed up.

That morning, as Lynch engaged in his usual meditation inside his cabin, a group of sailors anxiously knocked on his door.

“Master Wizard! Master Wizard! Please come out!”

“The big Catfish Monster has arrived!”

Stepping out onto the deck, Lynch spotted the familiar Catfish Monster on the ocean’s surface. Its breathing was a little erratic, as if it had rushed over in a hurry.

’Looks like I misjudged it. To be fair, even I took several months to get here…’

Lynch leapt onto the Catfish Monster, greeted it, and explained his predicament—his need to scale the waterfall to reach the Shadow Sea Domain. Could it possibly assist in finding a way?

Lynch proposed, “If ascending the waterfall isn’t feasible, helping us navigate a nearby alternate route would also work.”

The Catfish Monster shook its massive head and transmitted telepathically through spiritual power: Territory nearby… sea king species… won’t permit… passage… otherwise… food… you’ll become…

Well, traversing the domains of the tyrannical sea king species was clearly out of the question. The only option left was the waterfall.

Lynch asked, “Is there a way to get up the waterfall?”

After observing the waterfall for a moment, the Catfish Monster communicated that it would think of a solution and asked Lynch to wait. With that, it dove into the Deep Sea and disappeared.

A few days later, the Catfish Monster resurfaced, this time bringing along several companions—most of them familiar faces from the previous cavern burial ceremony, including the Big Jellyfish that had encapsulated their group in the underwater tunnel.

The Catfish Monster explained that, after some discussion, they had decided to drag Lynch’s small vessel up the waterfall by swimming against the current.

Lynch asked skeptically, “Is that really possible?”

The Catfish Monster replied: Don’t worry… when young… often played… slide…

Alright, then!

Realizing that their terrifying waterfall might well have been a childhood playground for these marine creatures, Lynch didn’t argue further.

With the plan roughly agreed upon, they prepared to act.

The Big Jellyfish once again enveloped the Parrot, holding it securely. Several large squids and octopuses extended their tentacles to fasten onto the ship, taking the lead. Meanwhile, the Catfish Monster and several other unidentified massive sea beasts positioned themselves behind the Big Jellyfish, using their heads to push it forward.

After advancing for a while, they entered the churning rapids. The sea’s surface in this area was far too stormy to navigate, so the sea beasts opted to drag the Parrot underwater.

Compared to the mountainous waves above, the underwater realm was far calmer. Even the currents weren’t as turbulent as anticipated. With the sea beasts providing propulsion, Lynch and his group reached the base of the waterfall with remarkable speed.

Here, Lynch finally got an unobstructed view of what lay behind the waterfall—and what he saw left him even more astonished.

What loomed behind the cascading waters wasn’t a sheer cliff, nor was it a naturally undulating terrain. It was a wall.

An unimaginably massive city wall!

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