"Leave Miluo Island?" Lin Lei was immediately confused when he heard this.
It had only been a few days since the last great battle. Cecily had only just married Cekra not long ago. How could she suddenly leave Miluo Island? Even if she really left, someone should have seen her. But over the past few days, he had asked many people.
No one knew anything about Cecily, and no one had seen her.
"He's lying!" Lin Lei judged inwardly.
Why lie? In an instant, a sense of foreboding arose in Lin Lei's heart.
"Everyone, follow me. Let's go." Cekra's face was also extremely gloomy. After speaking, he took the lead and walked alone towards the depths of Zhuoyang Peak. Although Lin Lei felt doubtful, he could only follow.
The mountain path was rugged, but Lin Lei and the other nine advanced effortlessly.
Soon, they arrived at a deep cave. There was not a trace of sunlight inside. Cekra was the first to dart into the dark cavern. Lin Lei and the other eight hesitated slightly but also went in.
"Young Master Cekra," a Highgod spoke. "Where exactly is this West Island secret land? This cave seems to have no end."
"Just follow me," Cekra said coolly.
Lin Lei and Lomu followed calmly. What was there to fear? Cekra was right in front of them; either of them could easily kill Cekra. They weren't afraid of him playing any tricks. Besides, Lin Lei had learned from Tarosha that Floating Images were hidden within the secret land.
"Lin Lei," a voice sounded directly in Lin Lei's mind.
Lin Lei glanced at Lomu beside him. It was Lomu who had just sent the message. Lomu's lips curled slightly as he continued with his soul transmission, "Seeing you in action confirms it. The Four Divine Beast families truly live up to their reputation. I wonder how the other three branches of the Four Divine Beast families compare?"
"Why ask so much?" Lin Lei replied via soul transmission.
In truth, Lin Lei himself knew very little about the Four Divine Beast families.
"True, no need to ask. We'll know once we really cross swords. After we get out of this secret land this time, let's have a match first. Later, I'll go to the Blue Wind Prefecture on Blood Peak Continent to test my skills against the experts of your Four Divine Beast families' other three branches." Although Lomu's expression remained cold, his eyes glinted with excitement.
He was very much looking forward to fighting strong opponents.
Lin Lei felt a headache coming on.
Compete with this madman once they got out of the secret land? It wasn't that he disliked fighting. He was just painfully aware of his own strength. If the opponent specialized in physical attacks, it might be manageable. But if they specialized in soul attacks, it would be disastrous.
Lin Lei cursed inwardly, "He's even more crazy than Leremus was back then. Always wanting to challenge strong opponents."
During the time Lin Lei had been communicating with Lomu via soul transmission, at their current pace, they would have covered several li. Yet strangely, after descending several li along this cave, they still hadn't reached the end.
"Judging by this depth, we should be inside Miluo Island," Lin Lei thought to himself.
Suddenly, Lin Lei noticed that the descending passage ahead was filled with water.
"There's water down below. Are we still going down?" someone couldn't help but ask.
"Just follow me and don't waste words," Cekra said, his mood foul. Lin Lei's questioning at Zhuoyang Peak had put him in an extremely bad mood. The words Cecily had spoken before her death—the revelation that her child was someone else's—humiliated him far more than the fact that she was pregnant with another man's child!
"Gurgle~~~"
Lin Lei and the others followed Cekra into the water. All eight formed protective barriers around their bodies to effortlessly withstand the water.
"I didn't ask Tarosha carefully back then where exactly this West Island secret land was," Lin Lei thought, also feeling puzzled. The walls of this submerged passage were covered with green plants. It was clear this passage had been underwater for a very, very long time.
Suddenly—
The descending cave leveled out into a straight passage. At the end of this straight path, a faint light glimmered.
"We've finally reached the end," Lin Lei couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in his heart. Once out of this underwater passage, they would be in a vast underwater world.
"Huh? This West Island secret land is actually in the ocean?" Lin Lei exclaimed in surprise.
Cekra sneered, "Is that strange?"
Lin Lei noticed that ever since he had started questioning him, Cekra's expression had remained unpleasant, and his temper was exceptionally short. Lin Lei couldn't be bothered to respond. Getting into a fight with this Cekra would truly be a net loss.
After flying through the ocean depths for a while, Lin Lei and the others were stunned.
In the distance, a massive black castle spanning dozens of li stood proudly on the ocean floor, like a colossal beast lurking there. Most terrifyingly, countless figures patrolled around the castle. There were extremely many guards.
"This is our West Island's secret land," Cekra said proudly. "My Bagshaw family's secret land! You all are lucky to have the opportunity to come here."
As he spoke, a squad of guards clad in black armor with black cloaks flew over from the distance. Seeing this squad, Lin Lei and the others felt a chill in their hearts. These ten guards exuded a natural aura of killing intent, each with a cold expression.
"Every single one is an expert," Lin Lei was amazed.
Compared to the island-protecting warriors of Miluo Island, these warriors in black armor and black cloaks radiated a more powerful, fiercer, and colder aura. Even Lomu narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the distant black castle.
"The forces of a single family are this vast!" Lin Lei was inwardly shocked.
What he saw with his own eyes numbered several thousand. Each was a Highgod, and not just ordinary Highgods. They were far superior to the standard island-protecting warriors, where any Highgod could fill the role.
"Young Master Cekra," the leader of the small squad saluted.
"They've all arrived. Let's go," Cekra said coolly. The ten black-armored guards immediately led Lin Lei's group towards the black castle. The castle gates were wide open.
Deep beneath the ocean, this black castle had existed for an unknown amount of time.
What was most bizarre was—
The black castle seemed to possess some mysterious power that repelled all the seawater. None of the ocean water could approach the castle within a one-li radius. It was as if a transparent shield protected the ancient castle, pushing all the water away.
Lin Lei and the others entered the water-free zone.
"Huh?" Everyone was surprised, and even Lomu's eyes lit up with astonishment.
Lin Lei turned back to look carefully, but he couldn't see any special shield at all. "Truly, the world is full of wonders." As they entered the black castle and saw the large number of guards within, Lin Lei was also shocked.
"This... is probably the Bagshaw family's true strength," Lin Lei thought to himself, inwardly startled.