The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 723 Heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon Shen Le...

They won't let me get close?
Yun Kun's answer was to shrink even smaller. He shrunk to a foot in length, then leaped into Shen Le's arms. He pressed himself firmly against Shen Le's chest, remaining completely still.

The attitude was very clear:

You absolutely cannot not take me with you!
I am a ship, a Ming Dynasty warship, a modern navy warship that has been commissioned and has a hull number, and the last line of defense for Shen Le!
If anything happens underwater, I can disguise myself as Shen Le and run away at top speed!

Seeing it like this, Shen Le had no choice but to reach out and support the bottom of the boat, stroking the gunwale like petting a cat, and then lightly stroking the tips of the three masts. Turning to Xuan Yuan, he smiled:

"It's gotten so big, it'll be fine with me. So... I'll take it with me?"

Wenxiu Gong had already moved eight crab legs, venturing deeper into the canyon. Xuan Yuan swayed its tail, trying to keep up, while Mo Yingjun, Huan Yueji, and the others wriggled their tentacles, fanned their shells, and retreated.

"I won't go. I went once fifty years ago, and I haven't fully digested what I learned yet, so I can't go again."

"I'm not going either... It'll probably be another hundred years before I can try again... Oh right..."

The large mirage shell opened, revealing a perfectly round, pigeon-egg-sized shell adorned with concentric rings of silvery-white pearls, which flew towards Shen Le.

"Take it with you. Once it starts to glow and casts all sorts of shadows, be careful, we're almost there!"

Shen Le took a deep breath, bowed to them, and waved goodbye. He paused, then looked down at his chest:
"Do you want to go up first? The situation over there might not be suitable for you—or rather, not suitable for humans who haven't cultivated. Should I have Yun Kun take you up first?"

"Need not!"

"Walk together!"

"We've never been to this Dragon Gate before, and we might never have the chance again—we absolutely must take this opportunity to measure it properly! I need to operate the instruments!"

"As long as we're inside Yun Kun, we should be fine, right?"

Several members of the Special Affairs Bureau refused. Shen Le hesitated for a moment, then, seeing the clay figures, paper figures, and skirt-clad figures surrounding them in circles, she hesitated slightly before deciding not to force them.

"Then you must obey orders and follow commands! In case of danger, wherever you are told to evacuate, you must evacuate there!"

"no problem!"

"rest assured!"

Several researchers pounded their chests loudly. Shen Le, however, was worried about them. He took a bead from his bracelet and tossed it into the side of the ship.
"Huang Yutong! If there's any danger, open the gate! Li Xingtang! You lead everyone to carry them inside, and make sure they're safe!"

The armored warrior saluted, tapping his chest. Shen Le nodded to him, then stood still and bowed to the crab demon beneath him.

"Master Wenxiu, please take us there!"

The embroiderer scurried along the rock face, his eight feet moving deeper and higher.

Even though Shen Le was in the coral reef on the crab's back, he could feel the water flowing faster and faster, hitting his chest with each slap. He even had to hold onto the coral tightly to avoid being swept away.

He thought for a moment, then slightly expanded his spiritual power to connect with the surrounding water. In an instant, the water veins smoothly parted to both sides, bypassed Wenxiu Gong, and converged behind him.

The giant crab's eight legs swam faster and harder, and several small fish actually swam out of the coral reef, swaying their tails leisurely, their tails flashing with various colors of light.

Judging from their contented appearance, I wonder how long they've maintained this symbiotic relationship with the crabs...

Wenxiu Gong led the way, Xuanyuan followed behind, and they continued forward. Although they were climbing along the canyon walls, getting closer and closer to the sea, the distance ahead seemed to grow ever deeper and darker.

Gradually, the surrounding light disappeared completely, leaving only the faint glow from the two great demons, forming a circle less than ten feet in diameter, which was not enough to illuminate the distant scenery.

Shen Le tried to extend his mental energy, but he couldn't extend it much. It was as if the terrifying water pressure at the bottom of the sea suppressed even his mental energy!
Two demons and one human had been stealthily moving for an unknown amount of time when Shen Le's heart suddenly trembled, and he subconsciously gripped the coral in front of him tightly.

A small piece of coral silently turned to dust, and the small fish below swam out in a panic, but accidentally swam in the wrong direction and plunged headfirst into the outer ring of water barriers.

In just a moment, its body began to swell and twist, emitting a small explosion.

From fish scales to fish flesh, and then to hard fish bones, it all turns into a small pool of blood, blends into the water barrier, and disappears.

"Coming……"

Shen Le murmured softly. A tremor ran through her arms, and a circle of dreamlike silver light quietly unfolded, with the full moon's radiance shining down, seabirds flapping their wings, and even a large ship sounding its horn as it slowly sailed by.

Shen Le took a deep breath, quickly placed his hand on the gunwale of the Yun Kun ship, and tried his best to inject the heat into it:

Princess Huan Yue said that the mirage pearl she gave her naturally emitted light, and when it projected its illusion, it was already close to the Dragon Gate!

Yun Kun struggled to break free from Shen Le's grasp. The small boat swirled around itself, creating a water barrier that even enveloped Shen Le.

"I'm fine! I can protect myself! I can protect everyone on the ship! Don't worry about me!"

This thin yet resilient layer of water firmly enveloped Shen Le, remaining completely still. Shen Le looked down and examined it closely; the paper figures and silk skirts on the deck moved about freely, without any hindrance.
Even the special affairs bureau personnel were focused on their own tasks, showing no signs of being overwhelmed, panting heavily, or flushed.

As for Yun Kun's output—with the nuclear reactor in place, it shouldn't be too much of a burden.
Since that was the case, Shen Le extended his senses and tried his best to investigate. Strangely, after arriving here, the pressure suddenly lessened, and Shen Le's mental energy extended out without any hindrance—

The next instant, he immediately sensed a chilling fluctuation coming from ahead!

It wasn't a sound, nor the churning of flowing water. It felt as if the entire space was trembling, as if all matter had been transformed into energy, emitting a violent roar!

Upon reaching this point, Xuan Yuan no longer dared to swim freely. Instead, it clung tightly to the stone wall, using its fins to paddle along it.

The eight claws of the Embroidered Man were firmly embedded in the stone wall, digging in, pulling out, digging in again, and pulling out again.

The water barrier erected by Yun Kun, like a rubber ball, bounced around among the coral, causing a cracking sound to emanate from the coral roots.

Fortunately, Shen Le saw the situation was not good and acted in time, adding another layer of water barrier on the outside to bind them and Wenxiu Gong tightly together, so that they would not fly off the crab's back!
"...This is where we are." After a long while, the canyon finally came to an end, and there was no more solid ground to hold onto.

The giant crab, perched on the edge of the cliff, was now breathing heavily, just like a human.

“You can’t go any further… If you want to leap over the dragon gate, start rushing into the void from here, until you can’t go any further. If you just want to take a look, this is enough…” Shen Le looked up following his pointing finger. In the absolute darkness, a huge, ferocious, twisted wound tore apart the view ahead.

Upon further investigation with mental energy, the wound was found to be not a physical entity, but a giant, constantly writhing and shifting fissure composed of extremely chaotic energy.

Its edges were extremely irregular, flashing with dizzying arcs of violent electricity in purplish-black, pale white and eerie blue, like countless mad lightning snakes tearing at space itself!

The embroidery master merely glanced up at it before lowering his body, contracting his pincers, and shrinking into a ball as much as possible.

Shen Le, however, tried his best to unleash his spiritual power, inch by inch, carefully tracing the crack, feeling the deep, indescribable darkness and chaos:
Like a tangible energy turbulence, it spun and roared around the rift like a hurricane, sweeping up all matter and non-matter existence, turning them into vortexes that emitted silent shrieks.

Occasionally, huge, lumpy objects, whether monsters or rocks, would be swept in, instantly ground into the finest powder, and vanish without a trace.

Wherever the spiritual power passes, a strange sense of distortion can be felt, as if light is bent when it passes through there.

"Is this... the crack in the barrier between heaven and earth...?"

Shen Le muttered to himself, his true essence circulating wildly within his body, half supporting his spiritual power and half being injected into Yun Kun's hull.

Yun Kun struggled to support the barrier, causing the hull to tremble slightly. Every little creature around him did its best to help.

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, the blue lamp, most sensitive to foreign forces, pulsed violently as a warning:
"Danger! We can't go there! Danger! We can't go there!!!"

Several experts from the Special Affairs Bureau turned pale; if it weren't for Yun Kun's protection, they would probably have been knocked unconscious by the invisible pressure.

Even so, Huang Yutong unfolded an ancient house with a single roof and a single door on the deck, and paper figures, in pairs, carried the Special Affairs Bureau experts inside...

Only the copper sheet remained silent as always. No, the copper sheet wasn't truly silent; it trembled slightly, as if excited, or perhaps urging:
right here!

This is it!!!

Quick, fix it now, hurry up!

“See that…” Xuan Yuan’s voice was filled with unprecedented awe. His fins and tail were gripping the stone wall tightly, and he didn’t even dare to step forward and stand next to Wenxiu Gong.
"This is the Dragon Gate... If you can rush up and then retreat, you might advance; those who rush in directly never come back..."

Shen Le stared intently at the terrifying rift, his mind reeling. This violent, space-tearing power was definitely familiar!
He had faced it in the Great Whirlpool Secret Realm pointed out by the Red Wedding Dress, he had faced it in the Jade Ring Secret Realm, and he had also faced it in the sea near the Ryukyu Islands...

This is the result of the barrier between heaven and earth being torn apart! Violent, chaotic energy is pouring in from the other side!

Being able to receive this energy, absorb it, and make it one's own means that advancement is certain.
However, if control fails, the flesh and blood will mutate and be reduced to dust by the powerful impact, which is already the best outcome!

As for rushing out and reaching the other side of the barrier...

An existence capable of surviving, reproducing, hunting, fighting, and dominating within such powerful and violent energy—

Every monster that charges over here is just easy prey against them!

Shen Le recalled the firebird descendant Yun Kun encountered on the other side of the Red Sea and shook his head slightly. In a daze, it seemed as if a voice was shouting in his ear:

"Don't ascend...don't ascend...don't ascend..."

Sigh, I wonder if the Dragon Palace's inhabitants left through this rift back then? If they did, how are they doing now?

"Have you finished reading?"

Beneath him, a muffled, trembling voice asked him a question. Shen Le looked down and saw Wenxiu Gong, his armor trembling, already retreating step by step.
"This is not a place to linger... If our distinguished guests have finished their tour, we must return immediately and cannot stay here any longer!"

"I've finished reading." Shen Le took a deep breath, his mind made up. He tried moving one step outward, then another, gradually moving to the edge of the carapace, almost within reach of the stone wall:
"Master Wenxiu, Madam Xuanyuan, I have a question for you—the power here is unusually violent, yet also unusually abundant."

If, I mean if, I could make it a little more docile, but only by a fraction, maybe five, six, seven, or eight tenths…

"That's impossible!"

"That's great!"

Cancer and Shark simultaneously expressed completely different opinions. After a brief pause, the embroidered woman said in a trembling voice:

"How could you do that? How could you possibly do that? — My ancestors, Mo Ying's ancestors, all the great demons in the sea tried, and none of them could do it! We've tried every possible method!"

The most powerful, the most intelligent, and the great demons with all sorts of strange magic have used the abundant resources of the sea to drive away countless lesser demons and take the lives of countless offspring.

However, it was all in vain. That insurmountable barrier known as the "Dragon Gate" could only be withstood by the most powerful demon's physical body.

Otherwise, wouldn't they want to?
“I…maybe I can give it a try. I’ve done something similar before,” Shen Le said slowly.

Seeing that Xuan Yuan agreed, Wenxiu Gong didn't object, but he felt that Xuan Yuan couldn't do it. He tilted his body and slammed his palm against the stone wall:

The hard stone wall, which had remained untouched by the impact of water for thousands of years, silently sank into a cave.

Shen Le took a step out and lightly stepped into the cave. The cave softened and extended as he walked in, as if it had encountered hot butter.

Finally, Shen Le sat cross-legged inside the cave, which was about ten feet deep. In front of him, the stone walls and pillars rose up layer by layer, leaving only the entrance for conveying messages:
"Shall I try it out here? If you want to guard me, then guard me outside. If you don't want to guard me, then come and pick me up in ten days or half a month?"

"But, but..."

The Embroidered Crow's sharp claws scraped against the stone wall with a screeching sound. Xuan Yuan, however, after a moment of surprise, calmed down and said softly:
Why did you do that?

"Ah... this is probably..."

Shen Le gazed through the stone window at the raging fissure in the far distance:

"Heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon this person..."

(End of this chapter)