Who let him join the Sword Sect!

Chapter 551 Everything is ready
Beast Control Sect.

A gentle breeze swept across the hillside, and the Beast Taming Sect welcomed another new morning.

Compared to the past, apart from the beasts being summoned becoming stranger, there haven't been many changes here.

Furthermore, due to the recent busyness and the fact that the disciples are all out on duty, the entire sect is much emptier and quieter.

It's a real shame that enjoyable activities like camel-riding-monkey races and monkey-riding-human races have been discontinued for so long.

Standing at the original starting line of the track, Elder Han of the Beast Taming Sect looked at the deserted sect and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Having just returned from southern Xinjiang, he will soon be heading to the East China Sea, where he has heard that the project seems to have made some breakthrough progress.

But he doesn't know the specifics of the progress yet.

Compared to the disciples who happily went out on missions and were delighted by their unexpected encounters, the elders, who knew more, were more or less worried about the uncertainty of the future.

After standing by the lake for a while, Elder Han flashed back to his residence at the bottom of the lake.

Back at his residence, looking at the dusty experimental table and the jade slips on it, he sighed again.

Since the Holy Land incident, his research on bringing fish ashore has been halted, and resources have been allocated to other more meaningful projects.

Although it was reasonable, Elder Han himself still felt somewhat uneasy about it.

"I hope it ends soon and everything gets back on track," he muttered to himself, stroking the jade slip on the table.

Just as he was indulging in his own sentimentality, a knock sounded on the door behind him, and then Li Yueqi pushed the door open and walked in.

"Why are you here? Is something the matter?" Elder Han put the jade slip containing instructions on how to get fish ashore back into his sleeve and turned around to ask.

"Yes, there's some new information from Qianji Pavilion, but I can't get through to you, Little Walnut."

As she spoke, Li Yueqi took out a slip of paper from her storage ring and handed it to Elder Han.

Elder Han took it, but at first he didn't pay too much attention to it, after all, he had handled too many similar things in the past few years.

As a mature elder, he felt he was capable of remaining calm and composed in the face of change.

but.
His eyes widened when he looked at the note.

What does it mean when there are tens of millions of large carp in the sea, and they urgently need skillful hands?

What does it mean that all the resources and materials are provided by these giant carp? The wealth they have accumulated in the sea over countless years is simply inexhaustible.

What does it mean to say that we urgently need an expert in the relevant field to help with the subsequent overall planning?

Elder Han raised his head and looked at the strangely shaped Thousand Machines Assisted Power Skeleton in the corner of the room, a sense of mission welling up within him.

The melancholy aura vanished instantly. With a wave of his hand, Elder Han collected everything in the room except for Li Yueqi into his sleeve.

Then, like an old actor on stage, he flicked his sleeves and chanted, "Lead the way!"

But after saying that, without waiting for Li Yueqi to reply, he turned into a wisp of mist and disappeared without a trace.

Li Yueqi, “.”

——Six months later——

It can only be said that interest is the best medicine. Under the leadership of Elder Han, who was full of energy and radiant with glory, the underwater project progressed extremely smoothly.

The wealth and treasures accumulated by those giant carp over countless years, along with the precious mineral deposits that have yet to be mined, saved the project a considerable amount of valuable time.

As the project progressed, the underwater Thousand Machine City began to proliferate rapidly, much like the Tai Sui of the Rotten Princess.

It was completed a full six months ahead of schedule.

The bottom of the East China Sea has changed dramatically compared to a year ago.

The underwater mountains on both sides have long been carved out, and a huge silver city sits in the very center, extending in all directions along the canyons that have been carved out.

This place has now become the center of the entire East China Sea, the home of the entire seabed, responsible for connecting and managing all the Thousand Machine Cities in the East China Sea, as well as the Little Sacred Tree.

Countless Eternal Brightness Magic Arrays floated above the city, illuminating the entire abyss as bright as day.

On the city's outermost edge, in the unlit depths of the sea, countless enormous shadows appear and disappear, providing security for the city.

Among the shadows are giants with pitchforks on their heads, as well as whale salamanders, mosasaurs, and gyarados.

The blue whale was a local sea creature of the East Sea. After being beaten up by Elder Han for provoking him, it immediately submitted and pledged allegiance, living a life with free food and lodging and a formal position.

The mosasaur naturally came from the mountains and seas. In fact, after the underwater development project started, all the marine dinosaurs from the mountains and seas moved here, as if they intended to live here permanently and no one could persuade them otherwise.

There's no way around it, mainly because this sea is just too big. Compared to the sea in the Mountain and Sea Secret Realm, it's like a tiny basin.

As for that Gyarados... it wasn't evolved from the giant koi fish, but from a powerful demon with unique interests.

As a loyal fan of the Pokémon program on Qianjige TV, he is passionate about cosplaying every Pokémon featured in the show.

Zhang Ze stood at the city gate, hands tucked in his pockets, bubbling in the air, looking up at the sign for the East China Sea Carp Palace on the city gate with a hint of regret.

He originally wanted to name it Water Dragon Spirit Paradise, but unfortunately he lost the naming contest by drawing lots and failed to get his wish.

"By the way, why don't they build a water-repellent shield?" Ah Li's voice came from behind Zhang Ze.

Ah Li, who was rushing through the water like a pig, crashed into Zhang Ze like a cannonball, and then continued to complain.

"This city is nice, but the food is really bad. We can't cook anything, so we can't make anything cooked. We eat raw pickled food or those synthetic snacks like dandou for three meals a day. We can't even drink juice."

While complaining, Ah Li nudged Zhang Ze with her head, urging him to think of a solution.

Zhang Ze sighed, "There are plenty of cities in the sea that have water-repellent shields."

"Go to the West Sea. That's the territory of the Mountain and Sea Dinosaurs now. Their cities are all separated into wet and dry areas, which meets your requirements."

As for this place...

"Although they have exoskeletons to help them, those big carp can't learn to transform, the dry environment is meaningless, and the fully enclosed fish tank mechs make them feel suffocated."

"You don't live here permanently, so just make do. After all, this is someone else's house."

Ah Li chattered on for a while, but when she saw that Zhang Ze ignored her, she quieted down.

But after swimming for a while, it climbed onto Zhang Ze's shoulder and suddenly brought up another matter.

"Are you really sure?"

“Of course, it’s not like we haven’t done it before, it’s just a matter of doing it again,” Zhang Ze said calmly.

The various projects in the four continents have now been basically completed. Even the Central Continent has been transformed from a barren wasteland into a paradise on earth, and the filming location for the live-action hybrid Plants vs. Zombies game.

As a result, time suddenly became plentiful.

The final step in the current plan is large-scale testing and rehearsals.

Zhang Ze needs to return to the Holy Land, enter that original starting point, and familiarize himself with the network of Holy Trees that has spread throughout the four continents.

In a sense, this is also a kind of seclusion. Once inside, Zhang Ze will not come out until the end of the world.

“If problems arise, you’re not allowed to thank me for this lame, self-sacrificing act. Sentimentalism is meaningless,” Ali said, tugging at Zhang Ze’s hair.

Zhang Ze: "What sacrifice is there? When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. You think I can survive alone... well, I might actually be able to survive alone."

Halfway through his sentence, Zhang Ze suddenly felt a bit bored, so he pinched Ah Li's belly and changed the subject.

"Eat and drink well, wait for me to come out."

"Keep an eye on Lily while I'm gone. Here's a stick for you; beat her if she misbehaves," Zhang Ze said, handing a steel bar to A Li.

As the two chatted, the people they were waiting for swam out of the city.

The Great Carp King and his daughter, the Little Carp Princess.

Both of them were wearing a full-coverage fish tank mech suit.

No mechanical levers are needed; one can control the Thousand Mechs' movements with their mind simply by staying in the aquarium cockpit. Aside from being a little cramped, it has no drawbacks. The father and daughter came together to accompany Zhang Ze to the Thousand Mech Pavilion for that final meeting.

The heads of all the major powers across the four continents will be present at this meeting.

As for what this meeting was about, Zhang Ze didn't actually know.

Although he practiced his speech all night in front of a room full of radishes, his father-in-law said that he didn't need to worry about it and that he didn't even have to come to the meeting.

Therefore, Zhang Ze took on the job of a greeter and started asking people for help everywhere.

"Aren't we going to use the teleportation array?"

A synthesized mechanical voice came from the speaker on the top of the Little Carp Princess mecha.

The spatial rift opened by the old man is still there, and the divine ship of the Beast Taming Sect has been parked there all along, serving as a transit station between the East Sea and the Thousand Machine Pavilion, and also as a check-in point for the Human Emperor to go to sea.

The fastest way to get to the Eastern Continent is to use the teleportation array to switch between the Thousand Machine City at the bottom of the sea, and then go through the spatial rift.

“We have plenty of time now, no need to rush. I’ll take you on a flying boat, and we can see the scenery of the four continents from the sky,” Zhang Ze said, holding A Li.

Princess Little Carp: "Flying boat? Is it one of those geoduck clams that float in the sky?"

Zhang Ze: "...Although they are all long strips, there are still some differences. Anyway, just follow me."

Zhang Ze raised his hand and pointed upwards. The surrounding seawater condensed, and in the blink of an eye, a lotus flower formed from condensed water bloomed on the sea surface. Zhang Ze held A Li and stood on the lotus flower with the father and daughter of the giant carp.

Zhang Ze looked up at the sky, but there was nothing there, not even a trace of the flying boat.

The appointed time had arrived, but the Flying Boat he had booked had not come.

He suddenly had a bad feeling.

The father and daughter, both big carp, were bewildered but dared not ask.

"Where's the boat? You didn't forget to make the reservation, did you?" A-Li asked.

Zhang Ze remained silent, but after a moment, he suddenly sensed something and immediately spurred the lotus platform beneath his feet to flash backward, covering a distance of about a hundred meters.

Just as Zhang Ze retreated, a shooting star flashed across the sky, followed by a deafening roar, and a long, thin object crashed down where Zhang Ze had just stood.

After the waves subsided, Her Majesty the Cat Girl floated up from the sea in her all-accessible flying boat.

"No time to explain, get in the car!"

The black armor on both sides of the flying boat unfolded, and the water-repelling shield formed by the magic array had just taken shape. The cat girl, holding a bulging pufferfish in her mouth, stood at the bow of the flying boat, posing with her whole body soaking wet.

Although they were wet, they were so clumsy that they lacked any aesthetic appeal.

Looking at the cat-girl and the flying boat, the big carp muttered to herself, "Isn't that just a geoduck?"

Although it was somewhat embarrassing, the shape of this flying boat did resemble a geoduck clam, with its rounded, upturned bow gleaming brightly in the sunlight.

Zhang Ze sighed and waved to the father and daughter, "Get in the car."

Fortunately, His Majesty was quite normal while carrying people and did not do anything strange such as speeding wildly. The airship took off smoothly, and the first stop was a Buddhist temple located on the east coast.

At this time, the Buddhist gate still looked the same as usual, but behind the Buddhist gate, where there used to be a stele forest, there was now a towering ancient tree.

From small to large, this tiny sacred tree grew to almost the same size as the sapling in Central Continent.

Although it was nourished by the holy water of the spiritual spring, it is still amazing that it could grow to such a size. It must be said that this piece of land in the Buddhist temple is indeed quite remarkable.

Who knows if Mr. Qin will come back to steal the tree again decades or centuries later, so that Xiaoxue may have a junior brother or sister.

However, compared to the small sacred tree in the seabed, Princess Carp was more concerned about the giant building next to the sacred tree.

Immersed in the ghost story, she leaned against the ship's railing, pointing at the mountain-like building with her bathtub mecha arm, and said, "Big planetary engine! Are we going to wander too? Just like in 'The Wandering Earth'?"

Zhang Ze shook his head. "No, we're not going anywhere."

"Although it is somewhat similar, it is not an engine. It is the core of all the amplification towers and sacred trees in the thirty-six counties of the five eastern states, and it is the hub connecting the East Sea and the inland.

"Besides," Zhang Ze said with a strange expression, "that place is exactly the same as your East Sea Carp Palace, isn't it? How could you not recognize it?"

Lord Big Carp: "Huh? Really? But the difference between looking at it from the water and looking at it from the sky is huge."

After circling briefly above the Buddhist temple, Her Majesty the Catwoman turned the steering wheel and, instead of heading straight for the Thousand Machines Pavilion, flew along the coastline towards Changzhou.

Along the way, similar hubs would appear every few hundred miles, but they were much smaller than those at the Buddhist temple and on the seabed of the East China Sea.

As the clouds and mist gradually dissipated, the group entered the territory of Changzhou.

Changzhou has not become normal because of the six sects' transformation; on the contrary, it has become even more sinister.

In the sky, pterosaurs and slanted-eyed eagles fly side by side, chasing deer that fly using their farts.

Wheels rolled across the land, and a silver metallic giraffe strolled back and forth around the amplification tower.

Under the control of the Mother Tree and the Thousand Machine Pavilion's magic array, the Floating Mountain rose into the air once more. Meanwhile, at the very center of Changzhou, the Mother Tree, imbued with the divine essence of the Sacred Tree, was...
Dozing off.

She, who was as big as a small mountain, transformed into her true form, her lower body a snake coiled up like a lump of poop.

She rested her chin on her hand, lying on the mound, her eyes closed, her head nodding off as if she were dozing.

He mumbled something from time to time, but it was impossible to understand what he was saying.

Zhang Ze, “.”

"Next stop, next stop," he urged, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Fortunately, the scenery became much more normal afterward, and nothing strange happened.

The little carp princess was completely mesmerized by the view from above; it was indeed different from when she looked up at the sky from the river.

Especially when passing by Anlan City, which was still magnificent despite lacking the South and West Gates, and the Sword Sect headquarters hidden in the mist and mountains not far away, Zhang Ze had a great time.

After traveling for another half day, as we approached Qianji Town, the sun had already set, and the landscape presented a completely different scene.

Compared to the past, the nights in Sizhou are no longer dark.

Golden glints illuminated the earth, like an inverted starry sky.

The brightest spot among them is Thousand Machine Town, which resembles a silver river on earth.

However, looking at the night view of Qianji Pavilion, Zhang Ze's expression suddenly hardened, and a bad premonition suddenly welled up in his heart.

Without saying a word, he pulled up the father and daughter who were mesmerized by the sight of the giant carp and jumped off the flying boat.

Although Ah Li, who was yawning while sitting in the chair, was a little confused, she also jumped down.

Just as Ah Li jumped down, the flying boat piloted by Her Majesty the Cat Girl was immediately locked on because it had not been reported in advance.

Logically speaking, at this point, all we need to do is do nothing, and the Thousand Machines Pavilion will guide the flying boat to land outside the formation.

But perhaps because the silly child was strong, Her Majesty the Catwoman thought the airship was stuck, so she stepped on the gas and turned the steering wheel all the way, accelerating directly from a standstill.

Unsurprisingly, her actions triggered alarms from both the Thousand Machines Pavilion and the flying boat.
At the entrance of Qianji Town, Zhang Ze looked up at the crashed flying boat and thought to himself that he was lucky he reacted quickly.

"Will she be alright?" Princess Little Carp asked after a moment's hesitation.

Zhang Ze: "It's okay, she's used to it."

Standing at the entrance of Qianji Town, Zhang Ze handed two waist tokens to the father and daughter, and then gave them some instructions, such as not to pay attention to the salesmen in black clothes, and not to touch the pancakes sold by monkeys, etc.

Finally, perhaps still feeling uneasy, he handed Ah Li back to Princess Little Carp, saying, "Ah Li, lead them around the town."

Ah Li first said "Oh," then looked at Zhang Ze suspiciously, "So, where are you going?"

Zhang Ze said, "I'll just take a stroll by myself. Kids shouldn't ask about adult matters."

After saying that, he flashed and disappeared into the night outside the town.

(End of this chapter)