Chapter 313: Section 101: Temple Murals
“Surprisingly, all ten ships made it inside,” the Dragon-man youth exhaled a murky breath.
The start was unexpectedly smooth; initially, he had thought that a fierce battle, possibly costing them several ships, was likely.
After entering the Half-plane, it was followed by the roaring sound of the Sky Pillar Sea Eye erupting. But before them lay a tranquil and peaceful scene, not a single gust of wind, the azure water smooth as a mirror.
There were no other buildings, just a temple as large as a mountain that captured everyone’s attention.
As Feng Yao had said, this deep blue temple was entirely constructed from a mysterious metal, its lines straight and rigid. It stood on the surface of the sea, displaying its solemn majesty.
Boom, boom, boom!
...
Sounds of booming from within the temple mingled with the hissing of a six-headed snake were heard, clearly indicating that the Barbarian Holy Domain had chased the six-headed snake into the temple and was still in combat.
A chill ran through everyone’s hearts.
This Barbarian man was truly ferocious.
The drums of war blared from the Barbarian’s warship, accompanied by the distant sound of bugles, their morale sky-high!
Whether it was the Justice Pirate Group or the Mother Tree and other pirate groups, all had benefited from these Barbarians.
Who were these people exactly?
No one knew.
On the Barbarians’ ships, there were neither flags nor symbols. Their actions were quite ostentatious, but there was no sign of wanting to reveal their identities.
The Dragon-man youth couldn’t help but recall the Barbarian man’s shouting earlier; he was on a divine mission, could it be… a Divine Envoy?
Thinking this, the Dragon-man youth realized why the Barbarian man was so arrogant and filled with confidence.
Though the Mei Lan deity was in poor condition, trapped in slumber, this was still His Main Temple.
Once He awakened or manifested in any form, He could annihilate everyone who invaded the Half-plane.
If the Holy Beast were to be mortally wounded, it might also awaken the furious Mei Lan deity.
But the Barbarian man did not fear, perhaps because as a Divine Envoy, he was also under the watch of the Barbarian deities, ready to provide support at any moment.
After all, this was a Half-plane, not a Divine Country.
In a Divine Country, other deities’ Divine Powers and even gazes could not penetrate.
The Barbarian warship stormed into the temple.
Other groups followed close behind.
Each maintained a respectful distance, wary of trespassing on others’ territories.
Even the Mother Tree pirate group, which harbored great hatred for the Justice Pirate Group, did the same. Here, the primary focus was to unearth treasured relics; grudges and animosities were set aside for the moment.
The Justice Pirate Group also rushed into the temple.
The temple doors were wide open, no tiles on the floor, just a jade-like water surface.
The ten warships of the Justice Pirate Group glided over the water, the ripples and waves swiftly subsiding, leaving the water ten steps from the ship calm.
There was no impediment at the entrance of the temple.
The Justice Pirate Group still remained in perfect condition.
Feng Yao said, “I remember that the last time I was here, there were a fair number of guards.”
Cang Xu replied, “Perhaps they were conveniently killed by that Barbarian Holiness, or they saw the overwhelming enemy force and chose to retreat into the Underwater Temple.”
The Mei Lan Temple was split into both underwater and above water sections; the underwater part was the core.
Zong Ge frowned, “If it were me, I would definitely choose to abandon defense here, consolidate my forces, focus on defending the Underwater Temple, and fully leverage the racial advantages and conveniences of our side.”
“This means, we might face tremendous resistance moving forward.”
The Dragon-man youth sighed, “Let’s continue forward; right now, we can only take one step at a time. On the brighter side, at least there are other pirate groups to share the firepower.”
Entering the temple’s main entrance, they arrived in a large hall.
The hall was very spacious; the ten pirate ships of the Justice Pirate Group seemed like ants on a plate.
Magic light shimmered here, providing everyone with a clear view.
“How odd, where did those pirates who entered before us go?”
“It’s too quiet here, eerily quiet.”
“Look quickly, there are huge murals on the wall!”
Everyone cast their glances, indeed seeing many murals.
These murals were enormous, created with engraving techniques, with smooth and elegantly flowing lines. The main character depicted was a mermaid.
Mermaids and Fishmen are two different species.
Simply put, mermaids have human torsos and fish tails, whereas Fishmen are fishes that have grown limbs.
In the first mural, a female mermaid was curled up with her lower body, her arms outstretched like wings, palms facing upwards. Her face was extremely beautiful, her eyes tightly closed, with a radiant glow shimmering between her eyebrows, absorbing the surrounding elements; clearly, she was meditating.
“That’s the Mei Lan Goddess!” Feng Yao said excitedly.
The pirate ships quietly glided forward inside the hall, gradually revealing Ivanka’s mural.
In the painting, the Mei Lan Goddess held a Magic Wand, standing proudly among rolling waves, her figure graceful and elegant. Her enemy, a monstrous octopus, was sinking into the waves, wounded all over, its blood reddening the surrounding sea.
This depicted the scene where Mei Lan, the Goddess, annihilated the Sea Monster.
Next, there were the third, fourth, fifth paintings…
Some depicted the Goddess leading her followers to fill ocean trenches, some showed her commanding an army that fiercely defeated the enemy, and another showed the Goddess cradling a mermaid baby, surrounded by cheering crowds.
By the eighth painting, Mei Lan ascended into the starry skies, surrounded by twinkling stars, while countless believers knelt on the earth below.
Many, upon seeing this, suddenly understood. These paintings depicted the illustrious life achievements of the Goddess Mei Lan.
By the twelfth painting, Mei Lan stood opposed by many deities.
She was only accompanied by three deities, while across from her stood more than a dozen divine beings, a formidable array. Above the heads of these deities, an eye burst forth with infinite light—this was the Holy Emblem of the Holy Bright sect, representing its master—the Holy Emperor!
The two sides confronted each other, giving off a palpable sense of tension that was immediately perceptible.
The next three paintings described the battle between Mei Lan and the Holy Bright Empire.
Though no divine war erupted, the skirmishes between the followers and armies were brutally fierce. Although Mei Lan’s side often lost more than it won, whenever the battles took place underwater, they often had a clear advantage in terms of terrain and defense.
In the seventeenth painting, a witch was depicted with only her head and lower legs visible, holding a large pharmaceutical bottle with a round bottom and long neck. She tipped the bottle slightly to pour out a stream of purple potion. This potion flowed into the seawater causing surrounding mermaids, Fishmen, and Naga to clutch their throats, their eyes rolling back in agony.
“Poison Witch?” Cang Xu’s pupils shrank as he recognized the witch in the painting.
“It must be her,” Feng Yao nodded in agreement.
Like the War Merchant, the Poison Witch was also an Alchemy Grandmaster, specializing in the creation of deadly potions. She was a confidante of the Holy Emperor, existing at a Legendary Level of life.
In the eighteenth painting, believers knelt praying under the statue of Mei Lan, surrounded by a multitude of bodies killed by the toxins. However, the number of praying believers was rather scant. The statue itself had tears streaming down.
In the nineteenth painting, Mei Lan used her Divine Power with a benevolent expression to heal her believers. The believers were jubilant, many appearing to have recovered, and some corpses even resurrected. But behind Mei Lan, a Thief with a Dagger was stealthily approaching; the Dagger was about to plunge into Mei Lan’s back, yet she was completely unaware.
Following this, the twentieth painting depicted the Dagger penetrating Mei Lan’s divine body, Mei Lan falling to the ground, but from her body emerged many duplicates.
These duplicates were enveloped in spherical haloes, each looking different, like meteors scattering and flying away.
“Silent God, Wave God, Water Flower God, Fish God…” Everyone identified these duplicates one by one.
“Wait, is that… the Net Goddess?!” Lan Zao exclaimed in shock.
From these duplicates, he identified the deity he worshipped.
It turned out the Net Goddess was also a duplicate of Mei Lan.
The twenty-first painting, the last painting, depicted an inner chamber.
The chamber was circular, with Mei Lan’s body lying in suspended sleep on a large shell-shaped bed at the very center. On the surrounding walls, niches held many statues. These were the Silent God, Wave God, Water Flower God, Fish God, Net Goddess, and others.
These statues each emitted either a strong or a weak light, the beams shining on Mei Lan’s body, seemingly healing her.
The Dragon-man youth observed the mural closely: “The chamber has rippling waters, it must be in the Underwater Temple.”
Feng Yao covered his heart, tears streaming down: “Seeing these paintings a second time, my heart aches even more. My Goddess, let me come and save you!”
“What should we do next?” Cang Xu asked.
No more paintings followed but a wall.
The great hall had no exit; ten pirate ships were trapped here unless they could go back through the main temple doors.
“There must be a way, otherwise where did all those pirates who came before us go?” Lan Zao suggested.
Feng Yao nodded, “There is a Magic Array here, once activated, a suction vortex will form in front of this wall. Entering the vortex will take us into the Underwater Temple.”
This information was crucial, but Feng Yao had concealed it and never mentioned it before.
Feng Yao looked solemnly at the Dragon-man youth: “Captain Long Fu, I would like to propose a new covenant to you.”
“What are the terms? Let’s hear them,” the Dragon-man youth smiled.
Cang Xu’s face remained expressionless.
Zong Ge scoffed.
Feng Yao gave a bitter smile: “I hope that after you enter the Underwater Temple, you refrain from actions that may endanger Mei Lan’s existence.”
The Dragon-man youth shook his head, his expression serious: “I can’t promise that. We’re pirates, here to plunder treasures. The Temple guards will not let us pass. Whether it’s looting or battling these guards, it’s all endangering Mei Lan.”
Zong Ge stared at Feng Yao: “Since those pirate groups before us managed to get in, activating this Magic Array can’t be that difficult. We might not even need you.”
“One with Gray” also voiced out, his face tense: “Third in command!”
“I know,” Feng Yao waved his hand at “One with Gray”, “I’m also a pirate, I perfectly understand everyone’s viewpoint. Well, let’s revise the covenant to ‘not intentionally harm Mei Lan’s main body or her duplicates.’ As for the temple’s treasures or those guards, handle them as you see fit.”
The Dragon-man youth, along with Cang Xu and Zong Ge, looked at each other, not agreeing immediately, but said, “We need to discuss this.”
“Please do.”
After discussing in the captain’s quarters, they decided to accept Feng Yao’s new covenant, and both parties swiftly used the Contract Scroll.
“Thank you all for understanding,” Feng Yao sighed with relief, channeling his Mana to activate the Magic Array.
The previously smooth surface of the water suddenly formed a vortex.
The ships of the Justice Pirate Group had already prepared for submergence, plunging into the vortex one by one.
Once inside the vortex, the Dragon-man youth’s body suddenly emitted multiple Divine Arts imprints.
Whoosh.
The lights burst suddenly, and the Dragon-man youth disappeared from the spot.