[Vol. 7] Chapter 3: The Edge of the World
In the blink of an eye, the [Noah’s Ark] had been sailing across the ocean for more than half a month.
This Sacred-tier item, designed by Violet and her companions specifically for intercontinental voyages within the game, had an undisputed speed.
At its incredible pace, they had already traveled over 20,000 nautical miles from the coastline in a straight path. Now, they were finally approaching the edge of this world.
As they sailed further from Ancient Spirit Realm, the surrounding environment began to subtly change.
The fundamental energy of the Ancient Spirit Realm was a unique force known as [Spiritual Energy]. It was somewhat similar to MP, but much purer and more refined, with a strong spiritual essence. Unlike MP, which could easily manifest elemental properties like water, fire, ice, or wind, [Spiritual Energy] remained stable and unaltered by its surroundings.
This phenomenon was due to the laws of the world. similar to how different atomic arrangements form various molecules. While both MP and [Spiritual Energy] were forms of energy, [Spiritual Energy] was far more easily absorbed by living beings, making it more nurturing.
This unique property was the reason why creatures like yokai, which were originally formed from lifeless matter, could come to life in that world.
In fact, nearly all spiritual beasts in Ancient Spirit Realm, including the Four Holy Beasts, were born from the nourishment of [Spiritual Energy]. It was one of the most defining features of that world, the very source of all life.
Because of this, warriors in Ancient Spirit Realm had a much higher baseline strength, and in rare cases, some could even break through the so-called [Seeker of Immortality] level, reaching unimaginable power.
As for the ocean, it was nothing more than a vast basin filled with water. Beneath the seabed, there was still land and flowing spiritual veins, a fact Violet had personally confirmed during their journey.
However, now she could clearly feel something different.
The [Spiritual Energy] fluctuations in the surrounding air were gradually weakening.
At the same time, the deep-sea creatures, those that had been lurking beneath the surface, always watching the [Noah’s Ark] but never daring to attack due to its massive size, were now rapidly disappearing.
It was as if they were entering a forbidden zone, a place where life itself did not belong.
"We're very close to our destination."
Standing in the central control room of [Noah’s Ark], Violet watched the real-time navigation map projected by 01 after scanning the surroundings. The small black dot representing their position had now reached the very end of the long route.
The Ancient Spirit Realm had no clearly defined boundary. In most cases, any ship attempting to sail in a single direction would eventually, after a long voyage, end up on the opposite coast, as if the world looped back on itself.
This concept was similar to a planet, which led many scholars in the Ancient Spirit Realm to believe that their world was actually a circular, closed system. The sea chart displayed on the screen marked the known western waters, mapping out the regions that explorers had been able to safely navigate.
Since this map was centered around the Ancient Spirit Realm continent, it suggested that the westernmost point of the Western Sea and the easternmost point of the Eastern Sea should theoretically connect. In other words, if they crossed this line, they would eventually find themselves returning to the eastern coastline of the Eastern Kingdom from the opposite direction.
That is under normal circumstances.
If the Eastern and Western Seas were viewed as a single, massive ocean, then [Noah’s Ark] was currently positioned at its absolute center. The most remote and isolated point, similar to the "Point Nemo" on Earth.
A place where almost no living creatures existed, where silence and desolation stretched endlessly.
And perhaps the perfect place to hide the boundary leading to the Outer Realm.
"Uh... but, boss, I just came down from the lookout tower, and I didn’t see any boundary or entrance," someone spoke up.
"All I saw was water, just endless water. Even beneath the surface, it’s eerily quiet. Do we need some kind of special method to open it?"
Without answering Le Qiaoqiao's question, Violet simply turned her gaze toward a certain fox-eared young man she had just called out from the cabin. With a bright smile, she nodded and said:
"At times like this, we should ask someone with experience."
"What do you think, Mr. Shui~?"
"Young L… ahem… Miss Violet… Spare me… That was just a random alias I made up!"
Ming Lan shook his head with a helpless laugh. As the chief external affairs officer of Spirit Veil Immortal Island and a former close aide to Dawn, he was the only person on the ship who knew that Violet was actually the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden. When he first learned the truth, he had been so shocked that it took him a long time to accept reality.
Since he couldn't call Violet "Young Lady" in front of everyone else, the chief officer let out a forced cough to cover his awkwardness before speaking.
"Our world is a closed loop. If we want to break through this cycle, we naturally need to use extraordinary means. I remember it was mentioned in 'Unusual Tales of the Four Seas and Lands,' written by Lord Wenqu of the Seven Hidden Stars, that the realm of the Western Sea is..."
"Stop right there!"
Violet immediately shot him a fierce glare, cutting off his speech before he could start a long-winded explanation.
"No long essays, got it? Just explain it in ten words or less!"
"Uh… Alright, alright…"
The chief officer scratched his head awkwardly, then raised his hand and pointed downward.
"It’s actually very simple. We go underwater."
"???" x3
As soon as he said it, not only Violet, but also Le Qiaoqiao and Hongyan, who were standing in the central control room, tilted their heads in confusion, with giant question marks practically popping up above them.
"Honored Immortal Envoy, could you explain it a bit more clearly?"
"Yeah! We’re not fish. If we dive into the ocean, won’t we just drown?"
However, compared to the two younger girls, the priestess had much broader knowledge and experience. After her initial surprise, she quickly caught on.
"You mean… these two worlds exist in different dimensions?"
Ming Lan, who had been thinking of how to explain, lit up and nodded quickly.
"As expected of Young La… err, Miss Violet. That’s exactly right. Since this method is quite troublesome, we used to just teleport there using spatial magic. But ever since the Origin Realm was sealed off a thousand years ago, the only way to get there from Ancient Spirit Realm is through this more ‘primitive’ method."
"Primitive method…"
That lined up with Xiao Kong's explanation, as well as the memories left behind by the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden.
A long time ago, Dawn often traveled between different worlds using various means. Though she slowed down after ascending to godhood, only sensing and visiting dying worlds to "collect the corpses", her experience in world traversal was extensive.
The barriers between worlds were always strange and unpredictable.
Some required leaping into a bottomless abyss, some demanded soaring into the sky until the stars and moon flipped upside down, and some only needed one to fall asleep in a polar flower field, waking up in an entirely different world.
But regardless, aside from forcibly entering a world through special summons or teleportation methods like demon portals, the forms of world-crossing cannot escape a few fixed patterns.
First, whether it's the body or soul crossing over, there must always be an absurd and surreal transition process.
Second, the crossing point is usually located at the outermost edge of a world.
Third, the number of other worlds that a single world can connect to is generally limited, at most not exceeding the number of fingers on one hand.