“What do you plan to do with me? Imprison me and torture me?” Zhang Ye asked with a smile.
Hainowei glanced at him, turned, and flew deeper into Claude Canyon with him.
“I am not like you humans,” she said.
Hearing this, Zhang Ye breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Repaying evil with kindness?
It seemed this elemental spirit's heart wasn't as cold as he had imagined.
Perhaps it was because she was a water elemental spirit.
Water was the source of all things, naturally gentle and soft, nurturing all life.
But if she ever grew angry, it would surely be as terrifying as a monstrous wave.
Before long, Hainowei brought Zhang Ye to the heart of Claude Canyon.
There lay a crystal-clear lake, its waters shimmering brilliantly under the sunlight, exceptionally beautiful.
In the center of the lake was an architectural structure resembling an altar.
Zhang Ye looked at this with interest and asked, “Did humans build this for you?”
Looking at the modest altar, a look of sorrow unconsciously welled up in Hainowei's eyes.
“Where would I find humans willing to build an altar for me now...” she said slowly, her voice deep and tinged with self-deprecation. But she quickly snapped out of it, staring at Zhang Ye with a dark expression. “Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. You are my slave now!”
Zhang Ye smiled bitterly and nodded, but in his heart, he understood.
This meant that the altar was actually built by Hainowei herself.
He recalled reading in ancient texts that becoming a god required the power of faith. As a water elemental spirit, her true form possessed the power of a deity, so she should indeed require the power of faith as well.
But Hainowei had clearly been deceived and hurt by humans, and she was no longer willing to trust them.
Her purpose in building this altar probably wasn't to collect the power of faith, but rather as a memorial or a warning.
With a wave of Hainowei's hand, a curtain of water rose around the altar. Zhang Ye fell directly onto the altar, landing flat on his butt.
“You stay in here,” Hainowei said.
“Uh...” Zhang Ye scrambled up from the ground and asked, “Then when can I go back?”
“Go back?” Hainowei let out a light chuckle. “Once my power recovers, I will consider letting you go back.”
Zhang Ye's face instantly fell.
Recover her power?
From pseudo-Saint-tier back to Nine-star Saint-tier?
Anyone could figure out that it would take an incredibly long time. The Realm Bridge Secret Realm would open in just over ten days, so he had to get back.
He had to think of a way.
After dropping Zhang Ye off, Hainowei dove straight to the bottom of the lake.
The water binding on Zhang Ye was also released. After looking around, he tried to see if he could contact Lina and the others through his badge.
However, this area clearly isolated mana. The badge's transmission relied on mana conducting to a magic enhancement tower to be re-transmitted and amplified, so he couldn't contact the outside world through the badge.
Was there any other way?
Zhang Ye scratched his head, and a light bulb suddenly went off in his mind.
He had it!
Before setting out, because Tei Tei wanted to stay in the dorm, Zhang Ye didn't feel at ease and had Gujiu stay behind to watch her. That was why Gujiu hadn't come with him.
And he could completely contact the others through Gujiu!
He had established an Equal Contract with Gujiu, so he could communicate directly through the contract. This communication was at the soul level and could span vast distances.
“Gujiu, can you hear me?” Zhang Ye immediately called out to Gujiu through the contract.
“Gujiu?” Gujiu's cute voice instantly echoed in his mind.
Zhang Ye was delighted. “Good baby!”
“Gujiu~” Although it didn't know why Zhang Ye suddenly praised it, Gujiu was still very happy.
“Gujiu, Lina and the others should be returning to the academy soon. Go find them and tell them that I am safe right now,” Zhang Ye said, getting straight to the point.
“Gujiu?” Gujiu's worried voice came through.
Zhang Ye smiled. “Big Brother is fine. Don't worry about me, I'll be back soon.”
“You must emphasize to them that they must not tell anyone else about this, not even Big Nana. This is very important, okay?”
“Gujiu!” Gujiu immediately agreed.
“Good job, Gujiu!” Zhang Ye smiled.
“Gujiu?”
“Big Brother is really fine. Don't worry, there's no danger. Be good and don't worry.”
“Gujiu gujiu~”
Severing the contract connection, Zhang Ye breathed a sigh of relief. It was great that he could make contact.
He knew Gujiu's capabilities. Even if Gujiu couldn't speak, with its intelligence, it could easily make Lina understand his meaning.
So things on Lina's side should be stabilized. Next, he had to figure out how to get back.
Hainowei certainly wouldn't let him leave easily.
Because she was still unwilling to trust humans, if the situation worsened, Zhang Ye would be her final bargaining chip.
But judging from everything he had experienced, Zhang Ye had a vague realization.
For instance, although Hainowei didn't trust humans, deep down, she likely wished she could.
Humans had deceived and hurt her in the past, probably more than once. Yet even so, she hadn't let hatred blind her to the point of recklessly killing them all. From this, it was clear that Hainowei still harbored a sliver of hope toward humans.
She probably also knew that while the ones who deceived her were bad, there could still be good people among humans.
Thus, Zhang Ye felt that what he needed to do now was to gain Hainowei's trust.
But how?
For now, Zhang Ye was completely clueless.
Helpless, he decided to first observe his surroundings—such as the altar beneath his feet.
The altar was built of ordinary rock, but due to the dense water elements, the stone had taken on a hint of watery essence.
The concentration of water elements here was a hundred times that of the outside world!
Perhaps it was because the water spirit resided here.
As expected of one of the world's Ten Great Elemental Spirits. Even though she was merely a severely injured avatar, she could still affect the ecology of an entire region. With such power, it was no wonder humans had targeted her.
Zhang Ye walked around, observing the runes carved on the altar.
The altar wasn't large, forming a square with sides only twenty meters long.
Zhang Ye crouched down and gently caressed the runes on the surface of the altar, his brow furrowing slightly.
These runes... were not the key to activating the altar. Or rather, this altar hadn't been completed at all and couldn't be activated; it was purely superficial.
These runes seemed more like a type of ancient script, narrating something.
The next moment, a gleam flashed in Zhang Ye's eyes, and the translation of those runes appeared in his mind.
The system's translation function could translate not only spoken language but also written text!
Looking at the runes on the ground, Zhang Ye fell into deep thought.
“For profit, can humans plunge their blades into their former companions?”
“For the Pure Water Origin, can they sentence me to death?”
“Why is it that of the hundreds of millions I saved, only a mere handful stood up for me?”
“I trusted them twice, but twice they disappointed me.”
“Hainowei Siren, it's time to learn your lesson.”
“It's nice here. Although there is no one to talk to, at least I won't get hurt.”
“I want to go outside and see what the world out there has become.”
“No, stop your terrifying thoughts, Hainowei, unless you want to die.”
“This is your last chance.”
“I cannot let them discover me.”
“I am starting to grow weary...”
Gently caressing the ancient text carved who-knows-how-long ago, Zhang Ye's eyes trembled slightly.
Do you... also feel lonely?
...
...
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