They flipped over the longboats that had fallen outside the village.
They picked up the scattered oars and placed them on the boats.
The boats were slowly pushed back to the center of the village.
The square was clear of pirates, leaving only a thick pool of blood soaking through the bamboo planks below.
Small scraps of flesh still clung to the cracks between the bamboo.
"Alright, get aboard."
The men nodded, divided into three groups, and boarded the three longboats.
A woman, probably in her thirties, looked up at Alka and the others.
"Thank you, thank you. Thank you for your help. The flower fairy will surely grant you a boon."
Alka simply smiled and nodded.
"Alright, get aboard, or we won't have time to cross the Green Belt before nightfall."
She turned to look at the puppet girls nearby.
Two teams were selected and ordered to follow the girls as they were escorted to the Gray Vine Fortress.
Watching these unfortunate captives leave the place that had become their nightmare aboard the ship,
"It's over. Let's go too," Alka said, turning to look at the crowd behind him.
Boarding the Swallow.
Slowly gliding out of the gate.
The waters were littered with corpses, dyeing the area completely crimson.
Countless fish gathered in this area.
Today's food was exceptionally plentiful compared to usual.
This also meant that the fish in this area were more plentiful than usual.
Sailed across the emerald green sea, heading in one direction, continuously moving forward.
Looking at the village gradually receding behind him, Alka waved his hand gently, and a card flew out in an arc.
Soon, the village was ablaze with flames. All sin and filth will be extinguished in the fire.
…
Another different night beneath the starry sky.
A few illuminating stones were hung on the Flying Swallow.
It stood out against the vast, calm surface of the swampy sea.
Closer, one could hear the thrum of propellers in the water.
Everyone was either on board or on the propellers at the rear.
Even Pororo didn't want to stay in these waters any longer.
Suddenly, the boat lurched.
"Hit something again?"
Arka leaned down helplessly.
The light pierced the water, peering down at the vine-tangled area below.
Several more skeletons, now overgrown with seaweed, lay tangled and piled together, blocking their path.
A long stick formed from the pink mist poked at the skeletons, loosening them and breaking the vines wrapped around them before they could continue forward.
The scattered bones swirled around, floating on the surface.
"These bones again! How annoying!" Pororo said irritably, seeing the bones floating on the surface.
The reason he hadn't wanted to swim much these past few days was because the waters in this area were truly unclean.
The vines themselves intertwined below, keeping the water depth at just over a meter most of the time.
Even at this low altitude, various skeletons and corpses were often scattered around the area, making them a frequent occurrence and a real nuisance.
Sometimes, you'd even encounter fresh corpses that had drifted in from nowhere.
There were also some rotting body parts that hadn't been completely eaten.
"A ship is passing us."
The patrol plane that had been flying overhead transmitted a signal to Simon. As he spoke, he floated into the sky.
They saw another small boat in the distance, a dim light on it.
Thankfully, it wasn't heading towards them, but rather, it was heading forward, just as they were.
"It's all right, they must be other people in the area," Simon said, jumping back onto the boat.
However, it seemed contrary to their expectations. A few moments later, several more small boats of varying sizes arrived.
They were all coming from different directions, converging in this area.
"Why are there so many boats so late at night?" Sofia asked, somewhat puzzled.
These boats showed no hostility; instead, they kept a safe distance from each other. At least it was difficult to see the people on board; only vague outlines could be discerned.
"There must be some gathering place nearby."
Alka could only think of this as the only possible explanation.
Sure enough, they soon spotted what looked like a forest at the end of their sight.
The forest wasn't very large, but it was visible from a distance because of the flickering lights within.
The ships ahead of them had all stopped near or around the forest.
"Slow down."
As the words fell, the propellers behind them immediately stopped turning, making a slight clicking sound.
The ship slowly drifted away.
Yi and two other crew members immediately dove into the water and swam quickly towards the area.
They weren't sure what the place was for, so it was best not to approach it rashly.
Not long after, the slowly advancing Feiyan received a message from Yi.
"She said it looked a bit like a trading market."
Hearing this, Alka frowned.
"A trading market...in a place like this, and at night?"
It looked a bit like a black market in some cities.
After a moment's thought, Alka looked at the others, then nodded at Lucilia.
He then called over Sofia, Jason, and Simon.
"The four of us will go in for a stroll. You wait outside."
They nodded.
Soon, the boat approached the small forest.
The small forest appeared. It wasn't very large.
As mentioned earlier, the forest was about the size of an ordinary market area. However, there was a wide, cleared path ahead.
However, the small boats approaching were mostly paddle boats. Alka and his companions also stopped their boats at the outer edge.
Then Alka led Jason and the others into the area. Entering the grove, two guards, dressed more discreetly and wearing masks, glanced at them and then paid no more attention.
They then stepped onto the same bamboo wooden racks as before, making a creaking sound as they walked inside.
These racks were built around the surrounding branches, with a stall next to almost every tree.
There weren't many people here.
Those coming and going were generally spaced at a distance.
Despite the crowds, the place seemed remarkably silent, giving off an eerie quiet.
They slowly wandered around.
Observing the way these people traded.
They all used hand gestures. After a moment's careful observation, they all used gold sails as units.
"Do you have anything to buy?" Alka whispered in their ears. At the same time, he was also looking at the stalls.
Suddenly, Simon squatted down and pointed at a blackened steel structure on the stall, still stained with dirt and corrosion.
The shopkeeper, clad in a black robe, couldn't see his face clearly. He glanced up at Simon briefly, then raised his hand to make the sign "6."
Simon thought for a moment, then pointed to several similar objects nearby and made a circle.
He made the signs "2" and "3."
The shopkeeper pondered for a moment, nodded, and handed Simon a cloth strip.
Simon took it, reached in with his other hand, and placed 23 coins inside, handing it to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper shook it and gestured for him to come in.
Simon simply put away his purchases and continued to follow the crowd without a word.
Soon, everyone had walked around the small venue. After Alka checked with everyone with his eyes, and after confirming they didn't want to buy anything, he led them away.
They returned to the boat.
"Let's sail away. It's nothing to worry about."
The boat slowly started moving, continuing on its way.
"How's it inside?" Pororo asked.
Alka shook his head with a hint of disdain. "To be honest, it's not very good. It looks like stolen goods. There's hardly any in good condition."
Many of the items they had just seen, especially the equipment, were stained with blood.
These people hadn't even bothered to wipe them off.
And the materials themselves were even worse; the preservation wasn't great.
It was like they were selling stolen goods.
And perhaps because the prices were high in this place, there was no point in buying anything ordinary.
"This area is so chaotic, it's hard to find a place like this where you can trade." Simon said, his purchase appearing in his hand.
Jason looked at it and asked curiously, "So what did you buy?"
It looked like a construct or something.
"It's a semi-finished product commonly used by church members, usually used as a core. It might have been stolen or looted. Although the quality isn't great, it's still okay as a consumable."
Hearing this, everyone nodded.
"There's a boat following us," Sofia suddenly said.
It seemed someone recognized these unfamiliar faces.
However, before they could do anything, Sofia said, "They turned and left."
"Huh? Leaving so soon? I thought we were going to be robbed today," Jason said with some regret.
"Speaking of which, how far are we from our destination? It's been so many days," Juanlu asked, looking at Alka.
They had been sailing for about seven or eight days since leaving the pirate village.
Alka glanced at the map in his hand, calculated, and then said, "The guidance is getting stronger. We should be out soon."
Everyone nodded at Alka's words.
The next day.
The curtain was pulled back, and daylight had already fallen seven or eight hours later.
Alka, drowsy on the boat, suddenly woke up.
"We're here! We're here!"
The blessing bestowed upon him by the flower fairy was instantly activated, waking him awake.
There had been no signs, and the premonition hadn't grown much in strength, yet suddenly it had arrived.
At Alka's words, Jason, who was steering the boat, immediately stopped it, and everyone quickly stood up.
"Where are we?" Pororo asked, glancing around.
This place was no different from most of the areas they'd been sailing through; there was nothing noticeably special about it.
Alka closed his eyes and took a few steps around the boat, finally opening them suddenly at the bow.
"This is it. From here, entering the dream world should lead us to the area the flower fairy mentioned where the treasure is hidden."
Hearing this, Simon, sitting nearby, suddenly said, "So we come here, you enter the dream world and get it, and then we go back and it's done?"
"Yeah."
"Is that so simple? Isn't that too simple?"
They had done nothing but rush on their way.
"That's not easy," Sofia said, shaking his head.
"What the flower fairy wants is to be able to enter the dream world here, not just sleep and dream here and then wake up. Those are two completely different concepts."
Hearing this, Simon understood instantly and nodded.
Indeed, these were two completely different tasks of varying difficulty.
Entering a dream from reality is incredibly difficult.
Only Alka could do it.
At the very least, one would need to possess a treasure related to dreams, or perhaps a powerful, targeted spell.
However, Alka didn't enter the dream immediately.
Instead, he stood at the bow, pondering.
After a moment's thought, he turned to look at Sofia.
Seeing Alka's look, Sofia shook his head helplessly, and silver ripples began to spread outward.
"Wait for me to take a tour around here." With that, he began steering the boat, circling the area.
Seeing Sofia's understanding, Alka couldn't help but smile.
"We already know the location, so why do we need to go around and draw a map?" Matlisa asked, somewhat puzzled, perhaps understanding Alka's intentions.
"I want to see if I can even sense the treasure hidden in a dream through a map."
Hearing this, everyone nodded in understanding.
This was indeed a rare experimental opportunity; it would only take a little more time and effort on Sofia's part.
Alka himself wanted to know.
Would a treasure hidden this way appear on a normal map? Or would it appear on a map based on dreams?
However, Alka didn't know how to draw a map of a dream, since it was a vast space without the concept of land.
Since the map Alka needed wasn't large, Sofia sailed a short circle and then began drawing on the boat.
Everyone waited silently.
It only took about two hours for Sofia to hand the finished map to Alka.
Alka blinked at the nearly unchanged map in his hands.
Then, a golden light appeared in the very center of the map.
After all, the map was originally drawn for this spot in the middle, a treasure spot they had long known about.
Point at this golden light.
[Heart of the Heavenly Flower]
[Difficulty: World Traveler/Flower Messenger]
[Popularity: 1]
[Treasure Information: The core of the Heavenly Flower, an ancient divine plant, a divine essence. This is the core of the original Heavenly Flower.
Before the Flower Fairy died, someone was entrusted by her to hide the item she entrusted them with.
To obtain the treasure, one must enter the dream at a specific location, reaching the hidden layer between the two realms.
The core is located here.]
The information was still imperfect, but it fully explained how to obtain the treasure.
After all, this was information Alka already knew.
The heart of the original Heavenly Flower was also a divine essence. It seemed just as Alka had imagined. This item might be what helped the Flower Fairy recover further.
He thought for a moment and put the map away.
He turned to the crowd and said, "Wait a moment, I'll be right back."
With that, mist filled the surroundings, and golden and silver energies began to flow from the mirror. Mixed with the pink mist, it formed a thin film.
The color of this film was like the environment in a dream, distorted and abstract.
Alka entered it.
He had to enter with his real body to be considered a dream.
Stepping through the film, Alka looked at the people around him.
The surroundings changed.
This was a green paradise.
Dense trees and vines formed the border.
And in its center stood a celestial flower, only one meter tall.
The petals closed, and wisps of light shone through the gaps between them.
The alluring, invigorating fragrance of the flower permeated Alka's nostrils.
The scent alone possessed a restorative element.
He took two deep breaths.
His entire brain relaxed slightly, a feeling of well-rested energy.
He strolled over to the flower.
The blessing bestowed upon him by the flower fairy on his forehead shimmered faintly.
Suddenly, a breeze blew, and the petals swirled around the celestial flower in a slow spiral.
As if sensing the mark of the flower fairy's blessing.
The petals began to slowly open.
A pink-white sphere of energy floated in the center, densely inscribed with symbols, forming a flower-like pattern.
Alka could sense the power within it.
They had seen this object before, in the hands of Juanlu and Mathilda, in the Tower of Trials.