Using a thick steel plate found on the Mantis Captain as protection, Li Fan, riding Hui Hui, quickly arrived in the vicinity of the volcanic stronghold.
After obtaining all observational and recorded information about the Divine Realm from the guild's branch, the Blazing Fire immediately set sail.
"Due to the joint boycott and pressure from the Kingdom of Xishureid, the Eastern Doruma United Merchants Association, and the Dragon Worship Cult, the preparations for the fifth expedition are hindered."
On his bunk in the cabin, Li Fan frowned slightly as he read the latest briefing.
"Why are they boycotting the fifth expedition to the new continent, meow?" Dilu asked, sweeping the room with a broom.
"Some likely couldn't agree on profits, while others simply don't want the guild to become too involved in the new continent," Li Fan speculated.
"Isn't it better for everyone to work together to maintain the normal functioning of the ecosystem, meow?" Dilu asked with confusion.
"It's a good thought, but each side can't even agree on their ideologies, and each faction has core interests to protect," Li Fan said helplessly.
Not long after, Ferei's voice came through the metal pipe. "Li Fan, has the destination been marked incorrectly, meow?" Ferei asked, perplexed.
"It's not marked incorrectly. I'll be up soon," Li Fan called back, and then went to the deck with Dilu.
At this moment, Ferei was looking at the route map placed in the center of the steering wheel with a confused expression.
"Li Fan! This is the Divine Realm, meow!" Ferei exclaimed, waving a paw as he saw Li Fan approach.
"Yes, we are going to the Divine Realm. Right, Dilu?" Li Fan confirmed and then asked Dilu beside him.
"I think so, meow..." Dilu replied with her head down, seemingly reluctant to answer.
"Have you guys been affected by something bad, meow?" Ferei genuinely enjoyed adventure and flying airships through various skies. However, the Divine Realm was a forbidden place, not at all suitable for approaching.
"Trust me, Ferei. I have valid reasons," Li Fan said earnestly.
"Alright, meow," Ferei said reluctantly.
Seeing the Blazing Fire change course, Li Fan exchanged a glance with Dilu, then took out the Heaven-Defying Charm and put it around his neck.
Dilu looked around for a moment and asked nervously, "Do you feel anything unusual, meow?"
"I... I need to go to the bathroom!" Li Fan clutched his stomach and hurried towards the toilet in the cabin.
A few minutes later, as he was about to leave, leaning on the doorframe, a rumble sounded in his stomach, forcing him to close the door and continue. Only after taking off the Heaven-Defying Charm did the diarrhea subside.
"You said it would turn misfortune into fortune. Where's the fortune?" Li Fan, pale-faced and sweating, complained, then stumbled out of the toilet, supporting himself on the wall, and returned to the deck.
"Ferei, change the route map. Use this one," Li Fan said, handing over a scroll.
"Phew~ You scared me! I thought we were really going to the Divine Realm, meow. The destination on this route map is... the Ancient Tower Secret Realm!" Ferei, who had just relaxed, became tense again.
The Ancient Tower region was already known for its danger and strangeness, and the Ancient Tower Secret Realm at its core was something everyone avoided. Many special individuals and rare species had been sighted and confirmed in the Ancient Tower Secret Realm. Because no one was willing to go there, ecological information about the area was scarce.
"Don't worry, we are well-prepared." Under Li Fan's reassurance, Ferei immediately adjusted the Blazing Fire's course.
The Ancient Tower Secret Realm was indeed dangerous, but compared to the Divine Realm, from which there was no return, it was still somewhat better. Holding a thick wad of toilet paper, Li Fan put on the Heaven-Defying Charm again. After waiting for about ten minutes and finding no abnormalities, he concluded, "It seems we can only go to the Ancient Tower Secret Realm."
"As long as it's not the Divine Realm, that's good, meow," Dilu said with a relieved expression.
Using the Heaven-Defying Charm to test which area to go to was Li Fan's idea after learning that the Divine Realm could cause monster mutations. The charm's "turn misfortune into fortune" might not bring great luck, but it was very sensitive to danger. The fact that he had severe diarrhea when heading towards the Divine Realm indicated extreme danger. Therefore, even if there was a possibility of monster mutations, Li Fan would not go there.
Although the Ancient Tower region was far, the habitat of the One-Eyed Black Wolf Bird was there, and it had already been planned into the travel route. Going to the Ancient Tower Secret Realm along the way to investigate the possibility of mutations would not take too much time.
As for the reason for confirming the possibility of mutations, monsters like the Gold Rathian, Silver Rathian, Savage Deviljho, Moon Nargacuga, and Lucent Nargacuga, which were beyond normal, had all been sighted and confirmed in the Ancient Tower Secret Realm. If this were in a game, it would be considered mere lore. However, in the Monster Hunter world, where everything was based on ecological surveys, the concentration of these peak combatants from various tribes in the same area was definitely not a coincidence. Especially after understanding the cause of the emergence of Aknosom and the Elder Dragon, Li Fan was convinced that there was an unknown secret in the Ancient Tower Secret Realm.
There was one more thing to do in the current deployment: recall the three monsters, Naughty, Little Fool, and Kuku. Among them, Kuku's long-distance flight capability was slightly weaker, but the One-Eyed Black Wolf Bird was in the Ancient Tower region. To help Kuku resolve its inner conflict, it had to be guided there. As for Naughty and Little Fool, they were to explore the possibility of mutating into Silver Rathian and Gold Rathian. At the same time, they could also take care of Kuku during long-distance flights.
As for Yeye, because she had formed a pair with Obscure Hidden, she had already entered a mutated state. Although the effects of mutations caused by a partner were still unknown, Li Fan speculated that she would possess invisibility abilities similar to the Obscure Hidden Night Bird. The reason Yeye was not recalled was, first and foremost, that she had already entered a mutated state, and secondly, Yeye's long-distance flight capability was also relatively poor. As for rejoining the team, the Ancient Forest was very close to Kalala Village, so she could return when they visited. The four brothers of the Ice Sea team would have a harder time catching up, so Li Fan decided to leave them in the Ice Sea for now.
Eight days later, as the Blazing Fire crossed the sea, Little Fool, Naughty, and Kuku came to rendezvous.
"I miss you all too, but please don't get too excited, the Blazing Fire can't handle it," Li Fan quickly waved his hand to signal.
Finally, after communication, Naughty and Kuku entered the Poké Balls first, leaving only Little Fool on the deck.
Not long after, Dilu and Pack carefully carried out a large tray covered with straw from the cabin. Seeing the oval dragon egg with red and green patterns on it, Little Fool let out an excited roar and jumped on the deck.
"Stop jumping, Little Fool! The Blazing Fire can't take it!" Li Fan quickly reminded. Little Fool quickly calmed down. Leaning closer, it lowered its neck and affectionately rubbed its head against the dragon egg.
"Little Fool, other Rathians lay four or five eggs in a clutch, why do you and Naughty only have one?" Li Fan asked curiously.
"Roar..."
"You don't know either... This doesn't align with existing ecological knowledge." Rathians were among the most widely distributed and numerous large monsters. Therefore, the guild's ecological surveys on Rathians were quite reliable.
As if the life inside the egg sensed Little Fool's presence, the Rathian egg trembled slightly. Little Fool paused, appearing a bit at a loss, and immediately sought help from Li Fan. Li Fan pressed his ear against the eggshell and heard a strong, clear heartbeat.
"The heartbeat is clear and strong. The child is very healthy. Don't worry too much." Hearing this conclusion, Little Fool finally relaxed. After all, the two Rathians only had this one egg, and if anything went wrong, they would be devastated.
Next, it was Naughty's turn. Naughty observed for a moment, then a small amount of flame accumulated in its throat and gushed out, spraying towards the eggshell.
"Ah! Naughty! What are you doing, meow!" Dilu exclaimed. This Rathian egg had been treated as a treasure on the ship.
"Don't be nervous, Dilu. Naughty just wants the child to feel warm. Remember the high-temperature requirements of the cabin's incubation room? That temperature is actually quite conservative," Li Fan explained.
After interacting with the dragon egg, it was Kuku's turn to appear on the deck.
"Roar..." Kuku greeted weakly, its head bowed, its eyelids slowly closing, giving a very tired impression. Its condition was indeed very poor. The fatigue caused by long-distance travel would make monsters tired, but not this dejected.
"Kuku, in about two days, you might meet a monster that can be called a companion."
"Roar?" The dejected Kuku suddenly looked up, surprise flashing in its eyes.
"However, I don't know how you will get along, but at least you can vent your frustration by fighting each other," Li Fan explained.
"Roar!" Kuku immediately became excited. The two things that could most lift its spirits now were companions and battles. With both appearing at the same time, Kuku, filled with anticipation, felt its mood instantly improve.
A day later, the Blazing Fire reached the opposite shore of the sea. As the surface mountains grew taller, the flight altitude also increased. Another day passed, and the largest ruin complex yet appeared. Just as recorded in the ecological atlas, there was perpetual fog and countless ruin remnants. This was only the outer area of the Ancient Tower; the core area had several towers as tall as the clouds. It was said that a terrifying monster resided at the top of each tower. Legends claimed that no matter when one looked up from those strange tower tops, only the night sky was visible, and the positions of the stars were completely different from those observable in other regions. Thus, many speculated that it might connect to some part of another world. However, the guild had not confirmed any information.
There were no guild branches in the Ancient Tower region, nor were there investigators stationed for observation. The reason was not that the Ancient Tower region posed little threat, but simply that it was too far from human settlements. However, related investigation and subjugation contracts could still be accepted at the guild. After all, ecological research required materials and information. If no one was willing to venture there, humanity would remain ignorant of the Ancient Tower region.
Looking at the edges of the ruin remnants faintly visible in the fog, Li Fan felt that this was a good place for Shanshan to select building materials. However, the first priority was to find the location of the One-Eyed Black Wolf Bird. As a Black Wolf Bird named "One-Eye" and recorded as a special individual by the Dragon Calendar Institute, it would have the potential to become a regional overlord in most other areas. But in the Ancient Tower region, it could only wander around the periphery.
"Go, Kuku! Guide the airship forward, but don't stray too far," Li Fan called out. Kuku took off from the deck and began searching for One-Eye using its hearing.
After circling the outer area of the Ancient Tower for four hours, Kuku, who was responsible for guiding, suddenly turned its head and flew back to the deck.
"Roar! Roar!"
"You found it so quickly!" Li Fan was also somewhat surprised to hear Kuku's urgent roar.
"Kuku, you can pinpoint its location, right?"
"Roar!"
"Alright, since it's about making friends, we need to make a grand entrance." Li Fan immediately instructed Ferei to descend.
Arriving on the ground, shrouded in thick fog, Shanshan emerged from its Poké Ball. Before Shanshan could figure out what was happening, Naughty and Little Fool, who had flown in, used their wings to create a powerful gust of wind that blew away all the surrounding mist. Seeing the ruins scattered everywhere, Shanshan raised its two forelimbs, its sickle claws clashing together.
Clang! Clang! Clang! ...
"I knew you'd like it here. This time we have plenty of materials, let's make a Mantis Captain with more steel beams," Li Fan suggested, and Shanshan happily began to work.
The dim, dark sky of the day became starry at night. Led by Kuku, the team set off and soon arrived at a ruin of an ancient tower. Because this ancient tower had broken from its base, its height was only slightly above ground level. Eroded by time and wind, it looked more like a circular plaza when viewed from above.
Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Kuku flapped its wings and eagerly landed on it. In the shadow cast by the remaining walls, a black figure turned around. A residual red beam of light appeared in the shadow.
Thump~ Thump~ The black figure took a few light steps forward. The moment it walked into the moonlight, Kuku froze. The special individual known as One-Eye had a right eye that could emit red light, and its body size was slightly smaller than its own.
"Roar... Roar..." Kuku greeted.
"My name is Kuku. Can we... be friends?" Li Fan, controlling from the remote cockpit, translated.
"Kuku is so direct, meow," Dilu said in surprise, holding her binoculars. One-Eye tilted its head, hesitated for a moment, then fixed its gaze on Kuku and slowly circled it. Kuku blinked curiously and turned its neck to meet its gaze.
"Roar... Woo-roar..." Hearing One-Eye's cry, Kuku lowered its head in disappointment.
"Did it fail, meow?" Dilu asked with some worry.
"It's not a complete failure. It said that it's very happy to find a Black Wolf Bird in this world that is similar to itself, but Kuku is too weak to inhabit the Ancient Tower region, so it hopes Kuku will leave as soon as possible," Li Fan translated.
"Roar!" After a moment of silence, Kuku let out an unwilling roar.
Clang! One-Eye raised its large beak and pecked Kuku's head, causing a few sparks to fly.
"Roar..."
"Kuku was attacked, meow! Is it going to be at a disadvantage?" Dilu asked worriedly.
"One-Eye doesn't want Kuku to shout loudly. It says this place is very dangerous," Li Fan informed her.
"Oh, then I misunderstood One-Eye, meow."
"Roar?"
"Since it's dangerous, why are you still staying here... That's a good question, Kuku," Li Fan praised. One-Eye looked up at the sky and let out a sigh-like low hum.
After half a day without a translation, Dilu put down her binoculars and noticed Li Fan in a daze, so she asked curiously, "What's wrong, meow?"
"One-Eye just said that this is the closest place to the Progenitor..."
Zhao Lala reminds you: Remember to collect after reading.