Chapter 801 Worldly Bliss <TOC> Chapter 803 The Goddess of the Sea
Translator: SumTLMan
“In the midst of such a critical moment, he unexpectedly starts crafting?” Jiebo mused internally, wondering if the previously exhibited mania was a display of a sudden inspiration.
This viewpoint was gradually confirmed by Jiebo, who was aware that Angel was generally reserved and self-controlled, unlikely to demonstrate such unbridled behavior spontaneously.
“Intriguing, what might the product of alchemy under the influence of sudden inspiration look like?” Jiebo sat cross-legged on the ocean floor, leisurely observing the clear night sky after the stormy waves had gradually subsided.
Meanwhile, after nearly two hours of singing, the mermaid princess finally showed signs of exhaustion. Her throat was somewhat parched, and seeing her voice waning, the wizard showed no signs of reproach, so she gradually halted her song.
As the mermaid princess ceased her singing, the surrounding winds and waves seemed to dissipate. The knights around her drew near, adopting a protective stance.
“Your Highness, should we allow the Shell Spirit to sink back?” inquired a handsome merman, his ear adorned with a black seashell.
The mermaid princess was somewhat caught between a rock and a hard place. Judging from the wizard’s demeanor previously, he didn’t seem to harbor any ill intentions. But now, with the song over and no reaction from him, she wondered if abruptly leaving might provoke his wrath.
After a moment of deep thought, she softly said, “Let’s wait and see.”
With the princess’s decision made, the surrounding merman knights didn’t dare defy her. Nevertheless, to ensure safety, they ushered the little mermaids into the safety of the Shell Spirit. Should danger arise, the Shell Spirit’s defense might offer a glimmer of hope.
At this point, whether it was Jiebo under the sea, the merfolk on Coral Island, or Drew on the Gondola, they all watched quietly at the foggy illusion suspended in the sky, awaiting Angel’s reappearance.
As time steadily flowed, the night grew thicker, yet no movement was detected in the illusion.
Drew was somewhat anxious, unsure of what had befallen Lord Pat. The merfolk on Coral Island, however, were continuously restless.
Only at the seabed, where Jiebo had almost entirely melded with the ocean current, was he unhurriedly waiting for the variable to unfold.
The variable Jiebo envisaged was the Alchemy Omen Sign. Presumably, Angel’s inspired creation would inevitably summon an Omen Sign. However, he wondered if he could discern what Angel was crafting from the Omen Sign?
However, to Jiebo’s surprise, the first variable to arrive was not the Omen Sign.
Instead, it was a magnificent and beautiful piece of music.
Jiebo considered himself an individual who never appreciated music. Even the earlier chant of the mermaid princess from the Rogue tribe, he found it merely tolerable.
But the music now flowing from the illusion seemed to strike a chord in his long-slumbering heart. As the melody echoed, the whole ocean seemed to stir. As a son of the sea, he could feel that even though the sea had regained its calm, with the arrival of this music, the aura of the ocean had suddenly changed.
It was an ineffable sensation, as though even the ocean acknowledged the harmony of this melody.
This melody, it seemed, was both explaining and expressing its love for the ocean.
As the music burgeoned, Jiebo felt his heartbeat pounding intensely, a sensation he had never experienced while listening to music before.
What on earth was this melody?!
Not only Jiebo, but also the merfolk, who revered the sea as their mother, were all staring in astonishment at the misty illusion in the sky. The music emanating from the illusion might not be perfect, might not be as stunning as the songs sung by the mermaid princess, but merely hearing this melodious piece, the merfolk felt as though they were witnessing the eternal, ebb and flow of the vast ocean.
The only one in the venue who remained indifferent to the music was probably Drew. After all, he was missing an ear, which distorted the sound. Furthermore, being human, he found it hard to relate to the sense of identity the merfolk had. Nevertheless, even so, Drew still found the music beautiful. Most importantly, it didn’t have the alluring sensation that the merfolk’s songs had, making it much safer to listen to. Moreover, it was majestic, with each melody seeming to mimic the tide rushing towards you.
However, while Drew was enjoying the music, he also had a lingering doubt in his mind, “Where did this music come from? Could it be that Lord Pat is playing the piano inside?”
At this moment, inside the illusion in the sky, there indeed was something playing music, but it wasn’t a person, it was a Teacup Band.
Angel’s eyes were bright red, his hands operating at high speed, controlling the temperature, using his Magic Hands to hold different materials for crafting.
Beside him, was a Teacup Band that he had summoned from the Nightmare Domain.
The song the Teacup Band was playing was one that Angel had taught them out of boredom. It was also the song that Angel decided would accompany the music box he was crafting today.
The burst of inspiration was fleeting, and to maintain the illusion in his mind, Angel had to manifest it into reality.
Angel decided to craft a music box.
The reason he chose a music box was twofold: first, because the illusion required music to open, and Angel was adept at making music boxes; second, seeing the mermaid princess being admired by everyone, Angel had a thought and remembered that Mirror Lady had once asked him to craft an alchemical illusion.
The requirements for the illusion were to be colorful but not vulgar, to have flesh but also texture, and to include a lot of “male color”. Furthermore, Angel was to refer to the extremely vulgar adult opera, Feast Dance Charm.
Angel went to see it himself, and all he saw in Feast Dance Charm was an extreme taste for “color”, he couldn’t find any so-called texture at all.
Angel later even considered “betraying his Mentor for fame”, but luckily, Mirror Lady went into seclusion, and Angel put the crafting aside.
However, while Angel had temporarily ceased his crafting, he was constantly fostering a vision in his heart. This time, inspired by the sight of the Mermaid Princess and her knights, as well as the accompanying music and scenery, a fountain of creativity burst forth from within him.
Hence, the spontaneous alchemical display.
Of course, Angel’s alchemical process wasn’t influenced by any frivolous considerations. He was merely being true to himself, re-etching his burst of inspiration.
Furthermore, this was no ordinary illusion.
Most illusions, once Angel had laid eyes on them, could easily be replicated.
However, this alchemical illusion he was crafting was different. It was an amalgamation of the ordinary illusion with a fleeting “feeling” that he had encountered during his bout of madness.
This “feeling” was something he could not express clearly at the moment – a peculiar concept that emerged when he was completely immersed in the Mermaid Princess’s singing.
Angel was aware that if he missed this moment of inspiration, even if he could perfectly replicate the current illusion in the future, that elusive “feeling” would no longer be present.
Therefore, he was so eager in his alchemical endeavors, even disregarding time and place.
As the outer shell of his creation neared completion, Angel was about to execute the most crucial step – solidifying the illusion nodes onto his alchemy, and infusing them with his previous burst of inspiration.
Closing his eyes, he allowed his thoughts to roam freely. The previous scenes flowed through his mind like a river. His hands moved of their own accord, as if not under his control, melding the mysterious feeling he had brushed upon into the illusion.
Unbeknownst to Angel, while he was totally engrossed, the music infused into the illusion began to seep out, accompanied by a strange wave of fluctuation.
…
Outside, it was already the early hours of the morning, but the illusion in the sky had yet to dissipate.
The music that had originally diffused into the surroundings had now been silent for almost three hours.
Despite this, Jiebo was still ruminating on the stirring impact that the music had on him. He had never before heard a song that, through its melody alone, could instigate a change in the aura of the nearby sea.
Describing such a change in aura was beyond Jiebo’s capabilities, but an analogy could be made. For instance, a person’s aura could be indecent one moment, but become impeccably pure the next, all without any physical change in appearance. The transformation was solely in an elusive aura.
Of course, the change in the sea’s aura that Jiebo detected was not such a drastic upheaval, but rather a subtle shift – a clearer and brighter sensation, so to speak.
It was as if the music had resonated with some intricate pattern of the sea.
Jiebo also attempted to resonate with the sea’s pattern by humming the music, but to no avail. Was there a unique method in Angel’s rendition of the music?
As Jiebo stood mired in his puzzlement, the music that had taken a long intermission erupted unexpectedly from the phantasmagoria again.
Without hesitation, Jiebo shelved his chaotic thoughts, preparing to immerse himself fully in the remarkable intricacies hidden within the melody. However, when he started to listen to the music again, his pupils abruptly contracted.
As the melody poured into his ears, his vision altered dramatically. It was as if he had been transported to another world, a world where the sea roared and raged uncontrollably—
Jiebo found himself seated in a fragile boat, swaying amidst tumultuous waves, his life hanging by a thread between the rising and falling tides.
If it were any other time, Jiebo, as an embodiment of the ocean, would not fear such a tempestuous sea. But in this world, he didn’t know who he was; all his memories seemed to have been veiled.
All he knew was that he was a fisherman, desperately trying to survive aboard a simple boat. For the first time, the terror of the vast ocean unfolded before Jiebo’s eyes.
With each wave, Jiebo had to secure himself on the boat. Amidst the relentless succession of waves, he also had to chart a course home.
But lightning, torrential rain, hurricanes, and tsunamis were all obstructing Jiebo’s path home. As a massive wave, several dozen meters high, swept up the boat, it capsized, tossing Jiebo into the air. Despite catching the edge of the boat at the last moment, he still found himself in danger. Most of his body was submerged in the sea, with only his head bobbing above the surface.
The briny taste of the sea filled Jiebo’s nostrils and mouth, making him feel like he was at death’s door. At that moment, a song rang out from an unknown source.
With his final moments ticking away, Jiebo cast his gaze in the direction of the singing. He could vaguely make out something glowing amidst the waves, but his vision was blurred.
It was not until his complete demise that he managed to catch sight of some strands of hair and the hem of a skirt fluttering in the wind from the edge of the waves. There was a person in the midst of the waves?
Jiebo’s eyes snapped open.
He gasped for breath, taking several moments to regain his bearings and realize he was still under the sea… The strange experience seemed to have been just a dream.
Yet everything in the dream was so real! As a child of the sea, he had felt the threat of the ocean and the fear of death for the first time! And who was the person singing amidst the waves at the end?
However, these questions had to wait. As Jiebo slowly regained his senses, he noticed his reactions had been so intense that even the giant turtle had turned to look at him.
Worried that Angel might discover him, Jiebo quickly transformed back into a bubble and merged with the sea. But as half his body turned into foam, his expression suddenly froze: “My bottleneck… seems to have loosened a bit?”
Chapter 801 Worldly Bliss <TOC> Chapter 803 The Goddess of the Sea