The sky above suddenly darkened.
The two of them looked up, only to see tens of thousands of sharks lingering. Some sharks were as large as whales, some appeared ferocious with horns, and others had shrimp soldiers and crab generals riding on their backs.
In preparation for the First Stage of the Value game, Li Changzhou had studied marine life and recognized many sharks such as the great white shark, red-tail shark, tiger shark, whale shark, nurse shark, sawshark, goblin shark, whitetip reef shark, blue shark, and rainbow shark among hundreds of others, yet he did not recognize a vast majority of the tens of thousands of sharks before him.
"Shark Formation." Lan Daoheng's whisper came from beside his ear, "One of the Three True Ones of the East Sea, Dragon Coil the True Person, was bitten to death by sharks."
Li Xidao's expression grew very serious, well aware of the formation that had killed a real person.
The five of them used spells to conceal their forms, but before such an enormous and keenly scented swarm of sharks, they subconsciously held their breath as well.
The sharks patrolled back and forth majestically, only dispersing like dark clouds after a long while.
"Shall we proceed?" Li Xidao asked cautiously, somewhat shaken.
Without hope for immortality, his entry into the palace was for the enjoyment of wealth and splendor, not to court death.
Li Changzhou ignored him, waiting as Turquoise Pool shook a wisp of mist from her sleeve, and the two proceeded into the Dragon Palace.
The mist twined around them like a snake, rendering the palace maids blind to their presence.
Lan Daoheng and Lantian Jade exchanged glances and cast spells too, following behind. Li Xidao had no choice but to hesitate for a moment before following suit.
The path underfoot was paved with thick white sand, adorned with countless pearls like stones, soft and comfortable underfoot.
On either side of the path were artificial hills, each with its nooks either filled with water plants or housing swimming fish and crabs, with the largest nooks resembling platforms displaying jade clams.
The Bivalve Pearls were bright and spread out like streetlights, creating a spectacular scene.
Turquoise Pool gently reached out and poked a clamshell, causing the giant clam to snap shut like a touch-me-not.
Startled, Turquoise Pool jumped back into Li Changzhou's arms, giving Li Changzhou, who was focused and on guard, a real shock.
Soft and fragrant, the bewitchingly beautiful body leaning against him made Li Changzhou burn with heat similar to igniting the Fire Element Qi Blade, intensified by the warmth in his lower abdomen, making it difficult for him with the Divine Body to breathe.
He quickly pushed Turquoise Pool away, but she clung even closer.
"We are husband and wife, never let them see through our facade, dear~" her teasing voice whispered in his ear.
Damn it!
"There's Seahorse Fragrance in the air!"
Lan Daoheng, Lantian Jade, and Li Xidao immediately sealed off their bodies and held their breath.
"What Seahorse Fragrance?" Li Changzhou didn't need to hold his breath; he isolated the air from entering his Qi shield directly.
"Dried seahorse ground into powder is an exceedingly potent aphrodisiac!" Lan Daoheng explained hurriedly.
"Unexpected that Brother Lan would know about aphrodisiacs." Li Xidao chuckled.
In the treasure light of the Bivalve Pearls, Lan Daoheng's face turned red; even he had to rely on aphrodisiacs, stimulants, and other such medicines to please the Jiajing Emperor inside the Imperial Palace.
Among them, aphrodisiacs and stimulants took effect immediately—the Emperor appreciated them. According to "Political Science 2" in the section "The market plays a decisive role in resource allocation," producers like them naturally produced a great quantity of aphrodisiacs and stimulants.
Ain people have, I have not; people own, I improve; people improve, I cheapen; people cheapen, I innovate—Lan Daoheng naturally gave up those ubiquitous aphrodisiacs and stimulants in search of better effects and lower-cost sources of raw materials (though cost was not a concern).
Thus, Lan Daoheng could smell the aphrodisiac from the sea—Seahorse Fragrance.
"No wonder," Li Changzhou made an excuse for his own overreaction.
"So that's what it was," Turquoise Pool found a reason for her forward behavior and racing heart.
"Dragons are known for their lewd nature, and Flood Dragons are no different," Lantian Jade remarked with a displeased expression, "Since three years ago when the Four Great Flood Dragon Kings moved to Bohai, they have abducted countless women—now I fear—"
"Let's go!" Li Changzhou headed towards the grand hall of the Dragon Palace.
He originally only wanted to broaden his horizons, see what the Flood Dragons looked like, what treasures and spells they had, and assert his authority in front of these Daoists, but those objectives no longer mattered now.
He was, after all, a scholar of Magic.
The five quickened their pace, bypassing shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and palace maids, delving deep into the Dragon Palace.
The grand hall before them was tall and wide, resplendently golden, filled with colorful, bizarrely shaped coral trees.
On the massive coral dais in the center, a pile of white flesh was heaped together; at first glance, it looked like a pile of maggots.
Upon closer inspection, black hair, white necks, snowy peaks, slender waists, and jade legs were visible; male voices could be heard, but like playing "Everyone Come and Find Faults" with his sister, Li Changzhou strangely couldn't spot where the Flood Dragons were.