Chapter 2266: Strange Divine Descent

Sun Hongye continued, "Once, an old boatman injured his arm, so I found someone to replace him. The new person wasn't familiar with the route, took a slight detour, and missed the scheduled time to reach the island. The result was—"

"Both the boat and the people disappeared," Sun Hongye said, pressing her lips together. "I reported it to the county government, and the county magistrate told me not to publicize it. He had me give some money to the boatman's family, saying only that the boat had capsized in a storm at sea."

Such incidents were not uncommon among island fishermen. Everyone accepted their fate.

What else could they do? Report it to the officials?

"How do you know this island is related to the Sky Demon?" He Lingchuan's heart skipped a beat. Why was it at sea again?

"There had long been rumors that ill-tempered deities lived on the island, and mortals who came too close would be torn to shreds. It was only after I had been in this position for half a year that I inadvertently learned the previous transport commissioner was killed by two monsters that emerged from Puluo Island, leaving only half his head. That's how this position became vacant, and I took it."

So, working as a transport commissioner in Fu County not only involved a lot of work, low pay, and being far from home, but also carried significant risks.

"It was also my good luck that I personally witnessed the so-called 'miracle' not long after!" Sun Hongye let out a breath. "About half a month before I left Fu Kingdom, on a clear day, I was on Haiyin Island, which is closest to Puluo Island, when I suddenly heard boatmen on the shore exclaim, 'The sea isn't moving!'"

"That day, the sea breeze was strong, and the waves were rough, making it difficult to set sail. But when I looked out, I saw the sea surface as smooth as a mirror, without a single ripple! I asked two old boatmen who had worked near Puluo Island for seven or eight years, and they had never seen anything like it."

"Immediately after, the sea froze over," Sun Hongye recalled in detail. "The ice extended from Puluo Island, and within a few dozen breaths, even the waters around Haiyin Island were frozen solid."

He Lingchuan interrupted, "How far apart are the two islands?"

"About six li."

"So, an area of six or seven li around Puluo Island was frozen?"

"It should be." Sun Hongye continued, "The ice was very thick and solid; it didn't stop at the shore but kept forming on the island. Two fishermen who happened to be adrift at sea were frozen solid along with their boats! Everyone was so frightened they ran straight up the island hill, fearing they would meet the same fate."

"Later, the sea ice advanced steadily, and we retreated to the shaded side of Haiyin Island before the land stopped freezing. Standing on the cliff edge, two people pushed a large rock into the sea, creating a big hole in the ice. So I deduced the ice layer was probably over a foot thick."

"To freeze the sea, that's a powerful divine ability," He Lingchuan murmured. "How long did the sea remain frozen?"

Was it a magical artifact or a person capable of unleashing such an ability?

"It only melted after four hours. It was the height of summer then, but we shivered from the cold near the sea ice," Sun Hongye said. "Such an anomaly had never happened before. That evening, when I returned to the county town, I happened upon the county government welcoming a deity."

"Welcoming a deity?"

"They said a celestial deity had suddenly descended. Everyone, from the county magistrate down to the lowest runner, was in a frenzy, immediately clearing out the largest and best residence on the island for the deity. I was also roped in and kept extremely busy."

He Lingchuan asked, "Did you see the celestial deity?"

"Wherever they went, they were surrounded by crowds of people, like stars orbiting the moon. I could only glimpse them from afar. One was a merman with pale green skin, webbed fingers, and gills behind his ears." Sun Hongye gestured with an open palm. "The other was a bit strange; though human in form, his face seemed covered by a layer of soft skin, making it impossible to discern his features or whether he was handsome or ugly."

He Lingchuan suddenly said, "His appearance was blurry?"

"Yes, yes, very blurry." That's a good description, but how did His Majesty know? "I was also given a distant glance by that strange person. That look... how should I describe it? It was like how we look at cattle or horses in a pen."

"Have you seen them take action?"

"No, but the county magistrate told us that the frozen sea surface in the morning was the miracle they displayed." Without waiting for He Lingchuan to ask, Sun Hongye continued, "Later, a fisherman told me that before the sea froze, he saw two streaks of rainbow light fall from the western sky, heading towards Puluo Island."

In terms of timing, it matched. But could a divine descent last that long?

Sun Hongye also said, "That's strange. From the confidential information I've gathered, miracles or divine descents usually last for a very short time, seemingly never more than an hour. Yet, there was a six-hour gap between the sea freezing that morning and the celestial deities' arrival in the afternoon. Could these two 'deities' really stay in the mortal realm for such a long time?"

"Ten years ago, a Sky Demon could only inhabit an ordinary vessel for a maximum of fifteen minutes," He Lingchuan, who had been pursued by Bai Zhantian, knew the timing well. "Due to the abundant spiritual energy in the world, this duration has gradually extended over the past few years. It's probably because the cultivation of these vessels has improved, allowing them to bear more of the divine descent power."

Of course, this applies only to ordinary vessels. The Sky Demons of Lingxu still possess the vessels of Immortals and True Immortals, and their time in the human world is primarily limited by the surrounding spiritual energy environment.

Sun Hongye immediately said, "When I first became transport commissioner, I once saw fishermen retrieve a floating corpse from the sea, which was a merman. The fishermen said that judging by the current, it must have drifted from Puluo Island. Its death was gruesome: flesh peeled back and its entire body bloated. That same fisherman mentioned he had also salvaged a merman corpse two years prior."

"It sounds like Puluo Island is a monster-puppet experimental ground, and they seem to enjoy experimenting with mermen. These two Sky Demons appear to have descended into ordinary vessels." He Lingchuan thought, *Mermen are also humanoid monsters, amphibious, with strong reproductive capabilities, and their current population is considerable, making them excellent material for creating monster-puppets.*

He Lingchuan asked again, "How do you know the Sky Demons were still in their vessels and hadn't left when the county government welcomed them? It's hard to tell from their appearance."

"I'm sure, because these two celestial deities arrived by walking on air, descending directly into the county town. Although I didn't see it myself, there were hundreds of eyewitnesses, and I asked seven or eight of them; their descriptions were all very similar." Sun Hongye scratched her head. "I assume their vessels couldn't have had the power to walk on air by themselves."

"That's right." These two Sky Demons actually stayed in ordinary vessels for several hours.

Were they too weak themselves, or had the vessels' endurance become stronger? But they could boldly walk on air, indicating that the divine power they carried wasn't so constrained.

"Do you know their names?"

Sun Hongye nodded, "One is named 'Wuyao,' and the other seems to be 'Xiyu.'"

They were neither minor deities nor true gods. He Lingchuan silently noted down the names, intending to look them up later.