Sailing: Pick Up Roger’s Entry At The Beginning, And Scare Cap Chapter 186

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The wind in the East China Sea is completely different from that on the Grand Route. Lin Ye’s ship sailed for seven days and seven nights, and finally saw the outline of Dawn Island at dawn on the eighth day.

The island was much smaller than Lin Ye had imagined. It was shrouded in an unnatural light blue mist, with a few low buildings vaguely visible. As the boat approached, Lin Ye noticed that the island’s coastline formed a perfect circle, as if it had been precisely cut out by humans.

“Dawn Island…” Lin Ye whispered to himself, and the tuning fork in his hand vibrated slightly unconsciously.

When the boat docked at the simple pier, several islanders in coarse clothes were sorting out their fishing nets. When they saw the stranger coming, they immediately stopped what they were doing vigilantly and stared at Lin Ye expressionlessly.

“Outsiders are not welcome,” an old, gray-haired fisherman said hoarsely, “especially at this time.”

Lin Ye jumped off the boat, deliberately showing the tuning fork and the knife of dawn: “I am here to find the ancient passage to the moon.”

As soon as the words fell, the expressions of the islanders became more alert, and some even retreated quietly, as if Lin Ye had said something taboo. The old fisherman narrowed his eyes and looked up and down at Lin Ye and the tool in his hand.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, young man,” the old fisherman said finally. “There’s no passage here, just ordinary fishermen and their simple lives.”

Lin Ye did not argue, but raised the tuning fork and tapped it gently. The crisp sound spread in the air, creating a subtle resonance somewhere on the island. The Dawn Blade also emitted a faint light, and the patterns on the blade became more obvious.

Lin Ye closed his eyes and felt the information coming back from the sound waves. At that moment, the energy veins of the entire island formed a clear image in his mind – the energy flow from the edge of the island to the center all pointed to a building in the center of the island.

“Shrine…” Lin Ye opened his eyes and looked towards the center of the island.

“Come with me,” the old fisherman said suddenly, “but you alone. Leave your boat and everything else here.”

Lin Ye nodded in agreement and followed the old fisherman along the winding mountain road towards the center of the island. On the way, Lin Ye noticed that the vegetation on the island was different from the usual ones – the leaves were light blue and made a slight metallic sound in the breeze; tiny luminous crystals were embedded in the soil, flickering with their footsteps.

“This island was not formed naturally, right?” Lin Ye asked.

The old fisherman did not answer immediately, but continued to move forward silently. After a moment, he whispered: “An island is an island, a person is a person, but some things are neither an island nor a person.”

This mysterious answer made Lin Ye frown, but he decided not to ask any more questions and focused on observing the surrounding environment. As they went deeper into the island, the fog became thicker, like the breath after thunder and lightning.

After passing through a low blue-leaf forest, an ancient shrine appeared in front of them. The shrine’s architectural style was unique, combining the East China Sea tradition with some exotic style that Lin Ye had never seen before. The most eye-catching thing was the shrine’s roof, which was a perfect hemispherical shape and covered with complex patterns similar to the surface of the moon.

Several people in white robes stood in front of the shrine, led by an old man with long gray hair, holding a wooden scepter and with a serious expression.

“Chief Ramon,” the old fisherman stepped forward and said in a peculiar tone, “the Son of the Stars has come with the Key.”

The old man called Ramon swept his sharp eyes over Lin Ye and finally landed on the tuning fork in his hand.

“It’s really a tuning fork…” Ramon’s voice was filled with disbelief, “It’s been eight hundred years. We thought we would never see it again.”

He extended his hand to Lin Ye. “I am Ramon, the patriarch of the Catalina family, young man. My family has protected this shrine for twenty-three generations. Please follow me, for time is running out.”

Lin Ye followed Ramon into the shrine. The interior was unexpectedly spacious, with ancient characters carved all over the walls. In the center was a circular pool, the water was an unnatural silver-blue color, and there were no ripples on the surface, like a perfect mirror.

Ramon led Lin Ye through the main hall and came to a hidden hut behind the shrine. There was only a stone table and a carefully carved wooden box in the room. The old man took out an ancient key from his arms and carefully opened the wooden box.

Inside the box was a fist-sized stone—or rather, something that looked like a stone. It was translucent bluish-white, with liquid flowing inside and a faint pulsating light emanating from its surface.

“The Moonstone,” Ramon said devoutly, “is a sacred artifact left behind by an ancient kingdom. It is a special substance that vibrates in sync with the moon. Our family has guarded it for generations, waiting for the person who holds the tuning fork to arrive.”

Lin Ye felt the Dawn Blade resonating, and the scabbard was vibrating slightly: “Is this the key to activate the channel?”

“It’s the guide,” Ramon corrected. “The real key is the tuning fork in your hand. Bring it close to the Moonstone and the passage will appear.”

Lin Ye nodded and slowly moved the tuning fork closer to the Moonstone. When the distance between the two was less than a finger’s width, a miraculous change occurred – the tuning fork automatically emitted a clear sound, the flow inside the Moonstone accelerated, and the light flashed violently.

“It is responding,” Ramon exclaimed, “just as the ancient prophecies described.”

The circular part in the center of the floor slowly moved, revealing a spiral staircase extending downward. The surface of the staircase was paved with a substance similar to moonstone, and each step was glowing, guiding the direction forward.

At this moment, there was a violent tremor and an explosion in the distance. Ramon’s face changed drastically and he rushed to the window to look out.

“The visitors from the deep!” the old man cried in horror. “They are coming faster than expected!”

Lin Ye looked out the window – the sea around the island was undergoing strange changes. Under the calm sea surface, a large area began to emit a faint blue light, and countless vague outlines swam underwater, with strange shapes that did not resemble any known marine life.

What was even more shocking was that in the distance on the sea level, a huge naval fleet was approaching, and the cannons on the warships were already aiming at the island.

“How do they know…” Lin Ye frowned.

“The Void Visitors’ minions in the World Government,” Ramon said bitterly, “They sensed the activation of the Moon System and want to stop us.”

Another tremor came, this time more violent. Outside the shrine, the islanders began to run in panic, and some shouted something loudly.

“We have to act now,” Ramon said anxiously, “If we miss this opportunity, we may have to wait for several months for the next one.”

Lin Ye tightly grasped the Dawn Blade and nodded resolutely: “Guide me the way forward.”

Ramon took down an ancient lamp from the wall: “This lamp is made of moonstone powder and can guide you in the passage. Remember, there is an ancient guard system deep in the passage.”