The sword ray came into contact with the mound of water, and...


    *BOOM*??


    Water sshed by everywhere, and from the epicenter of the attack, tall waves started rolling outwards towards them.


    However, with one swift motion from Mazu, the waves immediately ttened and the water became deathly silent.


    The giantughed and remarked, "If we fought, we''d be here for all eternity."


    Mazu''s water was the perfect defense, whereas the giant''s attacks were the perfect offense.


    "Longwang, you have some guests," Mazu rolled her eyes.


    Longwang looked at the group and said, "Youe by uninvited every time."


    The two interlocked res, but ultimately, Longwang relented and with a single swing of his arm, a colossal staircase rose from the water.


    "Get up, I''ll greet you in the meeting hall," The giant flew away.


    ''That was intense,'' Alex sighed in relief that the man was not hostile to them.


    Mazu turned to Zhong Kui, and said, "I''m not in the mood to talk to that man, I''ll wait for you here, so make it quick."


    Zhong Kui frantically nodded and climbed down the raft.


    The staircase was extremely steep and tall, and only further exhibited the influence and prowess of the organization that the man from earlier ruled over.


    In the distance, the four temples that stood over the raging seas were a solid testament to the above-and-beyond factor of the immortals.


    Alex and the bunch swiftly went up the stairs.


    The main temple seemed to be the red-and-ck one, which was also thergest of the four.


    At the very top of the staircase, they found themselves in front of the entrance to the aforementioned temple.


    Even the guards to the temple were divine dragons, and they followed every single movement of the group with their supersized eyes.


    Suddenly, arge turtle with a ck shell approached them.


    ''They''re quite fast for a tortoise,'' Alexmented on the turtle''s speed.


    Suddenly, the turtle''s body shone a brilliant light.


    When it dimmed down, there was a woman in its stead.


    She wore full-body ck terracotta armor and a round shield hung on her back.


    She had East Asian facial features, and the woman put her hair up in a bun.


    "I''m Xuanwu(ck Tortoise), It is a pleasure to meet you," The woman introduced herself.


    Zhong Kui stepped in front of them and politely said, "Lady Xuanwu, we are here for an attendance with Lord Longwang."


    The woman didn''t have any reaction to Zhong Kui''s unusual face, and instead, she nodded and said, "Let me lead you to his meeting hall."


    The four followed behind her and observed the temple and living facilities of the king of beasts.


    There was a pleasant woody smell in the air that rxed the senses and the body.


    ''Sandalwood? Cinnamon?'' Alex wafted the fragrance and tried to distinguish its constituents.


    The decorations inside the temple were gorgeous, including precious jade vases, paintings, and murals in the traditional way, and a consistent color palette.


    ''This man has good taste...'' Alex thought to himself.


    The lower floor wasposed of a crossroad-like shape with arge hall in the center.


    Xuanwu led them through one of the four corridors, and up a staircase.


    __________


    -30 minutester-


    "Hmm, isn''t this ce quite big, Alexei-boy?" Hermes frowned and whispered.


    Alex agreed.


    They had been walking around and climbing up staircases for at least half an hour, and it was getting rather exhausting.


    Hou Yi eavesdropped, and stated, "I think it''s a purposeful choice."


    "Why so?"


    "The gargantuan facility basically unts his dominance over guests perpetually, and the act of making us climb so much in order to visit him at the very top is an attempt at establishing that he is the very master of this domain and that we arepletely subject to his whims, even through impractical architectural means."


    ''That makes sense,'' Alex nodded.


    As they were speaking, Xuanwu halted in front of arge sliding door.


    "We are here, I''ll let you go on from here on."


    "Thank you for your escort."


    Zhong Kui knocked on the sliding door.


    There was clearly a lot of noise from the other side, but they didn''t reply.


    Then, a few dozen secondster, Longwang eximed, "Come in!"


    Hou Yi stared at Alex with a peculiar expression.


    ''Making us wait seems to be another one of his diplomatic tactics,'' Alex pondered.


    Surprisingly, the insides weren''t very luxurious, but it wasfortable and low-key.


    A low-lying table was in the center of the room, and pillows for sitting were put over the table.


    Alex got a closer look at Longwang.


    The man was extremely tall and muscr, and red-and-ck armor covered his body, while a greatsword hung at his waist.


    His eyebrows were thick and angled, beaming with determination, and his fiery eyes unted confidence.


    The man had long ck hair that fell down to the ground, like the well-trimmed mane of a lion.


    Strangely, he was eating a variety of...pearls and gems.


    "Wee to the Ministry of Waters."


    Longwang didn''t stand up to greet them, and instead waited for them to greet him.


    Zhong Kui and the others gave him a very slight bow, which vexed him slightly.


    "What brings you here?"


    Alex stepped up and said, "We are here to request the assistance of Sir Longwang."


    Alex was very careful in the honorifics he used.


    He couldn''t use ''Lord'', which established him as inferior, or no honorific, which might anger the man.


    Instead, he simply called thetter ''Sir'', which was respectful and established a proper sense of distance.


    "I see you are all quite the powerful Immortals, and the man right there with the bow, you should be Hou Yi?"


    Hou Yi''s body jerked, and he replied, "Yes!"


    "Some of my underlingsin that you hunt their kin...Hahahahaha...I''ll forgive it, as you seem to be a straightforward man..." Longwang gave the archer an enigmatic nce.


    Suddenly, someone knocked at the door.


    "Lord Longwang, a phoenix of the west requests a safe space for the first rebirth of her children."


    Longwang nodded and eximed, "Invite her in!"


    The sliding door opened, and a fiery bird came through.


    The fiery bird had five small chicken-like birds on its back, and slowly approached them.


    Alex frowned.


    He wasn''t sure of it, but the bird and her children looked eerily simr to the ones he met in Western Qin on his first expedition....