Chapter 276
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the massive ship slowly approached, its horn echoing across the sea, before coming to a stop several dozen meters from the fortress walls.
The ocean surged violently, waves crashing one after another against the barrier, as though pounding on the hearts of all present.
The towering ship stood over ten meters higher than the fortress walls. Though it was anchored a hundred meters away, it was even more imposing than the sea beasts themselves—its sheer presence shook the hearts of all who witnessed it.
The ship slowly turned, revealing its full length of over three hundred meters in a majestic display.
As chains splashed into the sea, the massive vessel stabilized in place. At that moment, two cloaked figures flew from the ship and landed on the platform where Zhan Xiong and his group were gathered.
The two figures wore black cloaks and futuristic-looking masks—one silver, one black—exuding an aura of mystery and nobility.
Zhan Xiong immediately signaled his followers to kneel.
He had read descriptions of the divine envoys on the forum, so he recognized their identities at once.
“Greetings, Lord Silverlight! Lord Dark Moon!”
The dozen or so fishermen on the platform followed suit, dropping to their knees and shouting in unison.
Tang Yu’an, suppressing the secondhand embarrassment that made his toes curl, steadied his voice and said calmly, “Please, rise.”
A warm and gentle young man’s voice came from behind the mask, instantly soothing everyone’s anxiety. They looked up, dazed, at the legendary envoys before them.
The others didn’t dare move, but Zhan Xiong cautiously stood up.
“Lord Silverlight…”
Thinking of his earlier rudeness toward the envoy, Zhan Xiong wanted nothing more than to slap himself. Just as he was about to apologize, Silverlight raised a hand to stop him.
“Purple Sky Fortress’s living conditions are harsh and not suited for people. The Merchant God Cult intends to first evacuate a group of believers to the mainland,” Silverlight said softly. “How many are willing to leave?”
“My lord, the five hundred people you asked me to gather—they’re all ready!” Zhan Xiong quickly replied. “They’re waiting in the village.”
Tang Yu’an nodded. “Gather them, then begin boarding.”
Then he turned slightly toward the massive ship and raised his hand.
Next to him, Zhou Qi pressed a hidden remote under his cloak. A beam of light shot out from the ship, cutting clearly through the yellow-green mist and forming a circular glow over a meter in diameter on the platform.
Tang Yu’an lowered his hand. “Step into the circle to be transported aboard.”
Zhan Xiong blinked, then asked, “May I try it first?”
“Dad, let me go!” Zhan Xiaotian stood up and volunteered.
He was on the list of those leaving, while Zhan Xiong had decided to stay and continue recruiting followers for the Merchant God Cult.
Originally, Xiaotian didn’t want to leave his father, but he was eventually persuaded.
After all, with one arm lost, he wasn’t much help at Purple Sky Fortress anymore. More importantly, the five hundred leaving needed a leader.
Though he was young and might not command respect at sea, this wasn’t just any voyage—it was led by the Merchant God Cult.
Even if there truly was a ship, no one could be sure where the Cult would take them. Who would willingly entrust their life like that?
But Zhan Xiong sending his own son was the strongest assurance—proof that he believed the Cult would truly deliver them safely to land.
Of course, the risk was still great.
But as Zhan Xiong had told them—every day in the fishing village was already a gamble with death. If they were going to die anyway, why not take a chance?
That was how he managed to gather five hundred people in just a few days.
And in that moment, his son stepped forward just as he’d hoped.
Unlike the others, Zhan Xiong wasn’t uncertain—he knew the Merchant God Cult was real, and powerful.
Whether or not their power truly came from a god of commerce, he was ready to revere them as divine beings—so long as they were willing to save them from this deadly world.
“Xiaotian, go!” Zhan Xiong said.
Zhan Xiaotian took a deep breath and stepped forward into the circle.
The instant he was fully enveloped in the light, he vanished without a trace.
The crowd gasped and immediately looked toward the ship.
“Dad—I’m really on board!” Zhan Xiaotian stood on the deck, waving his arms and shouting excitedly.
“How do I get back?!”
He stepped onto the teleport pad again, but it didn’t send him back.
Zhan Xiong understood his gestures and looked to the two envoys.
Dark Moon, who had been silent, finally spoke in a calm voice, “The portal can only transport in one direction each time. Begin boarding the others—we must leave before nightfall.”
“Understood!”
Zhan Xiong, meeting Dark Moon for the first time and having read that he was more aloof, dared not say much more.
Just as he turned to organize the others, Silverlight spoke again: “Are you leaving with them this time?”
Zhan Xiong quickly responded, “Lord Silverlight, may I stay behind? There are still many people in Purple Sky Fortress. I… I hope to bring them to the mainland in the future.”
Tang Yu’an nodded. It was ideal that Zhan Xiong was willing to stay behind of his own accord.
They were relocating people to the mainland, but that didn’t mean they intended to abandon Purple Sky Fortress.
The island had huge potential. Mutated jellyfish were troublesome to deal with, but if used wisely, they could become a valuable resource.
So they still needed staff to remain stationed here.
“You’re quite impressive.”
Hearing Silverlight’s praise, Zhan Xiong flushed with excitement and stammered, “Thank you, my lord!”
Silverlight gave a small nod, his clear, pleasant voice continuing, “Let someone else handle the boarding process. You, come with me.”
Zhan Xiong quickly delegated the task to Hai Qian, then returned to stand before Silverlight and Dark Moon.
“My lord, everything is arranged!”
Silverlight gave a quiet hum of approval and then, a hand clad in snowy white velvet gloves extended from beneath his cloak and grasped Zhan Xiong’s arm.
“Let’s go.”
The next instant, Zhan Xiong felt himself soaring into the air.
Despite being a burly man over 1.8 meters tall, Silverlight lifted him effortlessly with one hand like a chicken.
Seeing his feet dangling several dozen meters above the ground, even Zhan Xiong—who had faced life and death countless times—couldn’t help but let out a startled cry.
Thankfully, he quickly realized his situation and hurriedly covered his mouth.
Their figures rose higher and higher, until they vanished from view.
The fishermen on the platform and those who had just arrived all swallowed hard at the sight.
They didn’t dare delay any longer and scrambled down to call others over.
Finally—they could leave the fortress and head to the mainland!
“Did you hear what that fishing team over there was shouting?” On another platform, the City Guard Captain lowered his telescope and asked those beside him.
“I think they said… the Merchant God Cult?”
“Those two cloaked ones looked really powerful…”
The City Guard Captain nodded grimly. “Which fishing team is that? How did they make contact with the outside world?”
“They’re the village that recently refused to hand over their catches…”
A soldier beside him glanced at the massive ship on the sea. “Captain, should we send someone to check it out? That huge ship… it looks like it’s here to take people away?”
At that, not just the soldier—everyone who looked at the ship now had more than curiosity and awe in their eyes. There was envy… and longing.
Could it really be possible to leave Purple Sky Fortress?
The City Guard Captain hesitated for a moment, but didn’t make any moves that might cause a misunderstanding. He ordered, “Tell all fishing boats to keep clear of that ship!”
“Go find Elder Yu, have him lead a team to negotiate!”
He had heard before that a certain fishing team had fallen under the influence of a rising cult. At the time, he had scoffed at the idea—but now…
Staring at that immense sea vessel, even he couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope in his heart.
Could they actually avoid the fate of being swallowed by the sea?
If so… maybe believing in that so-called god wouldn’t be such a bad thing?
*
Meanwhile, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi brought Zhan Xiong down in front of the Purple Sky Grocery Store.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, Zhan Xiong nearly collapsed.
Tang Yu’an pushed him into a chair so he wouldn’t fall, then looked toward the store.
On the map, the Purple Sky Grocery Store’s property had expanded from a tiny shop to encompass the entire fishing village and all surrounding land.
Tang Yu’an had originally planned to use store popularity points to further upgrade the protective barrier, after unlocking two full-time functions. But now, seeing how ridiculously large the store’s “territory” had become, he tilted his head in confusion.
Something… felt off.
Following a sudden spark of inspiration, he adjusted the protective barrier’s range on the 3D map.
Soon after clicking confirm, the barrier’s coverage extended from the basement to the two surrounding houses—
He hadn’t spent any points or store popularity… but the barrier had expanded!
Tang Yu’an: 0.0
What the heck? He quickly messaged Zhou Qi to discuss.
[Handsome Zhou]: Maybe it’s because the villagers handed over their homes and land to the Merchant God Cult—so technically, they gave it to you?
After all, from what they’d observed earlier, the entire fishing village was under the effect of the “Evil Guests Repelled” aura.
That aura only worked in areas considered part of the “store,” and it prevented anyone with hostile intent toward Tang Yu’an from entering.
Clearly, the whole village had now been integrated into the “store” zone. And once that was the case, it naturally fell under the protection of the barrier.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: So it’s because we didn’t actually own the land before, which is why we had to build walls to mark our territory?
[Handsome Zhou]: That’s probably it.
Every time they built a branch store, they either had to own the property or build on unclaimed land.
That’s why they’d erected fences and houses on unowned ground—to claim it as theirs.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: So if I declare a piece of unowned land as mine, can I claim it without needing walls or points?
If that worked, they wouldn’t have to spend popularity or resources!
Zhou Qi figured it probably wouldn’t be that easy, but still replied:
[Handsome Zhou]: Try it and see.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: Got it ^^
Tang Yu’an returned to operating on the 3D map. Since it was daytime, expanding the protective barrier wouldn’t block customers.
He chose to extend the barrier over the entire “store.”
As soon as he hit confirm, a transparent shield silently expanded, covering the whole fishing village.
The shield was invisible—but the moment it deployed, everyone inside felt it.
That faint yellow-green gas they had lived with for years was instantly expelled from the air by the barrier!
Clearly, the poisonous gas had also been classified by the protective barrier as a destructive natural disaster.
Zhan Xiong took a deep breath, feeling as though he had never breathed such fresh air before!
What had just happened?
He looked at the two divine envoys, wanting to ask but not daring to speak.
Meanwhile, Tang Yu’an was in a great mood, having just discovered a way to expand the protective barrier without spending any points, store popularity, or even building walls.
Looking at Zhan Xiong, he found him increasingly pleasing to the eye and decided to explain, “I just activated the protective barrier for the fishing village.”
“As long as you stay within the barrier, there’s no need to worry about mutated creatures or natural disasters. At night, anyone not authorized to be here will automatically be expelled by the barrier.”
While Zhan Xiong was still processing that information, Tang Yu’an continued operating, upgrading the Purple Sky Grocery Store.
Since Zhan Xiong had completed Old Mo’s “training” and had been assigned to the Purple Sky Grocery Store, its popularity level was sufficient.
Tang Yu’an directly upgraded the store to Lv2, unlocking over 10,000 overnight stay slots.
As for future upgrades—which would require special furniture and land expansion—he paused for now. After all, over 10,000 slots were more than enough in the short term.
After finalizing the overnight stay rules, he gave Zhan Xiong permission to manage the overnight guest list, allowing him to add names as needed.
With everything done, he and Zhou Qi didn’t leave right away.
After all, the whole point of arriving at Purple Sky Fortress in such a high-profile manner was to spread the fame of the Merchant God Cult and prompt the locals to come to them on their own.
Sure enough, less than five minutes later, Yu Lixia was hurriedly escorted over by a crowd of people.
Previously, they had underestimated the strength of the Merchant God Cult, so only Yu Lixia had come.
But now, the situation had completely reversed!
