Chapter 1188: Chapter 690: The Secret Beneath Whale Island (Part 2)

At this moment, Qing Chen saw a few red stonefish slowly swimming over from the stone well, and accidentally, they were sucked into the well.

His heart froze, thinking that if he was sucked into the stone well himself, it would probably be very dangerous, wouldn’t it?

However, the next moment, just a few seconds after the red stonefish were sucked into the stone well, the well surprisingly spat the red stonefish back out.

Qing Chen felt puzzled; does this stone well not swallow living beings?

He floated in the water, continuing to observe the surroundings. At the end of the village path, he saw an enormous shrine, where more than a hundred people dressed in kimonos were sitting cross-legged with closed eyes at the shrine’s entrance. There were men and women, all dressed splendidly.

Beside these people were the mythical creatures Qing Chen had seen in the Hyakki Night Trip Guide. They were also sitting cross-legged at the base of Whale Island, with their legs bound with iron chains to the Whale Island’s base.

Qing Chen’s world was completely opposite to theirs, which made him feel quite eerie.

Looking further into the shrine, he saw a giant eight-headed snake trapped on the stone pillar in the courtyard. Each of its heads was mercilessly locked onto the stone pillar with black iron chains.

The next moment, the dozens-meter-high giant snake opened all eight pairs of its eyes.

It struggled and shook on the stone pillar, opening its bloodthirsty mouth to reveal its fangs inside.

The one hundred-plus people outside the shrine began to move their lips, silently chanting something. As their lips moved slightly, the iron chains on the giant snake tightened, suppressing the snake with brutal force.

Qing Chen stared blankly at this scene; are these all Shikigami? Shikigami that the Genji ancestor once controlled?

The Shadow once said that after Genji disappeared at sea, the Jindai Onmyoji began to gradually decline, with the number of Shikigami decreasing rather than increasing.

Zheng Yuandong mentioned that Genji had once commanded a vast and powerful force of Shikigami, all sunk into the sea along with Genji’s ancestors.

So... if the taboo object of Whale Island is the remains of Genji’s ancestors and The Giant Whale, then the living creatures trapped at the base of Whale Island must have been controlled by Genji’s ancestors.

Currently, the existence of Shikigami outside the shrine serves the purpose of suppressing that giant snake, and Xiao Zhenji mentioned that there’s an evil resonance in the seabed, possibly this giant snake.

This village was the place where Genji once lived.

The well absorbs seawater to convert its energy into a power on Whale Island that rapidly grows Zhi Lanxing.

Qing Chen was initially puzzled; although Whale Island has the rule of "everything grown on Whale Island must not leave the island," yet the Agricultural College, despite being foreign, grows with real required energy, truly aiding the cultivators. Moreover, even when cultivators leave Whale Island, the power is not reclaimed by the rules.

This power... must have a source, right?

Initially, Qing Chen thought this energy came from The Giant Whale that had perished. After all, it wouldn’t be surprising for such an extraordinary creature to support an island; even Jindai Chika could support a city of mice.

But if this were the case, the energy on Whale Island would eventually be depleted, which is why Qing Chen previously refrained from blindly breeding Zhi Lanxing.

He feared the island would one day be drained completely.

But now Qing Chen understands that the taboo object itself doesn’t provide energy; its energy comes entirely from seawater.

Qing Chen slowly swam towards the ocean surface, having roughly figured out what lies beneath Whale Island. As for those Shikigami under the sea, he’ll probably have to wait until Jinguji Maki herself crosses a few life-and-death hurdles to retrieve them. He’s unsure if bringing down blood will inexplicably release the bound giant snake. Who knows what capabilities that thing has.

After witnessing the underwater wonders, Qing Chen is even more curious about what kind of creatures inhabit the forbidden forest on the surface of Whale Island.

...

...

Countdown 136:00:00.

At 8 AM, Qing Chen punctually arrived at the lecture hall.

A group of Kunlun members had been waiting there, composed, yet each one clutches their fists tightly in nervousness.

Lu Yuan said, "Yesterday, the operators assigned to you were too few, unable to keep up with your pace. So today, I’ve doubled the personnel to assist you."

Qing Chen glanced at the Kunlun members in front of him, "This will be exhausting."

Lu Yuan replied, "As long as what you’re doing can help Iodophor exact revenge, it’s okay for us to work tirelessly."

Qing Chen solemnly said, "It will. Everyone return to your posts, let’s begin. Today, bring up videos of screens 130-165, rewind to a month ago—I’m targeting specific clues!"

The tapes Iodophor brought back contain surveillance data from the past three months.

However, Qing Chen has only seven days. Even at eight-time speed, he can’t watch all 90 days of video footage. To view everything within seven days requires at least eleven days.

This excludes times Qing Chen would spend eating, sleeping, or going to the restroom.

Now, Qing Chen must take a risk using sixteen-time speed to watch the videos, which will save substantial time.

But thus, Qing Chen must narrow down the analysis range beforehand; otherwise, sixteen-time speed with full-area information would overwhelm him.

Currently, screens 130-165 are traffic cameras within the Fifth District.

Lu Yuan curiously asked, "What are you searching for in this area? I remember you stopped watching three days before the mouse surge yesterday. To find the Rat King, shouldn’t you be viewing the footage from the last few days? Why look at videos from a month ago?"

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