The Rise of the Black Plain

"That is a Golden Mussel pearl from a level 88 elder who recently died near my territory." That fish explained to Minos. "I found it a few weeks ago. I intended to give it to my eldest son, but unfortunately, it was devoured by that damn worm.

So since you not only helped me get revenge but, in a way, saved me, I would like you to have this pearl.

It may not look like much on the surface, but it has magnificent properties.

You can use it for anything from extracting minerals for artifact production to even using it as a weapon, using its properties to your advantage."

Minos already knew this, obviously, and as he picked it up, he couldn't help but watch it closely for a few moments.

'A pearl like this can be compared to some of the toughest natural defensive items in the Spiritual World. At the same time, because of its structure, it can also be used as an offensive artifact.

It can be thrown as hard as a cannonball, but it can also be used as a relevant spiritual item for cultivators.'

It wasn't just any mineral that the Golden Mussels absorbed to form these pearls. The main mineral of interest was the one that repels spiritual energy, the one responsible for the existence of floating islands.

Because of this, these pearls had strong repelling power for spiritual energy and, if used against a Soul Avatar, could significantly hinder the activation of the techniques of the opponent of the one controlling it.

One could connect their soul to this kind of artifact and thereby control it through their will!

Knowing all this, Minos accepted the gift of that fish and said. "I thank you for that, Ross. I will use it wisely." He put it away in his spatial ring.

Ross nodded to Minos, feeling this talented fellow would use that pearl better than it would.

Humans were more compatible with this feature because of the type of opponent they faced most, other humans, beings with the potential to show their soul projections.

Beasts had other ways to use resources like that in their lives, in battles, but it felt that leaving it to Minos would be best.

Ross then said. "Anyway, are we leaving? We'll have some problems on the way, so we'd better go soon to avoid delays."

Minos agreed to this, and soon they were sailing again, heading towards the place where they could go by the surface, and then they would have to travel through the underwater world.

The territory of Ross' tribe was not large, so in less than an hour, they reached the limit of what it considered safe to travel by boat.

When they reached that border area, Ross transformed into its original version, showing its bestial body to Minos again.

Upon entering the water, this being stood facing Minos' yacht and then created an air bubble around it, protecting the entire yacht.

After this, it connected itself to this bubble and the yacht, then began to swim downwards.

Minos, Sapphire, and Randall continued on that yacht as they felt it sinking, but no water entered its compartments.

The bubble created by that fish was powerful and could withstand the water pressure easily, even at high depths. So when the yacht was entirely in the water, that bubble continued as before, showing no signs that it would explode.

Minos could finally see the fantastic water world for the first time, noticing the ridiculous amount of living things there.

He could see groups of different kinds of beasts going from one side to the other, magnificent corals of aquatic beasts in the distance, but also vegetation and rocks floating.

At the same time, in some places, one could see rusted boats abandoned as if they had been there for a long time.

Even skeletons of land creatures could be seen in the distance, matching the ships there.

Most of the beings in the surroundings were not very powerful. Still, there were Saints and Spiritual Sages around, some even of higher levels than Ross.

It was already out of its tribe's territory, so meeting other powerful beings would not be strange from that point on.

Sapphire saw how Minos was watching the sea as his ship went further and further into the dark seabed and said. "Ed, you are powerful, I have to admit that. But will you do well at the bottom of the sea?"

Minos saw this woman's smile and knew she was trying to scare him a little. He then said. "Sea beasts are stronger in the sea, while land beings are weaker here. I know that I know that I am weaker in this place, but even so, that wouldn't change much. My greater ability would still work perfectly here."

The point that made it harder for land and water beings to fight outside their natural inhabitant was air and water.

Both fluids made it easier or harder for beings of different natures to move around, making them take longer to make each decision and act.

A human, for example, would find it difficult to move in the sea because of the shape of their bodies and how they move.

They would have to fly or run to fight in the air or on land. But they would have to swim in the sea, something they didn't normally train for.

So when they were in the underwater world, even high-level beings would have difficulty fighting.

This didn't improve much in the long run, even for beings who continuously stayed in the underwater world.

A human would always be faster out of the water, while a fish would always move better underwater.

Because of this and much more, Minos would have a weaker combat proficiency there than on the surface if he had to fight.

But he wasn't worried. Most of his fusions would work perfectly in the underwater world, and he could control space there in the same way as on land.

"Hehe, I thought you would say that..." It smiled at him before its husband said to Minos. "By all means, Ed, try not to cause trouble in this place.

I say that because, in water, the spiritual fluctuations left by human cultivators propagate to much greater distances than those that propagate through the air.

Between water and air, a kind of 'barrier' makes it difficult for beings on both sides to probe what happens in the other. But within a space submerged by the same kind of fluid, fluctuations sometimes propagate to many kilometers from the focus of a battle.

At sea, this was greatly amplified, so any attitude of a human like you can draw the attention of beings from hundreds of kilometers away, enough to attract all kinds of calamity.

So be careful. The sea is treacherous!"

...