Corruption of the Sea

"What!?"

Everyone exclaimed in shock.

"Indeed, I did not think that this would happen."

Looking at each other, those at the ship were unsure of what to do now.

"Considering their speed, it would take them a day to reach us. If they were all around the barrier then we have no way of escaping."

"We could fight but in our state, we might not be able to do anything."

"What if we remodel the ship? It's not as if we don't have the means to do so."

Xiu Luo Yang floated up, leaving the ship on its own.

"I will go and survey the gravesite, see the situation. I will be back in half a day."

This Dragon Emperor flew off swiftly and the others began to work on the ship despite having witnessed the death of one of their own. The killing of Tian Zhui weighed on their minds but now they had something to distract themselves with. There was no time to dwell on this when both their lives and the existence of the gravesite were at stake.

Time passed by quickly and the ship was taking on a new appearance as the metal armor had been repurposed at the new bow of the ship. Xin Kuo, who had woken up, started redoing her formations and restructuring them.

Xiu Luo Yang returned, a grave expression on his face as he looked back at the rather misshapen ship.

"It seems that I have been careless with my actions. Those spirits you spoke of, those with lingering regrets had been tainted by dragon energy. That which had come from my beloved, who released it as she passed. Having broken my barrier, they've entered the gravesite and have come to corrupt it all. They've gorged on the dead and are slowly growing in power, though their nature has grown chaotic. Some of them have burst from the excess power. Now that they have been tainted by my beloved's energy, they will try to get to her, the source of that energy that first touched them."

At the reveal of this news, everyone sucked in a cold breath.

"But how is that possible?" asked Senior Bei, "Why is it that their spirits corrupt now? There have been countless dragons that passed here, yet it happens now. Even in our past expeditions, we've never seen something like this."

"Do not forget, like me, she is also a Dragon Emperor. Our power is much stronger and purer. Not to mention, those spirits have been here for years. Their spirits were bound to change and it seems that the last burst of energy pushed it."

Xiu Luo Yang flew up and looked around the sea. It was a vast place with nothing but calm waters.

"It seems that we will have to stay here and defend her body. Should they reach it and take it for themselves, they could run rampant and the gravesite would no longer exist. I doubt I would forgive myself for letting this happen. Make your preparations, they will be coming soon. If we come out of this victoriously, I will personally reward you."

Their eyes lit up at those words but it quickly changed back. This ordeal could not be dealt with so easily. They could care less about the reward. With all that had happened, it was enough if they came out of this alive.

Everyone went to work, doing their best to transform the ship into a little stronghold. Much of it had been remodeled, placing more weight at the bottom and widening the ship deck. The cannons had been fixed up and refitted, the Dragoon Ballista was rebuilt though it was not as large as before.

Xiu Luo Yang laid down and placed his hands together. From his palms, red dragon energy spread out into a barrier large enough to cover everyone. Afterwards, he set up multiple formations which had a completely different appearance from any normal formation. Ancient and primordial, it took the shape of a hexagon filled with all sorts of strange characters. Primitive symbols that resembled nothing like what anyone had seen.

Both the Long siblings and the rest of the department stopped to watch him work, studying it. Xin Kuo especially, whose focus was formations, sketched the symbols and the orientations of it all. She couldn't help but ask Xiu Luo Yang about it, its purpose and creation.

"This is something you all should know if we are to work together. I have created four formations along with this barrier. There are three outside and one within. The one within is a weakening formation in which anything other than us that goes past the barrier will fall under my influence. Upon this, they will have the bear the full weight of my aura either destroying their spirit or forcing them down into the sea. The other three will be illusions and offensive formations. The furthest formation will force them into an illusion of fog. The second will form a wall of fire, burning their bodies as they pass through. The third will be a wall of wind, pushing them back out."

Xin Kuo furiously wrote down what he spoke as the others took note.

"This is the extent of my strength. Unfortunately, formations aren't my strong suit so there will be some that pass through."

"Then we need to plan for this, assign everyone roles", said Long Wang.

"Indeed", the dragon replied.

"You there, girl, you're coming with me. Those spirits are quite small and considering my large body, I will need someone to take care of some of them for me. Since you aren't a part of them, you will do better with me than with them."

Xiu Luo Yang pointed his claw at Ming Yue, who looked surprised but nodded. She knew barely anything about this ship and the limited space would restrict her fighting.

"Good, me and the girl will be outside to try and thin the hordes, any that pass through will be left to you. I assume you all are prepared", he looked to the others, who nodded.

Their hearts raced. It was one thing to have their lives on the line but it was another to have a dragon depend on you.

Xiu Luo Yang extended his arm, allowing Ming Yue to climb on and rest on his head. Compared to him, she was like a bug on someone's arm. He slowly flew up and left the barrier.

"I will give you a signal for when they come. Prepare yourselves."

Those were his last words before exiting as everyone worked to improve the ship any way that they can.

Outside, the duo watched from above, looking to see who would come. It was quiet, the only sounds that they heard were the passing winds and their own breathing.

"What was her name, the name of your beloved?" asked Ming Yue.

As it was just them, Ming Yue decided to ask as they waited.

"Yue Hua Yin, Dragon of the Moonlight as opposed to myself, Dragon of the Sun."

He paused before answering. The dragon did not mind, although they were the ones who had disturbed her peace. He had put all of his rage onto Tian Zhui and forgave them. As violent as dragons were known to be, there was no doubt that they could also be understanding as well.

"What about you? What is your name, young one?"

"Ming Yue, Yue as in moon."

"Just like her... Hmph, how unexpected."

With that exchange, they began to have some light conversation. Sometimes it was questions about the past, what has the dragon seen in his lifetime? What sort of fantastical sights were there? Xiu Luo Yan entertained her with stories. He had a wealth of knowledge as a being that has lived for several thousand years.

As the sun began to set, they had appeared. First, it was a few then followed by waves of them. These dreadful spirits who knew nothing but hunger and rage.

Xiu Luo Yang noticed them as did Ming Yue.

"They've finally come. You best prepare yourself, girl. You will witness how a Dragon Emperor fights."

His head rose up and faced the sky before sending out an ear-splitting roar of anger.

That was the signal.