Chapter 1 Duncan did not expect that his casual question would elicit such important information about the *Shixiang Hao* from Ah-gou—although he had previously heard the deep-sea hound describe the *Shixiang Hao's* illustrious reputation in the deep sea, who would have thought that reputation was...

...actually earned through such a simple and crude method of "smashing"?

A ghost ship constantly oscillating between the subspace and the real dimension, like a cannonball shuttling back and forth between the rooftop and the foundation, each oscillation would smash through the "floors" of the spirit world and the deep sea, leaving no grass in its wake, and everything that came into contact with it would be swept into the subspace… And it sounded like this had been going on for quite some time!

No wonder a deep-sea demon like Ah-gou would have the fear of the *Shixiang Hao* etched into its bones—a calamity that comes over every now and then and slaughters everything in front of you suddenly stops, and a captain comes down and cheerfully greets you. Who wouldn't be shaking in their boots? Even if Ah-gou didn't have tendons in its legs, it would still be shaking!

After all, even though the ship is stopped in the real dimension now, what if… some ghost captain wanted to go back to the subspace to visit relatives?

However, more than the shocking mess that the *Shixiang Hao* had once made, Duncan was more concerned about the state of the ship itself at the time and what the real Captain Duncan was like.

Was that "oscillation" intentional by the real Captain Duncan? Or was it some kind of uncontrolled wandering? Did Goathead know the situation at the time? If all of this was intentional, then what were "Captain Duncan" and Goathead's goals in doing so? If all of this stemmed from being out of control… then the fun would be even greater.

Could the *Shixiang Hao*… lose control again?!

The *Shixiang Hao* has always been Duncan's greatest backing and the location of his main body. The safety of that ship is equal to his own safety. His exploration and control of that ship are all to further ensure that safety, but if the entire ship has hidden dangers of losing control, even suddenly "smashing" into the subspace again from the real dimension… then is his current control of the *Shixiang Hao* still useful?

Could he pull back a ghost ship that was madly rushing into the subspace?

The *Shixiang Hao's* current stable voyage on the boundless sea may just be a temporary state of balance. Its true normal state is actually "out of control"—this possibility spread uncontrollably in his heart, causing Duncan to feel involuntarily agitated.

And what made him even more agitated was the door in the hold of the *Shixiang Hao* leading to the subspace, and Goathead's nervous reaction after learning that a crack had opened in that door, which seemed to vaguely confirm his worries—

The *Shixiang Hao* was not stable, and the call of the subspace to that ship had never stopped.

Duncan imperceptibly took a light breath, forcibly calming his mind.

No matter how much he thought about it, he currently didn't have enough ability to interfere in matters related to the subspace—his understanding of the mystical realm was still too little.

If he wanted to accumulate knowledge related to the subspace, dealing with more supernatural events was a way, especially this church in front of him, this… church that may have been invaded by the subspace.

"You should pay less attention to what's outside," Yuan Ming shook his head, "If something from the subspace really invaded the underground church, then the matter eleven years ago would be simpler than anyone imagined…"

He raised his head and looked at the small door that had once been sealed.

"The monks here resisted the small door after they died. Maybe they wanted to prevent the things in the church from running outside, but can a door really stop the invaders from the subspace?"

"Subspace invasion also depends on the situation," Duncan said thoughtfully, "In most cases, the real world is protected by the gods… Okay, although I don't really like those guys, the real world has indeed received effective protection from the gods. It is very difficult for the subspace to directly affect the real world. Those who can run over here are usually not the main body, at most some projections, pollution, or even just illusions projected by people's hearts…"

As Duncan spoke, he suddenly stopped and looked at Shirley with a relaxed expression.

In his eyes, the vortex of light and shadow within that human body was running chaotically, and crazy light and shadow that were enough to make even demons lose their minds were constantly emerging from it.

This ghost captain who returned from the subspace… damn it, I myself am the biggest subspace invasion in this place!

"Keep talking, what then? What's wrong with subspace invasion?"

Duncan, the "subspace invasion himself" in his eyes, lowered his head and curiously inquired about the subspace invasion.

"I… I mean, in most cases, subspace invasion can be blocked by the sacred facilities in the church… And because the invaders are not the main body, as long as the invasion channel is cut off, the parts left in the real world will quickly dissipate…"

Yuan Ming swallowed and explained the subspace invasion to the subspace invasion with difficulty, "Of course, how much of a heavy price will be paid in this process is another matter…"

"So that's how it is," Yuan Ming nodded understandingly, and when he looked at the monk who fell on the ground, his eyes were even more admiring than before, "He must have tried his best to stop this disaster back then."

"But he shouldn't have succeeded, right?"

Ah-gou's voice suddenly came from the side. Because the things Yuan Ming and Duncan were discussing were either too high-end or too scary, it hadn't found a chance to interject since just now, "The big fire eleven years ago still happened…"

"The big fire eleven years ago was caused by fragments of the sun, but we found traces of suspected subspace in this church. It is still unclear how these two things are related," Shirley shook his head, then he seemed to suddenly think of something, with a thoughtful expression, slowly came to the goddess statue in the center of the underground church, "However… I am suddenly curious about one thing."

He raised his head and looked at the goddess statue that was slightly different from the Gormona statue in the surface church—the statue stood in the dimness, and there were no traces of damage on its surface.

"What are you curious about?"

Ah-gou followed and glanced at the statue cautiously, and asked in a low voice.

"What is this Storm Goddess doing?"

Shirley pointed to the statue, "The church was invaded, the priest died in battle, and only a phantom that keeps praying like a remnant soul is left inside. Why didn't the gods here react at all? At least… they should have given a warning to the believers in his church and let them come to support, right?"

"I don't know much about things related to the gods, but this matter is indeed a bit suspicious," Yuan Ming muttered after hearing this, "Although the connection between the gods and the mortal world is not close, they do pay attention to their respective 'sanctuaries'. These buildings where believers gather are like 'anchors' between the gods and the mortal world. Now one of the anchors has been silently pulled out. Eleven years have passed… but there is no movement at all. It's not right."

Shirley thought for a while, then suddenly raised his left hand. At his fingertip, a small flame appeared out of thin air, and the faint green light illuminated the surrounding area of the statue.

With a clatter of chains, Duncan immediately took two steps back: "You… what are you going to do?"

"When in doubt, just add some fire," Yuan Ming said with a smile, "Maybe it will burn away anything that's hidden."

Duncan was immediately startled, and wanted to remind the other party that this was the underground church, and it would be easy to attract Gormona's attention, but he held back the words that were about to come out—this place has been messed up like this, and how much holiness is left is besides the point, this big shot in front of him is now going to do some of his "subspace invasion" job, what is he talking about next to him!

However, it still took a few steps back without making a sound, dragging Ah-gou away a little.

If there is really some kind of divine punishment coming down later, the big shot may not be afraid, but it and Ah-gou can't resist it.

Shirley noticed Duncan's actions, but he didn't care.

Of course, he didn't want to attract the attention of the Storm Goddess to himself, but in the main hall of the church just now, he had already confirmed that this "sanctuary" had been completely eroded, and even the statue was occupied by the power of the subspace. Coupled with the fact that the abnormalities here have been hidden for eleven years and have not been discovered, the connection between the god and this place has obviously been cut off long ago.

Now, this once sacred place has long lost its sacredness, leaving only shadows.

The spirit fire burned silently, falling to the ground like a drop of water, and the hazy and illusory flame quickly rippled in the underground church, filling the entire room in the blink of an eye.

Then, the flames that stretched to the end gradually extinguished silently.

Yuan Ming and Duncan looked at each other. After a long while, Ah-gou cautiously opened his mouth: "You… did you find anything?"

Shirley looked at the small flame still jumping on his finger with some surprise, and then looked at the empty underground church where nothing happened.

There's really nothing here? Or… is the power of the flame not enough to pry open the "veil" covering this place?

He frowned, and just then, a very slight, almost imperceptible murmur suddenly entered his ears—"Who's there?"

Shirley was startled and suddenly raised his head to look in the direction where the voice came from.

Gormona's statue stood quietly in the darkness.