Pandaria, shrouded in mist, is a treasure trove, with the Pandaren primarily residing in the Four Winds Valley, a land of perpetual spring and four harvests a year, the Jade Forest teeming with lush forests, the Kun-Lai Summit highlands, and the Krasarang Wilds along the southern coast.
They diligently toil on this ancient and mysterious land, and their crops flourish exceedingly well.
A majestic wall named the Serpent's Spine stretches from the northern Kun-Lai mountain range, running north to south and reaching the southern coast, effectively separating the Mantid Plateau and the Dread Wastes to the west.
These two perilous lands are vastly different from the rest of Pandaria, inhabited by ferocious and brutal Mantid who have established the ancient Amber Empire. Every hundred years, they initiate a cycle of attacking the Serpent's Spine, which is defended by the Pandaren.
After entering the mists, Galen shared some general information about Pandaria with everyone on board, with Lili, Legolas, and Arathor listening most attentively.
These three young children were filled with curiosity about the world.
Of course, there was much more regarding the rise and fall of the Pandarian Jade Empire, the Hozen Empire, and the Mogu Empire, the straying of the Yaungol, and the corpse of an Old God; Galen didn't delve into too much detail.
After all, Galen didn't like spoilers, and it would be more enjoyable for the children to explore on their own.
There were a total of three hundred Pandaren on board, mostly elites from the Firecloud and Earthwater schools, along with some Pandaren mages, shamans, and hunters. They were also the first batch of elites who volunteered to leave the Wandering Isle, and they were under the charge of Ji and Aysa.
The Wandering Isle possesses the ancient Four Spirits of earth, fire, wind, and water, hence the primitive shamanistic ways are prevalent among the Pandaren.
At this moment, several shamans were imbuing the sails with wind elements, propelling the battleship southward at an extremely fast pace. Because of their presence, even storms steered clear of the ship's path.
The journey, originally estimated to take a month, only took twenty days before they spotted vast swathes of mist shrouding the sea in the distance!
"Approaching designated waters, Captain!"
Lili, wearing a straw hat, nimbly climbed from the crow's nest to the mast, swiftly descending to the deck along the mast ropes like a monkey, then running to report to Galen inside the captain's cabin.
Legolas and Arathor, who were dozing off in the captain's cabin, instantly woke up and leaped to their feet: "Second Mate Legolas of the Straw Hat Adventurers, requesting to engage in battle! Captain!"
"Wait, brother, I should have said it first, I'm the First Mate!" Arathor protested, regretting falling asleep just now, reacting a step slower than his brother!
Alleria and Sylvanas watched with amusement as Galen played a nautical game with the children.
"All hands on deck!"
Galen strode out of the captain's cabin, the deck already filled with Pandaren.
Old Chen saw Galen approaching and offered him the engineered spyglass in his hand, but Galen declined.
His vision now transcended such contraptions.
"We're here!"
"Pandaria is within this mist."
Old Chen, Ji, and Aysa were shaken upon hearing this!
"We...we've finally found home!"
No matter how comfortable the Wandering Isle was, it was still their second home. Pandaria was the root of the Pandaren!
"Shall we proceed, Brother Galen?"
The chubby Ji asked excitedly.
The mist ahead almost enveloped the entire sky and earth, and within that hazy fog seemed to lurk some ferocious beast, ready to swallow any ships that dared to enter.
Compared to the mist artificially created by the mistweavers on the Wandering Isle, the mist before them was merely child's play.
"Keep moving forward. I'll take the helm in a moment. Old Chen, direct the shamans to continue accelerating. Ji and Aysa, take your people back to the ship's cabin and remember to have them all enter a meditative state. Do not let emotions control them. If anyone loses control, knock them unconscious immediately."
Seeing the confused looks on these Pandaren's faces, Galen had to explain, "This mist has the effect of disrupting the mind. I'm afraid your fellow disciples will be affected."
"No problem, leave it to us, Brother Galen!" Ji and Aysa understood the gravity of the situation and immediately carried out Galen's orders.
"Alleria, Sylvanas, take the children to the captain's cabin. I'll call you when we arrive."
Galen activated several dream protection spells and cast them on his wife and children.
"Okay."
Alleria and Sylvanas reached out and took the hands of the two children. Legolas and Arathor were also seeing their father so serious for the first time, and obediently followed their mothers away from the deck.
Lili glanced at her uncle and, urged by Old Chen, also entered the captain's cabin.
"Let's begin, Chen. Remember to guard your mind and don't be deceived by illusions."
The mist shrouding Pandaria was created by the demigod Shaohao by merging a portion of Y'shaarj's emotional power with his own soul power, and it could control the emotions of intruders.
Shaohao was the Emperor of the Pandaren. He was only benevolent to his own people, and he would not be soft-hearted towards outsiders who trespassed into Pandaria.
The Pandaren shamans continued to blow wind into the sails, and the battleship pierced through the mist like an arrow released from a bow.
The originally sunny sky instantly turned dim, and the surroundings were filled with white mist, with visibility less than two meters.
The surrounding sea was silent, and only the sound of the ship's hull cutting through the water could be heard.
Old Chen and the dozen or so shamans on the deck instantly became tense.
"Remember, guard your minds and don't let illusions sway your emotions. If any of you fail to do so, I can step in to help you, but I estimate you might experience a little bit of pain afterward."
Galen's words echoed in the mist, instantly easing the heavy mood of the many Pandaren.
"Bang!"
A loud collision sound came.
"Run aground?"
Through the sensation transmitted through the hull, Galen knew that the battleship had struck a reef in the sea.
"Chen, there are reefs at sea, stop blowing wind, we need to slow down!"
But the battleship's speed didn't decrease, instead, it became faster and faster!
"Crap!"
Galen's hands rapidly spun the ship's wheel, narrowly avoiding a dilapidated merchant ship, with the flag of Kul Tiras hanging on it, in the style of a hundred years ago.
Many bones were hanging on the ship, apparently from humans who had strayed into the mist long ago.
In the time that followed, Galen transformed into a sea god, the ship's wheel spinning rapidly in his hands, even bringing the entire battleship through a ninety-degree turn!
"Old Chen?"
After calling out for a long time without a response, Galen extended his mental power and discovered that Old Chen and the shamans were all frantically blowing wind into the sails.
Seeing this scene, Galen's lungs were about to explode with anger!
You're a Windwalker Monk, not a Windblower Monk!
I told you to guard your minds, but you were all controlled by the unpredictable power in the mist.
Since you can't control yourselves, don't blame me for being ruthless!
Galen's hands didn't stop, but his body turned a faint blue, surrounded by lightning. Then, two figures, one red and one green, separated from him!
It's the Wind Spirit, Fire Spirit, and Earth Spirit!
Galen used the ultimate skill of wind, fire, thunder, and lightning!
This is an ultimate skill that only high-level Windwalker Monks can learn!
Once this ultimate skill is mastered, the body can be split into three elemental spirits, each capable of attacking!
Galen left the Wind Spirit to continue controlling the battleship. The Fire Spirit drew the two flame swords from his waist, and the Earth Spirit also gripped two war hammers. They quickly went to the deck and hammered the back of the Pandaren shamans' heads!
The backs of the flame swords and the heads of the earth hammers struck fiercely, and the Pandaren fell to the ground one by one.
Galen was the most ruthless towards Old Chen. The war hammer struck the back of Old Chen's head, and a bump swelled up under the skin at a speed visible to the naked eye...
After completing all this, the Earth Spirit and Fire Spirit clones returned to Galen's body, and his body returned to normal.
This was a little trick that Galen learned from Master Shang Xi during his vacation on the Wandering Isle. Originally, it required a lot of training and the use of an energy called 'Chi' to perform, but Galen modified it, adding some natural power, life force, and elemental power to achieve the effect of a clone.
"Ugh..."
The legendary monk painfully opened his eyes, clutching the back of his head and rolling on the ground, gasping for breath.
Clearly, the strange power in the mist was giving him mental torment, and Galen was adding a set of physical torment to him.
"Get up, Old Chen, take care of your people!"
Urged by Galen, a trace of reason finally returned to Old Chen's dull eyes. He struggled to stand up and carried his clansmen into the cabin one by one.
Old Chen muttered softly as he rescued his clansmen: "Hiss! Hiss! The Highlord is really ruthless. My head still hurts even after applying Golden Creation Medicine!"
Little did he know how much trouble they had caused Galen when they fell into the illusion, even playing a round of extreme water drifting.
After an unknown amount of time, Galen, who had been concentrating, felt a sudden openness in front of him. He saw scattered small islands and a patch of emerald green land!
"Oh, ho! Jade Forest, here I come!"
Galen once again separated three elemental clones. This time, the Earth Element was responsible for steering, and the Wind Element went to blow the sails to accelerate the ship!
Pandaria, here!
.............
Galen and the others departed from the Wandering Isle and arrived at the Jade Forest in eastern Pandaria.
However, Galen didn't know that when they arrived at the Jade Forest, a Zandalari troll fleet in the northern waters of Pandaria was about to enter the mist.
As the leader of the fleet, Prophet Khar'zul was currently gazing at the mysterious mist at the bow of the flagship, with the members sent by the prophet to assist him standing behind him.
Spiritbinder Gola'ya, Warlord Jaraxxus, and High Priest of Blood Jin'rokh, along with Prophet Khar'zul, were all Prophet Zul's confidants, and like Zul, they were determined to revitalize the Zandalari Empire.
At this moment, Khar'zul was holding a brilliant pearl in his hand.
The Prophet told him that this pearl, which looked like a pearl, was called the Pearl of Pandaria and could guide him to Pandaria.
Khar'zul recalled the scene when the Prophet debated with many Zanchuli councilors and persuaded King Rastakhan to send troops...
"Your Majesty, I foresee that in the near future, perhaps a year later, or maybe five years, a black beast will fly out of the Broken Isles. It will destroy many creatures, submerge a large number of islands and continents, and our Zandalar Islands will also be affected!"
Dark Prophet Zul, wearing armor made of gold and bones, solemnly told the king sitting on the throne and the Zanchuli councilors behind him about this newly obtained prophecy.
The Zanchuli Council is composed of the highest scholars and priests in Zandalar society. The council not only provides advice to the king but is also responsible for ensuring that every order of the king is carried out. Once there are wars or major national affairs, the opinion of the council needs to be sought. With the authorization of the many Loa gods of Zandalar, King Rastakhan has ruled for more than two hundred years.
Prophet Zul is the oldest member of the Zanchuli Council. He is almost as long-lived as King Rastakhan, several times that of ordinary trolls. At the same time, he is also a long-time friend of the King himself.
He showed amazing foresight since childhood. His childhood was spent in pain. He predicted many dark futures, even the division of the world. He himself was deeply tormented by these illusions. His predictions were accurate to the details and never failed.
Others feared his abilities, and even rumored that it was his words that caused these disasters. The nickname "Dark Prophet" came from this. Although he saved many people with his predictions, more and more people wanted his life.
As he grew older, Zul gradually became sophisticated. He would still make his predictions, but he learned to weigh his words. While predicting some major disasters, he would also, like ordinary fortune-tellers, give some advice to the Zandalar who came to seek guidance on how to make a fortune.
In the Zanchuli Council, Zul used his predictive abilities to regulate the planting and harvesting seasons of the entire empire, directing the best military deployment, bringing great advantages to the Zandalari Empire.
In private, he is King Rastakhan's most trusted friend, and they both yearn to make the Zandalari Empire the overlord of the world again.
But this time Zul miscalculated.
Originally thinking that he would be valued, Zul miscalculated this time. After all, he had previously predicted that the Eastern Continent would be invaded by terrible green-skinned aliens, Azeroth would be invaded by the Burning Legion, and the continent of Northrend would be ravaged by the undead.
These predictions have all come true.
Unfortunately, King Rastakhan, who was in his prime, did not react much, seemingly wandering in the sky, completely ignoring the whispers of a group of Zanchuli councilors around him.
It was as if he didn't care about the life and death of his country and his people at all.
Just like a fatuous ruler.