"The Misty Pins!"

  "You went to the Misty Pins?"

  Troy and Laura wore shocked expressions.

  "Yeah, not only did we go to the Misty Pins, but we also saw J?rmungandr in the sea. We even sat on its head for a whole night! You can't imagine how huge J?rmungandr is - its head is bigger than Siria!" Theodore babbled on excitedly.

  Troy said in a daze: "So the Misty Pins really—"

  "Really is east of the Western Continent!" Luo Wei cut off Troy's words, giving him a sharp look that signaled him to keep quiet.

  Troy was puzzled but slowly closed his mouth.

  "Huh? Luo Wei, didn't you know the Misty Pins was east of the Western Continent?" Theodore scratched his head in confusion.

  "No," Luo Wei shook her head and sighed, "I came from the northern part of the Western Continent, and I crossed through the Fog Belt from the north."

  "The legends all say the Misty Pins is north of the Western Continent. Could it be that part of the Misty Pins extends to the north?" Hol pondered.

  "That must be it. The Misty Pins is vast, and there are many pces I haven't been to," Luo Wei said calmly.

  "I got it!" Theodore had a fsh of insight. "The Fog Belt is like J?rmungandr, surrounding the Western Continent. It's just that the northern seas are narrow, so sailors can't go far before seeing the fog. That's why they think the Fog Belt only exists in the north."

  And because the Magic Beast Mountains block the eastern side of the Western Continent, and the ocean there is so vast, ships turn back before reaching the Fog Belt.

  Laura asked: "If the Fog Belt surrounds the Western Continent, why isn't there any fog in the southern strait?"

  "That's because it must encircle both the Western Continent and the Wastes. Otherwise, why can't people from the Wastes find the Misty Pins either?" Theodore said confidently.

  After listening, Hol suddenly had a peculiar thought: "Do you think the Fog Belt might move?"

  "The Fog Belt... moves?" Laura looked bewildered.

  "It's possible," Luo Wei spoke up. "As I mentioned before, the Fog Belt is synchronized with the magic-nullifying zone and J?rmungandr. Since J?rmungandr circles the Western Continent, the Fog Belt and magic-nullifying zone must do the same."

  However, since J?rmungandr's head meets its tail, when the Fog Belt and magic-nullifying zone rotate, it appears as if they're not moving at all.

  "Hey, if that's the case, when J?rmungandr leaves the Western Continent in the next thousand years, will the Fog Belt and magic-nullifying zone disappear too?" Theodore asked.

  Hol frowned: "But historical records don't mention the Fog Belt ever disappearing."

  "No, I think Theodore has a point," Luo Wei said carefully. "To be precise, the northern Fog Belt hasn't disappeared."

  Hol seemed to realize something: "I think I understand now."

  Theodore: "What do you understand?"

  "I know where J?rmungandr goes during its thousand-year disappearance," Hol's brow smoothed. "Miss Luo Wei's words reminded me - the northern Fog Belt has always existed, which means part of J?rmungandr's body must always be there."

  "Then where does the rest go?" Theodore asked with confused wide eyes.

  "Yes, where does it go?" Laura was also curious.

  Hol looked at Luo Wei: "Miss Luo Wei, you've already figured it out, haven't you?"

  Luo Wei smiled back: "It's just a guess."

  Hol nodded: "Then you have figured it out."

  "Figured out what? Just tell us already!" Theodore excimed in frustration.

  "Isn't it obvious? J?rmungandr spends the other thousand years circling the Misty Pins," Hol said calmly.

  Theodore clenched his fist - damn, he hated when smart people acted all mysterious in front of him!

  Luo Wei drew a tilted "∞" symbol in the griffin's back fur: "Theodore, look, this is J?rmungandr's movement pattern in the sea."

  J?rmungandr doesn't just circle in pce, and its head and tail aren't always connected. Only when it reaches the northern strait does its body form a complete circle - that's its nodal point.

  That night when they saw J?rmungandr, Luo Wei had been puzzled because according to legend, the World Serpent was supposed to be biting its own tail, but J?rmungandr's head was exposed and wasn't biting anything.

  J?rmungandr's body mostly forms an "S" shape. They could actually bypass the Fog Belt to reach the Misty Pins by going west of the Western Continent and the Wastes, but that would mean crossing half the pnet.

  With current navigation technology, such a distance was impossible to achieve.

  The legendary Holy Archmages could cross the pnet, but Aldrich from two thousand years ago was the st Holy Archmage. After his death, no one else could reach the Holy rank.

  The War of Gods consumed more than half of Star of Gan's magic elements. Since then, advancing in magic ranks became extremely difficult.

  At night, the griffin nded on an isnd carrying its smelly human passengers.

  It could only fly about 1,200 miles at most; flying any further would kill it from exhaustion.

  These past days, the griffin had been hovering over the sea without any plump sheep to eat. Its speed had decreased significantly - it could only fly about 500 miles per day, and at night it had to lie on isnds while Troy caught fish for it.

  Troy's fishing skills were nothing to brag about - he couldn't catch fish faster than sea monsters could steal them.

  Although Laura could fish, she was afraid of water and could only wait by the shore for fish to take the bait. The fish here were too clever; after catching two at most, no more would approach, so she couldn't catch many either.

  Tonight, with Theodore and Hol's help, the griffin finally had a full meal.

  Luo Wei also finally enjoyed a proper, fvorful meal.

  She took out all the food and seasonings from her bundle - cookies, small bread rolls, beef jerky, as well as fine salt, honey, and spices for grilling.

  This meal had not only desserts but also delicious grilled fish and seafood, finally making up for all the physical and mental suffering she'd endured these past days.

  The five rested on the isnd for the night and continued toward the shore the next day.

  After discussion, they decided to visit Magic Beast Town, mainly because magical medicine materials were more abundant there, and they needed to buy some healing potions for their internal injuries.

  Well-fed with meat, the griffin flew much faster today, delivering the five to shore in half a day.

  They were now at the northeastern part of the Magic Beast Mountains, almost beyond its borders.

  Troy simply had the griffin fly outside the boundary to take the outer route to Magic Beast Town.

  He worried that after these few days, the magic array might have been repaired, and the griffin wouldn't be able to leave from that end if it went in.

  The further out they flew, the thinner the magic elements became in the air. This was why many magic beasts had been reluctant to leave the Magic Beast Mountains before.

  But now that the Behemoth had awakened, some high-level magic beasts chose survival over cultivation and fled through the magic array to the outside.

  Some flying magic beasts left via the east coast, heading for the Wastes.

  On their way from the mountain border to Magic Beast Town, Luo Wei saw many burned vilges, bones abandoned in the wilderness, and refugees fleeing westward with their families.

  Troy expined that after the magic array was damaged, a group of low-level magic beasts had escaped. These beasts liked to occupy human vilges, turning them into their new irs.

  After all, vilgers usually kept livestock, so the magic beasts could eat fresh meat without having to hunt. These pces were paradise for them.

  Many vilgers, unwilling to see their homes desecrated by magic beasts, burned down their vilges and left to seek life elsewhere.