After bypassing the Zandalar Islands, which had been uneasy recently, the rest of Shenzhenzi's journey to Pandaria was uneventful.
When it comes to understanding Pandaria, no one present can compare to Shenzhenzi, who has traveled back and forth to his hometown many times.
Since they had to avoid Zandalari's attention, the original route was not suitable.
Originally, Shenzhenzi planned to go south through the Island of Behemoths to reach Zhuojin Village in the northeast of Kun-Lai Mountain.
However, because this route was too close to Zandalar, the original plan was eventually abandoned.
After some re-planning, Shenzhenzi decided to take a slightly detour and land on an inaccessible and wild beach in the northwest of Kun-Lai Mountain.
After that, Sarlayan and others need to go around the mountainous area to reach the Shado-Pan Monastery, first meet up with the Shado-Pan, and then officially start traveling to Pandaria after obtaining their permission.
The Pandaren Empire disintegrated after the last emperor, Shaohao, turned his spirit into mist.
Shaohao returned the power to manage Pandaria to the people. Since then, there have been no officials with official backgrounds in Pandaren society, replaced by various sects formed by civilians.
The Shado-Pan is one of them. They are mainly responsible for protecting the safety of the pandaren with force and maintaining the daily security of Pandaria.
To put it simply, the Shado-Pan assumes the military responsibilities of other countries, but they just changed their names.
According to Danmu, the sect responsible for Pandaria's administrative work is called the Golden Lotus Sect, and they are equivalent to Pandaria's government officials.
The continent of Pandaria has a large area, and the local residents are also relatively complex.
There are four regions dominated by pandaren, all located within the Great Wall of Dragon's Spine: Kun-Lai Summit, Valley of the Four Winds, Krasarang Jungle, and the Jade Forest.
The Mantis Plateau beyond the Great Wall is a contested territory. The mantid that ravaged Pandaria have been at war with the pandaren and yaungol for a long time in this land. Niuzao, the black bull among the four gods, sits here.
The Four Heavenly Gods refer to the four supreme gods who sit in Pandaria. In layman's terms, they are the four powerful demigods of the wilderness.
Black Bull Niuzao is one of them, the other three are White Tiger Blood Fury, Green Dragon Yu'lon and Red Crane Chi Jing. Their temples are located in the Mantis Plateau, Kun-Lai Mountain, Jade Forest and Krasarang Jungle respectively.
In addition to the Mantis Plateau, Pandaria also has one of the most dangerous areas - the Dread Wastes.
This is the mantid's lair, and countless mantids live here. Every once in a while, the mantid will launch a large-scale attack on the Dragon Spine.
This is called reincarnation in Mantid society. Each attack and training period is a reincarnation, and new heroes will be selected in each reincarnation.
These heroes will be sealed in amber and preserved after the end of the current reincarnation. The Mantid plans to wait until enough heroes are accumulated before releasing them all to defeat the pandaren's defenses in one go.
All mantids believed without reservation that they were not far away from that day.
In addition to the above areas, Pandaria also has the most important land, which is the Vale of Eternal Blossoms located in the center of Pandaria.
However, long before Shaohao decided to transform into the mist, the Valley of Eternal Blossoms was entrusted by him to be sealed by the four gods. The gate to the Valley of Eternal Blossoms had not been opened for tens of thousands of years.
With Shenzhenzi's huge size and strong physique, once it decides to swim with all its strength, its speed will never be slower than Sarlayan's full speed flight.
After waiting on the moving Lost Island for less than half a month, Sarlayan, who came to the tower of Wuchen Temple every day to climb up and look into the distance, finally saw the thick fog on the sea in the distance.
"This fog..."
Sarlayan looked at the thick fog that almost covered the sky and the sun in surprise: "Is it too exaggerated? This level of fog actually did not condense into water droplets and drip down."
Shang Xi, who was beside Sarlayan, stroked his beard and explained: "This is because the mist is not formed by the accumulation of evaporated water. It is essentially created by magic. It contains the essence of Emperor Shaohao and has a certain self-awareness."
[In fact, this thing is equivalent to a special level. Only people with permission can enter and exit freely. 】
[The right to issue licenses is completely in the hands of Shaohao, who decides who comes in and who comes out. 】
[Shenzhenzi took advantage of his racial talent. Strictly speaking, he should be regarded as a stowaway and is not within Shaohao's control. 】
As he spoke, Shenzhenzi, who still hadn't slowed down, rushed into the fog.
The residents of Wandering Island were notified in advance, and they all stayed at the door of their homes to wait and see what would happen.
The thick fog quickly spread to Shenzhenzi's back, and Sarlayan couldn't even see Valeela and others standing beside him. He was literally invisible.
Just when Sarlayan was about to ask, a soft little hand stretched out to him.
Sarlayan thought it was one of Valeera and Stellagosa, and subconsciously held it until he realized that something was wrong with the feel.
"Um?"
Since they often need to participate in battles, neither Valeera nor Stellagosa has the habit of wearing accessories.
But the plain hand handed to Sarlayan could clearly touch some artificial jewelry, which should be the gems on the bracelet.
"...Oni?"
"Hehe~ That's the right answer~"
When Onyxia let out a triumphant laugh like a stolen chicken, Valeera and Stellagosa immediately reacted and let out angry roars at the same time.
Valeela: "O.N.C.H.Y!"
Stellagosa: "How dare you run away?! I'll bite you to death!"
Onyxia: "Why are you shouting so loudly when you are right next to me? I can hear you."
"Haha~"
Shang Xi intervened at the right time with a kind and teasing laugh.
"It's nice to be young."
Sarlayan rolled his eyes helplessly and took the opportunity to let go of Onyxia's hand.
"...That's enough for you, you are still doing business."
The three people retorted in unison: "This is our business!"
"Uh...it's up to you."
No longer paying attention to the noise around him, Sarlayan activated the eagle eye technique under the barrage of gloating fire, trying to see through the fog that blurred his eyes.
However, there was still a foggy scene in front of her.
[This is a fog generated by Shaohao's soul. It's too easy for you to see through it. 】
Sarlayan shrugged nonchalantly: "Forget it then, let's watch Shenzhenzi's performance next."
[It’s ridiculous to say that this fog is ridiculous. I even suspect that satellite positioning may not be able to scan Pandaria. 】
[After all, it is a product of magic. Although science and magic have the same goal, and they are both tools to explore the truth, there are still considerable differences in the details. 】
Hundreds of years have passed since Shenzhenzi last entered this fog, but in Shenzhenzi's subjective consciousness it was not that long, only about ten years.
Shen Zhenzi entered the fog without slowing down at all, running rampant as if the full map was activated.
Sarlayan once had the idea of forcibly breaking through the level through exhaustive methods, but after learning the origin of the Mists of Pandaria, he immediately realized that this method would not work.
As long as you don't get Shaohao's approval, you can't get through the fog no matter how hard you try.
Even at Shenzhenzi's speed, he sailed in the fog for most of the day, which shows how thick the fog is.
During this time, the residents of Pandaria stayed at home. Once they stepped out, they would become blind and unable to see anything.
When the density of the fog began to decrease, the bored residents of the island realized that their destination was close at hand.
After officially breaking through the fog, the towering mountains first appeared in front of Sarlayan and others, covered with snow from the middle of the mountains upwards.
No man-made buildings can be seen on the back side of the mountain at a lower altitude. As Shen Zhenzi said, this is an inaccessible and wild area.
"Here we are."
Shenzhenzi's rich voice reached the ears of everyone on the Wandering Island: "This is Kun-Lai Mountain. Children, the hometown you dream of is right in front of you."
Hundreds of years have passed, and the people who knew Shen Zhenzi have long since died. Shen Zhenzi himself has no intention of landing on the island. He is parked far away in the outer sea, quietly watching the pandas on Lost Island lower their boats beside him.
After being trapped in the fog for more than 10 hours, Sarlayan was eager to explore this strange land.
"Master Shangxi, let's take the first step."
Shang Xi smiled and nodded in response: "Go ahead, I'll arrange the shifts for the people leaving the island first, and we'll see you in Pandaria by chance."
"Let's go!"
Sarlayan jumped into the air and transformed into a large gryphon. Onyxia, Stellagosa and Valeela refused to give in to each other, jumping on Sarlayan's back almost at the same time and pushing each other.
"Don't crowd! First come, first served!"
"Haha~ Who cares about you? If I grab it, it's mine."
"Get away! Black guy!"
