The journey of film and television world is endless

If one wishes to touch the true meaning of transcendent power in this world, there are only three known places. The first is Asshai of the Shadowlands in the far east. Asshai is a city steeped in magic. Warlocks, wizards, alchemists, moon singers, red priests, dark sorcerers, necromancers, cloud mages, fire mages, blood mages, torturers, inquisitor knights, poisoners, priestesses, night stalkers, skinchangers, and followers of the 'Black Goat,' the 'Pale Child,' and the 'Night Lion' can all be found in Asshai.

The second is the Land of Always Winter beyond the Wall, the northernmost part of Westeros known to exist. The Frostfangs and several frozen lakes separate the Land of Always Winter from the Haunted Forest. It is named for being constantly shrouded in winter and perpetually frozen. The Land of Always Winter is almost entirely unexplored, or at least no records have survived. It is near the Thenn Valley, rumored to be the origin of the Others.

As for the last, Liu Yuan's finger slowly traced across the map, finally stopping at a cloud-marked area, labeled in the Common Tongue as the Smoking Sea! On the coastline of the Eastern Continent, a long, narrow peninsula once plunged into the heart of the Summer Sea. The city of Valyria was located on this peninsula, also named Valyria.

The Valyrian peninsula was shattered during the Doom, which separated the city of Valyria from the Lands of the Long Summer by the Smoking Sea. Valyria is located in the center of the largest remaining island, surrounded by cliffs, where the island once connected to the mainland. The Smoking Sea is where the Fourteen Flames, the source of Valyria's power, once stood. The Fourteen Flames were a massive volcanic chain extending across the Valyrian peninsula and connecting it to the mainland. The Doom of Valyria caused all fourteen peaks to erupt simultaneously, destroying the Valyrian Freehold. The land crumbled, the ground sank, and the intense flames incinerated even the dragons soaring in the sky. The Valyrian peninsula and the Lands of the Long Summer were separated by the newly formed Smoking Sea, and to this day, the area remains shrouded in thick smoke. Some say it leads directly to the gates of hell.

In fact, Liu Yuan believed that the volcanoes there had never stopped erupting. Some of them even continue to erupt intermittently beneath the sea, creating the unique geographical environment of the Smoking Sea. It is said that even now, the ruined Valyrian peninsula is still unsuitable for ordinary people to live in. People there contract a special disease, and even the rate of birth defects in infants is extremely high.

Traveling east through the Smoking Sea leads to Slaver's Bay, but most sailors bypass the southern end of the Valyrian peninsula, reaching the Gulf of Grief from the Summer Sea.

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Summer Sea. The towering Dawnstar broke through the waves, its five masts providing powerful propulsion. While passing through the Stepstones, they were inevitably targeted by pirates. The results were awkward for the pirates. Some large pirate ships simply couldn't keep up. Smaller longships that did catch up were directly crushed by the ship-of-the-line. Even if a few pirate ships could match its speed, the ship-of-the-line had ballistae waiting for them.

The Dawnstar was equipped with eighteen triple-bow ballistae, possessing formidable firepower. The ballistae could fire not only massive bolts but also round projectiles. A common three-masted sailing ship on the mainland would definitely sink if hit by five or more shots.

On their way, they had crushed or sunk as many as fourteen pirate ships. The remaining pirates, seeing that they were dealing with a ruthless opponent, turned tail and ran. At this point, the ship-of-the-line had reached the northern waters near Lys, and many fishing boats from Lys could already be seen from there.

Lys ranks relatively low among the Free Cities. It was established as a trading colony by nobles and wealthy merchants during the Valyrian era. Many people of Valyrian descent live there. Typical Lyseni have blue eyes, platinum blonde curly hair, and smooth, fair skin, because the blood of the ancient Valyrian Freehold accounts for a large proportion of their ancestry (Lys was an original Valyrian colony and was never conquered).

Lyseni like to spray perfume on their curly hair, and these delicate Lyseni are clearly disdainful of heavy manual labor. Therefore, they import large numbers of slaves, and a large number of skilled craftsmen support Lys's developed handicraft industry, producing exquisite tapestries and fine long daggers. Therefore, Lys is extremely dependent on the slave trade, with the number of slaves once reaching a ratio of three to one compared to Lyseni freemen. Lys is famous for its bed slaves and brothels, breeding and producing beautiful young boys and beautiful female slaves.

The alchemy industry here is very prominent, producing potent poisons, including Lysene Tears and the Strangler. It even includes wonderful perfumes, which once competed with Liu Yuan's Chamber of Commerce for the perfume market. Liu Yuan relied on advanced production technology, while the Lysene Guild relied on cheap labor and raw materials, fighting a trade war. They forcibly reduced the price of perfume by 20%. In the end, the Lysene side, with its large-scale operations, could not sustain it. After negotiations, Liu Yuan's perfume industry controlled production at a relatively stable price, and the two sides cooperated in sales, maintaining a market share of about 22%. The Lysene Guild would compensate Liu Yuan with a portion of money based on the market that year.

However, this time they did not plan to stay in Lys, but turned southeast into the Summer Sea. Two days later, the land ahead could be seen in the distance. And that touch of red on the horizon was the remains of the Valyrian peninsula. Bandier introduced, "Lord, you see that smoky area to the north, that is the Smoking Sea. Legend has it that it used to be a continuous volcanic mountain range, but now it has completely sunk into the sea. The island to the south is the former Valyrian Castle, which is now also shrouded in smoke all year round. Some say that it holds the wealth accumulated by Valyria for thousands of years, but no one who has gone to explore has ever returned. People can only stay briefly in the coastal areas, and they say that even the water there is poisonous. Do you see those towering stone peaks? It is said that they were once the towers where the dragonlords lived."

Liu Yuan's vision could see far away, and the ruins still retained the approximate outline of the city. The island was gray and dusty, and the entire peninsula had very few plants. It should be that the volcanic eruption brought out a large number of toxic substances. These substances, along with the deposition of volcanic ash, have turned this place into a barren land, and even the water source has been polluted.

This sea area is an important shipping lane, and along the way, you can see merchant ships from all over the world coming and going. Some of these small ships sail along the northern coast into the Smoking Sea.

From Bandier, I learned that the Smoking Sea is relatively shallow, and there are building ruins resembling reefs. Large ships cannot enter, only small ships will venture to cross the Smoking Sea along the coast of the Lands of the Long Summer, which will save about two days of sailing.