Ye Chuan responded half-heartedly, since he didn’t know the way either and had to rely on this little mermaid to guide him.
Moreover, the commotion from slaying the serpent elder earlier was significant, and there was no telling whether other demonic creatures might be drawn to the scene.
Before they had swum far, Yuyu suddenly stopped, her small face tense with caution as her tail flicked nervously in the water.
"Master, there’s movement ahead," she whispered, pointing toward a patch of pitch-black water in front of them.
Ye Chuan immediately suppressed his aura, allowing his spiritual senses to spread silently.
Soon, he detected a group of dark figures swimming not far ahead—numerous in number, most at the Golden Core realm, with the leader slightly stronger, having reached the early Nascent Soul stage.
"Those are Demonfang Piranhas," Yuyu murmured. "They travel in huge swarms and love to gang up on lone prey. Even ordinary demonic creatures avoid them—they’re really troublesome!"
No sooner had she spoken than the dark swarm sensed their presence and abruptly changed direction, charging toward the two of them.
The lead Demonfang Piranha was noticeably larger than the rest, its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth glinting coldly, its eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
Just as Ye Chuan prepared to strike, Yuyu suddenly stepped in front of him. "Master, leave this to me!"
She took a deep breath and began singing a clear, melodious tune—a sound that rippled through the water. The charging piranhas instantly slowed, the frenzy in their eyes dimming slightly.
Ye Chuan was surprised. He hadn’t expected this little mermaid to have such an ability.
Yuyu turned her head and blinked at him. "This is the Siren’s Pacifying Song. It calms low-tier sea beasts, but it won’t last long. Let’s hurry past while we can!"
"No need," Ye Chuan said, eyeing the swarm of Demonfang Piranhas. With a casual motion, he summoned the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.
"Emperor’s Banner, awaken."
A crimson glow expanded into a domain, enveloping the surrounding waters before countless spectral chains erupted forth, piercing through the sea beasts one after another.
Their souls were swiftly extracted, drawn into Ye Chuan’s soul banner.
[Nascent Soul realm soul absorbed. Artifact enhancement +1%]
[Golden Core realm soul absorbed. Artifact enhancement +0.1%]
[Golden Core realm soul absorbed. Artifact enhancement +0.1%]
...
The dense swarm of Demonfang Piranhas was utterly annihilated by Ye Chuan. Yuyu, though momentarily stunned, couldn’t help but clap her hands in admiration. "Master, you’re amazing!"
"Let’s go."
"Mm!"
They swam a great distance before Yuyu spoke again. "In the past, if we got caught by them, it would take at least half an hour to shake them off."
Noticing her slightly pale face, Ye Chuan retrieved a healing pill from his spatial ring and handed it to her. "You’ve expended a lot of energy. Take this."
Yuyu’s eyes brightened as she accepted the pill and swallowed it without hesitation. The moment it touched her tongue, it dissolved into a warm surge of spiritual energy that spread through her body, replenishing much of the stamina she had spent singing.
"Thank you, Master!" She grinned, her crescent-shaped eyes and tiny fangs making her look especially adorable.
After swimming for another hour or so, the water ahead suddenly grew clearer, no longer as dark, and in the distance, they could faintly make out a glowing coral reef.
Yuyu’s face lit up with joy. "Master, up ahead is the territory of our Siren Clan!"
Ye Chuan looked up and saw the coral reef emitting a soft blue glow, casting the surrounding seawater in a brilliant azure hue. A faint shimmering barrier surrounded the reef, clearly a protective formation set up by the merfolk. The dark expanse of the ocean seemed starkly out of place against these radiant blue shields.
Outside the barrier, several merfolk guards armed with tridents patrolled the area. Upon spotting Ye Chuan, they immediately tensed. "A human cultivator?!"
But when they noticed the little mermaid accompanying him, their expressions shifted to delight.
"It's Yuyu! She's back!"
"Quick, inform the chief! Yuyu has been rescued!"
The guards swiftly opened the barrier to let Yuyu pass through.
"Human cultivator, you may not enter," one of them said, blocking Ye Chuan as he tried to follow. The merfolk gripped their tridents, eyeing him warily.
"Oh?"
"Brothers, brothers! This is my savior! You can't treat him like this!" Yuyu flapped her tail anxiously, nearly stirring up a small whirlpool in her agitation.
After exchanging glances, the guards relented. "Our apologies, honored guest. But you must understand—humans and demons have been sworn enemies for generations... Very well, you may enter."
"No offense taken," Ye Chuan replied calmly before following Yuyu inside.
The moment they stepped into the coral reef territory, a crowd of merfolk swarmed around them, their faces filled with concern.
An elder mermaid woman rushed forward and pulled Yuyu into a tight embrace. "Yuyu, are you alright? We were so worried! We heard the serpentfolk had captured you, but we couldn’t find you anywhere."
Yuyu’s eyes welled up as she tearfully recounted how she had been taken by the serpentfolk and later rescued by Ye Chuan.
Hearing this, the merfolk turned their grateful gazes toward Ye Chuan.
Just then, a dignified middle-aged mermaid clad in a silver-scaled robe approached. His piercing eyes settled on Ye Chuan, assessing him carefully.
"Human cultivator, we owe you our deepest gratitude for saving one of our own. I am Hai Cang, chief of the merfolk."
Ye Chuan gave a slight nod. "It was nothing. I helped her because I needed directions to the Beihua Divine Continent."
He continued, "My final destination is the Donghua Divine Continent, so I must cross the Endless Demon Sea twice."
He could sense that this merfolk chief was no ordinary figure—his strength seemed on par with someone like Qin Tianya.
Hai Cang pondered for a moment before speaking. "Human cultivator, if your goal is the Donghua Divine Continent, there’s no need to detour through Beihua. The Endless Demon Sea connects all four major realms."
"Our merfolk owe you a debt, and we won’t let your kindness go unrewarded."
He paused briefly before adding, "Our clan possesses an ancient sea chart that marks a relatively safe route. Though still perilous, it’s far better than the alternatives."
"If you don’t mind, you may rest here for a few days. I’ll present you with the sea chart and assign a few of our kin who know the route well to escort you part of the way."
Ye Chuan considered this—it was an unexpected boon.
With the sea chart and merfolk guides, his journey would undoubtedly become much smoother. "Then I thank you, Chief."
Hai Cang smiled. "It is we who should be thanking you. Someone, show our guest to his quarters."
With that, he dispatched attendants to prepare the sea chart and arrange the escort.
Ye Chuan followed a mermaid guard to a room constructed from coral, its interior arranged simply yet comfortably.
There was no trace of demonic energy here, offering a brief respite.
He wondered how Qian Shuang was faring on her end.
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
