The people of the small fishing village saw the commotion and came out to watch.
Gong Zixing and Three Bean had just returned from the Beast-Taming Manor when they saw the scene unfolding over the sea. Three Bean immediately dashed out toward the shore.
“You can’t go into the water!” Gong Zixing shouted after him.
“The Weak Water barrier is already gone. Master and Xuanli are in danger—whether I can or not, I have to go!” Three Bean looked utterly determined.
Although Gu Baiqing’s unstable spiritual energy had long prevented Three Bean from returning to his true form, he still carried residual power that could be used in critical moments. Once he sensed Gu Baiqing’s spiritual power being activated, he could transform—diving into the sea was still possible.
His real danger wasn’t entering the water—but what was in the water.
He knew that creature was in the sea. If it caught him, there would be no escape—only death.
But now, there was no time to think.
Gong Zixing wanted to grab his sword and follow him, but just then, his wife’s voice called out urgently from inside the house.
His wife was going into labor!
In a blink, Three Bean had vanished from sight, and Gong Zixing had no choice but to return to her side.
Beneath their home, he had long dug a water channel connected to the sea, allowing seawater to flow in—so that his wife could give birth submerged in it.
Merfolk births were swift. With a single wail, Gong Zixing’s son was born.
A beautiful, human-shaped infant emerged, floating in the water and breathing freely, tiny gills still visible behind his ears.
Gong Zixing hesitated, but his wife weakly lifted her hand and scooped the child from the water. The gills behind his ears slowly closed.
Snapping out of it, Gong Zixing hurriedly took the baby. “Wife…”
“We agreed—he’ll live as a human. Merfolk may live long lives… but never good ones.”
A human-merfolk hybrid, if kept long in seawater after birth, would become fully merfolk. If kept on land, he would become human.
But as a hybrid, he would still differ slightly from ordinary humans—
—for example, a near-merfolk affinity for controlling beasts, and formidable combat ability in water.
….
At the battlefront, the merfolk and sea beasts had held the upper hand; the advantage was clear. Some small sects, seeing the situation turn, had already begun retreating, leaving the Beast-Taming Manor to take the lead.
But as the battle went on, something felt off.
When had the Beast-Taming Manor ever had so many beast-tamers? There had been only thirty or forty at most—but now there were over a hundred. And yet… these new faces were strange.
Unfamiliar, varied in age yet uniformly young, all moving with unnerving precision. Each wore a half-mask that hid their expressions, and the same disciple robes of the Manor.
It was said that the Beast-Taming Manor had expanded rapidly in recent years, but this number was unbelievable.
What shocked others even more was that their combat strength was astonishing. With their speed in the water, enhanced by a few spells, they could almost catch the merfolk who had transformed into fish-tailed forms. Moreover, the beasts they fought quickly calmed down—unable to attack them normally at all.
Everyone marveled that the Manor’s beast-taming arts were far stronger than rumors had suggested. Clearly, the outside world had underestimated them—they were already capable of rivaling first-tier sects.
With these new fighters, the Beast-Taming Manor’s side gained overwhelming advantage, driving the merfolk’s defenses steadily back.
“When did our Beast-Taming Manor have so many people?” Yu Yingwan asked while fending off an attack, glancing toward Yu Chun.
Yu Chun gave a cold laugh. “There’s a lot you don’t know. Think of them as death warriors. As for how many we’ll have in the future—however many we want.”
Yu Yingwan frowned. Suddenly, she saw one of their elders, under attack, pull one of the masked youths in front of him as a shield.
Given that elder’s skill, he might have been injured—but wouldn’t have died. Yet the youth who blocked for him was instantly torn apart.
Yu Yingwan was horrified—not only by the elder’s cruelty, but by how the youth didn’t resist, didn’t even scream as he died.
And… why did she feel such a strange sense of familiarity toward those boys?
The battle was too fierce for her to think further. She could only press on with the group.
By now, the merfolk lines were collapsing. The beasts were out of control, the enemy’s numbers far exceeded expectation, and their underwater combat ability was staggering. Forced back again and again, the merfolk tried to regroup around their formations.
But when they retreated, they found the defensive formation destroyed—the merfolk anchoring it all slain. Only the offensive formation, hidden within the coral reef, remained active.
The Tribulation-Stage cultivator’s direct assault had been something Mo Xuanli never anticipated.
His very first strike had targeted the defensive array.
The impact was so powerful that even Mo Xuanli and Gu Baiqing, nearby, were caught in the blast.
Mo Xuanli instantly turned, pulled Gu Baiqing into his arms, opened his umbrella, and leapt aside—but they were still spotted by the Beast-Taming Manor’s master, Manor Lord Yu.
“So it’s Mo Xuanli of the Zixiao Sect—alive, after all. So this formation was his work,” Manor Lord Yu said coldly. “Second Elder, Third Elder—he cannot be allowed to leave here alive. If even one disciple of the Zixiao Sect speaks of what happened, it changes everything.”
Besides, the man clearly sided with the merfolk. Better to have him die here—then they could claim he was killed by the merfolk.
Both elders harbored grudges: the Third had personal enmity with Mo Xuanli, and the Second had heard rumors that his granddaughter had been hurt by him. Both charged forward at once.
As soon as Mo Xuanli released Gu Baiqing, he wielded God Nine Transformations in a Divine Staff form, sweeping out in an arc.
Against anyone below Tribulation Stage, he now had real power to fight—he had already reached the late Golden Core stage, nearly perfection.
The Third Elder, first to clash with him, was forced back again and again. He hadn’t expected that in just a few days, Mo Xuanli’s strength would have grown so drastically.
Watching this, Manor Lord Yu—who was hurrying to the sacred grounds with the sect’s old ancestor—was stunned. If Mo Xuanli had advanced so fast here, it must mean the merfolk had granted him access to their sacred place.
Just as the old ancestor had said: to truly break through and cultivate pure spiritual power, the merfolk’s sacred land was indispensable.
Excited, Manor Lord Yu rushed to follow the ancestor—intent on seizing the sacred ground—but Junhua suddenly appeared and blocked his path.
She barely managed to hold Manor Lord Yu off, but she couldn’t stop the ancestor heading straight for the holy site.
The merfolk priests all followed in pursuit—after all, the sacred land was their most inviolable place. Even if the intruder was at the Tribulation Stage, they had to defend it. Other warriors joined as well, but the power gap was too great—one after another they fell, unable to halt the ancestor’s advance.
Even with the advantage of fighting underwater, Junhua was completely outmatched by Manor Lord Yu.
A whip lashed out but was caught steadily by Manor Lord Yu. “Seeing your face reminds me of that wretch who ruined my son. You siblings truly look alike.”
When Junhua had been captured by the Beast-Taming Manor before, the reason Manor Lord Yu recognized her so quickly was because of her resemblance to the royal family. Later, when Fu Ye was captured along with Yu Yingwan, it was the same — even if others didn’t remember, how could Manor Lord Yu forget the merfolk who had harmed two of his sons and almost become his daughter-in-law?
He only hated that back when this brother and sister had been at the Beast-Taming Manor, he hadn’t met them. If he had, he would have captured the last two members of the royal line right then, and today’s battle would have been much easier.
“You’ve met my sister—her death really was connected to your Beast-Taming Manor! And Fu Ye, he’s in your hands too! What did you do to him?”
“Of course they’re dead! And you’ll follow them soon enough!” Manor Lord Yu roared bitterly.
Junhua, enraged, unleashed a sonic attack, but Manor Lord Yu seized the end of his whip and, channeling his spiritual power, slammed it viciously into the ground.
Junhua wasn’t one to back down—while being flung downward, she coiled the whip around Manor Lord Yu’s wrist and dragged him down along with him.
Manor Lord Yu cursed and was forced to summon a beast to catch him. The moment he halted midair, Junhua took the chance to avoid crashing to the ground. She retaliated quickly—her powerful tail swept out like a massive fan, striking Manor Lord Yu off his beast before he could react.
The beast prepared to attack, but under Junhua’s sonic command, it froze.
Fueled by hatred, Junhua’s fighting power nearly doubled, and for a few exchanges she actually forced Manor Lord Yu onto the defensive.
But the gap in cultivation was too great.
At last, Manor Lord Yu found an opening and landed a spell attack that sent Junhua’s body flying uncontrollably through the water.
Manor Lord Yu immediately gave chase, pulling out a magic artifact, intending to capture Junhua alive.
At that critical instant, a flash of lightning streaked through the seawater.
A figure appeared, intercepting Junhua’s swiftly falling body.
Junhua crashed into a pair of arms, heart still pounding. Struggling to open her eyes, she saw Gu Baiqing in black robes, the aura surrounding him so intense it made Junhua shiver.
“Big Brother Mo, you—”
“We can’t win. Take your people to the teleportation array—run.”
The Weak Water barrier had failed, the beasts were out of control, and the enemy’s numbers and power were abnormal. He had already anticipated defeat, but not like this—the enemy was as if “cheating,” and there was even a Tribulation-stage cultivator among them. This battle could not be won. They couldn’t keep letting innocent merfolk die, nor could they allow the events from the original story to repeat.
“No! I’ll stay. You go—”
Before Junhua could finish, Gu Baiqing infused her with lightning energy and hurled her away in one direction—so fast that she shot off even quicker than when Manor Lord Yu had blasted her earlier.
Junhua cursed, but in the next instant she saw Gu Baiqing seize the charging Manor Lord Yu, and, with brutal force, fling him like an explosive toward the distant sacred grounds.
Near the sacred grounds, the priests and merfolk were still fighting desperately to stop the ancient patriarch from advancing.
Manor Lord Yu’s body crashed down like a lightning cannonball onto the patriarch high above, giving the merfolk a moment to breathe.
Junhua stared in shock. What kind of power is that? That’s impossible…
Before he could think further, Mo Xuanli’s panicked voice sounded nearby: “Master!”
But Gu Baiqing had already become a streak of lightning, hurtling toward the patriarch.
He wasn’t acting recklessly—he had first confirmed that Mo Xuanli could handle the two elders alone, then assessed the battlefield and realized there was no chance of victory. So he made his move—his goal was to suppress the enemy’s momentum as quickly as possible with overwhelming power.
As Gu Baiqing charged, the patriarch tossed aside the unconscious Manor Lord Yu and moved to engage.
But he didn’t even have time to react—before he could clearly see who it was, a blinding strike of thunder smashed directly into him.
The patriarch’s figure was engulfed in light and vanished into a cloud of smoke as he crashed to the ground.
Gu Baiqing knew that a Tribulation-stage cultivator wouldn’t die so easily. He drew his sword, Morning Snow, and darted into the smoke.
He had hesitated to use his system points, afraid that channeling too much purchased spiritual power might make him faint mid-battle. But this fight could drag on endlessly, and his opponent was Tribulation-stage—plus, if he intervened too much, he might cause the merfolk alliance quest to fail. After all, the merfolk had to be pushed to desperation to surrender their autonomy and ally with others.
So when Gu Baiqing struck, he was already mentally prepared for possible mission failure—and point deduction. To save some points, he decided to burn through his preloaded spiritual energy instead.
As his spiritual power plummeted and the dizziness threatened to hit at any moment, Gu Baiqing used his ultimate technique, determined to end the fight fast.
If he could kill this old monster, the merfolk would have a chance to survive.
And more importantly—Mo Xuanli wouldn’t end up gravely injured and cause the seal to fail like in the original story.
He had to crush this crisis before it began.
That had always been Gu Baiqing’s Option Two: If the merfolk fell—then he would intervene, and change the story himself.
But as he fought, one thing still nagged at him—why, in the original plot, hadn’t the powerful master done this? Why hadn’t he prevented it, when he clearly had the strength? Was it just a plot hole?
His thoughts snapped off when he suddenly sensed an attack from behind. He spun aside just in time, barely dodging as the patriarch’s body shot past him.
Gu Baiqing froze. If that’s the patriarch… then what’s down there?
The smoke cleared—revealing three youths in Beast-Taming Manor uniforms. Their cultivation was too weak; struck by Gu Baiqing’s lightning, none of them could have survived.
Gu Baiqing was stunned—he had never wanted to harm defenseless youths.
That d*mned old monster had actually been so ruthless as to pull three boys in front of him to take the hit at the very instant Gu Baiqing struck.
Only then did Gu Baiqing notice that there were already several similar boys on the seabed below, each wearing a mask, their faces eerily blank.
They didn’t attack him; they only kept moving toward the sacred grounds. But to the old monster, they were convenient human shields to be grabbed at will.
The old monster didn’t immediately attack again. Instead, hidden beneath his black robes, he watched Gu Baiqing with a twisted expression, breathing heavily—as though exhausted. For someone in the Tribulation Stage, such labored breathing was highly unusual. Was he injured?
“Who are you?” the old monster rasped. “Tribulation Stage cultivation—there aren’t many like that in this world… Lightning attribute? Concealed face under illusion… could it be—”
“Guess again!” Gu Baiqing snapped. He had no time for talk and unleashed a barrage of attacks, pouring out his spiritual power recklessly.
Perhaps because he had met the truly aloof Elder Luofeng before, Gu Baiqing’s sharp, unrestrained manner confused the old monster. Yet the man knew clearly that this opponent was stronger than him. If not for the injury he’d suffered a hundred years ago—one that could never fully heal—he wouldn’t have been beaten so miserably now.
When two Tribulation-stage cultivators fought, the ocean itself erupted. Waves surged violently, the seabed quaked, and no one could approach; anyone who tried would be caught in the shockwaves and torn apart.
Even the lightning from the surface sky was drawn down into the water, making the scene terrifying beyond words.
The distant battlefield was affected too. Mo Xuanli was already fighting with great difficulty, and now he grew even more anxious. If Junhua hadn’t returned to relieve some pressure, he might have made a fatal mistake from distraction.
“Mo Xuanli, stay focused!” Junhua shouted. “The ordinary merfolk have mostly withdrawn. You’ve done enough—leave the rest to us! Go find him, and get out together! I just sensed a powerful beast approaching—none of us can control it. It’s the highest level there is—it must be that old monster’s contract beast. He’s in danger!”
Mo Xuanli’s eyes sharpened. The God Nine Transformations changed again—this time into a delicate fan, its eighth transformation.
With a single sweep, the seawater turned into raging torrents, sweeping everything before it. Even the two Nascent Soul–stage elders couldn’t withstand the force and were flung far away.
Junhua was astonished. Even with a full burst of power, could an ordinary cultivator really have such strength?
Then he turned—and saw Mo Xuanli cough up blood. His body couldn’t handle it. When he lifted his head again, a flash of red glimmered in his eyes, and Junhua froze in alarm. In that moment of shock, Mo Xuanli had already sped off toward the sacred grounds.
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