Yue Zhiyin and Li Yu watched the retreating figure of Qi Yu with their hands behind their backs, gazing for a long time.
"The merfolk are still more important," Si Qing interjected. "Why would the North Sea merfolk appear here for no reason, and even be captured? I think we need to investigate. It might be related to the Evil Ancestor we're looking for."
Si Qing's expression was serious.
Yue Zhiyin couldn't help but nod. "Indeed, the way that villager spoke about capturing the merfolk, it was as if they caught a fish. It doesn't make sense. Let's go take a look."
On the way.
The man leading them walked at the front.
Qi Yu, holding Xiao Minglou, who had been provoked by Yue Zhiyin and the others, followed along.
Unknowingly, the group arrived at the edge of a cliff.
Below this cliff was the surging sea.
And indeed, at the edge of the cliff, a merman with a large fish tail was being held down by several villagers, struggling.
The merman had very fair skin, likely male. His ear fins were light blue, and he had fins on his arms, elbows, and waist, with very beautiful abdominal muscles.
The villagers holding him seemed to be trying to cut their own hands to drip blood onto the merman.
But because the merman was uncooperative, they struggled for a long time without success.
Li Yu frowned slightly.
Yue Zhiyin retreated a few steps and, while the others weren't paying attention, leaped into the sea.
After about fifteen minutes, water began to churn violently underwater.
Immediately after, a black dragon burst out of the waves.
Its roar echoed through the sky.
It let out a dragon's roar at the humans trying to kill the merman, its massive head appearing at the cliff's edge. The Dragon King's eyes were filled with fury, his pair of scarlet beast pupils suddenly narrowing into slits.
The humans holding knives were so terrified they sat on the ground and retreated, and before Yue Zhiyin could roar, they dropped the merman and fled, abandoning the merfolk.
They didn't even care about Qi Yu and the others behind them.
Qi Yu breathed a sigh of relief and took a tentative step forward. Suddenly, she felt her strength return. She realized that the barrier of Seven Wonders Mountain did not extend to the very top of the cliff.
This meant that standing at the very edge of the cliff, where one was about to fall, one could recover their magical power. However, if one stood further in, they would be affected by the barrier and unable to use their magic.
Xiao Minglou was frightened by Yue Zhiyin's dragon form.
With teary eyes, he cried out and hid in Qi Yu's arms, burying his head in Qi Yu's arm, leaving only a fluffy backside exposed.
Qi Yu hugged him tightly and looked down at the merman, who had fainted from excessive blood loss. She reached out to help, intending to push the merman back into the water.
Unexpectedly, the merman opened his eyes, then with a spin, leaped back in himself.
Yue Zhiyin transformed back into human form and walked ashore.
Seeing this, the group intended to return the way they came. However, after only a few steps, the sound of water splashing echoed again. The merman from before returned, propping himself on the cliff's edge and looking at them. His gaze towards Yue Zhiyin was filled with gentleness.
"Merman Xi Yuan thanks Your Majesty for saving my life."
Yue Zhiyin was currently the North Sea Dragon King and the Heavenly Emperor, so Xi Yuan chose a middle ground between the two titles.
Yue Zhiyin looked at Xi Yuan. "You are a merman from the North Sea tribe? If you are from the North Sea, why are you here?"
This place was quite a distance from the North Sea.
"Replying to Your Majesty, I came to find something, to find my brother's mer-pearl," Xi Yuan said, frowning. When this was mentioned, a hint of anger flashed in his eyes. "The villagers of Seven Wonders Mountain often go out to sea to hunt our merfolk tribe indiscriminately. Even the medium for their Seven Wonders Mountain barrier relies on my brother's mer-pearl."
Qi Yu suddenly understood. She remembered that mer-pearls were almost as important to merfolk as the golden cores of human cultivators or the primal cores of other races. Merfolk who had perished could recover as long as their mer-pearl was intact.
"But the villagers of Seven Wonders Mountain, from my observation, seem to have no laws," Yue Zhiyin mused. "Why can they so easily capture merfolk?"
How could humans without magical power easily hunt merfolk? It couldn't always be through deception. It didn't make sense!
"The villagers of Seven Wonders Mountain indeed do not know magic, but their village has worshipped the Underworld Venerable for generations," Xi Yuan said with indignation, his tone stern. "I haven't seen what this Underworld Venerable looks like, but I've only heard that this Underworld Venerable has existed since the Seven Wonders Mountain first appeared."
"The villagers of Seven Wonders Mountain worship him, chanting scriptures and spells for him every year, offering him young maidens. In return, this Underworld Venerable not only blesses the villagers of Seven Wonders Mountain with favorable weather but also bestows upon them a kind of 'divine power'."
"It is said that this divine power can allow them to fulfill their wishes and do anything they desire. Many of my companions, after their tails were injured by these villagers, became poisoned, weak, and unable to control water. Then, they were easily captured and taken onto the boats."
Xi Yuan became more and more angry as he spoke.
Qi Yu, however, only paid attention to the words "Underworld Venerable." The Evil Ancestor did not appear overnight; he was formed from the evil thoughts of the Three Realms and had existed for a long time. Could this Underworld Venerable be related to the Evil Ancestor?
Yue Zhiyin looked at Xi Yuan. "When is the next time Seven Wonders Mountain will offer sacrifices to the Underworld Venerable?"
Xi Yuan was startled. Hanging on the cliff face, he calculated with his tail curled. "It should be tomorrow."
Yue Zhiyin nodded, waved for Xi Yuan to return, and then turned to walk back with Qi Yu and the others.
When they returned to the entrance of the courtyard where they were staying.
As Qi Yu was about to push open the door, she faintly heard the sound of porcelain shattering and a woman's cries from the neighboring courtyard.
"You're back. I heard the Dragon King was furious today. My son was quite frightened and developed a fever. He just fell asleep. Are you all right?" The woman who had agreed to let Qi Yu stay came out, asking as she looked at Qi Yu and the others, seemingly not curious at all about what was happening next door.
Qi Yu looked at the woman and then rushed towards the neighboring courtyard. "I was also quite frightened and had to recover over there for a while before coming back. I was just startled again by the sounds of things being smashed from this side. What happened over there? Did something happen?"