Chapter 503: Chapter 492: The Sword Cultivator Father
After Ye Qiu and Old Turtle came in, the palace doors creaked shut, completely eliminating any possibility of retreat.
Li Yuan, covered in scars and frustrated with their stubbornness, looked at them: "I told you not to come in, why wouldn’t you listen? Now, none of us can get out."
When Li Yuan said this, Ye Qiu’s mind sparked, his eyes shining, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly: "Can’t get out? That’s not necessarily true."
Old Turtle banged its head against the formation in front a couple of times, this Array indeed was incomparable to any outside ones; the Array remained unfazed, whereas it ended up dizzy and disoriented. Hearing what Ye Qiu said, it turned its head around in confusion.
"You have a way?"
Ye Qiu gave a confident smile: "I don’t have a way, but it does."
As he spoke, a golden little bird suddenly appeared on Ye Qiu’s shoulder, and the moment it did, it seemed as if the temperature of the sea water rose a few degrees.
The bloodline pressure made Old Turtle instantly lay on the ground, feeling its blood boil, its limbs shaking uncontrollably, not daring to even lift its head.
"What is this?" Li Yuan’s expression grew solemn. Being a Late-stage Nascent Soul, he naturally knew of the Old Turtle’s strength, who was also a Late-stage Nascent Soul. Yet, just at a glance, it made Old Turtle lay down on the ground. What kind of bird was this?
"It’s my companion." Ye Qiu did not reveal the true identity of Little Golden Crow, as in this world it was considered a mythical Divine Beast and he was worried that revealing it would frighten them and bring unnecessary trouble.
"Little Jin, withdraw your oppressive aura, Old Turtle is our companion."
"Chirp..." Little Golden Crow affectionately rubbed Ye Qiu’s cheek. It couldn’t say it was doing it on purpose, who told this little turtle to occupy its spot? Qiuqiu’s shoulder wasn’t a place just anyone could occupy. However, since Qiuqiu had spoken, it decided to let it off this one time.
Even though Little Golden Crow withdrew its bloodline’s oppressive aura, the fear that rose from the bottom of Old Turtle’s heart still left it utterly shaken, and although the little bird didn’t seem large, Old Turtle dared not look it directly in the eye.
"Little Jin, go rescue that person."
"Chirp chirp..." Little Golden Crow cried cheerfully a few times, effortlessly passing through the Array that had just stumped both Old Turtle and Ye Qiu.
Li Yuan said nothing more, his eyes filled with brightness. Trapped in this place for almost three hundred years, he thought he would perish here. Unexpectedly, there was still a chance for salvation.
But what species was this little bird? It looked like a fledgling, yet it was already so powerful. The only certainty was that was of the Fire Attribute; the closer it got, the hotter the surrounding sea water felt.
To Little Golden Crow, what was claimed to be the Array was just child’s play. It gently exhaled a breath of flame, tearing a hole in the Array. However, Li Yuan, who was still at the center of the Array, had a tough time as compared to the flame, as the attacks he had recently endured, such as Heavenly Thunder and Earth Fire, were nothing more than child’s play.
Fortunately, Little Golden Crow knew when to restrain itself and retracted the flames once a gap appeared in the Array, giving Li Yuan a sensation akin to escaping from death’s grasp.
Ye Qiu, ignoring the now damaged Array, reconnected his mind with the residual soul attached to the Merfolk Inner Core.
Li Yuan chuckled at this: "I’d never have thought that Li Xin’s preservation would be so good. The residual soul on this one in my hand has long since dissipated."
"Does senior prefer to recover his strength before heading out, or join us on the adventure?"
"I’m seriously injured, so I won’t compete with you for opportunities. Moreover, I’ve been here once before and took quite a bit back with me. However, you must be careful—there is a hall inside filled with merfolk remains and Merfolk Silk; it’s very dangerous." After giving his advice, Li Yuan laughed and said, "I seem to have forgotten that with your little friend by your side, there probably isn’t an Array that could stop you."
The Old Turtle was rather delighted; without Li Yuan sharing the treasures, it could claim more for itself. However, glancing at the small bird on Ye Qiu’s shoulder, it felt somewhat aggrieved—would it end up with nothing in the end? Still, trusting in Ye Qiu’s character, the Old Turtle resolutely decided to follow him.
Upon seeing this, Ye Qiu responded with a serious expression: "Don’t worry, based on your insistence to join me, I won’t hog the treasures to myself—and Little Golden Crow won’t mind, either."
From then on, Old Turtle was at ease, but it still treated Little Golden Crow with the same reverence as one would treat an ancestor.
Now that Li Yuan had been rescued, Ye Qiu followed the direction indicated by the residual soul on the Merfolk Inner Core; he was curious to see where the residual soul was leading them.
The deeper they went, the denser the Spiritual Energy became. Little Golden Crow was visibly delighted, seeming to enjoy the place very much, though it found the seawater tiresome.
"Qiuqiu, there’s a Spirit Vein below, let’s dig through to it—this way we’ll never lack Spiritual Energy in the future," declared Little Golden Crow with an authoritative tone.
Ye Qiu laughed and patted its small head: "But wouldn’t that destroy the secret realm? We mustn’t do something as foolish as killing the goose that lays the golden eggs."
Little Golden Crow hesitated for a moment; it wanted to say that it had no relation to this, but seeing how much Ye Qiu cared, it backed down: "Then let’s just dig out half, this world is slightly more advanced than the previous one, there must be other Spirit Veins out there."
Ye Qiu agreed with Little Golden Crow and nodded. He actually had his own thoughts about the Small Secret Realm; securing the Spirit Vein would definitely bring plenty of benefits, but one must not be too ruthless. As long as there is a Spirit Vein, the Small Secret Realm would certainly continue to exist.
Now that the merfolk were gone, he could hand over the Small Secret Realm to his sect. Although the outer sea is far from the Tianyan Sect, it is close to the Wuji Sect, and with this Small Secret Realm he should be able to exchange for many valuable things from the Wuji Sect!
The only trouble is the Transmission Array; either destroy it completely or set a trap for the Wuji Sect. After all, the relationship between Tianyan Sect and Wuji Sect had never been good. However, this wasn’t something he needed to worry about; he would leave it to his junior fellow, Qin Guan, to handle in the future!
"We’ve arrived." This place was evidently the source of the entire Spirit Vein, and also where the Spiritual Energy was most abundant. Ye Qiu felt all the pores on his body opening comfortably, and the Old Turtle seemed ecstatic, as if intoxicated by drugs.
"There are living creatures inside," Little Golden Crow mentioned nonchalantly next to Ye Qiu’s ear. But of course, with its level, it didn’t pay much attention to ordinary spiritual beasts.
"Living creatures? Didn’t senior Li Yuan say that all the merfolk have vanished?" Ye Qiu exchanged a serious look with the Old Turtle.
"It’s a kind of Half-human Half-fish creature that hasn’t hatched yet," continued Little Golden Crow.
Ye Qiu understood; it seems the merfolk hadn’t completely disappeared after all—they were Merfolk Eggs. No wonder the residual soul was so concerned; it probably wanted to find a place for the little merfolk before it completely dissipated.
The Old Turtle sighed; he had once had a decent relationship with a little merfolk. He never imagined that the fate of the merfolk would reach such a state. He didn’t know if the merfolk that went to the Upper Realm had all perished. Thinking of the little merfolk not yet born but already burdened with deep-seated vengeance, there was an empathy in Old Turtle’s heart.