When we arrived at the undersea palace, it was eerily quiet.
All the surrounding formations and restrictions seemed to have vanished.
Donghua Yufan glanced at Li Batian and happened to notice Mo Li's grave expression. Mo Li stood in the main hall for a moment, then his face suddenly changed. After saying a single sentence, he disappeared at once.
"Please wait for me in the hall."
Donghua Yufan watched as Li Batian's figure vanished in an instant. His speed beneath the sea was far greater than hers. After reverting to his original form, Li Batian plunged straight into the pitch-black seawater and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Tao Yaya looked around curiously.
However, she knew this was not her territory, so she behaved herself and sat quietly, waiting for Donghua Yufan's instructions.
"It's fine. If you want to look around, go ahead," Donghua Yufan said.
A bright smile bloomed on Tao Yaya's face. She jumped up and ran toward a nearby cluster of coral.
Donghua Yufan tried to stop her, but she ignored him, stood up, and walked toward the palace gates.
There was not the slightest trace of Jiuling throughout the entire undersea palace, nor were there any high-level sea monsters within a hundred miles. A vague sense of unease rose in my heart, yet Li Batian did not seem to be in any danger or acting strangely. Since Donghua Yufan was not allowed to interfere in the affairs of the Sea Clan without permission, he could only wait quietly for Li Batian's return.
I thought it wouldn't take long—but two full days passed.
Although Tao Yaya was fascinated by the underwater world at first, she had grown a little bored by now.
Donghua Yufan felt increasingly uneasy and hesitated over whether to go check on him. Just then, he sensed Li Batian slowly approaching and rushed to the palace entrance. Sure enough, in the distance, a massive sea monster glowing crimson and crackling with electricity was rapidly drawing closer.
To be honest, if Li Batian hadn't been her contracted beast—and if she hadn't already grown accustomed to it—
Seeing such a ferocious, hideous sea monster suddenly appear in the dark depths was utterly terrifying. Its entire body crackled with lightning, and its icy eyes sent chills down one's spine.
"Master, Uncle Li looks like he's turned into a sea monster," Tao Yaya whispered from behind Donghua Yufan.
"I think so too," Donghua Yufan replied with a nod.
Clearly, Li Batian heard their conversation. He could be said to know everything that happened in the sea.
But he wasn't angry. As he approached, he quickly transformed into human form, condensing the surrounding seawater into clothing. Striding forward, he spoke before Donghua Yufan could say anything:
"Follow me."
Donghua Yufan and Tao Yaya exchanged a glance and followed without asking why.
"I'll take the little one to the land where water and fire coexist first," Li Batian said, sending the message directly to Donghua Yufan without turning back.
Both Donghua Yufan and Tao Yaya heard him. They looked at each other, and Donghua Yufan asked,
"What happened?"
"Jiulin opened up a separate space near the Tongtian River. Xiao Douding can cultivate there. If you want to leave, there's a teleportation array inside that can send you directly to the eastern coastal lands," Li Batian replied calmly, not directly answering the question, but making sure they understood the situation.
"What went wrong?" Donghua Yufan felt a strong sense of foreboding. He grabbed Li Batian's wrist, stared at him, and asked solemnly.
Li Batian glanced at Tao Yaya and said nothing.
Instead, the message he sent was:
"I'll explain later."
Donghua Yufan understood, though his expression remained grim.
Tao Yaya seemed to sense that something serious had happened. She knew very well that whatever it was, it wasn't something she could handle. Since she couldn't help, the wisest choice was not to cause trouble. So she stayed silent the entire way, following closely behind them and suppressing all her doubts and unease.
"We're here," Li Batian said, leading them thousands of meters down into the deep sea, stopping at the base of an underwater mountain.
He pressed his hand firmly against a specific spot on the rock wall. Almost instantly, a teleportation pattern glowing faintly with dark light appeared beneath his feet.
Donghua Yufan glanced at Li Batian's unreadable expression, then finally took Tao Yaya's hand and stepped into the array.
In the next instant, the atmosphere around them became warm.
When he opened his eyes again and looked around—
Strictly speaking, this place was a cave.
The walls were embedded with countless luminous night pearls, illuminating the entire cavern as brightly as day.
Donghua Yufan quickly realized that only two types of spiritual energy existed here: fire and water. This truly was the perfect cultivation ground for Tao Yaya.
The moment Tao Yaya arrived, she sensed something unusual. It felt as though something within her body was being continuously expelled, while the surrounding spiritual energy surged uncontrollably toward her. Without thinking further, she hurried to sit cross-legged on a nearby mat, hugged Yuan Shouyi, and began cultivating in earnest.
Li Batian glanced at Tao Yaya with her eyes closed and placed a jade slip beside her. Then he looked at Donghua Yufan. Understanding his meaning, Donghua Yufan followed him to the other side of the cave.
"This is a teleportation array. You can leave the sea region from here," Li Batian said solemnly.
"What?" Donghua Yufan was confused. Li Batian was clearly hiding something—otherwise, there was no reason to do this.
"Do you remember the dark power in the sea I mentioned before?" Li Batian continued. "In fact, that power is composed partly of sea monsters. Now we can confirm it belongs to the Soul-Refining Sect."
After a brief pause, he glanced at Tao Yaya in the distance and went on:
"It was that force which previously attacked the eastern regions…"
"Are you saying they don't know I exist?" Donghua Yufan suddenly interrupted.
As soon as he said it, realization struck him, and he continued:
"It's Donghua Yuxian. I can sense Donghua Yuxian moving toward the eastern region."
He hadn't paid much attention to Donghua Yuxian over the past few days, but Li Batian's words brought everything back to him.
"If that dark power really belongs to the Soul-Refining Sect… then Donghua Yuxian is indeed connected to them," Donghua Yufan muttered. His earlier suspicions were clearly correct.
He just hadn't expected Donghua Yuxian to hate him so deeply. The moment they entered the sea's sphere of influence, Donghua Yuxian noticed them. Clearly, she also knew Li Batian's true identity as a demon. It could be inferred that their route had been known to her from the beginning.
"That bitch is really annoying," Li Batian said irritably upon hearing Donghua Yuxian's name, frowning instinctively.
"Hey, I told you to change the name. It's depressing just hearing it."
"What are you talking about?" Donghua Yufan shot Li Batian an annoyed glare.
"Exactly which Soul-Refining Sect is this?" Donghua Yufan rubbed his chin. He felt nothing but hostility toward this mysterious sect, especially since nearly everything he had experienced was connected to Donghua Yuxian passing through it.
"Give me the Power Stone, and then I will upload 5 advanced chapters on my Patreon."