Lin Xiao wasn't sure how long he had been drifting underwater; he only knew that the Great Elder had been leading him deeper and deeper. The surrounding darkness had long become the norm, and even the immense pressure of the deep sea had gradually become something he could endure.
Another large gulp of seawater entered his mouth, only to be expelled by the power of his throat bones. His oral cavity had long been numbed by the constant rinsing; he could barely feel the coldness of the water anymore.
He slightly turned his head. The Great Elder beside him had vanished, leaving only her voice echoing continuously in his ears.
"Keep moving forward."
Lin Xiao swung his legs and shot forward like a true sea fish. Just as he passed through another dense school of fish, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared before his eyes.
This was already the depths of the Ice Sea. Sunlight from the surface could never reach here. Lin Xiao knew in his heart that the destination of this journey was likely right ahead.
He heightened his vigilance. With a thought, a semi-transparent phantom separated from his body.
As an "assassin" of the soul, it was completely unaffected by the seawater. Under Lin Xiao's control, it slowly drifted forward. Soon, a wondrous sight that could never exist on land appeared in the depths of the ocean.
The first thing that met his eyes was the outline of an architectural complex so enormous it was suffocating.
These structures were not built from ordinary bricks and stone; they were constructed from all kinds of natural crystals, corals, and gigantic tridacna shells.
The Sea Princess clan had not mastered human soul guidance technology and knew nothing of illumination soul tools, yet nearly every underwater building emitted a soft yet penetrating luminescence that could pierce through the deep sea.
In the center of the complex stood a towering palace, at first glance appearing to be encased within an enormous coral. Upon closer inspection, it was adorned everywhere with multicolored glowing pearls that reflected dazzling, prismatic light.
The Sea Princess clan excelled in mental power. Lin Xiao wasn't sure whether they could sense the presence of a soul, so he did not let the assassin approach too closely. He only observed from afar the crystal-like palace gates.
Occasionally, a figure would pass by the palace gates. They resembled humans but were far taller, and instead of legs, their lower bodies were fish-like tails. With a light flick, they could glide a great distance.
Lin Xiao swallowed another mouthful of seawater, feeling the air contained within it. His soul power stirred slightly, and his body sank even deeper.
Only then did he slightly raise his head to look toward the surface above.
Although the Sea Princess clan appeared harmless, their cultivation was profound. Their clan leader even possessed six hundred thousand years of cultivation. Rashly entering would be suicide. Whether an opportunity arose would depend entirely on how well the Great Elder's preparations went.
Above the surface of the Ice Sea, the extremely low temperature had turned vast stretches of seawater into thick layers of ice. Standing in the air and looking out, one could see several icebergs slowly drifting across the sea.
The frigid wind blowing from the Extreme North caused the Great Elder's cloak to billow, revealing skin beneath that bore faint traces of pale blue.
"I'm back."
The Great Elder sighed softly. Suddenly, she reached out and threw off her cloak, revealing a delicate and charming figure beneath.
Beneath the cloak, the mysterious and unfathomable Great Elder of the Holy Spirit Church was far younger than anyone had imagined—excessively so. She appeared to be a young woman who had only just turned twenty.
There were no extra garments beneath the cloak. Her entire body was exposed to the sunlight, her skin gleaming like white jade. Only her wrists, legs, and the sides of her ears retained fish-like scales that covered the important areas.
Her nearly perfect facial features were such that once seen, one could not look away. Below her cheekbones, near her ears, several semi-transparent fan-shaped gill slits gently opened and closed.
Yet these inhuman traits did not mar the harmony of her features; instead, they bestowed upon her a strange, captivating charm.
Her deep-sea-blue eyes gazed at the calm sea surface. The beast-like vertical pupils within them suddenly contracted. In the next moment, vast soul power surged from the Great Elder's body, and enormous waves instantly erupted on the sea surface.
She pointed downward, and the faint blue at her fingertip grew even deeper. An invisible force penetrated the sea, heading straight for the royal palace deep beneath the water.
From afar, Lin Xiao watched the settlement where the mermaids lived. Suddenly, almost every mermaid froze at the same moment. The next instant, hundreds upon thousands of figures surged out from the palace, leaping toward the surface like fish.
Those mermaids resembled an army from the palace, wielding simple spears or coral weapons. In the middle of the long procession, a flash of gold moved with them.
The distance was too great, and the seawater obstructed his view, so Lin Xiao could not clearly see the exact appearance of that golden figure.
But there was no need to see clearly. The moment that figure appeared, even Lin Xiao, who was far away, felt a slight dizziness. He didn't need a clear look to guess that it was the six-hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast.
The true "Sea Princess" of the mermaid clan.
Though he didn't know exactly what the Great Elder had done, Lin Xiao followed her earlier instructions and slowly approached the settlement along the seafloor.
More than a thousand auras, some strong and some weak, emanated from the buildings. Some seemed to be only hundred-year or thousand-year soul beasts—likely still children among the mermaid clan.
As he drew closer, an elegant melody came from all directions, drilling into his ears and mind as though tens of thousands of voices were softly singing beside him.
Lin Xiao's figure instantly froze in place. His thoughts seemed to be carried far away by the song.
The cool sensation beneath his feet caused Lin Xiao to slowly open his eyes. He seemed to be standing on the sea surface once more. The water gradually rose past his chest, his mouth, and nose, continuously pouring into his nostrils, bringing a burning pain.
The sensation of suffocation darkened his vision, and the aura of death once again became vividly clear beside him.
Wrong—I've already absorbed the mermaid clan's throat bone. How could I still suffocate in water?
Lin Xiao slightly shook his head. His heart jolted, and when he opened his eyes again, he found that at some point he had already stepped into the mermaid settlement. Towering coral walls surrounded him, and from time to time, faint voices of conversation reached his ears from afar.
Looking back, an invisible barrier completely enveloped the area. The ocean outside seemed to be separated into an entirely different world. Though it was the seafloor, it felt more like he had arrived in a village from another realm.
Gazing at the palace so close it resembled the crystal palace of his memories, only then did Lin Xiao suddenly remember: the world he now inhabited ultimately possessed soul power—this miraculous energy that surpassed ordinary human understanding.
Although it was the same planet, on this star there existed countless places humans could never reach—places completely different from the world he remembered.
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