Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

"I only agreed to meet the divine envoy out of respect for the Celestial Charm Sect, but this is basically bullying."

Inside the pavilion, the meeting between the demons of the South Sea and the demons of the Far West seemed far from pleasant.

A thin elder sat at the head seat. His expression was usually unreadable—neither happy nor angry, appearing as calm as the deep sea.

Yet, the moment his face darkened, it felt like towering waves crashing down. The pressure in the room became suffocating, and those around him instinctively held their breath.

Across from him sat the divine envoy. With the mask in place, it was impossible to tell if his face showed any discomfort under the crushing pressure. However, the pair of eyes that peeked through the mask revealed an unwavering calmness.

Huo Tianya waved his hand with a smile. "Sea Master, don't be angry. Let's talk this through calmly. Everything can be negotiated."

At his words, the Sea Master lifted the heavy weight of his aura.

This scene felt strange, as it was a human who was mediating the meeting between the sea demons and the land demons.

Once the dominating pressure was lifted, the divine envoy spoke slowly. "Currently, Abbot Dayu of Buddhist Cloud Monastery is suppressing the South Sea with the Dharma Lotus Platform. None of you sea demons can rise to the surface, let alone set foot on land. While we can lift the blockade, it won't be easy, and it's very risky for us. It's not unreasonable to ask for the Sea-Devouring Demonic Urn as compensation."

"You think I don't know your plans?" the Sea Master said gravely. "We're after the same goal. To put it plainly, we are competitors. There can only be one—"

"Indeed, there can only be one," the divine envoy interjected. "But Sea Master, if we weaken each other, neither of us will prevail. If we cooperate, the final victor will likely emerge from our two factions... That's better than letting someone else claim it."

Huo Tianya smiled faintly and said, "To be fair, we expected the sea to be suppressed by the Dharma Lotus Platform. Even if the demons of the Far West don’t get involved, we at the Celestial Charm Sect will step in. This is the duty of an ally. Honestly, it is a bit excessive to ask for the Sea-Devouring Demonic Urn in exchange for helping the sea demons with this."

Huo Tianya continued saying, "If we don't take the Great Dao of Devouring within the Sea-Devouring Demonic Urn into consideration, this urn is ranked forty-two on the Catalog of the Mortal World's Ten Thousand Treasures. Isn’t it worth way more than this favor?"

The divine envoy glanced at him and then said, "What do you have in mind, Mr. Huo? Since your sect initiated this meeting, surely you have a suggestion you'd like to make?"

"This isn't my will; it’s the Celestial Master’s," Huo Tianya replied. He paused and then said, "We shall exchange a Great Dao for another Great Dao."

The divine envoy's gaze sharpened. "Hmm?"

"You already know what the Ruins of Return Cult seeks… the Bottomless Sea.[1]"

"There aren't many treasures that contain the Great Dao of the Bottomless Sea. What do you really want, Sea Master?" the divine envoy asked.

"The Azure Wave Lamp," the Sea Master replied immediately. "The Azure Wave Lamp is ranked sixty-seventh in the Catalog of the Mortal World's Ten Thousand Treasures. If we trade it for the Sea-Swallowing Demonic Urn, it should still be a profit for you. The extra value will count as repayment for lifting the suppression done by the Buddhist Cloud Monastery."

"Agreed," the divine envoy said as he rose swiftly. "I will return and report this to the two demon kings. If they find it acceptable, I will bring the treasure to the South Sea for the exchange."

"One more thing…" the Sea Master added, "I hope we can establish a mutual understanding. Since we are cooperating, regardless of which side succeeds, we must ensure that the other has a place in the future world."

"Of course." The divine envoy nodded. "As fellow demons of the mortal realm, there is no reason for us to kill one another."

…

"Sea demons are unlike the demons of the Far West—they have never sought conflict with humans, yet now they suddenly wish to invade the land," Chu Liang said. "Celestial Charm Sect must be behind this. That golden toad is clearly a fake."

"Are you saying there is no decree from the South Sea's Hallowed Mother, and that Celestial Charm Sect and the Ruins of Return Cult created that fake golden toad to forge a false decree from the Hallowed Mother?" Wang Xuanling asked.

"Exactly," Chu Liang replied. "That must be the case."

The Ruins of Return Cult was the hardline faction among the sea demons, driven by great ambition. However, this faction alone was not strong enough to ignite a war that could stir the entire South Sea. They could only achieve this if all the sea demons supported them.

The only figure who could make the sea demons willingly sacrifice their lives was the Hallowed Mother.

The Celestial Charm Sect must have contacted the Ruins of Return Cult and given them a way to fake a decree from the Hallowed Mother.

"But that mermaid was able to receive the decree from the Hallowed Mother..." Xu Ziyang said as he glanced at the singing mermaid, his eyes filled with doubt. "Could there be more to this?"

"Most sea demons have no desire to invade the land. If we can expose this scheme, we might be able to prevent this disaster," Chu Liang said. "If not, judging by how the sea demons are behaving, trouble will rise again sooner or later."

"I know of a sea demon who might be able to help us," Xu Ziyang said suddenly.

Chu Liang and Wang Xuanling turned to him in unison.

Xu Ziyang began to recount, "Before I entered the Ruins of Return, I actually encountered a mermaid. At the time, chaos had just started stirring up within the South Sea, and countless sea demons were attacking. Amidst the chaos, I suddenly heard a song…"

As he slowly told his story, Chu Liang and Wang Xuanling learned of his past encounter.

It turned out that Xu Ziyang had not been captured by the Ruins of Return Cult in the beginning.

When chaos started erupting within the South Sea, he instructed his junior brothers and sisters to leave first while he stayed behind to hold off the swarm of demons and find an opportunity to escape later.

Just as the sea demons lunged forward, a haunting, ethereal song echoed from nearby. The serene voice approached, driving away the ferocious sea demons.

The sea demons bared their fangs and claws from a distance but dared not advance on Xu Ziyang. They could only leave in anger.

Xu Ziyang then saw a beautiful young woman draped in light gauze, her ivory skin glowing under cascading black hair. Her bright, lively eyes shimmered like gentle waves, and suspended in the sea, faint silver scales could be seen at her waist.

Xu Ziyang recognized her as a mermaid.

"Human, leave quickly. Go to the shore and warn everyone to stay away from the South Sea," the mermaid girl said softly. "A disaster is about to happen here!"

"Understood," Xu Ziyang replied without hesitation. "Thank you."

As he turned to leave, several shadowy figures suddenly emerged behind the mermaid, wielding sharp blades and exuding a murderous aura, lunging toward her!

"Ah!"

The mermaid cried out, twisting gracefully to evade, but a chain lashed out from one of the attackers, striking her. Blood instantly spilled from her lips.

"Who are you?" the young mermaid shouted.

They were clearly after her. All four of them wore black robes and masks, exuding a surge of diabolical aura that erupted into the sky. In an instant, they closed in, encircling her.

The young mermaid was physically weak, but she had the ability to command sea demons. However, she had just commanded all the sea demons nearby to get out of here. And so, when this sudden attack happened, it was too late for her to summon those sea demons again.

The attackers' cultivation levels were formidable. Each of them cast multiple chains, quickly weaving a net around her, preparing to capture her.

"Hey!"

At that moment, a flash of sword light streaked forth like lightning!

Slash!

One of the masked cultivators was cleaved in half on the spot.

It was Xu Ziyang, who had just left. He sensed that the mermaid was being attacked by the diabolical cultivators and immediately came back to her rescue.

Though the diabolical cultivators were powerful, their cultivation level was lower than the seventh realm. They were no match for him.

As Xu Ziyang's sword qi surged, three of the diabolical cultivators were slain while the last one took advantage of this opportunity to flee with a traversing technique..

Blood stained the sea red.

"Thank you…" the mermaid said weakly.

Xu Ziyang quickly helped her to a nearby reef, tending to her wounds. It was then he learned that she was the princess of the merfolk.

The merfolk held a revered status among sea demons, as legend claimed that the South Sea's Hallowed Mother herself was a mermaid. Their lineage, being half-human and half-fish, valued peace. Only the young women of the merfolk were qualified to serve as envoys of the Hallowed Mother's decree.

As the noble princess of the merfolk, she had long shouldered this sacred responsibility.

After a brief exchange, Xu Ziyang did not stay any longer. He was still in a rush to return and help the coastal villagers evacuate. With the sudden tsunami and the crisis caused by the demons, who knew how many lives by the sea were lost?

The merfolk princess's eyes were filled with sorrow as she said, "I don't understand why the Hallowed Mother has suddenly become so unfamiliar… or why she would issue such a decree."

As Xu Ziyang turned to leave, the waves suddenly surged. A middle-aged man with a cold expression descended from the sky, raising his hand to strike them both down!

Hearing Xu Ziyang's description of the middle-aged man, Chu Liang immediately recognized the figure. "Immortal Yuan Lu!"

At the critical moment, Xu Ziyang pushed the merfolk princess further away into the sea and began fighting Immortal Yuan Lu. Even though this Immortal Yuan Lu was just a clone, it was at the seventh realm. The strength of this clone far surpassed what Xu Ziyang could withstand for long.

In the end, he only managed to release a golden loach before being captured by Immortal Yuan Lu. He lost consciousness, and when he woke up, he found himself in the presence of his esteemed teacher and Chu Liang.

He had no idea where the merfolk princess had gone, but as he watched the ceremony unfold, he deduced that the princess must have been injured. The mermaid singing at the ceremony, bearing the Hallowed Mother's decree, was not the princess. It was likely that the princess' injuries had led to someone else taking on the role of receiving the divine will.

"The Sea Master… Huo Tianya… Yuan Lu… and perhaps even demons from the Far West…" Chu Liang pondered, gradually piecing together their scheme. "It appears not all sea demons are wicked. In fact, the majority do not want to start a war. If that's the case, we might still be able to find the merfolk princess. But…"

As Chu Liang spoke, he suddenly lowered his head, a look of confusion crossing his face.

Seeing that Chu Liang was lost in thought, Wang Xuanling asked, "What are you thinking now?"

"I'm just curious…" Chu Liang replied, looking up, "How did the first merfolk come into existence?"

1. The raw of this is 重溟 (Chong Ming). In classical Chinese texts, this refers to the vast and profound sea. The word "重 (Chong) means deep or profound, and 溟 (Ming) refers to the sea, often evoking an image of the boundless, mysterious, or turbulent ocean. ☜

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: GT

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