Fang Yuan dropped an information path mortal Gu casually in front of rank eight Immortal Gu House Merit Obelisk.
Inside this Gu worm, Fang Yuan truthfully mentioned his experience of collecting black oil on the small island, as well as his experiment towards the merit board, if Gu Immortals arrived after him, they would see this intel as well.
There was no need to hide anything.
Firstly, they had their own guesses already, and secondly, it was easy to verify.
Fang Yuan might as well reveal this before they had experimented.
"Or rather... in plain words, this secret is not a secret, Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable set up this true inheritance intentionally, he wants people to carry out acts of kindness."
This was the style of Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable.
At this point, Fang Yuan was already fully convinced that this was Paradise Earth's true inheritance.
Gu Masters and Gu Immortals leave behind their respective inheritances, this was the greatest cultural trait of this world.
Every inheritance contained the person's markings, their style, or their important unfulfilled wishes.
For example, the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance was to take revenge on Gu Yue clan, even in death he wanted revenge. Thus, he left the video behind of the Gu Yue clan leader's defeat, he dug the underground cave and lured Fang Yuan to destroy the Gu Yue clan's spirit spring.
Or like Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, this was the luck path true inheritance left by Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, the goal was to help the entire Huang Jin bloodline to maintain their rule of the region, it was Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's act of helping his descendants.
And Hei Fan's true inheritance, Hei Fan originally intended to pass everything to his granddaughter, but with twists of fate, his wishes were not fulfilled.
And Shadow Sect's true inheritance, if Spectral Soul Demon Venerable had not failed and was not captured by Heavenly Court, this true inheritance would not exist. But against his wishes, he was captured and Fang Yuan remained as his lingering hope in this desperate situation, to increase his strength, Spectral Soul formed Shadow Sect's true inheritance.
Every inheritance was different. Paradise Earth's true inheritance was different from the rest, it was filled with serenity, kindness, warmth, and light.
"If one day, I fail and die, having no hope left at all, I will leave my inheritance behind as well." Fang Yuan thought, even though he was an otherworldly demon, he had lived, struggled, and fought in this world for so long, he had already assimilated into it.
3If he created a Fang Yuan true inheritance, he would encourage his inheritor to pursue eternal life as well.
3Time passed quickly, seventy to eighty days went by.
During this period, Fang Yuan did many missions, his name started to move up the rankings on the merit board.
Swish swish swish...
Ebb and flow, the moist sea breeze landed on his face, Fang Yuan had arrived at the sea market.
He took a mission, it was to punish an unscrupulous merchant in this sea market.
Sea markets were very popular in Eastern Sea, they varied in sizes. being small, middle, large, and super sea markets. If one classified them according to time, there would be temporary and permanent sea markets.
The sea market was the place where cultivation resources were gathered and exchanged, in this paradise, there were sea markets as well.
This was a permanent sea market. Even though it was not open all year round, most of the time during the year, it was open.
The core of the sea market was an island. This island would be submerged for a period each year, that was the time the sea market closed. When the island emerges, the sea market would open.
Outside the island, there were many Gu houses in the shape of boats, their decks would be linked together to form this peripheral sea market.
Standing on the deck, Fang Yuan was surrounded by people.
There were human Gu Masters and also mermen.
There were many mermen, almost half of the population, this was very rare in the five regions. After all, humans were the dominant race, the other variant humans were all suppressed and had no living space, they had to live while keeping a low profile.
"Come, come, take a look, this is a superb crystal coral."
"There are three Gu house River Boats left, quickly buy them before they are sold out!"
"Purchasing grand soil, I will buy as many as you can sell..."
Shouting, clamoring, and bargaining noises were everywhere, they entered Fang Yuan's ears as he felt a sense of liveliness around him.
Large numbers of Gu Masters were displaying goods on the deck and creating their stalls, very few mortals were in charge of the businesses.
Fang Yuan went past Gu house after Gu house, going towards the core island at the center of the sea market.
He had already investigated, the mission was to punish an unscrupulous merchant, and he was on the island.
Of course, the mission was just a secondary objective, his true goal was to obtain intel.
This sea market was the closest to Demon Suppression Regret Crying Sea, because there was a large number of Gu Masters and forces here, Fang Yuan had a high chance of getting useful information about regret Gu here.
Even though Fang Yuan had arrived here for a long time, he did not manage to enter Demon Suppression Regret Crying Sea even once.
Inside this paradise, Gu Immortals did not have much freedom of mobility.
Like the first mission, he could only move around the island, there was a limit to the distance he could go. Every mission had this same restriction.
To return to the Merit Obelisk, all the Gu Immortal had to do was to recite 'return' three times in their mind.
From this, Fang Yuan could feel Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable's powerful methods. Even with Fang Yuan's deep foundations and rank eight cultivation level, he could not unravel Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable's arrangements, even though he had not stopped researching about this Merit Obelisk and the paradise.
Other than that, Gu Immortals were also restricted in communication. Firstly, they could not connect to treasure yellow heaven or the outside world. Secondly, they could not talk to each other. Precisely so, they had to use the crude method of leaving information path mortal Gu in front of the Merit Obelisk.
"This should be the place." A moment later, Fang Yuan stopped in his tracks.
He was at a gambling den, the door had three words written on it, Golden Jade House.
Golden Jade House was at the center of the island, it was a place of highest authority in this sea market. Ordinary Gu Masters could not enter, this place had strict security.
But how could mortal methods stop Fang Yuan?
"I should attempt the rock gambling too." Fang Yuan smiled to himself.
1Punishing the unscrupulous merchant did not mean killing them, Fang Yuan was a merchant once, he had managed his own gambling den, he knew what the perfect way to make a gambling den merchant suffer was.
Thinking of this, Fang Yuan stepped in.
Memories surfaced in his mind once again...
"Hahaha, who will gamble with me? Even the saintess is afraid, would you people dare?" A muscular merman shouted arrogantly.
Around him, there were many human Gu Masters and mermen. Most of the mermen were looking at him angrily, they could only grit their teeth.
"This Lu Da is too despicable, he dares to provoke Saintess openly in the sea market!"
"He does not have the guts, he is merely backed by Frost Tide tribe's leader."
"This cannot go on, it will sully Saintess' reputation, what do we do?"
The blue scaled and red scaled guards looked at each other in worry.
"So what?" Xie Han Mo smiled: "Let him be arrogant, no matter how much reputation I lose, he cannot shake my foundation. Since he is doing this to provoke me now, it means they are already panicking. We do not need to bother with this, we can win if we continue with our original plan."
Hearing this, the red scaled and blue scaled guards felt a sense of realization.
"Saintess is right, this Lu Da is just a dancing clown."
"But I feel really bad for letting Saintess suffer such a humiliation, can't any of our mermen stand up to face this Lu Da?"
Xie Han Mo smiled: "Lu Da is a rank four expert, he has reputation built over a decade in this sea market. I understand why no mermen are standing up for us, we need to understand their circumstances."
1As she said that, a voice reverberated in the area: "I will gamble with you!"
Who was it?
Who dared to challenge Lu Da's authority?
Everyone turned to look, a human Gu Master walked out of the crowd.
Xie Han Mo was stunned as the two guards said: "It's the human Gu Master we saved!"
The merman Gu Master Lu Da was very surprised, he frowned as he looked at Fang Yuan, saying in a grim tone: "Human Gu Master, these are the affairs of mermen, you really want to interfere?"
"To speak the truth, your saintess saved my life before, I need to repay this debt." Fang Yuan had a firm attitude, he spoke to Lu Da without fear.
"This lad..."
"We did not waste our effort in saving him."
The two guards nodded.
Xie Han Mo sighed: "Let's go out, he is an outsider, we cannot let him sacrifice himself for nothing."
The two guards were surprised, they quickly stopped her: "Saintess, you analyzed the situation earlier, we cannot show up. Once we do, we will fall into their trap."
In the den, Lu Da had a sinister expression as he laughed from anger: "Good! Human Gu Master, since you want to die, don't blame me. I have already explained the rules of the gamble, let's go, I will let you choose first, we will see who finds better Gu worms!"
"You can choose first." Fang Yuan's gaze flickered with mysterious light as he smiled calmly.
The first round was quick, Fang Yuan won.
The second round took a lot longer, but Fang Yuan still won.
"Human Gu Master, I underestimated you. Tell me your name, you are qualified to take up space in my memory." Lu Da had a solemn expression, he looked at Fang Yuan in a different light.
"I am Gu Yue Fang Yuan, remember that. I owned gambling dens in the past." Fang Yuan suddenly raised his voice: "The final round, go ahead."
Lu Da chose a rock silently, next, he shattered all of the rocks in the den.
"You are breaking the rules!" Fang Yuan's expression changed.
Lu Da laughed: "Rules? I said that both sides cannot attack each other, but that does not include these rocks. I can confirm that this rock contains a Gu worm, while you are empty-handed, no matter what Gu worm I have, you are bound to lose. Lad, you dared to interfere with just rank three cultivation level, and especially in the sea market that I have managed for a decade. Hehehe, you can suicide, I won't have to dirty my hands."
Fang Yuan raised his fists, ready to fight a battle to the death.
"Hold up." Everyone moved aside to open up a pathway as Xie Han Mo walked into the den with a cold expression.
-x-X-x-
Pushing aside his memories.
Fang Yuan walked into Golden Jade House.
This gambling den was quite high-end, there were tens of huge rocks in the hall, behind the hall were many rooms with an assortment of rock dissecting Gu worms for the customers to enjoy using. Of course, experienced rock dissecting Gu Masters were also ready on-site.
Whether these rocks contained Gu worms, Fang Yuan could easily find out.
He was a Gu Immortal, immortal investigative methods could find mortal Gu with ease. Similarly, even if the Gu worm inside was extremely weakened, he could heal them.
Even if they could not be healed, don't forget that Fang Yuan was a refinement path quasi-supreme, he could obtain basically all the mortal Gu that were currently here with great ease.
Of course, there existed such things as immortal rocks as well, or rather, immortal materials. After Immortal Gu seal themselves and hibernate, the corresponding dao marks' immortal material would form on their surface. Most immortal investigative methods would be ineffective against them.
Fang Yuan was about to use his methods to teach this unscrupulous merchant in Golden Jade House a lesson when suddenly, he heard some commotion behind the hall.
"You are dishonest!" Mermaid Xia Lin shouted with anger and shock.
"I'm dishonest? Hehe, how so? This is clearly recorded in the information path Gu worm, even though you returned a sum, a large portion has not been repaid." Standing before the mermaid was a merman, he was large like a bear, there was a scar on his face, giving him a sinister aura.
"You, you, you!" Xia Lin pointed at the merman with red eyes: "You guys are shameless, you changed the agreement details, our contract was ten percent interest, but you raised it to sixty percent!"
The scarred merman's face became solemn, he looked at Xia Lin with a vicious gaze: "Young lady, you cannot spread fake news like that! Are you trying to ruin our reputation, this is detrimental to our business, who would come to our shop after this? Can you bear the cost of our losses?"
"Screw you! Even if I die, I will expose this shop's evil deeds."
The scarred merman changed his tone as he said eerily: "Die? You are too naive, sometimes, being alive is worse than dying."
Light flashed in Fang Yuan's eyes, this was a familiar voice, he was reminded of the mermaid girl from a few months ago.
Why was she here?
Xia Lin's tears fell from her face.
Several months ago, her only family member, her grandfather, died.
Merman sea funerals were very expensive. In order to bury her grandfather, she had to borrow primeval stones. To repay the debt, she had to take a risk and collect black oil, almost dying in the Earth Trench as a result. Fortunately, she met Fang Yuan and was saved miraculously.
Xia Lin also obtained gather oil Gu from Fang Yuan, her efficiency in collecting oil increased, she quickly gathered a huge amount of primeval stones from selling oil.
She brought these primeval stones to Golden Jade House to repay the debt but this shop was too shameless, they actually changed her agreement terms.
Xia Lin had the urge to die.
Her only family was gone, she was all alone in this world, she was ostracized by her tribe since a young age, all these circumstances made her feel lost and dejected, the world had turned grey, she could not find any joy in living.
"What is so scary about death? I'll die and end it all!"
Thinking of this, Xia Lin took action with a yell.
Swoosh!
An explosion was heard as a torrent was shot out.
The scarred merman did not expect that in this situation, a rank two Gu Master would dare to attack him, a rank three, in his territory, the Golden Jade House.
The scarred merman was caught unprepared, he was washed away by the torrent, crashing into the wall as many decorations shattered.
The commotion was huge, the Gu Masters who were quietly choosing and dissecting rocks all came to watch.
A large number of eyes turned to look at Xia Lin and the scarred merman.
"What happened?"
"Hehe, what else could it be, this Golden Jade House must have tricked the innocent again."
"Quiet, this Golden Jade House's owner is the tyrant around here."
"I heard that Golden Jade House often acts as loan sharks and exploits low ranked Gu Masters."
"Let's not attract trouble, this is the problem of mermen, we humans have nothing to do with it."
At this time, the scarred merman stood up from the rubble: "You have such guts to attack me, I will make you wish you were dead!"
He walked towards Xia Lin, she was pale with fright, suppressed by his aura, but she gritted her teeth and did not step back.
The distance between the two shortened, when the scarred merman was about to attack, he heard a voice: "Wait!"
The scarred merman's actions stopped, he changed his expression of anger and ruthlessness as he lowered his head towards the person: "Shopkeeper, what brings you here?"
This was Golden Jade House's owner, a big bellied yellow scaled merman.
The yellow scaled merman frowned, he shouted at the scarred merman: "What are you doing? Are you trying to destroy my shop?"
"Shopkeeper, she..."
Before the scarred merman finished his words, he was interrupted.
"How many times have I told you, we need to act peacefully, peace brings fortune, do you understand?"
"Yes, yes." The scarred merman did not dare to retort, he nodded like an obedient child.
A chill emerged in Xia Lin's heart.
She had gone through lots of difficulty, being brought up by her grandfather, she had experienced the bright and dark sides of life.
"Someone who can make this scarred merman so respectful must be more terrifying!" Xia Lin knew this clearly, she looked at this yellow scaled merman, her alertness was raised to its limit.
The yellow scaled merman looked at Xia Lin for some time before speaking: "Little lady, don't worry, I am an understanding person. With me around, I will ensure that nobody attacks you. But I want you to be reasonable as well, your debt is in black and white, do you want to deny it?"
Hearing this, Xia Lin felt enraged: "You guys were shameless, you changed the terms on your own, from ten percent to sixty percent interest. I do not owe you anything, I already repaid my debt."
The yellow scaled merman smiled even brighter now: "Little lady, to think that your acting skills are so profound at such a young age. But it is no use! No matter how convincing you are, without evidence, you cannot prove anything, we have the agreement here, it is clearly stated, everyone can tell who is in the wrong."
"You, you, you!" Xia Lin pointed at the yellow scaled merman, unable to say anything from anger.
The yellow scaled merman laughed as he waved his hand: "Forget it, you are a young girl, I will not bully you, others might say that my Golden Jade House is bullying customers. How about this, repay half the debt and I will let you go without any other problems."
"I am already very sincere. If you return it now, you will only pay thirty percent interest, isn't that market rate? Tell me which moneylender isn't operating at this price? You said that we had a ten percent interest? Who would believe you? Try and find it outside, which shop would give that price?"
Xia Lin's chest was bobbing up and down, her eyes were reddened.
The market was thirty percent, that was precisely why she borrowed from Golden Jade House. But to think that it was a trap, she had gotten scammed.
Seeing that Xia Lin was silent, the yellow scaled merman took out an information path mortal Gu: "This is our loan agreement, if you return the money, I will return you this Gu now."
Xia Lin was stunned before sneering: "I do not have enough primeval stones."
The yellow scaled merman laughed as he clapped: "Don't worry, you can use Gu worms instead. I know you have a gather oil Gu, you can use it to repay your debt."
Xia Lin heard this and realized at once: "So that is your true goal, you want my gather oil Gu? Hmph, this is a rank five Gu, are you insane! Even if I die, you won't get this Gu."
The surrounding Gu Masters went into a commotion upon hearing this.
"Gather oil Gu? Did I hear wrongly?"
"That rumored rank five Gu that is the hot topic recently? I heard it has incredible efficiency in gathering black oil!"
"Not just incredible, it is superb. Even though gather oil Gu is rank five, it does not expend primeval essence but the Gu Master's bone marrow, even rank one Gu Masters can use it!"
"I heard that some people overused the gather oil Gu and killed themselves."
"Sigh, those people have no restraint. If they use bone path Gu worms with it, gather oil Gu is very safe!"
Clap clap clap.
The yellow scaled merman clapped: "Young lady, you are a smart girl, I am sure you know the logic that fortune attract wolves. How can a rank two Gu Master like you own a rank five Gu? Take it out, even if I let you off, others will still come after you, hand it over and live a stable life, isn't that better?"
"No! Even if I die, I will not hand it over to a scumbag like you." Xia Lin resisted with determination.
The yellow scaled merman felt a headache.
It was difficult to take someone else's Gu worm, she only needed one thought to self-detonate the Gu, by then, the yellow scaled merman's plan would be ruined.
The best situation was for Xia Lin to hand it over.
Otherwise, he could use theft path methods.
But theft path Gu Masters did not exist in this paradise.
And even if there were theft path Gu Masters, stealing a rank five Gu was too hard!
The yellow scaled merman was not flustered, he had already planned this and expected the situation. He could not force Xia Lin too harshly now, thus, he took a step back.
"How about this, I will give you a chance, but you must do the same. We can gamble."
"Gamble?"
"We will gamble rocks and see who excavates Gu, and if we both do, which one is better. We will decide the winner from two out of three victories."
Xia Lin smiled coldly: "You are unscrupulous and went back on your words, how can I trust you after you changed the terms earlier?"
The yellow scaled merman thought about it, he suddenly waved his hand as an information path mortal Gu flew to Xia Lin.
Xia Lin received it with deep shock.
The yellow scaled merman added: "I can make an oath to the Sea God."
Mermen were different from humans, they had their racial religion, they believed in the Sea God. Making an oath using the Sea God's name was a huge matter, it proved that he was very sincere.
Almost every merman's faith was in the Sea God.
The yellow scaled merman said again in a sincere way: "What are you hesitating for? Rock gambling depends on skill but also luck. I gave you a chance, don't go overboard, I will tell you the truth, this is your only way out today, you should seize the chance."
The yellow scaled merman used both the stick and the carrot, Xia Lin was greatly flustered.
While she hesitated, a voice suddenly said in her mind: "Don't be afraid, gamble with him, I am here!"
"Master Chu!" Instantly, Xia Lin almost screamed from joy.
Fang Yuan added: "But you must change the gambling terms because this is too mild, if you trust me, we will make this a huge gamble!"
"I trust you, Master Chu!" Xia Lin responded without any hesitation.
Her life was saved by Fang Yuan. If he wanted to harm her, there was no need to save her.
"My life was saved by Master Chu, if he wants to harm me, so be it, I will just return this life to him!"
Thinking like this, Xia Lin responded in her mind: "Master Chu, tell me what to do, I will follow your instructions."
-x-X-x-
Rock gambling was truly a matter of luck, nobody could deny it. Be they Gu Master or Gu Immortal.
But the yellow scaled merman was very confident in himself.
Because he was prepared.
All these years, he had gambled with the rocks in his own Golden Jade House. He had observed, analyzed, and chosen some rocks with great precision, he was very confident in this gamble.
These rocks naturally did not contain valuable things, otherwise, he would have taken them himself, he would not leave them in the shop.
He had to maintain his business.
Most of these rocks would have Gu worms, even though they were not valuable, they were a form of excitement for the customers. This was like fish bait, they would want to continue gambling and investing.
The yellow scaled merman knew the locations of where these rocks were placed, sometimes, he even showed off his rock gambling skills in front of customers, opening Gu worms and showing that he was a great expert in this rock gambling activity.
Now, the yellow scaled merman was using these rocks to gamble against Xia Lin, he was very confident in himself.
But in the first round, he tasted defeat.
Xia Lin opened a rank three Gu worm, it was superior to his.
This was a good start!
The surrounding Gu Masters were shocked.
The yellow scaled merman was also suspicious and uncertain, was this mermaid girl a hidden expert?
He had suggested a two out of three format earlier, but Xia Lin requested to change it to five contests, the bet was higher now, he staked the entire Golden Jade House. At the same time, if she lost once, she would have to hand over the gather oil Gu.
But now, Xia Lin won, not only did she keep gather oil Gu, she even won twenty percent of Golden Jade House.
"What a joke, I lost?!" The yellow scaled merman could not believe it.
He stared at the mermaid girl, his suspicions fading slowly.
The yellow scaled merman was very experienced, he could tell that Xia Lin was a newbie, her expression of joy after getting a Gu worm was not fake, she was genuine.
Furthermore, Xia Lin did not know how to dissect rocks. She had asked the rock dissecting Gu Master in Golden Jade House to open her rock.
"Damn it, she had some dog shit luck!"
2"Thankfully, we changed the rules from three rounds to five rounds, I have a lot of chances left, I am not in a passive spot."
Thinking of this, the yellow scaled merman looked at the rock dissecting Gu Master behind Xia Lin with a subtle gaze.
The rock dissecting Gu Master nodded mildly.
The yellow scaled merman smiled to himself secretly, in this situation, no matter what rock Xia Lin got, even if there was a Gu, it would be destroyed, how could she possibly win against him!
The second round.
"I will choose first." Xia Lin said.
"Go ahead." The yellow scaled merman smiled and replied.
Xia Lin walked around for a while and was dazzled.
"I will choose this." Suddenly, she stopped as she pointed at a weird rock.
This rock was very strange, it had multiple holes and was distorted in shape, it was not very compact and felt like a pile of sand.
Normally speaking, such a sandy rock would not have any Gu worm.
Seeing Xia Lin's choice, the yellow scaled merman laughed.
He pretended to walk around, touching and knocking the rocks, after a while, he chose a huge rock and said: "This is my choice."
The rock dissection started.
The yellow scaled merman did it himself while Xia Lin asked the rock dissecting Gu Master.
This was an open gamble, they dissected the rocks in the hall. More and more spectators came, they talked among themselves as the newcomers learned of this gamble and gained interest, they chose to stay and watch.
For Gu Masters, this was a huge gamble.
One was the entire Golden Jade House, it had a lot of funds after years of operation.
The other was a superb rank five gather oil Gu.
The bet was almost equal on both sides, gather oil Gu was just too amazing, it generated immense profits by collecting black oil.
The yellow scaled merman chose a huge rock, he needed some time to dissect it.
For Xia Lin, it was very rapid. The sandy rock was just too rough and coarse.
Xia Lin's rock dissecting Gu Master was very casual in his actions, he had no pressure. If he destroyed the Gu worm in the process, the yellow scaled merman would be very happy after all.
But at this time, Xia Lin said: "Use the grey soil method."
The rock dissecting Gu Master stopped his action, he said: "Are you sure? This method has limited effect on sandy rocks."
"Yes." Xia Lin responded.
The rock dissecting Gu Master shook his head: "Little lady, I am not lying, I will not lie since I am the one dissecting this. Why don't you ask around, everyone knows that the grey soil method has little effect on sandy rocks."
"I do not need that, just do as you are told, this is in the agreement." Xia Lin insisted.
"Alright, alright." The rock dissecting Gu Master nodded.
Once he used the grey soil method, the sandy rock's dissection became painfully slow.
The rock dissecting Gu Master was very annoyed, earlier it was like he was using a knife to cut tofu, but now, he was stabbing it with a needle while expending even more primeval essence.
"Use the flame smoking method." A moment later, Xia Lin added.
The surrounding Gu Masters gasped, they wanted to stop her.
The rock dissecting Gu Master said as well: "The flame smoking method will penetrate the rock, if there is a Gu inside, it will die before it is excavated."
"Just do as you are told." Xia Lin said expressionlessly.
The surrounding Gu Masters sighed, someone said: "Is this girl really gambling? She cannot even be considered a newbie, she is just toying around!"
But Xia Lin had a firm expression that was somewhat relaxed.
The rock dissecting Gu Master shook his head: "Since you want that, let's do it, everyone can tell that I am not sabotaging you, this is your request."
"Use the dripping method."
"Blue mark method."
"Planting qi method."
Next, Xia Lin gave several precise instructions.
The sandy rock was already fist sized, but no Gu worms came out yet.
The rock dissecting Gu Master had an ugly expression, he felt that Xia Lin was purposely toying with him, she said those names that she knew randomly.
"Alright, give it to me, I will dissect it myself." Xia Lin added.
"What?" The rock dissecting Gu Master was stunned but quickly reacted as he let out a breath of air, passing the rock to Xia Lin.
Xia Lin bit her tongue and spat out blood at the rock, before using gather oil Gu to apply suction force on the rock.
Crack.
The rock cracked, a rank three Gu worm was exposed.
"There was a Gu?"
"What Gu is this? I have never seen it before."
"It is asleep, by the looks of it, it is complete and uninjured."
The surrounding Gu Masters went into a commotion.
The rock dissecting Gu Master was stunned completely, he looked at Xia Lin with a dumbfounded expression, thinking suspiciously: "Is this girl really tricking us all?"
The yellow scaled merman also stopped his dissection with a dark expression.
Even if he opened it, his rock only had a rank two Gu, but the other party had a living rank three Gu!
"There was a Gu! Master Chu was not wrong after all!" Xia Lin was overjoyed.
Among the crowd, Fang Yuan smiled lightly.
There was no Gu in this sandy rock, there was only a Gu material.
Fang Yuan instructed Xia Lin to indirectly manipulate this rock dissecting Gu Master and refine the Gu material. Eventually, when Xia Lin dripped her blood and used gather oil Gu, the final step was completed.
Normally, newly refined Gu worms would be active, but Fang Yuan used a unique Gu refinement method that made the Gu worm hibernate. This allowed him to trick everybody that was around, nobody saw through this or found any flaws.
Quasi-supreme refinement path attainment level, it was not a joke!
Everyone was not calm, they looked with Xia Lin with a different gaze now.
"Who sent you here?!" The yellow scaled merman shouted, his composure was gone.
He realized something wrong, thoughts surged in his mind.
He had offended many people over these years, he felt that Xia Lin was a bait, he had fallen into a trap. This rank five Gu was used to trap him, it was truly a huge gamble!
"Calm down, calm down."
"I cannot take any more risks, the other party came prepared."
The yellow scaled merman wiped off his cold sweat as he focused his gaze.
He had a trump card.
There was a special batch of rocks in this Golden Jade House.
These rocks were not natural, the yellow scaled merman had created them artificially.
He first made living or dead Gu worms look like they were in a hibernating state, he then added rock fragments around them and eventually created artificial 'rocks'.
Rocks that contained Gu worms often had some observable traits, making them different from ordinary rocks.
These kinds of rocks were not easy to find.
Sometimes, in order to resolve the lack of supply of gambling rocks, the yellow scaled merman would create fake rocks himself. Of course, not all of these rocks would contain Gu worms, some only had these observable traits.
The third round, defeat.
The fourth round, defeat again!
The Gu Masters watching this gasped, nobody had expected this to happen.
Everyone looked at Xia Lin with wariness and solemness.
The yellow scaled merman turned pale, he gritted his teeth, ruthless light flashed in his eyes, he was like a jackal forced to the end of a cliff.
"The final round, I cannot afford to lose! I need to use my strongest trump card."
The yellow scaled merman's trump card was naturally overpowering, he hid the carcass of a rank five Gu in a fake rock, according to the gambling rules, only a living rank five Gu could beat him.
Both sides chose their rocks and dissected them.
Snap.
Fang Yuan suddenly snapped his fingers, using a time path immortal killer move1!
The entire Golden Jade House and even the island became still, anything and everything became motionless.
Fang Yuan walked out of the crowd, coming in front of the yellow scaled merman who was focusing on the flame and dissecting his rock carefully.
Fang Yuan squeezed the rock lightly, he saw the carcass of a rank five Gu.
Next, he placed this carcass into Xia Lin's rock and returned to the crowd.
At the next moment, time resumed.
-x-X-x-
The result of the fifth round made the yellow scaled merman dazed on the spot.
His eyes were about to pop out.
If he was not witnessing this personally, he would not believe it!
He remembered clearly that this was the Gu worm carcass that he had put in the fake rock, but why? Why!
Why was this Gu worm carcass not in his hands but in his opponent's hands?
The yellow scaled merman could not understand.
"Is this all an illusion?" He was going crazy, his pale face surged with redness.
He suddenly pointed at Xia Lin as he screamed in a shrill voice: "You cheated!"
The mermaid girl Xia Lin heard this and became enraged.
She was also kept in the dark, not knowing of Fang Yuan's methods, she shouted: "You lost fair and square, are you going to deny that in front of everyone?"
The yellow scaled merman looked at Xia Lin and the surrounding Gu Masters, his gaze became hollow as he muttered: "No, this is not real, everything is fake, this is an illusion."
He stumbled back and wanted to run away from this cruel reality.
Looking at his pitiful demeanor, the surrounding Gu Masters had complex expressions, they looked at Xia Lin with trepidation and wariness.
The yellow scaled merman was almost mentally broken by Fang Yuan!
Xia Lin pursued: "Let's transact, you did not win a single round, this Golden Jade House is mine."
The yellow scaled merman shuddered like he was shocked with lightning, he screamed in response: "No, this is mine, this is my foundation, I will not give it to anyone! Don't even think about it, you can have it over my dead body!!"
"Sir, we can force them to go down with us!" The scarred merman came up and said with a sinister expression.
The yellow scaled merman shook again.
He wanted to do that, but hearing these words, he realized something.
"No matter who it is, this mermaid girl is just a pawn. The other party could manipulate this situation remotely, setting up a trap against me that I could not deal with. How can I face someone of such a magnitude? If I fight now, wouldn't I be courting death?"
2The yellow scaled merman did not want to give up his Golden Jade House, but compared to his life, the latter was more important.
The yellow scaled merman looked around him, instincts told him that the enemy was among this crowd.
He felt suspicious of everyone, but he could not confirm their identity.
"I admit my loss, I lose!" Suddenly, he stopped his methods as he sprawled on the ground like a dying fish, shouting loudly.
He prostrated on the ground, admitting: "No matter who you are, I admit my defeat, is that enough? You can do anything with me, but before that, may you please enlighten me, when did I offend you?"
Everyone went into a clamor.
The yellow scaled merman's actions were unexpected, some people snorted in disdain, some felt that he was able to put down his pride and was quite a formidable person.
An unscrupulous merchant that had been in power for decades was naturally not so simple.
Xia Lin was also dazed, at the same time, she felt deep admiration towards Master Chu.
She understood clearly that this was all due to Master Chu, without his guidance, Xia Lin would be in even deeper trouble than the yellow scaled merman. But looking at the prostrating yellow scaled merman, Xia Lin felt joyful and also relieved.
"It is time." Fang Yuan smiled, guiding Xia Lin.
Xia Lin spoke to the yellow scaled merman: "Do you know why you lost?"
Seeing her speak, the crowd went silent.
The yellow scaled merman raised his head, looking at Xia Lin: "I do not know, please enlighten me."
"Because someone wanted you to lose." Xia Lin stated an obvious fact.
The yellow scaled merman's heart jumped, he lowered his head: "I understand, I understand."
Xia Lin added: "Do you want this Golden Jade House back?"
"What?" The yellow scaled merman was stunned, what did she mean? Of course he wanted it back, but he did not know about the other party, what did they mean by that? Were they toying with him or had ulterior motives?"
Xia Lin continued: "I have a condition before I return it to you."
The yellow scaled merman started to kowtow: "Revered lady, please tell me."
Xia Lin looked at the yellow scaled merman as she said slowly: "The reason why you ended up like this was because of just desserts, you committed too many sins. From now on, you have to commit acts of kindness, do good deeds and turn over a new leaf, I will let you off and return this Golden Jade House. But remember, if you return to your old ways, we will take not just this Golden Jade House next time."
Once she said that, all the Gu Masters showed perplexed expressions.
After so much talk, Xia Lin and her backer actually had such intentions?
They were promoting kindness?
This was not a common thing.
The yellow scaled merman was also surprised but he did not dare to show anything on the surface, he quickly thanked her profusely: "I will change, I will definitely turn over a new leaf. Revered lady, you are the benefactor of my life, you changed my ways. You are like a saintess guiding people towards kindness and away from evil. I was wrong, I was really wrong, thank you, Saintess, for giving me this chance, from now on, I will be a good person and dedicate my life to doing good deeds!"
The yellow scaled merman lowered his head and apologized sincerely, he was like a pitiful child.
Xia Lin's face flushed: "I am not the saintess, I have no qualification to be one, don't spout nonsense. Remember your promise, we will be watching you. If we find out or anyone reports you in the future, you will regret it."
Saying so, Xia Lin turned around and left.
The surrounding Gu Masters left a path for her.
Xia Lin had just left the Golden Jade House when she suddenly vanished without a trace.
At the next moment, she appeared at the edge of the island through Fang Yuan's teleportation.
"It's safe here, you can go back now." Fang Yuan did not show up, he only transmitted his voice.
"Master Chu, you saved me again, how can I repay you?" Xia Lin called out in her mind: "Master Chu? Master Chu..."
"We will meet again if we are fated to." Fang Yuan said as he smiled, memories emerging in his mind again.
On the beach, Fang Yuan chased after Xie Han Mo and the rest who were leaving: "Please wait!"
Xie Han Mo and the rest stopped walking, while the two guards stared at Fang Yuan in annoyance.
"Lad, stop following us."
"If you want to repay the debt of gratitude, you should get away from us. Do you know that Saintess could have stayed hidden this time, but to save you, she showed up. Now, we failed to find any evidence and even made the other party alert."
"I know!" Fang Yuan was panting.
"You know nothing." The blue scaled guard rolled his eyes.
Fang Yuan chuckled, raising his head and looking at Xie Han Mo and the guards: "I was too rash, but after that, I understand now. You are the Merman Imperial Court's current generation saintess, you came here to find evidence of Frost Tide tribe's corruption. I can help you in this matter. Because I operated gambling dens before, I know about their workings. The main avenue for this Frost Tide tribe's money laundering has to be that gambling den earlier."
"Please give me a chance saintess, let me repay the debt of saving my life."
Both guards hesitated, they looked at Xie Han Mo.
Xie Han Mo's thick eyelashes drooped down, before she opened her eyes and looked at Fang Yuan with a crystal clear gaze, after three breaths of time, she nodded: "Then I will thank you in advance, human Gu Master. What is your name?"
"My name is Gu Yue Fang Yuan. You can call me Fang Yuan." Fang Yuan laughed heartily.
-x-X-x-
Time passed quickly, more than twenty days passed again.
Before the Merit Obelisk, Fang Yuan looked at the rankings with his arms behind his back. His position had fallen to fifth already.
Initially, he was at the front, but changes started to occur.
Gu Immortals realized that as long as they looked into this Merit Obelisk, they would be able to find many options.
These options had price tags, one could use their accumulated merits to exchange for them. Immortal materials, Immortal Gu, Immortal Gu recipes, immortal killer moves, and even Immortal Gu House, they were all available.
With the merits that Miao Ming Shen and the rest had, they could only exchange for the stuff at the bottom of the list. Those expensive options were like carrots dangling above the donkey, they made these Gu Immortals very proactive.
Competition was getting more intense.
Fang Yuan's focus was not that, his only goal was regret Gu.
Regret Gu was very important to Fang Yuan. Even though the items in the Merit Obelisk were very valuable, they were merely icing on the cake for Fang Yuan, regret Gu could help Fang Yuan gain a qualitative change.
But among these rewards, there was neither regret Gu nor the exchange of Merit Obelisk itself.
This meant that the rewards listed were not fully comprehensive.
Regret Gu was not part of the rewards, but that did not mean that regret Gu was not inside this paradise.
Fang Yuan did not waste his time, he looked for clues and chose specific missions, after using wisdom path methods to deduce, many of his suspicions were lifted. Eventually, his focus was completely on Demon Suppression Regret Crying Sea.
There were many rumors regarding this sea area.
Through Fang Yuan's deductions, there was a high possibility of regret Gu being in there.
However, even though Fang Yuan knew the location, he could not get close.
The mission of punishing the unscrupulous merchant twenty days ago was the closest Fang Yuan had ever gotten to Demon Suppression Regret Crying Sea. But he had tried, after just thirty li away from the island, he could not move closer.
"How can I get into Demon Suppression Regret Crying Sea?"
This was a problem that gave Fang Yuan a headache.
Paradise Earth's arrangements were too powerful, Fang Yuan could not act freely. His space path attainment was also not impressive, he had tried to use Fixed Immortal Travel earlier but it could not activate, even with an immortal killer move that Fang Yuan thought of. This meant that once Fang Yuan left the paradise, Fixed Immortal Travel would not allow him to re-enter again.
"As for these people..." Fang Yuan looked at the names of the Gu Immortals on the merit board, he squinted.
He wanted to keep these people around.
On one hand, killing the Gu Immortals in this paradise was risky.
On the other hand, these Gu Immortals were now earning merits and getting rewards, they were like livestock getting fattened. Fang Yuan could slaughter them when everyone went out, it would give him much greater benefits.
1Thus, not only did Fang Yuan not harm them, he even helped them with more detailed information.
Miao Ming Shen and the rest were competing more intensely. Especially since mission rewards were observable and limited, everyone could exchange for them, once someone got something, others could not.
Thus, even though they did not try to kill each other, they schemed and purposely gave out false information in increasing frequency.
In this situation, the 'honest and truthful' Chu Ying was like an outlier, he became very prominent. Even though Miao Ming Shen and the rest did not say anything, they became increasingly friendlier towards Fang Yuan.
1A change occurred three days later.
A new mission appeared on the Merit Obelisk: Head to the Sacred City of the mermen, attend the Sea God Ceremony, and defend the city from the assault of sea beasts.
Once this mission appeared, Fang Yuan selected it.
"The chance I have been waiting for is finally here!" Fang Yuan was very excited.
The Sea God Ceremony was unique to the mermen, in this ceremony, males and females would gather and form new families, they would also elect the new Saintess.
The saintess had an incredibly high status in merman society.
And Fang Yuan had already gotten crucial information, in this paradise, the saintess had an incredible role. Every time a new saintess was elected, their main mission would be to enter Demon Suppression Regret Crying Sea, using their singing to soothe the killing intent of the demon and stabilize the sea area.
"This Merit Obelisk's missions are meant to benefit the humans and mermen, bringing prosperity to the people and punishing evil while promoting kindness. After the saintess is elected, she would have to enter Demon Suppression Regret Crying Sea, by then, a relevant mission might appear. But no matter what, I need to accept this mission and meet the saintess in advance."
"After so long, the Sea God Ceremony is finally here!" Xia Lin pushed open the window of her inn room, the noise of the crowd outside could be heard.
Her room was on the second floor, Xia Lin looked down and saw people moving in the streets while closely packed together. All sorts of flags were waving, there were temporary shops selling Gu, snacks, and even gambling dens, all of the businesses were doing well.
Xia Lin's mood was quickly affected, she became quite happy.
Splat.
Suddenly, with a soft sound, a pearl landed on Xia Lin's window frame.
Xia Lin was dazed before she flushed rapidly.
Pearls had a special significance in the Sea God Ceremony, it meant a proposal. If someone tossed Xia Lin a pearl, it meant that they liked her and wanted to marry her.
"Who is it?" Xia Lin did not dare to pick up the pearl because that action had deep meaning behind it, she looked down and saw that dozens of men were looking in her direction, tossing the pearls in their hands.
"Su Yi!"
"Su Yi!" "I love you!"
"Accept my love, Su Yi!"
The men tossed their pearls while shouting.
"Hey miss!" Someone called out to Xia Lin.
Xia Lin turned her gaze towards a young man on the street, he was a merman in tattered clothes, he was clearly poor.
The merman youngster flushed as he said: "Miss, I tossed that pearl to you, I had too little strength, I can't throw it high enough, can you please toss it back to me."
Xia Lin instantly understood, this youngster wanted to toss his pearl to Su Yi but had too little strength, it ended up going to Xia Lin instead.
"Lady Su Yi is truly a famous beauty, her charm is too great, be it young boys or mature men, they are all in love with her."
Xia Lin breathed out slowly, next, waves splashed as the pearl was lifted from the ground, going into the youngster's hands.
"Thank you, thank you!" The youngster was overjoyed, he tossed the pearl with all his strength.
The pearl got higher and higher, it was in the right direction now, but Su Yi frowned as she closed her window.
The youngster's pearl landed on the window and fell down, over a dozen pearls suffered the same fate. But these pearls were different, they were huge and shiny, they were not common.
On the street, the men did not disperse after this, they got even more excited, more and more people came to Su Yi's area and wanted to see her beautiful face. Some still had hope and wanted to toss their pearls, after all, what if they got lucky?
"A bunch of commoners with nothing better to do." Su Yi frowned, a pink cloud cushioned her tail as she floated downstairs.
She had incredible beauty and arrogance on her face, but the most attractive part were her snow-white scales.
Merman scales varied in different colors, white scales were extremely rare, it was considered the purest color and was extremely idolized in the merman society.
Two mermaid nannies followed after her as they muttered.
"These fellows should look at themselves in the mirror, they want to be Lady Su Yi's husband? Simply laughable!"
"Our Lady Su Yi is a contestant for the saintess position, she would not accept any man's pearl."
The merman saintess was pure and flawless, once she obtains the position, she would not be able to marry for life, she had to keep her virginity.
1Xia Lin walked out of her room, lowering her head: "Sister Su Yi."
"Little sister Xia Lin." Su Yi showed a faint smile, hiding the arrogance deeply as she spoke: "How was your rest? Have you thought it through?"
"Thank you for the hospitality, right now, all the inns are fully booked, without you, I would not have had a place to rest." Xia Lin immediately thanked.
A mermaid nanny smiled: "It was fate that you met with our Missy. In this vast sea, the meeting of two mermen is not easy, you two are fated to meet. I will say this bluntly, ordinary mermaids would die to be acquainted with our Missy."
Su Yi was not just a white scaled mermaid, she had a high status, and was the doted daughter of a strong tribe leader.
"Nanny Rong, what are you saying? I met with Xia Lin because we liked each other. Xia Lin, don't have any worries, go ahead if you have any busy matters. If you follow me to this Sea God Ceremony, the risks are high." Su Yi walked towards Xia Lin as she held her hand, saying sincerely.
Xia Lin was moved: "Sister Su Yi, you have helped me too much, since you want to become the saintess, I will definitely support you. But I am afraid that I am too weak, there are only four follower quotas after all."
Su Yi's eyes shined brightly, she held Xia Lin's hands as she said excitedly: "Xia Lin, thank you, with your help, I will have a higher chance of becoming the saintess."
Xia Lin had low cultivation level, she was only rank two but she had a rank five Gu worm.
Gather oil Gu, a top tier rank five Gu!
Of course, this Gu worm had no offensive might, but Su Yi had already found out about the details of the saintess test, the gather oil Gu would be very helpful in one of the rounds.
-x-X-x-
Fang Yuan walked in the merman Sacred City, he did not disguise himself, he was in Chu Ying's appearance. But his aura was completely concealed, he was like a mortal.
On the street, people moved about fluidly, those who brushed past Fang Yuan would never imagine that a rank eight Gu Immortal was walking so closely beside them.
On the two sides of the street, there were shops and houses arranged in an orderly scale-like manner, the houses of mermen had their unique style, most had seashell or conch designs. Most were huge seashells and conchs, or modified shells of giant crabs and turtles. There were also few Gu houses that were a symbol of wealth and authority, they had great defensive properties. Other than personal estates, Gu houses used as shops were also booming with business.
As he walked, the people walking in front of Fang Yuan started to move away, they were cheering loudly.
Walking closer to take a look, Fang Yuan saw that a mermaid was receiving a jade pearl from a male Gu Master with teary eyes.
This pearl was quite rare, it was like glowing jade and had the shape of an eyeball.
This was not something valuable in the eyes of experts, as for Fang Yuan, it was a mortal material that he had no use for. But it was owned by the rank two male Gu Master, it was not easy for him to obtain this rank four Gu material jade eye pearl.
The mermaid might have noticed his feelings, she received the jade eye pearl in public as it signified her acceptance of his love.
Next, the mermaid placed the pearl into her mouth, everyone started to cheer and shout, the couple started to blush and turn red.
This action was not so simple, it meant she had accepted the young Gu Master's proposal!
"This paradise does not discriminate between races, merman and human can freely fall in love and have children without obstruction."
"But in the five regions, it was forbidden for merman and human to get together, not only would they be discouraged, their children would also be ostracized by both sides or even killed."
Fang Yuan had an eerie gaze.
The Sea God Ceremony was around the corner, the entire Sacred City was oozing with a joyful and festive atmosphere.
This couple was not the first that Fang Yuan saw, they might be very simple and insignificant figures in the Sacred City, but being ordinary did not mean one could not be blissful, this beautiful moment would become a cherished memory etched in their minds.
The memories of the five hundred years of his previous life started to surface again.
A group of mermen were looking at Xie Han Mo, Fang Yuan, and the rest with an imposing aura.
"I am Investigator Wu De, there have been many reports by different clansmen that our current generation saintess Xie Han Mo has an affair with the human Gu Master Gu Yue Fang Yuan, I am here to investigate it!" The leader was a jade-scaled merman who spoke in an icy tone.
"What?"
"I dare you to say that again!"
The two guards behind Xie Han Mo were furious, they wanted to attack in anger.
Xie Han Mo had a calm expression, while Fang Yuan had a dark expression as he clenched his fists.
He helped Xie Han Mo investigate the gambling den, they found a lot of corruption evidence, the saintess' mission had a qualitative breakthrough.
But the other party was not going to wait for the end, they schemed and spread vicious rumors, saying that the saintess was impure and had an affair with a human Gu Master.
These rumors had no evidence and were merely made up, Xie Han Mo and Fang Yuan did not care about them. But to think that the investigator from the Merman Sacred Court would actually come!
"Mobilizing the investigator without any evidence, I am afraid that Frost Tide tribe leader was not the only corrupted person, there is a higher-up involved here!" Fang Yuan transmitted to Xie Han Mo.
Xie Han Mo frowned, with slight hesitation, she spoke: "I am the saintess, you are a mere investigator, do you have the elder assembly's token?"
The jade-scaled merman smiled, taking out an information path Gu worm.
Xie Han Mo was calm: "Just this?"
The jade-scaled merman smiled again: "This cannot allow me to investigate the Saintess, but Fang Yuan is different, he is a human Gu Master. Forget about the token, I can investigate him even without one!"
Even though Fang Yuan was a human and humans were the rulers of the five regions, Eastern Sea's Merman Sacred Court was a super force, Fang Yuan had no background himself, the jade-scaled merman was not lying.
"Too vicious, I cannot believe that Frost Tide tribe's leader is such a person!"
"He is afraid, he knows how amazing Fang Yuan is, he is afraid that we will find out more evidence as time passes."
The two guards stood in front of Fang Yuan.
After this period of time, they had already acknowledged Fang Yuan.
"Wait, if both sides clash, that will be what the enemy wants to see, we will not be able to explain ourselves. I will go with them, we have a lot of progress in the gambling den, even without me, you can still win if you continue on that trail!" Fang Yuan transmitted.
"No way!"
"Fang Yuan, you are too naive, if you end up in their hands, you will live a fate worse than death."
The two guards shook their heads.
Fang Yuan smiled: "What is there to fear? I will die at worst. You saved my life before, in that case, I will repay it now. Do not look down on their schemes, this was targeted at me on the surface, but the true goal is Saintess. Once her reputation is hit and rumors spread, her status might be affected. Sacrificing me is a small issue, but we must defend Saintess' position, without this, how can you investigate and punish those corrupted people?"
1The two guards hesitated.
Xie Han Mo was still composed, she said to the jade-scaled merman: "Go back, I will not hand him to you."
The jade-scaled merman was slightly stunned before he laughed: "Saintess, you want to defend this human Gu Master? Even at the cost of conflicting with us investigators?"
Xie Han Mo nodded: "Go back."
The jade-scaled merman looked at Fang Yuan before turning to Xie Han Mo, he showed a smile as if his scheme succeeded: "Good! We are not Saintess' match, we can only return in defeat. Hahaha!"
Saying so, he waved his hand and left with the mermen.
"Saintess, why did you do that?" Fang Yuan was anxious: "Like this, you..."
For the first time, Xie Han Mo interrupted him: "Fang Yuan, you are a good person."
"Hmm?"
"You are not afraid of death, other than courage, the biggest reason is that life is boring right? You seem to be disappointed in this world and in your own life, there is deep fatigue hidden in your eyes. But undeniably, you are a good person." Xie Han Mo said softly.
1Fang Yuan: "..."
Xie Han Mo continued: "And I am also a good person. How can a good person sacrifice another good person?"
Saying so, she winked at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan was a little dazed, this was the first time he had seen such lively expressions from Xie Han Mo, she was quite cute and cheeky.
"Then... what about the rumors?"
"Indeed, that damned investigator is going to make up stories when he returns!"
The two guards were very worried.
Xie Han Mo's expression went back to normal, she said aloofly: "Then let them."
...
Several days later, the Sea God Ceremony started.
The male mermen wore their shell armors, they carried long spears, javelins and blades. According to traditions, these shells and weapons were made by them personally using locally sourced materials.
The female mermen, the mermaids, wore seaweed strips of various colors on them. Pink seaweed strips were used by young unmarried girls, widows wore black seaweed strips, while noble ladies wore gold, silver, and crystal colored ones. Ordinary mermaids wore brown, dark blue, and grey seaweed strips.
This was the traditional costume of the mermen, it was quite unique.
Long long ago, before mermen learned how to use Gu worms, they lived a primitive lifestyle. Males hunted while females foraged.
At the center of Sacred City, people gathered, singing and dancing.
A large number of merman warriors were waving their spears, their armors clashed and created loud sounds.
The mermaids' seaweed strips were like rainbow ribbons fluttering in the water, they waved in sync with the singing, experiencing no tiredness.
This moment was reserved for the mermen, all the human Gu Masters were watching outside.
The singing and dancing lasted for hours, mermen, male and female alike, continued to walk out of the area with shattered armors or fatigued bodies.
Gradually, several mermaid girls emerged, they were the contestants for this year's saintess competition.
But what surprised Fang Yuan was that out of the nine competitors, not all of them had white scales. it seemed like in this paradise, it was not only white-scaled mermaids who could vie for the saintess position, mermaids with different scale colors could also compete.
And among everyone, mermaid Su Yi was the most dazzling one.
-x-X-x-
During the Sea God Ceremony, Sacred City was flooded with people.
The surrounding spectators were clamoring loudly.
Fang Yuan was in this crowd, he observed the prospective saintesses with an eerie gaze.
His plan was to choose one of them and assist her in becoming the saintess.
...
"They are assisting her to become the saintess?"
"That's right, Frost Tide tribe leader invested a lot into this to help Lady Qiu Shuang."
Xie Han Mo's two blue scaled and red scaled guards looked at each other after hearing this, feeling each others' worry.
In the hall, Fang Yuan sat at one side, he gritted his teeth as his expression turned unsightly.
Earlier, Xie Han Mo rejected the investigator and protected Fang Yuan, this escalated the rumors, eventually, the Merman Sacred Court decided to hold the Sea God Ceremony again to decide on the saintess once more.
"This is a scheme, they made use of your kindness and knew you would not abandon me, thus, this situation arose." Fang Yuan sighed deeply, feeling like he had implicated Xie Han Mo.
Xie Han Mo glanced at him, smiling: "Fang Yuan, no need to feel responsible. If we abandoned you earlier, they would spread rumors that I am old and callous, it would still affect my reputation."
"Saintess, no need to console me at this point." Fang Yuan smiled bitterly: "The effect and severity of both cases are vastly different, we have already worked together for so long, how would I not know?"
Xie Han Mo smiled: "Alright, forget about this, it does not help the situation."
Fang Yuan and both guards quickly adjusted their mindsets as their expressions changed.
Xie Han Mo added: "The saintess position is not easy to hold onto, the moment I started to investigate the corruption, someone tried to drag me down. This means that the issue of corruption among the Sacred Court's elders has gotten very severe! Don't be too pessimistic, even though a new Sea God Ceremony is held, I have not lost my qualifications, right? It is not so easy to nurture a new saintess."
Places with people will have competition for benefits.
This saying was appropriate for the mermen as well.
Mermen also had schemes and conflict of interests.
The saintess had high status, if the forces in the merman tribe can nurture their own saintess, for the following period of time, they would have some political advantage and would be able to gain more benefits.
Normally speaking, mermaid girls who could compete for the saintess position had deep backgrounds or were backed by one or two large forces.
...
In the underwater Sacred City, the singing gradually stopped, as intense sounds of drumming could be heard.
In the square, only a few mermaid girls were left, they danced without showing fatigue, they were extremely determined to become the saintess.
Fang Yuan stood outside the square, looking in, these seven mermaid girls were all beautiful, some were enchanting, some were youthful, some were cute, and some were elegant.
There was a huge spirit spring at the center of the square, it was called the Sea God's Spring, water sprayed upwards and carried an elderly mermaid granny, she was the grand elder of this merman tribe.
The grand elder looked at the seven mermaid girls as she nodded, saying: "The first round of the saintess test, golden needle in black oil."
Saying so, more than ten strength path Gu Masters carried huge vats into the square.
Thud thud thud...
After placing down the vats with loud sounds, each of the mermaid girls had one in front of them. The vats were larger than their bodies by several times, they could only see the inside after floating upwards.
The vats were filled with thick black oil, the first test was to find a tiny golden needle in the designated time.
"I request for my follower to take my stage." The white-scaled mermaid Su Yi looked at the huge water vat as she said calmly.
"Approved." The grand elder looked at Su Yi deeply.
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous." Xia Lin encouraged herself continuously as she walked into the square while feeling uneasy.
"What's going on? The great Lady Su Yi has a rank two Gu Master as her follower?"
"Calm down, Su Yi's decision means that this mermaid is more than she seems."
Everyone talked among themselves.
"It's her?" Fang Yuan saw Xia Lin and his brows rose, he did not expect this girl to become the follower of the most favored saintess candidate.
Gather oil Gu!
Xia Lin floated to the water vat and used this rank five Gu worm.
Instantly, the black oil in the vat started to move, it was drawn out by Xia Lin and gathered in her hands.
The crowd went into a commotion.
"The aura of a rank five Gu!"
"She is clearly a rank two Gu Master, but she can use rank five Gu? Did I see wrongly?"
"I understand, this must be the rank five gather oil Gu that has been the hot topic recently."
"So this mermaid has such a quality Gu worm, no wonder Su Yi allowed her to become her follower!"
Gather oil Gu's effect was no joke, after a while, the vat became empty, only a golden needle was left sparkling at the bottom of the vat.
The crowd was roused.
Countless heated gazes landed on Xia Lin.
Xia Lin was even more nervous now, she flushed red and showed a cute expression of not knowing what to do.
Su Yi looked at her and smiled, thinking: "I was right to recruit her into my group."
In the first test, Su Yi relied on Xia Lin's stellar performance to gain a huge boost in reputation.
Fang Yuan's eyes were dark like the abyss, looking at the crowd leaving, he thought: "Six out of seven passed the first test, they came prepared for this. Evidently, the test content was leaked prior to this."
...
Pale green flames burned in front of Xie Han Mo, forming a path of flames.
Qiu Shuang, who was also a white-scaled mermaid walked in calmly, standing at the other end of the flame road as she looked at Xie Han Mo mockingly: "Former saintess, your turn."
"Damn it! This eerie fire burns the soul, special Gu worms are needed to resist it. We were already amply prepared, but to think that this first test would be so specific!"
"And the worst thing is, Qiu Shuang came prepared with the proper Gu worms, she can resist the eerie fire. Is this luck? Hmph! She clearly knows the test content, this is Frost Tide tribe's scheme, they are colluding and cheating openly!"
Both guards were very angry.
"Let me." Fang Yuan walked towards the frowning Xie Han Mo.
"You?" Xie Han Mo looked at Fang Yuan with crystal clear eyes.
"Trust me, I am confident in this." Fang Yuan's eyes flashed with bright light, looking at Xie Han Mo directly.
The two looked at each other for a moment, before Xie Han Mo turned away.
"Be careful, this eerie fire is not simple... if you cannot endure it, you can just step down." Xie Han Mo said.
Fang Yuan laughed heartily, turning around and taking huge strides into the eerie fire.
Pain!
An intense pain originating from his soul assaulted Fang Yuan's entire body in an instant.
Fang Yuan shuddered as he walked with great difficulty.
He gritted his teeth until they bled.
His eyes were wide opened, they were also tearing apart.
His soul was burned by the flame as it melted, thankfully, he had two lifetime's accumulation, and was an otherworldly demon, the eerie fire was less effective on him than on others.
He would not give up midway, because he knew that by taking Xie Han Mo's place, if he failed, Xie Han Mo would fail too.
When he finally walked through the eerie fire road, everyone went wild, countless shocked gazes gathered on him.
Many mermen were moved.
Fang Yuan tried to smile but at the next moment, he fainted.
But right when he was about to land on the ground, Xie Han Mo arrived and held him in her arms.
"Don't worry, I will not waste your effort." Xie Han Mo looked at Fang Yuan deeply before turning to look at Qiu Shuang. For the first time, her gentle eyes revealed a cold and sharp light.
Thanks to Fang Yuan's desperate attempt, Xie Han Mo passed the difficult trap set specially for her.
The second, third, and fourth test...
She performed perfectly, the other competitors soon fell short, eventually, only mermaid Qiu Shuang was left.
"It seems that Lady Xie Han Mo will very likely retain her position as saintess." Outside the square, Fang Yuan was still pale as he sat down weakly, expressing joy on his face.
"It was all thanks to you Fang Yuan, without your performance in the first round, we would not have gotten this far."
"Hahaha, you got past the flame road, it was shocking to everyone. A few days later, you woke up, do you know that news of your survival shocked countless mermen in the Sacred City!"
Both guards laughed loudly.
Fang Yuan stopped his joyful expression as she said: "Be careful, the situation is in our favor, the other party will not stand by."
Fang Yuan had expected Frost Tide tribe leader to act, but he did not expect that it would be so vicious.
In the house, the red scaled guard knelt on the ground, his face was red: "Saintess, please let me battle, I need to clear up the accusation and humiliation that they have dealt to me. How could I possibly bully a widow?!"
Xie Han Mo sighed: "Get up, I know you well, but this is clearly the enemy's plot. If you charge out like this, their schemes will succeed."
The blue scaled guard was worried: "This is not an ordinary widow, she is Bu Su Lian, the wife of the former third elder of the Sacred Court. They are simply too vicious, the investigator will come soon to arrest him for trial. In that case, he would not be able to join the test, our strength will fall greatly!"
Fang Yuan added: "This wife of the former third elder of the Sacred Court was willing to sacrifice her reputation to accuse him. She must have a close relationship with Frost Tide tribe leader, this corruption is extremely severe, otherwise, she would not have to act personally. Since they set this trap, they must be amply prepared, if we try to clear up the situation, we would fall into their scheme. We can only play along with this and find a way out."
"How do we do that?"
"Very simple, I will take the blame." Fang Yuan said plainly.
Both guards stared with wide opened eyes as they started at Fang Yuan.
"No way." Xie Han Mo rejected this instantly.
-x-X-x-
Even though Xie Han Mo understood that if Fang Yuan took the blame, the situation would be resolved, she still rejected him without hesitation.
But this way, Xie Han Mo and the rest would be in a passive spot.
The turning point happened three days later, Xie Han Mo received some information.
Xie Han Mo looked at the information as she became stunned before sighing: "Qiu Shuang is no longer pure."
She gave the intel to her guards and Fang Yuan to see.
After looking at it, their expressions changed.
Qiu Shuang was the saintess candidate that Frost Tide tribe leader supported, she was extremely popular during this Sea God Ceremony, she was the most likely person to take the position of saintess from Xie Han Mo.
But to think that she had lost her virginity.
Only mermaids who were virgins could compete for the saintess position, this was the first condition.
The red scaled guard was extremely happy: "Great, to think that this Qiu Shuang is not a virgin, with this information, they are history!"
The blue scaled guard was very calm: "The Sea God Ceremony is the most important ceremony of our tribe, it has always been inspected strictly, how did Qiu Shuang get through the inspection? Unless our tribe's corruption has already extended to the priest? Then the situation is too severe."
Fang Yuan frowned: "We need to remember something, if we announce this now, everyone might think that we are trying to protect red scale and this is just our accusation. How reliable is the information? If this is part of their plan, we would be in trouble..."
1Xie Han Mo shook her head: "This is definitely reliable, Qiu Shuang is supported by Frost Tide tribe's leader, we are supported by the grand elder, this was given to me by her. Even though we do not have evidence, I believe that as long as we inspect Qiu Shuang's background, we would be able to find out if she is a virgin by asking another priest."
Fang Yuan understood now that Xie Han Mo was able to become the saintess because she was supported by the grand elder of the Merman Sacred Court.
Among all the higher-ups, grand elder was the fairest and most lenient one, she had great authority. But because she was too lenient, everyone became corrupted, her support towards Xie Han Mo was also an attempt to correct her mistakes.
Everything that followed went as Xie Han Mo predicted.
After Qiu Shuang was reported, she was investigated upon and her story was exposed, she had really lost her virginity.
This information was too shocking, the Merman Sacred Court could not keep it secret. As news spread, the entire Sacred City was in a commotion, countless Gu Masters gasped.
"This is likely the biggest scandal in our Merman Sacred Court for the last thousand years!"
"Qiu Shuang was truly disrespectful, such a desecration towards the Sea God, she has to be punished."
"Killing her will not soothe our rage!"
Anger was not just in the commoners, the higher-ups of the Merman Sacred Court were furious too, the punishment towards Qiu Shuang was rapidly decided.
A few days later, Qiu Shuang's head fell off her head and onto the ground, she died.
Bam!
A high quality cup was smashed onto the ground by Frost Tide tribe's leader, it broke into pieces.
"Xie Han Mo, you were too much!" Frost Tide tribe's leader growled, his eyes were bloodshot.
"I told you long ago to control yourself when drinking. After Qiu Shuang's matter, as the person who supported her, the higher-ups will no longer give you their attention." In the room, there was a mermaid noble lady, she drank tea slowly, she showed no fear towards the angry Frost Tide tribe leader.
Frost Tide tribe leader gritted his teeth, he said to the mermaid noble lady: "Bu Su Lian, I do not need your reminder. Our allies will not turn on us after just this small issue. If Xie Han Mo retains her saintess position, they will also suffer and die. So even if they hate me, even if they do not want to see me, they will have to force themselves to work with me!"
Bu Su Lian said plainly: "You are right, but now that Qiu Shuang is dead, how will you defeat Xie Han Mo? Our best pawn has already been destroyed."
"No, no." Frost Tide tribe leader laughed sinisterly: "You can rest assured, I still have methods left."
"Oh? I am listening." Bu Su Lian sat up straight.
Frost Tide tribe leader kept it a secret: "You will know in a few days."
A few days later.
On the square of Sacred City, mermaid Dong Lei said under everyone's watchful eyes: "I am willing to take Qiu Shuang's place and continue with the Sea God Ceremony."
"Who is Dong Lei?"
"She was one of Qiu Shuang's followers."
"To think that Frost Tide tribe's leader had this pawn prepared."
"According to our tribe rules, sisters can take each others' place, Dong Lei can totally replace Qiu Shuang and attend the Sea God Ceremony to contest for the saintess position."
Everyone discussed.
The origin of the Sea God Ceremony was a legendary story among the mermen.
In the story, the first batch of mermen lived in Eastern Sea, they created a small fishing village.
One day, a huge sea beast attacked the island, it created a tsunami around the island, the fishing village was almost about to be destroyed.
To save the villagers in the fishing village, mermaid Ah Qing knelt at the cliff and prayed to the Sea God.
The Sea God heard her prayer and said: "Oh Ah Qing, I love to hear beautiful singing. If you can sing three satisfactory songs for me, I will chase the sea beast away and calm the sea, defending the fishing village."
Ah Qing was overjoyed, she quickly agreed.
She started to sing the first song by the cliff, it was enchanting. After she finished, the Sea God savored the melody as he calmed the sea.
Ah Qing sang the second song, her beautiful voice mesmerized the Sea God, seaweed danced to her singing, prawns and fish gathered by her side as they listened.
Ah Qing wanted to sing the third song but at that point, she no longer had any strength. After singing for two days and two nights, she was too tired.
After returning home, she called her sister Ah Ya and told her everything before dying from exhaustion.
Ah Ya was very upset but she listened to her sister Ah Qing's wish, she came to the cliff and said to the Sea God: "Oh Sea God, I will take my sister's place and sing the third song for you."
Sea God said: "Go ahead."
Ah Ya started to sing, her voice was filled with agony and misery, but also firm determination. After she finished, the Sea God was pleased and the sea beast left, the fishing village was safe once again.
When choosing the saintess, mermen would set up many tests during the Sea God Ceremony.
These tests had varying contents, but the final round would always be the same, since the start of the ceremony's history.
That was a singing competition among mermaids.
They would get on the stage and sing on the specially made altar-like Gu house.
Everyone would get to sing three times, from the results, they would choose the sole saintess.
All the tests before this were just elimination rounds.
If during the Sea God Ceremony, all of the contestants got eliminated, then the saintess position would remain empty.