The mermaid clan, upon reaching adulthood, typically grows to a fixed length of around three meters. Even if they break through to a hundred thousand years or become fierce beasts, their size remains unchanged.
Looking at the stunningly beautiful mermaid before him, You Chen couldn't help but be momentarily stunned, captivated by her natural beauty.
Even with You Chen's extensive experience, he had to admit that the female mermaid in front of him was definitely T1 level in terms of appearance and temperament among all the opposite sexes he had encountered.
Even when compared to Bibidong and Qian Renxue, it could only be said that each had their own merits, with different flavors and qualities of beauty, but none could surpass the beauty of the mermaid before him.
They were all extraordinary beauties that could be described as world-shaking in novels.
After a brief moment of astonishment, You Chen's pupils constricted.
At his level, no matter how beautiful a woman was, she could not sway him; being able to astonish him for a moment was already the limit.
The reason his pupils reacted was due to one thing—the golden crown on the mermaid's head!
In the mermaid clan, not just anyone could wear a crown; only those with royal blood could don such a thing!
And the golden crown could only signify two possibilities...
The current Sea Princess or the heir to the Sea Princess!
So—what exactly was the situation!?
"Guard, why are you here?"
The mermaid wearing the golden crown frowned and asked.
You Chen's mind raced, quickly realizing the trap in her words.
His avatar appearing here was not a problem; the real issue was that he had concealed his aura, allowing the mermaid to not notice him until she saw him in person.
This sneaky appearance indicated that he had something to hide.
It was likely that the mermaid had already concluded that there was something wrong with his avatar.
Thus, what he answered was not important; what mattered was not letting the mermaid realize this was an avatar and not letting her know that there were allies nearby.
Therefore, he should present himself as someone who was in a desperate situation yet still clinging to a glimmer of hope!
Although this unexpected turn of events was very frustrating and disheartening, You Chen maintained his composure, controlling his avatar that had transformed into a sea knife fish, and feigned a terrified demeanor as he said, "My lord, I... I was sent by the captain to convey an important message, I just accidentally got lost!"
As his avatar struggled to make excuses, You Chen's true self had already slipped out like a shadow.
His gaze was sharp, and the Barrett in his hand was ready to fire!
When he unexpectedly encountered the crowned mermaid, You Chen indeed hesitated for a moment, not striking immediately.
If the mermaid before him was not the current Sea Princess but rather the heir, Princess Li Ya, who had appeared in the original work and possessed the Golden Bloodline, then his attack would be akin to startling a snake in the grass.
Conversely, in front of the true Sea Princess, who had existed for five hundred and ninety thousand years, he could not guarantee that continuing to interact with his avatar would not expose other clues.
Caught between the choices of "sneak past and confirm the true Sea Princess before striking" and "attack directly," You Chen hesitated.
Opportunities are fleeting; if he wanted to strike directly, he had no more than a few seconds to hesitate, with no time to judge whether the mermaid was the Sea Princess!
He could only rely on his instincts to make a judgment!
In the end, he chose to take the plunge!
The moment he raised the Barrett, a strong sense of impending death enveloped the crowned mermaid.
Before she could react, a dark red energy wave crashed into her, instantly leaving her dazed!
Since he had decided to strike, it had to be a decisive kill!
Even in the worst-case scenario, if the mermaid sensed his presence and set a trap, with no other guards around and her being alone, this was the best opportunity for a kill!
You Chen directly used his fifth soul skill, Stardust Demon's Grasp, forcibly stunning the crowned mermaid!
Unless she suffered a massive impact, this was absolute control.
At the same time Stardust Demon's Grasp hit, You Chen pulled the trigger!
Boom!
The tremendous impact of the Barrett's bullet stirred up turbulent waves; at this distance, it would take less than half a second to turn the crowned mermaid into a pile of mush!
However, just as the bullet was about to hit, a faint blue halo enveloped the crowned mermaid, and with a swish, she vanished without a trace.
'Spatial teleportation!?'
You Chen's pupils constricted; at that moment, he suddenly realized—this was indeed the worst-case scenario.
You Chen recognized that he had already been exposed, not due to a hasty sniper shot but because he had been revealed before encountering the Sea Princess.
Yes, after this hasty decision, he had come to understand that the mermaid he had just seen was indeed the true Sea Princess.
The teleportation soul skill just now was not cast by the Sea Princess, who he had controlled with Stardust Demon's Grasp; it was most likely activated by another mermaid, Li Ya, who possessed the Golden Bloodline and had established a mental link with the Sea Princess, upon sensing that the Sea Princess was being forcibly controlled!
'When was I discovered?'
You Chen's expression darkened slightly; he realized that this was a situation similar to the last time in the Catastrophe Mountain Range, where he had been exposed due to factors he had overlooked.
The difference was that this time he had no time to analyze where he had gone wrong.
In reality, if he were to speculate after the fact, there were only a few possible scenarios.
The first possibility was that the underwater Crystal Palace was a special large soul guide controlled by the Sea Princess and other soul beasts, which had alerted them.
The second possibility was that he was not suited to the underwater environment, while the Sea Princess thrived in it; this disparity might have allowed her to detect an aura or trace that he himself had not noticed.
The third possibility was that the Sea Princess's Divine Power was stronger than he had imagined, or that she possessed some special Divine Power secret technique that allowed her to discover his presence.
The fourth possibility was that the patrols and guards within the Crystal Palace followed a specific sequence akin to a password, and the Sea Princess had detected an anomaly during routine checks.
Delving into the reasons was no longer important.
Although he had prematurely exposed his trail, You Chen had not come away empty-handed.
His only gain was confirming the identity and appearance of the Sea Princess.
The reason You Chen could confirm that she was the Sea Princess was simple.
Since this was a premeditated trap, and there was a forced escape Rescue Soul Skill, it was only natural to send the strongest to probe.
With the strength and pride of a five hundred and ninety thousand-year soul beast, even if a true Ultimate Douluo-level powerhouse invaded, she would not fall immediately.
Moreover, You Chen belatedly realized that even with the ambush set beforehand, he had not discovered her presence until he turned the corner; the ability to conceal his aura to such an extent could only belong to the five hundred and ninety thousand-year Sea Princess. He could not think of any other soul beast in the Crystal Palace capable of such a feat.
It was likely this level of strength and capability that gave her the confidence and arrogance to take risks.
However, the Sea Princess herself had not anticipated that You Chen would possess a powerful control skill like Stardust Demon's Grasp.
Had it not been for the existence of that Rescue Soul Skill, she might have met a very unfortunate end at their first encounter.
And indeed, that was the case.
At this moment, the Sea Princess, teleported to Li Ya's side by Li Ya using the Rescue Soul Skill "Mermaid's Protection," was still in shock. After regaining her senses, she recalled the fear and helplessness she felt in the face of death, and she immediately forgot her demeanor as a princess, erupting into a hysterical outburst.
"Everyone, we must capture that invading outsider at all costs! I will absolutely tear him to shreds!!!"
Only by facing the fear of death can one realize the preciousness of life.
She had already used her Divine Power to detect that You Chen's Barrett attack had missed and hit the wall of the Crystal Palace.
The material of the Crystal Palace's walls was as hard as those human walls reinforced with advanced formations, yet it had been shattered to pieces by a single shot from the Barrett sniper rifle.
Her body was not as hard as the walls of the Crystal Palace; being hit directly would have obvious consequences.
The last time the Sea Princess faced a threat of death was during the calamity nine thousand years ago; now, having walked through the gates of hell again, how could she not be furious?
On the other hand, after realizing he had been exposed, You Chen no longer held back and directly used the Divine Power he had not employed until now to probe.
In just a few seconds, he discovered the location of the Sea Princess, who had been teleported away.
It was very close, only about a kilometer away.
It was easy to understand that while the Sea Princess had cautiously left a backup plan, she did not truly believe that You Chen, the invader, could threaten her.
The preparations she had made were not of the highest standard; one could even say they were somewhat crude.
At this moment, there were not many guards around the Sea Princess, making it the best time to launch an attack.
As You Chen locked onto the Sea Princess with his Divine Power, the Sea Princess also sensed the fluctuations of You Chen's Divine Power.
Her expression changed immediately.
'What!? This guy is actively probing back; could it be that he hasn't given up on the assassination yet!?'
Although You Chen had displayed an attack capable of harming her, the fact that he needed to infiltrate the Crystal Palace for an assassination led the Sea Princess to believe that he was too afraid to confront her directly, likely putting all his strength into hiding and a one-time burst, meaning his actual combat power would not be too outrageous.
This was a reasonable deduction. However, what the Sea Princess did not consider was that a significant part of You Chen's motivation for assassination was to avoid involving Bo Saixi from Seagod Island.
The Sea Princess did not know that You Chen had already determined her connection to Seagod Island; it was entirely normal for her to draw this conclusion based on the information available.
From the Sea Princess's perspective, You Chen was deep in enemy territory and had already exposed his trail; at this point, he should be fleeing for his life.
Thus, she quickly came to her own understanding.
'Is he trying to take a desperate gamble!? Do you think that after witnessing the same killing move once, it can still work on me!?'
She immediately commanded the Sea Soul Beasts through her Divine Power, instructing them not to search for the assassin's whereabouts any longer and to gather towards the core palace.
She intended to kill this despicable assassin here!
Neither side's choice could be deemed wrong.
However, it had led to a direct confrontation.
Once You Chen and the Sea Princess locked onto each other with their Divine Powers, he no longer cared about the leakage of soul power fluctuations and directly activated his Martial Soul.
The narrow passage of the Crystal Palace was not suitable for using Spirit Avatar, which somewhat limited You Chen's explosive power, but compared to finding the next opportunity for the Sea Princess to leave, he preferred to kill her on the spot!
Whoosh—.
Not counting the straight-line distance of one kilometer, considering the twists and turns of the passage, it was only about two kilometers.
Even though the corners of the passage required some deceleration and direction changes, for You Chen, it would only take an extra minute at most.
As his wings vibrated, the Sea Soul Beasts in the passage only felt as if a sea breeze had blown past; they had no time to notice You Chen's figure before he passed through.
Under the powerful Divine Power of the Sea Princess, her expression finally changed.
Just the speed far above her own made her realize that the strength of the newcomer was definitely not as weak as she had imagined.
In an instant, the hundreds of Sea Soul Beasts already in the core area of the Crystal Palace completed their mental link.
While You Chen was still on the move, the Sea Princess had already used her subordinates' Divine Power to launch an attack on him from a distance.
The fusion of Divine Power and water attribute soul power began to strangle You Chen with the ocean's waves.
The terrifying water pressure was enough to crush an ordinary Titled Douluo into serious injury, but this level of long-range attack could only slightly slow You Chen down.
The result of the first probing attack was clearly unsatisfactory to the Sea Princess; rather, it was very poor.
She began to realize that the opponent before her was far more troublesome than she had imagined, and their compatibility could be described as extremely poor!
The Divine Power displayed by the opponent earlier was not much inferior to her own, meaning that ordinary mental attacks could not inflict any damage on him, which was equivalent to cutting off her own arm!
And although the previous attack was launched through her subordinates as an anchor point, its power was far less than a direct activation, but judging from You Chen's reaction... even her full-strength attack would only cause him light injuries at most!
Unless it was a desperate attack that burned her life essence, otherwise... it would be difficult!
The newcomer was not friendly! The reason for choosing assassination was likely not due to fear of her strength, but rather... to pursue a guaranteed kill!
From the strength You Chen displayed, the Sea Princess, through a flawed process, inadvertently deduced the correct answer.
"Li Ya, Li Jing, take some guards and quickly leave through the secret passage!"
As soon as the Sea Princess conveyed this message through her Divine Power, the expressions of all the Sea Soul Beasts present changed dramatically.
The guards did not dare to question the Sea Princess's orders, but her two daughters had no such reservations.
The mermaid wearing the silver crown exclaimed, "Mother, are you asking us to leave you behind?"
"Stop being so spoiled!"
Seeing her daughter completely unaware that they were at a life-and-death moment, the Sea Princess shouted angrily, "Even I don't have full confidence against this intruder! If he takes you hostage, I will definitely be hindered! So you must leave!"
Li Jing was stunned, murmuring in a daze, "But, but we are also hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, Mother. Since the enemy is strong, shouldn't we unite together? I, Li Ya, can definitely help you..."
But as she spoke, she looked at the Sea Princess's softened expression and found she could not continue. From the Sea Princess's demeanor, she realized that this command was not open to question.
The Sea Princess turned to Li Ya and said, "Li Ya, if I do not return, you will take over as the new leader of the Sea Princess clan. In dire circumstances, flee to Seagod Island."
"What interesting things are you discussing?"
At that moment, You Chen's Divine Power fluctuations resonated directly in everyone's minds.
A two-meter-tall blue-and-white dragon man burst into the core palace.
The Sea Princess's expression changed, gathering the soul power of all the soul beasts present, and released a white wave of light with all her might.
This force directly immobilized You Chen in place, even briefly sealing his soul power.
"Run!"
The Sea Princess once again used her Divine Power to send a message while condensing a much stronger, genuine vortex strangulation attack compared to the previous one launched through anchoring.
Blood flowers continuously appeared on You Chen's body; the soul skill unleashed by the Sea Princess indeed far surpassed the previous one, capable of inflicting damage on his robust physique.
However, under the Sacrificer's Sanctuary, it ultimately only left him with a slight injury.
In terms of survival ability, he was the strongest below Ultimate Douluo, without exception.
The white wave of light continued to bind You Chen, yet blood and flesh flew around him, and You Chen, as if nothing were wrong, silently turned to look at the two crowned mermaids behind the Sea Princess.
Li Ya and Li Jing felt a chill run down their spines as they were locked onto by those merciless eyes.
Instinctively, they realized that the creature before them was not something they could contend with.
Under their mother's urging, they ultimately made a decision and quickly chose to retreat.
The white wave of despair lasted only a few seconds, but as long as they could leave the palace during that time, with the Sea Princess entangled with You Chen, he would naturally be unable to pursue them further.
However, You Chen simply watched them leave, a subtle smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
After the two mermaids left with a dozen guards, the white wave of despair shattered.
Whoosh—.
In the astonished gaze of the Sea Princess, the powerful and unmatched blue dragon man transformed into six.
And no matter which one it was, they all looked identical to the original.
Completely different from the avatar soul skill that she could detect earlier—yes, the Sea Princess had relied on her powerful Divine Power and her vastly richer experience in using Divine Power compared to You Chen to notice the anomaly of the avatar.
And now, what appeared before her was no longer the Starlight Avatar but the flawless Stardust Phantom.
Spirit Avatar was not suitable for use here, but You Chen still had the trump card of Spiritual Realm Burst.
At this moment, You Chen had already entered the state of Spiritual Realm Burst.
"Everyone, prepare to die in battle!"
The Sea Princess's expression was grave as she issued a death declaration to her subordinates.
With six avatars possessing the strength of the original, facing the Sea Princess and her increasingly gathering subordinates, the hard power of both sides could be said to be evenly matched.
To be precise, You Chen had a slight advantage.
Even though the Sea Princess was continuously replenishing her forces, a large number of her subordinates were still killed by You Chen during the battle.
Ordinary thousand-year soul beasts, even with the enhancement of the Sea Princess's innate soul skill, the Song of the Mermaid, could not withstand a single blow from any of You Chen's avatars.
And those ten-thousand-year soul beasts could be easily killed by You Chen with just a couple of ten-thousand-year soul skills.
With his soul power recovery speed, such losses could be replenished in the blink of an eye.
Even if the Sea Princess found the perfect opportunity to burn her life essence and launch a desperate attack on You Chen, it would only force him to use his Emperor Golden Body once.
The Sea Princess inevitably grew anxious.
Even though it spoke such tragic words to its daughters, if victory and survival were possible, it certainly did not wish to die.
However, its ultimate trump card, the strongest move, never had the chance to be used.
The Heart of the Ocean, a lethal technique that could only be used once a month by the merfolk of the Golden Bloodline.
This soul skill could immunize against all energy attacks once. It could then reflect the immunized attack back onto the user of the Heart of the Ocean, combining it with their own power for the next strike.
The most powerful feature of this Heart of the Ocean soul skill is its ability to be used in conjunction with other powerful soul skills, allowing it to immunize against enemy attacks and turn them into its own.
If combined with the Sea Princess's normal state killing move, there would definitely be hope to eliminate You Chen and all six of his avatars right here.
However...
'Why has this guy never used his powerful energy attacks from the beginning to the end!?'
With the Sea Princess's abilities, it was not difficult to see that You Chen was using the ultimate level of Stardust Power.
There was no doubt that with such power, You Chen absolutely possessed strong energy attack moves.
Yet, throughout the battle, You Chen primarily relied on physical attacks, with energy attacks as a supplement.
The strongest energy attack soul skill he had used so far was the sixth soul skill of his lifetime, Air Blade.
At You Chen's current soul power intensity, this soul skill was enough to threaten an ordinary Titled Douluo, but... it was far from being worthy of the Sea Princess using the Heart of the Ocean to immunize and reflect it.
If the Sea Princess's killing move had a power level of 10, this Air Blade at most had a power level of 3. Even if combined with the Heart of the Ocean, it would only result in a 13 power attack... let alone killing You Chen, it couldn't even seriously injure him!
The Sea Princess couldn't find an opportunity to eliminate You Chen, watching her subordinates fall one by one, while You Chen, though injured, was completely unaware if his true self was the one most heavily wounded; his true form might have only sustained light injuries. How could she not feel anxious?
Suddenly...
The Sea Princess's pupils constricted sharply, looking at You Chen with a horrified expression.
"Stop, stop!"
With a low shout, the Sea Princess commanded, but all the soul beasts thought it was a tactic from the enemy and did not respond.
The Sea Princess quickly conveyed the order to halt through a mental link again.
Although the Sea Soul Beasts were puzzled, they chose to comply with the Sea Princess's command.
To their surprise, the opposing side also chose to stop attacking in perfect harmony.
However, the Sea Princess was not grateful at all; her usually graceful and gentle face twisted into a snarl, her eyes bloodshot as she glared fiercely at You Chen: "Despicable human, state your demands!"
You Chen's limit now was seven avatars, and naturally, one of them had stealthily followed Li Ya and the others as they left through the secret passage.
He had considered the possibility of another inexplicable mistake occurring like before, but he still went ahead with it.
The fact was, the perfect Stardust Phantom, after using the Aura Concealment Art, was completely undetectable even by the Sea Princess.
You Chen smiled and said, "I want you to Soul Sacrifice for me."
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