A small ketch was submerged below the sea's surface. It was not sinking; instead, it was purposely diving. A slightly transparent, mint-green bubble of air shrouded the vessel as it dove deeper and deeper. Behind it, a wide trail of water mixed with glittering, colorful light propelled the ketch forward.

  Inside, Liu Xing stood at the side of the ship, his eyes shining and his jaw slightly agape. A flying ship was always cool, but he had never thought a ship that acted like a submarine could be this cool as well.

  Currently, the ketch was visible, not because he wanted it to be, but because Yu Heng needed to see the ship in order to dive it and steer it underwater.

  Yu Heng held the ship’s wheel, his chest puffed out with pride for the small ketch he owned.

  "Isn't it impressive? My ship can dive for a maximum of ten minutes. Not only that, it doesn't use spirit stones to activate this function, but merely uses the ambient qi that it absorbs. The charging time depends on how long the ship dived, but in general, it only takes two or three days to fully charge!"

  "It is cool," Liu Xing nodded. "Didn't you say that you're a nobody? That's why your stepfather decided to adopt you. But it's hard to imagine a family that has a ship like this would be a nobody."

  Not only that, Yu Heng also had a method to transform treasures into living creatures.

  "I didn't lie. I am indeed a nobody. My father, too. However, it seems that our ancestors were a big clan before they were destroyed. This ship, along with techniques and some wealth, was hidden in a specific place, waiting for a worthy heir for hundreds of years. Of course, that worthy heir is me!"

  "I assume you just got this inheritance recently?"

  "How could you know?" he asked.

  "Well, this ship is indeed impressive." Not by the standards of current big clans or great sects, but from his personal preference. "But you're still a weakling, though. What is your cultivation, fifth stage of the Lock Opening realm? Fourth stage?"

  Yu Heng glared at him before he said, "Third stage. But it's not because I am not talented. In fact, I'm really talented. I just started cultivating around two years ago, and I'm already at a respectable stage."

  "Well, for the standard of this place, it is indeed quite respectable," Liu Xing answered offhandedly. Through the bubble that shrouded the ketch, he saw the silhouettes of fish swimming around them. Some swam away as if afraid of the ketch, but some were curious enough to approach, and a few were even brave enough to swim alongside it.

  "What is your cultivation, Liu Xing?" Yu Heng asked. His voice was serious, and Liu Xing could sense some softness in it, as if he hesitated to ask.

  "Me? I'm at the Core Splitting realm, third stage."

  "What?!" Yu Heng shouted. "Are you serious?"

  "I'm serious. Compared to you, I am a peerless genius," Liu Xing said. "But in my sect, I am actually quite average. There's a little kid who isn't even ten years old, and he has already surpassed me. He is the true genius."

  "That's bullshit!" Yu Heng said. "That's impossible. How could something like that be achievable?"

  "With talent and resources, of course," Liu Xing said, then he looked behind him toward Yu Heng. His eyes looked straight into his, conveying his seriousness. "After all, I am from the Purple Moon Sect, and the kid I spoke of is the son of my sect's Patriarch."

  At his words, Yu Heng narrowed his eyes. "You're a disciple of the Purple Moon Sect?"

  Liu Xing waited for a moment and then nodded. He had decided that if he wanted to cooperate with Yu Heng, he needed to be more open about himself. One of the key pieces of information that could threaten their cooperation was the fact he was a Purple Moon Sect disciple. After all, while the Nether Lotus Sect was the one rampaging within the Wild Tide Region, it was said that the Purple Moon Sect had allowed it. In this area, the name of the Purple Moon Sect did not carry the respect and fear it got anywhere else. For a moment, Liu Xing had thought about keeping this secret, but in the end, he decided to be direct about it. There was a chance that sooner or later, Yu Heng would find out.

  "In fact," Liu Xing continued as Yu Heng remained silent, "the two people I battled while you were trying to recover your whale with Mi Lian are also my sect's disciples. The one who created the barrier is Shen Ye, while the man who fought against my shark is Yu Yongrui. Both of them sided with the Nether Lotus Sect."

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  "Is your sect truly backing the Nether Lotus Sect?"

  "I honestly don't know," Liu Xing said. "Not openly, at the very least. Do you have some grievance with my sect?"

  "Directly, no. But my adopted family—Mi Lian's parents and siblings—was massacred by the Nether Lotus Sect. The only survivors from this family are her and me. So, think about it yourself. Do I have a grievance with your sect?" He narrowed his eyes, and a growl sounded in his throat, but he soon stopped. "What is your intention in telling me this?"

  "It is the same as before. I just wanted you to know that I am sincere."

  "If your sect is indeed siding with the Nether Lotus Sect, what will you do?"

  "I've already thought about it so many times, actually," Liu Xing smiled, but his smile was cold and chilling. "You can figure out the answer yourself. After all, you're not the only one whose precious people have been butchered by the Nether Lotus Sect."

  Yu Heng looked at him, Liu Xing looked back, and at that moment, Liu Xing knew that Yu Heng understood him a bit more.

  The ketch moved quite slowly, but it did not need to be fast. In front of them, a shadow loomed, and as they got closer, Liu Xing began to see their destination. Some moonlight successfully pierced the water and illuminated the place, and he could see it clearly. It was a temple. However, instead of a normal temple that stood on the ground, it was hanging from the ceiling of a giant cavern, as if it were a bat. Its color was gray, and he could see that instead of being built with bricks, it had been carved from the stone hanging from the cavern itself.

  Liu Xing was in awe, and Yu Heng silently steered the ship toward the side of the cavern wall, where a white light illuminated a section of rock. When they were directly in front of the light, Liu Xing saw that its source was not a light gem but a large, glowing jellyfish. It was bobbing up and down but never strayed to the left or right.

  "Normally, the island is not submerged, and the normal dock is located over there," Yu Heng pointed to the side. "But this temple and this section of the wall only appear the moment the island is submerged. There were locals on the island before they were evacuated about a month ago, and even they didn't know about this upside-down temple. Apparently, this island was formerly the home of a formidable sect, and it seems they were allies of my ancestors."

  Yu Heng then began a series of hand signs, ending by pointing to the wall in front of him. At that moment, the wall slid open, revealing a vast, dark chamber, and Yu Heng steered the ketch inside. Once they were through, Yu Heng performed another set of hand signs. When he finished, the water that filled the chamber drained away until finally, the bubble that shrouded the ketch popped. The ketch landed on the wet ground, and light gems studded on the walls flooded the room with white and yellow light.

  Liu Xing jumped from the ketch and looked around. On the ceiling, he saw a mural depicting a war. A group of cultivators was gathered on the right side, while falling stars, portals, and creatures that looked like spirit beasts but were entirely black were grouped on the left. A queen or empress, who wielded a long sword in her right hand, led the group of cultivators. Seeing that sword, Liu Xing could not help but remember his stone blade. Its shape and its length—compared to the one wielding it—were quite similar.

  Liu Xing was about to ask Yu Heng about the mural—his feeling told him that it was not something ordinary. But then he saw Yu Heng carrying the whale that was overlapping his sister in his arms. Yu Heng said, "Let's hurry to the temple."

  Without waiting for an answer, Yu Heng walked to a door on the side of the chamber. Liu Xing looked up again, trying to commit the mural to his memory. He saw a depiction of a small snake on the left side of the mural that tickled his brain, but then he decided to follow Yu Heng.

  They ascended long, spiraling stairs before they finally came upon a long hallway that connected to the upside-down temple. When Liu Xing arrived inside the temple, he saw that it was hollow. Doors studded the walls, and a staircase spiraled down like a long snake. Looking down, he could see that the bottom of the temple was a room, and from it emanated a blue light and a dense concentration of qi.

  Without speaking, Yu Heng walked down, and soon they arrived at the bottom of the temple. The room was quite small. If ten people were in here, it would feel cramped. However, Liu Xing realized that this small room was the center of the temple. The blue light he had seen from above was from a blue gem placed in the middle of a stone altar. When Yu Heng put the overlapping woman and whale on it, the room instantly dimmed, with blue light dispersing around them.

  "Alright, you need to step back, Liu Xing. I need space to concentrate."

  Liu Xing nodded and stepped back until his back met the wall. "Just to be sure, you intend to separate them, right?"

  "Obviously," Yu Heng said as he began a series of hand signs.

  "Care to elaborate on how to do it? In fact, I'm curious about how and why she was fused with that whale in the first place."

  At his words, Yu Heng stopped his hand signs. From his position, Liu Xing could only see part of his face, but he saw Yu Heng grimace, his left eye shaded by something that looked like guilt.

  "I'll tell you after I successfully separate them. Now, don't talk anymore," Yu Heng said, his voice trembling slightly, as if he were reining in bad memories.

  "Alright," Liu Xing answered.

  Yu Heng continued his hand signs. He did so for five minutes straight, chaining hundreds of hand signs with full concentration. After a moment, he finally finished, both of his palms pressed together. The whale overlapping with the woman atop the altar began to shine with blue light, and Liu Xing felt the qi filling the room suddenly pull toward them.

  The light became brighter and brighter. The shrunken white whale and Mi Lian began to flicker alternately. Mi Lian's face started to grimace as if she were in pain until finally, she let out a loud scream, like an animal being butchered.

  When Liu Xing saw this, he looked at Yu Heng, who was also grimacing, but weirdly, he did not look surprised. It was as if he knew this would happen and yet was still doing it anyway.

  3 4 patrons? If you enjoy the daily chapters, please consider joining them to .