202: Chapter 202 The Merfolk

An unknown spatial region.

Chi Wanhe and Xia Yingying had been flying for two consecutive days, seeing nothing but vast ancient forests and silent mountains. This world was incredibly expansive, yet abnormally quiet.

Aside from the lush vegetation, there wasn't a single trace of living creatures, nor the sensation of erosion qi that they had long grown accustomed to.

They landed upon a relatively gentle mountain slope.

"Let's take a break."

Chi Wanhe let out a soft sigh, her chest heaving slightly. She looked at her petite Junior Sister beside her. "Haven't we arrived yet?"

Xia Yingying closed her eyes to sense for a moment, then opened her almond eyes with a hint of uncertainty. "It should... take about three more days."

Hearing this, Chi Wanhe counted on her fingers, her tone heavy. "Calculating the time, it's been exactly seven days since we entered this place..."

Xia Yingying gave a soft "mm," her fingers subconsciously twisting the hem of her light water-green gauze dress.

"Eldest Senior Sister... can we still go back?"

To be honest, a wave of regret welled up in Chi Wanhe's heart as well. This time, they really had been reckless!

After going back, being pinned across Revered Master's lap and spanked like last time was probably unavoidable...

In fact, whether they could even go back was a problem. There was no erosion qi here; the air was filled with an energy even purer than Spiritual Qi.

This place was definitely not the Three Provinces Realm! She looked toward the unfamiliar horizon in the distance, her heart feeling heavy.

But as the Eldest Senior Sister, she absolutely could not show fear in front of her Little Junior Sister.

Chi Wanhe took a deep breath, her pink dress swaying gently in the breeze. She forced a reassuring smile onto her face and reached out to rub the top of Xia Yingying's head. "Don't overthink it! Of course we can go back! Once we reach the place that's calling to you and find the source, we might be able to find a way back."

Just as she finished speaking!

"Watch out!"

Chi Wanhe's expression changed abruptly! With a sharp cry, she suddenly grabbed Xia Yingying's wrist. Her figure blurred instantly, and in the next moment, she appeared a hundred zhang away!

Boom—!

At the spot where they had been standing, a pitch-black, hideous spatial rift suddenly tore open, instantly swallowing that section of mountain rock entirely, leaving only a massive pit as smooth as a mirror!

Chi Wanhe steadied herself and sighed helplessly as she watched the spatial rift slowly close. She looked at the pale-faced Xia Yingying beside her, who was still in shock, and understood.

Her Little Junior Sister's fatal Calamity Physique... was acting up again!

This deathly silent world had no Erosion Beasts, no demonic creatures, and almost no Yao Beast activity. But the most lethal threat was precisely these spatial rifts that could appear at any time without warning.

Xia Yingying scratched her head in frustration; it really wasn't intentional.

When they were clearing the Demon Army at the Southeast Rift before, although there were many enemies, their strength was limited and the danger was controllable. But here, these elusive spatial rifts were impossible to guard against!

Deep within the Sea of Consciousness, Yue Xinxi's face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water. There was no need to think; this sudden spatial rift was most likely caused by that damned Calamity Physique again! Looking at Xia Yingying, she felt a strong sense of guilt and powerlessness.

She gritted her teeth and pondered.

The Major Achievement of the Twin Soul Metamorphosis Scripture is imminent... Once Yingying enters the Soul Transformation Stage, I'll be able to completely separate from her Sea of Consciousness! At that time, this wretched Physique of mine will no longer affect her!

As for how to make Yingying reach Soul Transformation as quickly as possible? The face of that suave man who made her teeth itch with hatred—Ling Hao—involuntarily flashed through Yue Xinxi's mind!

She paced irritably within the Sea of Consciousness.

Hmph! After returning, she would force Yingying to enter the Heaven-Reaching Tower for secluded cultivation no matter what! She had to break through to Soul Transformation as soon as possible!

"Eldest Senior Sister, look down there!"

Xia Yingying suddenly pointed toward the foot of the mountain, her voice filled with wonder.

Chi Wanhe followed her gaze and saw a massive, shimmering lake hidden amidst the dense forest below. Within the lake, figures were actually frolicking.

They weren't humans! While their upper bodies were human and well-formed, their lower bodies... were actually shimmering fish tails!

"Mer... Merfolk?" Chi Wanhe's beautiful eyes widened, filled with disbelief. Xia Yingying also stood on her tiptoes, peering curiously.

The two looked at each other, both seeing the wonder in the other's eyes.

To think such a peculiar race existed?

Chi Wanhe quietly released her Divine Sense to investigate. After a moment, she whispered, "The one with the strongest aura is around the Peak of the Golden Core."

Their cultivation wasn't very high; it seemed... they could be approached?

"Eldest Senior Sister, should we go down and take a look?"

Xia Yingying asked softly, her almond eyes sparkling with curiosity. This was the first time in the seven days since they entered this world that they had encountered creatures that might possess intelligence and could be communicated with! Perhaps they could gather some information...

Chi Wanhe was intrigued and nodded. "Mm, let's be cautious." She flipped her hand to take out a defensive jade talisman and held it in her palm, while signaling Xia Yingying to also stay on guard.

...

By the lakeside.

In the clear lake water, hundreds of fish tails of various shapes swayed amidst the shimmering waves. Most of the Merfolk were busy gathering a type of glowing moss and aquatic plants from the lake bottom, or repairing simple water grass huts that were temporarily built in the water. The atmosphere was quiet but tinged with exhaustion.

However, in a section of water near the shore, the scene was entirely different. Over a dozen young Merfolk girls were chasing and frolicking in the water.

Their upper bodies were clad in light tops woven from water grass, while their long lower-body fish tails shimmered with a pearly luster, splashing crystal-clear water. Their crisp laughter sounded exceptionally pleasant on the silent lake surface.

By the shore, three older Merfolk with mature temperaments were gathered, talking together.

One of them, a woman wearing a deep blue dress embroidered with shell and wave patterns, had a beautiful face but was clouded with an unshakeable sorrow as she stared blankly at the lake water.

To her left, a woman in a dark green dress spoke with worry:

"...It's been over three months. Since we fell into this place following that damned spatial rift, we have no idea where this is. Nanzhao? Or some other remote corner of Cangwu Prefecture? In all this time, we haven't seen a single soul..."

To the right was an old woman in a gray robe, holding a section of a strange coral staff. She sighed and picked up the conversation:

"Indeed. If not for the Spirit-Sustaining Moss and the water veins in this lake, the clanspeople would have long been unable to hold on."

She looked at the woman with the furrowed brow, her tone comforting. "Clan Chief, don't worry too much. Mo Li is a clever child and has the Protective Scale you left her; she will surely be fine. Perhaps..."

The woman in the dark green dress also quickly chimed in, "Yes, Mo Li is blessed by the heavens! Although our clanspeople are scattered, Mo Li is the one with the highest cultivation among our younger generation; she must have found a safe place..."

They were all trying to comfort the Clan Chief, after all, Mo Li was the Clan Chief's only daughter and the most talented successor to the Shaman role in the entire tribe's younger generation. Moreover, she was also their hope.

Mo Yun heard this, her brow seeming to relax slightly, and she slowly raised her head.

Mo Lan and Mo Yun saw this and were about to breathe a sigh of relief, but then they saw Mo Yun's face turn deathly pale in an instant. Her pupils constricted abruptly as she stared fixedly at a certain spot in the dense forest by the lakeshore. That look was filled with extreme terror!

Mo Lan and Mo Yun's hearts leaped, and they followed Mo Yun's gaze.

Not far from the lakeshore, two women of peerless beauty and extraordinary temperament were standing there quietly.

"Hu... Human Cultivators?!!"

Mo Lan shrieked, her voice sharp enough to pierce the silence of the lake! Her body trembled uncontrollably.

In an instant, all the frolicking and labor by the lake came to a screeching halt.

Hundreds of terrified gazes instantly focused on Chi Wanhe and Xia Yingying! A flurry of nervous splashes rose in the lake as all the Merfolk instinctively retreated toward the center of the lake, like a school of startled fish.

An atmosphere of fear instantly permeated the entire lake!