211: Chapter 211 Did you kill him?

On the boundless sea.

Mo Yun, Mo Li, and Mo Lan flicked their tails lightly and were the first to submerge into the cold seawater.

A pale blue radiance swirled, and their lower bodies instantly transformed into long, graceful fish tails.

Mo Yun wore a dark blue shark-silk dress; the hem cleverly covered the junction between her waist and tail, revealing a deep, inky-blue fish tail beneath.

Mo Li also wore a water-blue shark-silk dress, but her fish tail was azure, shimmering with a soft, pearlescent luster.

Mo Lan wore a greenish-blue dress that covered her waist and hips, revealing a vibrant sea-green fish tail with tight scales that moved at a faster frequency.

Ling Hao activated a spiritual power barrier and followed closely behind, bringing Xia Yingying with him.

The group followed Mo Yun, passing through colorful coral groves and schools of strange, glowing fish as they dived deeper into the submarine mountain range.

Huge, bizarre glowing coral reefs resembled an undersea forest, where fish of all shapes and sizes swam in schools, and jellyfish emitting strange light drifted slowly by...

Xia Yingying's almond-shaped eyes were wide open, her small mouth slightly agape as she let out silent gasps of wonder, tugging on Ling Hao's sleeve and pointing excitedly at every novel thing, like a child who had stumbled into a fairytale world.

Finally, Ling Hao and his group arrived at the base of a massive undersea mountain, where a huge cave entrance, partially obscured by dense seaweed and glowing moss, appeared before them.

Mo Yun and the others swam in first.

Passing through an invisible barrier, the interior of the cave suddenly opened up, with the seawater completely blocked out.

This was a vast and strange space inside the undersea mountain; though the light was dim, it was enough to see, and the air was humid, carrying a salty, fishy scent along with the unique aroma of coral reefs.

This was once the settlement of the Merfolk Race.

However, the scene before them was a complete mess. Much of the glowing moss on the cave walls had been destroyed, making it look dim. Scattered on the ground were broken coral ornaments, seashells, and fragmented reef rocks. Traces of the simple dwellings that had once existed were completely overturned.

"My Lord, this is..."

Mo Yun's voice carried a hint of complex emotion upon returning to her former home, but it stopped abruptly.

Boom!

A violent tremor and a dull, explosive sound came from deep within the passage ahead!

Mo Li and Mo Lan's faces instantly turned deathly pale: "This sound... it's coming from deep within the settlement! Could it be..."

Mo Yun's heart sank to the bottom of the valley, and she forced herself to remain calm: "The core defensive array of the settlement is extremely difficult for even those at the Nascent Soul Stage to breach! It's impossible..."

But her voice was also filled with uncertainty and panic. The last time they were forced to leave, it was because of an undercurrent of erosion qi that erupted within the Moon-Tear Coral Grove...

And not long after leaving this mountain range, they had encountered Human Race Cultivators hunting them; during the chase, they were swept into the Small World of the Mysterious Lady through a spatial rift...

As expected, the location of the settlement had been exposed after all!

It was precisely because of this possibility that Mo Yun had staked everything on seeking Ling Hao's protection.

She only hoped that the Holy Land of the Merfolk Race was unharmed.

Mo Yun and the others immediately accelerated and rushed deep into the cave. Ling Hao quickly followed, bringing Xia Yingying with him.

...

When they rushed into the relatively open area deep within the cave, which was surrounded by a small patch of Moon-Tear Coral Grove, the blood of Mo Yun and the others almost froze!

Dozens of people were hovering above the chaotic ruins.

In the center was a young man dressed in gorgeous brocade robes with an arrogant expression. Fu Tiansong and Gan Wenzhu stood respectfully behind him. Beside them were several cold-faced Soul Transformation Stage guards, as well as an old man with a profound aura who was resting with his eyes closed.

Di Wenlong weighed a merfolk pearl in his hand, his tone frivolous: "Hmm, the quality of this thing is not bad..."

Suddenly, his expression darkened. He abruptly put away the merfolk pearl and pointed at the scene, which had been turned upside down, with even a few small Moon-Tear Corals roughly broken, and roared angrily: "But is this the Merfolk Holy Land that you bunch of trash talked about?! We broke the outer Restriction and dug three feet deep, only to find these few lousy pearls?! Where is the treasure you promised?! Where is it?! Huh?! Huh?!"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He reached out, grabbed a large piece of broken, ordinary coral reef, and roughly stuffed it into the mouth of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator kneeling in the front: "Eat! Eat it for me! Didn't you say there was treasure in this lousy coral grove?! Huh?!"

The Nascent Soul Cultivator's face was full of humiliation and fear, his cheeks bulging, but he dared not resist in the slightest. He forced a smile that was uglier than crying and truly began to chew with difficulty.

The group of Cultivators kneeling behind him trembled even more, silent as cicadas in winter.

The arrival of Ling Hao's group immediately attracted attention.

"There's movement!"

"Merfolk! It's the Merfolk!"

Someone among the kneeling Cultivators exclaimed, and greedy gazes immediately locked onto Mo Yun and the other two.

The Nascent Soul Cultivator who had been fed the coral also spat out the debris in his mouth, pointed at Mo Yun like a drowning man grabbing a straw, and screamed hoarsely: "My Lord! Look! That Merfolk has a profound aura! She must be an important figure in the tribe! She must know where the treasure is hidden!"

Hearing this, Di Wenlong turned around with impatient anger.

When his gaze swept past Mo Yun and the others and landed on the figure in black robes standing behind them with his hands behind his back and a detached expression, he froze instantly!

"My Lo..." the Nascent Soul Cultivator had just managed to utter one word.

Crack!

Without even looking, Di Wenlong backhanded a palm strike! A terrifying spiritual power instantly reduced the Nascent Soul Cultivator, along with the obsequious smile on his face, into a mist of blood!

In the next second, the shock on Di Wenlong's face instantly switched to extreme respect, and he bowed slightly, his voice respectful: "Greetings, Moonshadow Heavenly Venerable!"

Fu Tiansong, Gan Wenzhu, the Soul Transformation guards, and even the old man who had been resting with his eyes closed behind him, bowed in salute almost simultaneously.

This scene left the kneeling Cultivators dumbfounded!

A deathly silence instantly enveloped the cave.

Moonshadow Heavenly Venerable? Could it be the Sect Master of that Eighth-Rank Sect?

A moment later, like a chain reaction, the kneeling Cultivators suddenly realized what was happening and scrambled to kowtow towards Ling Hao: "Greetings, Moonshadow Heavenly Venerable!"

"May Moonshadow Heavenly Venerable enjoy eternal blessings!"

As for Mo Yun, Mo Li, and Mo Lan, their eyes did not look at Di Wenlong, nor did they look at the kneeling crowd.

They stared fixedly at a few... corpses not far from Di Wenlong's feet, near the patch of Moon-Tear Coral Grove.

Those were their tribespeople!

Their human-upper-body and fish-tail forms were twisted; the scales that should have been beautiful were dull and peeling, and their bodies were shriveled and withered, as if they had been drained of all their essence.

Traces of dark red blood tears had congealed around their empty eye sockets.

Grief, like a cold, giant wave, fiercely crashed against the hearts of Mo Yun and the other two.

Mo Li covered her mouth, tears sliding down silently. Mo Lan's eyes were bloodshot, her body trembling violently from extreme rage. Mo Yun had lost all her composure, her face pale as paper, and she staggered forward, wanting to rush over.

Even Xia Yingying couldn't bear to look and hid behind Ling Hao.

"Revered Master..."

Ling Hao's gaze slowly swept over the corpses of the merfolk and shifted to Di Wenlong: "Did you kill them?"