Chapter 1453: Underwater Spirit Jade Vein

A Shift in Kyushu

Yanmiao said their clan was cursed, but Lu Ye didn't understand what she meant and wasn't bothered enough to investigate.

However, it was clear from Yanmiao's words that the merfolk held the Star Palace in extremely high reverence. Since Lu Ye had appeared there, they considered him favored by the Star Palace and naturally harbored no ill intentions toward him.

Lu Ye couldn't help but inwardly grumble. Favored by the Star Palace? What a joke. He had been brought here by the Star Palace and now couldn't even participate in the Ranking Battle. If the Star Palace truly favored him, why would they bring him at this precise moment? A little earlier or a little later would have been fine.

Yanmiao's invitation was sincere, but Lu Ye genuinely didn't want to visit the Royal Conch Palace. Just as he was about to decline, Yanmiao added, "It seemed you were helping the temple clear out debris earlier, young friend? Perhaps I could dispatch some of my clan members to assist you. It would be our clan's way of showing devotion to the temple."

Well, that… that might not be a bad idea!

Lu Ye was currently worried about one thing: whether the ten million spiritual jade he had spent on fire-attributed treasures would be enough. When he was clearing the weeds, his Talent Tree consumed fuel at an alarming rate. If this process dragged on for too long and his supply of fire-attributed treasures ran out, his Talent Tree would be unfueled, and he wouldn't be able to delve deeper into the Myriad Manifestation Sea.

If the merfolk could send some people to help, that would certainly be for the best.

However, Lu Ye understood that this was clearly a condition, though it was phrased very subtly.

After a brief consideration, given their sincere attitude, it would be inappropriate to refuse again. So he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll intrude then." Seeing him agree, Bailu was visibly delighted.

There was nothing to prepare, so they immediately set off on their return journey. The merfolk had arrived on seahorses, and there were no spare seahorses for Lu Ye, so he had to share one with a male merfolk.

He had to admit, the seahorse star beasts were much faster than him at traversing the Myriad Manifestation Sea.

Along the way, he glanced at Bailu and noticed her sitting sideways on the seahorse, which made him realize something. He had been wondering how Bailu, with only a fish tail and no legs, would ride a seahorse. Now it seemed his worries were unnecessary.

As they traveled, Lu Ye remained vigilant. The depths of the Myriad Manifestation Sea were not peaceful; he had even encountered a Sunlit star beast when he tried to swim out earlier.

However, Sunlit star beasts were rare even within the Myriad Manifestation Sea, so they didn't encounter another one. They did, however, come across a Moonbloom-level star beast.

Yanmiao was clearly prepared. She took out a small conch-shaped treasure, placed it to her lips, and blew gently. A muffled sound emerged, and Lu Ye could feel a strange power emanating from it, though he couldn't discern its specific nature.

Strangely, the Moonbloom star beast, which had discovered them and was preparing to attack, turned around and left upon hearing the sound.

Lu Ye watched in amazement.

He transmitted a message to Bailu: "Since Elder Yanmiao possesses such a treasure, how were you still attacked?" Lu Ye wasn't sure what the conch's specific power was, but judging by the result, it clearly had a驅逐 effect.

Bailu replied, "Although the Dharma Conch in the Grand Elder's hand is wondrous, it can only target a single enemy and cannot be used over a large area. If there are too many enemies, it becomes ineffective."

Lu Ye nodded, indicating he understood. As they journeyed, he observed various star beasts living in the depths of the Myriad Manifestation Sea, finding it a truly eye-opening experience. He couldn't quite understand why there were so many star beasts in the deep sea but he had never heard of them before, nor had he seen any signs of their activity in the shallow waters. Before venturing deeper here, he had only encountered a type of creature called White Spirits.

The merfolk's habitat was not far from the Star Palace. With the seahorse star beasts swimming at full speed, they arrived in less than half a day.

From a distance, Lu Ye saw a shimmering, hazy light. In the dark deep-sea environment, this ethereal glow was undoubtedly extremely conspicuous.

He vaguely felt the color of the light looked familiar, and a hypothesis emerged in his mind, though he couldn't be certain.

Only when they drew closer did he realize his guess was astonishingly true. He was utterly shocked.

Because as far as the eye could see, the source of the hazy light was, astonishingly, a vast, continuous spiritual jade mine!

Lu Ye had been wondering where the merfolk might reside in the vast, anchorless Myriad Manifestation Sea. Ordinary star beasts didn't have the concept of a habitat, drifting with the currents. But the merfolk clearly couldn't be like that.

Now he understood that they lived on such spiritual jade veins.

The spiritual jade mine was immense and continuous, like an endless coral reef. Within the mine, spiritual jade clustered together, shaped by the surging seawater over countless years into various strange and peculiar forms. Harmless fish swam freely through numerous crevices, seemingly carefree, while merfolk occasionally appeared, clearly on guard.

However, upon seeing Bailu and Yanmiao, they all respectfully bowed.

Yanmiao smiled faintly and said, "Young friend Taibai, you don't have such scenery outside, do you?"

Lu Ye looked left and right, dazzled, and nodded, "I never imagined your clan's territory to be so magnificent and grand."

Indeed, such a sight was impossible outside. Not only were there no such wondrous spiritual jade mines formed in such unique environments, but even if there were, they would have long been over-mined by cultivators.

Instead, here, with few signs of exploitation, the imprints left by the Creator's craftsmanship seemed destined to endure for eternity.

However, Lu Ye keenly noticed signs of a major battle, clearly left from a recent invasion of the merfolk's territory and their struggle with the enemy.

Continuing forward, moments later, Lu Ye witnessed another spectacular sight. Right in the center of this spiritual jade mine, there was a seemingly natural depression, and within that depression, a gigantic conch stood upright.

Connecting this with the information he had received earlier, Lu Ye estimated that this must be the merfolk's Royal Conch Palace!

This place was undoubtedly the central hub of the merfolk clan.

Gazing intently, the conch shell was mottled with patterns, showing traces of endless years. It was clearly not alive; it had been dead for untold years. Yet, even so, Lu Ye could feel a heavy aura emanating from its shell.

If this thing were alive, it would be at least a Sunlit-level creature!

Strong male merfolk stood guard outside the Royal Conch Palace. Bailu and Yanmiao led Lu Ye to the entrance beneath the palace, where they dismounted their seahorse star beasts.

The guarding male merfolk respectfully bowed.

Yanmiao said, "Our Queen awaits your arrival. Please come inside with me."

Lu Ye naturally had no objections. Since he had come, he should pay his respects to the ruler of this place.

However, speaking of a clan's queen… he wondered what kind of majesty she possessed. As he stepped into the Royal Conch Palace with Yanmiao and Bailu, Lu Ye clearly felt some strange power fluctuations, similar to when he activated his Void Spirit Inscriptions. According to Tang Jun's previous explanation, this should be the ebb and flow of spatial power. From the outside, the Royal Conch Palace didn't seem small, but once inside, he realized the internal space was much larger. Lu Ye immediately understood that the Royal Conch Palace indeed possessed mysterious spatial powers, creating a hidden world within.

There was no seawater inside the Royal Conch Palace, just like in the Star Palace. Lu Ye sighed in relief. Being constantly surrounded by seawater meant continuous consumption of his Talent Tree fuel, which truly pained him.

They emerged into a grand hall with four entrances, where male merfolk stood guard in each direction. Yanmiao gestured, leading Lu Ye through the passage directly ahead.

Bailu walked beside him and said, "Li Taibai, don't be too surprised when you meet the Queen."

"Why?" Lu Ye asked, puzzled, interpreting her words to mean she knew he would be surprised upon meeting their Queen.

"Hehe, you'll see in a moment," Bailu said, teasingly, without explaining further.

Lu Ye didn't press for details; he would soon see for himself. After winding their way for a while, they arrived outside another grand hall.

Lu Ye noticed something: within the merfolk clan, the status of males seemed to be lower. All the guards he had seen along the way were male merfolk, and considering their Queen was also a female, Lu Ye guessed this was one of the rare matriarchal races.

Such races were uncommon in the starry sky, but they did exist. Outside the hall, Yanmiao led Lu Ye inside.

Lu Ye immediately felt several gazes fall upon him. He looked up to see four merfolk in the spacious hall, two on each side. Only one was male, the other three were all female.

All four merfolk radiated the aura of Moonbloom-level cultivators, clearly Moonbloom cultivators. In the center, on a raised platform, stood a small figure wearing a crown and holding a scepter-like object, resting it beside her.

The scepter was undoubtedly too long for her; she stood beside it, and the scepter was significantly taller than her.

The face beneath the crown was very childlike…

Lu Ye finally understood why Bailu had warned him beforehand not to be too surprised upon seeing the Queen.

The Queen of the merfolk clan was actually a child!

Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be only around ten years old. Of course, the merfolk's growth might differ from that of humans, so she might be older than ten, but she clearly hadn't grown into an adult.

He had heard that Bailu was a merfolk princess, and Lu Ye had assumed their Queen would be Bailu's mother, an adult woman. He never expected her to be a child. How did that relationship work?

Her clear eyes reflected the same color as Bailu's, along with a hint of innocence, yet her small body still tried its best to maintain the dignity of a monarch.

Lu Ye met her gaze and saw curiosity in her eyes.

Yanmiao bowed, "Your Majesty, our most distinguished guest has arrived."