Chapter 533: Betrayer

"Reporting to the three Chief Elders, Her Majesty the Queen has entered the Mermaid Mausoleum with those few humans."

Inside the Mermaid Headquarters' main hall, the elders who had previously followed the Queen had all returned to the center. Before them stood three "living fossils" — the chief elders — whose lower bodies were half covered in colorful scales and half in black scales. Each of them wore an indescribable, peculiar expression, as if they had been waiting for this day for a very long time.

"Hmph, the Queen's heart is with the humans; she is no longer fit to lead our mermaid lineage," the central figure sneered. "Now is the perfect time for us to seize supreme power over the mermaid clan. Elders present, whoever wishes to follow the three of us and establish a new order for the mermaid clan, please raise your right hand."

The central "living fossil" was clearly the most powerful among all the mermaid elders in the room. As he rose and called out, no one in the room dared to disobey.

Although everyone usually supported the Mermaid Queen, when she decided to lead humans into the Mermaid Clan's sacred forbidden land, the elders felt a surge of anger deep within them, as if the Queen had committed an unforgivable error.

Little did they know, if she hadn't done so, how could the mermaid clan have persuaded Xu Yang and his two companions to help? Such a foolish group always seemed incapable of understanding the bigger picture.

As for the three "living fossils" who had suddenly appeared, they had coveted the supreme Sea Pearl for many years. Now, with such a rare opportunity, how could they not seize it?

"My command: activate the Samsara Shackles, seal off the mermaid clan's passage, and all elders, follow the three of us into the Abyss of Samsara!"

"At once!"

The so-called Abyss of Samsara was another great forbidden land of the mermaid clan, and a true forbidden zone in every sense.

It was the area where the supreme Sea Pearl artifact was sealed, and also the most sacred and untouchable core space of the mermaid clan's heritage. These individuals had no idea that their momentary greed nearly destroyed the mermaid clan's entire immortal legacy.

At that moment, the Queen was slowly recounting the history of the mermaid clan to Xu Yang and his two companions.

"Legend has it that countless years ago, the far northern oceans were entirely covered by endless glaciers. Upon these glaciers, one day, three deities banished from the Divine Realm descended. In truth, they were not guilty; they were merely eliminated due to power struggles within the Divine Realm.

After descending upon the continent's glacial region, these three deities began using their powers to establish a vast glacial kingdom, propagating a powerful civilization that, though separate from the main continent, thrived immensely.

Under these three deities were three exceptionally brilliant young individuals, revered as the Three Divine Apostles. While inheriting the legacy of the three deities, they also served as the supreme rulers of the entire glacial kingdom, known respectively as the Apostle of Heaven, the Apostle of Earth, and the Apostle of the Sea.

The Apostle of the Sea was the true ancestor of the mermaid clan. It was through his union with a fish spirit who had cultivated herself into a perfect human form that the mermaid clan, endowed with extraordinary cultivation talents, was born. All mermaids are his descendants.

Later, the three deities vanished, reportedly returning to the Divine Realm. After that, the glacial civilization continued to flourish under the legacy of the three Apostles. However, a sudden catastrophe eventually caused everything to fall apart. The Apostle of Heaven disappeared, the Apostle of Earth became the sole ruler of the entire glacial kingdom, and the Apostle of the Sea—our distant ancestor—departed the glacial kingdom with the supreme Sea Pearl, inherited from the God of the Sea. He helped the mermaid clan establish their own lineage and live in the ocean.

Millions of years have passed in the blink of an eye. Although our mermaid clan has not expanded and prospered like other races, our strength is not to be underestimated. Through countless hardships and struggles, our lineage has persevered to this day.

This is the story I wanted to tell you, concerning the bond between the mermaid clan and the glacial ruins."

Xu Yang nodded in sudden understanding. "No wonder the supreme Sea Pearl can generate divine elemental power; it truly is a manifestation of divine heritage. So, Your Majesty, you don't know the whereabouts of the glacial ruins either?"

The Queen nodded gravely. "Too much time has passed. I believe the glacial ruins still exist, but like our mermaid clan, the entrance to the glacial ruins is now very difficult for us to find. Without sufficient fortuitous encounters, it's probably impossible to uncover its ancient secrets again. The glacial ruins hold the divine heritage of the Three Deities; if they wish to remain hidden, who could possibly find them? However…"

As the Queen spoke, she seemed to suddenly recall something. "There's one more thing I might as well tell you. The supreme Sea Pearl is sealed in the Abyss of Samsara within our mermaid tribe. Even our clan elders don't know the reason why that artifact is sealed there: it's to suppress an extremely terrifying ancient sea demon!"

Shi Lingyun asked, a puzzled expression on his face, "Could it be a powerful expert from the demon race, here to seize the supreme Sea Pearl?"

"Precisely. Calculating the time, that great demon has been suppressed here for over one hundred thousand years. It was my grandmother, the previous Mermaid Queen, who personally took action, using the divine power of the supreme Sea Pearl to seal this mighty sea demon. And according to what my grandmother said back then, this sea demon escaped from the glacial ruins, with the clear objective of obtaining the power legacy of the Three Divine Apostles."

Xu Yang looked at the Mermaid Queen with a half-smile. "You must be well aware that our strength far surpasses yours, and even the entire mermaid clan couldn't stop us. Aren't you afraid that by telling us such an important secret, we might suddenly act against your clan?"

The Mermaid Queen chuckled softly. "If I couldn't ascertain your character, how could I have brought you here and revealed the secrets of my mermaid clan? If the three of you truly harbored malicious intent, we would be unable to stop you anyway. It's better to go with the flow and repay this favor to you."

Ling Yao burst out laughing. "I didn't expect you, the Mermaid Queen, to be so calculating! But then again, since you've been so forthright with us, we won't do anything to harm your mermaid clan. Even without your help, we have ways to find those glacial ruins ourselves."

*Rumble!*

Just then, the entire Mermaid Mausoleum began to shake violently, as if a terrifying dormant mechanism had been triggered.

"Oh no! Someone has activated the Samsara Shackles… Could it really be those three chief elders stirring up trouble behind the scenes?"

The Queen's face suddenly turned pale, as if her worst fears had finally come true.