Chapter 504: Chapter 493: The Sword Cultivator Father
Pushing open the palace doors, a thick wave of Spiritual Energy washed over him. The floor was paved with top-grade Spirit Stones, and at the very center grew some nourishing Yangyuan Sea Grass. Suspended above the grass were two semi-transparent Merfolk Eggs, and upon closer examination, one could make out the figures of little merfolks within the eggs, motionless. If not for Little Golden Crow’s assurance of their liveliness, Ye Qiu would have mistaken them for two dead eggs.
"They’ve been sealed, probably due to injuries sustained earlier. Sealing them to prevent hatching was meant to aid their recovery," Old Turtle observed carefully before speaking, "But the merfolk didn’t anticipate dying before these two little ones were healed. Thus, these eggs have been sealed for three hundred years. If not for the surrounding nourishing Yangyuan Sea Grass and this rich Spiritual Energy, they probably would have died long before we arrived."
The Merfolk Inner Core in Ye Qiu’s hand began to levitate, revolving around the two eggs incessantly, while a mournful singing voice permeated the entire hall.
"Alas..." Old Turtle sighed. "It’s a pity we don’t know how to lift the seal."
"Not necessarily." Ye Qiu said thoughtfully as he looked at the two Merfolk Eggs, and then spoke to Little Golden Crow, "Little Jin, do you have a way to help the Merfolk Soul remove the seal?"
Hearing these words, a glimmer of hope shone in Old Turtle’s eyes.
However, Little Golden Crow was hostile towards any spiritual beast that approached Ye Qiu, showing reluctance and turning its head away.
Ye Qiu chuckled and gently stroked its head: "Don’t worry, I’m not planning to raise them, but rather for another purpose."
Old Turtle assumed Ye Qiu was like other Human Cultivators who wanted to use the little merfolk for Alchemy or Artifact Refining, and couldn’t help but advise, "There are only two merfolk left, and they’re not fully grown yet. They won’t be of much use."
Ye Qiu glared at him, saying irritably, "What do you think I’m going to use them for? I just want them to form a contract with my son. My son possesses a Single Spirit Root of the Gold Element. With me as his Father watching, it can only be beneficial, not harmful, for these two little merfolk."
After hearing this explanation, Old Turtle felt somewhat ashamed for lowering its head; it shouldn’t have doubted the character of this Human Cultivator. What Ye Qiu said was true; growing up in Tianyan Sect with Ye Qiu’s son would definitely be only advantageous for them.
"But you need to think this through. The little merfolk carry a deep blood feud on their backs. Once your son forms a contract with them, he will be obligated to fight alongside the merfolk," Old Turtle cautioned.
Ye Qiu nodded and responded, "I am aware of that. But which Cultivator doesn’t experience trials and tribulations? I have faith in my son."
Seeing his determination, Old Turtle stopped advising. Now, the task was to figure out how to successfully hatch the two little merfolk.
"Little Jin, go ahead, but be careful not to harm them. These may be your future nephews’ Spiritual Pets."
"Chirp..." Since Ye Qiu wasn’t the one raising them, Little Golden Crow no longer minded and conveyed a unique Spiritual Power into the soul within the Merfolk Inner Core.
"I am in your debt, kind sir." After receiving the flow of Spiritual Power, the residual soul regained some consciousness, transforming into a phantom floating before Ye Qiu and his company.
"Little Jin says your Divine Soul is severely injured and can only last for an hour at most. Tell us, what should we do to lift the seal?" Ye Qiu got straight to the point.
"Just lend me a bit of your strength, kind sir," the residual soul said, knowing its time was limited and didn’t beg for more. It would be satisfied if it could rescue the two little merfolks.
Ye Qiu followed the method given by the Merfolk Soul to lift the seal within a short moment. Once the seal was lifted, the two little merfolk happily swam around inside the eggs.
The Merfolk Soul watched them fondly, eventually gathering all its energy to transfer memories and Cultivation Techniques into their minds. After doing these, the Merfolk Soul became extremely weak, and cracks appeared on its inner core.
"Benefactor, beneath this great hall is the burial ground of our merfolk clan, which contains many items that you Human Cultivators might need. Feel free to take them if you do not despise such things. In the center of the burial ground, there is a Spiritual Beast Ring. Once out of the sea, let these two little ones stay inside it. After they sign a contract with the person you mentioned, they will be free to appear in the world outside the sea," said the Merfolk Soul as if making its final testament.
Before dissipating completely, it looked at Ye Qiu with a pleading look: "I hope that your son will treat them well in the future. They will take three hundred years to heal, and once they are born, their bones and physique will undoubtedly be stronger than ours, and they certainly won’t hold back your son."
Ye Qiu assured it, "My son will definitely live up to your expectations; rest assured."
The Merfolk Soul had no other choice but to hope that Ye Qiu would keep his word. It made a final round around the two Merfolk Eggs and then completely vanished, and the Merfolk Inner Core turned into ashes. Fortunately, Ye Qiu had the Little Golden Crow with him; otherwise, he could have only stayed at the bottom of the sea for another three days at most.
The two Merfolk Eggs seemed to sense the disappearance of the Soul and began moving restlessly up and down.
"Let’s first look for the burial ground that the Soul mentioned. Old Turtle, you take them with you," Ye Qiu ordered, his interest in the burial ground ignited.
With the guidance of the residual Soul, Ye Qiu and others quickly found the mechanism in the palace below.
The moment the mechanism was activated, a passage was revealed, lined with Bright Pearls on both sides. Old Turtle previously said that the pearls from thousand-year-old clams were rare, but the ones here were truly exceptional.
After walking through the long passage, Ye Qiu and Old Turtle arrived at the burial ground, standing at the entrance, they were stunned by what they saw inside.
In front of them lay the bodies of thousands of merfolk, big and small. Some had decayed, leaving only an inner core in place, while others looked as though they had just died, their bodies still gleaming.
"We’re rich, we’re rich!" Old Turtle came back to his senses, ignoring the corpses, and quickly swam to the Merfolk Silk beside them.
The Merfolk Silk shimmered in seven colors, still radiant despite hundreds to thousands of years having passed.
"No wonder merfolk do not easily give away Merfolk Silk—it turns out that only after they die can a true piece of Merfolk Silk be made. I really was blind before; I didn’t realize real Merfolk Silk could be so beautiful!" Old Turtle’s eyes gleamed with greed as he continuously dragged the Merfolk Silk into his own space, but he maintained some measure of control, taking only a small portion as previously agreed upon with Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu, however, was fixed on the pile of items in the middle. Besides the Spiritual Beast Bracelet mentioned by the residual Soul, there were other treasures.
"What are these?" Old Turtle moved in closer.
Ye Qiu, having taken the Spiritual Beast Bracelet, stepped aside, "You choose first; after all, I’m keeping the two little merfolk, which benefits me."
Old Turtle didn’t hesitate, meticulously picking one item after another. After all, it was about to undergo the Divinity Transformation and ascend to the Upper Realm, and it wouldn’t do to go there without some good items.