Chapter 117

Chapter 117: Merfolk Again
Standing at the entrance of the passage, Lady Hua took the biggest shock.

If Yu Zhao were not here, she would probably have already swept everything she could see into her storage space.

Yu Zhao asked from behind her: “Lady Hua, why are you not moving?”

Lady Hua turned her head and met a pair of cold eyes. It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. Her restless greed calmed down at once.

With Yu Zhao here, there was almost no chance she could swallow all these treasures alone.

Besides, they had not even truly entered the Merfolk Clan’s territory yet. If they started fighting each other over this, the loss would be greater than any gain.

After she thought it through, Lady Hua kept her eyes straight ahead and stepped into the passage.

The Zhao couple still hesitated a little, so Yu Zhao gave them a shove from behind with spirit power and pushed them into the passage.

Then she dragged Ji Han Zhou along and strolled in at an easy pace.

Boss Wu walked at the very back. His eyes kept darting to both sides. His big hands were itching.

After a hard inner struggle, he still could not hold back. He grabbed two Sea Beast inner cores almost as big as a human head and quickly tossed them into his storage space.

Yu Zhao noticed his little move but did not speak up.

In fact, it was not only Boss Wu. Lady Hua and the Zhao couple walking in front were all secretly stuffing things into their clothes.

As long as it did not slow them down, Yu Zhao chose to turn a blind eye.

The six of them walked along the passage for almost half an hour. None of them looked annoyed at all. Their faces were full of joy.

After they noticed that Yu Zhao was not stopping them, they grew bolder and bolder. They were almost openly stuffing things into their storage pouches. It was no exaggeration to say that their storage pouches were nearly full.

Yu Zhao herself also picked up many pretty gems and pieces of coral to bring back for Senior Sister Zhou and the others.

Of course, she did not forget Ji Han Zhou.

Since Ji Han Zhou had done the most and was still unconscious, she found an empty storage pouch for him and filled it with many things along the way.

“Almost at the exit,” Lady Hua said when she saw the opening at the far end of the passage. Her face showed clear regret.

The others all sighed as well.

The next moment, everyone sped up at the same time.

If the passage alone hid so many rare treasures, then the Merfolk Clan’s territory must be packed with wonders.

At the end of the passage was a light curtain as thin as a cicada’s wing. Their divine sense could not pass through it.

Usually, Lady Hua would have thought long and hard before deciding whether or not to go in.

But after walking through that glittering passage, she barely hesitated. She leaped straight in.

The Zhao couple gritted their teeth and jumped in after her.

Now that they were here, Yu Zhao instead started to hesitate.

Everything on this trip had gone too smoothly, so smooth that it felt a bit deliberate.

Boss Wu seemed to notice her worry. He said in a carefree tone: “Fellow Daoist Yu, since we are already here, whether it is good or bad, we have to walk this path ourselves.”

Yu Zhao’s wandering gaze became steady at once. She smiled: “Boss Wu is right. I was overthinking it.”

With that, she stopped hesitating. Her figure flashed and she disappeared into the light curtain.

Boss Wu laughed and took big steps forward.

A white light flashed in front of his eyes. He closed them by reflex.

When he opened them again, he was standing inside a glittering palace.

“This, this…” Boss Wu raised his head to look at the eight giant pillars inside the hall. They were made of spirit stone and were clear and flawless. He was stunned.

“This is thousand-year sunken gold! Such a huge piece of thousand-year sunken gold! Its value cannot even be measured!” Zhao Xian was leaning over a desk. His fingers stroked it with longing, his eyes full of greed.

Wang Zhen had somehow found a spirit bracelet.

The spirit bracelet was made from several special types of pearls found only in the depths of Nanming Sea. Surrounded by the glow in the hall, it was stunningly beautiful.

Wang Zhen lifted her hand to admire the bracelet, her face full of joy.

Lady Hua and Yu Zhao were the odd ones out among them.

Their faces were equally serious, as if something bad was about to happen.

“Yiyi ya ya…”

A sharp, piercing song suddenly rang out.

Yu Zhao’s pupils shrank.

This was the song of the merfolk!

The thought had just flashed through her mind when the scene before her eyes changed from a palace to a sea of blood and corpses.

Amid the dead bodies, a thin figure stood straight and proud.

In her left hand, she held a purple flute. In her right, she held a bloodstained pouch.

Even though the pattern on it was already blurred, you could still faintly see the outline of an avian beast.

Yu Zhao’s body shook.

That was clearly her!

Looking closer, the ones lying in the blood were not strangers. They were her former senior brothers, her master, and all the people who had once insulted her with words or actions.

The girl in front slowly raised her head and showed a bloodthirsty face.

She gave a cold smile and said: “I killed them for you. Are you happy?”

Yu Zhao stayed silent.

“Why are you not smiling? They were all your enemies! They wronged you! They deserved to die!” The girl suddenly lost control. She screamed at Yu Zhao, listing all the cruel things those people had done.

For a moment, Yu Zhao seemed to see her past self.

The Yu Zhao who used to wallow in self-pity, who could not let go and could not escape.

The girl laughed low and said: “That is right. I am you, and you are me. We were always one.”

Then she rushed at Yu Zhao like thunder.

Yu Zhao wanted to dodge, but found that she could not control her body for now. She could only watch as the other her got closer and closer, then plunged into her body.

In an instant, countless negative emotions poured into Yu Zhao.

Scenes from the past flashed quickly before her eyes.

Her helplessness and fear when she was locked in Black Prison.

The shame and sadness when First Senior Brother scolded her.

The grievance and hurt when Second Senior Brother made things hard for her.

…

All the things she had already let go of came back with even stronger force.

Yu Zhao bit down on her lower lip.

She kept telling herself over and over that this was a heart devil.

She was no longer afraid of being alone. She no longer longed for family. The things that had once hurt her were no longer chains that bound her.

But the familiar voice kept sounding in her mind.

“Yu Zhao, do not be afraid. I will protect you from now on. I will kill them! I will kill everyone who dares hurt you!”

“You do not need friends. I am your friend. I will always, always stay with you!”

“Yu Zhao, open your sea of consciousness and accept me. Let us charge into Five Elements Dao Sect together and kill everyone who laughed at you!”

Yu Zhao’s brows drew tight. Her fists clenched. She seemed to be trapped in endless struggle.

Seeing this, the voice in her mind became even more excited. It spoke faster and faster.

Crack.

A breaking sound rang out from inside Yu Zhao.

She let out a breath and opened her eyes. Her gaze was bright and firm.

“Thank you for helping me break through,” she said.

Her dao heart had grown even stronger.

The voice in her mind froze, then let out a stream of curses, filthy and harsh.

Yu Zhao grabbed the heart devil out of her sea of consciousness with a look of disgust: “If your skills are this poor, then stop trying to pretend to be a heart devil. You are dirtying my ears.”

As soon as she finished, she closed her fingers together. Space started to tremble, and chunks of light curtain shattered and fell away.

In an instant, she was back in the palace.