Before Madam Helian could finish her words, Baili Weisheng’s merciless blade was already closing in on Helian Shaoze.

Helian Shaoze shielded his abdomen with one hand while trying to fight back with the other, but Madam Helian cried out urgently, “Son, go! Quickly!”

The hot-blooded young Helian Shaoze didn’t want to flee, but seeing his mother’s wound, he had no choice but to retreat.

He spun around, his arm sweeping Baili Weisheng’s sword aside with a ringing clang, then caught hold of Madam Helian and turned to flee in a rush.

“Think you can leave?”

Baili Weisheng snorted coldly and gave chase at once, pursuing them all the way out through the gates of the Jinjiao Palace, beyond the barrier.

But unexpectedly, the moment they passed beyond the barrier, Madam Helian and Helian Shaoze plunged straight down into the depths of the water and vanished in an instant.

Baili Weisheng didn’t immediately follow, because he’d already noticed something strange about this small patch of water just outside the gates.

Whether it was the raging turmoil from before or the churning waves crashing about now, this small stretch of water right in front of the Jinjiao Palace gates had always remained perfectly calm.

Even Jun Beiyue knew the principle that in the sea, the calmer the water, the more dangerous it was — let alone Baili Weisheng, this ruler of the deep sea.

He stopped in his tracks, pursed his lips, and glanced over at Jun Beiyue.

Jun Beiyue was still leaning against the great stone pillar, silently gazing at the unfathomable depths of the water, saying nothing at all.

Meanwhile, not far off, amid the raging, blood-soaked waves, the Henggong fish was guarding Xiong Xiaobao while fending off the relentless assaults of the sea beasts — a scene that could only be described as a bloody, brutal storm of savagery and terror.

Baili Weisheng glanced over at it, then looked at Ziqing, whose full attention was fixed on that scene, and with no other choice, walked over to stand beside Jun Beiyue, leaning lazily against the stone pillar in the same manner.

There was nothing more to say — only to wait.

Either way, Madam Helian and Helian Shaoze couldn’t possibly escape the boundless depths of this sea; heaven only knew what traps lay hidden within this too-quiet stretch of water.

Better to wait until Xiong Xiaobao was safe before discussing anything further.

Still, there were so many sea beasts — no telling how long it would take the Henggong fish to finish slaughtering them all.

Baili Weisheng stretched lazily, unable to deny that standing beside Jun Beiyue — one restless, one still — the two of them together were both cold as ice, both devilish in their own way.

“Hey, so what’s really going on with your son?” Baili Weisheng asked, tilting his head.

Only then did Jun Beiyue slowly lift his gaze toward Xiong Bao, saying lightly, “His ability to command the Cosmic Poison Pouch is about to reach a new level.”

Those words made Baili Weisheng stop and think.

The space Xiong Xiaobao had previously been able to open within the pouch hadn’t been very large, and it had already been entirely occupied by the sea serpents. Yet just now, he’d suddenly sealed away a moray eel — clearly, the pouch’s space had opened up further.

The purple light enveloping Xiong Xiaobao — this kid was cultivating!

At that thought, Baili Weisheng suddenly asked, puzzled, “Jun Beiyue, where’s your mother?”

Right — where was Meng Wanyue?

He hadn’t seen her this whole time, had he?

A complicated flicker crossed Jun Beiyue’s eyes as he turned to look at Baili Weisheng — but just then, Meng Wanyue suddenly burst up out of the raging waves, shot straight into the barrier, and collapsed sitting on the ground, gasping for breath, repeatedly striking her chest, her face deathly pale.

“Mother, what’s wrong?” Jun Beiyue asked, brow furrowed.

Meng Wanyue didn’t answer right away, instead waving a hand weakly at him between gasps to show she was fine. After a long moment, once she’d caught her breath, she explained haltingly, “Just now I got tossed about so badly by that wave, I don’t even know where I ended up — I forced myself to hold my breath and swam toward the golden light, and finally managed to make it back!”

As she spoke, without giving Jun Beiyue a chance to respond, she suddenly looked toward the bloody chaos in the distance and cried out in alarm, “Xiong Bao… this… this…!”

“What’s wrong?” Now Jun Beiyue was truly alarmed.

“This is… heavens, Xiong Bao is… my grandson is a true genius! This is his soul merging with the Cosmic Poison Pouch — his three souls and seven spirits fusing with the cosmic vessel! Once he completes the fusion, he’ll be able to control the Cosmic Poison Pouch with spiritual power alone!” Meng Wanyue exclaimed, overjoyed beyond words.

At this, Jun Beiyue was overjoyed as well — if the pouch could be controlled through spiritual power, that would mean the Cosmic Poison Pouch would no longer be bound by physical limitations.

Because spiritual power knew no age — even a child could wield it with overwhelming strength!

And Xiong Xiaobao’s spiritual power was already, in itself, far beyond his years — already formidably strong!

Baili Weisheng was even more astonished, clapping his hands repeatedly in delight. “Ha! My godson really is something else! What promise!”

Jun Beiyue’s brow shot up sharply, his expression deadly serious. “When exactly did he agree to call you his godfather?”

“Didn’t he?” Baili Weisheng shot back.

“Did he?” Jun Beiyue asked, utterly in earnest — so earnest that even Baili Weisheng grew a little embarrassed, laughing awkwardly. “No, not yet — how about we make it official later?”

Jun Beiyue answered with a flat, dismissive glare — an outright refusal.

Whatever Jun Beiyue thought of it, Baili Weisheng was genuinely delighted — so delighted, in fact, that he didn’t even notice Baili Xiaosheng, who’d been missing this whole time, had suddenly appeared right behind him.

Well, it had to be said — as a master to his disciple, Baili Weisheng really hadn’t paid her much mind at all.

In this life, the only people he truly held close to his heart were probably his little Qingqing, and little Qingqing’s little Xiong Bao.

Baili Xiaosheng had long grown used to her master’s neglect. Ordinarily, she would report her whereabouts on her own initiative — but this time was different.

Baili Xiaosheng, too, had just burst out from the raging waves. The moment she landed beside Baili Weisheng, she said not a word, only glancing timidly at Meng Wanyue a few times — just a few glances, not even daring to let her gaze linger the way she usually would, instead pulling her eyes away in obvious fear, as though she’d been badly frightened by something.

Madam Jinjiao, however, noticed. She looked quietly at Baili Xiaosheng, then at Baili Weisheng, wondering to herself whether this little girl might be Baili Weisheng’s daughter.

But looking closer, it didn’t quite seem that way — Baili Weisheng himself looked to be barely in his twenties.

If her own son were still alive, he’d surely be older than any of these young people and children.

Madam Jinjiao couldn’t help but reach out, her large hand gently stroking Baili Weisheng’s head through the barrier, her face full of tender affection.

Who were all these people, really?

Since they clearly weren’t of the Dream Clan, what exactly was this “Cosmic Poison Pouch” they kept mentioning, and why was the Dagger of Flowing Light in their hands? That great crimson fish seemed to be some kind of poisonous beast.

Could it be — could these people be from the Isolated Isle?

Centuries ago, the Silver Jiao had taken it upon themselves to collaborate with the Dream Clan — the Dream Clan built a barrier palace within the boundless deep sea that they could freely enter and leave, and in exchange, the Silver Jiao gifted the Dream Clan three thousand sets of jiao-warrior armor and weapons, along with the Dagger of Flowing Light.

But it turned out three thousand sets of silver armor for the jiao-warriors wasn’t enough — the Dream Clan, greedy beyond reason, nearly wiped out the entire Silver Jiao race. Fortunately, the Jinjiao learned of it in time and stepped in to save them.

From that day on, enmity was sealed between the Silver Jiao and the Dream Clan. But because of an ancestral pact, the Jinjiao were bound for all eternity never to leave the boundless deep sea — and in order to keep their whereabouts secret, the Jinjiao also restricted the Silver Jiao’s freedom.

Not until the Jinjiao were wiped out did the Silver Jiao finally leave the Innocent Abyss, seeking revenge and building their strength.

Madam Jinjiao watched the children before her, utterly at a loss, wishing so desperately that they would discover her presence — but alas, no one ever truly looked at the great stone pillar.

By now, the waves were gradually calming, and the Henggong fish came swimming back, carrying Xiong Xiaobao on its back…