What great storm could a small clam spirit stir up? No one had paid her any mind, yet she possessed such a treasure that could directly blast open the side door of the palace!
Fu Lingchuan still had no time to deal with the clam woman. He simply grabbed the soul-nurturing wood where the Crab Spirit dwelled and urgently said, “Take us away!” With one hand holding Princess Changle, he quickly moved toward the rear of the hall.
The Merman King laughed bitterly in anger: “Where do you think you’re going!” He strode forward in pursuit.
The distance between them was no more than twenty zhang, and with his speed, he should have reached them in an instant. Yet strangely, after advancing more than ten zhang, the distance between him and the two ahead hadn’t decreased by even half a point.
This scene appeared quite bizarre as if the distance between the parties could extend infinitely.
The Merman King knew this was the Crab Spirit’s doing. This was its territory after all. Though the Crab Spirit lacked the strength to drive the entire spiral shell, controlling a small area posed no problem. After all, the spiral shell was its exclusive space and magical artifact—what couldn’t it do here?
At that moment, a small door appeared out of thin air in the hall wall ahead of the two. With a couple more quick steps, Fu Lingchuan would cross through. Enraged, the Merman King raised his trident like a javelin, aimed at Fu Lingchuan’s back, and hurled it with a “whoosh”!
His immense strength was undeniable—this spear could have directly pierced through two massive blue whales. Thrown with such fury, the trident instantly reached Fu Lingchuan’s back.
The imagined scene of splashing blood didn’t materialize. There was only a “ding” sound, and the scene before him shattered into pieces.
This infinitely powerful strike seemed to hit a mirror as if cutting apart a lifelike painting to reveal a pitch-black hole behind it.
An illusion!
The Merman King, with his high cultivation and boldness, raised his eyebrows and directly plunged into the dark hole.
This was no longer the grand hall but a luxurious chamber about five zhang wide, lavishly decorated with cabinets, couches, tables, chairs, and… a bed!
Currently, on the bed, one man and three women were amid passionate lovemaking. The Merman King rushed in, the wind from his entrance blowing the curtains, causing the women to scream in fright. The man, terrified, went limp and rolled off the woman, his face ashen: “Who-who! Bold intruder, how dare you barge in…”
The situation in the small room was clear at a glance—obviously, Fu Lingchuan and the others weren’t here. The Merman King ignored the people on the bed completely, snorted coldly, and turned to leave when he heard a timid voice: “Y-Your Majesty, those people are heading to the spiral tail.”
The Merman King looked carefully. The hole through which he had entered was gone, replaced by the thick wall of the bedchamber. Only six or seven guards and one maidservant had managed to follow him through.
Hmm? A maidservant? “How do you know where they’re going?”
The maidservant quickly replied: “They said they want to refine Spiral Float Island into a national treasure, so they need to go under the starry sky, to find a place easy to defend but difficult to attack.”
“National treasure!” The Merman King’s face drastically changed.
Sea races didn’t establish countries like humans on land, but as a sea monster with profound knowledge of the Way, he understood the origins and functions of national treasures.
No wonder Fu Lingchuan dared to instigate the Crab Spirit to leave the seabed, and no wonder the Crab Spirit was determined to follow Fu Lingchuan despite being unable to move Spiral Float Island—it wanted to become a national treasure!
Becoming a human’s national treasure and possessing the elemental power of millions of citizens was indeed infinitely better than barely surviving at the bottom of the sea. But while the old master would enjoy itself, what would happen to the creatures dwelling in Spiral Float Island?
The Merman King was so furious his teeth itched. Without using the door, he directly crashed through the wall, leaving only floating words behind: “Very good, there will be a reward later!”
The other monster guards hurriedly followed, while the maidservant also walked out, but in the opposite direction.
The one man and three women on the bed had barely recovered from their shock. They looked at each other in bewilderment, with only the howling wind blowing through the hole the Merman King had smashed in the wall.
The maidservant who had reported to the Merman King was, of course, disguised as Feng Miaojun.
After slipping out of the chamber, she sped toward the exit of Spiral Float’s Lower City, passing several auction halls along the way. She noticed they were mostly emptying.
Originally, the Merman King had been presiding over the auction of the final valuable treasure, after which today’s trading would end. However, the Merman King left midway after receiving the warning, causing the auction of the Time Hourglass to be temporarily suspended.
As she passed the Ancient Relic auction venue, she frequently heard people discussing among themselves, all asking what had happened in Spiral Float City.
Many powerful beings were present, and they all sensed something inauspicious occurring.
Feng Miaojun thought for a moment and, while passing several auction venues, planted explosive talismans in secluded corners.
These items could blast open the side door of the grand hall, so creating several chaotic scenes here was just a small matter.
Sure enough, just as she was about to reach the passage connecting the upper and lower cities, a series of booming sounds came from behind her, followed by slight tremors in the ground.
The explosive talismans had fulfilled their purpose.
Teams of monster guards rushed to the scene, while people inside frantically ran out. In times of turmoil, whether human or sea race, the first reaction was self-preservation—quickly retreating to safety.
When Feng Miaojun returned to the Upper City, she glanced back hastily and saw countless people fleeing from the exit.
It was good that they were all escaping.
Fu Lingchuan was plotting to seize the entire Spiral Float City. If he succeeded, she wasn’t sure what would happen to those who remained in the city, but it probably wouldn’t be pleasant.
However, she had no time to warn others. Even if she did, what weight would a mere young girl’s words carry here? Why would anyone believe her alarmist talk?
Therefore, the most efficient method was to create panic, prompting people to leave quickly on their own.
Feng Miaojun bought a swift horse and galloped wildly, finally reaching the inn just before completely exhausting the horse.
By now, the moon had passed its zenith. Lu Chuanying was meditating in his room, while Peng Bai and Madam Xu were chatting in their night clothes, whispering to each other. Suddenly, the door was pushed open with a “crack,” and Feng Miaojun rushed in.
The two of them: “…” Fortunately, they hadn’t done anything intimate yet!
Madam Xu’s face turned rosy: “Child, why are you so impetuous…” Before she could finish, Feng Miaojun said with a stern face, “Pack your things and head to the dock to catch a ship, immediately, right now!”
Madam Xu was alarmed: “What happened?”
Peng Bai, however, said nothing, quickly dressed himself and rushed out to instruct everyone from the Feng business to prepare for departure. Lu Chuanying came over after hearing the commotion, and Feng Miaojun immediately told him: “Fu Lingchuan wants to claim the entire Spiral Float Island. Please, Uncle Lu, take Mother and the Feng business people out to sea immediately. If he doesn’t succeed, then fine, but if he does take Spiral Float Island, being stranded here would be an enormous problem for everyone.”
Everyone’s faces changed dramatically as they dispersed to prepare.
Feng Miaojun also understood how difficult it would be to find a ship to leave the isolated island in the middle of the night, but she believed Peng Bai and Lu Chuanying could manage it.
Hearing something was wrong, Madam Xu was shocked: “Anan, aren’t you coming with us?”
“I need to buy everyone more time.” She placed a kiss on Madam Xu’s forehead, stopping her foster mother’s next words. After all, time was too precious. “Don’t worry, my divine abilities have fully developed. These minor calamities can’t trap me.”