Feng Miaojun couldn’t help but peek into the mountain hollow, and instantly her breath halted for half a beat:

The Princess Changle, who had been diligently writing without pause, dropped the jade seal she had been holding. It rolled a couple of times before disappearing. Her slender, frail body was pierced through by a massive trident, like a butterfly pinned by a steel needle!

One of the trident’s prongs had pierced her heart.

Feng Miaojun’s gaze shifted naturally, and she saw the Merfolk King standing five zhang away, still holding the position from which he had thrown his trident.

In his eyes flashed a cold and gleeful light.

Feng Miaojun hadn’t seen how the barrier raised by the Crab Spirit had been punctured like a soap bubble.

She also hadn’t seen how, in that split second earlier, the Crab Spirit had stretched the space again, making the distance between the Merfolk King and Princess Changle exceptionally far.

Although events unfolded suddenly, its battle-hardened instincts still made the most direct response.

Unfortunately, the once-powerful demi-god had already perished, and it was merely a remnant soul with limited abilities. How could the Merfolk King fall for the same trick and trap twice?

This time, he had imbued his life-bound weapon with a divine skill called “Shadow Following,” anchoring it to Princess Changle’s shadow. No matter the distance between him and Princess Changle, the thrown trident would pierce the shadow’s owner!

This strike ignored spatial distance.

He beckoned with his hand, and the trident flew back to him as Princess Changle’s blood gushed like a fountain.

Fu Lingchuan, who had just teleported several zhang away, witnessed this scene and roared in anger, turning back to embrace Princess Changle.

One glance told him Princess Changle was beyond saving. Such penetrating wounds, even one would be fatal, let alone three holes simultaneously, with one piercing directly through her heart with perfect accuracy.

Moreover, the trident was infused with the Merfolk King’s spiritual power. Even Fu Lingchuan himself might not be able to dispel it, let alone the delicate and fragile Princess Changle.

Her small hand clutched Fu Lingchuan’s sleeve as she called out intermittently: “Cousin, I-I’ve finished writing…” She could barely speak a few words before fresh blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Fu Lingchuan’s eyes reddened as he choked: “Good girl, Xiao Yuan, you go ahead first.”

Princess Changle’s eyes revealed infinite affection as she stared at him, wanting to say something more, but she could no longer draw breath, and her small hand fell limp.

Fu Lingchuan glared at the Merfolk King, each word squeezed through clenched teeth: “Ignorant fool!”

The Merfolk King’s timing had been extremely clever, striking precisely when the heavenly lightning pierced through heaven and earth—a moment when all observers instinctively closed their eyes. At that moment, Fu Lingchuan had also reflexively shut his eyes, missing the best opportunity to save Princess Changle.

Though the Crab Spirit had sensed danger and acted, the righteous energy of heavenly lightning was the bane of all shadowy spirits. While exposure to such lightning wouldn’t cause it to dissipate completely, its power was greatly weakened, allowing the Merfolk King to succeed with a single strike!

Fu Lingchuan was furious, and the Merfolk King’s eyes had equally reddened. In the distance, heaven’s punishment had arrived, and that divine might of heaven and earth could reduce everything to ashes. Of the dozens of merfolk elites he had sent, seven or eight out of ten would likely be implicated.

Spiral Float City was Merfolk territory, but those in positions of power numbered less than three hundred, and that was counting the elderly, weak, women, and children. The rest were various sea races in vast numbers.

Losing more than half of the clan’s elites at once made the Merfolk King feel as if his heart was being twisted by a small knife, the pain unbearable!

He couldn’t blame heaven and earth, only the culprit before him!

He raised his trident to strike again, but Fu Lingchuan parried. The latter laughed coldly in extreme anger, his voice carrying a chilling human malice: “You’ve caused us all to die here. You and your merfolk race will also accompany us in death!”

Such threatening words, the Merfolk King had heard too many times in his long life to take seriously now. The air was filled with clashing energy as the two exchanged more than ten moves in just a few breaths. Only then did Feng Miaojun realize Fu Lingchuan’s cultivation was indeed profound, as he showed no fear even facing the Merfolk King with his centuries of practice?

No wonder he dared to disturb the peace of such a powerful being.

The Crab Spirit, perched on the soul-nurturing wood, sighed deeply: “No need to fight. We’ll all die.”

The Merfolk King had never seen it so disheartened, and despite his rage, he paused: “Why?”

“You think interrupting the heaven-offering ritual can prevent the massacre of living beings?” The Crab Spirit snorted. “Too naive.”

The Merfolk King thrust his trident horizontally, the tip missing his opponent, but the foot-long energy blade opened a cut on Fu Lingchuan’s right arm. The latter’s expression remained desolate, seemingly unfazed by pain: “In the heaven-offering ritual of the Imperial Artifact, once the prayer is recited halfway, it cannot be canceled. Otherwise,” he stepped back twice and pointed to the distance, where the heavenly lightning had just struck, “that is the lesson learned too late.”

“What!” The Merfolk King’s face changed dramatically, his voice suddenly eight pitches higher, “You say the lightning punishment will also strike here?”

Heavenly lightning trials and lightning punishment were two different concepts. The former was heaven’s way of testing cultivators or Imperial Artifacts, with intensity increasing gradually and with measure; lightning punishment, however, was severe punishment for breaking laws to demonstrate heaven’s might, aiming to warn the world.

The prerequisite for “killing the chicken to scare the monkey” is “killing.” The sole purpose of bringing down heaven’s punishment is extinction!

Spiral Float Island might withstand sixteen strikes of heavenly lightning trials, but it couldn’t bear a single strike of heaven’s punishment. Those living on the island would have no chance of survival.

The Crab Spirit raised its large pincer to point in the same direction, smiling bitterly: “We employed a strategy of feint and attack, having people start the heaven-offering ritual on the ship before us, thus first triggering celestial phenomena to make you abandon Awl Tail Mountain and pursue into the sea.”

Everyone present was intelligent; he didn’t need to explain fully for the others to understand. According to Fu Lingchuan’s prior arrangements, there were two heaven-offering rituals taking place simultaneously—one on the ship and one on Awl Tail Mountain. The ship started earlier, so the pursuers from Spiral Float City would be guided by the celestial phenomena to chase after the distant vessel.

This gave Fu Lingchuan and his companion more time to complete the remaining ritual on Awl Tail Mountain in peace. After all, no matter how fast the merfolk could swim, it would be impossible to cover over a hundred li back and forth in an hour.

Little did they know that man’s calculations are no match for heaven’s.

The Merfolk King felt his throat dry: “What about that lightning punishment!” Fu Lingchuan had just blocked his long trident, weapons clashing and sending sparks flying.

The gaze they exchanged was equally filled with fury and hatred.

“They had no Imperial Artifact!” Fu Lingchuan’s gaze toward him was full of mockery. “Conducting a heaven-offering ritual without presenting an Imperial Artifact—heaven would consider this deliberate deception and ridicule, and naturally would bring down punishment!”

The ship was merely a diversion, and naturally wouldn’t have a treasure worthy of being an Imperial Artifact. Heaven does not tolerate being fooled and would certainly direct its anger at it. Otherwise, anyone could casually perform a heaven-offering ritual for fun—wouldn’t that be treating the heavens like monkeys?