Of course, this ritual required the blood of the Manman Bird to rewrite the Heavenly Book, something not just anyone could obtain. There had been those who offered huge sums at various auction houses but failed to acquire even a single drop.
The long scroll on the blue stone had been unfurled to its final frame. Princess Changle had indeed completed the prayer. At this point, there was no room for regret.
“Are you saying that I must now offer Spiral Float Island with both hands as an Imperial Artifact, or else heaven will bring down lightning punishment?” The Merfolk King looked at Fu Lingchuan as if he were an idiot, unable to hold back a couple of laughs. “Such a ridiculous reason—you think I would believe it?”
Fu Lingchuan couldn’t even be bothered to lift his eyelids: “Whether you believe it or not, what does it matter? Even with the Imperial Artifact in hand, we’re all doomed. The lightning punishment will arrive in an instant.”
His complexion was haggard, appearing genuine.
Why?
This answer wasn’t just of concern to the Merfolk King; even Feng Miaojun, behind the large rock, held her breath in anticipation.
The heavenly lightning was already too much for her to bear, let alone heaven’s punishment. Such a thick pillar of light striking down could blast her into nothing but dust!
She was also worried about her own life, especially since the situation had taken so many twists and turns, keeping everyone on edge.
Fu Lingchuan tightly closed his mouth, focusing only on his fierce attacks, no longer interested in talking. His cultivation was slightly inferior to the Merfolk King’s; only by concentrating fully could he avoid defeat.
“You killed her,” said the Crab Spirit on the table, still having the leisure to speak up. It pointed at the woman on the ground. “She is Princess Changle. The prayer was written in her name, and the final jade seal must be stamped with her fresh blood. Only then is it called ‘receiving the mandate from heaven.'”
At this point, even if they killed the Merfolk King, their side couldn’t survive either. Moreover, the merfolk race had dwelled within crab shells for over a thousand years, and it had feelings for them, so it didn’t help Fu Lingchuan.
The Crab Spirit spoke word by word: “A dead person cannot become a ruler. This heaven-offering ritual must be interrupted. Congratulations,” it looked at the Merfolk King, “we’re all going to perish together.”
The Merfolk King didn’t want to believe a word, not a single one. But heaven’s punishment had just descended before his very eyes, its power terrifying even to him. If heaven’s punishment truly descended, then the struggle between him and Fu Lingchuan no longer held any meaning—after all, they would all die together.
“Is there no other method to consider?” the Crab Spirit suddenly asked Fu Lingchuan again. “Is there no one else who can replace her?”
“Princess Changle was to inherit the destiny of An Xia; this was written in the prayer. Without the pure bloodline of the An Xia royal family, this cannot be accomplished.”
Crab Spirit: “Aren’t you also of the An Xia royal bloodline?”
“I’ve tried, it doesn’t work.” Fu Lingchuan slashed diagonally with his sword, his face expressionless. “My ancestors weren’t of the main line; only she had the closest blood relation.” His bloodline had never been the one to receive the destiny, and the inherited An Xia royal blood was already very diluted.
The Merfolk King’s face shifted between cloudy and clear: “How do I know…”
“How do you know what I’m saying is true?” Fu Lingchuan interrupted him, laughing coldly. “Just look up at the sky, and you’ll understand.”
Everyone involuntarily glanced up at the sky, all changing color.
At some point, the center of the cloud formation had moved here, and a tornado emerged from the center of that astonishing vortex, heading toward Awl Tail Mountain. This was clear evidence that the heavenly way was listening to the prayer. According to normal procedure, the monarch would stamp the seal on the Heavenly Book, and then the tornado would take away the prayer text. Only then would it be considered “reporting to heaven,” followed by the initiation of the Imperial Artifact trial.
The troubling thing was that the distant ship had also gone through this scene earlier, after which it was blasted to nothing by heaven’s punishment. Now, were they about to follow the same path as the ship?
It seemed all routes to survival were blocked. The Merfolk King’s eyes also reddened, and he suddenly thrust his trident, piercing Fu Lingchuan’s shoulder: “You deserve to die!” Regardless of whether Fu Lingchuan was telling the truth, this boundless disaster was brought by him. Even if death was inevitable, the Merfolk King wanted to kill him first.
Without killing Fu Lingchuan, his hatred would never be appeased!
With Princess Changle’s death, Fu Lingchuan knew he too had no path to survival. He still had grand ambitions and a heart full of aspirations, but now they would be buried on this lonely island at sea by the Merfolk King’s trident.
To die before his ambitions were fulfilled—how could he not hate, how could he not resent?
Earlier, he had explained the stakes to the Merfolk King merely to make him regret and agonize until death, to make him understand that he was the sinner responsible for the Merfolk race’s extinction. Now that the Merfolk King attacked in a frenzy, Fu Lingchuan let out a cold laugh, giving no ground whatsoever.
With death approaching, both men needed to vent their anger, fear, and resentment.
This battle would end only in death!
The Crab Spirit watched as the two men punched holes through the loose soil on the mountain before fighting their way out of the hollow, feeling utterly helpless. They had originally agreed to go to the human realm to inherit destiny and enjoy elemental power, who would have known they would end up in a situation where even their remnant souls couldn’t be preserved?
Having died once before, it wasn’t so afraid of extinction, but it did lament its ill fate.
If it hadn’t listened to Fu Lingchuan’s bewitching words, Spiral Float Island’s days might have been plain as water, but at least they would have been peaceful. How could they have invited such a great disaster?
As it was feeling somewhat self-reproachful, a slender figure suddenly appeared in its field of vision:
A young woman leaped down from the rocky wall, standing beside the blue stone, picking up the blank Heavenly Book to examine it carefully.
Naturally, it was completely blank, without a single word visible.
She looked at Princess Changle on the ground, then raised her head to glance at the Crab Spirit: “Has it been signed?”
“Not yet…” It had been crouching on the stone all along and could certainly see Princess Changle’s actions. She had completed the full text of the prayer, and took out the jade seal to relieve her numb wrists, but was killed by the Merfolk King before she could sign it. But who was this young woman before them?
She asked so naturally that it blurted out an answer before thinking, then realized, “Wait, who are you?”
This woman was ordinary-looking, someone who would be lost in a crowd. But the Crab Spirit had sealed the mountain path with poisonous mist, and Fu Lingchuan with illusory formations. Anyone who could appear here was extraordinary.
With a “whoosh,” it rolled up the scroll.
This document had been dispatched from heaven to Princess Changle’s hands after the heaven-offering ritual began. It was neither gold nor jade; even the Great Claw Lord couldn’t tell what it was made of, yet it was incredibly durable. Otherwise, with the sword energy flying everywhere in the battle between the Merfolk King and Fu Lingchuan, ordinary silk would have been torn to shreds long ago.
Feng Miaojun neither grabbed nor snatched. She merely crouched down and fumbled in the grass for a moment, finally picking up an object with a square shape.
The Crab Spirit recognized it at a glance—it was the treasure seal that had rolled onto the ground. Made from the finest Eastern Mountain jade, it was carved with a tiger-like beast with wings growing from its back.
This creature was called Qiongqi, originally an ancient evil beast that later rendered meritorious service in the heavenly god’s campaigns. Humans began to worship it, viewing it as an auspicious symbol.
It’s good that it wasn’t broken. She sighed in relief, holding the treasure seal in her hand, but hesitated somewhat.
Did she want to do this? It would mean that the peace, freedom, and tranquility she had so diligently sought would henceforth be far from her reach.