“Welcome to the Qiongxiao Palace.”
Mu Shaohua smiled slightly, leading the disciples of Heavenly Sound Workshop to carry supplies off the ship. She herself was also a bridge between the merfolk and the outside world.
Fangcun objects had limited capacity, so the opening of the Great Whirlpool was a good thing for them—it allowed them to bring more resources from the shore and exchange goods.
Seeing the Heavenly Sound Workshop vessel, a group of half-grown merfolk excitedly crowded around. They were happy to see Mu Shaohua, but there were also guards holding weapons who eyed the unfamiliar faces warily.
“Lady Rosy Consort, who are these people?”
“They are my friends. Is there a problem?”
“N-No.”
The young girl opened her mouth slightly, emitting sound waves that spread through the water like singing and melody, exceptionally pleasant. She communicated in the merfolk’s unique way.
Ji Shiyu’s divine sense was sharp, and she had also witnessed the White Whale’s ability to summon the pod. Immersed in the environment, with her strong learning ability, she caught a few strange syllables and murmured,
“Why are they calling you… Rosy Consort?”
Mu Shaohua was startled, a glint of admiration in her eyes as she regarded the golden-haired youth with newfound respect. She turned back and explained in a low voice,
“Mu Shaohua is a human name I chose myself. Does it sound nice?”
“It does, quite similar to my name.”
Mu Shaohua chuckled softly, seemingly satisfied with the answer.
Ji Shiyu nodded, looking around, not paying much attention to the merfolk girl’s favor. She had already taken after her sworn father.
The demon races were strange and varied.
They had thought the Qiongxiao Palace that Li Su mentioned was just a desolate fishing village, but now the father and daughter had the same thought, and it was remarkably consistent: if you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t know; seeing it was a shock.
Under the sea, jade towers and buildings stood like lighthouses, emitting a charming radiance throughout. They were all made of high-grade spirit stones, with strong spiritual essence.
Spirit springs gathered at the bottom of the Great Whirlpool, and high-grade spiritual veins seemed to be everywhere here, as if they weren’t worth anything at all.
Swimming among the coral thickets, besides merfolk, there were also plenty of third- and fourth-realm demon spirits whose intelligence had just awakened. This was a peaceful paradise for sea demons.
“Oh my, if we could move one of these towers back to Jueyun Peak, it would be worth at least a million spirit stones.”
Ji Shiyu licked her lips, a bit tempted.
“Don’t do anything reckless. Lady Lan isn’t here, and Aunt Master is crippled. From now on, it’s just us father and daughter relying on each other.”
One look at Ji Shiyu’s shifty eyes and Yun Liu knew exactly what she was plotting. Little Yellow Hair’s family fortune had been gambled away by Ao Tian; now they were dead broke.
“Mm-hmm, I’ll leave everything to you, Teacher… ah, Brother Yun.”
Ji Shiyu agreed nicely with her mouth, but what she thought in her heart was anyone’s guess. She had to scrape together some profit from elsewhere; she couldn’t keep living off her father.
Few humans appeared here, attracting many strange looks. Outsiders from other islands could only dock at the ruins of Shipwreck Bay; only disciples of Heavenly Sound Workshop and Penglai Island could enter the Qiongxiao Palace.
The large scallops on the beach opened and closed, and every now and then a merfolk would pop out, as if those were their houses where they usually slept.
Mu Shaohua handed her storage bag to another tribesman, blew bubbles, and led her newly acquainted friends on a tour of the Qiongxiao Palace. She seemed to hold a high status here.
The merfolk girl’s legs writhed and soon transformed back into a beautiful fish tail, her blue scales and fins gently swaying.
Ji Shiyu followed with difficulty, wrapped in bubbles. She wanted very much to reach out and touch, but thought better of it.
Everything here was novel to the girl from the stars.
Mu Shaohua drifted among the coral thickets, sometimes floating onto the back of a giant crab laden with mineral veins, sometimes greeting a dolphin swimming on its back.
“Cultivators on land all rely on these things for daily supplies, but our North Sea giant crabs don’t need them. They can only be used to trade for some heavenly materials and earthly treasures and spirit pills and divine medicines.”
Mu Shaohua casually picked up a spirit stone from the sand and tossed it to Ji Shiyu, which greatly surprised the other merfolk.
Even when dealing with the Immortal Master of Penglai Island, Lady Rosy Consort hadn’t been this enthusiastic. With her status, she was actually taking the initiative to act as a tour guide.
What background did these humans have?
“The junior sisters and brothers of Heavenly Sound Workshop will stay on the ship to cultivate in peace. If you find it uncomfortable here, there is a Shanhai Pavilion at Shipwreck Bay outside the Qiongxiao Palace. A young lady named Youyou is in charge of the tower. No one dares to cause trouble under her nose.”
The main city of the Boundless Sea was not any of the harbors, but the Mirage Sea Market. Only after the mid-stage Kunpeng event triggered would the Great Whirlpool become permanent.
“That’s exactly what we intend. Thank you for your hospitality, Fairy Mu. We’ll take our leave here.”
Yun Liu, upon hearing this, declined the merfolk girl’s invitation. After inquiring about the whereabouts of the Penglai Island disciples, he cupped his hands in farewell.
The master and disciple of the Divine Radiance Sect left silently. Ji Shiyu also waved her hand and followed the white-robed youth without looking back.
Mu Shaohua pouted, raised her hand, then hesitated.
“Ah? Wait…”
‘What’s this? After flirting with me, he just leaves?’
Two younger merfolk girls swam up and snickered,
“Does Your Highness the Princess like that little yellow hair?”
It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Lady Rosy Consort was different toward that dazzling, star-like youth.
“What ‘Your Highness’? Call me senior sister!”
Mu Shaohua blushed, glared at the mischievous junior sister, and scolded,
“Have you been at Heavenly Sound Workshop too long, getting itchy? You learn a bit of foreign surface knowledge and come show off. The Qiongxiao Palace doesn’t practice that human hierarchy of status and rank. Everyone here is equal, including Madam Yingluo and myself!”
The little mermaid spread her hands. The clan leader’s daughter, in the terms of the land, was indeed the merfolk princess.
“S-Senior sister, just say whether it’s true or not!”
“True… your head! I only just met Lord Ji recently. How can I be sure about such things? I don’t even know if he has someone in his heart or is married. The two sword sect fairies by his side are both rare beauties…”
As she spoke, the girl’s voice grew softer.
Instances of demon and human intermarriage were extremely rare; most were hostile and exclusive toward each other. But the merfolk were an exception, often having romantic tales of love between humans and demons, like Mu Shaohua’s loving parents.
Mu Shaohua was deeply impressed by the golden-haired youth’s bravery and fearlessness. After spending time with him, she found him sincere and straightforward, completely different from those with ulterior motives on land. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have invited them along.
A Heavenly Sound Workshop junior sister volunteered,
“That’s easy. I heard from Young Master Yun that they got separated from the Immortal Master of Penglai Island and accidentally entered the sea demon group. I know a little senior sister named Li Su who surely knows the yellow-haired one’s background. I guarantee I’ll find out everything for you.”
“Mind your own business!”
Mu Shaohua paused, then said,
“Ahem, the Penglai Island alchemist who came to visit Madam Yingluo this time should be the Island Lord of Canghai, a fourth-rank elixir cultivator not to be slighted. You… might as well follow up and ask what supplies the mister needs.”
“Got it!”
The merfolk girl flicked her long tail and shot forward, her speed through the water astonishing.
On Yun Liu’s side, he was barely suppressing the urge to scan everything. Hopping on the sand in his bubble, he felt like an astronaut in space, gradually moving away from the range of the luminous pearls and into the deep, dark waters at the edge of the coral thickets.