Chapter 299 : Transformation of the Merperson Pearl
People are always self-serving and willing to survive by any means—as long as they themselves aren't sacrificed, it doesn't matter who dies. Thus, when the first person suggested sacrificing the White Tiger, although others didn't openly agree, most of them wavered inwardly.
Until that person who had spoken secretly was thrown onto the altar by Zhu Baiyi, everyone was startled.
"Elder Qi, you..." someone looked at the altar and exclaimed in shock.
Zhu Baiyi said nothing else, merely withdrawing her hand and slightly adjusting her sleeve before saying flatly: "Throughout my life, I've most despised others' schemes." Scheming for her to act against the White Tiger was also a form of scheming, wasn't it?
Hearing this, everyone froze, suddenly remembering that this "Elder Qi" came from Crimson Blood Sect, a proper demonic path cultivator. Though demonic cultivators could be cruel, bloodthirsty, selfish, and cold-hearted, they also didn't follow conventional rules... Just as they thought this, Zhu Baiyi continued: "Since you all want to complete this sacrifice, I might as well throw all of you up there—it's all the same."
Honestly, if forced to choose between throwing the White Tiger or the cultivators onto the altar as sacrifices, throwing the cultivators would definitely be easier. Even injured, the White Tiger's combat power was not to be underestimated—who gave them the courage to scheme against her?
Moreover, even if they truly wanted to scheme, they wouldn't succeed—the White Tiger had an Innate Space to protect herself. As long as she wanted, she could hide inside it even after losing her spiritual power. Who could confidently and easily capture her? To put it bluntly, if the sacrifice failed and the seal loosened, causing the calamity from tens of thousands of years ago to repeat, even if everyone in the cultivation world died, the White Tiger could survive safely in her Innate Space.
Zhu Baiyi thought of this as she glanced at the cultivators, feeling they were a bunch of brainless, ungrateful wretches.
Though these ungrateful wretches hadn't thought that far ahead, faced with Zhu Baiyi's clear rejection, they knew their plan was hopeless. The atmosphere became increasingly gloomy, with many secretly glancing at Jiang Mo, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Jiang Mo ignored these people, not caring whether they wanted to apologize or attempt moral coercion. She looked away completely. Although their actions were infuriating, in that situation, Senior Sister's unhesitating protection in front of her still made her heart feel warm. She tugged at Senior Sister's sleeve from behind and said: "Let's go, don't mind them."
The cultivators still had keen hearing and vision even without spiritual power. Hearing this, they were shocked again—right, the teleportation scroll was still in their hands. If Zhu Baiyi and the others truly wanted to escape with the scroll, they couldn't stop them.
Just thinking this, everyone became anxious again, because in most people's minds, it was normal to retreat promptly when a situation became hopeless.
So when Jiang Mo pulled Yun Qingyue to move, the surrounding cultivators couldn't help but follow, unconsciously surrounding them. Their posture and gazes gave Jiang Mo the illusion of being surrounded by zombies.
Finally, Jiang Mo could bear it no longer and swept her sleeve, sending a wave of force outward in all directions.
Even if these cultivators hadn't lost their spiritual power, they still couldn't match Jiang Mo at their peak. They were immediately sent flying in all directions by this spiritual force. The lucky ones landed on the ground, thoroughly dazed. The unlucky ones hit rocks and immediately drew blood. The even more unfortunate ones directly crashed into the edge of the altar—unable to care about their bleeding heads, they were nearly scared out of their wits.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo felt neither guilt nor pity, coldly saying: "Dare to act recklessly again, and I'll send you straight to the altar, saving myself the trouble."
Perhaps because the White Tiger was an auspicious beast, or perhaps because Jiang Mo's previous attitude had been too peaceful, these people had dared to target her. Now, seeing the tiger's wrath, everyone felt fearful, and their chaotic thoughts largely dispersed.
Meanwhile, Jiang Mo, having spoken harshly, couldn't be bothered with these people anymore. She pulled her Senior Sister over to Zhu Baiyi and Qingyu, hesitating slightly before asking: "Spirit beast sacrifices don't seem to work. What should we do next?" As she spoke, she glanced at the merperson trying hard to minimize his presence, then added: "Do we really have to send him up as a sacrifice?"
This island was transformed from a merperson, and this altar was also made by merpeople. It might reject spirit beast sacrifices, but it would certainly not refuse the sacrifice of a merperson. Sending this last merperson onto the altar was their final option.
The merperson clearly understood this principle, which was why he had been quietly hiding after the spirit beast sacrifices failed. Earlier, when he saw the cultivators having the wild idea of sacrificing the White Tiger, he had secretly harbored some hope, but that was just his wishful thinking. Now, hearing these words, he immediately became anxious: "No, I'm very useful! You'll need me for future sacrifices too. You mustn't exhaust the resource!"
Hearing this, Jiang Mo scornfully snorted: "What use are you? You only provide some merperson blood. At most, we could draw a few vials of your blood before sending you to the altar." She paused slightly, then added: "But this altar's sacrifice occurs once every hundred years. I always felt it was a hidden danger that should be resolved as soon as possible. A loosened seal should be properly repaired, not suppressed in this manner."
Everyone present had a proactive nature, and sacrifice seemed too passive to them. Moreover, from Qingyu and Yun Qingyue's righteous perspective, sacrifice itself shouldn't exist.
After hearing Jiang Mo's words, everyone felt perplexed and turned to the merperson: "Besides sacrifice, is there any way to repair the seal?"
The merperson, already trembling with fear at Jiang Mo's blood-drawing suggestion, combined with his extremely beautiful face, looked like a pitiful creature worthy of sympathy. Without any hesitation, he said: "I don't know, but our merperson race truly has no method."
This was the truth—after all, they had chosen to sacrifice their entire race. If there had been even a slight possibility, no one would have taken this path.
Just as everyone was feeling disappointed, the merperson continued: "But I do know some information..."
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As the last merperson, the one before them was not only cowardly but also afraid of death, yet at the same time, he had inherited all the heritage of the merperson race. This heritage included not just tangible items but also intangible ones.
For instance, inherited memories!
The merperson's account this time wasn't long. According to him, the merperson race also had priests. Merperson priests were skilled in divination and determining fortune and misfortune. Ten thousand years ago, the great priest of the merpeople had predicted that a death calamity was approaching their race. From that time on, the merperson race had strived to save themselves, but fate could not be defied, and things continued to develop toward the worst possible outcome...
"Ten thousand years ago, the great priest predicted that our race faced extinction. Unfortunately, the information provided by the heavenly way was too vague. At first, no one thought about the seal. By the time things began to show signs, the clan leader sent out members to gather information in various places. We aren't confined to the sea—rivers, lakes, oceans, we can go anywhere there's water."
"Back then, our people spent considerable time investigating. Eventually, the clan leader and great priest concluded that the problem with the seal arose because several treasures meant to strengthen the sealing formation had disappeared. But even then, tens of thousands of years had passed since that great calamity. What exactly went wrong and what was lost, we didn't really know."
Having explained the background, the merperson finally became energetic, his eyes bright as he looked at everyone: "If those lost treasures could be put back, perhaps everything could be resolved!"
After hearing his narrative, the group showed no excitement or sudden understanding, only looking at him calmly.
The merperson's excitement faltered, and he asked: "What's wrong?"
Jiang Mo raised one finger and shook it: "A sealing formation that can seal an otherworldly passage must use heaven and earth as its base. I don't know if other places have problems, but this place definitely does. And now we don't have time to worry about other locations. Right now, regarding this altar, what ideas do you have?"
The topic returned to the immediate issue, and the merperson stammered: "I, I don't know." He then swore with his hand raised: "This is indeed a node. Back then, our clan leader offered the merperson pearl to form a formation for suppression, sacrificing our race's fortune in the process. That merperson pearl is still suppressing the formation to this day—it definitely hasn't been lost. However, after tens of thousands of years, the power within the pearl being completely depleted is indeed true..."
The merperson pearl was formed from the essence of a merperson. Many merpeople would spit out a pearl before death, leaving it for their descendants to aid in cultivation. The clan leader was always the strongest in the clan, and each generation's leader would leave their pearl for the next to absorb. Passed down over thousands of years, that pearl naturally possessed extremely powerful energy and was imbued with the fortune of the merperson race.
However, no matter how formidable a treasure, after tens of thousands of years of constant output without replenishment, it would naturally be exhausted. If the formation hadn't been compromised and the merperson race hadn't been sacrificed, the pearl might have lasted longer, and there might have been a solution. But now it was too late for anything.
Hearing this, everyone suddenly understood: "So the altar's sacrifice is actually offering to the merperson pearl, replenishing its energy?"
The merperson nodded weakly, finally revealing all the information he needed to share.
Everyone exchanged glances, all feeling the situation was thorny. Finally, Jiang Mo asked: "To replenish the merperson pearl's energy, is sacrifice the only method?"
The merperson thought for a moment, then shook his head with some dejection: "Actually, no. Merpeople can infuse it with spiritual power. However, after the pearl was placed on the formation to suppress it, it underwent a transformation. Our merperson race's spiritual power became much less effective, absorbing at most ten to twenty percent. The efficiency is so low that even the entire race's efforts couldn't sustain it, let alone now when only I remain."
Hearing this, everyone immediately abandoned the idea of infusing spiritual power. Jiang Mo, however, seemed thoughtful and asked the system in her heart: "System, does the mall have a merperson pearl or something that can replenish its energy?"
The system mall had everything, with just one issue: "Yes, host, but you can't afford it."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo unhesitatingly gave up on this external aid. Not only could she not afford it, but even if she could, it would bankrupt her instantly. In these troubled times, she was counting on those points for emergencies and couldn't spend them all on this.
Just then, Yun Qingyue, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked: "You said the merperson pearl underwent a transformation. What kind of transformation was it? Was it because the energy in the sealing formation is complex, and the pearl was assimilated by the formation's power?"
The merperson thought briefly before nodding with certainty: "That's exactly it."
Seeing his confirmation, Yun Qingyue suddenly had an idea. She abruptly turned to look at someone, her gaze slightly fixed, murmuring: "I have an idea..."