The mermaid hadn’t expected that using her secret technique to enter hibernation would result in her awakening tens of thousands of years later. It was an unimaginable amount of time, and all her people and loved ones were no longer here.
This clan land had been abandoned, but the formations arranged here were still functional. They had integrated with the surroundings over time, much like Mangkang Mountain, forming a natural Feng Shui formation. Every few years, special vortexes would appear to absorb energy from the seawater. However, no one could access this place without the mermaid’s involvement.
Seeing her expression, Li Su decided not to engage further and checked on Liu Xinyue’s condition. She remained unconscious, probably due to an accident while attempting to take the pearl.
“Thankfully,” Li Su muttered after examining her. Liu Xinyue’s true essence had been suppressed, and forcibly removing the pearl had shocked her. Her soul had been disturbed, leading to her current unconscious state. It would likely take some time for her to awaken, but she didn’t appear to have suffered any injuries, which put Li Su at ease.
He set up a small protective formation around Liu Xinyue and then redirected his attention to the mermaid, who was still surveying her surroundings. After more than ten minutes, she finally looked at Li Su and sent a message through her spiritual senses.
“Can you allow me to regain my strength? Once I’ve recovered my power, I’ll repay you.” Her eyes showed her sincerity, but Li Su didn’t immediately agree. Even if he were at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, he might be willing to take the risk. With his powerful Nascent Soul, he should have a good chance of defending himself against a Nascent Soul initial-stage opponent, and if things went wrong, he could always retreat.
“How can we leave this place?” Li Su inquired.
“I can create an exit for you, but the ancestral artifact is currently absorbing energy for this place. It will take around ten days, possibly a bit longer,” the mermaid replied.
“Alright,” Li Su said and decided to wait. He didn’t rush for Liu Xinyue to awaken, keeping the mermaid’s presence a secret. After all, he had found her in the ancient immortal sect ruins and hadn’t informed anyone about it back then.
Seeing Li Su fall silent, the mermaid sat in the crystal coffin and quietly waited, her eyes occasionally betraying a hint of sadness. Five days later, with the vortex still not dissipating, Li Su received another substantial reward – his descendants had finally reached a population of over 300,000.
It was another 3,000 years of cultivation and a 0.1% increase in the likelihood of superior spiritual roots for his descendants. While this change was smaller than the probability of producing descendants with superior spiritual roots, it could still be valuable given a sufficiently large population and enough time. Li Su wasn’t concerned about his lifespan, so he wasn’t anxious about this aspect.
Li Su didn’t immediately claim these 3,000 years of cultivation. He believed that his spiritual roots were on the verge of improving, so he decided to wait until his spiritual roots reached the fifth rank before claiming these additional 3,000 years of cultivation. With a sixth-grade spiritual root, advancing to another level in the late Nascent Soul stage would be challenging, but it should be adequate with a fifth-grade spiritual root. After a few more days, it seemed like the vortex was dissipating.
“It’s ready. Please open the formation, and I will create an exit for you,” the mermaid said. The mermaid conveyed her message through her spiritual senses, and Li Su opened a small opening in the formation. With her hands forming seals, the mermaid swiftly cast a spell, creating an opening in the barrier. Li Su’s spiritual senses extended through it, confirming that it led outside. Then, the mermaid’s hands again formed seals, opening another location. Li Su inspected it and found that it resembled an herbal garden in an immortal sect, filled with unusual underwater plants.
“You’ve been kind to me. Whether or not you allow me to recover my cultivation, you can freely choose half of the items from this place,” the mermaid offered. Half? Li Su’s spiritual senses delved deeper and revealed that the items inside were as ancient as those in the immortal sect ruins. He wasn’t familiar with underwater plants, so he didn’t know their quality or rank. However, he assumed they might not be of high rank because this place had been abandoned by the remaining Mermaid, who had likely taken away all the valuable items. The reason for the abandonment was likely straightforward.
The sea clan had suffered significant losses during the conflict and had been pushed back. Despite the Northern Territory being quite distant, the journey for cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and above took less than 20 days. The remaining Mermaids had found this place unsafe and decided to abandon it. Before leaving, they had preserved it, possibly out of reluctance to destroy it, hoping the mermaid who had returned after thousands of years might return one day.
“There are also some Sunflower Water Pearls inside. Sunflower Water Pearls can easily form outside when the large formation accumulates energy for a long time. However, there are more of them inside. You can take half of them as well,” the mermaid, known as Bai Ling, added, opening another area.
Li Su examined it and saw numerous pearls similar to the one Liu Xinyue held, sealed here for tens of thousands of years.
“What is your status?” Li Su asked through his spiritual senses.
“I am the Princess of the North Sea Mermaid. You can call me Bai Ling,” the mermaid replied.
Li Su didn’t rush to gather the items inside. He contemplated whether to allow the mermaid to recover her cultivation. She had opened the exit for him, allowing him to collect half of the items and then leave, while she restored her power. Though not necessarily of high rank, the items inside had been growing for an incredibly long time, making them valuable. The abundance of Sunflower Water Pearls represented substantial wealth.
However, Li Su was concerned about the mermaid potentially resuming attacks on the Northern Territory after regaining her cultivation. Despite the unlikely scenario due to the passage of tens of thousands of years and the mermaid’s credibility, there remained a degree of risk, and he hadn’t decided yet.
Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound echoed through the area. The space trembled, and Li Su quickly scanned the surroundings with his spiritual senses. Outside, a large number of sea creatures had appeared. The mermaid reacted swiftly, closing the passage with her seals. She then projected an image of the outside scene.
Outside, sea creatures filled the area, including beings resembling humans from the waist up but with serpent-like lower halves.
“The Snake people,” Li Su whispered. The Snake people were one of the sea clans that had previously attacked the Northern Territory.
“We’ve finally found the ancient Mermaid’s ancestral land. Destroy everything nearby, and I’ll use the Earth Spirit Pearls to blast this place open,” a robust Snake person said, speaking a language Li Su understood.
The sea clans adopted a common language with the Northern Territory. As he spoke, the sea creatures began wreaking havoc on the outside seabed.