Chapter 2439: The Death Aura Leaking From the Eye of the Ocean

Even the Mermaid Queen’s curiosity was piqued. “I heard your Saintess is skilled at warfare, and she has never lost a battle thus far.”

The Peacock Princess shook her head and replied, “I shouldn’t say this, but the Saintess is inexperienced when it comes to military logistics. However, she is skilled at reading the tides, rousing the people, and in the field of formation and runes. That’s how she led our people to victory after victory.”

Zu An wasn't surprised to hear that. Given the fact that the Lord of Slaughter had been sealed by a formation, Yumen Beiqing was bound to be a master of formations.

The Mermaid Queen replied, “Being able to unite the people is already the hallmark of most talented generals, but she has many outstanding abilities on top of that. She is truly an incredible woman. I would love to meet her one day.”

The Peacock Princess chuckled. “The Saintess is also interested in you, my queen. She previously looked into your name and pointed you out as someone we should try to win over. I can see her wisdom now.”

“Ah?” The Mermaid Queen was surprised. If the Saintess didn’t even know her name, why would the latter think she was trustworthy?

It was then that Zu An spoke up. “My princess, you should rest here for the next few days. I’ll accompany you back to the Fiend races' side once I’m done with my business here. There are some things I need to talk to your Saintess about.”

He was curious to know why Yumen Beiqing recognized him in the future, and why she would leave such a will fragment in the first place. But first, he had to get the Ocean races to ally with the Fiend races.

Other than that, he also wanted to visit the Eye of the Ocean and see if it was connected to the Underworld. He'd noticed that his Netherworld Book of Life and Death, perhaps due to the spacetime differences, had lost many of its functions. For instance, he couldn’t directly enter the Underworld anymore.

The Peacock Princess’ eyes lit up. “That would be great!”

There could be hope for the Fiend races if she brought such a powerful expert back with her. The Saintess would also be delighted.

Peach pursed her lips.

My queen, you've miscalculated. You went through so much to save her, but the first thing she did was poach your lover. Why aren’t you saying anything about it?

The Mermaid Queen was still in contemplation. She had been in contact with the Saintess for a long time now and was extremely curious about the latter.

Should I make use of this opportunity to visit her on the Fiend races' side? But would he think that I’m latching onto him? It's beneath me to be so proactive, but...

The thought that Zu An belonged to another era and this farewell could be their last made her chest feel tight.

...

Meanwhile, Mojard was meditating in a remote cave surrounded by corals while listening to a black-robed man’s report.

“That fellow used such a ridiculous excuse to unravel my plan?” Mojard's eyes widened, displaying his shock and speechlessness.

The black-robed man replied gruffly, “It is ridiculous. More importantly, the Mermaid Queen played along with him even though it would sully her reputation.” His words were dripping with jealousy.

Mojard had no interest in mature beauties like the Mermaid Queen. He was more interested in something else. “Who is that fellow? Which race is he from?”

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“We don’t know. The East Sea Dragon King asked about it, but he didn’t reply. Everyone is speculating as to his identity now,” the black-robed man replied.

“The Mermaid Queen should know. Shall we capture and interrogate her?” Mojard conceded that the Mermaid Queen was beautiful, even though she wasn't his type. He found it hard to believe that the Mermaid Queen would sully her reputation for someone she didn’t know the identity of.

The black-robed man revealed a bitter smile. “Her words and actions all suggest she doesn’t know his identity.”

“Is he that secretive?” Mojard harrumphed. “He must have popped out of some other world. Let’s ignore him for now. Since our previous plan failed, let’s resort to our backup plan.”

The black-robed man hesitated. “There would be no turning back. If things went out of control...”

Mojard eyed him coldly. “Do you think we’d be unable to protect you?”

The black-robed man quickly replied with a fawning smile, “Of course not.”

“Do it. We will back you up if anything happens.”

“Yes!”

“Has the Dragon Palace turned their suspicion on you yet?” Mojard suddenly asked.

The black-robed man grinned gleefully. “Rest assured, I prepared a scapegoat beforehand. Their investigation will not lead to me.”

“Good. Tread carefully. Nothing must go wrong this time.”

“Leave it to me!”

...

Zu An spent the next days accompanying the Mermaid Queen to talks between the Ocean races and the Fiend races. Despite both sides expressing their willingness to negotiate, neither was willing to commit to the alliance. It felt as if they were dragging things out.

Upon returning to her room, the Peacock Princess grumbled, “Those aren’t Ocean race experts; they're a bunch of wily old foxes!”

After saying those words, she belatedly remembered the Mermaid Queen was with her too and quickly apologized, “Big sis Gong, I’m not talking about you. Please ignore what I just said.”

The Mermaid Queen wasn’t so fussy as to make a big deal of this. She turned to Zu An and asked with a conflicted frown, “Do you know why they refuse to commit to the alliance?”

“It’s because of me,” Zu An replied bitterly.

The Ocean races would have been happy to have a powerhouse helping to mediate in this alliance, but Zu An was simply too secretive. They knew neither his identity nor his appearance. It was hard to trust someone like that.

But Zu An had no choice. He couldn’t reveal his identity, or he could leave a mark in history and affect the timeline.

All of a sudden, the Mermaid Queen’s eyes widened in astonishment. She waved her hand, and the conches she was carrying floated into the air, each shaking intensely. She grimly explained, “This is the highest-level alarm!”

She quickly closed her eyes to listen to the conches’ unique melodies. A moment later, her eyes shot open, and she exclaimed in horror, “Something has happened to the Eye of the Ocean!”

“The sea eyelet?” The Peacock Princess was confused. She didn’t know about the Ocean races’ secret.

Zu An knew how tightly guarded the Eye of the Ocean was. It was shocking that something had happened to it. “Is it Mojard?”

The Mermaid Queen quickly explained, “We’re not sure about the details. There seems to be a hole in the Eye of the Ocean’s formation, causing the death aura inside to leak out. The dragons guarding the area have been corroded by the death aura and lost their life force.”

“I’ll go take a look.” Zu An rose to his feet.

The Mermaid Queen looked hesitant. “That is the Ocean races’ forbidden ground. Only dragons are allowed there. The Dragon Kings won’t permit it.”

“Don’t worry, they won’t notice me.” It had to be be a mess over there right now. It was unlikely that they would discover Zu An if he disguised himself.

The Mermaid Queen also stood up. “I’ll go with you!”