Chapter 2440: Land of Malevolence and Contamination

The Peacock Princess stood up too. “I’m going too!”

How could she miss a chance to observe the Ocean races’ secret?

“You’re still injured...” the Mermaid Queen said worriedly.

“Such a minor injury won’t hinder my fighting prowess,” the Peacock Princess replied, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Zu An had no reason to turn her down when she was so determined, so he brought the two women out with him.

Peach wanted to take a look too, but her cultivation was too low to protect herself, so the Mermaid Queen ordered her to stay behind and take care of the two wounded guards.

“Thank you for saving Xuanxuan and Susu!” The Peacock Princess was overjoyed to learn her guards had been saved.

Zu An eyed the Mermaid Queen. “I didn’t do anything. It was the queen who saved them.”

The Mermaid Queen rolled her eyes. “They would have risked their lives to attract the monsters’ attention in the Four Way Palace if not for your help afterward.”

She had already figured out what happened that night. It frustrated her to no end when she remembered how she had fallen for his deception and embarrassed herself with subpar acting.

Zu An chuckled. “I can’t turn a blind eye when such loyal guards are in trouble.”

Since the two women knew this wasn’t his real face, he got out a metal mask that partially concealed his face to avoid awkwardness.

After learning about what happened that night, the Peacock Princess breathed a sigh of relief. “Even though Xuanxuan and Susu are my servants, we are as close as siblings. I, Qingwu, will not forget this favor.”

Although, she had no idea how she could repay such a huge favor either.

I have all the time in the world to find a way to repay the Mermaid Queen, but the same can't be said about this mysterious big brother. How can I repay what he has done for me?

As if seeing through her thoughts, Zu An said, “You don’t have to be so courteous. You resemble a friend of mine, and I have ties with the Peacock race. I can’t turn a blind eye when I see your people in trouble.”

Had it been anyone else saying those words to her, the Peacock Princess would have thought the other party was flirting. Beauties such as her were bound to have seen all sorts of creative flirting methods.

But she didn’t doubt Zu An’s words in the slightest. The Peacock Princess blinked in contemplation, asking, “Is it the one who gave you that feather?”

Zu An nodded.

The Mermaid Queen looked at Zu An with a deep gaze. She had previously deduced that in the future, the latter was in a relationship with someone from the Mermaid race, but it looked as if he was also romantically involved with someone from the Peacock race.

Tsk tsk, is he a player?

The Peacock Princess, on the other hand, was more unfiltered. She asked, “Is she a lover?”

Zu An’s face reddened. “It’s not what you’re thinking. She’s a bosom friend.”

The Peacock Princess didn’t believe him. She circled Zu An while intently assessing him. “You said that person resembles me. How alike are we?”

Zu An didn’t answer right away. It would be rude to say they looked as if they were carved from the same mold.

But the two women were sharp enough to deduce the answer from his hesitation.

The Peacock Princess’ face reddened. The Mermaid Queen was astonished. She suddenly remembered her first encounter with Zu An; the latter had reacted in the same way as when he first met the Peacock Princess.

Does his mermaid lover in the future resemble me too?

That realization resolved many of her lingering doubts, but it also introduced many new ones.

Is this a coincidence, or the machinations of fate?

The Peacock Princess thought of a crucial question. “You said you’re from the future. If your ‘bosom friend’ resembles me so much, could she be... my descendant?”

Zu An harbored the same doubt too, but he said, “I don’t know.”

In the first place, what were the odds of two people looking so alike even if they were from the same lineage?

When she suddenly realized she was going to have offspring, the Peacock Princess’ face heated up. She couldn’t help but wonder who her child’s father was going to be. As she was blessed with both beauty and a lofty background, there had never been a man who caught her eye.

She was close with Xuanxuan and Susu, but she saw them as her siblings and nothing more. She couldn’t imagine falling in love with anyone enough to bear his offspring.

She suddenly turned to Zu An, and her cheeks began to redden.

Kong Qingwu, what are you thinking? He’s your descendant’s lover!

That random thought left her feeling so embarrassed that she could overturn the ocean floor. Determined not to let that embarrassment linger, she interjected, “Doesn’t that make me your ancestral grandmother?”

Zu An was bewildered. Looking at the young woman’s mischievous gaze, he felt an urge to flip her over and spank her bottom.

The Mermaid Queen, however, turned pale. The words ‘ancestral grandmother’ echoed endlessly in her head. Her gut feeling told her that the Peacock Princess had stumbled upon the truth.

No wonder he avoids me like the plague. So that’s why! To think that I've fallen in love with my descendant’s lover... What kind of nonsense is this?

Amid their chatter, the three arrived in the Eye of the Ocean’s vicinity and heard noises, including war cries.

Alarmed, the Mermaid Queen quickly looked over. The tightly-guarded underwater gorge had been thrown into disarray. The formation enveloping the area was flickering, a sign that it was impaired. It was still holding on for now, but it could collapse at any moment.

The Dragon race’s guards, despite being tasked to guard this land, were slaughtering one another. Some guards even attempted to attack the Four Dragon Kings, provoking their fury.

However, there was no lack of elder-level experts among the dragon guards. Even the Four Dragon Kings struggled to fend against their relentless assault.

“Did the guards defect?” the Peacock Princess wondered.

“Look at their eyes.” Zu An had intended to construct formations to conceal their bodies and auras, but given the ongoing chaos, it was unlikely that the Four Dragon Kings had the energy to pay heed to them.

Upon his reminder, the Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess took a closer look and noticed that the rampaging guards’ irises had turned grayish-white. Their ferocious movements contrasted sharply with their lifeless eyes, making the situation look incredibly eerie.

On top of that, the rampaging guards were hardly using their weapons, instead opting to desperately claw at everything. Anyone wounded by their claws would soon be shrouded in a grayish-white aura and turn on their comrades too.

“Is it a gu poison?” The Peacock Princess gulped. She couldn’t believe there was such a contagious gu poison in the world.

“It isn’t a gu poison,” the Mermaid Queen replied with a livid expression. She pointed to the grayish-white energy rising up from the gorge. “That is the most malevolent and contaminated substance in the world, which we, the Ocean races, have suppressed in the Eye of the Ocean for many generations—death energy!”