The Great Saint Zhou Yi gave a few more pointers with which Princess Tianluo solemnly complied.

After a moment, the Great Saint Zhou Yi continued to ask, "You usually avoid coming here to prevent your Dao Heart from being worn down by this sound. Why have you come now?"

"Reporting to our Ancestor, the Heavenly Demon Tribulation is approaching, and the Daoist sects have widely issued talismanic decrees, changing the gathering place to Jinling... This matter was known to you, Ancestor, but recently, that Fang Lang Great Saint came knocking and is now residing in my home..."

Princess Tianluo sighed.

"Fang Lang? The young fellow who reached sainthood a few years ago, destroyed Yuan Yin Temple, and sealed the Beihai Giant Demon? How interesting, truly fascinating..."

The Great Saint Zhou Yi expressed surprise before chuckling softly, "If he hadn't already rejected the idea, I would suspect he's taken a liking for you..."

"Ancestor..."

Princess Tianluo stomped her foot, revealing a hint of youthful shyness.

"This person, being a subsidiary Great Saint who can also seal a Great Evil, has extraordinary combat power and must be cautiously recruited..." After the jest, the Great Saint Zhou Yi's tone became serious once more, "Since he found an excuse to ally with you, could it be that he's uncovered some information?"

"Please rest assured, Ancestor, only a select few are aware of matters concerning Xuanhai. Even if outsiders know that we are collecting spiritual materials from the ocean, they would only assume it is for nurturing newcomers..."

Princess Tianluo bowed and replied.

"I trust your handling of affairs, Ancestor naturally rests assured, and you'll be duly rewarded once the matter succeeds... but we must hasten our pace."

The Great Saint Zhou Yi stated, "Otherwise, when the Great Saints gather, it might become troublesome then... sigh, Xuanhai was truly among the foremost talents of our younger generation. Though he followed a subsidiary path, he still held a glimmer of hope to achieve sainthood in the future, yet all this hurriedness was brought on by Huang Long departing too early..."

Hearing this, Princess Tianluo could only remain silent.

"Since you've come here, you should check on him..."

The Great Saint Zhou Yi sighed and waved his sleeve.

In an instant, the world transformed!

The surroundings turned pitch black, except for the faint, cold light emitted by a few Luminous Pearls embedded atop the cave.

The sight seemed to be an underground cavern, damp and foreboding.

Whoosh!

Ahead of the cavern lay a massive lake formed by underground waters, where several figures seemed to be swimming.

Upon closer inspection, one would find that those swimming figures were not large fish, but rather Merfolk with scales and gills!

Lower-level demons from the aquatic lineage!

If the Cultivation World discovered that the Imperial Family was secretly rearing a group of Merfolk, it would undoubtedly cause an upheaval.

Yet, at this moment, Princess Tianluo regarded it as commonplace and casually threw a few Spiritual Energy-exuding shells into the water.

These were collected by the Great Zhou Imperial Family, spiritual items from the ocean.

The Merfolk were quite odd, not attacking Princess Tianluo, a human, but instead clutching the spirit shell with a menacing grin, revealing sharp fangs before swaying their tails to dive into the depths of the subterranean lake.

There, an altar faintly decorated with seaweed and coral stood, with a great figure standing in the center like a mythical giant nailed to a massive stone pillar, arms outstretched like a cross.

Even more strangely, countless creatures like hermit crabs and sea worms moved in and out of his half body, as if he became a dead thing or rather... a deceased whale, offering a grand whale fall to sustain an entire ecosystem.

The Merfolk swam to the vicinity of the altar and began to reverently kneel, performing an underwater ritual, offering the spiritual shells into the giant's mouth.

"Dao Transformation..."

Merely at a glance, Princess Tianluo felt her Dao Heart waver, quickly closing her eyes to avoid further viewing.

Evidently, this water giant was the rising star within the Imperial Family, Zhou Xuanhai, just one step shy of reaching the Great Saint Realm.

Alas, this step was like a heavenly chasm!

At present, Zhou Xuanhai was at the final step of the Great Saint threshold, constrained by the force of Dao Transformation.

The so-called Dao Transformation was indeed so vicious and terrifying, half a person, and half 'Dao'!

If humanity conquers Dao, one becomes a Great Saint!

If Dao conquers humanity, one becomes... a Great Evil!

"To have reached this point, the power of the Heavenly Mother Scripture is indeed extraordinary..." Princess Tianluo was visibly shaken by a profound fear at the thought.

Originally, with the guidance of Huang Long Great Saint, Zhou Xuanhai was integrating the Tai Sui Life Book with the Four Seas Strange Scripture, albeit through a subsidiary route, but the steps seemed steady.

Yet later, when the Huang Long Great Saint neared Dao Transformation, the Imperial Family urgently needed to elevate another Great Saint, resorting to forceful means by introducing Zhou Xuanhai to the Heavenly Mother Scripture.

This scripture, worthy of being transmitted by a supreme existence, significantly accelerated Zhou Xuanhai's progress in Dao cultivation, though it also aggravated the Dao Transformation, escalating the Great Saint Tribulation to a terrifying degree.

"In fact, for a subsidiary path cultivator looking to achieve Great Saint, aside from pursuing the road of contradictions and dual cultivation, there's another method, which is practicing a supreme scripture..."

"Great Evil grade scripture is usually backed by a Great Evil grade demon, which won't wait for a Cultivator to achieve Great Saint before harvesting them, typically around the eighth realm... Though by this stage, the cultivator may possess the ability to access the supernatural, partially exempt from harm, yet the corruption of their cultivation foundation remains largely resistant..."

"On the other hand, supreme level scriptures have much more lenient supporters, who, if fortune permits, might not harvest the practitioner even after reaching the Great Saint realm, though by then, their fate hangs dangerously by a singular thought at the root..."

"Currently, Xuanhai is rapidly advancing his Dao cultivation using the Heavenly Mother Scripture..."

Princess Tianluo's expression turned somewhat pale.

As a matter of fact, her Rashamon Ghost Mother Life Scripture integrated part of the Heavenly Mother Scripture along with another textual lineage, a masterstroke of balancing on a tightrope.

Additionally, it offered tricks for fast advancement in Dao cultivation with the Heavenly Mother Scripture.

Yet she dared not practice in this manner at all.

Gulp! Gulp!

At this moment, in the giant subterranean lake, the water formed a vortex, and countless tentacles reached out...

"Are you... Tianluo?"

From one slimy and incredibly slick tentacle, etched with many evil patterns, emerged a man's weak voice.

"It's me."

Princess Tianluo nodded, "The Ancestor Zhou Yi sent me to check on you..."

"Ha-ha... To behold my half-dead half-ghost appearance, is it to strengthen your Dao Heart?"

Within the vortex, Zhou Xuanhai's maniacal laughter echoed.

Then gradually, this voice softened, morphing into a gentler tone, "Sorry... Lately, I've been losing myself to the demon more often... Tianluo, few Cultivators understand me as well as you do... If in the end I fail, I'm at ease should it be you to send me off..."

Upon hearing this, Princess Tianluo couldn't help but shiver, her expressions turning exceedingly complex...

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