The azure-blue shark tail trembled incessantly as it leaped out of the sea, dripping water droplets.
The lotus flowers, emerging from the water, stretched out their petals one by one, finally blooming in their most beautiful and unrestrained form.
...
Time seemed to stand still in the cave, but at Fu Mingxu's insistence, Han Tao reluctantly let him go, keeping to the beat of the hour.
The wedding dress was scattered all over the ground, tainted with a strange smell, and clearly no longer wearable.
Fu Mingxu, supporting his aching back, changed into his blue robe and glared at him fiercely: "You really don't waste a single moment."
"This isn't my fault, you were clinging to me too tightly." Han Tao bent down to put the waist sash on him, and as soon as he said that, he was punched by Han Tao.
However, the hammer wasn't very strong; in his anger and embarrassment, it seemed as if he was afraid of hurting the man.
Han Tao grabbed his hand and kissed it, a smile curving his lips: "Yes, it's my fault, not because you pestered me."
"Have you no shame?!" Fu Mingxu's cheeks were as red as the evening glow as she glared at him fiercely. "Don't say another word!"
This look, filled with anger, dispelled the usual misty aura that usually lingered between her brows, revealing a hint of allure.
Han Tao's heart skipped a beat as he looked at him, his eyes darkening.
When Fu Mingxu saw him staring blankly at him, he slapped down the hand that was helping him straighten his clothes. When he inadvertently glanced at the mess on the ground, he felt embarrassed.
"What are you staring at like an idiot for?" He secretly rubbed his lower back, then used a burst of dragon flame to destroy the wedding dress on the ground, urging, "Aren't you going to break the formation?"
After putting on her clothes and tidying her hair, her neat blue robe covered her fishtail. Apart from her sore waist, it was impossible to tell what had happened.
He dusted off his sleeves and asked suspiciously, "You weren't just lying to me, were you?"
These words reminded Han Tao, and he finally looked away, his fingers trembling slightly, before saying, "Of course not."
How can making a vow with your partner to the Three Lives Stone be considered a lie, especially since the Three Lives Stone is indeed the core of the formation?
"Come with me." Han Tao put his arm around his waist and rubbed it a couple of times. "Is it very uncomfortable? Let me help you."
A broad hand landed on his waist, the warmth from the palm seeping into his skin through the fabric, accompanied by a slightly heavy touch, creating an extremely comfortable, tingling sensation.
Fu Mingxu couldn't help but let out a sound, and immediately pursed his lips after hearing his own involuntary whisper.
"Is this pressure okay?" Han Tao asked with a smile, looking down.
Fu Mingxu gave a soft hum, "It's alright."
Han Tao didn't expose his hypocrisy, and casually cast a golden light onto the Three Lives Stone.
In an instant, it was as if day and night had been reversed. With the arrival of darkness, a cold and eerie atmosphere replaced the warmth and comfort.
The initial spring scenery represented life, but what they now face is destruction.
Countless graves stood densely packed in the darkness, stretching as far as the eye could see, with a waning moon casting a faint glow above them.
The moonlight was cold and pale, yet it remained only above the grave and could not descend.
It's as if even the moonlight doesn't want to shine on this grave.
Fu Mingxu noticed that Han Tao's expression changed slightly upon seeing the situation and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
His golden eyes narrowed slightly, a sharp glint flashing across them as he coldly surveyed the graveyard.
“Many graves have been opened.” His gaze fell into the darkness. “Many dead have crawled out of their graves.”
At least, the number was more than he had imagined.
Even though his tone was perfectly normal, Fu Mingxu couldn't help but shiver.
Climb, climb out?
The dead royal family of merfolk lies buried in the deep sea, and now they have crawled out of their graves again.
Fu Mingxu felt he had heard a scary story.
"That's not right." He suddenly remembered the information he had gathered from the Merfolk and hurriedly said, "Wasn't it said that this place was the burial site of the Merfolk royal family? There shouldn't be so many graves here."
Most of the merfolk in the deep sea live near the merfolk royal palace. They have few offspring but long lifespans, especially the merfolk royal family. Even if every generation of merfolk died out, there shouldn't be so many graves.
Fu Mingxu's divine sense did not extend as far as Han Tao's, but even a cursory scan revealed that there were at least several hundred at the very front, not to mention the endless expanse behind them.
Could it be that there were actually far more merfolk in the deep sea than are currently recorded?
It's normal for information from the deep sea to differ from that from that from land, but this was the first time he'd seen such a significant difference.
The records about the witch clan say they are in the tombs of the merman royal family. However, with so many tombs here, they probably didn't appear when the merman royal palace was built; it must have been much earlier.
This contradicts the information obtained from the Mermaid King's Palace.
Looking at the densely packed graves and hearing Han Tao's words, Fu Mingxu felt a headache coming on.
But once you've come, there's no reason to leave. After thinking it over, he decided to stick to the original plan and find the tomb of the merman king from before the palace was built.
With the dragon's flame providing illumination, the path to the cemetery was not difficult for the two.
When we reached the first row of graves, we saw that several of them had already been opened.
"Wait a minute." Fu Mingxu stopped in his tracks, tilted his head to the left, and asked in confusion, "I think I smell that stench from the Mermaid King's secret chamber."
After saying that, he stood still, sniffed carefully, and nodded to confirm.
It was the same rotten smell from the black humanoid figure we saw before. Although it was very faint in the air, the smell itself was definitely the same.
In the darkness, the two stood at the forefront of countless graves. Next to Fu Mingxu was an open grave. His expression changed. "Do you think that dark, humanoid figure crawled out from here?"
The thought of countless dark, humanoid figures possibly appearing here made him feel terrible.
"It should be, but I don't sense anything else right now." Han Tao adjusted his outer robe, held his hand, and reassured him, "Don't worry, the annihilation array of the life and death array, since the dead things in it have come back to life, once they've left, they can't come back."
"Their existence has long been outside the Five Elements and is not accepted by the rules of Heaven. If they go out and have no way to avoid it, they will be punished by Heaven and annihilated between heaven and earth."
Hearing this, Fu Mingxu breathed a slight sigh of relief: "So, the reason why the fake merman king who appeared before had to wear a disguise is because of this?"
"But even if a dead merman can disguise himself and blend in with the merman race, the sheer number of opened graves clearly exceeds the number of mermen." His thoughts gradually became clearer, but many questions remained unanswered. "Then, where did the others go? Could it be that, apart from the fake merman king, the others have all committed divine retribution?"
"Moreover, that fake merman king also had demonic energy on him. Could it be the work of the Demon Realm?"
In the end, even Fu Mingxu was overwhelmed by all the messy clues.
He rattled off a long explanation, but Han Tao couldn't answer his questions. He could only say, "Perhaps you can find the answer you're looking for while searching for the records of the Wu tribe."
Under the blocked moonlight, Fu Mingxu shrugged, indicating that he didn't care too much about it. "I'm just curious. Let's find the Witch Clan first."
He always kept in mind that his most important tasks were to prevent Han Tao from falling into demonic possession and to find his parents. As for other matters, he would take it one step at a time for now.
The two stood there and discussed it for a while, deciding that with so many graves around, searching aimlessly would be a waste of time.
"I wish I were a member of the Merfolk royal family. I've heard that there's a special connection between Merfolk royalty." Fu Mingxu scratched his headband in frustration and couldn't help but sigh, "Mermaid pills can only transform people into ordinary Merfolk."
As they were talking, Fu Mingxu felt a chill on the tip of his tail, as if a gentle breeze had brushed against him. But the surroundings were pitch black and completely silent; there was no wind at all.
What is that thing that touches its own tail?
Upon realizing this, Fu Mingxu froze. He wanted to lift his shirt, but was afraid of seeing something terrible.
It's obvious that his expertise lies in alchemy and medicine making, not in leveling up by fighting monsters.
The dark and cold space did indeed make people think of all sorts of things. Fu Mingxu's mind flashed through countless scenes from ghost stories and tales. After feeling that every terrifying guess was appropriate, the blush on his face gradually faded.
Han Tao, who was carefully observing the condition of the grave, noticed his change, grabbed his hand, and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"
Fu Mingxu gave a smile that looked more like a grimace, his fingers pointing downwards, his lips trembling: "The tip of my tail."
The chilly feeling not only didn't disappear, but it seemed to stick to him, making the scales on the tip of his tail almost burst open.
Seeing that his face was deathly pale, Han Tao didn't ask any questions. Instead, he bent down, squatted down, lifted the hem of his clothes, and pulled out his tail with one hand.
As he moved, Fu Mingxu, who was already feeling weak all over, couldn't help but lean back and sit directly on Han Tao's lap.
At this point, he no longer cared about shame. When his tail was grabbed, he instinctively cried out in surprise, and didn't forget to ask in a trembling voice, "What's wrong with my tail?"
The fish tail I held was supple and slightly cool to the touch, with its bluish-green scales gleaming with a soft luster, making it irresistible.
When Han Tao spotted the little thing hanging on the tip of the tail, he raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn't forget to reassure the person on his lap first: "It's nothing strange."
After saying that, he stroked the tip of his tail with his hand.
Fu Mingxu's tail tip trembled again and again. After the chilly feeling disappeared, he realized that Han Tao's tone was not bad, and he couldn't help but look over out of curiosity.
In Han Tao's large palm, a pure white little mermaid with a human body and a fish tail curled up into a ball.
"What is this?" Fu Mingxu was stunned.
He actually wanted to say, "What the hell is this?" but he changed one word as soon as he said it.
After all, it's quite cute when it's small.
Perhaps his voice was a bit loud, because the little mermaid who had closed her eyes opened them. Her eyes were a pure, deep blue, as if they held a vast ocean within them.
The little mermaid had a round face and gave Fu Mingxu an adorable smile, her voice soft and gentle.
"Mother."
Then, with a "splat," the little mermaid stuck to Fu Mingxu's fishtail again at a speed that neither of them could stop.
A note from the author:
Fu Mingxu: Don't go around claiming someone as your mother!
Han Tao: ? ?
Chapter 78
"Mother... Mother?"
These two words struck Fu Mingxu like a thunderbolt, leaving him completely stunned.
Although he did manage to conjure a mermaid's tail, that doesn't mean he can give birth to a little mermaid!
"Don't talk nonsense!" He thrashed his fishtail wildly, but the pure white little mermaid seemed to be stuck to him, and he couldn't shake her off no matter what he did.
The little mermaid remained motionless amidst the violent whipping and thrashing, intermittently calling out, "Mother, Mother..."
His voice was very soft and sweet, like the softest cotton candy in spring, with a hint of sweetness.
But to Fu Mingxu's ears, the sound was almost like a demonic chant.