In the sea fog of the Devil’s Triangle, the scenery was surprisingly quite pleasant.
Amidst the blue sky and emerald sea, a sudden ethereal and distant song drifted through the air, carrying a sense of clarity and purity.
Captain Victor had only heard the beginning of the melody when an expression of enchantment appeared on his face. His eyes became vacant as he walked toward the end of the deck.
“Snap out of it!”
Suddenly, a loud shout exploded like thunder within Victor’s mind.
He abruptly regained his senses, only to discover that his hands were already gripping the rail, with one foot dangling over the edge—he was almost about to jump into the sea.
“Damn it!”
Victor quickly pulled himself back, feeling as if he had just been enchanted: “Was that a mermaid? No, it was more like a siren!”
From that brief glimpse, he had seen a dark shadow beneath the waves.
The creature indeed had a fish’s tail, with blue scales and a sleek body, but its upper half was far from resembling a beautiful woman. Instead, it had gills, scales covering its torso, and sharp claws on its hands—essentially a monstrous hybrid of human and fish.
“There’s far too much falsehood in legends and myths—so much that has been added merely to satisfy human desires…”
Wu Ming had somehow arrived on the deck as well, gazing at the dark figures darting beneath the ship.
The mermaids’ singing continued.
Yet, for some unknown reason, after Wu Ming appeared on the deck, although Victor still found the melody melodious and enchanting, he no longer felt any loss of control over his mind.
Thud! Thud!
A dull sound, accompanied by slight vibrations, came from the bottom of the ship.
“Are these mermaids resorting to such methods since they failed to enchant the humans?”
Wu Ming chuckled wryly and lightly stomped his right foot on the deck: “Scatter!”
Buzz!
The entire ship trembled, and the golden light upon it suddenly intensified.
The mermaids in the water screamed as any part of their bodies that came into contact with the golden glow emitted bubbles and cries of pain, as if they had been scalded.
“Proceed forward… the location is here!”
Wu Ming identified the direction and issued the command.
“Truly worthy of being the Pontiff, even the mermaids of myth fear Your Eminence’s majesty!”
Captain Victor timely flattered him, which was indeed the truth. He knew that if it were him alone piloting the salvage ship, his bones would already be lying at the bottom of the ocean trench by now.
“These are nothing much—merely scattered and isolated monsters…”
Wu Ming, however, smiled: “The place we are heading to is guarded by an entire tribe of mermaids, and their numbers should exceed a thousand.”
“A… thousand?”
Captain Victor’s mouth gaped open: “That’s insane!”
Each of these sirens was about the same size as an average human. If their numbers reached into the thousands, they would essentially form a small army, while their ship didn’t even have a hundred people aboard.
The disparity in strength was enough to make Victor feel despair.
Although this Steven before him had given him many surprises, such audacity still filled him with fear.
“Don’t worry, you won’t need to lift a finger when the time comes. I can handle them all by myself!”
Wu Ming’s smile did not fade.
That mermaid tribe was far from being merely numerous. Some of them possessed powerful supernatural abilities, and there were even royal bloodlines awakened with ancient heritage.
Otherwise, his fellow Revenants wouldn’t have been completely wiped out there.
Of course, he didn’t need to tell Victor all of this—otherwise, this poor fellow might actually faint from fright.
…
Despite Captain Victor’s reluctance, he ultimately could not defy Wu Ming’s will.
The ship’s speed increased, and before long, a strangely shaped island appeared before Victor.
This island resembled an open clamshell, with numerous coral rocks partially submerged in seawater, and many caves atop them.
A gentle breeze passed through the caves, creating a melody as if it were a natural music box.
But Victor had no mood for appreciation at all, for he saw the mermaids—countless mermaids!
Perched on the reefs, swimming in the sea, hiding in the caves, and resting on the beaches, the mermaids gathered in large numbers. Some were eating, some playing, and some swimming leisurely. However, upon spotting the approaching Goldenrod, they all began to roar furiously. Some even grabbed spears made from coral trees, baring their sharp teeth at Victor.
“They don’t seem very welcoming!”
Victor muttered.
“This is normal. To them, we are outsiders and invaders, intruding upon the oceanic homeland that has long protected them…”
Wu Ming stepped forward, his expression calm.
In fact, without his continuous protection, the Goldenrod probably wouldn’t have even passed through the outer sea fog maze.
The situation here was even more perilous.
The entire structure of the Shell Island was actually a massive magical artifact capable of transforming natural wind sounds into terrifying sonic attacks. If manipulated by a supernatural being, even a fourth-tier Revenant would be doomed.
“Lower the lifeboat. I will go alone!”
Wu Ming ordered.
“Your Grace!”
Several sailors cried out in alarm: “It’s extremely dangerous down there!”
“Fear not. Believe in the power of the God of Redemption! He will protect me!”
Wu Ming, sounding like a typical religious charlatan, proceeded to board the small boat. Under the anxious gazes of the sailors, he slowly sailed toward the island: “Remember to wait for me and do not leave the ship!”
Behind his lifeboat, beneath the ocean’s surface, a dense swarm of dark shadows followed like a massive school of fish during migration, making Victor shudder in horror.
“Although their bloodlines are somewhat diluted, they are indeed supernatural beings…”
At this moment, Wu Ming was observing the mermaids below the water with great interest. A golden divine glow, like the last rays of the setting sun, spread across the surface of the sea, exerting an invisible pressure that prevented any mermaid from surfacing.
“Human!”
As he stepped onto the beach, a commotion arose among the mermaids. Many strong individuals stepped forward like guards, surrounding a figure that stood apart from the rest.
The mermaid’s giant tail swayed like a snake, while its upper body resembled a human girl. Unlike its more grotesque kin, its torso was covered with blue scales and flecked with golden highlights.
“Royal mermaid, do you understand human speech?”
Wu Ming showed a slight interest.
“This is not a place for you to covet. Leave now!”
The mermaid princess’s human language was stiff and awkward, like a parrot mimicking speech, but her meaning was clear and unmistakable.
In truth, if not for the overwhelming danger Wu Ming radiated, the mermaid princess would not have been so lenient. Instead, she would have immediately ordered her kin to swarm him, just as they had done to the previous humans, tearing him to shreds.
Although those earlier intruders had possessed strange abilities, the mermaid princess had an instinctive feeling that they were utterly insignificant compared to the man before her.
“I do not intend to disturb your life. I only need to search for something on this island…”
Wu Ming considered himself a reasonable person: “If you allow me to look around the island’s center, I will leave immediately!”
“The island’s center?”
Upon hearing this, the mermaid princess suddenly roared: “Human, you dare covet the secret of the True God! Kill him!”
In her fury, she opened her mouth, revealing sharp fangs.
The surrounding mermaids immediately surrounded Wu Ming, ready to tear him apart.
“The True God?”
The more anxious they became about protecting this secret, the more intrigued Wu Ming became.
“Was there once a being who left something on this island, entrusting these mermaids to guard it?”
Given their power upon the sea, no ship could possibly challenge them unless a full naval fleet were deployed. However, the unique nature of the Devil’s Triangle ensured that official forces would not launch large-scale expeditions due to the high costs involved. And any small elite teams would be no match for an entire tribe of mermaids.
Thus, their level of vigilance was indeed quite high. If it weren’t for Wu Ming’s arrival today, these mermaids would likely have continued fulfilling their duty undisturbed.
“This truly is… somewhat troublesome…”
Wu Ming looked at the encircling merfolk and suddenly snapped his fingers: “I have no desire for unnecessary bloodshed, so…”
Boom!
A vast, mysterious presence, almost cosmic in scale, suddenly surged from his body.
This was the power unleashed after drawing upon the stored energy within the Primordial Realm!
If he were to fight seriously, even with his current Earth Immortal body, it would still take considerable effort to eliminate all the mermaids, and the cost might not be worth it.
Therefore, he chose to directly invoke the power of the Primordial Realm.
With its enhancement, Wu Ming was now essentially a full-fledged Celestial Immortal—even a Golden Immortal!
Crack!
Within a ten-meter radius, the merfolk who had moments ago been eyeing him hungrily suddenly rolled their eyes and collapsed unconscious.
Beyond the Sixth Rank lies the breakthrough of fundamental essence; every move represents the power of the world itself, overwhelming and unstoppable.
Crack!
More merfolk dropped to their knees, collapsing helplessly.
The sailors aboard the Goldenrod watched with wide eyes, as if witnessing a miracle.
No, it *was* a miracle!
Before the Pontiff, even the savage and mysterious merfolk must bow!
“This… is the power of a god!”
The mermaid princess barely managed to remain standing, though she swayed unsteadily. Her face showed even greater shock.
She gazed deeply at Wu Ming before suddenly performing the most solemn ritual of the merfolk: “O Divine One whom our Lord has long awaited, you have finally arrived!”
“Waiting for me?”
Wu Ming showed a slight surprise.
“Indeed! The sacred duty of our merfolk has been to guard this place until your arrival!”
The mermaid princess spoke with excitement, and from the fluctuations of her soul, she was clearly telling the truth.
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