The old woman transformed into a Great White Whale over a hundred thousand meters long and swallowed Phoenix Emperor.
Then, carrying Phoenix Emperor with her, she swayed her head and tail as she dove downward.
Following the old woman's blood vessels and nerves, Phoenix Emperor reached the area behind her eye sockets.
Through the old woman's eyes, she discovered in astonishment:
Beneath the ruins, there was another boundless ocean.
The ocean was pitch-black, blacker than ink.
She saw warped figures flickering in and out of sight beneath the seawater, as well as strange creatures swimming about.
The moment they saw the old woman, they fled in all directions.
Those even slightly too slow were wiped away by the might radiating from the old woman's body.
Dive!
Dive!
In this place, Phoenix Emperor could not sense the passage of time at all.
She silently counted her heartbeats.
After a full three hundred beats, she saw the glow of a second wondrous treasure amid the black seawater: ruins.
The next instant, she entered the ruins.
Then Old Ancestor transformed into the old woman and said excitedly, "Come, follow me to meet my Old Ancestor."
A few minutes later:
Led by Old Ancestor, Phoenix Emperor met an even older Old Ancestor.
This Old Ancestor was likewise lying on a throne amid the ruins.
She looked like a girl of sixteen, her hands clasping a glass-like rod as she lay with her eyes closed, seemingly asleep.
The old woman kowtowed, muttering under her breath.
After a while, the girl opened her eyes. She looked blankly at the old woman and said in a low voice, "I can sense my bloodline in you."
"Are you my descendant?"
The old woman kowtowed. "Old Ancestor, I'm Ping'er?"
The girl suddenly understood. "Di Ping'er?"
"Why are you so