Lan Fozi

Unfortunately, Di Tian still did not explain himself clearly.

"Won't you invite me in for a seat?"

"After our battle tens of thousands of years ago, I still remember the Merfolk Race's banquet. It was quite lavish."

"To be honest, I rather miss it."

"Now that we have fought another great battle, we have practically drawn every Sea Soul Beast in the ocean here to watch."

"We cannot let them come for nothing. Invite the Sea Soul Beast Kings above one hundred thousand years, along with the clan chiefs of every Sea Soul Beast race, to a banquet."

"As for my purpose in coming to the sea in person, you will see when the time comes."

These words made the Sea Princess's heart skip a beat, and a sense of foreboding rose within her.

She had thought Di Tian had broken through the million-year threshold and grown restless, seeking to test himself against her, the greatest Spiritual Power wielder in the sea. It seemed the matter was far more complicated than she had imagined.

"Mm... all right." The Sea Princess did not reject Di Tian's decision—or rather, she had no right to refuse.

Because she had lost their earlier battle, she held very little say in the matter.

Unless it concerned the survival of a race, no one would overturn this rule. Even if Di Tian had asked the Sea Princess to personally serve him in bed, it would have been the same.

"It is only that our battle this time was brief, and we must host all the Sea Soul Beast Kings and the clan chiefs of many Sea Soul Beast races. The clan will likely need some time to prepare."

At that moment, Di Tian turned to look at her. A faint, eerie light spread from his golden eyes.

"My time is fairly ample, but be quick."

Meeting his eerie gaze, the Sea Princess's heart trembled, as though her soul had been pricked by needles.

How could she fail to see that this was Di Tian's warning?

The journey into the Merfolk Clan Territory proceeded in silence.

Unlike the Sea Princess, whose thoughts were heavy, Di Tian was fairly relaxed. He even had the leisure to occasionally admire the beautiful scenery of the Merfolk Clan Territory.

As they gradually approached the source of light beneath the sea, a stretch of palace-like buildings came into view, all constructed from the undersea world's corals and various precious minerals.

Those buildings gleamed with an azure radiance, enough to illuminate dozens of miles around them and reveal many members of the Merfolk Race.

The merfolk world revered women above all, so most clan members were female. Yet regardless of sex, every one of them was strikingly beautiful.

As they passed through the gathered merfolk, the latter bowed one after another, performing the Merfolk Race's most ancient and honored ritual.

The Sea Princess exchanged a glance with her eldest daughter and used Spiritual Power for Voice Transmission to explain the situation. The other woman swiftly flicked her Golden Fish Tail and prepared, following Di Tian's instructions, to invite the arriving Hundred-Thousand-Year Sea Soul Beast Kings and the chiefs of every race into the clan territory.

Meanwhile, the Sea Princess personally led Di Tian into the most magnificent Undersea Coral Palace.

This Undersea Coral Palace was extravagantly luxurious and immense. It stood nearly a hundred meters tall and spanned several thousand meters in width.

Powerful Soul Power rippled through the palace, with faint fluctuations spreading into the distance. Clearly, it possessed a certain degree of offensive and defensive ability itself. Located as it was in the Deep Sea Domain, it could not be called anything but secure.

The enormous coral doors opened. Within, precious lights glittered brilliantly, and all manner of ornaments had been placed about: fist-sized pearls, crystal-clear shells like transparent crystals, and beautiful seven-colored corals. All were treasures rarely seen on land and worth fortunes in the human world.

"Beast God, please wait a moment."

The wait did not last long.

The Merfolk Race handled matters with remarkable efficiency—or rather, the prestige Di Tian and the Sea Princess had accumulated over many years in the Deep Sea Domain made this matter remarkably efficient.

After all, not a single Sea Soul Beast possessed either the strength or courage to defy the Beast God and the Sea Princess's summons.

Before long, Sea Soul Beasts filed in one after another. Even the weakest had cultivation exceeding fifty thousand years.

Naturally, ordinary Soul Beasts were enormous. Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts and ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts lacked the ability to take human form, so they could only enter the palace after shrinking their bodies.

Where they stood perfectly illustrated the distribution of the Sea Soul Beasts' three major factions.

The faction with the greatest number of Sea Soul Beasts and the strongest combat power was naturally the Neutral Faction. They stood faintly closer to the Merfolk Race, with the Sea Princess at their head.

The faction with the fewest Sea Soul Beasts and the weakest combat power was naturally the Sea God Faction. Only Xiao Bai, the Demon Soul Great White Shark, and her daughter Bai XiuXiu had come to attend the banquet.

The Anti-Sea God Faction was just as the Demon Empress had described. Aside from her, only a scant handful remained, with only one Ferocious Beast left: the Octopus Ferocious Beast, whose upper body resembled a human's while twelve octopus legs supported its lower half.

Yet this Ferocious Beast stood half a step behind a woman. Her beautiful long hair fluttered around her, and her face was exquisitely lovely. Every glance possessed the beauty to topple cities and kingdoms. Her fitted outfit made her seem less gentle, but added a touch of liveliness.

This was Lan Fozi without her male disguise, the daughter of the Demon Empress and the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King.

Led by Lan Fozi, the scant remnants of the Anti-Sea God Faction stood relatively close to Di Tian.

As for why?

Lan Fozi's delicate Jade Nose flared sharply as she caught Di Tian's scent.

"Senior Beast God, have you met my mother?"

Di Tian did not answer her question immediately. Instead, he recalled what the Demon Empress had told him before he set out.

"Since I joined the Holy Spirit Cult, my daughter Lan Fozi has rarely interacted with me. She has even avoided my attempts to find her."

"Alas... a grown daughter no longer listens to her mother."

"She may no longer believe anything I say as her mother. But as the Beast God, whose fame is known far and wide among Soul Beasts, she may listen to what you say."

"If you happen to encounter Fozi during this trip beneath the sea, please help me bring her back and explain things clearly to her. Her mother is merely a partner cooperating with the Holy Spirit Cult for mutual benefit. In a few more years, I will be able to completely break away from the Holy Spirit Cult."

Setting those recollections aside, Di Tian replied,

"Your mother and I are friends. Your father and I can also be considered old acquaintances."

Rather than directly explaining things for the Demon Empress, or forcibly bringing Lan Fozi back with his overwhelming strength, he instead asked about Lan Fozi's recent circumstances.

"When I first entered the Deep Sea Domain, I did not sense your aura. After leaving your mother, did you not return directly to the sea?"

"Did Mother ask you to inquire about me?" Lan Fozi's voice was low.

Di Tian shook his head. "No."

"But she misses you very much."

At those words, Lan Fozi lowered her bright eyes and bowed her head, as though trying to conceal her emotions.

"I did not do much. After Mother and I parted over the matter of the Holy Spirit Cult, I drifted aimlessly through the ocean until I encountered a group of humans hunting Sea Soul Beasts. I went and rescued them."

"After that, I found something to do. I have spent years wandering the coastal waters, rescuing Sea Soul Beasts endangered by various circumstances."

"When there was truly nothing to do, I would take human form, disguise myself as a man, and travel through the human world. While there, I would also ask the Holy Spirit Cult's Evil Soul Masters about Mother's situation."