That Place Is Forbidden

Lei Jiaxin had taken a spiritual treasure that shed her tail, and she was already almost indistinguishable from a human girl.

She was also very proud of her perfect figure. At night, she liked to swim to the surface and sing.

If her song attracted passing ships, and she encountered a man with designs on her, she would drag him underwater and kill him.

Zhou Er knew about Lei Jiaxin's hobby and hurriedly shifted position. "Big Sister, I didn't mean to."

But there was only so much room inside the Ancient Giant Clam. The more Zhou Er tried to adjust his position, the more his hands ended up in places they shouldn't be.

"Mmm~"

Feeling Zhou Er's touch, Lei Jiaxin couldn't help moaning.

"Don't move around."

Lei Jiaxin spoke between gasps.

At last, Lei Jiaxin reached down and felt around for a long while before finally finding the Ancient Giant Clam's weak spot and opening it.

After stepping out of the shell, Lei Jiaxin straightened the clothes Zhou Er had disheveled.

"Big Sister, I really didn't mean to. Please don't tell Jiani about this later."

Zhou Er hurried to explain.

Lei Jiaxin shot Zhou Er a reproachful look. "I know."

She now knew that Zhou Er was a gentleman.

Afterward, the two returned to normal and stopped mentioning what had happened inside the Ancient Giant Clam. They continued exploring the secret realm.

After what had happened with the Shark Race, both of them were especially cautious.

Zhou Er was particularly careful. Before exploring any unfamiliar area, he would first probe it with his Spiritual Sense.

After years of cultivation, his Spiritual Sense had expanded to cover a range of five or six li, enough to explore most areas.

To Zhou Er's surprise, Spiritual Sense was heavily restricted in the secret realm. It could only reach a few dozen meters before being blocked by all kinds of obstacles.

Still, that range was more or less enough.

After feeling their way through the Tianyi Secret Realm, the two arrived at a Flesh Chamber.

Lei Jiaxin was a little dejected. Aside from this ordinary flesh, they hadn't found anything else.

Of course, if they still found nothing by the time the secret realm closed, she could only take some of the flesh with her.

But this flesh wasn't easy to chew through; they would have to put in some effort.

Zhou Er probed the flesh inch by inch with his Spiritual Sense, then suddenly noticed a narrow gap hidden within it.

He went over and pressed against it, discovering that he could squeeze inside. "Big Sister, there's a way in here."

Seeing this, Lei Jiaxin followed him.

After squeezing through the gap, they entered a Dark and Sunless Passage. They followed it upward and came to a spacious cavern.

Two enormous spheres stood on either side of the cavern. Looking closely, they saw that they were a pair of gigantic eyeballs.

Before the two could react, the eyeballs suddenly began to tremble, then turned into two streaks of light and shot toward them.

When the light faded, Zhou Er discovered another eyeball had grown on his head.

This eye was entirely separate from his other two. It came with a Pupil Technique that could freeze others.

An identical eyeball had grown on Lei Jiaxin's forehead.

"These are the Tianyi Water God's Eyeballs. We've obtained the Tianyi Water God's Eyes."

Lei Jiaxin was overjoyed.

Only those who gained the Tianyi Water God's Approval could obtain these vital organs, which carried the Tianyi Water God's Divine Abilities.

Now that they had obtained the Tianyi Water God's Eyes, it meant that they had earned the approval of the Tianyi Water God's Remnant Soul.

Of course, these weren't the most valuable things.

The most valuable was the Tianyi Water God's Demon Core.

Still, the eyes were already quite good.

With these, at least the two of them no longer had to worry about reaching the Golden Core realm. They had also gained a Divine Ability Carried in the Eyes.

The Demon Race didn't use Magic Treasures. Their innate Divine Abilities were the treasures they relied on most.

But improving themselves was also very difficult.

Now, the two of them had gained a great boon.

Afterward, Zhou Er and Lei Jiaxin sat cross-legged to refine their newly acquired Third Eyes.

In truth, there was nothing for them to refine. The eyes had already fused with them, as if they had been part of their bodies from birth.

They could also close the eyes very easily; they only had to will it.

Once they had gotten used to their new eyes, their trip could be considered a success. They no longer needed to go out and fight over anything with the others.

All they had to do was wait for the secret realm to close, then leave.

"Brother-in-law, let's rest here and wait for the time to be up. Then we can leave."

Lei Jiaxin said.

Zhou Er nodded. They had already gained something, so there was no need to invite more trouble.

They spent some time together in peace. Then Lei Jiaxin suddenly came over to Zhou Er, blew gently on his ear, and said, "Brother-in-law, back in the shell, you seemed pretty interested in my body."

As she spoke, Lei Jiaxin leaned against Zhou Er and traced circles over his chest with a finger, her seductive intentions plain to see.

"Big Sister, that was all an accident. You don't need to test me."

Zhou Er sat upright without the slightest reaction.

Lei Jiaxin tested him a few more times. Only after confirming that Zhou Er truly wasn't reacting did she give up, bored.

When the secret realm ended, the group emerged one after another.

Some had returned, while others hadn't.

Some families rejoiced, while others grieved.

Lei Ze came over to ask the two what they had gained. Lei Jiaxin quietly whispered something in his ear.

Lei Ze immediately understood that they had reaped a great harvest.

However, they hadn't found the most precious treasure in the Tianyi Secret Realm. They would have another chance when the secret realm opened again.

Since they had gained so much, Lei Ze hurriedly took them back to Thunder Dragon City to avoid trouble.

After Zhou Er returned to Thunder Dragon City, he spent a few days being affectionate with Lei Jiani, then began preparing to go into seclusion.

Half a year later, thanks to his Third Eye, Zhou Er successfully broke through to the Golden Core realm. His True Essence condensed into a True Core, and his magic power underwent a fundamental transformation.

Lei Jiaxin couldn't do the same. Although she had also gained an eyeball, she still needed more time to cultivate and build up her foundation.

Now that Zhou Er had entered the Golden Core realm, he was a Demon King in the vast East Sea.

But the territories had mostly been divided up already, so it was still very difficult for Zhou Er to claim a Sea Domain of his own.

Of course, there were still opportunities.

He could wait for another Demon King to die and seize their territory through strength, or venture into the deep sea and explore, carving out new lands. Both were options.

Venturing into the deep sea was far too dangerous, and Lei Jiani would certainly never let him do that. She told him to cultivate here for now and wait for a chance to act later.

Zhou Er also leaned toward taking the safer course. Now that he had broken through to the Golden Core realm, he had a long life ahead of him and no need to rush into danger. His parents-in-law weren't trying to drive him out, either.

After cultivating in the sea for ten years, Zhou Er's understanding of the Water Race grew deeper, and he gradually became part of it.

It was said that the ancestors of all the Water Race had originally been Demon Race living on land.

But after losing the struggle among the Demon Race, they had no choice but to seek a way to survive in the water.

And so, they slowly established themselves in the sea.

Nowadays, the Water Race had made little progress in areas such as Magic Treasures, talismans, and formations, but their individual strength far surpassed that of the land-dwelling Demon Race and humans.

That was, of course, assuming the Demon Race and humans fought underwater.

As the Water Race grew ever more prosperous, many of them wanted to strike back at the land and reclaim their ancestral home.

Quite a few Water Race members had even taken action, but the results hadn't been very encouraging.

Even so, every year the leaders of the Water Race organized groups to attack small islands on the surface.

Once they had taken the islands along the coast, they could gradually plan to launch a counterattack on the land.

Now that Zhou Er had joined the ranks of the Demon Kings, he was one of the Eight-Armed Heavenly King's subordinates.

Whenever the Water Race had some major undertaking, the Eight-Armed Heavenly King would gather the Demon Kings and have them discuss it, much like a meeting.

In the ten years since, Zhou Er had taken part in one such discussion.

At the time, they had discussed attacking a large island on land.

Of course, everyone present was a senior, so he hadn't said much.

He hadn't joined the operation in the end, either. He only knew that the large island had eventually been taken and become the territory of an Old Turtle.

They had suffered some casualties, but overall, the rewards had been substantial.

He wondered what had prompted them to summon everyone this time.

Zhou Er went with his father-in-law to Eight-Armed Heavenly King City to take part in the discussion.

When they arrived at the city, Zhou Er understood what was going on.

"Old Brother Cang, the humans on land are in utter chaos. We've decided to join forces with the Demon Race on land and reclaim the land together."

The Eight-Armed Heavenly King said to Zhou Er, "You were originally a land-dwelling Demon. Sending you to discuss this matter is the best choice."

"Lord You! My son-in-law fled from the land to the sea. Surely he isn't the right person for this!"

Lei Ze spoke up.

Going to the land was extremely dangerous, especially when it came to contacting the Demon Race there.

The Demon Race on land was already a mess among themselves. How could they possibly cooperate with the Water Race?

Besides, they would have to cross one mortal kingdom after another before they could find where the Demon Race had gathered.

"Do you remember the Teleportation Array set up by the previous East Sea Dragon God? It lies in a secluded mountain valley and was built for just such a time. Old Brother Cang will go investigate the situation this time. If things don't work out, he can simply withdraw."

The Eight-Armed Heavenly King continued.

"That Teleportation Array is thousands of years old. Who knows what's on the other side now?"

Lei Ze argued vehemently. Naturally, he was speaking up for his son-in-law.

"That's why someone has to go and find out. We're all Water Race through and through. The moment we go ashore, our strength drops by at least one realm. Old Brother Cang is different. He was originally a land-dwelling Demon. Whether it's negotiating with the Demon Race on land or simply adapting to the place, none of us can compare to him."

Someone spoke up then.

"That sounds nice, but all you're really doing is sending my son-in-law to his death!"

Lei Ze was having none of it.

"Lei Ze, you've gone too far. How is this sending him to his death?"

Another Demon King argued.

They bickered back and forth, but no one could reach a conclusion.

Just then, the Eight-Armed Heavenly King looked at Zhou Er. "Old Brother Cang, this is the Dragon God's idea. If you're willing to take this risk, I'll give you a Sea Domain stretching ten thousand li across when you return, to serve as your territory. And if you don't want to take part in the battles that follow, I won't force you. How does that sound?"

A Sea Domain stretching ten thousand li across would be almost half the size of the Eight-Armed Heavenly King's own territory.

"Lord You, I need to think it over."

Zhou Er glanced at his father-in-law and said.

"No rush. We've waited several thousand years already; a few more days won't matter."

The Eight-Armed Heavenly King smiled.

After leaving the Eight-Armed Heavenly King's residence, Zhou Er and Lei Ze discussed the matter alone.

"Xiao Cang, why take this risk? You still have Jiani and Xiao Haohao."

Lei Ze tried to dissuade him.

"Xiao Haohao is already twelve. I don't need to worry over him so much anymore. Besides, I want to win him a share of the family estate."

Zhou Er said, putting on a noble front.

In truth, he was also getting a little tired of life beneath the sea.

There were no Magic Treasures or talismans under the sea, and aside from fish and jewels, there weren't any other special resources.

Cultivating in the sea was indeed wasting his time.

Now that he had reached the Golden Core realm, he wanted to return to the land, acquire a Magic Treasure to improve his combat strength, and find a blessed cultivation ground.

Of course, he also wanted to see what the land was like now.

Lei Ze tried to persuade him several times, but when he realized he couldn't change Zhou Er's mind, he stopped trying.

If Zhou Er was willing to take the gamble, he might as well let him go.

Zhou Er told the Eight-Armed Heavenly King he was willing to go and see what was on the other side of the Ancient Teleportation Array. The Eight-Armed Heavenly King was naturally delighted.

Fearing that Lei Jiani would stop him from leaving once he got home, Zhou Er didn't go back to say goodbye. He simply asked Lei Ze to tell her that he was going to take a chance at the Ancient Teleportation Array.

Lei Ze had no choice but to do that. He returned to Thunder Dragon City alone.

The Eight-Armed Heavenly King brought Zhou Er to the Teleportation Array and asked, "Old Brother Cang, are you ready? If you are, we'll start casting the spell to activate the array."

"I'm ready, Lord You. Go ahead and activate it!"

Zhou Er nodded and sat cross-legged inside the enormous array.

The array was enormous; it clearly wasn't designed to transport just one person.

But the situation on land was unclear, and they hadn't yet reached an agreement with the Demon Race there. For now, they could only send Zhou Er over to investigate the situation on the other side.

As the Teleportation Array began to operate, Zhou Er felt the world spinning around him. Before long, he appeared in another world.

The surrounding water pressure vanished in an instant, and Zhou Er felt a wave of relief.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a karst cave. Although there was water all around him, there was only a thin layer of it.

After leaping out of the water, Zhou Er surveyed his surroundings, found the light source, and followed it out of the cave.

Then, following the current, he came upon a village.

After hiding some of the demonic traits on his body, Zhou Er pretended to be an ordinary person and walked into the village.

Now that Zhou Er had reached the Golden Core stage, it took him only a few days among the villagers to understand their dialect.

He also learned that this was the Yan Kingdom.

Part of the Sunset Mountain Range lay nearby.

At the mention of the Sunset Mountain Range, Zhou Er thought of the Xiayun Sect.

He thought of old acquaintances from the Xiayun Sect.

Back then, he had fled the Xiayun Sect to escape Master Jide. Looking back now, it might not have been the wisest choice.

Apart from Master Jide, Zhou Er also thought of Lin Shiyu.

When he left, Lin Shiyu had still been a young girl.

Now, four or five decades had passed, and he had no idea how Lin Shiyu was faring.