The calm sea churned with waves as dozens of warships sailed toward the mainland. In this battle, Spirit Hall had lost more than twenty thousand soldiers, along with thousands of Black Flame Army troops and Soul Masters.
The Grand Worship had passed away, and four Offerings had fallen. The Third Offering and Second Elder lay unconscious, while the only one of the Seven Offerings still alive and awake was the Fourth Offering, Golden Crocodile. The Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies, Murong Fuhai, had suffered grave injuries, and several other elders had been wounded to varying degrees. The battle had been devastating.
On Sea God Island's side, its naval forces, Sea Soul Beasts, and Sea Spirit Master Legion had been almost entirely wiped out. The Seven Sacred Pillar Guardians had perished, leaving Bo Saixi as the island's only Titled Douluo. Their losses had been equally catastrophic.
Inside the flagship's cabin,
Ju Qinglan and more than a dozen accompanying healing-type Soul Masters used all their strength to activate healing Soul Skills, trying to save Murong Chayue and Xiao Qingmei, who lay on the beds.
About half an hour later, they all stopped. Ju Qinglan wiped the sweat from her brow, then turned and walked out of the cabin.
Seeing her, Murong Fuhai and Qian Daoliu hurried forward.
"How are they? How are my parents?"
"How are the Third Offering and Second Elder?"
Ju Qinglan shook her head and said regretfully,
"Your Holiness, Marshal Murong, the Third Offering and Second Elder have suffered damage to their heart meridians, and their Martial Souls have been injured. We tried everything we could, but it had little effect. We can only ensure they survive for one month."
"What... Cough, cough!" Murong Fuhai's heart lurched. He staggered back a few steps and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Fuhai..." Qian Daoliu steadied Murong Fuhai, then turned to ask, "Is there any other way to save them? Any price is acceptable!"
Ju Qinglan thought for a moment before answering,
"Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless we can find a heavenly treasure grown by absorbing the power of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon. Only then could they be saved." As she spoke, Ju Qinglan shook her head again.
"However, these treasures grow extremely slowly. Some take a thousand years, or even tens of thousands, to mature, and they are exceedingly rare. They're usually found either in places of extreme danger or guarded by powerful Soul Beasts. And the treasure would have to suit their physical conditions as well. Finding one will be difficult..."
Hearing Ju Qinglan's words, Qian Daoliu paused, but quickly recovered. He patted Murong Fuhai on the shoulder.
"Fuhai, don't worry. Once we return, I'll have everyone search the entire continent for heavenly treasures. We'll save the Third Offering and Second Elder."
"Thank you, Your Holiness."
Murong Fuhai understood how difficult this would be, but still nodded. Seeing this, Ju Qinglan said,
"Marshal Murong, you're seriously injured too. You should focus on regulating your breathing first. We'll treat you shortly."
"Mm." Murong Fuhai nodded and turned back to rest. He had controlled the military formation again while gravely injured, and his wounds had only worsened. Then he had been busy withdrawing the troops and standing watch outside the cabin, worried about Murong Chayue and Xiao Qingmei. He had not once sat down to meditate and recover.
If too many injuries accumulated without treatment, they would leave severe hidden wounds. At best, he might never reach a higher realm; at worst, his cultivation would stagnate or even regress.
Five days later, at the ferry outside Spirit City.
On the shore, Wu Xianyun and Murong Huai stood with Spirit Hall's various archbishops, healing-type Soul Masters, and others, watching expectantly.
Ripples flowed across the river. A banner embroidered with the character "Qian" slowly appeared in everyone's sight.
"They're here! They're here!"
Everyone looked up to see warships appearing on the river and slowly approaching the ferry. Seeing this, Wu Xianyun raised her hand and gave an order.
"Send the order. All healing-type Soul Masters, stand by. As soon as the ships dock, treat the wounded soldiers at once!"
"Yes!"
The warships slowly reached the shore. Spirit Hall's soldiers and healing-type Soul Masters hurried forward to treat the injured.
"Dad!"
When Murong Huai saw Murong Fuhai disembark, he and Wu Xianyun hurried over. She rushed forward, looked at Murong Fuhai, and asked anxiously,
"Fuhai, how are you? Why are you so pale?"
"Dad, you're injured!" Murong Huai could tell at a glance that Murong Fuhai had suffered serious wounds.
"I'm fine..." Murong Fuhai waved a hand. Just then, several people came up behind him carrying stretchers. When Murong Huai saw who was on them, his heart lurched. A terrible feeling seized him, and he ran forward.
"Grandpa! Grandma!"
The people lying on the stretchers were Murong Chayue and Xiao Qingmei. Murong Huai looked at Qian Daoliu behind him, tears in his eyes.
"Teacher, what happened to my grandparents?"
Hearing Murong Huai's young voice, Qian Daoliu could not bring himself to look at him. He truly did not know how to explain it to the boy. He had taken away his grandparents and father, yet now two of them lay unconscious and near death, their survival uncertain, while the third had suffered grave wounds.
"Huai'er, I'm sorry. During the battle, your grandparents were ambushed by the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King. They took the attack for others, and their heart meridians and Martial Souls were injured. They haven't woken up."
Murong Huai froze at the words. He clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot. Looking at his unconscious grandparents, tears spilled from his eyes.
"So it was the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King. Damn it..."
"Quick, healing-type Soul Masters!" Wu Xianyun hurriedly brought them forward to treat the two. Ju Qinglan and the three others who had disembarked behind her came to stand beside Murong Huai.
"Alas, Hall Master Wu, it's no use. The Third Offering and Second Elder are too badly injured. There's nothing we can do. Even giving everything we have, we can only prolong their lives by a month."
"What..." Wu Xianyun and Murong Huai felt their hearts sink. Murong Huai looked at Ju Qinglan and asked anxiously,
"Isn't there anything we can do?"
"Unless we find a heavenly treasure that has grown for a thousand or ten thousand years. The energy within it might be enough to heal them. Otherwise, there's no other way..." Ju Qinglan said, lowering her head.
At Ju Qinglan's words, everyone's hearts sank. Heavenly treasures were incredibly rare; they would not be easy to find. Murong Huai thought for a moment, then murmured,
"Heavenly treasures, heavenly treasures... Right, heavenly treasures! I know where to find some!"
At Murong Huai's words, everyone was startled. Murong Fuhai hurriedly asked,
"What? Huai'er, you know where there are heavenly treasures? You're not joking, are you?"
Murong Huai nodded. "That's right. I know where there are some, and plenty of them. They're in the Sunset Forest!"
"The Sunset Forest?" Qian Daoliu paused, then immediately understood and said, "Good. I'll send people to look for them right away!"
"Teacher, don't rush. You don't know the location. First, get the army settled and take Grandma and Grandpa back to the estate. Then I'll lead people to the Sunset Forest myself," Murong Huai said softly.
"Good. Let's head back first!"
The deaths of five Offerings were a great tragedy for Spirit Hall, and everyone was in low spirits.
Murong Huai returned to the estate with the others. He turned to look toward the distant sea and made up his mind.
"Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, I, Murong Huai, will kill you!"
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