"Gulp... just kill me!"
Hmm?
Hearing the strange noise from the Deep Sea Demon Whale below, Long Yuan froze for a moment.
What kind of bizarre turn was this?
Although he wasn't sure whether the creature had been scared witless by him, he confirmed that it was a female whale.
Long Yuan slowly descended from the sky and landed on the enormous whale's back.
However, the moment he made contact, the Deep Sea Demon Whale beneath his feet, as large as a small island, shuddered violently several times. Instinctively, it tried to dive, churning up sizeable waves across the sea.
Long Yuan saw what it was trying to do. He stomped down hard with his right foot, pressing his Dragon Might against it once more. "Stay put!"
Perhaps the jolt of Dragon Might had brought it back to its senses a little. The Deep Sea Demon Whale abruptly stopped trying to dive.
"Woo~"
A cry of indeterminate meaning echoed across the sea, and a thick column of water spurted from its blowhole.
"Tell me, what's your purpose in making the typhoon stop here? If you can't give me a good explanation, prepare to die!"
Long Yuan's voice was icy, his authority beyond question. His Dragon Might surged again, and golden Dragon Qi Shield nearly solidified, like countless golden chains locking the Deep Sea Demon Whale's body tight.
"I-I was just swimming around in the sea. When I passed by here, I suddenly felt something drawing me in, so I decided to stay a little longer. As for the typhoon, I really didn't bring it here on purpose! I could only make it stop here to avoid being spotted..."
The Deep Sea Demon Whale explained itself in a pitiful, aggrieved voice.
It had never considered what problems the typhoon might cause. After all, it was just a whale; it didn't live on land.
Besides, the conflict between Soul Beasts and humans had existed for ages. It didn't think there was anything wrong with what it had done.
But this time, it had been caught by a "human," so it could only accept its bad luck. That was why it had said "just kill me" earlier.
Something was drawing it in?
Long Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked coldly, "You can take human form, right?"
"I can..."
As soon as she spoke, countless streaks of watery blue light shone from her body. Her enormous form gradually shrank until she finally took human shape and landed in front of Long Yuan.
This was...
A rare flicker of amazement crossed Long Yuan's eyes.
In human form, the Deep Sea Demon Whale had long hair that fell past her shoulders, skin as white as snow, and delicate, fair features. Her eyes were as clear as the ocean, a pure watery blue that seemed to hold the mysteries of the deep. She had a slender, well-proportioned figure and delicate legs. A flowing, pale blue dress rippled around her like seawater, highlighting her lively, alluring air.
Unlike the usually violent Deep Sea Demon Whales, she somehow gave Long Yuan a sense of calm.
With that unusual air about her, and as a member of the Deep Sea Demon Whale Clan, Long Yuan understood. "Do you have a name?"
"A name?" She blankly bit her finger. "I remember... Mom and Dad gave me a name a long time ago..."
"I think it was... it was..."
"Lan Fozi?"
"Yes! Lan Fozi!" The girl clapped her hands and hopped happily twice, then suddenly looked confused. "Wait, that's not right. How did you know?"
So she really was the daughter of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King and the Demon Empress from the original story...
Seeing the sudden wariness in Lan Fozi's eyes, Long Yuan sighed helplessly.
This can't be right. Why are all the people I meet so dim-witted?
Looking at her utterly innocent face, Long Yuan couldn't help feeling a little guilty.
"I see! Then... then I'll go with you!"
In the end, after Long Yuan's silver tongue had worked its magic (he'd talked her into it), Lan Fozi successfully spilled everything she knew.
It turned out that Lan Fozi had lived in the deep sea all these years. Perhaps she'd been protected too well, because she was rather naïve.
After all, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had once been a million-year Soul Beast and the true ruler of the sea. How could he possibly have let his daughter come to harm?
Even after the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King was killed by Tang San, her mother was still there. With the Whale Pearl the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had left behind, life had been a little difficult, and she'd occasionally been hunted, but she'd never faced any real danger.
Later, the Demon Empress became the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, leaving Lan Fozi to live alone in the sea. By then, Lan Fozi had cultivated for nearly three hundred thousand years. Add the fearsome natural gifts of the Deep Sea Demon Whale Clan, and she was among those who could roam the sea without fear.
Not long ago, after receiving a message from her mother, Lan Fozi took human form and went to land. However, she hadn't seen her mother. According to an uncle who reeked of death, her mother had gone into seclusion.
"A guy who reeked of death?" Long Yuan scratched his head.
"Yeah. He was always wearing armor, and gray mist kept pouring off him." Lan Fozi recalled the man's appearance.
Always wearing armor, and reeking of death... Could it have been Pluto Douluo Halosa?
Long Yuan guessed to himself. As for Lan Fozi not seeing her mother, given what had happened in the original story, the Demon Empress had probably gone berserk again.
After all, at this point, the Holy Spirit Cult still hadn't obtained the medicine that could reliably suppress her emotions.
Of course, if you asked how Long Yuan had convinced (talked into) Lan Fozi, the answer was that he'd reasoned with her.
First, he'd made his point physically, with Dragon Might and his fists.
Then he'd given her a long lecture about things like the greatness of the Dragon Clan, and, most importantly, the origins of Soul Beasts.
With Long Yuan using his divine consciousness to depict the Golden Dragon King's former, magnificent figure in her Sea of Consciousness, he'd settled things in no time.
"My lord, where are we going now?"
On the way, Lan Fozi took Long Yuan's hand and asked him cautiously.
Thanks to Long Yuan's efforts, Lan Fozi had successfully adopted the same form of address as Di Tian and the others.
"I'll take you to meet another lord first. Remember to show him respect, understand?"
"Yes!"
Long Yuan looked back. Without Lan Fozi's power holding it in place, the typhoon had begun moving again, slowly.
In a few hours, the outer spiral cloud bands would likely drift away from Eastsea City. Within a day at most, the torrential rain brought by the typhoon would stop completely.
"Tsk. I've just cut five days off Na'er's vacation. Was that a bit too much?" Long Yuan scratched his head.
But it wouldn't be right to send Lan Fozi back to hold the typhoon in place again.
"Never mind. I'm sure Na'er, along with all the hardworking people and students of Eastsea City, will understand my good intentions."
Long Yuan beat his wings and flew straight toward Eastsea Academy with Lan Fozi.
As for Tang Wulin, he'd already asked Lu Fengnian to look after him. As long as he didn't die, that was good enough.