Step Up the Search

Spirit Empire, Weihai City, Salted Fish Village.

"Sure enough, staying home is still the most comfortable." Su Long spoke with satisfaction.

Heavenly Dragon Sect truly had everything going for it. Whether it was the living conditions or one's status within the sect, there was nothing to criticize.

But that was not how things should be measured. When it came to how they felt, Su Long and his wife still found their own little fishing village more comfortable.

Compared to the rule-bound Heavenly Dragon Sect, the unrestrained life in Salted Fish Village seemed far more special.

Besides, no matter how suitable the residence built for them by Heavenly Dragon Sect was for Sea Soul Masters, it was not the real ocean in the end.

Now that they had returned to Salted Fish Village and faced the salty sea breeze that blew in from time to time, Su Long and his wife knew that this was their true home.

Rather than returning to Heavenly Dragon Sect, they would much rather stay in Salted Fish Village.

Thus, after discussing it, the couple asked their son for his opinion.

"Son, you've been smart since you were little, and you've always put us at ease. Now that you've awakened your martial soul and become a Soul Master, we're even more relieved..."

The moment Su Ming heard his father's words, he guessed what he was getting at.

Without even raising his head, Su Ming said:

"Dad, if you and Mom prefer staying home, then stay."

"It's not a big deal for me to return to Heavenly Dragon Sect alone. Isn't it just like going somewhere farther away for school?"

"I'm not some sniveling little kid. I really don't know what you're worried about."

After hearing their son's words, the weight hanging over Su Long's heart finally lifted completely.

He praised him, "Good son!"

Meanwhile, Zhou Yun said seriously:

"Then once you return to Heavenly Dragon Sect tomorrow, study hard and listen carefully to your granduncle."

"If you miss us, write us a letter. Your father and I will go see you at Heavenly Dragon Sect right away..."

That night, just as he had done over the past few days, Su Ming openly left the house and headed toward the beach behind his home.

Because he had specifically reminded them several times beforehand, the accompanying guards who usually protected Su Ming in secret did not follow him this time.

Actually, during the first few days, the guards had secretly followed him several times.

Su Ming could understand that.

After all, he was running outside alone in the middle of the night. If anything happened, it would be no laughing matter.

But for several days in a row, whether by day or night, Su Ming had continued reporting to the beach as usual, and nothing had ever happened.

Only after confirming that there were no hidden dangers did the guards finally relax and stop following him.

At first glance, these men seemed to have gone against Sect Master Yu Xingtuo's intention of having Su Ming protected at all times.

But in reality, after ensuring that everything was completely safe, the guards had made this decision to win Su Ming's favor.

First, this beach was just an ordinary beach. There was no danger here, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with Sea Soul Beasts.

Second, aside from Su Ming's family, there were no Soul Masters in all of Salted Fish Village.

Lastly, every time Su Ming came to the beach, he merely sat there and watched the sea.

Having completely ruled out any danger, the guards naturally followed Su Ming's wishes.

They all knew that Su Ming was Heavenly Dragon Sect's future.

If they did not curry favor with him now, then when would they?

Besides, in a sense, the guards had not disobeyed the sect master's orders.

That was because they were following another order: obeying Su Ming's instructions.

"Little White, how is it? Have there been any clues these past few days?"

Sitting on the beach, Su Ming first used Listening to the Sound of All Things to make sure the guards had not followed him.

Only then did he communicate with Little White, the whale waiting for him in the distant depths of the sea.

"Still nothing, Su Ming. Why don't you give me some more things? I'll find more companions to help you search."

"My companions all really like that food. They're willing to help you."

Little White shook her head in the sea, indicating that there had still been no results during this period.

"Little White, step things up. I really have to leave in a few days, and I won't be able to return for a long time."

After thinking for a moment, Su Ming took a large bag of seafood from his storage bracelet.

Before, he had remained in Salted Fish Village. Even if he wanted to enlist more Sea Soul Beasts to help spread word and search for the Demon Empress, he had no way to do so.

Now that he had returned from outside and had specifically bought a great many things, his purpose was to get enough Sea Soul Beasts to help him.

"Don't worry, Su Ming. We'll work hard!!"

After comforting Su Ming, Little White summoned her companions and had them come over to take away the good things.

Demon Empress, has the message still not reached you?

As Little White and her kin departed, the surface of the sea returned to calm once more.

Su Ming simply sat there, quietly gazing at the boundless ocean.

His plan was actually very simple.

Rather than having Little White and the others search for the Demon Empress, it would be more accurate to say that he was using Little White's mouth to spread a message.

After all, expecting Sea Soul Beasts with ten years, or at most a hundred years, of cultivation to search for a Demon Empress with hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation was tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

And if those Sea Soul Beasts learned the Demon Empress's true identity and actual cultivation, they would probably no longer be willing to work for Su Ming.

So, at present, only Little White knew for special reasons that Su Ming was searching for the Deep Sea Demon Whale King.

The other Sea Soul Beasts who had come to help did not actually know anything. They were merely spreading Su Ming's message.

As for that message, it was the key.

Demon Empress, don't you want to avenge your husband, whose eye was once gouged out and who was ultimately killed by his successor?

It was very direct, but it only needed to work.

Because he had to avoid words such as Sea God and Tang San, he could only phrase it this way.

Su Ming believed that as long as the Demon Empress heard this message, she would definitely react.

Even if the Demon Empress had not yet taken the title Demon Empress, she would certainly know that the Demon Empress in the message referred to her.

The reason was very simple. Her husband had one eye gouged out by the First-Generation Sea God twenty thousand years ago, then was killed by his successor Tang San ten thousand years ago.

She would definitely understand, then use her own abilities to find Su Ming.

If the message truly could not reach the Demon Empress, then Su Ming could only stop.

With his current abilities, he had already done everything he could.

If even this did not work, Su Ming could only temporarily abandon the plan and wait until he had sufficient cultivation to enter the sea himself in the future.

Judging by the time, the next batch of little helpers should be arriving soon.

At the same time, Su Ming took out the things he had prepared from his bracelet.

You could not put all your eggs in one basket.

During his time back in Salted Fish Village, Su Ming had been using his ability to communicate with more Sea Soul Beasts and have them help spread the message.