"You'd be a fool to say you know how!" the Sea Witch muttered. "Whatever, you swim so fast, I'm tired! Just carry me!"
Without waiting for Qi Ling's reply, the Sea Witch reverted to human form and climbed onto Qi Ling's back. Excitedly stroking Qi Ling's dragon scales, she exclaimed, "Wow! This is the first time I've ever ridden on someone else's back! Amazing! Are these the legendary dragon scales? They feel so good to touch!"
"Hey, don't move! Sit tight if you're going to ride!" Qi Ling said helplessly. "Hold on tight, I'm going to speed up! You just need to direct the direction!"
The Sea Witch initially didn't take it seriously, thinking, "How fast can you go?" But after Qi Ling suddenly accelerated, the Sea Witch was almost thrown off by Qi Ling and had to hold on tightly to Qi Ling's body.
The distance from Sea God Island to the Mermaid Territory is vast; even at the speed of the Mermaid Clan, it would take a full week to reach it. However, riding on Qi Ling's back, the two of them arrived near the Mermaid Territory in just one day and one night.
"Wow, Qi Ling, I really wonder if you were originally some kind of Sea Soul Beast." The Sea Witch looked at the familiar scenery around her and couldn't help but exclaim, "Even a Demon Soul Great White Shark couldn't keep moving at full speed like this all day long, don't you get tired?"
"Hehe, sorry, but I have the best stamina. I can keep up with this kind of exercise all day," Qi Ling laughed. "Alright, since we're almost in the mermaid territory, you can show us the way. I don't want any more of that ridiculous situation of accidentally wandering into territory and being misunderstood."
"Oh dear, no, no, we Mermaid Clan are very hospitable, we wouldn't do such a thing," the Sea Witch said. "Besides, I know all the patrol teams responsible for patrolling our territory, they wouldn't... wait, that's strange, why aren't any of the patrol teams patrolling here today?"
Qi Ling frowned and said, "Although I don't want to jinx it, I smelled a faint scent of blood in the seawater! And I can tell that the blood isn't coming from the same person; something bad has probably happened here."
Upon hearing this, the Sea Witch immediately exclaimed anxiously, "What? How could this be? Could it be those guys again? Those persistent ghosts!"
" Qi Ling, let's go inside quickly, I'm afraid it will be too late if we delay any longer!"
Now that he was already here, Qi Ling naturally had to go in and see what had happened. So he transformed back into human form and said, "Let's go, but you have to tell me first who is causing you trouble."
" Qi Ling, perhaps you've heard some unpleasant rumors about our Mermaid Clan on the high seas?" the Sea Witch said. "In some legends, we Charm humans with our songs, then drag them to the bottom of the sea and devour their flesh!"
"Yes, I have heard about it," Qi Ling said. "Some legends say that you mermaids are angels of the sea who will save sailors who fall overboard, while other legends say that you are Charm demons, the most evil creatures in the ocean."
"Actually, they're right," the Sea Witch said, "But the ones who did those evil deeds weren't us, but a race very similar to us: the Sea Demon Tribe!"
"The Siren Tribe? What kind of race is this? What does it have to do with you?" Qi Ling asked in confusion.
"They are a race very similar to ours, also with human bodies and fish tails. However, the Sea Demon Tribe are cunning and cruel by nature, even feeding on human flesh and blood, and are therefore cursed by the sea!"
"In contrast to the fact that most of our Mermaid Tribe are beautiful, most of the Sea Demon Tribe are ugly and do not conform to human aesthetics at all. It is precisely because of this that the Sea Demon Tribe has always regarded us as their enemies and has been looking for an opportunity to exterminate our race."
"Wait a minute, if the Sea Demon Tribe are so ugly, how do they Charm people on the sea and drag them into the ocean?" Qi Ling asked doubtfully. "They can't possibly only target those who are hungry and indiscriminate, can they? That would be too disgusting."
"No, Qi Ling, they rely on their singing!" the Sea Witch said. "Unlike our inspiring songs, the Sea Demon Tribe's songs can Charm people, making them see themselves as unparalleled beauties, thus successfully luring them into the sea."
"Humans with weak Spiritual Power, even Soul Master, cannot resist the songs of these sea monsters. Moreover, because they often feed on Soul Master, they are stronger than us."
Hearing this, Qi Ling frowned. Even if it was a dog-eat-dog world, he was still a human. The fact that a race that preyed on humans made him feel uncomfortable.
"If that's the case, why haven't these Sea Demon Tribe attacked you all this time, considering you're stronger and more brutal than them, instead of waiting until now?"
"It's very simple. We Mermaid Clan were once companions of the Lord Sea God, and therefore received Lord Sea God blessings and help," the Sea Witch said. "In the temple of our mermaid territory, there is a protective magic circle!"
"Once this magic array is activated, it will form a protective shield with a diameter of ten kilometers, protecting the mermaid territory and preventing anyone from intruding! This is our Mermaid Clan's greatest asset."
"But I didn't see any protective shield-like structure around here, nor did I see any similar energy fluctuations," Qi Ling said. "Could it be that your so-called protective formation isn't activated at all?"
"Yes, that's what I'm wondering about too. Something clearly happened in the territory, so why hasn't the protective magic circle been activated?" the Sea Witch said. "Something else must have happened. Qi Ling, let's hurry over there!"
Inside the temple in the Mermaid territory, a bizarre scene was unfolding: the Mermaid Tribe chieftain, Haige'er, the Sea Witch's father, was coughing up blood and being trampled underfoot, unable to move.
The person stepping on Haige'er, to be precise, was a creature that looked like a human. He had ears like fish fins, hair like seaweed, eyes like frogs, and a mouth like a carp. Rather than a human, he was more like a monster cobbled together from various parts.
Without a doubt, this guy is the Sea Demon Tribe that the Sea Witch mentioned, and his background is even more special, because he is the patriarch of the Sea Demon Clan.