Into The Sea

In the lightless desert covered by thick clouds, several figures rushed out of the barrier, heading towards the center of the storm.

The closer they got, the stronger the wind became. Their clothes billowed wildly, and the damp moisture clung to their skin. The sand whipped against their faces like dull knives, forcing them to land and trudge forward with difficulty.

Suddenly, the deep sand beneath their feet turned into a softer, more solid surface. Lan Wu instinctively looked down and saw tiny green sprouts spreading across the ground.

She froze, her brow furrowing in confusion.

How could there be… in a place like this…

“Lan, Lan Wu…”

A hand gripped hers tightly. Lan Wu turned and saw Lan Yuan staring ahead in shock. She followed her gaze.

The slender figure at the center of the thunderstorm had knelt down at some point. She was pouring a steady stream of blue demonic energy into the ground. Vibrant green plants, symbols of life, sprouted from beneath her hands. In the blink of an eye, the desert had turned into an oasis for miles around.

Lan Wu’s eyes widened as she finally realized what Lan Yueyao was doing.

Merfolk were spiritual beings born at the beginning of time, living and dying with water.

And water was the source of life.

Lan Wu trembled and murmured, “No, no…”

She stumbled forward against the wind. Another bolt of heavenly thunder struck, and the woman swayed, coughing up blood. Yet, the oasis around her continued to grow rapidly.

She was using the heavenly tribulation to accelerate the process.

The demons had already retreated to safety, staring at the ominous sky. A powerful storm swirled around the woman, with crackling electricity dancing within it. The moment Lan Wu stepped into it, she was stung by the intense energy.

Ji Lingyue released her cloud-like demonic energy, enveloping the group and shielding them from the stray lightning. Lan Wu struggled forward, finally stumbling to her side. “Stop!”

Lan Yueyao seemed not to hear her, her face growing paler by the second, yet the demonic energy flowing from her palms remained vast and powerful.

“Lan Yuan!”

Lan Yuan snapped out of her trance and knelt beside Lan Yueyao, struggling to pull her arm. “You can’t do this! You can’t! You can’t just abandon everything!”

The woman blinked and slowly looked up at the twin sisters in front of her.

So similar…

She let out a silent sigh, her heart no longer filled with the hatred and resentment of the past. Instead, it was filled with a long-lost sense of peace. “From now on, it’s up to the two of you.”

“No!” Lan Wu said frantically. “It’s not over yet! Lan Zhichuan… Lan Zhichuan is still alive! You haven’t finished your revenge. You can’t just leave like this! Please, we can’t do this without you!”

“Why not?” Lan Yueyao said softly “The two of you are the princesses of the merfolk, and you are Chunhan’s daughters. You must not underestimate yourselves, and you can’t… always rely on me.”

“But…”

“Don’t you understand?” Lan Yueyao interrupted her, her smiling eyes filled with tears. “I can never return to the Kunlun Sea.”

The barrier before her, the demons behind her, the fear and hatred, the divisions between humans and demons—they were all chains binding her in place.

In this life, she could never return to her homeland.

“Besides, I’m tired,” Lan Yueyao said softly. “Lan Wu, I’m tired.”

Lan Wu stared at her, unable to speak.

“The fragmented souls I collected… are all locked in the Eternal Lamp in the royal palace. After I’m gone, go and release her,” she said, a faint smile on her lips. “That way, I can leave with her.”

Lan Yuan shook her head, choking back a sob. “Without that last fragment of her soul, even if she reincarnates, she won’t be whole. In her next life, she might be a fool, a madwoman. She won’t recognize you, and you won’t recognize her. Don’t you understand?”

Lan Yueyao nodded softly. “I understand. But I never hoped to meet her again in the next life. I’ve already caused her enough suffering. If time could be reversed, if we could really go back to the past, I’d rather… never have met her.”

Lan Wu trembled, tears falling and staining her knees.

The woman smiled gently, raising her hands to pull the two mermaids into her embrace.

The thunder roared, and demonic energy began to dissipate from every inch of her body. Lan Yueyao closed her eyes and said softly. “To be honest, I still don’t like you two very much.”

As her calm voice echoed, the barren desert sprouted new life. Lush grass surged toward the barrier like waves, but when it touched the barrier, a faint blue light rippled across it. The people instinctively stepped back, and under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the light slowly climbed up the barrier, repairing the fragile cracks and spreading outward.

“But what can I do? You look so much like her…”

The deep blue demonic energy silently merged with the golden barrier, flickering and illuminating Ye Qingjun’s dark eyes. She looked up, staring intently at the changing barrier, murmuring. “She’s… she’s reforging the boundary.”

“Your mother was the kindest and most righteous person I’ve ever known. So don’t disappoint her, and don’t disappoint me…”

At the same time, a touch of emerald green surged into the demon realm, quickly covering the three hundred miles of yellow sand, heading straight for Yandu. Withered trees came back to life, and dry streams began to flow. The gray, barren land was gradually covered in lush greenery. A boom sounded, and moist droplets of water fell from the sky. The demon children running in the streets stopped, stretching out their hands in delight. “Rain, it’s rain! It’s raining!”

Lan Yueyao sighed softly. “Kill Lan Zhichuan. End all of this.”

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, its piercing sound like the wails of countless spirits. Ji Lingyue looked up uneasily at the faint purple light flickering in the sky.

The final heavenly thunder was about to strike.

She turned to the figures kneeling on the ground and called out anxiously. “Lan Wu!”

Tears soaked Lan Wu’s clothes, while pearls fell from Lan Yuan’s eyes. Lan Yueyao chuckled and tightened her arms, hugging them tightly for the first and last time.

“Live well.”

With that, she placed her hands on their shoulders and pushed them away without hesitation. The wind howled, instantly forming a solid wall. Lan Wu stumbled to her feet but could no longer reach her.

“Aunt!”

“Why are you crying like that?” Lan Yueyao tilted her head, a helpless smile on her face. “I’m giving this back to you.”

A glowing pearl flew from her palm and landed in Lan Wu’s arms.

“I wanted to refine it, but you’re just too weak. This bit of cultivation is nothing to me,” The woman smiled, her voice gentle. “Merfolk, after all, should always have their pearl.”

Tiny points of light, like fireflies, flew out of her body, illuminating the area. Her skin became almost transparent, as if she could disappear at any moment.

At that moment, a figure landed beside them. “My Queen.”

Ji Lingyue was shocked and was about to attack when Lan Yueyao said, “You’re here.”

“I came as soon as I received your orders,” Yun Chuhe said, looking up at the scene before her. Her usually calm face showed a hint of surprise. “But I never expected… you would…”

“No need to say more,” Lan Yueyao said wearily. “Yuan Changning is dead, Xibo and Ji Xing are severely injured and captured. After I’m gone, you will be the last Demon Lord of the demon realm.”

Yun Chuhe was stunned, staring at her intently.

“You’re smart, much smarter than the other three. All these years, aside from meticulously carrying out my orders, you’ve never done anything else,” Lan Yueyao said hoarsely. “But did you think I didn’t notice your little schemes?”

Without waiting for Yun Chuhe’s reply, she continued, “I turned a blind eye because the people you secretly released were all insignificant.”

Yun Chuhe bit her lip and knelt. “I apologize, my Queen.”

Lan Yueyao sighed and smiled. “You will make a worthy Demon Queen.”

Yun Chuhe was stunned. She looked up. “My Queen…”

Lan Yueyao shook her head. Silver hair fell down, and her weak voice was quickly carried away by the wind. “After I’m gone, tell all the demons that these ten years weren’t for nothing. The demons who died didn’t die in vain. Tell them… I am sorry for everything that happened…”

Before she could finish, a deafening crash echoed from the sky. Purple lightning tore through the clouds, striking down with overwhelming force.

The woman closed her eyes, her face gradually fading into the deep blue light. “Tell them… to go home. The three hundred miles of yellow sand will become an oasis that will never dry up…”

“This place… will be an eternal spring.”

The storm surged, and Ji Lingyue’s pupils contracted. She lunged forward, shielding the two mermaids with her demonic mist.

Amidst the deafening roar, Lan Wu hugged her tightly, turning over and protecting her. Ji Lingyue’s eyes widened, and she called out in the darkness, “Lan Wu—”

A powerful shockwave hit, and Ji Lingyue’s chest tightened. She instantly lost consciousness.

Drip.

Cold, drizzling rain fell on her face. Lan Wu’s lashes fluttered, and after a moment, she slowly opened her eyes.

Before her was Ji Lingyue’s tear-streaked face. Seeing Lan Wu awake, Ji Lingyue laughed and cried at the same time, pulling her into a tight embrace. “You scared me to death!”

Lan Yuan, annoyed, said, “Are you crazy? You’re so weak, and you still tried to protect her!”

Lan Wu was stunned for a moment, then murmured, “Aunt…”

The surroundings fell silent. Lan Wu’s heart pounded as she struggled to her feet, looking toward where Lan Yueyao had been.

But there was no one there, only a massive crater.

Lan Wu’s face turned pale as she staggered forward, peering into the pit.

The bottom of the crater was covered in lush green grass, but there was no sign of the woman.

Ji Lingyue, standing behind her, said hoarsely, “When one disperses all their cultivation, their flesh and blood also dissipate into the world.”

Lan Wu clenched her fists, standing at the edge for a long time. Finally, she took a step forward.

“Lan Wu…”

“It’s okay,” Lan Wu raised a hand to stop her, taking a deep breath to steady her trembling voice. “I just… I just want to see…”

Ji Lingyue fell silent, watching as Lan Wu made her way to the bottom of the crater.

The drizzle fell at an angle. The silver-haired mermaid knelt unsteadily, carefully placing her hands on the ground. Fresh, green leaves sprouted from between her fingers.

Her nose twitched, and she blinked rapidly, but a tear still slipped from the corner of her eye, solidifying into a flawless pearl that fell into the grass.

She froze, her hands instinctively clenching into fists. A tearful laugh escaped her lips.

“Ha…”

Pearls scattered among the green grass. At some point, the drizzling rain stopped, and the thick clouds began to disperse, revealing a sliver of light.

The night was over.

The first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, falling on Lan Wu’s pale hand.

A gentle breeze swept past, rustling the grass. From the soil came a faint rustling sound. Lan Wu’s lashes trembled, and she lifted her tear-filled eyes to see a small, snow-white flower emerging from the ground.

The flower was delicate and slender, its stem tender, but its petals were as pure and translucent as a snow lotus on a high mountain. Bathed in sunlight, it shimmered with a dazzling brilliance.

She stared at it for a long time before finally recognizing it.

The Guling flower.

Guling flower.

A flower of hell, born from the flesh and blood of countless lives, was blooming quietly after Lan Yueyao vanished from this world.