The one by her side was indeed the very merfolk she had been searching for.
Right now, its gaze was filled with adoration as it looked at Ye Chuxue, eyes soft with deep emotion.
A few days ago, it had encountered a powerful sea beast at the bottom of the ocean. Just when it was about to be devoured, Ye Chuxue appeared and drove the beast away, saving its life.
From that moment on, it followed her without hesitation.
Ye Chuxue had shown it kindness without asking for anything in return, not even attempting to form a contract. That made it feel even more grateful.
It had already decided that as long as Ye Chuxue remained beneath the sea, it would stay by her side.
Thinking this, its eyes grew even gentler.
But then, its thoughts drifted to the other merfolk, and it let out a small sigh.
"Was the little merfolk doing well? Was it safe? So much time had passed, and it still hadn't come back..."
But it didn't dare leave to search either. The little merfolk had warned it that there were dangerous people everywhere beyond the sea.
...
At the topmost level of the immortal residence, a figure reclined on a chaise lounge.
She wore a long, flowing purple gown, the hem trailing behind her like a blooming violet rose—beautiful and dangerously sharp.
Her face was peerless, radiating lazy elegance. In front of her was a water mirror, reflecting the figures of several cultivators.
Among them were Song Wanníng and Ye Chuxue, as well as Feng Lanxi and Yu Cheng, all completely absorbed in deciphering formation arrays.
Of them, Yu Cheng's performance was clearly the most impressive, and his trials began at a higher difficulty than the others.
Feng Jiuxiao's lips curved into a faint smile.
Her gaze lingered on Song Wanníng.
Within Song Wanníng's body, she could sense both demonic energy and spiritual energy. Now that was interesting.
But upon closer inspection, her talent in formation arts was rather average—far inferior to that man, and even behind the youngest girl with the lowest cultivation.
Feng Jiuxiao's eyes shifted to Ye Chuxue. Though her cultivation was low, her talent in formations was surprisingly good.
In just a short time, she had already mastered a Tier-Two formation, and had even begun extrapolating her own techniques from it. This kind of innate talent was exactly what made a good formation master.
Among the Four Pillars of cultivation, formation mastery was the most complex and difficult to learn.
It required an acute sensitivity to space. Without innate ability, even a lifetime of study might yield no progress. That was why formation masters were extremely picky in choosing disciples. Only those with exceptional talent were even considered.
Now, it seemed only two candidates were viable.
Feng Jiuxiao's gaze darkened. Her time was running out. If she didn't choose an heir soon, this final sliver of divine sense would dissipate.
Back when she ascended to the Immortal Realm from this world, she had finally reached the rank of Da Luo Golden Immortal. But then she heard that the lower realm had collapsed into chaos, its lands fractured, its people devastated.
The once-whole great world had shattered into countless fragments, and no one knew when it would revive again.
So, at the brink of collapse, she cast out two immortal residences—one into the lower world, and the other into the spirit realm. She had done it to leave behind hope, to pass on her legacy, and to keep the flame of ascension alive.
Most of all, she hoped that one day, someone would inherit her knowledge, master formation arts, and find a way to merge the two fractured realms, restoring them into one unified world.
She had waited hundreds of thousands of years.
She had chosen a few inheritors before—one had ascended, the others had perished.
Now, all she could do was place her last hopes in these few.
But her divine sense would not last much longer. She had to make a choice.
Feng Jiuxiao looked once more at Ye Chuxue and Yu Cheng. As for Feng Lanxi and Song Wanníng, she had long since eliminated them as options.
Song Wanníng, of course, had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. But she understood one thing clearly—no matter how talented she was, someone like that would never choose her.
Let alone the fact that her understanding of formations was average at best.
So she had no interest in the so-called inheritance. Her only goal was to find the person behind all this and snatch the immortal artifact before it reached Ye Chuxue's hands.
Her animosity toward Ye Chuxue had never been subtle.
Every opportunity that came Ye Chuxue's way, she intended to take—none left behind.
"Master, you did it!"
The merfolk beamed with joy at the sight of the formation Song Wanníng had just replicated. It pointed to the array plate and was about to speak when the scenery around them suddenly changed. The two were transported into a new chamber.
"Oh! This must be the next trial!"
The merfolk had complete faith in its master. In its eyes, she was powerful, mysterious, and unstoppable. A mere formation trial was nothing to worry about.
Song Wanníng didn't bother correcting it. She stepped up to the next formation and dove straight into study.
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, seven days had gone by.
Song Wanníng had successfully passed three more trials and was now stuck at the fifth level.
Meanwhile, Ye Chuxue and Yu Cheng had already reached the sixth, just one step away from the final challenge.
But the further they advanced, the harder the tests became. No one could predict how long the final stages would take.
Song Wanníng felt the urgency creeping in.
She feared that by the time she made it up there, the immortal artifact would already be in Ye Chuxue's hands. And once that happened, seizing it would be far more difficult.
She'd seen this exact scenario too many times in her past life—every time she arrived, someone had already taken what should have been hers.
This life, she refused to be second again.
Fueled by frustration, her movements quickened. With each stroke of the carving knife, a new formation emerged on the array plate.
"Whew—"
Song Wanníng exhaled deeply. She had finally figured it out.
"Let's go!"
Without delay, she brought the merfolk with her to the sixth floor. The moment she stepped into the room, she headed straight for the next array and began studying it.
This was a battle against time—there was no room for hesitation.
But when she got a proper look at the formation, her brow furrowed deeply.
This... this was an Eighth-Grade formation—the Nine-Turn Soul Rebirth Array?
A shock rippled through her heart.
It would have been one thing to use an Eighth-Grade array for the final challenge. But they had to use the most difficult one?
The Nine-Turn Soul Rebirth Array could forcibly swap people's souls. It was practically a forbidden technique, a half-evil array.
Whether it was used for good or ill depended entirely on the one who laid it down.
Why would the one behind the inheritance leave such a formation here?
Song Wanníng steadied her thoughts, cast aside all distractions, and began analyzing the array once more.
But it was daunting. She wasn't sure...
While Song Wanníng focused, the merfolk began looking around the room with growing confusion.
It curiously poked at objects nearby, its eyes full of disbelief.
As if unable to trust what it was seeing, it wandered to a corner, picked up a seashell, and gently blew into it.
A familiar tone echoed out. A familiar seashell.
The merfolk had just realized something astonishing...
After hesitating a few moments, it returned to Song Wanníng's side and interrupted her focus.
"M... Master... this place...
…I think this is my... old... old home..."
Song Wanníng's eyes shot open.
"What did you say?"
===
If you curious about the stage beyond Mahayana, you can comment below, and I will put the link. Of course it also somewhat 'general' as I patch it from many novel. You can use it as refrence.