The merfolk flinched under Song Wanníng's sharp gaze, stumbling back a few steps and stammering, "Th-this place... it's exactly the same as my old home!"
"It really might be... my old home!!!"
The more it spoke, the more confident it sounded. It didn't know how or why, but this place mirrored its lair down to the tiniest detail—even the shell it had picked up years ago looked exactly the same.
A glint of calculation flashed through Song Wanníng's eyes. She set down the array disc and finally took the time to closely inspect the room.
The decorations were sparse: a stone bed, curtains of woven seagrass, and a glass jar filled with tiny fish. Simple to the extreme, it was nothing like the other chambers they'd passed through so far.
She had been too focused before, too impatient. Now, new suspicions began to surface.
Song Wanníng's brows lowered. "Look around. Is there anything missing from this room?"
"Missing?" The merfolk blinked in confusion and wandered through the chamber again.
"What's missing... what's missing..."
Muttering to itself, it frantically patted and probed every corner. Its anxious eyes darted around the space.
Suddenly, it gasped.
"I remember now! The pearl! A pearl I've had since birth is missing!!!"
"That pearl has been with me for hundreds of years. I always kept it close. After I built this nest with Xiao Jiao, I left the pearl here. But now it's gone! Could Xiao Jiao have taken it?!"
Its brows furrowed deeper with doubt. That pearl had never shown anything special in all those years. Could that be what Song Wanníng meant?
It glanced toward her, only to see her smiling—not kindly, but with a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"So that's how it is..."
This merfolk had been guarding the inheritance for centuries without even realizing it. And now that pearl had ended up in Ye Chuxue's hands, which had triggered the opening of the immortal estate.
They were all just stepping stones—nothing more than expendable pawns.
Song Wanníng narrowed her eyes, hiding the surge of resentment as she slowly paced the room.
"Is there anything special about this home? Think carefully."
As she spoke, she began searching on her own. A guardian beast's lair should contain something unknown to outsiders—perhaps a hidden passage.
It was even possible the merfolk had once wandered into the immortal estate without realizing it. That eighth-grade formation was simply too complex. To decipher it, she would need at least half a year, and even then, mistakes were likely. She didn't have that kind of time.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!!!"
Sensing its master's urgency, the merfolk grew flustered as well. It still hadn't found Xiao Jiao and couldn't afford to be trapped here much longer.
It smacked its head repeatedly, trying to drag up memories of living here long ago.
Suddenly, a buried memory resurfaced. Eyes wide, it grabbed Song Wanníng's arm in excitement.
"I once dreamed of entering a dazzling palace!
When I woke up, I thought it was just a dream and never gave it a second thought. But now that I'm looking around carefully—this place... this palace... it's exactly what I saw in that dream!!!!"
No wonder the rooms had felt vaguely familiar. It had always thought it was imagining things because it had only lived in its nest. But now—
While the merfolk chattered excitedly, on the seventh level of the immortal estate, Feng Jiuxiao pressed her fingers to her temple with a sigh of exasperation.
That little fool.
Even after getting captured once, it was still so naïve.
Back then, she had selected the merfolk as the guardian beast precisely because of its mutated bloodline. She assumed a variant beast would be stronger, more cunning. Instead, it had been dumb since birth, and even after centuries, it hadn't improved one bit.
A while ago, the creature had gone missing, only for Xiao Jiao to return alone in tears. Only then did she realize the merfolk had been taken by humans.
And now, not only had it brought a human right into her estate, it was even spilling her secrets. Utterly useless!
She looked down at the oblivious little merfolk, then at Song Wanníng, whose calculating demeanor stirred a flicker of disgust in her eyes.
This woman clearly had a sharp mind and was playing the merfolk like a fiddle.
And she thought herself worthy of inheriting Feng Jiuxiao's legacy?
Ridiculous.
Meanwhile, the merfolk, entirely unaware of the contempt it was drawing, stared up at Song Wanníng with innocent, shimmering eyes.
"Come here."
She beckoned with her fingers.
The merfolk skipped over happily, trusting and unguarded.
That trust made something stir faintly in Song Wanníng's heart, but it quickly faded. Her expression cooled again.
"Don't move. I won't hurt you."
Her voice was low, almost gentle. The merfolk immediately stiffened, not daring to flinch. Song Wanníng closed her eyes, raised her hand, and reached toward the crown of its head. Its memories were hazy. She couldn't get a clear answer by asking. She would search them herself.
She was going to perform a soul-searching technique.
This method came with immense risk—most who experienced it either died or went mad. Cultivators rarely used it unless absolutely necessary.
But since this merfolk was her contracted beast, the usual side effects wouldn't apply. Her fingers moved subtly, sending a wave of energy surging into the merfolk's sea of consciousness.
"You vile creature!"
On the seventh floor, Feng Jiuxiao suddenly shot to her feet, rage flashing in her eyes as the chaise beneath her exploded into pieces.
"She dares search its soul?!"
Her face turned icy cold, and killing intent surged from her like a tidal wave.
Mutated beasts had unusual spiritual seas. She hadn't noticed the contract between Song Wanníng and the merfolk. All she saw was a ruthless woman forcibly rifling through the mind of a pure, defenseless creature.
Such cruelty... was unforgivable.
She had teased and scolded the little merfolk often, yes. But after hundreds of years, she saw it as one of her own. How could she possibly stomach such abuse from an outsider?
So she wanted to reach the seventh level?
Fine.
Let her come. Let her face judgment. Let her understand what it meant to lay a hand on her guardian beast.
Feng Jiuxiao's eyes narrowed with fury. With a single flick of her hand, she summoned Song Wanníng and the merfolk directly into the seventh floor's main hall.
The moment they arrived, Song Wanníng was still in the middle of the soul search. The sudden shift in space startled her into withdrawing her hand instantly. Her other hand flew to her sword.
Long blade unsheathed, she raised it sharply—and locked eyes with the figure above.
Feng Jiuxiao.
The two women stood there, staring each other down in utter silence. Killing intent filled the room like smoke, thick and suffocating. Sparks seemed to crackle in the air.
Song Wanníng showed no fear, nor the slightest respect for a senior cultivator.
Only raw, unflinching hostility.
Feng Jiuxiao narrowed her eyes.
"So, she doesn't even realize... that I am the master of this legacy?"
How laughable.
This woman dared to bare her fangs at her. Such defiance deserved only one response.
Her fingers twitched. In the next instant, a bolt of violet lightning sparked at her fingertips.