Chapter 150 - 131: Undersea King Clan_1
“You scoundrel! Liar! Villain! Shameless rogue…”
“Can you give your mouth a rest for a while!”
“I won’t…!”
Much later, Zhang Tianluo, her face flushed red, pounded on Xu Mu’s chest.
They were out on the open sea, under the clear skies, boldly doing this –
“You rascal! You, you…”
“What about me? Since you can’t keep that mouth of yours shut, I had to shut it for you.”
Xu Mu shamelessly retorted, making Zhang Tianluo so angry her face nearly turned the color of pig liver.
Thank goodness they did not bump into any other cultivators passing by, otherwise she would be too ashamed to live.
Just as Zhang Tianluo was about to hurl another round of insults, Xu Mu hurriedly said, “Don’t worry, with my guidance, you might still master this method!”
Just like the difference between having a teacher and not having one.
The high difficulty in cultivating the Twelve Startle Cicada Skill was not just due to the martial method itself. Part of the reason was the illusion set by the method’s creator, preventing anyone from gaining insight and making it impossible to master.
With his guidance, Zhang Tianluo had a high chance of learning it, but whether she could attain proficiency and integrate her new bloodline— that was an unknown.
“Really?”
Zhang Tianluo replied, somewhat mistrustful.
“When have I ever lied to you?”
“Just now!”
“That doesn’t count! The martial method is not a fake!”
“You dare to say…you rascal! Liar! Rogue…”
In the end, Xu Mu could not out-argue this fiercely stubborn woman.
Amidst Zhang Tianluo’s swearing, the two flew for thousands of miles, then dove into the water. They stopped after reaching a hundred fathoms below the sea.
“Here it is! You should have no trouble finding the specific entrance!” said Zhang Tianluo.
Using his divine intent, Xu Mu explored the depths of the sea, and discovered a separate space several fathoms beneath the seabed.
“So, it’s within the seabed rock layer—this is indeed interesting.”
This was something he had not expected.
The rock layers under the sea were intricate and complex, forming a maze-like area. The depth was probably more than two hundred fathoms, and the space was wide enough to accommodate a large number of the Sea Race.
“You can go back first. I can handle it on my own.”
Xu Mu transformed into the guise of a phantom thunder silver shark.
“Since there’s nothing for me to do back there anyway, I’ll wait for you up here.”
Zhang Tianluo hesitated for a moment before speaking.
Zhang Tianluo was a Sea Race hybrid. Unless she had lived there from a young age, they would not permit her entry.
If she appeared, she might even get attacked.
As for her trading, that was just a private matter between her and a few friends. The Blue Scale Tribe was not aware of it.
“Then be careful.”
With that, Xu Mu dove into a crack at the seabed without looking back, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
“Scoundrel! Idiot! Going in so fast, aren’t you afraid of traps? Hmph!”
Zhang Tianluo muttered a few curses, then swam up to the sea surface, whispering to herself,
“You better not die in there, or I’ll teach you a lesson!”
The seabed rock layer was intricate, all sorts of undercurrents surging, and any ordinary cultivator entering would surely get lost in no time.
But regardless, Xu Mu, being at the Foundation Establishment Stage, found this a minor issue. He quickly located the entrance with his divine intent.
In the area about fifty to sixty fathoms close to the seafloor, an entrance made of carved rock appeared.
Two Sea Race warriors, covered head to toe in blue scales and sporting fish tails, stood guard at the entrance, weaponry in hand.
Both of them were in the late stage of Qi Cultivation.
“Who’s there? Show yourself!”
The two Sea Race warriors, previously rather relaxed, suddenly tensed up. The trident-like magical artifact in their hands pointed towards a corner.
Xu Mu emerged from the corner.
“You are… Sir!”
One of the Sea Race warriors, a slightly plump member of the Blue Scale Tribe, was about to scold when he recognized Xu Mu. Startled, he hurriedly put his right hand to his chest, then gave a bow of respect.
The other warrior did the same.
Xu Mu nodded. He seemed unphased by their reactions.
Based on the information he had gotten from Zhang Tianluo,
The Silver Shark Clan was considered a royal clan in the sea and held great prestige.
Most of the Sea Race had to show their utmost respect when they encountered members of it.
Especially lower ranking tribes like the Blue Scale Tribe.
Though the two didn’t understand why a member of the Silver Shark Clan would suddenly appear here, their deeply ingrained social hierarchy made them dare not show any disrespect.
“I am traveling and happened to pass by. I heard that your Blue Scale Tribe resides here, so I thought I’d pay a visit. You surely have no objections, right?” “Sir jests! It is an honor for us, the Blue Scale Tribe, to have you visit. We should immediately notify our chief to greet you!”
The two Sea Race warriors groveled.
“It isn’t necessary. I won’t be stopping for long. I might leave as soon as I take a look.”
Xu Mu shook his head.
Even though he cultivated the Twelve Startle Cicada Skill and held little difference from a real Sea Race member—even a Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn’t be able to tell—the fact was he didn’t know much about the Sea Race’s way of life.
Zhang Tianluo was just an amateur, only possessing the most basic knowledge.
If welcomed by the other party and spending a long time together, it would likely reveal his trump card. That would be a problem.
So his idea was to first familiarize himself with the environment as quickly as possible, get used to the lifestyle of the Sea Race, and then contact the higher- ups of the Sea Race.
The two naturally didn’t dare to disagree, and immediately activated the Formation of the cave entrance, allowing Xu Mu to stride in grandly.
As for whether Xu Mu could transform into the Human Clan, the two were not worried at all.
If he really was a transformed human, it would be like a sheep entering a wolf pack—suicidal!
No one would be foolish enough to transform into the King Clan for a disguise.
That would draw too much attention, making it impossible to hide.
Xu Mu dared to act so confidently precisely because he thought of this.
The Twelve Startle Cicada Skill was his assurance.
Unless someone hung around him day and night, watching his every move, it would almost be impossible to discover his true identity.
“Fortunately not, just choose any Sea Race bloodline at random.”
Xu Mu was smug in his heart.
After entering the entrance, Xu Mu kept diving down until reaching a depth around tens of meters. Then, a massive, broad flat layer appeared before his eyes.
It felt as if he had stepped into a hidden world!
It was as if he had instantly arrived in another world.
He now appeared like he dropped from the sky. In the seawater around him, small jellyfish emitting a faint glow were swimming about everywhere.
And at the center of them, a massive jellyfish-like sun was anchored in place.
The light emanating from the jellyfish made this whole underwater world as bright as day.
Located beneath his feet were all kinds of strangely shaped buildings, built of shells, stacked corals, seaweed rocks; the architectural designs were quite different from the human world.
Large numbers of Sea Race were moving about among them. Some had octopus tentacles, some had black fish heads, others had full body crab shells, horned heads. The Blue Scale Tribe, covered in blue scales, accounted for the majority —almost eighty percent.
Apart from the difference in architecture and tribe composition, it didn’t differ much from a human city.
“There must be at least tens of thousands of people here. Seems like this gathering place could have more than one entrance!”
Xu Mu manipulated the water flow, gracefully landed on the seabed.
“A member of the King clan?!”
“It’s actually a member of the Silver Shark Clan!”
“Why would there be a member of the Silver Shark Clan here?”
As he appeared, there was a small commotion in the crowds.
Once they confirmed his identity, many Sea Race members bowed and saluted.
Xu Mu suddenly realized, his identity as a member of the Silver Shark Clan, while providing him with convenience might also potentially bring him great trouble.
He seemed to have underestimated the influence of the King Clan!
Just as he had thought, regardless of where he went, there would be members of the Sea Race saluting him.
A helpless Xu Mu directly found a secluded corner, used a talisman to cast a simple illusion on himself, and changed into a member of the Blue Scale Tribe.
This illusion might not fool those at the Foundation Establishment Stage, but it was more than enough to fool those in the Qi Cultivation Stage.
If a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage did discover him, he could just reveal his true identity!
That was definitely better than being paraded around like a monkey!
With the illusion acting as a disguise, Xu Mu finally felt more at ease. Only then did he have the mood to properly look around this assembly area of the Sea Race.
The entire assembly area of the Blue Scale Tribe was spread out over thousands of miles. It wasn’t a single piece, but rather split into many small pieces, distributed in a large number of interlayers.
The population was about one hundred thousand.
Two-thirds of them were common Sea Race members without any cultivation.
Just like human cultivators, the majority of the Sea Race also sit at the bottom of the pyramid.
Of the remaining third, mostly were at the Qi Cultivation Stage, fewer than a hundred were at the Foundation Establishment Stage, none were at the Golden Pill Stage. The strongest beings were six at the Late Stage Foundation Establishment Stage.
Of these, five belonged to the Blue Scale Tribe, and one was an outsider who was a Loose Cultivator.
Just like the Human Clan, the Sea Race also had Loose Cultivators, who would circulate among others.
Compared to the Deep Sea area, the mobility of the Sea Race here was rather limited.
Only ten percent of the one hundred thousand Sea Race residents here were locals.
This area’s seabed resources were not abundant, and there was a large population of the Human Clan living above. The Blue Scale Tribe chose to settle here, according to Zhang Tianluo, because they were dispatched by the Sea Race Kingdom to search for something.
Nobody knew exactly what it was.
Xu Mu didn’t manage to find out either.
It seemed that the Blue Scale Tribe had been searching for a couple of hundred years without finding a trace. Instead, over time, a large population has evolved here.
Perhaps, it could be due to the remoteness of the area. The humans residing above the sea were numerous, but not particularly powerful, which allowed them to develop here unnoticed for many years.
However, also due to the limitation of resources, this large undersea population hadn’t given birth to any at the Golden Pill Stage.
“With my strength, as long as there aren’t any at the Golden Pill Stage, I could run rampant. Surely there wouldn’t be any issue with my safety.”
Of course, this was under the condition that the other party did not activate the Great Array.
Such a large stronghold must have an ultra-large scale Formation.
Even a tier four or tier five ultra-large scale Formation could blast him to bits.
This would be a case of sheer overpowering force.
Having no one at the Golden Pill Stage was also one of the reasons he dared to come here.
Buzz!
A powerful Divine Intent swept over without any hesitation, stopping on him.
Didn’t they say there weren’t any at the Golden Pill Stage?
Did the punchline come so swiftly?!