This was Jiao Jiao, the very one the Merfolk had been desperately searching for.

At this moment, its eyes were filled with the sight of Ye Chuxue, and its gaze toward her was incredibly gentle.

A few days ago, it had encountered an undersea demon beast. Just as it was about to be swallowed, Ye Chuxue had appeared, driven the beast away, and saved it.

It had been following Ye Chuxue ever since.

Ye Chuxue was incredibly kind. She hadn’t asked for anything in return for saving it and hadn’t even chosen to form a contract with it. This made it even more grateful.

It had made up its mind: as long as Ye Chuxue remained in the sea, it would stay by her side.

At this thought, Jiao Jiao’s gaze softened even more.

But then its thoughts turned to the other Merfolk, and it suddenly sighed.

’I wonder if Xiao Jiao is okay now, if they’re safe. They’ve been gone for so long and still haven’t come back...’

’But I don’t dare leave the sea to look for them. Xiao Jiao said the outside world is full of bad people!’

...

On the highest floor of the Immortal Mansion, a figure sat on a chaise longue in the very center. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

She wore a long purple dress, its lengthy train spilling onto the floor like a blooming purple rose—vibrant and full of aggression.

The beauty was peerless, exuding an air of languor. Before her, a Water Mirror reflected the figures of several people.

Besides Song Wanning and Ye Chuxue, Feng Lansi and Yu Cheng were also present, all engrossed in studying how to break the Arrays.

Among them, Yu Cheng’s performance was the most outstanding, and he had also started the test at the highest level.

Feng Jiuxiao gazed at the figures, a slow smile gracing her lips.

Her line of sight fell upon Song Wanning.

’She has both Demonic Qi and Spiritual Energy. How interesting.’

But upon closer inspection, the woman’s talent in Arrays was merely average, far inferior to the man’s.

It was even worse than that of the young girl with the lowest Cultivation.

Feng Jiuxiao’s gaze soon shifted to Ye Chuxue. Although the girl’s Cultivation wasn’t high, she seemed to have some talent for the path of Arrays.

In just a short time, she had already conquered the Second Order Array and learned to extrapolate from it, even managing to deduce several new Arrays. Such talent truly made her prime material for learning the art.

Among the four arts of cultivation, Arrays were the most complex and the most difficult to learn.

A student needed to be exceptionally sensitive to space. Without talent, one could immerse themselves in study all day and still might not grasp the basics.

Therefore, Array Masters were extremely cautious when choosing disciples, accepting only those with outstanding talent.

’It seems my only choices are these two.’

A look of regret crossed Feng Jiuxiao’s face. She didn’t have much time left. If she couldn’t find an inheritor soon, this wisp of her Divine Thought would dissipate.

Back then, she had ascended from this world to the Immortal Realm and, after much hardship, cultivated to the level of a Daluo Golden Immortal. But then, she suddenly heard that the Lower World had shattered and its people were plunged into misery.

The complete Great Thousand World had crumbled into fragments, and there was no telling when it might be revitalized.

To this end, as the world collapsed, she had cast down two Immortal Mansions—one in the Lower World and one in the Spirit Realm—to leave an inheritance for future generations and a hope for ascension.

She hoped even more that a future inheritor could master Arrays, find a way to merge the two worlds, and unify the realm once more.

This wait had lasted for hundreds of thousands of years.

She had previously chosen a few inheritors. One of them had ascended, but the rest had all perished.

Thus, she could only place her hopes in future generations, wishing for a peerless genius to emerge and break through all these obstacles.

’Right now, my Divine Thought is about to give out. I must choose an inheritor from these four.’

Feng Jiuxiao’s gaze was heavy as she looked again at Ye Chuxue and Yu Cheng. As for Feng Lansi and Song Wanning, she had already ruled them out.

Song Wanning was completely unaware of this at the moment. However, she knew very well in her heart that even if her talent were exceptional, the person behind the scenes would never choose her.

Not to mention, her skill in Arrays was indeed average.

So, she had no designs on the inheritance itself. She was only thinking of how she could eventually meet the person in charge and then find a way to get her hands on the Immortal Artifact.

Her malice toward Ye Chuxue was palpable; she never bothered to hide it.

’I’ll snatch every single one of Ye Chuxue’s opportunities!’

"Master, you did it!"

The Merfolk’s face lit up with joy as it watched Song Wanning successfully replicate the Array.

It pointed at the Array Plate, about to say something, when the scene before them suddenly shifted, and the two found themselves in a new room.

"Huh, we must be on the next level!"

The Merfolk was full of confidence in its master. She had always been mysterious and dominant; it felt like nothing could stump her. A mere Array was naturally no challenge.

Song Wanning didn’t shatter its illusion. She looked at the new Array Plate and buried her head in her studies once more.

「Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.」

Song Wanning had successfully cleared three levels but was now stuck on the fifth.

Meanwhile, Ye Chuxue and Yu Cheng had already reached the sixth level and were just one step away from the seventh.

But the further they went, the more complex it became. No one could tell how long this level would take.

Song Wanning was growing anxious. She feared the Immortal Artifact might have already fallen into Ye Chuxue’s hands. If that happened, she couldn’t imagine how much trouble it would be to snatch it back.

In her past life, she had been beaten to the punch far too many times.

In this life, she never wanted to experience that feeling again.

Her indignation spurred her to move faster and faster. With each stroke of her carving knife, an Array rapidly took shape on the Array Plate.

Song Wanning let out a long sigh of relief. ’I finally figured the blasted thing out!’

"Let’s go!"

Without daring to delay, she brought the Merfolk to the sixth level.

The moment she entered the room on the sixth level, she strode to the Array and immediately began to study it.

This was a critical moment where every second counted; there was no time to waste.

But when she got a clear look at the Array before her, her brow suddenly furrowed.

’This... this is an Eighth-grade Array, the Nine Revolutions Soul Rejuvenation Formation?’

Song Wanning’s heart jolted.

’Using an Eighth-grade Array for the final test is one thing, but to use the most difficult one, the Nine Revolutions Soul Rejuvenation Formation!’

This Array could forcibly swap another’s Divine Soul, making it a quasi-demonic array.

Whether it was used for good or evil depended entirely on the will of the Array Master.

’I wonder what the person behind this intended by setting up such an Array.’

She calmed her mind, cleared away her distracting thoughts, and once again immersed herself in contemplation.

’But this Array is extremely difficult. I’m afraid...’

While Song Wanning struggled on her side, the Merfolk was looking around in a daze. It touched its surroundings curiously, the confusion in its eyes deepening.

As if not believing its own eyes, the Merfolk walked to a corner, picked up a seashell, and blew into it gently.

A familiar tune, from a familiar shell.

The Merfolk seemed to have discovered something incredible...

It hesitated for a moment before walking over to Song Wanning, interrupting her contemplation.

"Ma... Master... this place..."

"It seems to be my... o-old... home..."

Song Wanning’s head snapped up.

"What did you say?"