Chapter Forty-Two: The Sea God's Beast Bones

The cheap old man held a beauty in his arms, watching the song and dance with a smile.

Mu Guannan sat opposite him, her expression cold and grim.

Suddenly, a surge of black mist appeared all around, writhing like snakes as it darted swiftly toward Jiang Mingqian.

Jiang Mingqian slammed the table. The beauty in his embrace had just revealed a blade before she was hurled away.

His lips barely moved, and as if compelled by some unseen force, the black mist withered away, twisting futilely before fading into the air.

The beauty, thrown into the mist, let out a scream; when she hit the ground, only a dried corpse remained.

He laughed. “Such a vicious method.”

Mu Guannan sneered. “Now your true colors are showing. All these years, you’ve made a fool of me!”

She had nearly believed that she had truly made him fall in love with her.

Outside, Jiang Wangshu’s face was alight with excitement. They’re fighting! They’re really fighting!

Suddenly, a group of people in black robes surrounded her.

“Target confirmed. Move in.”

The black-robed group surged forward.

Jiang Wangshu threw the Ghost General Hanshuang out from her book. “Hanshuang, it’s time for vengeance. These are the ones who imprisoned your remains.”

Clad in armor, the white-boned general stood imposingly, sword in hand. “At your command.”

“That’s a precious general’s bone—be careful not to damage it,” the leader growled. At once, the others restrained themselves, dispelled the black mist, and summoned their own skeletal warriors.

Countless ghastly bones crawled out from the ground, intending to overwhelm Hanshuang with sheer numbers.

Jiang Ningguang seized the chaos to slip underground.

In the empty passageway, she sped along like the wind, heading straight for the core.

Apart from the sound of her own movement, the silence was uncanny.

She clenched her left palm, quietly on guard.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the air grew damp, and she could even hear the sound of ocean waves in the music.

The next moment, a weightless, drowning sensation overtook her—she’d arrived at the bottom of the sea.

An illusion? She pressed a calming talisman to her brow, but nothing changed.

The pay-to-win system’s voice trembled. “Host, this isn’t an illusion. This is a Divine Domain! A realm only those at the Nascent Soul stage can possess.”

The oppressive power was everywhere. Jiang Wangshu felt she could barely breathe. Then a coolness spread from her left hand.

The pressure lightened considerably. Though its presence lingered, it could no longer hinder her movements.

She tossed out talismans and formations experimentally.

As expected, not even a splash—they were shredded into powder by the swirling currents.

The pay-to-win system said, “Host, I have prepared a teleportation formation for you. Would you like to teleport on credit?”

Jiang Wangshu took a tentative step forward. “System, is it impossible to go up?”

The system gave a bitter laugh. “Honored host, you still owe ten billion. The shop cannot be refreshed. At present, none of the items can deal with a Nascent Soul cultivator.”

A soft sigh echoed, and a massive, beautiful face appeared.

Exquisitely flawless, with cherry lips and a fine nose, but most captivating were her gentle, soulful eyes.

Her gaze alone could stir pity.

“Child, why won’t you listen? Hurry back now.”

Beneath that face, however, was a mass of stark white bones—a giant tail, identical to Xiao Hei’s, coiling endlessly in the water, awe-inspiring in scale.

With her enormous mermaid form, she was truly a sight to behold.

Unlike human bones, the bestial skeleton exuded a savage sharpness—one touch would surely rip skin and flesh apart.

The giant mermaid reached out with both hands, cradling Jiang Wangshu gently, ready to send her away.

“Damn you, how dare you let her go! Kill! Kill—!”

Suddenly, the left side of the mermaid’s face turned an inky blue, her left eye blazing with an azure flame as she roared in fury.

The right side frowned in distress. “Good child, go now.”

With hands like white jade, she released Jiang Wangshu, and the bony tail flicked as she prepared to swim deeper.

A line of text flashed before Jiang Wangshu’s eyes.

Suitable target detected—Sea God Beast Bone. Attempt to collect? (Success rate: 50%)

The pay-to-win system quickly urged her, “Host, don’t take the risk. You haven’t even reached the first layer of the ‘Celestial Spirit Manual’. Your chances of failure are extremely high.”

“The Eighteen Domains is powerful, but it can easily shatter a person’s mind.”

Jiang Wangshu smiled softly. “The more you say, the more I want to try.”

The system was dumbfounded. It simply couldn’t fathom its host, always drawn to danger.

Jiang Wangshu stepped forward in pursuit.

If she were the type to accept her fate, she wouldn’t have survived so many unlucky years and remained so optimistic.

In her life, hardships always outweighed joys.

Beneath her cheerful demeanor lay an indomitable resolve.

She caught up. The mermaid, now completely blackened, grinned wickedly and lunged at her, shrieking, “Die, die, die—!”

She retreated at full speed, summoning her book. “Eighteen Domains!”

The Eighteen Domains materialized overhead, its pages flipping as a faint golden light kept the blackened mermaid at bay.

“What is this?” came a hoarse, chilling voice. The corrupted mermaid swiped with her claws, and the light from the Eighteen Domains flickered.

Jiang Wangshu immediately realized the target this time was too strong; her book needed time to charge up.

She dashed in front of the book, throwing out the Immortal Binding Rope. “Ugly beast, come here!”

The mermaid’s twisted face contorted further in rage as she spun to pursue, her hands and body bound but her speed unhindered.

Unable to use her hands, she opened her maw wide, snapping at Jiang Wangshu with fangs gleaming coldly, utterly bereft of her former elegance.

Jiang Wangshu dodged with difficulty, scrambling up onto the mermaid’s back.

But in the next moment, the mermaid slammed her head against the wall with tremendous force, separating her skull from her neck.

The head, trailing its seaweed hair, floated in the water, turning to lunge at her with gaping jaws.

“Mother—!” Jiang Wangshu barely caught her breath before fleeing again.

Luckily, this blackened mermaid relied solely on brute force. If she’d used magic, the consequences would have been dire.

Yet as soon as the thought formed, reality answered. Did fate have to be so literal?

Before her, four columns of water surged in, boxing her in. The only exit was the mermaid’s gaping jaws.

“Heh heh, run if you can! Let’s see you try!”

She inhaled deeply, channeled all her spiritual energy into her feet, and shot forward like a rocket.

The mermaid opened her mouth wide, waiting in delight.

Thud—urp—

Her small body crashed straight into the mermaid’s throat. Before she could rejoice, a gag reflex hurled her right back out.

Dazed and dizzy, Jiang Wangshu tumbled free, glanced at the retching blackened mermaid, and hurried to her feet. She grabbed the tip of the mermaid’s tail and thrust it into the golden light of the Eighteen Domains.

Nothing happened.

In a panic, she hastily dumped all her spirit stones into the book.

Instantly, the Eighteen Domains blazed with golden light.

So that’s it—it wasn’t a long charge time, just not enough coins to operate.

“I’ll kill you—!”

The head lunged again. Without looking back, she felt the tremendous push of water at her back and rolled forward with the force.

The head plunged into the golden light. The Eighteen Domains snapped shut, slamming onto the ground.

The pay-to-win system, seeing its host gasping for breath, leapt down from her shoulder, dragging the book to Jiang Wangshu’s side.