Hai Sheng Village.

This is a coastal village commonly found in Minhai County, where every household makes a living by fishing, often hanging drying nets at their doors.

Night.

In the midst of the howling wind, a little girl stumbled out of the village, hiding in a crack by the coast.

Before long, the village began to stir.

Groups of fishermen, torches in hand, with crazed expressions, started searching the surroundings.

"The sea is the ultimate destination!"

"The great Father of the Ocean needs sacrifices!"

"Offer sacrifices, and the Father of the Ocean will reward us with fish, gold..."

...

Yingzi's eyes were full of fearful tears, desperately covering her mouth.

She didn't know why everything had become like this.

Originally, she had a very harmonious family, with healthy parents and a brother who loved her dearly.

But after one time out at sea, her brother never returned.

From then on, everything seemed to change.

First, her father kept sighing, saying that the imperial taxes were becoming heavier.

Later, on a sunny day, her father and a few uncles decided to take a risk at sea, to catch some precious marine goods in deep waters—the official, Old Master Liu, said those could offset taxes.

Then came another long wait.

On a stormy night, only the second uncle returned, saying that the whole boat had met with a maritime disaster, only he survived.

For fishermen, the moment they set out to sea, it's like having their lives tied to their belt. Apart from a few families crying, people accepted this reality calmly.

But...

From that day, the fishing village started to become very strange.

At first, the second uncle continued persuading some people, and then everyone became very fervent...

It was a type of... very bizarre state.

Recently, this fervor reached its peak, even starting to form their cult, holding suspicious rituals at night.

The non-believers in the village, and the women... one after another, disappeared.

Finally, the second uncle turned his gaze on her...

Memories flashed past like a carousel, tears blurred Yingzi's face.

...

On the beach, a bonfire was already lit.

"The Father of the Ocean is merciful, he is our destination!"

A middle-aged man dressed as a fisherman, with a fanatic look, loudly announced: "The more you sacrifice to him, the more he will reward you..."

"Bring the replacement sacrifice!"

Accompanied by his words, a struggling little girl was brought before the middle-aged man.

"Let the primordial breath coalesce, before the sky!"

The man continued to chant strange incantations: "Descending to sea, it becomes the mysterious gate! Vast and boundless, the root of heaven and earth!"

"Let the primordial breath coalesce, before the sky!"

The gathered believers also chanted, their voices blurry and layered... mingled with the sound of the waves, becoming increasingly bizarre.

Rustle!

The night sea churned, as if a shadowy mass was lurking beneath.

"Send the sacrifice!"

The middle-aged man loudly declared, and immediately some fishermen brought a specially built submerging boat to the shore.

This boat was designed to disassemble after a certain distance at sea, ensuring those aboard perished into the ocean.

"Great Father of the Ocean, please receive our offerings."

The middle-aged man, crazed with fervor, placed the little girl onto the boat, about to push it into the sea.

"Really can't stand this..."

Just then, a sharp voice suddenly sounded from beside them.

A red-robed female practitioner appeared, eyes gleaming: "You ignorant villagers, you actually worship an Evil God, even offering human sacrifices... Have you forgotten, she is also your kin?"

"An outsider?"

The middle-aged man sniffed the sea breeze, a strange expression appearing on his face: "I smell the ocean on you as well... Why do you want to stop us?"

"I, Cen Hongyue, am not someone like you!"

Cen Hongyue sternly replied: "I only practice spells, I won't be controlled by those behind-the-scenes entities, losing my reason..."

This female practitioner was indeed Cen Hongyue, once casually enlightened by Zhong Shenxiu at the Moon Viewing Square.

Now her cultivation was significant, almost touching the threshold of a Great Cultivator, even among the cultivation world, she wasn't weak.

She had even single-handedly extinguished the 'Five Passes Sect', earning the nickname 'Hot-Handed Immortal' in the cultivation world.

She practiced the [Surging Wave Secret Hibernation Sword]and [Doumu Scripture], hence always by the sea, a sudden whim brought her to this village today, unexpectedly witnessing this matter.

"No... You should understand how great the Father of the Ocean is!" The middle-aged man's voice grew increasingly vague, scales started to appear on his body, even his head becoming distorted and warped: "You... possess a kind of maternal beauty, I believe the Father of the Ocean would prefer you!"

With his words cut off, the merman monster he transformed into suddenly lunged forward.

"Foolish!"

Cen Hongyue sneered, opening her small red lips, and a black line flew out, sweeping past the creature's head.

Bang!

The huge creature took a few more steps, then its massive head fell, oozing foul-smelling blood.

"Ah!"

A female believer let out a high-pitched scream, shattering the stagnant air.

Some of the fishermen snapped awake like from a dream, screaming and fleeing the area.

Others screamed in frenzy, transforming into smaller merman monsters.

"[Surging Wave Secret Hibernation Sword], go!"

Cen Hongyue formed a sword technique, her flying sword zipped agilely amongst the monsters, seven times in and out.

By the time she collected her sword and stood firm, there were no standing monsters left around.

The story unfolded tragically for these monsters.

Originally, they were merely ordinary people with shallow spirituality, later going to the deep sea, and received a great evil demon's lure.

But this was merely a tiny breath of pollution, after mutating, their bodies might be strong, but to a cultivator, they were insignificant.

And certain innate abilities, like interfering with normal human thought through babble... Cen Hongyue wasn't afraid of that either.

"Little girls, don't be afraid, it's over."

Cen Hongyue rescued the girl who was being offered as a sacrifice, suddenly looking toward the nearby beach cliff.

There seemed to be another little girl hiding there, very clever, already inching toward her.

In that moment, she involuntarily glanced up, gazing at the radiant moon in the night sky.

Tonight's moon seemed abnormal, feeling off earlier, prompting her unexpected visit to the village.

And this time, gazing at the moon, Cen Hongyue found herself somewhat dazed.

She seemed to... see that eye again.

"I cultivated [Surging Wave Secret Hibernation Sword], yet I didn't succumb to intense lure and pollution... clearly due to [Doumu Scripture]... Doumu, Doumu... could it relate to the stars too?"

Cen Hongyue had an especially ominous premonition; she might have stepped out from the trap of [Surging Wave Secret Hibernation Sword], but seemed to have fallen into a broader snare.

But now, there was no choice.

She looked at the two little girls, softly asking: "Would you... like to be my disciples?"

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