Huan Xue had no time to ask questions anymore as she directly transported him outside the vast sea. It was the same technique she conveniently used when they were still in the Green Mountains, back in the Boundless Shoreline region.
Their sudden arrival slightly shocked Elder Xia. But he managed to give them a polite yet forlorn smile.
"Master Xia, you've activated the crimson vine formation..." Huan Xue trailed and looked straight at the seawater. His deep green eyes beamed with a much stronger and brighter green aura.
All vines immediately swayed and danced with the waves, slowly creating a different direction of patterns around the entire ocean.
Elder Xia does not need to explain anything to him. He could tell that something was wrong and directly dealt with the strange formations on the sea.
"It's called a Hex Mile of Tears, a formation that triggers an illness of death by crying. Huan Xue, that wine merchant and his boatman was also afflicted with it. The formation was in their arms," said Elder Xia on the side. He cast a glance at Qiaolian but she was looking at the waves, studying the clashing of visible formation lines intently. "One more thing, Lady Zhou had introduced herself to Wang Si and Wang Aija as Xue Qiaolian."
Hearing his last sentence, Qiaolian immediately turned to face the elder's direction with a small grin on her lips. How thoughtful of him to report such a trivial matter to Huan Xue!
"Xue Qiaolian? This region is safe, my lady. No need to conceal your identity. But, if that's your decision, I'll naturally respect it," said Huan Xue while glancing at her.
"Don't misunderstand, Master Huan. I am not hiding my identity because of safety issues. I just feel like using your given name and see their reaction," Qiaolian giggled with a tone full of confidence.
'Ohh... If you want to see a reaction, you could have used my family name! Those apothecary masters are not so good at reading your intention!' Huan Xue mentally commented before he shook his head and chuckled. "What's the reaction you want to see? Did you see it?" he asked instead.
"Nothing. They are nice to me and passionate about medicine. Their attentions were focused on finding the cure of the illness," Qiaolian casually replied. "I must say though... Great Herbalist Wang Aija is a peerless beauty. I'm surprised that she did not have a cultivation partner."
"It's her decision to focus on cultivating herbs. There are a lot of young masters from wealthy families that asked her hand before. Some of them proposed to be the first lady of their families," Huan Xue replied without thinking too much. He resumed observing the waves and then increased the movement of the crimson vines.
"Great Herbalist Wang Aija might be waiting for the right cultivation partner," Qiaolian commented and glanced at Elder Xia. "What do you think elder?"
"I don't dare speculate on private matters. Hehe... Anyway, Lady Zhou, how was your visit to the Empire of the Open Sea? Did you discover something?" the Elder directly asked.
"I did! I will r-report everything that happened there later. I'm also looking for a cultivation manual about the inner core. Maybe you have kept a book related to inner force, Elder Xia," Qiaolian mumbled before she returned her attention back to the sea waves.
"Oh? What are you looking for in particular? The manuals about the inner core are very basic. One can memorize it at an early age," Elder Xia stated and was quite confused about her interest.
"I don't know yet. A strange essence I am not so familiar with. It's hard to describe. But, maybe if I see it in the manual, I can recognize it. I want to understand how to deal with it too," Qiaolian vaguely replied. Elder Xia nodded his head and looked sympathetic.
"The formation of this Hex Mile of Tears is too strong. The crimson vines have no effect against it even if I had used all its power," said Huan Xue after observing the clashing of waters around. The wave had turned into multiple squares in the sea. Yet, there were edges of hexagonal formation that would eventually emerge.
"I think it is impossible to counter the formation just by interrupting the motions of the seawater. It is scattered all over the Heng continent. I've met the person who set this formation. It was a Taoist. And he is powerful," Qiaolian softly replied. The face of the Taoist suddenly flashed in her mind. "He claimed that he had to revive the Empress of the Open Sea and choose to sacrifice this continent... something about collecting souls. But, his words may not be that reliable"
Listening to Qiaolian's words, Elder Xia suddenly took a big gulp and his expression turned cold.
"Maybe he meant--- Revival through Soul? Then... the Empress of the Open Sea had lost its life again?" Elder Xia exhaled but there was no trace of surprise in his tone, only a glint of hostility could be seen in his eyes for a split second. And then his expression became calm.
Upon hearing such remarks, Qiaolian could not help but raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean, Elder Xia?"
"Siren had a unique physique but all beings follow the cycle of existence. Theirs is called Relinquished Cycle. Legend has it that the ruler of the open sea had two split identities with titles, empress or lord. I've heard that upon the death of the empress, the body will soon wake up and be transformed into a male siren. It's their phase of breeding to increase their kind. When that cycle comes, the empress will have the title called Lord of the Open Sea. His task is to satisfy all female sirens with their needs."
In an instant, Huan Xue and Qiaolian were slightly stunned by such information. Can one lord satisfy all the siren in the open sea?
But, they managed to hide the surprise on their face and maintained a composed look.
"Ohh... Could it be that those sirens really killed their empress so that she will transform into their lord and their needs will be satisfied?" Qiaolian speculated. Now that she thinks of her brief exploration of the Empire of the Open Sea, she remembered that the Taoist had told her about the empress being betrayed by her kind.
"That is possible. Maybe they are forcing the Relinquished Cycle to happen. The problem though is that the Lord of the Open Sea, once he wakes up, that man will cause great havoc. He is also sadistic and would sometime pick innocent humans instead of his kind. And if the siren managed to increase their numbers, it could potentially be alarming to the entire world. That is probably the reason why the Taoist wants to revive the empress before it could fully transform."
"He wants to sacrifice the entire Heng continent to prevent the Lord of the Open Sea to take over his throne?" Huan Xue muttered while in deep thought.
"That's what he told me! But, I think, that Taoist was under the influence of Melody of Manipulation. I asked his name, and he had no recollection of his identity. He only understands his goal," Qiaolian stated and stared at Huan Xue in the eye.
"But, Lady Zhou--- this interest about cultivation manual of the inner core, is it connected to this Taoist?" Elder Xia questioned in a serious tone.
Qiaolian slightly nodded her head. She opened her mouth to respond, yet, before she could speak a word, she felt an intense burning within her chest. The pain was too sudden.
It was like a burst of hellfire suddenly erupted inside her that she instantly curled her body in agony. "Hummph!"