My mother is the white moonlight of the cultivation world.

Before the ashes of Si Luo had completely dissipated in the water, Du Shifang suddenly transformed back into the disheveled middle-aged man, floating on his back in the water, looking like he was about to fall apart.

"Oh dear, I'm getting old and useless. In just this short while, my back is about to break," he groaned weakly.

Du Chengfeng, on the other hand, was more energetic. He transformed into a human-shaped boy, swam to his father's side, and poked his limp belly: "Dad, are you alright? You only breathed out such a small amount of dragon breath."

"You know nothing!" Du Shifang glared. "That's concentrated! Concentration is the essence! You think you're like me, just spouting nonsense?"

Hua Yue had no time to listen to the father and son bickering. Her gaze fell on the place where Si Luo had disappeared. There was nothing there now, only the dark entrance leading to the depths of the cave.

Without the slightest delay, Lingxi, after confirming that the danger had passed, transformed into a streak of blue light and was the first to rush in.

"Wait!" Hua Yue called out and immediately followed.

The Du father and son exchanged a glance and hurriedly paddled after them.

After passing through the narrow entrance, the view suddenly opened up.

This is an enormous underwater cave with countless strangely shaped stalactites hanging from the ceiling. However, the stones, which should have been crystal clear, are now covered with a layer of sticky black substance.

In the center of the cave, hundreds of mermaids lay sprawled out.

Unlike Lingxi, they did not have human legs, but retained their beautiful, long fish tails. However, at this moment, their once shimmering scales had become dull and lifeless, and wisps of black demonic energy clung to their bodies like a bone-deep infection.

Most of the merfolk had their eyes closed and were unconscious. A few others had cloudy eyes and were emitting unintelligible roars as they struggled to bite their companions, but were bound in place by some invisible barrier.

The entire cave was filled with an atmosphere of despair and decay.

"Father! Mother!"

Lingxi's cries were choked with sobs. He weaved through the crowd and finally found two merfolk bound most tightly in a corner by spider webs.

There was a dignified-looking middle-aged merman and a beautiful female merman whose features bore a resemblance to Lingxi. They possessed the most concentrated demonic energy, clearly indicating that they were the ones being "specially targeted."

"Xi'er..."

Hearing the call, the middle-aged merman opened his eyes with difficulty, and his cloudy gaze suddenly lit up when he saw Lingxi.

"Run! This is a trap! Demons..."

"Father, it's alright, we're safe now." Lingxi's voice choked with sobs as she trembled as she tried to tear at the tough spiderwebs.

Hua Yue walked over, and with a gentle swipe of her Phoenix Eye Sword, the spider web wrapped around the Mermaid King snapped in two.

"Thank you." After escaping, the middle-aged merman immediately checked on his wife's condition, and only after confirming that she was merely unconscious did he breathe a sigh of relief. He looked at Hua Yue and her group, and solemnly bowed, "I am Ling Lan, the merman chieftain. Thank you for your righteous assistance."

Du Shifang also came over at this moment, rubbing his hands together with a familiar smile: "Hey, clan leader, you're too kind. It's just that I was helping out when I saw injustice! We're all on the same side, on the same side!"

Linglan's gaze swept over the unconscious tribesmen in the cave, and the joy that had just appeared on her face was replaced by sorrow.

"Alas, although we have been saved, the Abyss of Immaculate Beauty has been completely corrupted by demonic energy and is filled with resentment. We... we are now homeless."

The queen beside him slowly woke up and, upon hearing these words, burst into tears.

Not only their homeland, but more seriously, their people who have been deeply corrupted by demonic energy. Their minds are already in chaos, and even if the restrictions are lifted, they will probably only become monsters who only know how to kill.

The atmosphere inside the cave suddenly became heavy and oppressive.

Lingxi bit her lip hard, her azure eyes filled with self-reproach. He had rescued his people, but he couldn't give them a future.

Just then, a clear, cold voice broke the silence.

"Perhaps I can give it a try."

All eyes instantly turned to Hua Yue.

"Girl, don't be reckless." Du Shifang was the first to react and whispered a reminder, "Purifying one or two demons is fine, but purifying such a large area, how much spiritual power would that take? Your little body can't handle it."

Hua Yue shook her head, offering no further explanation.

She could feel that when her divine meridians came into contact with this polluted water, they not only felt no discomfort, but instead felt a faint longing, like a parched desert meeting sweet rain.

She walked to the center of the cave and, under the expectant, doubtful, or bewildered gazes of all the merfolk, slowly closed her eyes.

Two hands grasped the branch of the divine tree

"Withering and flourishing... life and death..."

She softly recited the general outline of the cultivation technique, and the spiritual energy within her body no longer surged wildly as before, but instead flowed gently and continuously into the tree branch of the divine tree.

hum-

A soft chime.

A soft green light shone from the top of that piece of dead wood.

Immediately afterwards, the green light, like a pebble thrown into a lake, rippled outwards in concentric circles of golden waves.

A halo of green and gold, centered on Hua Yue, spread throughout the entire cave.

Wherever the halo passed, miracles occurred.

The black viscous substance covering the stalactites melted and peeled away quickly, like ice and snow meeting the sun, revealing the crystal-clear substance underneath.

The murky seawater visibly became clear and azure, and wisps of black demonic energy, under the light, shrieked and vanished into nothingness.

The black aura on the merfolk, who were originally confused and insane, was gradually removed. Their painful roars subsided, and their turbid eyes regained their clarity.

The unconscious merfolk slowly opened their eyes in this warm light, looking around in confusion.

The entire Immaculate Abyss seemed to have been washed clean by a clear spiritual rain, thoroughly cleansing itself from the filth.

Everyone was speechless, stunned by the sacred and magnificent scene before them.

Lingxi stared blankly at all of this, watching his homeland return from hell to paradise in a short moment. He moved his lips, but couldn't utter a single word.

The light lasted for almost the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before slowly fading away.

Hua Yue let out a long sigh of relief and opened her eyes.

This time, she didn't faint. She just felt a bit drained and her legs were weak, but she also felt an unprecedented sense of fullness and comfort.

She looked down at the branch of the divine tree in her hand, where a tender green bud had sprouted again, swaying gently in the clear water.

"you……"

A voice filled with extreme shock and a slight tremor rang out.

Hua Yue looked up and saw the Merman King Ling Lan looking at her with an almost awe-inspiring gaze. His lips trembled, and it took him a long time to squeeze out a sentence.

"You...you're not human..."

Upon hearing this, Du Shifang, who was standing nearby, immediately became displeased. He stepped forward, his pregnant belly protruding, and shielded Hua Yue behind him.

"Hey! How dare you talk like that, you fish king? We kindly saved you, and you're swearing at us? What do you mean by 'not human'? You're not human, your whole family isn't human!"

Du Chengfeng chimed in, "That's right! You're not allowed to insult her!"

Linglan was taken aback by his shout, and then realized that her words were ambiguous, so she quickly waved her hand.

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant! I meant..."

He took a deep breath, bowed deeply to Hua Yue, and uttered the second half of his sentence in an elegiac tone.

"You are...a goddess."

"Goddess?" Hua Yue was stunned.

This wasn't the first time she'd heard this term; Elder Tree Root had addressed her that way before. But he'd left too quickly then, and she hadn't had a chance to ask him about it.

"What is a goddess?" she asked directly.

Linglan straightened up, and the look in her eyes as she looked at Huayue had changed from gratitude to devotion.

"Those are memories passed down from ancient times... Goddess, you should not exist in the mortal world. You are a child from the realm of gods, above the celestial realm." Linglan's voice was filled with awe for the ancient legend. "Your power is not ordinary spiritual power, but divine power that can purify all the filth in the world. Beyond that, I know nothing more."

A child of the gods?

Hua Yue was completely confused. She was clearly an ordinary person who had transmigrated from modern society, so how did she keep getting involved with "gods"?

She wanted to ask again, but judging from Linglan's expression, she really knew very little. So she didn't press the matter and kept it in mind for the time being.

The immediate crisis has been averted, and the Merfolk have been spared. Hua Yue brought up her plans again.

"I'm going to the Demon Realm."

Lingxi immediately stepped forward: "I'll go with you!"

Hua Yue looked at Ling tide and said earnestly, "You should stay. It's precious time to spend with your family."

Her words made Lingxi pause slightly. He looked at his parents, then at his surviving clansmen, and the impulse in his eyes slowly cooled down.

Finally, he nodded, and looking at Hua Yue, a warm feeling filled his eyes. It was the first time he had smiled so happily.

"Okay. I'll wait for you to come back."

Since we've decided to venture deep into the heart of the Demon Realm and head straight for the City of Ten Thousand Demons, safety is our top priority.

After a moment of contemplation, Ling Lan said, "The best way to avoid being discovered is to disguise yourself as a demon."

As he spoke, he turned around and pulled out a bunch of strange and unusual things from a box in one corner of the cave.

A moment later, Hua Yue, Du Shifang, and Du Chengfeng looked at the things in their hands with strange expressions.

They were a pair of curved horns made from the polished bones of an unknown black animal, with a base attached to them for securing them.

"Wear this," Linglan explained seriously, "and then conceal your spiritual power. As long as you don't encounter a high-level demon, you generally won't be detected."

Du Shifang held up the pair of horns, gestured with them on his head, looked at Hua Yue, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Girl, you'll definitely look... unique wearing this."

Hua Yue picked up the pair of horns expressionlessly and silently placed them on her head.