Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

Her gentle voice and beautiful smile seemed to have a magical power, easing the children's tension considerably.

Tang San didn't speak, but silently walked into the wooden house and checked the six black awakening stones and a blue crystal ball used to test soul power levels required for the awakening ceremony.

The items were simple, but sufficient.

The ceremony was led by Cinderella, with Tang San assisting her.

“First one, Dog Egg, come in.” Cinderella called out a child’s name.

A dark-skinned, sturdy little boy timidly entered the wooden house. Guided by Cinderella, he stood in the center of a simple array composed of six awakening stones.

Cinderella released a wisp of soul power and infused it into the Awakening Stone. Instantly, a layer of golden light emanated from the six stones, forming a pale golden light shield that enveloped the child named Gou Dan.

Golden light streamed into Gou Dan's body, causing him to tremble slightly and a pained expression to appear on his face.

“Extend your right hand,” Cinderella gently guided.

Dog Egg did as instructed and extended his right hand.

Instantly, all the light points surged out, and in a flash, a small hammer shimmering with a faint gray light appeared in his palm.

The hammer appeared to be even smaller than a casting hammer.

“It’s a hammer spirit. But it’s just an ordinary iron hammer, without any spirit power.” Cinderella glanced at it and announced softly, while handing the blue crystal ball to Gou Dan.

The crystal ball did not react.

Gou Dan's expectant look vanished instantly. He pouted, almost bursting into tears, and walked out with his head down. A helpless sigh came from outside.

The next few children were in a similar situation; none of them possessed soul power.

After all, it's extremely difficult for ordinary people to give birth to children with spiritual power.

……

The Deep Sea Demon Whale Sea Area.

This vast sea area, shrouded in the power of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, is deep, silent, and carries an unchanging desolation.

After returning to familiar surroundings from Ursula, Blue Buddha's massive body swiftly slid into its nest, adorned with giant corals and glowing jellyfish.

As soon as she returned, she couldn't wait to throw up all the trinkets she had traded with Ursula.

One is a music box meticulously inlaid with pure white coral and tiny seashells, while the other is a huge seashell screen that is as smooth as a mirror and has natural spiral patterns on its edges.

She first touched the music box with her soul power.

A soft, melodious tinkling sound immediately rang out. The sound was peculiar, unlike any cry she had ever heard from a sea spirit beast.

Then, the music box began to simulate various sounds from the seabed: the soft rustling of scales rubbing together as schools of small fish swam by, the long, distant calls of whales, and even the muffled bubbling of deep-sea hydrothermal vents...

These sounds intertwine to create a vivid yet illusory underwater soundscape.

Lan Fuzi's huge eyes immediately lit up. She carefully used her flippers to pluck at the music box, listening to the lively sounds coming from inside, which were completely different from the real silence she was in. She found it very novel.

After playing with the sounds for a while, she turned her attention back to the seashell screen.

She remembered Ursula saying that the screen could project simple stories of light and shadow.

Lan Fuzi tried to inject a tiny bit of soul power into the screen.

Ripples like water spread across the surface of the seashell screen, and then some blurry light and shadow began to gather and change on it.

Chapter 175 The Return of Lan Fuzi

On the seashell, Lan Fuzi saw some distorted, jellyfish- and fish-shaped lights chasing and playing on the screen. Although the picture was simple and the colors were limited to the shimmering white and pale blue luster emitted by the seashell itself, the sense of storytelling in the scene still captivated Lan Fuzi.

In the days that followed, the music box that could produce various sounds and the seashell screen that could display stories of light and shadow became Lan Fuzi's best companions to relieve her loneliness.

Of course, during this time, the human world that Ursula described would indeed occasionally appear in her mind.

That place with real lights, city, and gatherings, along with the noise from the music box and the stories on the seashell screen, sketched a vague yet alluring outline in her mind.

However, even the most novel things will eventually become tiresome.

Music boxes can only simulate a few sounds. After listening to them dozens of times, Lan Fuzi could even predict what the next sound would be.

The light and shadow stories on the seashell screen are even simpler, with only a few patterns moving back and forth, and nothing new can be created.

She lowered the fins infused with soul power, and the light and shadow on the shell screen dimmed, transforming it back into an ordinary giant shell.

The music box finished playing its first round, and the nest instantly returned to its original deathly silence, with only the sound of the slow, surging ocean currents remaining.

A familiar sense of emptiness and boredom washed over her once again.

I'm tired of it.

Blue Buddha flicked her tail fin and circled the empty nest, looking at the two things that she used to love so much, but now found them boring.

After visiting Ursula, seeing all the novel and interesting things, and experiencing that brief but fulfilling joy, she found herself unable to adapt to the unchanging desolation and emptiness of the deep-sea whale-infested area.

Having experienced the excitement, how can one endure eternal loneliness and boredom?

The disparity created by this comparison made Lan Fuzi feel particularly uncomfortable.

She shook her enormous head and decided she couldn't stay there any longer.

She's going to Ursula's place again!

Go find that deep-sea witch and trade her for even more fun things! And this time, she also wants to hear more stories about the human world.

Thinking of the scenes Ursula described, Lan Fuzi felt a ticklish sensation in her heart, as if tiny claws were scratching at her.

However, before leaving, she still had to visit her father and mother.

Her massive body silently slid out of the nest and swam towards the core area of ​​the deep-sea demon whale's territory, where the energy was most concentrated.

Deep within that sea shrouded by an invisible force field, two enormous figures, as large as mountains, floated silently in the dark water. Their breathing was long and slow, and their bodies emanated chilling energy fluctuations, clearly indicating that they were still in a deep slumber of cultivation.

Lan Fuzi glanced at them from afar and, confirming that her parents were still asleep, felt relieved.

She changed direction and, without hesitation, swam back the way she remembered, toward the edge of the abyss where Ursula's Fishbone Cave was located.

The speed was faster and more urgent than last time.

Lan Fuzi wasn't worried at all about the items she was exchanging.

Those glittering stones, or her shed old scales, piled up like small mountains in the king's treasury, were nothing compared to what was to come.

As the daughter of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, she has no shortage of these treasures that are invaluable to other sea spirit beasts.

All she could think about now was the new toys Ursula might have, and that bizarre human world.

This time, her curiosity was even more intense than before.

……

Lan Fuzi had traveled the route from the Deep Sea Whale Sea to the Ursula Fishbone Cave many times before, and this time she knew it all too well.

Her massive body moved swiftly through the dark seawater, and the sea spirit beasts that sensed her presence quickly gave way, daring not to obstruct her in the slightest.

The closer Lan Fuzi got to the edge of that abyss, the more anxious she became.

The human world Ursula described kept replaying in her mind—the lights, the noise, the sights she had never seen before—as if they had a magical power to attract her.

In comparison, the eternal silence and vastness of the Deep Sea Demon Whale Sea made her unable to stay for even a minute longer.

Finally, the familiar area formed by the remains of a giant ancient sea beast appeared in front of us.

Hu Shan and Jia Shan, these two ancient electric eels, continued to diligently patrol near the cave entrance. Sensing Lan Fuzi's undisguised powerful aura, they immediately turned their heads warily. However, upon recognizing who it was, the crackling electricity on their bodies instantly subsided considerably, and they even approached with a hint of ingratiation, hissing as if to welcome him.

Clearly, they still remember this big-spending, high-profile client.

Ignoring their eagerness, Lan Fuzi pushed aside the barrier at the cave entrance with its massive body and swam in impatiently.

Inside the Fishbone Cave, the scenery was still familiar to her.

Luminous jellyfish in shades of eerie green, pale white, and light blue sway on the cave walls, casting a bizarre and surreal glow on the various strangely shaped corals, reefs, and hanging merchandise.

Ursula still sits atop that enormous giant clam shell altar, seemingly forever maintaining that languid and mysterious posture.

Upon seeing Lan Fuzi enter, a fake yet enthusiastic smile immediately appeared on her alluring face.

“Oh! My dear Blue Buddha, welcome back again.” Ursula’s voice was as sweet as melting honey.

"Looks like those little gadgets last time made you have a good time?"

“They’re all tired of playing with it,” Lan Fuzi said bluntly, flicking his huge tail impatiently, stirring up an undercurrent in the cave.

"Ussula, do you have anything else that's more fun? Also, tell me more about the human world!"

Her huge eyes were fixed on Ursula, filled with undisguised longing and curiosity.

A knowing smile flickered in Ursula's deep green eyes.

Sure enough, they took the bait.

This simple and lonely little guy, once he's tasted the fun, can never go back.

She had also successfully piqued her curiosity about the human world.

"Tired of playing?" Ursula raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise, gracefully spreading her tentacles.

"It seems that those little things are ultimately no match for your refined taste and boundless curiosity, Lan Fuzi."

Ursula did not immediately produce anything new, nor did she begin to speak. Instead, she looked at Lan Fuzi with a gaze that held a mixture of regret and inquiry.

"The human world... it is indeed full of incredible sights and sounds. But just hearing my description, doesn't it always feel a bit distant, not quite real enough?"

Chapter 176 Are you leaving?

Lan Fuzi tilted his huge head, seemingly pondering Ursula's words.

Indeed, no matter how vivid Ursula's description is, it is still just language.

How big is the city? How bright are the lights? How lively are the gatherings? She couldn't really imagine.

"Then... what should we do?" Lan Fuzi asked anxiously.

Ursula, seeing Lan Fuzi's anxious expression, knew that the time was almost right.

She chuckled softly, and a tentacle reached behind the altar, fumbled around for a moment, and then took out two items.

It is a small whistle carved from some kind of white bone, with simple wave patterns engraved on it.