A useless person with five spiritual roots? I sacrificed the proud daughter of heaven.

“Return home, Lord. All three hundred men we sent to the eastern seas have perished. Only one small boat returned, and our men found this on board.”

The guard knelt on one knee and respectfully handed over a map with both hands.

Jiang Xuanli opened the map, looked at Dragon Island marked in the center, and smiled with satisfaction.

"What about Sheng He?"

"She is indeed the personal disciple of Elder Tianyu of the Sword Peak of the Qingyun Sect, but she has a bad reputation within the sect. According to information obtained from the Seven Killings Pavilion, five years ago, an outer disciple offered thirty high-grade spirit stones to kill her, but unfortunately, all the assassins sent were killed tragically."

Jiang Xuanli raised an eyebrow: "The batch from the far north?"

"Yes, in addition, Sheng He is at odds with Zhao Yanran, the personal disciple of Xuanxiao Immortal Venerable, the number one sword cultivator in the world. It is said that because of Sheng He's slander, Xuanxiao Immortal Venerable's eldest disciple, Chu Heng, was crippled and imprisoned forever on the Cliff of Repentance."

"Ah!"

"This is truly a fight to the death."

Jiang Xuanli gently stroked Dragon Island on the map and chuckled, "Then why don't you hurry up and invite her over?"

"But outside..."

Jiang Xuanli's gaze swept over them lightly, and the servant immediately knelt down: "Yes!"

……

Ten days later, Sheng He and his group finally arrived at the Eastern Sea.

Perhaps because mermaids had recently appeared here, the shore was full of fishermen and monks trying their luck.

Sheng He searched for a long time before finding a deserted beach. As soon as they got off their swords, A Yuan and Ling'er couldn't wait to jump into the sea.

God knows, they flew non-stop in the sky for ten days, and were almost dried out by the wind.

Under the sunlight, the giant fish tail surged in the waves, and the water droplets it stirred up refracted into magnificent rainbows in the sky.

Ah Yuan finally changed out of his drab gray clothes. His light blue fishtail splashed in the water, creating waves, and his long golden hair shimmered in the sunlight.

She glanced back at Ling'er, who was having so much fun she didn't want to leave, and gently hooked Sheng He with her fishtail, bringing him into the water as well.

This was the first time Sheng He had seen A Yuan's true face. She stared at A Yuan's blue eyes, which were clearer than the ocean, and was momentarily stunned.

"Miss Sheng, thank you."

The fish's tail leaped out of the water, creating ripples. Sheng He frowned as she looked at the scales that had fallen off A Yuan's tail and the exposed flesh.

"Is your injury still not healed?"

A-Yuan glanced down at his tail and smiled faintly, "It's alright."

"You have escorted us back to the Eastern Seas, and now I should fulfill my promise to you."

She took a deep breath, plucked a scale from her body, and plunged it into her heart.

Sheng He's pupils contracted slightly, and he grabbed A Yuan's wrist.

"what are you doing!"

A tear slid down A Yuan's cheek, the glistening tear turning into a round pearl that fell into the sea. A Yuan picked up the snow-white pearl and smiled sadly.

"Miss Sheng, didn't you know? Our mermaid clan's tears turn into pearls. This pearl is only good for selling for a good price, and has no other use."

"The mermaid tears you want are my heart."

Mermaid tears, are they the heart of a mermaid? The book *A View of Spiritual Creatures* doesn't say that.

Sheng He was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but loosen his grip on A Yuan's hand.

If she wants to refine her water elemental root, does that mean...?

A-Yuan raised the scale and forcefully stabbed it into his heart again.

"That's all."

Sheng He sighed softly and reached out to stop A Yuan.

"I will find something else to replace the mermaid tears. You may leave now."

"But……"

Sheng He picked up the pearl from A Yuan's hand: "Give this to me. Consider this pearl as my reward for bringing you and Ling'er back."

“I don’t do good deeds often, and I might change my mind later, so you’d better leave quickly.”

A Yuan stared blankly at Sheng He, touching her heart. She had originally planned to die today.

But now, her heartbeat is strong and powerful.

While she was still in a daze, Sheng He had already turned and left.

“Sheng…”

She wanted to say something, but a sudden heat surged through her body. She looked down at her palm, where golden lines lit up one by one.

"Sister, you're an adult now?"

Ling'er swam over and gently stroked the golden stripes that kept flashing on A Yuan's body, her face full of surprise.

"I... am an adult now..."

A Yuan stared at her palm in disbelief. She was still twenty years away from adulthood! She suddenly looked up at Sheng He, who had already walked away.

Sheng He carried an ordinary iron sword on his back, his figure appearing slender.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and an indescribable emotion suddenly welled up inside her. She touched her cheek, which was burning hot.

Ling'er, however, was completely oblivious. She shook A Yuan's arm and said coquettishly:

"Sister, do you want to become female or male? Let's do what we agreed on before and both become female, okay?"

Mermaids are hermaphroditic in their infancy, and only on the day they reach adulthood do they formally differentiate into male and female.

Feeling her heart pounding, A Yuan ignored Ling'er and, swaying her huge, beautiful fish tail, leaped into the sea and swam into its depths.

Sheng He stroked the tiny pearl, feeling as if his heart was bleeding.

Those are mermaid tears!

Placed in front of her, free mermaid tears!

Without mermaid tears, where can she find spiritual objects to refine water-elemental roots?

Showing off might feel great for a moment, but it's a nightmare inside!

What's more, she doesn't even have the Frostbite Sword anymore.

Sheng He touched his heart, his face contorted with pain.

"Hey! Look! Isn't that the Jiang family's big ship?!"

"I heard that the Jiang family has really found the legendary Dragon Island, and this time they've invited the geniuses from all the sects to go to Dragon Island to seize its treasures!"

"Look! Isn't that Senior Brother Shen Ci from the Wuji Sect?!"

"And there's Fairy Jiang Yu from Xuantian Palace! Fairy Jiang truly lives up to her reputation; she's the most beautiful woman in the cultivation world!"

The beach ahead was crowded with cultivators, making a lot of noise. Sheng He looked in the direction of the noise and sure enough saw a large ship on the shore with a flag hanging on its sail. The wind was strong at sea, so he couldn't see the flag clearly, but he could vaguely make out the character "Jiang" on it.

The cultivators watching the spectacle on the shore automatically made way for Jiang Xuanli, who was leading a large group of young prodigies onto the ship.

The handsome, tall, and kind-looking man standing behind Jiang Xuanli should be Shen Ci from the Wuji Sect, whom the cultivators had just mentioned.

As for the beautiful woman in flowing white robes standing next to Shen Ci, she must be Jiang Yu from Xuantian Palace.

Although Sheng He had never met them, he had heard of their names.

The Qingyun Sect, Wuji Sect, and Xuantian Palace are the three most prestigious sects in the cultivation world. The Qingyun Sect is famous for its sword peak, the Wuji Sect is skilled in talisman techniques, and the Xuantian Palace is mainly composed of magic practitioners.