I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Free Members will get 10 Chapters Ahead of the schedule on Patreon!!!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
...Several beams of deep purple destructive light, condensed to the extreme, pierced through the layers of seawater like a judgment from the netherworld, hurtling towards him with an aura capable of annihilating everything!
The Demon Empress was clearly completely insane and could not hear a single word. Her only thought at this moment was to tear this human, who carried the aura of her husband, into shreds to avenge him!
A trace of helplessness flashed in Xuan Ming's eyes. It seemed that words were useless.
The spirit power around him began to surge, and a trace of coldness flashed in his ice-blue eyes. He prepared to forcibly subdue the opponent first and make her "calm down."
However, just as he was about to make his move—
A familiar mental fluctuation, carrying urgency and reassurance, suddenly transmitted from the depths of his Sea of Consciousness. It was the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, who had been sleeping in his Sea of Consciousness ever since the sacrifice!
"My Lord! Don't attack! Let me explain to her!" the remnant soul of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King urgently cried out.
He knew how terrifying Xuan Ming's current strength was; even he, in his peak condition, had been defeated by him, let alone the Demon Empress, who had lost her reason due to grief?
If Xuan Ming truly made a move, the Demon Empress would surely die!
Xuan Ming paused his movement and nodded.
The next moment, a faint but incomparably pure mental fluctuation, carrying the unique source aura of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, slowly spread out from Xuan Ming's glabella, gently brushing towards the furious Demon Empress opposite him like a ripple.
The Demon Empress, who was concentrating destructive energy and preparing to launch her next frenzied attack, suddenly stiffened her massive body. The aura, so familiar it was engraved into the source of her soul, instantly froze her huge eyes. The burning, maniacal hatred within them abruptly paused, as if doused by ice water, replaced by an unbelievable tremor and profound confusion.
"...Husband?" A mental message, trembling and extremely uncertain, spread through the deep sea like a whisper.
The world-destroying momentum paused, and the deep purple destructive energy Binding around her body instantly became chaotic.
"It's me. Calm down and listen to me!" The mental fluctuation transmitted by the remnant soul of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King carried undeniable urgency and reassurance. "My demise was not what you think! I willingly sacrificed myself to My Lord Xuan Ming. This was an agreement we reached!"
"Willingly? Sacrifice?!" The Demon Empress's mental message was filled with pain and incomprehension. "Why?! We have dominated the ocean for countless years. Why should you bow down to a human and even offer your Life?! He forced you, didn't he?!"
Her emotions flared up again, and the surrounding seawater began to churn violently with her anger.
"Absolutely not forced!" The light of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's remnant soul flickered steadily, transmitting clear memory fragments and his resolute state of mind at the time. "I fought him fairly and was defeated willingly. More importantly, I saw hope! My Lord possesses the Dragon God bloodline and infinite potential. By following him, our child will no longer be confined to this ocean, nor worry about the threat of heavenly tribulation. It will have the opportunity to reach the Divine Rank, or even higher levels!"
"For us Spirit Beasts, cultivating to a million years is the limit; the path ahead is severed. I used my remaining body and lifelong cultivation to bet on an unprecedented future for my race and for our child! Isn't this worth it?"
Listening to the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's persuasion, Xuan Ming's expression became a little strange.
Out of curiosity, he had just "looked" at the information the Deep Sea Demon Whale King transmitted. How should he put it... it was the censored version!
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King had completely deleted the parts about his threats, only showing scenes involving Gu Yuena, Ditian, and their battle.
"She's your wife. Aren't you going to tell her the truth?" Xuan Ming asked doubtfully.
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King was speechless. "If I told her the absolute truth, what if she tried to fight you to the death?"
He was indeed defeated willingly, but he definitely did not sacrifice himself voluntarily!
At that time, there was Ditian, the Snow Empress, and the Silver Dragon King. If he hadn't volunteered, those guys would have found a way to make him volunteer!
"Our child... where is it now?" The Demon Empress's mental message softened, filled with maternal urgency.
"It is safe," the remnant soul of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King replied. "Ditian took it to the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest, where the Sky Azure Bull Python is looking after it. There, it will not be threatened by other oceanic groups and will receive the best growth environment. All this was properly arranged by My Lord Xuan Ming."
Hearing that her child was safe and sound, the Demon Empress's last trace of aggression dissipated.
Her massive head slowly lowered, and she looked with complicated eyes at Xuan Ming, who had stood quietly by, allowing them to communicate. In her gaze, the pain of losing her husband still lingered, but more dominant was scrutiny and a heavy sense of reluctant acceptance.
The remnant soul of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King continued, "I don't have much time; my remnant soul needs continued nurturing. Demon Empress, let go of the hatred, and for me, and for our child, see the path ahead clearly. Following My Lord, perhaps... this will be the only chance for our Deep Sea Demon Whale race to break free from the shackles of fate."
After saying this, the wisp of blue-purple light seemed to be overly depleted. It slowly retracted and concealed itself once more in the depths of Xuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness, sinking back into silence.
The deep sea fell into a brief silence, with only the undercurrents slowly surging.
After a long while, the Demon Empress's massive body began to emit a dark light. Within the light, it rapidly shrank, finally transforming into a beautiful woman in a deep purple dress, possessing a cold and noble temperament, but with traces of unshed tears at the corners of her eyes. She floated in front of Xuan Ming, gazing deeply at him. Finally, she slightly lowered her proud head.
"Xuan Ming... My Lord." Her voice was slightly hoarse and strained, yet perfectly clear. "Please forgive my previous offense. I... am willing to follow the last wish of my deceased husband."
Just as the Demon Empress lowered her head in submission and the atmosphere had just eased, an untimely mental fluctuation, carrying a mix of sleepiness and excitement, suddenly sounded from another corner of Xuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness—it was the long-dormant Tianmeng Ice Silkworm.
"Boss, Boss! What an opportunity!" The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's voice betrayed the excitement of finding a treasure. "This Demon Empress's aura, wow, it's definitely over 800,000 years old! I feel like she's not much weaker than her dead husband was in his prime! In terms of strength, besides that old dragon Ditian, I doubt anyone in this ocean could reliably defeat her!"
It chuckled, its mental fluctuation carrying encouragement: "Perfect! Her husband's spirit ring and Spirit Bone are already with you, and now his wife has delivered herself to your doorstep! It's a perfect match! They're a family, right? Reunited and complete, how wonderful! If you take her spirit ring and Spirit Bone too, won't your Black Dragon Martial Soul gain another super powerful spirit ring? This is simply a heaven-sent opportunity!"
"Insect! You are courting death—!!!"
Before the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm could finish speaking, a furious roar, like thunder, exploded in Xuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness! It was the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, who had just fallen silent!
Clearly, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's "reunion" comments had completely ignited the soul of the deceased husband who had just finished soothing his wife!
A powerful mental force transformed into invisible tentacles, accurately seizing the plump soul phantom of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm and forcibly dragging it into a specially isolated dark corner deep within the Sea of Consciousness!
Immediately following, the dark corner was filled with the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's pig-slaughtering screams and pleas for mercy, along with the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's furious roars and the muffled sounds of some kind of physical, "friendly exchange."
"Ah! Not the face! I was wrong, Whale Brother! I was just kidding! Ouch! My precious silk threads! They're breaking, they're breaking!"
"..."
Xuan Ming felt the chaos erupting in his Sea of Consciousness and was momentarily speechless.
Ever since the Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King sacrificed themselves, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm had lost its cage confinement. However, immediately after the Ice Dragon King was gone, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm didn't dare to speak to him, afraid of provoking him.
It was only because the Deep Sea Demon Whale King spoke first that this fellow dared to surface; otherwise, he probably would have hidden indefinitely.
He looked at the Demon Empress, whose expression had changed slightly due to Tianmeng's undisguised mental fluctuation, and whose eyes instantly regained a degree of vigilance and coldness. He spoke calmly, "There is no need to heed the nonsense of that foolish silkworm. I would not stoop to bullying an orphan and a widow. As long as you do not actively oppose me, I will absolutely not harm you in the slightest."
Hearing this, the Demon Empress's tense body relaxed slightly, and the wariness in her eyes diminished. She gave a slight curtsy, "Thank you, My Lord."
Just then, the heaven-rolling demonic waves that blocked perception above were forcibly torn apart by a domineering force. Ditian, enveloped in black dragon flames, descended like a meteor and landed beside Xuan Ming.
He first glanced warily at the Demon Empress. Only after confirming that Xuan Ming was safe and the atmosphere was not tense did he slightly relax. He had not forced his way through earlier, precisely because he was worried that his intervention would further provoke the Demon Empress, who had just lost her husband and was extremely emotionally unstable, leading to the situation spiraling out of control.