The man and the sword seemed to be sulking, neither saying a word. The space instantly fell into silence.
Shen Qing was a bit speechless.
Did neither of them have a mouth?
One clearly wanted to form a bond, while the other felt guilty and concealed their true feelings, saying things that went against their heart.
What a stubborn and strange personality.
"Chen Xi, do you still want to use my spiritual bones and fortune to save the merman clan?"
Chen Xi stared at Shen Qing with heavy eyes. "What if I say I still do?"
Shen Qing felt helpless. If that was the case, she would definitely not allow Chen Xi to stay by Li Xian's side. Having a ticking time bomb around meant there was a risk of being backstabbed at any moment.
"But..."
Chen Xi then turned to look at Li Xian. After struggling for a while, she said, "But you're the one he likes. If I hurt you, he'll be sad."
"Moreover, you're right. That was the destiny of our merman clan. It shouldn't be borne by you all. We were too selfish. We deserved such an end. It was all our own doing."
"As the wheel of karma turns, the merman clan is destined to perish."
Shen Qing nodded. She had felt this from the very beginning.
Chen Xi had countless opportunities to deal with her, but she waited until Shen Qing discovered Li Yuan's diary and the secrets of the murals before making a move.
She only sent three mermen to chase and kill Shen Qing, and even let her off many times during the process.
If Chen Xi had wanted to, she could have sent a horde of crazed mermen swarming towards Shen Qing. There would have been no shortage of opportunities to kill her.
Shen Qing noticed that when Chen Xi said she was afraid Li Xian would be sad, Li Xian's eyes clearly brightened up, but then he quickly suppressed his joy.
"So what are your plans from now on?"
Chen Xi sighed and said, "Actually, the clansmen in the bubbles have completely lost their sanity. They only have a blood - thirsty instinct left. They're more like walking corpses. I know there's no hope for them. So I want to stay here and accompany them through the last part of their lives."
Li Xian's eyes darkened again. His tightly pursed lips revealed his thoughts.
"Maybe there's a way to save them?"
Shen Qing remembered that in the Beast - Taming Sect, the Dark Wolf and Chu Lanqiu had turned the demonic beasts in the demonic eggs back into normal spiritual beasts.
She always felt that there seemed to be some similarities between the two. Maybe there was still hope for the merman clan.
"What did you say? Is what you said true?!"
Chen Xi looked at Shen Qing excitedly. Her round eyes were filled with a glimmer of hope.
Li Xian also looked at Shen Qing. "Did you think of the Dark Wolf?"
Shen Qing nodded. "Yes. Maybe they can give it a try."
"Okay. We can give it a shot."
Hearing Li Xian say so, Chen Xi excitedly spun around in the space. "Great! Great!"
Seeing Li Xian looking at Chen Xi's transparent figure with a faint smile on his lips, Shen Qing had an idea. She said, "Since that's the case, Chen Xi doesn't have to stay here anymore. Why don't you two form a bond and go together to find a way to save the merman clan?"
Chen Xi stopped spinning and looked at Li Xian shyly.
The smile on Li Xian's lips also froze for a moment. He nodded slightly awkwardly. "I'm used to using the Chen Xi Sword. I don't want to change to another sword for the time being... If Chen Xi is willing..."
Hearing this, Chen Xi proudly lifted her chin. "There's no better sword in this world... Uh... Except for you, of course..."
Just as Chen Xi was about to praise herself, she met Wu Wang's icy eyes and immediately cowered.
Wu Wang let out a few triumphant sounds and happily circled around Shen Qing twice, as if telling Chen Xi that the best sword and the best master in the world were right here.
After they had expressed their feelings to each other, the process of forming a bond went very smoothly.
Li Xian's eyes were filled with a smile and shone brightly. He looked at Shen Qing as if she were a goddess from the ninth heaven.
"Shen Qing, thank you."
If it weren't for Shen Qing's words, maybe he and the Chen Xi Sword would have been destined to part ways.
Although the sword spirit of the Chen Xi Sword was proud and child - like, as a sword cultivator who had used this sword for so many years, he was ultimately reluctant to abandon it.
After Chen Xi had settled the remaining mermen, Li Xian emptied his pockets and placed hundreds of top - grade spiritual stones into the formation.
The formation could absorb the spiritual energy from these spiritual stones and nourish the mermen who still had a glimmer of life left.
The three of them walked out of the Merman Palace. The horned fish that had originally gathered at the door had dispersed. Li Xian and Shen Qing had also repaired the damaged formation.
"Alright, let's go back."
Shen Qing took a deep breath and said cheerfully, "Let's set off!"
But then she turned around and looked at the Chen Xi Sword with a puzzled look on her face. "What's wrong with you? Lead the way. How do we get out?"
Chen Xi emerged from the sword, looking shocked. "I don't know the way. Just go out the way you came in."
Hearing this, Li Xian's expression was also a bit hard to describe.
"We came in through the whirlpool of the horned fish. Is that whirlpool... still there?"
Chen Xi:...
"Okay, let's swim over and take a look first?" Chen Xi carefully suggested.
Shen Qing's face darkened. "Are you saying that we should swim through this group of man - eating horned fish, avoiding being eaten while looking for an exit?"
Chen Xi pouted. "I only went out with Li Yuan once many years ago. I really don't remember the way. You all brought me in. How would I know how to get out?"
It wasn't strange for Chen Xi to feel wronged. For thousands of years, she had been staying in the Merman Palace with Li Yuan and the Saintess. If Li Yuan hadn't been unable to bear the clan leader's actions and wanted to escape from the Merman Palace, she wouldn't have left.
Remembering the way was still too difficult for a little sword spirit like her.
"If it really doesn't work, you can ask Li Xian to transform into a merman. The horned fish recognize mermen. Even if the mermen are injured, they won't attack actively. Let him carry you. You don't even have to swim. It'll be great."
"Transform into a merman?"
Shen Qing raised her eyebrows and stared intently at Li Xian.
Li Xian showed a pained expression, and there was also a faint sense of shyness in his heart.
To transform into a merman in front of Shen Qing made him feel embarrassed no matter how he thought about it.
Chen Xi didn't understand. "You're not going to say you can't, are you? Li Yuan has passed on his inheritance to you. You must be able to do it. Don't be lazy. Hurry up. We have to seize every moment."
Seeing that he couldn't evade it, Li Xian took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Shen Qing watched in amazement as a stream of water enveloped Li Xian. Spiritual energy condensed into a tangible form and surrounded his lower body.
When the water dispersed, Li Xian's clothes fell off. His upper body was bare, revealing his strong physique. His lower body had turned into a bright blue fish tail. The fish tail swayed like a very beautiful dress. The scales reflected a silver light, shining brightly and radiantly.
Li Xian opened his eyes. His pupils turned amber, and there were faintly some scales growing around his eyes. His long hair turned white.
Shen Qing was stunned looking at the completely different Li Xian in front of her.