Lin Xiao instantly understood many things.
Back then, to survive the heavenly tribulation, the Grand Elder had taken him, Myriad Soul, and the Abomination together to the Ice Sea, all for the purpose of stealing the Mermaid clan's supreme treasure, the Ocean Heart.
And the reward the Grand Elder had given to Myriad Soul and the Abomination was the souls and corpses of the Mermaid clan.
Thinking of this, his memories quickly became clear.
"So the one who wanted to cross the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Sun Moon Empire back then was you?"
The person before him had clearly recognized Lin Xiao long ago. Seeing her identity exposed, she immediately stopped speaking and shrank her body slightly backward.
Although she did not answer, Lin Xiao had already gotten the confirmation. The Mermaid clan was skilled in mental power; the reason he couldn't remember where he had sensed this familiar aura was likely because he had been affected by her mental power.
No, looking at the Abomination's reaction, it wasn't just influence; she could make people completely forget that they had ever sensed her aura, which was why the Abomination felt her aura was unfamiliar.
Only because Lin Xiao's own mental power far surpassed that of ordinary soul masters did he retain that vague sense of familiarity.
"Hum—"
Before Lin Xiao could approach further, an invisible fluctuation suddenly spread out. Nana, beside him, "thumped" and fell to the ground, instantly losing consciousness.
Lin Xiao only felt his vision darken, and then a voice rang in his ears. Before he could react, another identical attack came rushing toward him once more.
Mermaid's Double Chant?
For some reason, this name suddenly rose in Lin Xiao's mind. Soul power surged within his body, flowing along his meridians toward his head.
On the other side, seeing her attack succeed, the mermaid looked worriedly toward Nana beside her. Only after confirming that her chest was still rising and falling did she relax. She flew up into the air.
She glanced around, confirmed the direction, and was just about to leave when her figure suddenly froze.
Beside her, a faint blue glow lit up between Lin Xiao's brows. The head bone skill Clear Heart Chant was instinctively released, and clarity immediately returned to his eyes. In his palm, however, there now rested a hexagonal crystal.
The crystal appeared dim and lifeless, containing no power whatsoever, yet it was precisely this object that made the mermaid unable to tear her gaze away.
"Liya?"
Lin Xiao tentatively called out. The mermaid instinctively turned her head toward him.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao already understood everything. He let out a soft sigh.
"Come back. I won't hurt you."
Hearing Lin Xiao's words, Liya wanted to flee, but looking at the Ocean Heart in Lin Xiao's hand, she simply could not move her feet.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao no longer concealed his aura and released it fully. He reached into his storage soul guide device, took out a mask, and placed it over his face.
"With your mental power, even if you've forgotten this mask, you should still be able to sense the aura on me, right?"
"You—"
Liya uttered a single word, but the rest refused to come out.
The moment she saw this mask, all the dangers she had encountered and the grievances she had suffered over these years surged into her heart at once, yet she could not find a single person to confide in.
Only drop after drop of tears slid down her cheeks, quickly turning into pearl after pearl.
Lin Xiao removed the mask and took a step forward. "Back then, it was I who took your clan's supreme treasure right in front of you. Now, it's time to return it to its rightful owner."
After a long while, Liya finally seemed to calm her emotions. With a flash, she took the Ocean Heart from Lin Xiao's hand, then swiftly pulled back a distance. She warily glanced at Lin Xiao twice before turning her gaze to the Ocean Heart.
In truth, possessing the royal bloodline of the Mermaid clan, the moment the Ocean Heart entered her hands, she had already discerned its authenticity, yet she still couldn't help wanting to look at it once more.
Lin Xiao allowed her to take the Ocean Heart without making any move. Compared to the somewhat naive mermaid princess he had met at the bottom of the sea back then, the current Liya had clearly gone through a great deal.
"Back then, you wanted me to take you across the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Sun Moon Empire. Was it to go to the Sun Moon Empire to find me?"
Liya turned her head at his words but did not speak, merely nodding.
"If I had known earlier that it was you, you probably wouldn't have had to search for so long."
"No, that's not right." Liya suddenly spoke. Her voice was melodious and pleasant, completely different from before. Faint mental power fluctuations seemed to ripple through it, invisibly affecting the people around her.
Clearly, after having her identity seen through by Lin Xiao, she no longer intended to conceal it.
As a ten-thousand-year soul beast and a member of the Mermaid clan, specialized in mental power and singing, even merely speaking was enough to affect quite a few people.
"What's not right?"
"Mother said the one who took the Ocean Heart was a traitor to our Mermaid clan. How… how could it be on you?"
"The traitor you spoke of is already dead."
"You killed him?"
Lin Xiao thought for a moment upon hearing this. "More or less."
After all, he was the one who had broken into the mermaid palace and taken the Ocean Heart. The Mermaid clan's attitude toward him probably wouldn't be very favorable.
He also had no intention of keeping Liya here. Telling her this, whether it was helping them deal with the traitor or vaguely revealing his strength, might prevent more mermaids from coming after him and save quite a bit of trouble.
"Take the Ocean Heart with you. However, it seems to be damaged. Ever since it came into my hands, it has remained in this broken state. I have never found a way to repair it."
Yet Liya seemed unconcerned about the damage to the Ocean Heart. She simply held it tightly in her arms.
"Sect Master!"
At that moment, the Abomination finally seemed to recover. After shouting once, his gaze quickly locked onto Liya.
"This aura… Sect Master, the soul beast that had taken human form that the Abomination and Myriad Soul Douluo encountered back then was her. Later, she fled all the way into the Ice Sea, and then…"
"And what happened after that, you already know."
What happened after that was him and Myriad Soul Douluo encountering Zhang Lexuan. In their separate escapes, Myriad Soul Douluo was killed by Zhang Lexuan.
Lin Xiao naturally still remembered the situation when he had encountered the Abomination. He hadn't expected Liya to have such courage, to dare, after being chased by the Abomination, to change her appearance and come back near him once more.
The moment this matter was brought up, Liya's expression changed as well. Before she could make any move, a faint singing voice had already begun to permeate everyone's ears.
The Abomination naturally would not sit idly by. Soul power had already begun to gather within his body.
"Enough."
Lin Xiao spoke softly. The voice emerged from his throat, and the singing in their ears instantly vanished. Even the soul power the Abomination had just raised dissipated completely under Lin Xiao's voice.
"You can see her original appearance, so you know she did not transform into a human. Moreover, after soul beasts take human form, they become no different from humans. You shouldn't… never mind."
Lin Xiao did not continue. He raised his head to look at Liya. "I'll escort you to the vicinity of the Ice Sea to prevent anyone from mistaking you for a transformed soul beast and capturing you again."
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master 40 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon 40 Advance chapters."
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