Chapter 16

As the feathers fluttered in the water, a spectrum of colors swirled around in the seawater. The assorted feathers floating in the water began to re-form...

Qian Yu slowly opened her eyes, a tiny feather once again flickered on her forehead.

The sea water gently rippled, reflecting all kinds of colored light waves that circulated around Qian Yu. Looking around puzzled by the luminosity, she quickly realized that the colorful glow came from the seafloor. Qian Yu swam down, and the deeper she went, the more luminous it got. Gradually, a gigantic coral world appeared before her eyes.

Qian Yu gazed in amazement at the coral colonies of various colors. How extraordinary that there would be such a large-scale coral colony here, and it was not even in the deep sea! The corals differed in shape and height, looking like a series of undulating mountains. They all created extraordinary landscapes, whether they were peaks or valleys.

Standing on the tip of the highest coral, Qian Yu looked around. Suddenly, a beam of intense light swept over her, causing her to squint. The intense light moved away, but another followed soon after, appearing one after another in front of her eyes.

Enduring the blinding light, Qian Yu looked towards the source, and was surprised to find an ever-blinking light orb in the valley of a coral mountain. The light orb seemed to rotate and contract, which caused the light beam to flicker along with it.

Qian Yu left her position and headed towards the light orb. The closer she got, the more wrong it felt. It seemed that the orb was not rotating, but that something on the outside was revolving around it.

Upon reaching, Qian Yu was stunned. It wasn't a light orb at all; rather, it was a group of sharks circling around something glowing, constantly moving in a circular formation causing the inside light to flicker inconsistently.

But because there were so many sharks and the inner light was so dazzling, Qian Yu couldn't see what was at the center of the sharks.

Unable to resist her curiosity, Qian Yu decided to go through the group of sharks to have a look. The sharks seemed to also detect this intruder, and a few already swam over, ominously circling around Qian Yu.

Qian Yu didn't pay them any mind and swam straight towards the group of sharks, which garnered the attention of even more sharks. More and more sharks started to cluster around Qian Yu. These sharks seemed to realize Qian Yu was not just any normal creature, causing them to hold back their impending attacks.

Among them, the biggest shark seemed to be the leader. It swam arrogantly by Qian Yu's side, seemingly measuring the strength of this incoming enemy. Then, the shark stopped right in front of Qian Yu, with the rest of the sharks immediately lining up behind it, forming a "shark wall". This entirely blocked Qian Yu's path forward.

The leading shark's intention was very simple: it wanted Qian Yu to turn back so that no one would be troubled.

Qian Yu looked at these sharks full of vigilance and suddenly had a strong feeling that these sharks seemed well-trained. According to the nature of sharks, they would never easily give up food that is within their reach. But these sharks showed no sign of predation, as if they were on a mission to guard something.

Qian Yu was even more curious. What could be behind these sharks?

She gestured to the lead shark, indicating that she wanted to go and take a look.

The lead shark immediately changed its form, opening its large mouth, appearing as though it was about to devour Qian Yu. This transformation seemed to be a signal - a few sharks swam forward immediately as if ordered to, attacking Qian Yu.

Qian Yu watched as a few sharks quickly approached her. She didn't step back, but instead moved forward. As she advanced, the colorful light emitted from her forehead feather formed a glowing protective shield. The moment the sharks got close, they were repelled by Qian Yu's protective light, not daring to approach again.

She confidently went through the shark group, plunging into the area beyond the sharks. She knew that, so long as she had her feather protecting her, nothing could stop her. However, what happened next left Qian Yu stunned in disbelief.

Because Qian Yu had been in the water this whole time, the water pressure made her movements less free. But in that instant, all the pressure suddenly disappeared. She had a hard time adjusting and nearly fell down. Luckily, Qian Yu quickly reacted, steadying herself. However, everything that she saw left her in shock.

This was the deepest part of the sea, the bottom of the coral reefs, yet there was no water here, not a drop.

Qian Yu was in a spherical space. Outside the spherical space flowed lake water, and there were sharks that constantly loitered, somewhat menacingly. However, the spherical area where Qian Yu was seemed to form its own world, completely unaffected by the outer world.

But when Qian Yu clearly saw the situation in front of her, she was completely stupefied, and tears started to flow unwittingly.

Within the spherical space, on a bunch of brilliantly colored coral reefs, there lay a transparent crystal coffin. Through the exceptionally crystal-clear shell, a man was quietly lying there.

His face was peaceful, his eyes shut tight - it was Juan Ye.

Qian Yu walked over step by step, affectionately touching the crystal coffin, "Juan Ye, so you're here."

"Don't touch her!" Suddenly, a harsh voice came from behind Qian Yu.

She quickly turned around. She saw water rippling and several sharks moving slowly, but there was no one in sight.

She looked around, "Who are you? Where are you?"

"Who I am is not important. What's important is, if you don't leave immediately, you'll never leave!" The voice was soft and tender, like that of a young girl.

Qian Yu faintly smiled, "In that case, I'll never leave. I'll stay here with him." She gently stroked the crystal coffin but suddenly thought about Juan Ye at the volcano. One of them was Juan Ye's body and the other was his soul. What should she do? She could not bear to leave either of them.

The voice seemed to be angered, "You dare touch him? Remove your hand!" Along with the voice, a strong current suddenly rose from the lake bed , shooting towards Qian Yu.

Afraid that the current would hit the crystal coffin, she didn't retreat, but instead moved against the direction of the current. But the moment the current touched her, it was repelled by the light emanating from her body.

There was a loud "boom," and the current rushed back into the water, heading for the sharks. The lead shark instantly felt a stronger force coming at it, but it was too late to retreat. In an instant, the current carried the shark, causing a stormy wave that struck the lake bed, causing a disturbance.

The crystal coffin began to shake, and Qian Yu hurriedly pressed the lid down. She didn't want Juan Ye to be disturbed!

In the midst of the water disturbance, a figure suddenly appeared among the panicked sharks. Her silhouette spun and swirled in the water, yet standing firm like a steadfast stone, calming the chaos beneath the water.

Qian Yu felt his gaze on her. The eyes were angry and fiery -- like a fire igniting beneath the water, instantly spreading across the entire lake bed.

The panicked sharks suddenly swam back together, neatly arranged in the water, with more sharks joining in. It was as if a giant wall of sharks was formed.

Qian Yu stood firmly in front of the crystal coffin without retreating. But the sharks did not immediately attack. Instead, they simultaneously turned around and rushed towards the figure. In an instant, the figure was swallowed by the mass of sharks and disappeared without a trace.

Just as Qian Yu was surprised, something more incredible happened! The massive swarm of sharks began to blur after engulfing the figure. Countless shadows of sharks flickered in the water and suddenly, they amalgamated into one, forming a giant shark so large it would make anyone feel suffocated.

In an instant, Qian Yu's view turned into darkness. The giant shark did not wait for her reaction and opened its mouth wide, completely swallowing Qian Yu. This process happened so quickly that all that could be seen was a brief flash of cold light from the sharp, shiny teeth, before they disappeared into the shark's mouth again...

Suddenly, the crystal coffin released thousands of rays of light, soaring to the sea surface, twinkling across the horizon.

The dazzling light startled the giant shark, and it transformed back into countless individual sharks, anxiously swimming around the crystal coffin.

Then, Juan Ye inside the coffin slowly opened his eyes!

His gaze was clear and ruthless, completely different from Juan Ye a thousand years ago and from the present Ye.

What he possessed was the memory of Ye, as if everything was arranged in the dark. Ye abandoned his current body in the primeval ocean, but his soul entered his body from a thousand years ago, leading to the awakening of Juan Ye.

However, this awakening was not the result of becoming a demon through cultivation, but a natural attraction between the soul and body as they neared each other, followed by forcible entry. Therefore, the current Juan Ye is not the master of the demon world from a thousand years ago. Yet, the will formed by surviving calamities over the millennia endows the current Juan Ye with the heart of a demon, albeit lacking the demon's cultivation.

However, the Dharma body that belongs to the master of the demon world will gradually awaken Juan Ye's dormant spirit, leading him back to the realm of demons.