"What in the world is this?!"
The Sea Rat King leaned back in fury, causing the entire underwater cave to tremble.
[Ah, Boss, finally got through! I was so worried!]
Mei's voice echoed in his consciousness again. Ling Yan roughly calculated that about half an hour had passed since the gourd had glowed. It seemed the gourd's light had been blocking the signal for direct contact between him and Mei.
[Mei, synthesize a purple crystal from the grotto just now, and make it quick.]
[Roger that, Boss.]
The Sea Rat King was enraged!
"You!? This hideous clod of earth, you dare call it a treasure! You two youngsters must think your lives are too long! Minions..."
"Wait, wait, wait! Your Majesty, please calm down!"
Ling Yan, acting like a lackey, bent over and lowered his head as he hurried to Mu Yuan's side, even winking at him as he reached him.
Then, he took out a giant gem radiating a brilliant purple glow from his chest.
Mei understood Ling Yan's intention perfectly. She had even processed the gem, simulating a cut and polished state.
The entire surface of the purple gem evenly reflected dazzling light.
The Sea Rat King, who had just been roaring in anger, suddenly extended its short front limbs, stopping the sea rats that were charging towards Ling Yan and Mu Yuan. It beckoned Ling Yan closer with a pointed finger. Ling Yan approached the Sea Rat King, holding the purple gem.
Mei's fake gem was made to perfectly fit the size of the enormous Sea Rat King's palm. It received it as if it were a priceless treasure, its eyes gleaming with greedy light, clearly very fond of the gem.
Mu Yuan glanced at Ling Yan and reattached the half-gourd to his waist.
"All of you, retreat. I want to talk to these two humans alone."
At the Sea Rat King's command, a rustling sound echoed through the cave as all the sea rats hidden in the darkness quickly retreated towards the entrance.
Mu Yuan was secretly astonished. The number was at least double what he had estimated.
Ling Yan's expression, however, didn't change much. After all, it was a rat's nest; any number wouldn't be surprising.
"Seeing how sincere you two are, speak. What do you desire?"
Ling Yan and Mu Yuan exchanged a glance, neither quite understanding the Sea Rat King's meaning.
But at a time like this, silence was often the wisest choice.
The Sea Rat King played with the purple gem in its hand, watching the sparkling light that shone through its fingertips. Although it was speaking to Ling Yan and Mu Yuan, its eyes never left the purple gem.
"Those who once rotted in this great sea all wanted to use treasures to exchange for wishes from me. However you arrived here, I am very satisfied with the treasure you have presented. Speak, one wish each, and I will grant them."
"Does Your Majesty know about the *Ultimate Flesh Codex*? Could you tell us about it?"
The Sea Rat King probably hadn't expected anyone's wish to be so simple. It asked again:
"Are you sure you just want me to talk about this?"
Mu Yuan nodded.
The Sea Rat King raised its pointed snout, extended its fleshy, short front paws, and stroked its hard, long whiskers. It made an "hmm—" sound, its thoughts seeming to drift to a very distant place and time.
Then, it began to tell the legend of the *Ultimate Flesh Codex*.
In fact, there were many rumors about the Codex, but the most widely spread and reliable one was that there were a total of seven treasures in the Xingling Kingdom.
These seven treasures were scattered across the seven continents of the Xingling Kingdom.
Anyone who could collect all seven treasures would be qualified to go to the palace on the Purple Gold Continent and open the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Pagoda within the palace.
"What's hidden in this Exquisite Pagoda? There are all sorts of stories. Some say eternal wealth, others say the ability to gain eternal life, immortality. Of course, these are all legends. So far, no one has been able to collect all seven treasures. Instead, many people have died because of fighting over them.
However, it's no wonder you're interested, because the thing in your hand is one of the treasures mentioned in the *Ultimate Flesh Codex*—the Purple Gold Gourd."
As soon as the Sea Rat King spoke these words, Ling Yan and Mu Yuan exchanged a swift glance.
The Sea Rat King huffed. "What's so surprising? Little ghosts, I knew long ago that what you held was one of the Seven Treasures. Even though it's only half, it's still undeniably half of one of the Seven Treasures, but..."
The Sea Rat King's gaze turned to the clod-like half-gourd on Mu Yuan's waist, and it wrinkled its nose in disgust before suddenly becoming agitated. "It's ugly! So ugly it doesn't deserve to be called a treasure! Anything ugly has no value in my eyes!"
The Sea Rat King held up the gem Ling Yan had just given it. "Beautiful things, things that please me, those are treasures."
Mu Yuan: ...
Ling Yan: ...
Who could have imagined that this underwater queen had such a temperament? Because of the clod's aesthetic issues, Mu Yuan and Ling Yan had actually lucked out.
"What you need to do is find the other half of the Purple Gold Gourd. I reckon that other half has already recognized its master, but it's someone else. You need to take the other half back from their hands."
"Recognized its master?" Mu Yuan repeated softly.
The Sea Rat King rolled its eyes, even though its entire eyeball was black, with no white.
"Yes, this ugly lump has recognized you as its masters. Otherwise, how would you be emitting purple-gold light and be able to breathe and speak down here? Although I don't know why it recognized both of you at the same time. Did you perhaps enter the dream together?"
Enter the dream?
Ling Yan thought of that unbelievably beautiful little boy.
He unconsciously turned his head to look at Mu Yuan beside him. Mu Yuan's face had paled slightly. Sensing his gaze, he met his eyes for half a second before looking away.
"Maybe," Mu Yuan's tone was a little urgent, perhaps flustered by Ling Yan's gaze. "Then where do we need to go to find the other half of the Purple Gold Gourd?"
"He he he, he he!"
There it was again!
That particularly eerie and extremely unsettling strange laughter they had heard earlier.
Fortunately, the Sea Rat King took pity on the two weak humans and only laughed once. Then it craned its neck forward, getting closer to Mu Yuan.
"What kind of deity do you take me for? I'm just a nameless nobody in this South Sea. How would I know where the other half of the gourd is?
However, since you already have one half, finding the other half won't be difficult. The Purple Gold Gourd originated in the Purple Gold Continent. You might as well ask someone from the Purple Gold Continent."
Someone from the Purple Gold Continent?
Where were they supposed to find someone from the Purple Gold Continent?
While Mu Yuan was racking his brains, wondering if they would have to return to the mainland from Snowgate Island, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him. He slightly opened his mouth and abruptly raised his head, just in time to hear Ling Yan softly utter a few words beside him:
"Military Doctor Qin Wei or National Preceptor Wang Quan."
Mu Yuan nodded vigorously, pointing at Ling Yan with his finger again and again.
As expected of Ling Yan, so sharp.
They were on the same wavelength again!
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Truly grateful!"
The Sea Rat King's tone was indifferent. It was still playing with the purple gem, having just switched it from one paw to the other.
"So, what is your wish?"
A dangerous and cunning light flickered in the Sea Rat King's black, pebble-like eyes. Ling Yan was all too familiar with this kind of light.
Many villains weren't inherently evil, but evil people were definitely villains.
Even the ordinary grunt-level rats under this Sea Rat King knew how to play dead and use others to their advantage. How could their Queen not be shrewd?
Ling Yan didn't rush. He first bowed to the Sea Rat King and asked, "Can Your Majesty grant all of my wishes?"
"Yes, all."
"Your Majesty keeps your word?"
The Sea Rat King paused, and before it could speak, Ling Yan continued:
"I believe Your Majesty will certainly do as you say. If you break your word, I will, at any cost, take away the brilliance of all the treasures around you. The underwater cave you inhabit will become dim and never recover."
Ling Yan's gaze turned to the purple gem in the Sea Rat King's hand. The light in the gem quickly dimmed, but it flickered and brightened again in the blink of an eye.
The Sea Rat King's fur stood on end in an instant!
How many years had it been? This human before it had actually made it feel fear!
Not the threat of death, but something even greater.
It felt like it was being manipulated by him!
Annoying!
But.
This man indeed had the ability to do it.
The Sea Rat King felt dejected. Although it was indeed a pity that it couldn't keep these two men as beautiful as celestial beings to stay and accompany it, it was still better than forcibly keeping them and having its extraordinary cave lose its brilliance.
Between two evils, choose the lesser!
Having thought it through, even though the Sea Rat King had already guessed what Ling Yan had in mind, it still asked faintly:
"What is your wish?"
Seeing that the Sea Rat King was cooperating, Ling Yan's expression changed in an instant. He bared his white teeth and gave a roguish smile.
"Send us back to Snowgate Island, Your Majesty."