Chapter 1158: Chapter 1156: Purification or Impurity Removal
Although Fu Qian successfully ascended to become a Divine Envoy, the accompanying curse caused his own collapse, forcing him to use a Mermaid as a vessel, transferring his pure self out, abandoning his body in search of rebirth.
Fu Qian recalled the story Vivian had described to him.
And along the way, many things had confirmed this claim.
The symbols of self, the eggs that were extruded from their bodies using special methods, indeed showed similar traces on the Fishmen.
The reaction of Nini Anni, the little Mermaid Princess, to the gradual disintegration and eventual disappearance of this object she crushed by herself also proved that it truly was Vivian’s mark.
But there was an important question here: was the one he had made the deal with truly Vivian?
In other words, was the bizarre frog that had him collect through killing and ultimately transfuse onto himself, the pure part or the curse itself?
Rather than believing that Vivian left her sister here, then went out to ascend alone, resulting in failure and entrapment without return, Fu Qian leaned towards a simpler explanation—something had devoured Vivian after she left home.
The one conversing with him was that creature, not Vivian.
The actions indeed allowed him to elevate his level, but the subsequent side effects left him trapped in a state of collapse.
The Mermaids lured in were his conceived method of detoxification.
He was no different.
He wanted to transfer this trouble onto him.
As for the method of ascending to the Second Phase offered in exchange, it might not certainly be an outright lie.
Replacing his current state, he might indeed gain some benefits, but there was no longer a chance for regret, needing to wait here for the next vessel.
"So, has this place existed for many years? Have you always been here inside it?"
Assessing another probability, Fu Qian continued to inquire.
"Yes."
Nini Anni’s answers were exemplary, like those of an excellent student.
"Vivian and I have been here since we were born, never having left."
Since birth, never having left... Indeed creatures from the Sea of Ashes?
But their state of existence was obviously special.
Fu Qian subtly nodded to himself.
"But you know how to leave, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to let those Mermaids out."
"Yes, Vivian knew as well, but I discovered it first."
With someone helping with memories of the past, even Nini Anni’s tone sounded quite cheerful.
"Then haven’t you ever thought about going out to see? This place may be big, but it’s completely different from the ocean."
As Fu Qian asked this question, his heart already faintly had an answer.
"We can’t leave, Vivian told me that if we leave this place, we would likely turn into foam and disappear in a daze."
Nini Anni’s voice was very serious, sounding as if she was directly quoting her sister’s words.
"We are different from normal creatures; no matter our Ranking, in essence, we are fragments from the fluctuations of accidental power in this sea area."
"The only thing that sets us apart is luck—we were born in this miracle, which has protected us from the scouring of the ashes, allowing us to survive continuously."
That really resembled the story of the Mermaid Princess, turning into foam as the price for growing legs?
Fu Qian sighed, feeling that the probability of the frog not being Vivian had just increased.
If his earlier speculation was true, then there was a direct question: In fact, the group of Fishmen outside, being used residues, were meaningless to the frog princess.
This directly negated the idea of a farming ground, meaning it could leave this place and even the Sea of Ashes, transforming into a sea monster hunting for prey everywhere.
That would seem more efficient than squatting in this cage.
But it did not do so.
Now it was known that he used Vivian, material from the Sea of Ashes, for his ascension.
Like building a house with snow blocks, leaving this place might mean facing the risk of complete collapse, not even necessarily leaving the Sea of Ashes.
This was the reason for its dare not to leave.
However, if that was the case, wouldn’t that be too careless?
Didn’t it know that you can’t just eat anything from the Sea of Ashes?
Fu Qian became somewhat curious about the source of Enlightenment he had received.
"So what specifically is the method you discovered that allows you to leave this place?"
Fu Qian continued to consult the fortunate Mermaid Princess.
"It’s simple, the sequence."
The latter was also not secretive.
"This place is composed of many fragmentary sea areas; you need to follow a certain pattern, passing through some of them one by one."
"Then you will find yourself falling out of here."
It turned out to be like this; isn’t that a bit like what happened earlier?
Fu Qian naturally thought of the way he entered the place just before.
No wonder Nini Anni could send those Fishmen out, and it hadn’t been discovered for so many years.
Essentially, she only slightly guided their routes, and it could even theoretically occur randomly.
"Impressive, how did you discover this?"
Fu Qian did not skimp on praise.
This thing was simple after being known, but the process of discovering it could not be simply described as complicated. Had these two Mermaids been that idle here?
"Initially it was by chance we found that some creatures disappeared, you know that creatures inside here are like us; they don’t just vanish without a trace, so we were very curious about the reason."
"Why is it not because they were consumed by other creatures? That’s quite normal, isn’t it?"
Fu Qian estimated the rate at which the colors on his body were fading, indicating that there was time to chat a bit more.
"...You’re right, creatures are indeed consumed, but they don’t just disappear."
However, this question seemed to dampen Nini Anni’s emotions.
"I carry a special Curse; all the Creations that die in here, ultimately, inevitably converge upon me."
"When first discovered, my sister thought I was contaminated by them, so she established this place and killed all creatures approaching, forbidding them from coming close to me..."
"However, we quickly discovered that this made them appear on me even faster."
"Then we started looking for other methods. Every day my sister ran about, forbidding all conflict, even binding all violent beings... Sadly soon, creatures became too numerous to control."
"Until one day, we noticed that some creatures would disappear for no reason."
"Vivian was very happy, thinking this was the best method to resolve the issues on me, so we began the long exploration process."
Was that really how it came to be?
Fu Qian glanced at the island behind the Mermaid.
Clearly, Nini Anni no longer dared to guide on a large scale waiting for Vivian over the years.
Inevitably, the accumulation still occurred, turning her into what she looked like now.