When Ling Tian reappeared in the ocean, he was startled by the scene before him. The entire sea area was red, with shredded meat floating in the water, some belonging to the fish he had killed, and some to the merfolk.
Ling Tian used his Heavenly Eye divine ability to observe the distance and found that some sharks were heading towards them, seemingly preparing for a grand feast.
Ling Tian immediately stepped on his flying sword and flew back to the Ice Queen research vessel!
As dusk fell, the human captives on the island finished their work. During the day's labor, over a dozen more captives collapsed.
Hunger and exhaustion made them unable to stand up again, and the merfolk, without any pity, dragged these people away and threw them into the sea, where they became food for the sharks that served as the merfolk's mounts.
Witnessing this scene, everyone felt immense indignation, but it was of no avail; they could do nothing.
Meanwhile, in the underwater space, Nu Lin Jing Tao once again intruded into his sister's room.
"Luoyun, something has happened!
I sent out four patrol teams today to hunt whales, but this patrol team has not returned yet!
I have already sent people to search everywhere, but I still haven't found their whereabouts!
Please help me cast a spell to confirm their location!"
Nu Lin Jing Tao said, handing a specially shaped conch shell to his sister. The shape of this conch shell resembled the Yin and Yang fish in the Bagua.
In fact, this was a very peculiar type of conch, growing in pairs. When the two conches were together, they fit perfectly, and no two conches were exactly alike.
The merfolk used these conch shells to cast spells and determine the general location of their companions in the sea.
The leader of this patrol team carried one such conch shell when they went out, and the other half of this conch shell was now in Nu Lin Luo Yun's hand.
Nu Lin Luo Yun nodded. She held the conch shell in her hands and chanted incantations. After a few minutes, she stopped casting the spell and frowned.
"What is it, sister? Is there a problem?"
Seeing Nu Lin Luo Yun's expression, Nu Lin Jing Tao was also surprised. He guessed that something might have happened.
"The conch shell carried by the patrol team has shattered. My spell can only determine a general direction! It's that way!"
Nu Lin Luo Yun pointed in a direction, and Nu Lin Jing Tao nodded. "Alright, that's enough. I will immediately send people to see what happened!"
Nu Lin Jing Tao, as an excellent general among the merfolk, had strong execution. He quickly dispatched several patrol teams to search in the direction his sister pointed.
About two hours later, a patrol team reported that in a sea area tens of kilometers away, they had found some broken spears and remnants of armor. Upon identification, these items belonged to the missing patrol teams.
As for bodies, they found none. After all, shortly after Ling Tian left, dozens of sharks arrived in that sea area, and those bodies were truly not enough for the sharks to feast on.
Furthermore, most fish and marine creatures in the ocean are scavengers. The bodies of the merfolk and sharks had long since been completely consumed.
"Damn it, how could this happen!"
Nu Lin Jing Tao's heart ached. Those deceased merfolk patrol members were all elites under his command.
He couldn't understand how humans could possibly stand against his patrol teams in the sea.
In just one day, he had lost five patrol teams, nearly thirty merfolk. This was something he could not tolerate.
"Sister, this cannot continue. I don't know what methods those humans used, but they have genuinely posed a threat to our patrol teams.
Those humans are very cunning. They deliberately avoid approaching this island, yet they continuously deplete our strength!
I have decided. Tomorrow, I will personally lead a team to eliminate them!"
"Brother, these humans are not simple. I will go with you tomorrow!"
"Good!
When we capture those humans, I will not give them a chance to become slaves. I will kill them directly!" Nu Lin Jing Tao said through gritted teeth.
"Brother, I think we need to re-evaluate this operation.
Although these humans are not as powerful as before, they can still cause us harm!
We must take these humans seriously. You know, although we brought over a thousand warriors, the teleportation array has no energy left. It will take over a year for the teleportation array to naturally recover its energy and be reactivated!
Now, we must open this ruin as soon as possible to see if there are any items inside that can replenish the energy for the teleportation array!
During this period, we must also minimize personnel losses as much as possible!"
"Alright, I understand. I will adjust our tactics."
At the same time, in the pitch-black seabed, Ling Tian was flying at high speed underwater, with his flying sword beneath his feet. Ah Li, on the other hand, had revealed its true form, transforming into a cat of ordinary size. This small cat, pure white all over with only its tail being pure black, lay comfortably on Ling Tian's shoulder.
Along the way, Ling Tian continuously activated his Heavenly Eye divine ability, scanning the situation in the water. Although his divine sense was limited in seawater, he could still detect a distance of nearly 200 meters.
Along this route, Ling Tian evaded several patrol teams. It was evident that although these merfolk lived in the sea, their detection range was far inferior to Ling Tian's.
Finally, Ling Tian and Ah Li reached the shore. Ah Li transformed back into human form, and Ling Tian put away his flying sword. He cast an invisibility talisman on himself and Ah Li, and their figures disappeared into the night.
"Ah Li, go explore over there. If you have a chance, kill a few. If needed, create some commotion. I'll go see if I can rescue the captives."
"Heh heh, alright. I'm not good at rescuing people, but killing them..." Ah Li said, licking its lips. These merfolk were just a school of fish in its eyes. For a cat, fish were destined to be prey!
Meanwhile, as night deepened, Xuan Yuan Chang Feng stood up, and Xuan Yuan Luan Feng followed him. Neither of them could sleep, and they couldn't even meditate to cultivate their inner energy because the collars around their necks restricted their internal power.
Furthermore, Xuan Yuan Chang Feng was preoccupied. He got up to check on the condition of every person among the Xuan Yuan family's teams.
The way Xiao Xu died yesterday was still vivid in his mind. Xuan Yuan Chang Feng felt a sense of guilt, believing it was his negligence that led to Xiao Xu's death.
After checking everyone, Xuan Yuan Chang Feng returned to sit on the haystack. Xuan Yuan Luan Feng sat beside him.