Zi Lingling spoke and headed towards the cave entrance.
Ye Lingyuan's expression tightened. He grabbed her hand and yanked her behind him.
Just as Zi Lingling was about to get angry, she heard Ye Lingyuan's domineering voice enter her ears.
"Follow me!"
His tone brook no argument, leaving Zi Lingling no room to refuse.
As Ye Lingyuan finished speaking, he took the lead into the cave.
"Your Highness, allow me,"
Mu Qingyan said. Without waiting for Ye Lingyuan's consent, he stepped into the large cave first.
Ye Lingyuan and Zi Lingling followed closely, with Qian Shaojie a step behind.
The cave was quite spacious. A fist-sized night-blooming pearl was embedded in the ceiling. Around it, there was a circle of lamp stands, each holding a lamp, with ever-burning flames flickering within.
Qian Shaojie, walking last, immediately widened his eyes upon seeing the night-blooming pearl on the ceiling.
His eyes sparkled with a crystalline light, and saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth, making a crisp "pat" sound on the ground.
Immediately after, Ye Lingyuan, Zi Lingling, and Mu Qingyan heard his ecstatic cry: "Canghai Yizhu! It's Canghai Yizhu! Canghai Yizhu! Damn it! This mythical beast Baihu is too extravagant!"
The Qian family was not only one of the Eight Great Clans of the Three Kingdoms but also the foremost commercial family. Although not comparable to the Shen family, one of the Four Great Families of the Azure Dragon Empire, they were known as the wealthiest family in the Three Kingdoms.
As the young master of the Qian family, Qian Shaojie had naturally seen countless treasures. His discerning eye was by no means inferior to that of any appraiser.
Therefore, anything that could make the young master of the Qian family lose his composure was undoubtedly an unparalleled treasure.
Canghai Yizhu?
Zi Lingling only felt that the night-blooming pearl was very large, but she didn't know it had such a beautiful name, let alone its value.
Seeing Qian Shaojie's exaggerated reaction, she asked somewhat confusedly, "Is this Canghai Yizhu very precious?"
Qian Shaojie nodded vigorously and said, "Precious? It's beyond precious; it's priceless! I doubt you could find a second one in the entire Tianyuan Continent!"
"Ah? So valuable!"
Zi Lingling had tried her best to overestimate the value of this Canghai Yizhu, but hearing Qian Shaojie say this, she was still profoundly shocked.
One of a kind!
This was Qian Shaojie's answer to her.
She finally understood what Qian Shaojie meant by "This mythical beast Baihu is too extravagant!"
This wasn't just extravagant; it was wasteful!
Zi Lingling now wished she could grab that mythical beast Baihu and give it a good beating.
Just then, Qian Shaojie's angry exclamation rang out again.
"What a waste! What a waste! That scoundrel Baihu, actually using Merman's Tears, which appear only once in ten thousand years, as lamp oil!"
It turned out that he had inadvertently walked up to the lamp stands and discovered that the oil in the lamps was made of Merman's Tears.
Qian Shaojie's heart ached so much that tears were about to fall. Those were Merman's Tears!
A single Merman's Tear, formed after ten thousand years, solidifies into blood like silver!
Merman's Tears could only be formed by a merman that had lived for ten thousand years, experiencing heartbreaking pain, and nourished by the vital blood from its heart. This showed how precious they were.
One drop was already rare, but here, in this large cave, there were over ten lamps, each containing no less than ten drops. It was no wonder Qian Shaojie cried out "What a waste!"
When Zi Lingling learned that these were all Merman's Tears, a sense of sadness welled up in her heart.
Ye Lingyuan felt the sudden wave of sadness emanating from her and tightened his grip on her hand, asking with concern, "Ling'er, what's wrong?"
Zi Lingling shook her head and said faintly, "I'm fine. I just feel sorrow for the fate of the merman tribe."
Ye Lingyuan gently wiped away the moisture from her eyes, held her tightly in his arms, and softly comforted her, "Ling'er, there's no need to be too sad. An innocent man is guilty when he possesses wealth! The heaven-defying effects of Merman's Tears have destined the merman tribe for a tragic fate!"
Zi Lingling looked around the dim cave and then shook her head again, a determined look in her eyes, "I don't believe in fate. My destiny is mine to control, not Heaven's!"
As she spoke these words, her state of mind underwent a significant change, and a certain shackle within her body trembled slightly.
In an unknown location, a man with snow-white hair curved his lips into a cold smile and murmured, "You don't believe in fate?"
Ye Lingyuan looked at her bright, shining eyes and smiled dotingly, "Good! Your destiny is yours to control, not Heaven's. Now, can we go in?"
Zi Lingling did not notice the peculiar blue glint in Ye Lingyuan's eyes.
"Mhm!"
Zi Lingling nodded and said, "However, I need to remove the obstacles first."
Saying this, she looked at Chu Kerren, who was lying unconscious on the ground.
With a thought, a vine appeared before her. The vine twitched and coiled around Chu Kerren.
It weaved up and down a few times, and Chu Kerren on the ground was tightly bound.
Then, the vine obsequiously extended one end into Zi Lingling's palm.
Zi Lingling seized it and gave a strong tug. Chu Kerren was flung out from the opening they had broken, landing on the ground outside with a thud.
Dust billowed up from the ground, eventually settling on Chu Kerren's dirty white robes.
Qian Shaojie flinched all over, squeezed his eyes, and a trace of fear appeared in his gaze towards Zi Lingling.
He thought to himself, "This Crown Princess of the Boss is indeed as vengeful as the Boss! Fortunately, I surrendered, otherwise, wouldn't I have lost all this flesh?"
Mu Qingyan looked at Chu Kerren, who had fallen heavily to the ground, and shook her head pityingly, thinking, "This Crown Princess really doesn't hold back!"
Zi Lingling looked at Chu Kerren, engulfed by dust, her eyes gleaming.
She clapped her hands with satisfaction, a faint smile curving her lips, and said to Ye Lingyuan, "Alright, the obstacle has been removed. We can go!"
As she finished speaking, she walked inside with a cheerful mood.
Ye Lingyuan shook his head helplessly and followed.
He had already sensed with his divine consciousness and found that there was no danger here.
Therefore, since Zi Lingling wanted to lead the way, he did not object.
However, after walking only three to five meters, the four of them stopped again.
Before them now was a stone staircase extending upwards. The steps were incredibly smooth but so dark that they reflected no light.
"Oh my god! This is obsidian!"
Qian Shaojie felt his eyes were about to be blinded.
In such a short time, he had already seen three unparalleled treasures.
Zi Lingling blinked and asked, "What is obsidian?"