Unlike ordinary parents, Shang Yang merely frowned slightly, not immediately rejecting the idea or attempting to secure more conveniences for Tang Sui.
Normally, one would know without thinking that the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's private treasury would certainly be booby-trapped, and Tang Sui going alone would be akin to walking into a trap.
However, neither Tang Sui nor Shang Yang considered negotiating further with the Deep Sea Demon Whale King.
After a moment's thought, Tang Sui readily agreed, "Alright."
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King gave Tang Sui a deep look, stepped aside a couple of paces, and cleared the passage.
Before leaping into the passage, Tang Sui thought of something and asked the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, who stood there nonchalantly, not intending to follow Tang Sui in, "I'm going to your private treasury alone. Aren't you afraid I'll take too much?"
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King glanced at Tang Sui. "My power is marked within the treasury. I am fully aware of everything inside."
This implied that taking more under his watchful eye was impossible.
Tang Sui mused for a moment, stepped out of Shang Yang's barrier, attached her black and red demonic energy to her body to counteract the strong resistance, and entered the underwater passage.
"Gurgle, gurgle—!"
The rapid undercurrents were like mortar shells. The head-on resistance was no less powerful than what Tang Sui had felt on the first day she ascended the Sea God's Light.
No wonder the Deep Sea Demon Whale King was confident in leaving a sea passage.
With such resistance, even if the anomaly hidden within the black water grass were found, neither a Soul Douluo nor a Titled Douluo could descend.
"Buzz buzz—"
The black and red light intensified. Under the gaze of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King and Shang Yang, Tang Sui's expression remained unchanged as she submerged into the sea passage, disappearing from their sight.
The seabed suddenly felt much quieter, leaving only Shang Yang and the Deep Sea Demon Whale King standing opposite each other, neither speaking.
...
The sea passage was singular, with no confusing turns or choices for Tang Sui to make. Its sheer length, however, was daunting, more than most sea soul masters or those with excellent swimming skills could endure.
The narrowing of the passage did not diminish the resistance of the water.
Every drop of seawater felt like an attack soul skill from an enemy, impacting the body. Even with a protective layer of power, a slight misstep would result in being swept back by the swift and surging undercurrents, losing control of one's body and being drawn into the sea.
As the view gradually widened, the end of the sea passage opened into an even deeper darkness.
With a single glance, Tang Sui realized the true nature of this darkness—it was a peculiar stone ore, like black rock, used to conceal the entrance.
The fact that her spiritual power was being blocked by these rugged black stones was the best proof.
She activated her black and red demonic energy barrier, isolating herself from the intrusion of the seawater.
Now able to breathe, Tang Sui faced the dark, rocky wall before her. With a thought, four masks materialized from thin air, surrounding her.
Before the four masks could speak, Tang Sui casually grabbed one lucky recipient and approached the black stone wall, tapping it with the edge of the mask's shell.
It was like a melon buyer tapping the rind to choose a watermelon.
A dull sound indicated a good melon.
Lucky Recipient - God of Fortune: "..."
'Little master, did you hear anything?'
The old man-like face displayed a hint of grievance.
Tang Sui earnestly used the God of Fortune to tap and prod the black stone wall, finally nodding with certainty: 'I heard it. The rock wall is thick.'
The God of Fortune, used as a pickaxe and detector: '...Are you planning to just smash through it?'
It suppressed its grievance.
The Ape Mask sneered: 'If it's really smashed open violently, that Deep Sea Demon Whale King will definitely blow up.'
The Old Woman Mask kindly suggested: 'Since spiritual power can't find the mechanism, use the God of Fortune to tap from top to bottom and look for it.'
The God of Fortune was momentarily choked.
Tang Sui had the same idea.
If she could use a mask to tap, why would she hurt her own fingers?
If there was a substitute, why not use it?
"Boom, boom—"
A tremor resounded from within the rock wall.
The rugged mountain wall before Tang Sui caved inward and slowly slid to the side, revealing a stone door about a meter wide.
A chilling cold emanated from the stone door, even freezing a portion of her barrier, forming beautiful frost flowers, resembling modern crystal ornaments.
[Beep—Ten Thousand Year Cold Jade detected.]
[Beep—Trace amounts of toxins detected in the air. Host please take precautions.]
Ten Thousand Year Cold Jade?
Tang Sui, who was about to retract her barrier and step inside, paused and looked at the Old Woman Mask.
The Old Woman Mask's seemingly squinted eye sockets glowed red. At Tang Sui's signal, it flew out of the protective range of the barrier.
A powerful resistance, imbued with chilling cold, formed an extremely strong cold current that struck the black and red demonic energy barrier independently deployed on the mask, as it slowly flew into the pitch darkness.
Standing outside the stone door, Tang Sui closed her eyes and connected her spiritual vision to the Old Woman Mask.
The interior of the stone door was instantly projected into Tang Sui's mind through the Old Woman Mask's vision.
A deep blue energy shield formed a semi-enclosing shape, protecting piles of gold, gems, and rare crystals that resembled small mountains.
Perhaps as the Deep Sea Demon Whale King had said, he had special means of perception for what happened here. The Old Woman Mask did not receive any counterattack from the energy shield.
Human relics, buried among these glittering treasures, which had been accidentally stumbled upon or stubbornly challenged the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's majesty over centuries, along with unknown treasures meticulously sealed in wooden boxes.
This place was like a dragon's hoard. Tang Sui even saw the fossilized skeletons of powerful sea soul beasts that had died, collected here for reasons unknown. A faint aura of bloody malevolence could be felt from the stark skeletons.
With just a glance, Tang Sui saw many human relics casually placed in a corner of the treasury—Soul Tools.
And even... Soul Bones.
Tang Sui stilled.
Even if these soul bones were not at the hundred-thousand-year level, any one of them would be something countless people would covet in the outside world.
Here they were, casually placed in an unattended treasury, as if worthless.
'System, where is the Cold Jade you mentioned?'
Tang Sui, having scanned the treasury through the Old Woman Mask's vision, did not see anything resembling jade inside.
Instead, the Old Woman Mask, sensing something within the treasury, turned its perspective. The suspended mask swooped down, and a ball of black and red demonic energy detached from it. Although not as bright as the luminous pearls in the treasury, it illuminated the mist-covered ground.
'Here.'
The Old Woman Mask responded.
Tang Sui: "..."
Good heavens, Cold Jade used as flooring?
She guessed that when the Deep Sea Demon Whale King built this treasury, the Cold Jade was not very old and not considered top-tier. But as time passed, the Cold Jade aged, and from her current perspective, this Ten Thousand Year Cold Jade had become a luxury.
Subsequently, the Old Woman Mask circled the cave along the walls, tapping here and there, confirming the absence of traps, with only a slight amount of poison in the air. Then, it steadied itself, preparing to personally enter the treasury.
[Wait.]
Just as Tang Sui was about to enter, the system suddenly spoke.
'Hm?'
[I suggest you don't step on the ground. Fly in like the Old Woman Mask.]
The system's mechanical voice was so cold it could have dropped ice shards.
[If the Cold Jade on the ground mixes with the slow-acting poison in the air, it will become a fatal cold poison. Even you, as a demon, will be poisoned.]