HBWnovel Chapter 157 Deep Sea World
Chapter 157 Deep Sea World
once the task was complete, luo li turned to luis and said, "this time, i used your hartmann family's contribution points to pay for the goods. please, check the payment."
as she spoke, she handed him a jade slip.
luis accepted the jade slip and scanned it with his spiritual sense. from his storage bag, he retrieved another jade slip and deducted the amount from the mermaid tribe's deposit.
after ensuring the records matched, he returned luo li's jade slip and smiled. "the payment is complete, miss luo. please keep it safe."
luo li took the jade slip, a hint of hesitation appearing on her pretty face as she glanced at luis.
"what's wrong? is there something else?" luis asked, looking at her curiously.
"nothing," luo li replied, shaking her head. "it's just... strange. your race's living environment is so much better than ours, yet you look so tired."
"tired?" luis touched his face, then smiled faintly as he realized what she meant. enjoy new adventures from empire
she wasn't wrong—he was indeed a little worn out.
as the hartmann family grew larger and gained territories across various worlds, the burden of management only increased. although his mother and father handled most of the responsibilities, some matters still weighed heavily on him.
for instance, since acquiring the half-elves, he had been working relentlessly, leaving him with very little rest in the past few days.
as luis was lost in thought, a melodious song drifted into his ears.
the tune was like a gentle stream, flowing through his heart and washing away the tension. it soothed his weary emotions, making him feel as though he were back home.
gradually, the melody worked its magic. luis closed his eyes, the frown on his brow softening, and his mind finding tranquility once more.
after a long while, the singing ceased. luis opened his eyes and exclaimed, "that was truly beautiful!"
"do you really think so?" luo li asked, her expression lighting up with the joy of a child. "if you like it, i'll sing for you every time i come to the hartmann pavilion."
"really? it's a deal!"
"it's a deal," she said with a nod.
"luis, another request my father wants to see you. would you like to come to demon ape mountain?" luo li asked suddenly.
"your father?"
luis's expression grew serious.
luo li's father was a cultivator in the late foundation building stage. although not as powerful as zhou mubai, he was still a prominent figure in guang'an prefecture.
luis fell silent, lost in thought. what do these mermaids want now?
after all, if alien races dared to interfere in human affairs, they risked facing annihilation.
luis had only learned the extent of this risk later, during a conversation with his father.
the qianyuan sword sect was notorious for its ruthless suppression of alien races in the ten thousand star sea. to enforce its dominance, the sect had established a specialized organization called zhenhai palace.
though zhenhai palace wasn't widely known among human cultivators in the ten thousand star sea islands, it was a name that inspired terror in the underwater world.
especially its leader.
the master of zhenhai palace was the strongest being in the entire ten thousand star sea and a key pillar of the region's power structure.
this explained why luo li's father had shown such visible fear when the qianyuan sword sect was mentioned. it wasn't the sect itself that he feared, but rather the zhenhai palace that operated under its authority.
"the dark layer?"
luis asked through a voice transmission, uncertain about its meaning.
the underwater world of the ten thousand star sea was divided into three layers: the shallow layer, the dark layer, and the star sea layer, which lay below the dark layer.
only by passing through these three layers could one reach the true underwater world of the ten thousand star sea.
compared to the shallow layer, the dark layer was genuinely cold and devoid of light.
it was almost identical to the deep-sea environment luis remembered from his previous life.
the only difference was the sheer depth of the ten thousand star sea—it was far beyond anything he had ever imagined.
luo li, being a mermaid, moved at an incredible speed underwater.
yet, even after diving for a full hour, they still hadn't passed through the dark layer.
this left luis feeling a bit uneasy.
he had thought that becoming an extraordinary being would free him from fear of the forces of nature.
but now, standing in the endless darkness of the ten thousand star sea's dark layer, luis once again felt his own insignificance.
so-called cultivators... luis reflected bitterly. they're just slightly stronger humans.
in the face of the vastness and power of nature, even a qi refining cultivator—or someone at the foundation establishment or even golden core stage—seemed irrelevant.
a sudden wave of anxiety overtook him.
without realizing it, luis reached out and held luo li's small hand.
his touch caused luo li's body to tremble slightly as she swam.
but soon after, she glanced at him, her face faintly blushing, and gently tightened her grip around his hand without saying a word.
the two continued their descent in silence, an unspoken bond forming between them.
then, suddenly—
a faint glimmer of light appeared in the distance.
luis's eyes widened.
"what is that?"
he gazed at the shimmering "stars" below, momentarily at a loss for words.
"that's the star sea layer of the ten thousand star sea," luo li said softly. "we've passed through the dark layer!"
clearly, even for luo li—who had lived in the underwater world of the ten thousand star sea for many years—passing through the dark layer always brought significant psychological pressure.
but now, they had reached the star sea layer.
luis felt as though his entire worldview had been shattered.
the underwater world of the ten thousand star sea was breathtakingly magnificent, far beyond anything he could have imagined.
seeing the shock and awe on luis's face, luo li couldn't help but smile.