Chapter Eleven: Union!

The next morning.

Inside a luxurious villa on the Yang Family estate.

Qin Feng’s headless corpse, covered with a white sheet, was placed before Yang Haishan.

Though he was already one hundred and twenty years old, Yang Haishan's appearance was that of a man in his fifties. His square face gave off an air of solemn authority. His features, especially his face and brows, bore no resemblance to his older brother, Yang Haitai.

Yang Haishan sat upright in a rosewood chair, staring expressionlessly at the corpse before him.

His wives, children, grandchildren, and a group of servants could clearly sense the anger simmering within him; none dared to even breathe loudly.

A loud crack shattered the silence in the hall.

Yang Haishan had crushed the armrest of the rosewood chair to splinters.

“Old He!” he suddenly called out.

“Master!” A middle-aged man, dressed in a traditional suit and appearing to be in his forties, stepped forward.

This man, named He Shan, was Yang Haishan’s personal steward. He Shan was also a cultivator, at the early planetary stage.

“Find out who that person is, no matter what! I will make him pay dearly!” Yang Haishan said coldly.

“Yes!” He Shan replied respectfully.

Yang Haishan waved his hand. “Preserve the body for now. When you retrieve her head, then bury her. I won’t let Xiao Feng suffer even in death.”

He Shan nodded and gestured for people to carry away Qin Feng’s headless body.

After He Shan left, Yang Haishan sat in thought for a while, then spoke to his eldest son, Yang Le: “Le, call your second brother and warn him to be careful these days. My heart hasn’t been at ease lately; I have the feeling something is about to happen.”

“Dad, I understand.”

Yang Le, whose age appeared not much different from Yang Haishan’s, nodded immediately.

Then, Yang Haishan instructed his third daughter, Yang Yao, to take over the businesses Qin Feng had managed.

Compared to Qin Feng, Yang Yao, though a cultivator, was far less adept at managing affairs. Yang Haishan gave her earnest, detailed instructions.

Yang Yao was secretly delighted, but forced herself to keep a straight face, nodding repeatedly in agreement.

Once all was arranged, Yang Haishan waved his hand dismissively. “Leave me now. I need some peace.”

The others gradually left the hall.

When everyone had gone, Yang Haishan took a string of prayer beads from his pocket, closed his eyes, and slowly began to turn them.

...

With a splash, Yang Ye dove headfirst into the sea.

Long Xiaoqing had already entered the water and was swimming around. Seeing Yang Ye finally join her, she happily swam over.

Though water resistance was much greater than air, Long Xiaoqing’s speed seemed barely affected—she was astonishingly swift, slicing through the water like an emerald arrow.

“Husband, Xiaoqing will take you to see something wonderful!” she said with a smile as she reached Yang Ye.

“What is it?” Yang Ye asked curiously.

Long Xiaoqing replied, “You’ll know when you get there, husband.”

With that, she swam ahead, and Yang Ye followed.

The density of star beasts in the ocean was truly terrifying. As soon as Yang Ye entered the water, he clearly sensed that within a kilometer radius, there were at least a hundred star beasts at the Mist Star stage.

Perhaps it was the aura emanating from Long Xiaoqing that intimidated them, for they all fled rapidly.

However, Mist Star beasts were of little use to human cultivators, as they had not yet formed tangible beast cores. Only if one swallowed them whole, skin and bones, could one absorb their star power.

Following Long Xiaoqing, Yang Ye continued to dive. At a depth of over two hundred and fifty meters, he began to feel extremely uncomfortable and had to use his star power to resist the pressure.

At first, Yang Ye hadn’t used his star power, wanting to test how deep he could dive unaided.

Before entering the sea, he had purchased a depth gauge to wear on his wrist.

As he dove, he kept checking the gauge.

Two hundred and fifty meters—this was the limit of his physical body.

But with star power, things were different.

Records show that human cultivators have reached depths of over three thousand meters in the ocean, battling a powerful star beast and emerging victorious.

That happened decades ago, and the cultivator’s name was Tang Hao, a late-stage Stellar cultivator.

It was a hard-won victory; though he gained a stellar-grade beast core, Tang Hao needed a long recovery afterward.

That battle became famous because it provided a benchmark for future cultivators.

Five hundred meters… Eight hundred meters… One thousand meters…

As he continued to dive, Yang Ye kept an eye on his gauge.

At a depth of over two thousand two hundred meters, he felt himself struggling.

His star power was being consumed too rapidly at this depth.

No sunlight could reach so far; darkness enveloped Yang Ye.

“Xiaoqing, how much farther?” Yang Ye gritted his teeth and asked.

Long Xiaoqing stopped, her eyes wide as she looked at Yang Ye. “Husband, are you struggling?”

Yang Ye forced a smile. “Xiaoqing, do you think your husband is like you? Humans can’t breathe underwater. I’m nearly at my limit.”

To be fair, reaching over two thousand meters deep at the early planetary stage, Yang Ye had set a new record.

Yet at this depth, though he could survive, he had lost his fighting ability.

Even a Mist Star beast could kill him here.

“Husband, sorry, Xiaoqing forgot about that,” Long Xiaoqing said apologetically. Transforming into a streak of emerald light, she zipped into Yang Ye’s body.

A faint green glow radiated from Yang Ye’s skin.

He blinked, and the darkness vanished; his vision became crystal clear.

At the same time, the crushing pressure of the water disappeared.

Yang Ye cautiously withdrew his star power.

But—

Without thinking, he instinctively breathed in, and water rushed into his mouth and nose.

Fortunately, he reacted swiftly and didn’t choke.

After holding his breath, a strange sensation washed over him.

The ocean, the water—it felt familiar, as if he were breathing fresh air.

Yang Ye didn’t need to ask; he knew Long Xiaoqing was now sharing her abilities with him.

Unbeknownst to them, man and dragon were now fused as one.

This was possible thanks to the ancestral dragon energy from Long Xiaoqing’s grandfather and two years of egg incubation by Yang Ye.

“Husband, do you feel it? It’s just ahead,” Long Xiaoqing’s voice sounded in Yang Ye’s mind.

Hearing her, Yang Ye snapped out of his reverie.

Besides the absence of water pressure, his senses had sharpened greatly in the ocean. With Long Xiaoqing’s reminder, he distinctly felt a faint fluctuation of star power a hundred meters ahead.

It was a star beast at the late planetary stage.

Yang Ye immediately swam toward it.

After merging, his swimming speed increased several times.

Soon, a gigantic sea shell appeared before Yang Ye’s eyes.