Chapter 28
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Volume 2 + Chapter 28: The Deep Sea Sacrifice
At this very moment, the royal silver dragon bloodline within Xia Yi resonated with the black coffin.
This sensation only lasted for a brief instant before quickly fading away.
It left her utterly perplexed, even wondering if it had all been her imagination.
Could it be that within the black coffin was also a dragon possessing royal blood?
But Xia Yi clearly remembered—aside from herself, the only one with the same royal bloodline was Xia Lulu.
So then… who exactly was inside the black coffin?
Countless questions churned within Xia Yi’s heart.
The black coffin lay placed at the very center of the altar.
All around the altar, the half-dragon creatures had gathered, bowing toward the center as if engaged in a grand sacrificial ritual.
From beneath the seawater, shadowy figures began to rise.
When Xia Yi looked carefully, she realized—they were sirens!
Beautiful and seductive sea demons circled the altar, moving in elegant, synchronized motions that resembled a dance—a sacrificial dance performed in the water.
Among the countless half-dragon monsters, one figure stood out from the rest. It slowly approached the altar, holding a scepter in its hand.
Wherever it passed, the other half-dragon monsters automatically stepped aside, parting the black tide to open a path leading directly to the altar.
A dragon?
No.
Xia Yi observed carefully for a long moment.
It was also a half-dragon monster, but compared to the others, it was much more highly evolved—its form far more similar to that of a true dragon. Its original species could no longer be discerned, and it even retained a faint trace of rationality.
Clearly, it was of a much higher class than the other half-dragon creatures. Like a priest presiding over the ritual, it commanded the entire ceremony’s pace.
The priest came to stand before the black coffin and knelt down in reverence.
The ceremonial etiquette it used was of the highest order—within the Dragon Kingdom, only a Dragon King was entitled to receive such a level of honor.
This made Xia Yi even more confused about the identity of the person within the coffin.
After completing the ritual gesture, the priest stood up again, picked up its scepter, and raised it toward the black tide.
The scepter emitted a crimson glow in the darkness. Bathed in the eerie light, the half-dragon creatures froze in place—their sense of self entirely stripped away.
The frenzy, madness, and ferocity in their eyes vanished, replaced by a dull stupor.
At that moment, the sirens began to sing—a bewitching melody that, in this ancient sunken city, summoned the Dream of the Sea, a blissful dreamscape that numbed the minds of all who heard it.
“Damn…!”
Xia Yi quickly covered her ears, trying to resist the sirens’ song with sheer willpower.
But curiously, she didn’t feel the slightest bit sleepy.
“The sirens’ song… doesn’t work on me anymore?”
A soft pink light glowed from Xia Yi’s lower abdomen.
Instantly, the little princess’s face turned bright red—this was just too embarrassing!
Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look!
She hurriedly covered her stomach, her face burning hot.
Thankfully, there was no one else around—otherwise, this would’ve been a guaranteed case of social death.
It was the Succubus Mark left by Ella taking effect, and only after a while did the glow finally dim.
She understood now.
Succubus could manipulate the dreams of others, forcing them into slumber.
Then conversely, they could also strip others of their dreams, making it impossible for them to sleep.
Because of that, the sirens’ song couldn’t pull her into the Dream of the Sea—naturally, it had no effect.
This was Ella’s contingency plan.
“Ella, even though you’re a pervy succubus… you really are a good person,” Xia Yi said inwardly, grateful.
Then, her gaze returned to the altar.
What happened next was truly shocking.
Those half-dragon monsters, after hearing the sirens’ song, were clearly under complete control—they actually chose to take their own lives!
One after another, they tore out their own hearts, holding them up with reverent hands in a kneeling position, offering them upward.
Around the black coffin, dragon-script runes lit up.
A magic formation activated, drawing all the vital essence from the hearts into the sky. What began as a small drop of blood gradually grew into a blood sphere.
After offering up their hearts, the creatures of the black tide slowly walked to the edge and stepped off—falling into the cold sea beneath the altar.
In the Dream of the Sea, they lost their lives, staining the waters red.
Offer the self.
Receive happiness.
If Xia Yi remembered correctly, those influenced by the Dream of the Sea had once uttered those very words. It must have referred to a scene just like this.
She found it horrifying from the bottom of her heart.
The black tide was being treated like expendable fuel. In this catastrophic disaster that had swept across Golde, no one even knew how many innocent lives had already been buried forever in the depths of the sea.
Thud.
The priest lightly tapped the scepter.
Among the kneeling black tide, a human girl appeared. She walked the same path the priest had taken earlier, crossing through the tide to step onto the altar.
Starlight poured down, illuminating the girl’s beautiful face.
Xia Yi froze—she nearly rushed out on the spot.
It was her student, Hill!
Hill had not yet been infected by the dragon’s curse and was still human, but she was already under the sirens’ control. Her eyes were completely lifeless.
Back in Seaside City, when Xia Yi and Serra had rushed to the beach, Hill had already walked into the sea.
It was at that moment she had been taken by the Black Tide… and brought here!
Chains bound Hill, suspending her in midair, positioned directly beneath the gathered essence of blood.
The priest looked at Hill, then at the blood essence above—still gathering from the sacrificial Black Tide—and revealed an expression of deep anticipation.
At that point, Xia Yi understood everything.
The reason the half-dragon monsters in the Black Tide were being sacrificed… was because they were all defective products.
On this altar, the defective ones were sacrificed, and their blood essence was used to create a more refined, superior offering.
And Hill—she had been chosen as the vessel to bear that blood essence and become the perfect sacrifice.
Originally, Xia Yi herself was meant to be brought here as a sacrifice. But thanks to Ella’s intervention and rescue, she had escaped halfway through—and thus narrowly avoided the same fate.
Xia Yi’s expression changed.
If Hill, a mere human, were to be infused with such highly concentrated blood essence, there was absolutely no way her body could withstand it. Her life would wither within minutes, and she would transform into a twisted monster.
But the priest wouldn’t care about any of that. All it wanted was a perfect sacrifice.
Possibly as an offering to Leviathan, or perhaps to the one inside the coffin…
But no matter who it was for, Xia Yi would never allow this to happen.
Still, she didn’t let her rage cloud her judgment. She couldn’t just charge out recklessly.
There was still some time before the blood essence was fully formed.
During this window, there was still something she could do—after all, she was about to face the entire Black Tide alone.
She had to act fast… and think of a way to respond—
“That’s right!”
Xia Yi suddenly remembered something.
In the library’s underground archive, aside from the history of the Old World and information about Leviathan, there had also been records of other things—like everything concerning the ancient sunken city. But at the time, due to the urgency of the situation, she hadn’t had the chance to finish reading them.
Those records… might be able to help her.
…
…
The crescent moon hung high in the sky, casting down a cold, silvery light.
The sacrificial ritual was progressing smoothly. The blood essence had already fully formed.
The priest was very pleased. Now came the final step—injecting the blood essence into the vessel’s body.
He raised his scepter, preparing to channel the blood essence into Hill’s body. And at that moment—
Whoosh!
A slash of sword energy struck the priest’s arm, knocking the scepter flying.
Stunned, he looked downward.
Amid the black tide, a small, silver-white figure appeared.
“Don’t touch my student, monster.”
