Chapter 674: Extra Chapter 1: Fortifying Every Step

Shi Jin, that's my mysterious grandpa.

It turns out the truth of the matter is actually like this!

Shi You is my ancient ancestor; she was placed by the Chief into the Golden-thread Nanmu Coffin to nurture the Earth Fetus, while Shi Jin took her place.

The Chief has long been in seclusion, Shi Jin harbors grand ambitions, fortifying every step.

One can imagine that back then, Shi Jin likely sought to consolidate his position within the Mountain-Relieving Strongmen lineage, which is why he willingly served the superior.

But when he led the core squad of the Red Armor Army, after enduring countless hardships, he finally stood before that Golden-thread Nanmu Coffin, opened the lid, and saw the woman lying inside, his belief collapsed with a boom.

How could Shi Jin not know Shi You?

And the Chief was in seclusion deep in the waters where the ancient tomb lies; how could she not sense Shi Jin's arrival?

A brutal struggle is about to erupt.

In that case, my mysterious grandpa is truly both powerful and wise enough.

He not only escaped successfully from the ancient tomb, but also took Shi You's mermaid pearl.

I felt a sense of satisfaction.

But when I lowered my head and saw the Earth Fetus power being continuously drawn from me by the Chief, I also felt ashamed.

I am sorry to my mysterious grandpa.

But even if I die today, I must figure out everything I want to know: 'Since the mermaid pearl is so important to you, why have you endured all these years without moving against the Shi Family?'

"The mermaid pearl must be merged into the carrier's body while the flesh is still alive."

The Chief absorbed a large amount of Earth Fetus power, and her whole complexion turned rosy.

"At that time, the mermaid pearl had not yet reached the level capable of nurturing an Earth Fetus; I needed to find another carrier like Shi You to continue nourishing the mermaid pearl. Alas, heaven thwarted my wishes—I waited so many years, yet the Shi Family passes down only through single lineage, only male heirs. Do you know how overjoyed I was at the moment of your birth? I was simply overjoyed."

I continued to ask: "Then why wasn't the mermaid pearl fused into my body right after I was born?"

"Because your fate is too hard, your heart too ruthless!"

The Chief said: "The Spiritual Qi of the Earth Fetus comes from the earth and from all beings; it is compassionate, full of great love. Only by awakening your maternal nature and reaching a certain height can you truly be of use to me, Shi Rou. I can't wait any longer—I must cultivate her into the perfect work. Clearly, I have succeeded."

Yes, she succeeded.

After experiencing the deaths of one fiancé after another, and the miscarriages of one fetus after another, my personality has indeed been constantly changing.

But such changes are actually all orchestrated by the Chief.

"When you were born, Shi Jin was already in his twilight years; he had calculated your fate and was pleased, but he could never have imagined that I had long planted my people beside him, waiting only for his death—then everything he had arranged for the Shi Family's descendants would quietly change."

I suddenly realized: "Shi Yin is the pawn you buried in the Shi Family, and the feng shui formation array beneath the ancestral tomb has also been altered by you after my mysterious grandpa's death, right?"

"Yes!" the Chief answered crisply, "Shi Jin set up a formation array beneath the Shi Family ancestral tomb to keep your fate steadfast; after his death, Shi Yin quietly altered the array, drawing groundwater into the Shi Family ancestral tomb, causing your fate to gradually change with the seepage of groundwater."

More importantly, the formation array Shi Jin set up is centered on that small coffin, so your fate will also shift toward the merfolk as groundwater seeps in and the array changes.

In other words, even before the mermaid pearl was held in my mouth, my fate had already been bound to it and was under its influence.

Merfolk are timid and full of maternal instinct… all these traits will gradually manifest in me.

So, the former 'Lingnan Hei Gu Fu' is gone; I have become timid, sensitive, and full of maternal instinct.

Grandfather's death, and my moving the small coffin into Dang Pu with Jin Wuya, were strong pushes against the Chief's scheming timeline.

Everything is firmly under her control.

Just as now, her willingness to tell me all this stems first from having victory in hand, her vanity at work—hunters always like to spend a moment admiring their prey's final death struggle.

Another point is that the Chief needs time to absorb the Earth Fetus Spiritual Qi from my body.

We can't just sit here staring at each other during this wait, can we?

Moreover, I've been constantly asking questions.

Right now, my stomach has sunk inward, and my whole body feels extremely weak.

The despair of life continuously being drained from my body begins to spread.

I also recall that moment of empathy with the Chief just now—how ridiculous.

The reason she laid bare those things for me is simply because the formation of the Earth Fetus is still lacking a little.

Time really crawls—my body gradually starts to ache.

It even begins to twitch.

The Chief stares fixedly at my face, relishing my miserable state.

At this moment, she must be thinking of Shi You again.

This long-held resentment, finally able to exact revenge, immerses her in satisfaction.

So much so that when the pendant personally hung on my neck by Jin Wuya suddenly lit up, she failed to notice it at first.

My twitching ceased, and the Spiritual Power that had been draining from my body began to flow back.

In the darkness, it seemed a suction emerged, pulling back everything the Chief had taken from me.

Not long after, the Chief finally sensed something amiss.

Her complexion shifted abruptly, and she quickly noticed the pendant on my neck.

It was a piece of black stone that had been re-carved and polished; for some unknown reason, its center now seemed to ignite a tiny crimson flame, glowing and heating.

The Chief grabbed my collar and reached to snatch that pendant.

But as soon as her hand touched the pendant, a powerful repelling force flung her away.

"What the hell is this! What's happening!"

She went mad, repeatedly trying to touch the pendant, each time being flung back, while the Earth Fetus Spiritual Power she had just absorbed rushed back into my body at an even faster speed.

If, while absorbing the Earth Fetus Spiritual Power earlier, she had not wasted words but instead focused and immediately transformed that power into her own body, she wouldn't be so passive now.

Gazing at the flame at the pendant's center, I immediately thought of Xiao Jiu Zhanggui.

This is her Nirvana fire.

It turned out that during the time I was dazed and confused, Jin Wuya and Xiao Jiu Zhanggui actually did so much for me.

It turns out the reason they finally dared to let me leave alone wasn't that they truly let go, but that they had made arrangements in advance.

This stone-like object, carved by Jin Wuya with his strange craftsmanship and infused with a Nirvana fire pendant, what exactly is its origin?

Jin Wuya, Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, and the others should be not far from the ancient tomb right now, right?

They... wouldn't abandon me...