Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3327: The Truth Pieced Together

Lin Mu looked directly at the patriarch, his expression calm but firm. "Patriarch Shanhu Haiyang... what exactly did you learn from the records?"

The old man remained quiet for a full minute.

His fingers trembled slightly as he closed the ancestral record on his lap. His throat bobbed once as if swallowing back memories too heavy to voice. Only after taking a deep breath did he begin to speak.

"It seems," he said slowly, "that our records never told us the full truth. They gave us pieces, but not the picture itself." He paused, his eyes distant. "We knew there was an old conflict. One so ancient that even our longest lived clansmen could not remember anything about it. But our records mentioned it in vague terms. A war between humans and the marine tribes. A war that involved not only our Shanhu Clan, but the Merkin and Fishkin as well."

Lin Mu listened quietly, but his eyes narrowed when he sensed the weight behind the patriarch’s words.

The patriarch continued. "However, what most do not know is that the marine races did not fight as a single force. The Merkin had many kingdoms then. The Fishkin had countless tribes. They fought amongst themselves just as humans fight among their sects, clans, and kingdoms. And they were not small factions either. They once spanned every sea of this world. Their numbers were vast, and their influence ancient."

Daoist Chu hummed in interest. Meng Bai leaned forward, fascinated.

"But the world was changing," the patriarch said. "Humans were growing stronger. Their cultivation was evolving. Their sects began to explore the seas. Their kingdoms expanded their harbors. Land dwellers ventured farther and farther into the waters. Conflicts erupted over fishing rights, mineral deposits, and sacred territories."

Lin Mu nodded, having suspected something similar.

"This tension lasted for hundreds of thousands of years," the patriarch said. "But everything changed when the world shook. A great earthquake struck. It shattered the ocean floor and created a trench unlike anything seen before. The earthquake itself did little to the marine tribes, but the aftershocks caused titanic tsunamis that devastated human coasts."

The elders behind him nodded, recalling tales passed down in fragments.

"When the tribes investigated the new trench," Shanhu Haiyang said, "they found something inside. A cursed object."

A thin wave of shock spread across the hall.

Lin Mu felt his chest tighten. "You never knew what the object was?"

"No," the patriarch admitted. "The records mentioned a forbidden relic, but the details were removed. Entire sections of the jade slips were erased. Now, with what you found beneath the island, the pieces finally make sense. Our ancestors must have erased them intentionally."

Daoist Chu frowned. "To hide the truth?"

"Perhaps," the patriarch whispered. "Perhaps they wished to protect future generations."

He rubbed his forehead and continued. "The marine tribes sought to harness the cursed object. Some wanted to use it against humans. Some wanted to study it. Others wished to destroy it."

Elyon’s expression hardened. "Infighting."

"Exactly," the patriarch said. "And the conflict grew worse. The tribes were divided. Even the Shanhu Clan was torn. Some wished to join the Merkin and Fishkin in wielding the relic. Others opposed it. The Merkin kingdom itself split between those who aligned with humans and those who wanted to purge them."

Meng Bai shivered. "A war on three sides."

"On more than three," Shanhu Haiyang corrected. "There were dozens of factions. Many Transcendent level experts existed among the marine races back then. Far more than today. The ocean was once their domain, far stronger than the humans who lived on land."

He lowered his voice.

"But greed poisoned them. The cursed object tempted them all. It promised power, domination, and control over the seas."

Lin Mu’s companions felt a chill crawl down their spines.

"And so," the patriarch continued, "the three ancestors of the Shanhu Clan, along with one Merkin and one Fishkin ally, did something terrible but necessary. They stole the cursed relic. They fled. And they vanished."

Lin Mu exhaled softly. "So the five corpses we saw... were them."

The patriarch nodded gravely.

"According to the records, all contact with them ceased after they stole the relic. They must have hidden themselves and used the object to forge the curse that plagues the Ninth Sea today. They must have created the Ninth Sea itself."

Cattaleya frowned. "Created the entire sea?"

"Yes," Shanhu Haiyang replied. "The Ninth Sea did not exist before. It was formed long after the earthquake. The cursed object was used to twist the very waters and the spatial fabric. It became a sealed region that no one could enter safely."

He sighed heavily.

"There is a line in the records that was always considered symbolic. It reads: when disunity reaches its peak, unity shall mend it."

Lin Mu felt a spark of realization.

"That is what your ancestor’s memories meant," he said. "Unity."

The patriarch nodded slowly. "Thanks to the information you provided, we now understand the meaning. The curse forced the marine tribes to unite. Since none could access the relic anymore, the fighting ceased. There was no longer a treasure to fight over. Only a threat that affected all of them together."

Meng Bai’s eyes widened. "So they turned their anger into cooperation."

"One might call it a forced peace," Daoist Chu said.

Shanhu Haiyang nodded. "Exactly. Our ancestors used themselves as anchors. They sacrificed their lives and bodies to seal the relic. They created a curse so powerful that it forced all the tribes to stop fighting."

Elyon rubbed his chin. "But then the next question is how to break the curse."

The patriarch looked at Lin Mu. "We have no clue how to undo what our ancestors did. All our records say is that their sacrifice saved the world but left a burden for their descendants."

Lin Mu paused, thinking deeply before speaking.

"Unity," he whispered. "That is the key. Your ancestors wanted unity. They wanted the tribes to stand together instead of tearing one another apart. They wanted harmony between Shanhu, Merkin, and Fishkin."