I was born a god, the son of the Demon Lord.

Menglan Temple.

It sounds like a pretty intimidating name.

As Xu Nanyi stood before the entrance, the image in her mind was of carved beams and painted pillars, shimmering with precious light, and a gate at least ten feet high, guarded by two rows of mermaids.

The reality is... a hole.

To be precise, it is a hole recessed at the bottom of the rock wall, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways, and the edge is covered with a ring of green seaweed.

Xu Nanyi stared at the cave for five seconds, then looked up at the four large characters "Menglan Temple" carved at the top of the rock wall.

Look down at the hole again.

"..."

She turned to Hailey: "Is this the main entrance?"

"No, no,"

Hailey waved her hand like a rattle-drum, "The main entrance is on the other side, it's very grand! But the main entrance can only let one person through at a time, and this time the spot has already been taken."

Xu Nanyi's facial expression control almost collapsed.

"So," she pointed to herself, then to the cramped hole where even squatting was difficult, "we'll go in this way?"

Hailey nodded very sincerely: "Yes!"

Shen Xizhou circled the cave entrance, squatted down, and peered inside. His expression immediately darkened. "This... even if I transformed into a dragon and crawled inside, I'd find the scales too uncomfortable."

"Trust me!" Hailey patted her chest. "I've crawled through dog holes before, I'm very skilled!"

This girl is really outspoken.

Xu Nanyi fell silent.

She is the ruler of the Nine Netherworlds, the future Demon Emperor. If someone were to witness her crawling through a dog hole... how would history books describe her?! I don't want to be the Dog Hole Demon Emperor!

"Don't we have a more respectable way?"

Hailey scratched her cheek, looking a little guilty: "Hey, the respectable way has already been taken, so we'll have to go in less respectable."

Wu Qiyue let out a long "Ah—".

She tilted her head. "Can you tell me who that respectable person is?"

Xu Nanyi looked at the subtle smile that appeared under Wu Qiyue's innocent big eyes, and her intuition told her that this girl was not thinking anything good.

really.

"I want to know who he is," Wu Qiyue said, counting on her fingers, "so I can cast a spell to pull her out of there, and then we can go through the main entrance."

Hailey hesitated for a moment, then quickly shook her head: "No, no! My mother told me..."

She changed the subject, squatted down by the hole and started gesturing, enthusiastically promoting the dog hole she had crawled through since she was a child.

"But it's really easy to sneak through here! When I was a kid, I used to sneak in through here to steal the spiritual fruits offered to the Sea God. As long as we're careful, the Sea God won't kick our butts!"

Xu Nanyi: "Kick...what?"

Hailey looked left and right, lowered her voice, and looked like she was sharing top-secret information.

"Because I stole spirit fruits when I was a child, and the Sea God caught me."

She gestured to indicate the name, "He kicked me three times...kicked me from the temple all the way to the central street of the Conch."

Xu Nanyi's lips twitched.

Whether it's the Fusion Stage or the Sea God, is it common for the powerful here to kick people?

"However!" Hailey held up a finger, a hint of smugness flashing across her face, "I was very clever; at the last second after landing, I transformed into the face of the sea god statue."

"..."

"Everyone thought that the person who fell on his butt in the street that day was the Sea God himself. For the next three months, the incense offerings to the Sea God Temple decreased by a third."

Shen Xizhou: "You're really bold."

It's hard to tell whether this is a compliment or an insult.

Xu Nanyi processed this information for a moment: "But aren't you the successor of the Sea God?"

"Oh dear, you don't understand! It's precisely because I'm the heir that he has to love the young!" Hailey said matter-of-factly. "Of course, I also have to respect the elderly."

This logic...

Xu Nanyi glanced at Wu Qiyue, and Wu Qiyue glanced at Xu Nanyi.

A single word flashed in their eyes simultaneously—respect.

"Moreover, the offering fruits inside have been nourished by the spiritual energy of offerings for many years, and eating one will increase one's cultivation by a hundred years."

Hailey counted on her fingers, "If a Nascent Soul cultivator eats this, they can directly increase their cultivation level by one small realm!"

"Really?" Wu Qiyue's eyes lit up as she grasped Hailey's hands. "Can we still take it now?"

Hailey took his hand back, and the two intertwined their fingers, gazing at each other for three seconds, as if they were kindred spirits who had been separated for many years.

"Of course!" Hailey nodded vigorously. "Welcome to the Thieves' Guild!"

Little Stone watched this scene from the side, and images flashed uncontrollably through his mind.

Last time, Wu Xi stole the staff, but when Wu Qiyue lost control of a spell, it turned all the houses in the entire Wu tribe's territory into poisonous mushrooms with red umbrellas and white stems.

Then the whole clan ate mushrooms for a month.

Hailey excitedly turned to Xu Nanyi: "Yiyi, do you want to come with us!"

Shen Xizhou grabbed Xu Nanyi's arm and pulled her back ten steps, his expression as wary as a mother hen protecting her chicks: "What do you all want! My sister just woke up three days ago!"

Xu Nanyi stumbled slightly after being pulled, but after regaining her balance, she thought seriously for two seconds.

The matter of stealing...

No, this isn't stealing! The heir leading the way is at most... a family benefit?

Xu Nanyi's tone was extremely serious, "If we get kicked out by the Sea God, what kind of face should we wear?"

Shen Xizhou blurted out, "Is there even a question? Let's get Shen Jing's instead."

Xu Nanyi turned to look at him.

Shen Xizhou shrugged matter-of-factly: "Anyway, he's already lost face completely in the Demon Realm, and he was humiliated once outside the Demon Realm by the giant worm. It's reasonable for him to lose face again here with the Sea Clan, right?"

Xu Nanyi suddenly realized, "That makes sense!"

"That makes perfect sense," Wu Qiyue seconded.

"That makes perfect sense." Although Hailey didn't know Shen Jing, it didn't stop her from nodding in agreement.

The four of them reached a consensus faster than they discussed serious matters.

Little Stone raised his hand: "Um... are you sure you won't get beaten to death?"

at the same time--

Deep within the temple.

A three-zhang-tall sea god statue sits upright, its golden body half-worn, and a thin layer of incense ash accumulated on its base.

But if someone gets closer to look, they will find that the mouth of the statue is moving.

A hand reached out from behind the statue, holding a radiant spiritual fruit, and took a bite.

The remnant soul of the first-generation sea god sat cross-legged on the shoulder of his own statue, chewing on a tribute fruit, his ears twitching slightly.

The chirping sounds coming from the cave entrance were clearly audible.

What "child-stealing alliance"? What "changing Shen Jing's face"? What "kicking his butt"?

He swallowed the fruit and moved his wrists.

—The three kicks last time were too light.

He knew that none of the lunatics who associated with the Guardians were mentally sound.