Wen Shu secured the door latch and walked to the window. Her pale fingertips pressed against the coral window frame and pushed hard. It was all one piece; the only way out was to forcefully dismantle it. She extended her claw blade to cut through it. The sound, like sandpaper rubbing, was a bit loud, but as long as no one was nearby, it shouldn’t be discovered. Peering through the gap for a moment, she began to act. But just then, the sound of something heavy dragging across the ground came from outside the bedroom. Chills ran down Wen Shu’s spine, and she froze in place, tense. After a "thump," Sai Yin’s concerned voice resonated gently, "Xiao Wen, call me if you need anything. I’m here to watch over you." Wen Shu’s lips pressed into a thin line, not daring to move. If she let him sleep outside the door, she’d never be able to leave in this lifetime. Her gaze flickered to the door, intending to send him away, but just as she was about to move, hurried footsteps approached. "Leader!" Jin Yu urgently reported, "Nia learned about the female’s situation and has stirred up the clan!" "Still haven’t found out." Sai Yin immediately stood up, lowering his pleasant voice sternly, "Post guards to protect the female. I’ll go check it out." Jin Yu was panting heavily, his aged voice somewhat hoarse. The sound of two sets of footsteps left one after the other, and Wen Shu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, a beastman walking at the rear suddenly stopped in place. The large palace instantly fell silent at this moment. She halted her actions of cutting the window, hearing the sound of soft footsteps moving toward the bedroom. A fine, dense chill crawled up her spine. Wen Shu held her breath, knowing full well that the incoming person was probably the kind old beastman Jin Yu, yet still feeling a slight unease. The footsteps stopped outside the door, and a masculine, slightly aging voice slowly rose, "Xiao Wen, the palace is not safe. The leader sent me to take you away." Wen Shu frowned. Her hearing wasn’t as good as a male’s, but if Sai Yin had given orders nearby, she wouldn’t have missed it. Besides, she trusted her intuition more, Jin Yu was in cahoots with those troublesome beastmen. "Wait a minute, I’ll change my clothes and come out immediately." She lowered her eyes, swiftly wrapped a draping curtain from the bed, deliberately stomped hard on the ground, and walked toward the door. "Where are we going? Isn’t Sai Yin coming with us?" As she neared, a wrinkled hand abruptly pushed open the door, and Jin Yu’s amiable face appeared in the bedroom. His arms were covered with tough black scales, and he looked sharply inside, intending to grab the female and take her to the altar. But where his gaze fell, there was no sign of the female! Just as he hesitated, a thickly twisted curtain swung over his head. Jin Yu raised his hand to block, which was exactly what Wen Shu hoped for. With a wave of her arm, the curtain immediately changed direction, wrapping tightly around Jin Yu’s arms. In just a moment, the aged beastman with reduced combat ability was bound hand and foot and dragged into the room. "Jin Yu, do you intend to sacrifice me too?" Wen Shu kicked the coral window and coldly glanced at Jin Yu, "I’m not some Beast God Envoy." "And have you ever thought, if the sacrifice doesn’t work, what will you do when no one can purify the poison?" Seeing she was about to escape, the originally shocked Jin Yu hurriedly said, "Xiao Wen, the prophecy of the priest is . If you leave, the entire sea region will be finished!" Wen Shu furrowed her brow and stepped onto the windowsill. Jin Yu’s voice turned hoarse, beginning to plead desperately, "Xiao Wen, you can’t leave!" "The pollution spread too fast. Three months ago, that piece of dark sea was also part of the tribe..." He recalled something, his cloudy eyes filled with a thick mist as he choked out, "The Sea Clan has already lost more than half of its population. Even my young offspring and female weren’t spared." "The Sea Clan cannot survive long on land. In this world, I only have one relative left. I have no choice..." Tears bled from the corners of Jin Yu’s wrinkled eyes, "Xiao Wen, please, save the Sea Clan!" Gazing into his wet eyes, Wen Shu’s brow slightly twitched, feeling a bit of reluctance, but she too had things she held dear. "I’m willing to help, but..." She gripped the window frame, but before she could finish, a powerful surge of water came. Countless heavy footsteps echoed from outside, mixed with the low roars of the males, "Hurry, the toxin is spreading again! Quickly, catch that female!" "Where is old Jin Yu? He should have taken the female to the altar by now!" A deep voice halted their useless bickering. "Go catch her quickly, Sai Yin is no fool, he’ll soon notice something is wrong." Wen Shu’s back tensed, her gaze swept over Jin Yu, indeed capturing a hint of guilt in his eyes. He had been stalling for time! Her eyes turned cold, and she swiftly leapt from the window, escaping into the distance, her speed so fast she became a blur. The room’s door was kicked to pieces with a "bang" at this moment. "That," someone saw her figure, faster than the typical male, and was so stunned they were at a loss for words, "is that a female?" Seeing them in a daze, Jin Yu loudly reminded, "The female is not simple. Once ashore, she’ll be hard to catch. Go after her!" In the resistant sea water, Wen Shu ran extremely fast, moving towards the coral forest based on memory. However, those Sea Clan beastmen had a natural advantage, strong fish tails flicking easily to disrupt her route. Wen Shu knitted her brows, seeing that she was about to be cornered, and found an opening. With a surge of energy, she dashed into the thorn bushes to the right! Sharp thorns cut her arms, but she didn’t even flinch, not noticing at all that the Sea Clan beastmen behind her all stopped in their tracks. Only Nia in the lead was still determined to chase after her. A beastman next to him hurriedly pulled him back, "Nia, are you crazy? That side is full of toxins and... that monster. You’ll get killed going there!" Nia’s rough face wrinkled into a knot, his eyes full of struggle and urgency, "Only she can save the sea region." But after a moment, determination flashed across his eyes as he shook off his companion’s arm, swishing his fish tail and swimming into the bushes, "You guard here, I’ll go catch her!" The united Sea Clan beastmen couldn’t just let a compatriot go to their death, "I’m going with him!" Escaping from the thorn bushes, Wen Shu’s wounds were exposed to the pitch-black sea water, feeling a fierce burning pain. She looked down, seeing the ruptured wounds corroded by the poison, wisps of black smoke rising from them. Quickly smoothing over the wounds, she prepared to swim towards the shore but was shocked to a halt by the sight before her. What Jin Yu said was not entirely a lie. This polluted sea region was indeed part of the tribe... no, part of the Empire. In the murky depths, a massive, dilapidated palace nestled among decaying coral, its deathly silence like a buried giant beast, silently slumbering. Its design was unique, with intricate Divine Tree patterns revealed in the churning sea foam... Wen Shu was eager to leave, unable to take in the sight leisurely, but as she withdrew her gaze, a faint golden glow unexpectedly lit up in the corner of the palace. She paused, recognizing that familiar halo, it was the Divine Tree Leaves!