Chapter 1664

During the Sea God Ceremony, Fang Yuan watches the prospective saintesses from the crowd, planning to help one of them. Xie Han Mo’s two guards hear that Frost Tide tribe leader has invested a lot in Lady Qiu Shuang. Earlier, Xie Han Mo had rejected the investigator and protected Fang Yuan, the rumors had escalated, and the Merman Sacred Court had decided to hold a Sea God Ceremony again. Fang Yuan sighs deeply, feeling he has implicated her. She says he need not feel responsible. She adds that someone tried to drag her down the moment she began investigating, showing very severe corruption among the Sacred Court’s elders, though she has not lost her qualifications. ^{ch. 1664}

Seven mermaid girls remain in the square Fang Yuan watches, extremely determined to win. The grand elder announces the first test, golden needle in black oil: each girl must find a tiny golden needle in a huge vat of thick black oil within the designated time. Su Yi asks for her follower to take her stage, and the grand elder approves. The follower, Xia Lin, is only rank two, yet she draws all the oil out with gather oil Gu until only the golden needle is left. The crowd recognizes the rank five aura, and Su Yi gains a huge boost in reputation. Six of the seven pass, so Fang Yuan concludes that the test content was leaked. ^{ch. 1664}

At the re-held ceremony, the first test sets a road of pale green flames before Xie Han Mo, and Qiu Shuang, another white-scaled mermaid, mocks her from its far end as former saintess. The eerie fire burns the soul and needs special Gu worms to resist, and Qiu Shuang has come with the proper ones. Xie Han Mo’s guards angrily call it the Frost Tide tribe’s open collusion and cheating. Fang Yuan takes Xie Han Mo’s place and walks through the fire in intense pain, though two lifetimes of accumulation and his nature as an otherworldly demon make it less effective on him than on others. He will not give up, since his failure would be hers. He faints after getting through, and Xie Han Mo arrives to hold him, promising not to waste his effort. She passes that trap and then the second, third and fourth tests perfectly, until only Qiu Shuang is left. ^{ch. 1664}

Fang Yuan, still pale, says Xie Han Mo will very likely retain her position as saintess. She warns that the other party will not stand by, and Fang Yuan had expected Frost Tide tribe leader to act but not so viciously. The red scaled guard kneels and asks to battle, to clear an accusation that he bullied a widow, but Xie Han Mo calls it the enemy’s plot. The blue scaled guard says the widow is Bu Su Lian, wife of the former third elder, and that the investigator will soon arrest the red scaled guard, so he would miss the test. Fang Yuan reasons that Bu Su Lian’s willingness to sacrifice her reputation shows a close tie to Frost Tide tribe leader and extremely severe corruption, and that clearing the accusation would fall into a trap that is amply prepared. He calls the answer very simple: he will take the blame. Xie Han Mo rejects it instantly. ^{ch. 1664}