Song Zhao angrily said, "Young Master Ye, you really have some cunning tricks. First, you say you'll give it, but once we've brought you to the place, you go back on your word. Are we supposed to be played by you?"

Elder Wu spoke up for Ye Fan, "Brother Song, don't be hasty. This item belongs to Earth, and now we must consider the situation clearly. If we easily hand it over to you and cause the downfall of Earth, how do you expect my junior brother, a native earthling, to cope?"

"Hmph!" Song Zhao was furious. He turned and used some secret hand signals to communicate with Song Xian in a private code unknowable to others.

Ye Fan could understand this as a sign that Song Zhao and his peers were planning to seize the item.

Just as Ye Fan was examining the blue crystal and pondering its ecological impact on Earth, a sudden sharp shout came from afar, "Who are you?"

The individual had shown no prior sign before appearing, not even Ye Fan had sensed the approach of a large life form.

When Ye Fan looked over, he could only see a blue shadow from afar. It didn't even seem like a person, just something bulky as if wrapped in a protective suit. The voice sounded like a human female, yet the form resembled an octopus. Spiritual energy fluctuated within her, but Ye Fan could not discern her spiritual energy attributes. This could only mean that this strangely shaped "entity" voiced by a human female had a cultivation possibly above his own.

"Strange." Even Elder Wu was genuinely surprised, "Why can't I detect her presence?"

This question further puzzled Ye Fan. If even Elder Wu with his mid Body Integration Realm cultivation couldn't sense this "entity's" level, did that mean its cultivation was above the mid Body Integration Realm, potentially reaching the Transcendance Tribulation Stage?

The strange entity didn't come any closer, appearing cautious. The female voice came again, "Leave the sacred relic, or you'll leave no bones behind!"

"What a big mouth," Song Zhao shouted, "The friends I brought have long wanted to take this item away. If you have the skill... fight them!"

Ye Fan's first thought was that this damned thing is a conspiracy.

Song Zhao must have known about the blue crystal beneath the Earth's crust and that it had a guardian. With this mysterious entity possessing an unfathomably high cultivation level, he lured them here to fight with it.

"Sir..." Ye Fan hastily explained, "We are from Earth and have no intention of taking the sacred relic. Please don't misunderstand."

"Then why are you here?" After the entity emitted a female voice, the surrounding spiritual energy began to accumulate on a large scale, showing signs of imminent eruption.

Ye Fan thought this strange entity must have been in the seabed for years, with no one to communicate with. Although it knew human language, its obsession was to protect the crystal, and reasoning with it was useless.

The entity emitted a strong spiritual energy wave surging toward Ye Fan, instantly chilling the seawater to freezing temperatures. This spiritual energy was extremely cold and yin. From the direction it emanated, seawater quickly froze into ice. Ice columns gradually approached Ye Fan, who, along with Elder Wu, emitted spiritual energy to resist.

"Splash!" The sound of water currents clashing, the ocean beneath the Earth's crust erupted with a massive energy fluctuation, causing even the crust to tremble.

"Not good." Ye Fan, looking at the loosened Earth's crust, worriedly said, "If a tsunami forms, the coastal civilians will suffer."

At this time, Song Zhao and Song Xian tried to hide to the side, intending to retreat the way they came, but before they could get far, the strange entity released spiritual energy, freezing them in blocks of ice.

Li Zhaojun said, "The temperature of this spiritual energy is so low. Even my pure yin constitution can't emit such low-temperature spiritual energy."

"What's terrifying is that the opponent's cultivation might be above the Transcendance Tribulation Stage. It's not human, it's a monster, and reasoning is futile." Ye Fan was already planning an escape.

Since Song Zhao and Song Xian knew the underwater crystal had a guardian, Ye Fan could infer that the Song clan's uncle-nephew duo's purpose for coming to Earth wasn't for this crystal but something else. They deliberately brought Ye Fan and others here to let the guardian fight with them, dragging a few down with them in hopes their kin could complete their task on Earth more smoothly.

After freezing Song Zhao and Song Xian, the strange entity began focusing all its effort on combating Elder Wu, Ye Fan, and the others.

Elder Wu himself had Body Integration Realm cultivation, and with the assistance of Li Zhaojun and Min Shang, Ye Fan could also reach late Divinity Transformation Stage nearing Body Integration Realm. The four of them together had the strength to fight the opponent.

The spiritual energy dispersed throughout the underwater ocean. The opponent emitted extremely yin and cold spiritual energy, while Ye Fan emitted extremely yang and ardent spiritual energy. The seawater existed between freezing and boiling, in a fusion of ice and fire.

Neither side gained the upper hand. After hundreds of exchanges, a strand of Ye Fan's spiritual energy accidentally hit the blue crystal. Although it didn't damage the crystal, the entity was visibly pained, using its body as a shield in front of the blue crystal, seemingly saying, "Take your best shot at me!"

Ye Fan immediately sensed the opponent's naivete. This should be a "entity" without much scheming or malice; its mission was purely to protect the blue crystal, even at the cost of its life. If it were a despicable person, they should have directed all attacks on the blue crystal by now, making the opponent struggle to cope.

But neither Ye Fan nor Elder Wu harbored malice. Though they both understood attacking the crystal would make it difficult for the strange entity to cope, allowing them an easy victory.

The two remained in a defensive stance, abstaining from actively attacking.

Regardless of their motives, they respected the strange entity's determination to protect the crystal and wouldn't exploit its weakness to achieve their own goals.

"Sir, we mean no harm." Ye Fan noticed the fissures in the crust behind gradually closing. If they couldn't leave the underwater ocean within minutes, they'd have to break through a crust several kilometers thick to escape, inevitably causing a massive earthquake, generating huge tsunamis, and causing the death of innocent people.

"You still say you mean no harm... Wuwu... the sacred relic is injured."

The strange entity looked at the crystal, and indeed, a corner damaged by Ye Fan's energy earlier had begun to show cracks. Ye Fan never thought his spiritual energy could actually harm such a powerful crystal.

Eventually, a small piece of the blue crystal fell, like a tear of the ocean, caught by the strange entity.

Once it caught the piece, its body began to change, from the bulky object resembling a seabed octopus, to a graceful human girl about sixteen or seventeen, holding the blue crystal fragment and sobbing.

"She turned out to be a girl?" Li Zhaojun was the first to exclaim, yet still glanced at Ye Fan.

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