As Lu Ye passed through the portal and returned to the Constellation Palace, the portal suddenly dissipated into nothingness, as if it had exhausted its energy.

Lu Ye looked at the green sea conch in his hand and roughly understood its function.

This item was clearly a treasure for directional transport. By activating its power, one could open a portal leading to the location of the Divine Conch Hall's entrance. Lu Ye could go there or return through the portal.

What's the use of this?

The territory of the Merfolk Race was only half a day's journey from here. If Lu Ye wanted to go, he only needed to be a bit careful and could make the trip on his own.

It's not as useful as the golden sea conch that Yann Miao had; at least that one had the power to drive away the Moon Jade star beast.

Lu Ye felt a bit at a loss. At the time, surrounded by so many golden light spots, he had chosen a green one, thinking it was unique and surely the best. But now, it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

It's too late to return it now. One can only enter the Divine Conch Hall once in a lifetime.

But on second thought, the power of the green sea conch didn't seem as useless as he thought. Here, beneath the All Phenomena Ocean, the dense, pure seawater acted as a barrier, even suppressing Mental Consciousness to just three inches out of the body. Yet, the connection between the green sea conch and the Divine Conch Hall wasn't affected at all and could directly open a portal leading there.

Such a portal wasn't of much use now, but what if one day he returned to the surface of the All Phenomena Ocean?

By then, if the portal could still be utilized, its significance would be enormous!

The Merfolk Race was very interested in elixir pills from the outside world, and the underwater had an extremely rich variety of spiritual resources. Not to mention, the various star beasts there weren't any lesser than the White Spirit.

If, by then, the portal could still be utilized, he could buy elixir pills to sell to the Merfolk Race and then purchase some of the underwater specialties from them. Trading back and forth like this, it would be hard not to make a fortune.

Realizing this, Lu Ye felt somewhat elated because, in this way, he wouldn't have to worry about cultivation resources anymore.

This was a unique path to wealth, solely belonging to him.

The only green sea conch, its function was truly extraordinary.

At the entrance of the Divine Conch Hall, Bai Lu hurriedly arrived upon hearing the news, but could not find any trace of Lu Ye. After asking the merfolk guarding there, he learned that Lu Ye had hurried through a portal, which disappeared without a trace after Lu Ye left.

Bai Lu faintly felt something was off. There had never been any portal outside the Divine Conch Hall before. He wanted to report to Yann Miao but feared causing trouble for Lu Ye, so he hesitated. In the end, he instructed the two merfolk who had seen Lu Ye not to divulge the matter. Those two merfolk, not having high cultivation and being males, had low status within the race and naturally dared not disobey the princess's orders.

Inside the Constellation Palace, Lu Ye wanted to activate the power of the green sea conch again. Regardless of anything, he had to inform the merfolk and let them know that he could enter their territory with the green sea conch's help.

Such a matter couldn't be hidden, and if he truly wanted to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with the Merfolk Race, this matter shouldn't be concealed.

But Lu Ye helplessly found that when he tried to activate the green sea conch again, no matter how he poured spirit force into it, it remained unresponsive.

This thing... could it be an exotic treasure that can only be used once? If so, his previous plans would be unfeasible.

However, if it were an exotic treasure, it should have shattered by now. The green sea conch showed no signs of damage, only that it couldn't be activated. Lu Ye vaguely speculated that perhaps after being used once, it couldn't be activated again within a certain time limit.

Probing with his Mental Consciousness, Lu Ye was slightly surprised.

Because, held in hand, the green sea conch was only the size of a baby's fist, yet his Mental Consciousness, when reaching inside, seemed to delve into a vast, expansive Void.

Inside the green sea conch lay an extraordinarily bizarre and enormous space. Within that space, various intricate patterns crisscrossed each other, seemingly containing profound truths.

Lu Ye vaguely saw traces of the Void Spirit Runes there.

The green sea conch had the power to consolidate a portal leading to the Divine Conch Hall. Essentially, it was a treasure for directional transport, so the presence of Void Spirit Runes inside was unsurprising.

These patterns were undoubtedly very useful to Lu Ye because they could serve as the foundation for Lu Ye's derivation of new spirit runes.

Unable to activate the power of the green sea conch for now and unable to visit the Merfolk Race's territory to explain the situation, Lu Ye could only content himself with weeding.

Every time he returned to the Constellation Palace to replenish the Talent Tree's fuel, Lu Ye studied the mysteries of the green sea conch.

Soon, he discovered something: the green sea conch's power couldn't be activated temporarily, unable to consolidate a portal leading to the Divine Conch Hall, but it had another function.

That was to leave a mark!

Lu Ye can leave a mark belonging to the green sea conch within the Constellation Palace. The mark looks like a seashell, and it can be erased using the green sea conch at any time. The mark lasts for quite a while, though Lu Ye is unsure of the exact duration, as he erased it after just over a day.

Lu Ye had some guesses about the function of this mark, but before verifying, he needed to visit the merfolk territory.

However, before he could take action, Bai Lu came running over.

While weeding, Lu Ye was quite surprised to see Bai Lu arrive.

Although the Constellation Palace is only half a day's journey from the merfolk territory, the All Phenomena Ocean is not tranquil, and Bai Lu coming alone could be troublesome if she encountered any danger along the way.

"Why did you come alone?" Lu Ye asked upon returning to the Constellation Palace.

Bai Lu replied, "A couple of days ago, two clansmen said they saw you at the Divine Conch Hall entrance, along with a peculiar portal. But by the time I got there, you were already gone. I didn't know whether it was really you or if something strange had invaded our territory, so I came to verify it."

"That was me!" Lu Ye quickly nodded.

"Then why didn't you come to find me?"

"The situation was urgent at the time, and there wasn't enough time." Lu Ye briefly explained the previous circumstances and then took out his green sea conch for Bai Lu to examine.

Bai Lu marveled at it, playing with Lu Ye's green sea conch, saying, "I've indeed heard that there are azure seashells in the Divine Conch Hall, but we've never actually seen them. The topmost shells in our clan are only golden. Li Taibai, you're quite incredible to have gotten an azure sea conch."

"Just lucky." Lu Ye knew it wasn't his skill but rather the unique songs he sang that were distinctly different from the merfolk, which made him stand out and attracted the azure light spots.

"Can it open a portal leading from here to the entrance of the Divine Conch Hall?"

"Yes, but it can't be used for now. I'm not sure if it lost its function or if the time limit hasn't been reached. Otherwise, I would've gone and explained the situation to you again."

Bai Lu smiled wryly, "It's fine." She fiddled with it a bit more before returning it to Lu Ye, "Since it's still intact, it means it hasn't lost its function. Who knows, it might suddenly become usable."

Lu Ye thought the same.

Having confirmed that it was indeed Lu Ye who went to the merfolk territory a few days ago, Bai Lu visibly relaxed.

"What about you? Shall I send you back?" Lu Ye asked.

"No need, once the Azure Sky Conch's effect becomes usable, I can naturally return. There's nothing much happening in the clan recently, so I'll wait here."

"Suit yourself, then."

In the following days, Bai Lu stayed near the Constellation Palace. Even when Lu Ye went weeding, she would ride a seahorse and follow. Unfortunately, she couldn't get close to the Constellation Palace; otherwise, Lu Ye would have had an extra helping hand.

Every time Lu Ye returned to the Constellation Palace, she would pester him to talk about matters outside.

For someone like Bai Lu, born and raised under the All Phenomena Ocean among the merfolk, the outside world was naturally fascinating. No matter what Lu Ye said, she listened with great interest.

Lu Ye could see the longing and yearning for the outside world in her eyes.

"I recall the Great Elder saying that your clan is a cursed race. What's that about?" Lu Ye asked during a chat.

Bai Lu replied, "I'm not very clear on the details; it's an ancient matter. However, I've read a record in our clan that we once provoked a powerful enemy. That enemy had a strange power and cursed us. Originally, under such a curse, our clan was destined to be wiped out. Our ancestors had no choice but to come to the All Phenomena Ocean, using the ocean waters' isolation to shield against the curse, thus avoiding death from it. But because of that curse, we acquired the ability to survive under the All Phenomena Ocean. Consequently, we became trapped here, as leaving the All Phenomena Ocean would immediately result in death from the curse!"

Lu Ye didn't understand what this bizarre power could be that made an entire race helpless, relying on the All Phenomena Ocean's water for shelter.

He's accustomed to confrontations, but not everyone resorts to violence. It's such unseen forces that are the most terrifying.

The plight of the merfolk gave Lu Ye a warning. Encountering enemies in the future, he must be cautious to avoid similar attacks.

Bai Lu looked at him with a complex expression and said softly, "Li Taibai, do you know why the Great Elder and others treat you so well?"

Lu Ye was startled, then shook his head, thinking it was his array disc that helped the merfolk through a catastrophe. But from Bai Lu's words, it seemed there's more to it?

Bai Lu explained, "An ancestor of our clan left a dictum. To lift the curse poison, it has to be in the Divine Temple, and you're the first human in years to appear in the Divine Temple. Hence, the Great Elder believes you are favored by the Divine Temple and might have the ability to help us lift the curse poison."