The old man had tears in his eyes as he replied, "That''s right. The merfolk caused the flood. Merfolk are brutal in nature, and they wanted to take over this ce.


    The old man sighed as he spoke as if he was reliving those old memories again. He fell silent for a while, then he said, "If I knew about the secret of the merfolk back then, I think the people of Gelsa wouldn''t have died. Jenny wouldn''t need to die either. It''s a shame that it''s all toote now. Jenny won''te back to life again, and I''ll never leave Gelsa."


    Wilbur could understand the old man. The flood was a traumatic moment in his heart, after all. Regardless of who caused it, the people of Gelsa were dead and injured in the end. The whole town was submerged. It was a deep trauma that the old man could not let go of even after decades had passed.


    "I once swore that no one would know my name again, so I didn''t tell you when you asked my name. In fact, the merfolk had been living under Gelsa Lake after Gelsa was submerged. It''s as you expected. Gelsa has been enveloped by a mysterious power. The grass and trees are very sturdy. You''ve been living here for more than a month with me, drinking soup made from the fish here. As a result, your body has also grown stronger."


    Wilbur nodded and said, "Indeed. At first, I thought you were fooling me, but my body has changed a lot since then. My strength has doubled. This is something I wouldn''t dare to imagine in the past."


    "There are a lot of things beyond your imagination in this world. ording to what I know, Gelsa isn''t the only ce enveloped by a mysterious power, but of course, let''s just talk about Gelsa for now."


    Wilbur got the reminder from the old man, so he continued to ask, "I know of your story now, sir, but does it have anything to do with the eighth dragon cauldron?"


    The old man replied, "What I said was only the beginning, now I''m going to tell you what we need to face. It''s about the provocation of the merfolk. The merfolk grew more powerful with the mysterious power after they took over Gelsa. They could imitate humans and leave the waters. They almost killed me several times. If it wasn''t for the power and teachings Fremont bestowed upon me, I''m afraid I would''ve died multiple times over the past decades."


    The old man stayed to stand guard over theke. The merfolk wanted toe out of theke after they took over Gelsa, hoping to spread out to the outernds.


    The merfolk believed that humans should not rule over thend by themselves and wanted to conquer at least half of thend that humans resided over. Merfolk were ferocious and feasted on human flesh. More than a thousand people drowned back then in Gelsa, and the merfolk ate them all within a month.


    The merfolk knew how to manipte humans. They purposely preserved Jenny''s body. Gelsa was constantly cold all year round, and the merfolk had a special way of preserving dead bodies. Therefore, Jenny''s body was kept well-preserved over the decades.


    The merfolk tried to lure the old man using Jenny''s body. Every time the old man wanted tomit genocide, he would give up on the massacre when he saw Jenny''s body. The merfolk would also seize the chance to escape.


    Fifty years had passed. Gelsa was not like what it once was, and the old man was more determined. However, he could not get over his feelings for Jenny. Every time he saw Jenny''s body, he would lose his resolve to attack the merfolk.


    "It''s a shame that time ages you. I''m a cultivator, so maybe I canst for a few more decades, but I can''t stand the merfolk. Young man, if you can help me retrieve Jenny''s body from theke, I''ll tell you where the eighth dragon cauldron is."