370: Chapter 370: The Heavenly King

Tang Ping couldn't be bothered to care about Wei Xiangling and the young man. The youth was likely wary of anyone living here, assuming they had extraordinary backgrounds. After dropping a threatening remark, he found an excuse to drag Wei Xiangling away.

Tang Ping felt the world finally quiet down. He opened his wristband, and a map of Yunmeng Lake appeared before him, marked with numerous known islands, many of which were labeled as privately owned.

Of course, the vast majority of Yunmeng Lake was shrouded in dense mist and remained sparsely populated. It was impossible to fully explore; even a Heavenly King wouldn't have the energy for it.

Furthermore, to prevent that particular island from being discovered back then, Tang Ping had scattered seeds of Dream-Luring Waterweed across the entire lakebed. This waterweed was a special ancient species he had cultivated from the Ancient World, which naturally emitted a hallucinogenic mist and could even suppress mental energy.

Now, nearly a hundred years later, almost the entire interior of Yunmeng Lake, except for the peripheral areas, was shrouded in this mist.

Combined with the boundless expanse of Yunmeng Lake and the countless aquatic exotic beasts within—including powerful Beast Kings in the depths comparable to a Heavenly King—even a Heavenly King wouldn't dare to venture deep into the lake at will.

Consequently, the islands inside could be preserved to a great extent.

"I'll head in tonight, reach the island, and enter the small secret realm. After that, I can focus on breaking through."

At this moment, his mind was free of distractions, filled only with the urgent desire to increase his strength. Once he reached level seven, he would truly have the capital to stand firm in this future era. Anywhere he went, a Heavenly King was synonymous with a top-tier powerhouse.

The sky fell into complete darkness. The gray mist-shrouded sky had no stars, but upon Yunmeng Lake, dreamlike starlight and neon flickered.

A small boat slipped into the lake, gliding toward the depths of the mist.

One month later.

Tang Ping held a mantra seal in his hand, sensing the direction, and adjusted his course once more.

"Did I scatter too many of those Dream-Luring Waterweed seeds?"

He couldn't help but complain internally. The mist was so thick that he couldn't distinguish a person from a dog more than a few meters away. More terrifyingly, even his mental energy was suppressed to a range of just dozens of meters.

This had caused him to frequently lose his way over the past month, but fortunately, he was almost there now.

The sense of resonance was growing stronger and stronger.

Suddenly, Tang Ping's expression froze. Within his mental perception, a drifting wooden raft appeared. Lying on that raft were two girls; judging by their clothes, they were students of Tianmeng Academy, but they were clearly unconscious.

After a moment's thought, Tang Ping headed toward them.

"They're still breathing. Tsk, they're truly lucky to survive drifting into the depths of Yunmeng Lake for so many days."

Compared to mental energy and vision, most aquatic beasts in the lake relied on sensing currents or scents to judge prey. These two Tianmeng Academy students had clearly gotten lost in Yunmeng Lake and drifted all the way here.

After an inspection, Tang Ping felt somewhat speechless. He had originally thought they were heavily injured, but it turned out they had just inhaled too much mist?

Seriously, what are they teaching at Tianmeng Academy? Do these students not even understand the basic common sense of Yunmeng Lake right at their doorstep?

However, since it was an academy established by his Heavenly Mansion Base, he, as the head of the Heavenly Mansion, could only grit his teeth and deal with it.

Tying the raft behind his small boat, Tang Ping used the Azure Technique to hide his presence and continued toward the hidden island. Finally, three days later, he reached it.

Seeing the lush vegetation on the island, Tang Ping felt relieved. The sheer density of the plants indicated that very few people ever came here.

The island wasn't large. When he had first chosen it, it was less than one square kilometer, but looking at it now, the island had clearly grown more than tenfold.

Fortunately, with the mantra seal he had specifically left behind for sensing, he quickly determined the location of the small secret realm.

As his hands blurred with complex mantra seals, a secret realm entrance appeared. But before entering, he looked at the two 'baggage' items behind him and felt a headache. If he went in now, it would be for five or six years at least, and possibly much longer. If he left them alone, these two students would likely have to play out a scene of 'Survival on a Deserted Island'.

Thinking of something, Tang Ping's hands flew into mantra seals again, sending a strange ripple out into Yunmeng Lake.

"I hope this thing is still useful; otherwise, there's nothing I can do for you two."

As the ripples of the mantra spread further and further, Tang Ping suddenly felt a response. His face lit up with joy, and he immediately transmitted a message. The creature seemed to hesitate for a moment but arrived shortly after.

Several hours later, the lake water ahead broke open, and a deep-blue dolphin over ten meters long appeared, though this dolphin had a single horn on its head.

A dolphin possessing the ancient bloodline of the Azure Stream Ancient Fish. These were exotic species he had released into Yunmeng Lake back then. He had scattered many, even dropping some ancient bloodlines directly for the creatures to fight over. This blue dolphin was one he had spent some effort specifically cultivating, and it was also the most gentle.

He had thought that if he ever came to Yunmeng Lake, it might come in handy.

And now it indeed had. The blue dolphin stopped outside the island, staring at Tang Ping with curiosity, sensing the aura that felt extremely familiar and kind to it.

"Level Five, and it has a fairly thick bloodline. Sending these two away shouldn't be a problem."

Tang Ping used the mantra to first soothe the dolphin and then communicate with it. With the help of the mantra, after receiving a decent medicinal herb, the blue dolphin happily accepted the task.

"Just take them in that direction and get them out of the mist."

Tang Ping didn't want this blue dolphin to be hunted and killed by some faction; after all, this wasn't a Pollution Beast. It was inherently precious, let alone possessing a powerful bloodline.

Many Talent Users in the Yunmeng Safe Zone even made a living by fishing. If they could catch a fish with even a thin trace of ancient bloodline, it was no different from hitting the jackpot.

After letting the blue dolphin take the two students away, Tang Ping stepped into the small secret realm.

With Xiao E's essence blood and enough resources to elevate a talent to the level of a Heavenly King, the next time he emerged, he would be a true Heavenly King.

After sending word to the people of the Ancient God Chamber of Commerce—to prevent them from wasting manpower and resources searching for him—Tang Ping completely sealed the small secret realm.

The tenth year since his return to the future.

Also the fifth year of his seclusion in the small secret realm.

In the depths of Yunmeng Lake, a celestial phenomenon occurred as a cold wave swept across a hundred miles.