Chapter 162 The Key to the Ruins, Undercurrents Flow
"Outsiders, how dare you intrude upon my territory and destroy my illusion? Today, I shall make this your burial ground!" The Shen Dragon's voice was like thunder, shaking the trio's eardrums until they ached.
It opened its mouth and spat out a cloud of purple illusionary mist. Wherever the mist passed, countless illusory Yao Beasts condensed and pounced toward the three.
"moon crystal wheel, Slash!" Zhang Luoyan no longer hesitated. The moon crystal wheel in her hand expanded several times in size, and clear Moonlight Sword Qi condensed, instantly shattering several illusory Yao Beasts charging at them.
The power of the Lunar Spirit Body erupted completely. The Moonlight Sword Qi carried a purifying power, possessing a natural restraint against the illusionary mist.
Ye Qingcheng controlled the Silver-Armored Puppet, its silver plates reassembling into intersecting sword wings. With sharp Sword Qi, it swept through the surrounding Yao Beasts, clearing obstacles for Lin Yue: "Lin Yue, I'll hold back the Yao Beasts. You take the chance to attack the Shen Dragon's eyes; that's its weakness!"
Lin Yue nodded, and the light of the sea-suppressing bead surged again. He poured all his Golden Core power and Azure Profound Sword Intent into it. The treasure bead turned into a streak of shimmering blue light, carrying a momentum that could cleave anything as it flew straight for the Shen Dragon's eyes.
The Shen Dragon hadn't expected the three to cooperate so tacitly. It was too late to dodge, so it could only channel the illusionary mist to forcibly defend itself.
But Zhang Luoyan's Moonlight Sword Qi and Ye Qingcheng's Mechanical Sword Qi struck simultaneously, tearing through the illusionary mist and creating a flaw in the Shen Dragon's defense.
"Bang!" The sea-suppressing bead struck the Shen Dragon's left eye with precision. Its silver-white scales shattered, and deep purple blood gushed out. The Shen Dragon let out a roar of agony, the light in its eyes dimmed, and the surrounding illusionary mist began to dissipate.
"Now is the time!" Lin Yue leaped into the air, his Azure Profound Sword Intent condensing into a Sword Gang dozens of feet long, which he swung down at the Shen Dragon's head. Zhang Luoyan and Ye Qingcheng exerted their power at the same time, their Moonlight Sword Qi and Mechanical Sword Qi intertwining to form a brilliant net of light that trapped the Shen Dragon's body.
The three attacks hit simultaneously, and the Shen Dragon's head exploded with a boom. Its massive body slowly sank into the deep sea. With the death of the Shen Dragon, the surrounding illusion completely vanished, revealing the true sight of the Abyss of the East Sea to the three.
Beneath the deep sea, countless massive reefs stood tall, filled with subtle space-time rifts that flickered with a dangerous light. On the distant seabed, an ancient palace was faintly visible; it was the ruins of the Sea God Yu Qiang, emitting a faint golden light.
Zhang Luoyan retracted the moon crystal wheel and looked at Lin Yue and Ye Qingcheng, her tone softening slightly: "Thank you for your help. I misunderstood you both regarding what happened before."
Lin Yue smiled: "It was nothing. The Abyss of the East Sea is exceptionally dangerous; it's difficult to go deep alone. Why don't we team up for now and go our separate ways after finding the Sea God's ruins?"
Ye Qingcheng also agreed: "Saintess Zhang's Lunar Spirit Body has a restraining effect on illusions and Evil Qi. With you here, our chances of success will be much higher."
Zhang Luoyan pondered for a moment before nodding: "Fine, I agree to team up. But I'll say this upfront: if you dare to play any tricks, I will not show any leniency."
The three reached an agreement and slowly dove toward the Sea God's ruins in the deep sea.
No one noticed a black figure quietly emerging from a space-time rift behind them, eyes gleaming with greed. It was the Paragon of Ultimate Bliss, who had also been drawn here by the Opportunity within the Abyss of the East Sea.
In the deep sea, water pressure increased continuously with depth. Even a Golden Core Cultivator needed to circulate spiritual power to resist it.
Lin Yue held the sea-suppressing bead, its shimmering blue light forming a protective shield that enveloped the three, isolating them from the water pressure and Evil Qi, making their progress much smoother.
Ye Qingcheng controlled the Silver-Armored Puppet to scout ahead, its joints moving flexibly as it avoided one hidden space-time rift after another: "According to the ancient records of the Mechanism Sect, the periphery of the ruins of Sea God Yu Qiang is protected by the residual power of the 'Heaven-Connecting Array.' To enter the core area, one must find three keys: the sea soul bead, the mirage dragon scale, and the sea-fixing needle."
"We've already obtained the mirage dragon scale." Zhang Luoyan raised her hand and produced a silver-white scale, which she had taken when they killed the Shen Dragon earlier. "The remaining sea soul bead and sea-fixing needle should be around these ruins."
Lin Yue's Divine Sense spread out, covering a range of dozens of miles: "In the reef group ahead, there is a dense aura of Souls. The sea soul bead is most likely there."
The three sped up and flew toward the reef group. This reef group was enormous, its surfaces covered with ancient runes, which were the residual marks of the Heaven-Connecting Array.
Between the reefs, countless transparent Soul Phantoms wandered, making wailing sounds, drawn by the aura emitted by the sea soul bead.
"The sea soul bead should be at the center of the reef group." Ye Qingcheng pointed to a massive reef in the center. "The runes on that reef are the densest, clearly one of the array's nodes. The key is likely hidden inside."
Just as the three approached the massive reef, the surrounding Soul Phantoms suddenly became violent and pounced toward them. These Soul Phantoms were formed from Cultivators who had perished in the Abyss of the East Sea during ancient times. Although they had no physical bodies, they could corrode the Divine Soul and were extremely dangerous.
"moon crystal wheel, Purify!" Zhang Luoyan once again activated the moon crystal wheel. Pure moonlight spilled out, forming a purifying barrier that kept the Soul Phantoms at bay. The purifying power of the Lunar Spirit Body was incredibly effective against Soul corrosion; as soon as a Soul Phantom touched the moonlight, it vanished instantly like snow meeting the sun.
Lin Yue sacrificed the sea-suppressing bead, its gentle spiritual power forming a shield to protect the trio's Sea of Consciousness and prevent corrosion from the Soul Phantoms: "Qingcheng, you break open the reef. Saintess Zhang and I will be your Protectors."
Ye Qingcheng nodded, her fingers forming a seal. The sword wings of the Silver-Armored Puppet instantly transformed into several sharp silver blades that slashed toward the massive reef.
The mechanical patterns on the silver blades lit up, carrying armor-piercing power as they forcibly carved an opening in the reef.
Within the opening, a bead that was lustrous white all over and emitted a dense Soul aura floated quietly; it was the sea soul bead.
Around the bead, three Soul Chains were coiled, clearly a Restriction used to guard the key.
"These Soul Chains contain the Remnant Soul Power of ancient Cultivators. To take the sea soul bead, we must sever the chains." Ye Qingcheng observed the chains closely. "The runes on the chains are connected to the Heaven-Connecting Array. Striking them directly might trigger the Restriction."
Zhang Luoyan stepped forward, the moon crystal wheel spinning in her hand: "My Lunar Spirit Body can purify Remnant Soul Power. Let me try." She leaped up, and the moon crystal wheel turned into a streak of light, sliding along the chains. As the Moonlight Sword Qi collided with the chains, the Remnant Soul Power was instantly purified, and the first chain snapped.
Seeing this, Lin Yue also helped. His Azure Profound Sword Intent condensed into sword threads as thin as hair, which precisely cut into the rune nodes of the second chain, severing it. Ye Qingcheng then controlled the Silver-Armored Puppet, its silver blades forming a drill shape that drilled through the third chain.
All three chains were broken, and the sea soul bead, losing its restraint, slowly flew toward the three. Lin Yue reached out and caught it. The sea soul bead felt warm to the touch, and its Soul aura surged into his Sea of Consciousness, instantly causing his Divine Sense to expand significantly.
"Now only the sea-fixing needle is left," Ye Qingcheng said. "The sea-fixing needle is a Magic Treasure of Sea God Yu Qiang, hidden at the Deep Sea Eye of the ruins, which is one of the core nodes of the Heaven-Connecting Array."
The three continued forward, flying toward the Deep Sea Eye. The space-time rifts along the way became increasingly dense, some even capable of swallowing the surrounding spiritual power, forcing the three to be even more cautious.
Just then, a black figure suddenly darted out of a space-time rift, holding a long saber that emitted black Qi, pouncing straight for the sea soul bead in Lin Yue's hand: "Lin Yue, hand over the sea soul bead, and I'll spare your life!"
It was the Paragon of Ultimate Bliss! He had been tailing the three all along, launching a sneak attack while they were focused on finding the key. The black Qi on the long saber carried a Soul-Devouring Power, clearly a Magic Treasure of a demon Cultivator.
"It's you!" Lin Yue's eyes narrowed as he sidestepped the sneak attack. With a backhand swing of the sea-suppressing bead, the shimmering blue light forced the Paragon of Ultimate Bliss back. "You actually came to the Abyss of the East Sea as well!"
The Paragon of Ultimate Bliss smiled sinisterly: "Who wouldn't want the Sea God's Legacy in the Abyss of the East Sea?" Behind him, several more figures darted out of the space-time rifts; they were all demon Cultivators recruited by the Paragon of Ultimate Bliss, with the lowest cultivation being at the Early Golden Core Stage.