“Is this the Sunken Sea?”
In the dim, gloomy seawater, a solitary figure walked forward alone.
A complex demonic aura emanated from him. Anyone whose soul was not sufficiently powerful would, at a glance, dizzily mistake him for a low-tier demon beast.
This person was none other than Luo Chen.
Relying on his breath-concealment techniques, he had purloined the auras of several demon beasts to disguise himself. Only in this manner could he pass unimpeded through the surveillance of the outer demon beasts and plunge straight into the Sunken Sea.
The moment he entered, he noticed something amiss.
The protective barrier of magic power enshrouding him to keep out the seawater was dissolving at a rate thirty to forty percent faster than usual.
And the deeper he went into the Sunken Sea, the faster it dissolved, forcing him to channel magic power continuously to maintain the shield.
This situation was bizarre, yet entirely within Luo Chen's expectations.
As the most famous of the Northern Sea's many peril zones, the taboos and hazards of the Sunken Sea had long been widely known.
The most renowned among them, and the most harmful to cultivators, was this “turbid black seawater.”
Within the turbid black seawater, a cultivator's body suffered severe corrosion. Only by erecting a barrier to isolate inside from outside could one avoid this caustic effect.
Yet the turbid black seawater was also intensely corrosive to defensive barriers!
Consequently, to operate within the Sunken Sea, a cultivator had to maintain their barrier at every single moment, while keeping careful watch over their remaining reserves of magic power and spiritual energy—lest they find themselves drained halfway through and end up buried within the Sunken Sea.
Such potent seawater would certainly make an extraordinary material in the cultivation world.
In fact, many over the years had indeed harbored designs on the Sunken Sea's turbid black seawater, repeatedly attempting to haul it outside.
Yet no matter what secret techniques or storage magical artifacts they employed, the moment this turbid black seawater left the boundaries of the Sunken Sea, it would mysteriously lose its corrosive potency, turning into nothing more than ordinary seawater.
Some speculated that this caustic property was not inherent to the water itself, but rather a product of the Sunken Sea's unique geographical environment, or perhaps the work of some artificially arranged grand formation within. Still others went so far as to guess that the Sunken Sea was formed from the evolution of the primordial Weak Water from the beginning of heaven and earth.
Luo Chen had not bothered to look deeper into this; his journey here was merely to seek out that Sea-Overturning Demonic Wyrm.
As he advanced, Luo Chen's gaze occasionally turned upward to glance at the sky.
Since the seawater of the Sunken Sea was so dangerous, why not simply fly across through the sky?
This question, too, had an answer.
Naturally, the sky was even more dangerous, forcing cultivators to take the undersea path whose hazards remained relatively manageable.
As for what danger lurked in the sky?
Luo Chen halted in his tracks, spiritual light gleaming in his eyes as he stared intently at the sky.
An ignorant seabird—bearing no demonic spiritual energy, possessing no rank, nothing more than an ordinary seabird—happened to fly over the Sunken Sea at this moment.
It flew for several li without incident, as though what lay beneath was not the dreaded Sunken Sea that made mortals and cultivators turn pale, but a perfectly ordinary tract of ocean.
Yet suddenly!
The seabird plummeted headfirst out of the sky and plunged into the sea. In a single instant, feathers and flesh were corroded away completely, becoming nourishment for the sea.
Throughout the entire process, no attacker was seen.
Nor did any strange anomaly appear.
Yet Luo Chen knew why that seabird had died.
“Nihility Burning Wind!”
Luo Chen's brows furrowed tightly as he uttered those four words.
This was why the countless cultivators of the Northern Sea dared not cross the Sunken Sea by air.
They did not know why, nor did they even know what was attacking them.
Luo Chen had not known previously either, but after getting in touch with Ding Yi, the other had told him what it was that struck down such creatures.
A bizarre “wind”!
Intangible and incorporeal, silent and formless, it appeared without any discernible pattern, and its might was entirely unpredictable—ranging from mortal-level to Deity Transformation-level.
Once struck by this wind, a living being's soul would burn like fire and plunge into extreme chaos, causing them to lose control of their body, fall into the sea, and sink forever.
This intelligence had been obtained by Ding Yi from disciples of the Yuan Demon Sect.
It was said that the Yuan Demon Sect had expended immense effort to discern these characteristics, and through massive investments of manpower and resources, had gradually uncovered some patterns to the Nihility Burning Wind.
This wind was at its most formidable in the sky!
In the seawater, it was at its weakest; moreover, it was exceedingly rare in the peripheral zones, growing progressively more frequent the deeper one ventured.
Finally, there was also a method to counter this wind.
That countermeasure lay in magic treasures containing the bloodline of the black turtle.
According to the Yuan Demon Sect's research, this wind was very likely derived from the corpses of countless black turtles that had perished in the Sunken Sea. Therefore, a treasure bearing the black turtle bloodline could effectively resist it once the seawater had weakened its power.
“Though I wear the Xuanchen Armor, I'm not yet prepared to face this wind. On this trip, I won't head into the inner regions of the Sunken Sea; I'll only roam the outer perimeter.”
Luo Chen withdrew his gaze with lingering trepidation and, maintaining his steady output of magic power, continued swimming forward.
***
At Luo Chen's speed, even in the unfamiliar medium of water, he advanced swiftly.
Roughly half an hour later, his figure appeared in a gloom-shrouded region.
This place was fully a thousand zhang beneath the ocean surface!
The tremendous water pressure felt as if it could crush a person to powder.
Confident in his powerful physique, Luo Chen felt nothing from the pressure itself, but was somewhat shocked by the rate at which his magic power was depleting.
If he truly were to venture into the Sunken Sea alongside Ding Yi, Cave Master Moyun, and the others next time, the first thing he needed to do would be to concoct large quantities of medicinal pills to replenish magic power.
Otherwise, this constant, unrelenting drain alone would be enough to exhaust all the magic power of an ordinary Gold Core cultivator.
Setting this aside for now, Luo Chen extended his divine sense to search for traces of the Sea-Overturning Demonic Wyrm.
According to the demon race's troop distribution map, ordinary first-rank and second-rank demon beasts were stationed entirely outside the Sunken Sea, while ordinary third-rank demon kings were positioned along the dividing line. Only a select few formidable great demon kings ventured into the Sunken Sea alone.
Such isolated, solitary deployment was naturally peculiar.
After all, if they wished to guard the Sunken Sea and prevent the human race from encroaching, they ought to cluster together to maximize their strength rather than segregating the weak from the strong.
The many rogue cultivators of the Myriad Immortals Association couldn't make sense of it.
Luo Chen, however, harbored another conjecture.
“Could this deep-sea hill also become one of the entrances to the ancient cultivator ruins in the future?” he muttered under his breath.
According to his guess, the demons' massing of troops around the Sunken Sea was merely to seize control of the ancient cultivator ruins.
Since that was the goal, there was no need to defend the vast Sunken Sea in its entirety; holding the relevant entrances would suffice.
The demons of the Arctic Yama Heavens had obtained the Yuan Demon Sect's research legacy on the Sunken Sea, making it highly probable they had pinpointed the corresponding entrances. Thus, stationing formidable demon kings to occupy and guard those specific areas was the most logical explanation.
Yet under Luo Chen's divine sense sweep at the moment, he could not sense anything extraordinary about the deep-sea hills below.
The sole anomaly was that his divine sense's reach seemed invisibly suppressed by something. His vast divine sense, which normally could extend for several hundred li, could now reach only several li at most.
A hundredfold suppression!
In other words, if an ordinary Gold Core cultivator with a mediocre soul foundation came here, they probably wouldn't even be able to scan a few li.
“Is that Sea-Overturning Demonic Wyrm not here?”
Luo Chen muttered to himself, his figure shifting swiftly.
Eventually, his footsteps halted above an undersea basin that resembled a giant washbasin.
Within his line of sight, a colossal creature was coiled within the oceanic basin, motionless as a mountain.
“So you are here after all!”
Luo Chen smiled faintly and released his breath-concealment art.
As his aura flooded forth, the demonic wyrm in the ocean slowly opened eyes as large as lanterns, its two blue vertical pupils locking onto Luo Chen.
Rustle, rustle...
Its body, piled up like a small mountain, began to uncoil, revealing a long, sinuous physique. Four massive talons gripped the seabed, and hardened dragon horns rose skyward.
A long exhale stirred up scattered gravel and bleached bones in the water as the demonic wyrm spoke.
“Human, are you provoking this dragon?”
Luo Chen took a deep breath. Instead of answering politely, he formed an incantation gesture and struck his lower dantian's sea of qi.
As this incantation hit, it felt as though some restraint had been unlocked.
Instantly!
An earth-shaking surge of magic power erupted from Luo Chen's body.
At that moment, at the bottom of the Sunken Sea, a volcano erupted with a deafening roar!
“Courting death!”
The Sea-Overturning Demonic Wyrm let out a low roar, twisting its massive frame as it charged toward Luo Chen.
Not only that, but as it moved, the surrounding turbid black seawater surged along with it, rolling in from all directions.
Witnessing this, Luo Chen's pupils constricted slightly. But a harsh gleam flashed across his eyes. The Flowing Fire Hammer appeared in his grasp, and rather than retreating, he charged straight forward toward the wyrm.
Within a hundred zhang around him, scarlet magic power soared like rising flames, forming a fiery hellish prison.
In the next moment, the two collided like heavenly thunder striking earthly fire.
***
About an incense stick of time later.
A figure stepped slowly out of the swirling dust and smoke.
In his hand, he held a battered, broken warhammer. Upon the intricately patterned black armor he wore, several corners showed traces of scorch marks.
“Phew!”
Luo Chen exhaled a long breath of turbid air and glanced at the nearly ruined Flowing Fire Hammer, his brows furrowing slightly.
Turning around, he waved his wide sleeve, instantly clearing the smoke and debris that filled the seafloor.
A wyrm corpse that looked almost cooked through lay there motionless, exuding an appetizing aroma of roasted meat.
Stowing his magic treasure, Luo Chen extended his left hand toward the wyrm's carcass.
On his left hand, a black iron band sat on his thumb, while his index finger bore a dark jade-green ring.
Light flashed on his thumb, and a powerful suction instantly drew the wyrm corpse inside.
The dark jade-green ring was a relic left behind by Mountain Master Baizao, named the Ink Ring. A standard storage ring reaching the low-grade magic treasure rank, it had now become Luo Chen's primary storage ring.
Meanwhile, the Thunder-Accumulating Treasure Ring that Luo Chen had once frequently used had now been relegated to secondary status, with most of his vital resources transferred into the Ink Ring.
After all, while it was also of low-grade magic treasure quality, it had originally been crafted solely to store thunder essence, making it less orthodox for general storage.
By contrast, the Ink Ring not only offered greater storage capacity, but was also sturdier. Back when Mountain Master Baizao was besieged by Lord Lushan and his two companions and struck by Black King, his body had been shattered to pieces, yet the Ink Ring remained intact—a testament to its resilience.
Yet right now, the Thunder-Accumulating Treasure Ring had its use.
Using it to store this wyrm corpse was just right!
Having stored the corpse, Luo Chen didn't bother tidying up the battlefield and returned directly along the path he had come.
After traveling for the better part of an hour, a streak of light slipped quietly past the heavily guarded shores of the Sunken Sea and finally landed on an ordinary hill sparse in spiritual energy.
Releasing an artifact flying sword, he casually excavated a cave abode.
Luo Chen cast out the Fengshen Compass, set up the Billowing Clouds Dense Fog Array, and only then stepped calmly into the cave abode.
The moment he entered, Luo Chen swallowed medicinal pills and sat down to regulate his breath and meditate.
Sun set and moon rose.
Around midnight, Luo Chen awoke calmly, his aura having somewhat recovered.
Only now did he have time to reflect on the previous battle.
“The killer move has only just taken shape; I was a bit overconfident.”
Luo Chen gave a bitter smile. This journey to test his blade had almost ended in disaster.
Back in the early Gold Core stage, and even at the fourth layer of Gold Core, he had faced third-rank late-stage great demon kings.
One was the Golden Wolf King, against whom he had been thoroughly crushed.
The other was the Golden Armor Overlord Crab of the Xuanyan Sea Region; they had fought to a standstill, and Luo Chen had ultimately returned to deliver a fully charged palm strike that severely wounded the Golden Armor Crab King, settling the score.
Now at the sixth layer of Gold Core, his magic power was far greater than before, his various arts more refined, and above all, he had recently created a new killer technique. Logically speaking, against the Sea-Overturning Demonic Wyrm, which was also at the late third-rank stage, he should have crushed it.
Yet the reality had been quite different.
That Sea-Overturning Demonic Wyrm not only possessed a formidable physique, but could move freely across the floor of the Sunken Sea and even briefly manipulate the turbid black seawater!
Its legendary water-controlling ability had received maximum amplification under the geographical advantage of the Sunken Sea.
Luo Chen's battle had been perilous.
He had deployed the full extent of the Senluo Fire Hell, briefly assumed the Heavenly Peng True Form mid-fight, sacrificed the Flowing Fire Hammer, and relied on the exceptional defense of the Xuanchen Armor to forcefully take it down.
Taking out the Flowing Fire Hammer that was now beyond repair, Luo Chen felt a tinge of regret, but also a measure of realization.
No wonder the Sea-Overturning Demonic Wyrm dared to make its lair in the Sunken Sea.
To think it could briefly manipulate the turbid black seawater.
Had he not possessed the boost from the Senluo Fire Hell to push his combat power to its zenith, he might not have managed to subdue it.
Even so, through this real combat, he had grown much more familiar with this new killer move.
“Once the Senluo Fire Hell is deployed, it vastly amplifies my attacks. Within a hundred zhang radius, both spells and magic treasures are noticeably more ferocious than usual.”
“Yet that isn't the core of it!”
“The key lies in the fact that an enemy inside the fire hell suffers a suppression akin to a Nascent Soul domain. However, my 'suppression' is somewhat different: it makes the enemy's magic power turbulent and unruly, preventing them from mobilizing it as freely as usual, thereby creating massive flaws in combat.”
“By seizing on these flaws, I can easily defeat my foe.”
Luo Chen's pseudo-domain suppression did not hinder movement or make magic power sluggish; instead, it reversed the approach, making the enemy's power wild and agitated, achieving the same effect of rendering it unmanageable.
Different paths leading to the same destination!
The reason the wyrm had forced Luo Chen to assume the Heavenly Peng True Form was that besides immense demonic power, it also possessed an extraordinary physique.
Finding its magic power difficult to control, it had chosen to brawl with Luo Chen in close-quarters physical combat.
Unfortunately, it had picked the wrong opponent.
A brief transformation was all it took for Luo Chen to take it down with ease.
“As expected of a great demon king that survived the battle against the Yuan Demon Sect—it truly possessed real capability. Its overall might was in no way inferior to a standard human Gold Core Great Cultivator.”
Luo Chen sighed with emotion and retrieved the troop distribution map.
“For my next sword-testing target, I'll need to choose carefully.”
This trip was to test his blade—and that “blade” was his new trump card, the Senluo Fire Hell—not to wager his life to break through his limits.
He had no need to deliberately seek out exceptionally formidable enemies.
Those who possessed some skill yet posed no real threat to his life were ideal.
Furthermore, during the selection process, Luo Chen deliberately avoided any demon king described as possessing “water manipulation” abilities.
He had no desire to encounter another beast like the Sea-Overturning Demonic Wyrm that could briefly manipulate the Sunken Sea's turbid black seawater!
***
Five days later.
A burly figure appeared within the basin of the Sunken Sea.
“This should be where that demonic wyrm lairs. Slaying it will not only earn a substantial bounty of merit and spirit stones, but also allow me to use the blood fiend energy to upgrade my Golden Suanni Saber once more.”
Dao Lan gripped his long saber, his mind occasionally drifting back to that other blade at Withered Wood Ridge.
A True Artifact—the Divine Astral Blood Blade!
What the Blood Hermit could accomplish, Dao Lan could surely achieve as well!
As long as he kept slaying along his path, his Golden Suanni Saber would inevitably break through the shackles of magic treasures and become a peerless, legendary blade!
Amidst his soaring ambitions, the taciturn Dao Lan froze upon seeing the ruined battlefield.
Where had such a huge demonic wyrm gone?
He distinctly remembered that when he discovered this demon king last time, it had been right here!
Thanks to that piece of intelligence, he had even earned a respectable amount of merit points at Taiping Fortress.
Frowning, Dao Lan spread his divine sense to search the surrounding area.
Under the caustic erosion of the churning turbid black seawater, the lingering auras on this battlefield had long since been wiped clean.
However!
Dao Lan crouched down and picked a blood-stained scale from the sediment.
The blood belonged to the Sea-Overturning Demonic Wyrm.
Yet on it lingered a faint, foreign trace of magic power.
Extremely faint, yet exceedingly overbearing!
“Such overbearing, blazing magic power... Is it him?”
Dao Lan started, a figure faintly surfacing in his mind.
“Yet how could that be possible?”
Though that man was formidable and comparable to a Great Cultivator, in his eyes he was merely on par with someone at the seventh layer of the Gold Core stage.
Meanwhile, this Sea-Overturning Demonic Wyrm was an entity that even he, an Eight-Star Demon Hunter at the ninth layer of Gold Core, dared to face alone only after thorough preparation.
Could it be that the man's strength was already rivaling those at the ninth layer of Gold Core?
Caught in shock and suspicion, Dao Lan murmured a few words:
“Demonic Lord Qingyang...”
Turning, he headed east.
Over there lay another Scorching Flame Sawtooth Shark, a late-stage third-rank great demon king just like the Sea-Overturning Demonic Wyrm.
That, too, would make a fine whetstone!
If he slew it, he could also use its metal-attribute serrated teeth to repair the wear and tear accumulated by the Golden Suanni Saber over years of battle.
***
One day later.
Dao Lan stood alone in the air above a reef-strewn sea, completely bewildered.
“Where is my Scorching Flame Sawtooth Shark?”
Chapter 644