Chapter 405
Chapter 405
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Back to the Broken Place
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Overseas, in a remote sea domain.
Deep beneath the profound sea, a pitch-black pit cave abruptly appeared, where all waters converged. Thousands of fire veins radiated outward around it, encircling like stars cupping the moon.
【Earthfire Seaheart Furnace】!
At the heart of the volcanic crater stood a handsome young man, elegant and refined like a scholarly literati. He held a jade slip in hand, scanning its contents with his divine sense.
A moment later, he set the jade slip down, his face etched with distress.
"The overseas aren't peaceful these days."
Suo Huan had secluded himself in this 【Earthfire Seaheart Furnace】 for a few short decades—precisely since Chongguang had attained proof of 【Heaven of Non-existence】.
No choice—the momentum of the era left him no option.
With Chongguang sweeping away every True Lord in a single breath, none were more thrilled than those overseas. Even the Dragon Lord had departed amid hearty laughter.
Once the True Lords had all vanished into seclusion, the true dragon clan surged forth en masse, scouring the seas comprehensively for spiritual materials to prepare for Crown Prince Tian Qiu of Dragon Palace's gold-seeking ritual. Amid such overwhelming tides, Suo Huan—a rootless, unaffiliated outsider cultivator—could only choose temporary retreat.
At the thought, he sighed again despite himself.
"Sigh."
Chongguang's removal of the world's True Lords was a boon for every cultivator—except him. For Suo Huan alone, it was a thunderbolt from clear skies.
Unlike others, he needed True Lords to seek gold!
No need to mention anything else; just reaching perfect Foundation Establishment—the very foundation of gold-seeking—required the Dao Court Heavenly Sovereign's personal bestowal of an official post.
But now, that Heavenly Sovereign had secluded himself.
The Crown Prince served as regent, his stance toward Suo Huan worlds apart. After several fruitless talks, he flatly refused to grant even a perfect Foundation Establishment post.
And so Suo Huan was stuck.
For an instant, despair flickered across his face.
"I'm nearing my end too. Does 【Huanxu Realm】 truly have to go extinct on my watch?"
He refused to accept it!
Yet what could refusal accomplish? Suo Huan hung his head in defeat.
"Nothing for it now but to wait it out—until the True Lords return."
But at that very moment—
Boom!
The entire 【Earthfire Seaheart Furnace】 shuddered violently. Suo Huan frowned and peered toward the source of the quake.
Better if he hadn't looked.
His eyes bulged, and he leaped to his feet.
"You bastards!"
Before him, in the remote sea domain housing his furnace, billions of acres of seawater had been wrenched upward by some colossal force!
Straining his eyes afar, Suo Huan spotted hundreds of thousands of demon soldiers arrayed on the surface, channeling heaven-and-earth spiritual qi into formation. They were the ones hoisting the sea—and at the vanguard of their ranks stood a man and a woman, both old acquaintances of Lu Yang, their horns and features sharp and imposing.
Dragon King Sui Ying. Dragon King Sui Ling.
Empowered by the demon horde, the two mid-Foundation Establishment Dragon Kings' auras exploded skyward as they fixed their gazes squarely on Suo Huan.
"Found you at last."
"So you're Suo Huan?"
Suo Huan ignored their questions, trembling with rage.
His 【Earthfire Seaheart Furnace】 lay in ruins!
The furnace had been forged via feng shui principles, prizing terrain above all. Yet these two Dragon Kings had simply lifted the sea, shattering its geomancy and demolishing it outright!
'Bold demons.'
Suo Huan raged inwardly but swallowed the words. He couldn't afford to provoke the true dragons at their zenith.
".Fellow Daoists, to what do I owe the visit?"
Suo Huan shook out his sleeves, observing every courtesy.
Sui Ying smiled faintly, his dragon pupils glinting with mockery.
"I've heard this outsider scatterer like you holds a 【Spirit Ruins Blessed Land】. True or not?"
Suo Huan's heart sank.
'No wonder they came for me—they're after the 【Spirit Ruins Blessed Land】! Planning to burn it as fodder for their gold-seeking ritual?'
Outrageous!
Other treasures? For the true dragons' sake, he'd hand them over. He'd bowed his head before; what was once more?
But not the 【Spirit Ruins Blessed Land】.
It was the seed of 【Huanxu Realm】's revival—his sole lifeline after all these years. Yield it, and 【Huanxu Realm】 ended for good!
'.Death wish!'
Rage surged; boldness followed. Suo Huan glared murderously at Sui Ying and Sui Ling.
True, the Dragon Kings had their demon formation's backing—but they were mere mid Foundation Establishment. He was late-stage, bolstered by 【Spirit Ruins Blessed Land】 besides—not some weakling. In a real fight, he'd crush these whelps with a flick.
Yet as his aura shifted—
Sui Ling and Sui Ying, long prepared, produced a trident and hurled it aloft. It shimmered with crystalline wave-glow.
'【Sea-Commanding Trident】!'
The weapon hung in the air, blooming with myriad hues amid a deafening boom. Rumbling torrents echoed even from the clear sky.
"This is..."
Suo Huan's pupils shrank; he knew it well—Dragon Palace Crown Prince Tian Qiu's personal arm, a superior spirit treasure!
This instance bore Tian Qiu's pre-infused divine ability. Wielded by the pair, it instantly gained perfect Foundation Establishment authority. The duo, once beneath notice, now posed a threat several times deadlier!
Suo Huan's blood ran cold.
'They... mean to kill me?'
Evidently prepared, with Tian Qiu likely watching from the shadows!
All killing intent evaporated.
'Fine. Just another flight.'
Eyes shut, Suo Huan quashed any defiance. Resistance had been folly since arriving in this forsaken realm.
But as he steeled for desperate flight—
Boom!
A cataclysmic roar erupted from the firmament, resounding across the overseas. Countless cultivators looked skyward to see gale clouds part, boundless spiritual qi cascading from beyond!
The heavens collapsing!
"A realm-heaven...falling?"
Head raised, Suo Huan dazedly recalled the past—【Huanxu Realm】 hauled in similarly by True Lords.
But this felt different.
Self-initiated?
Before he could parse it, a stupefying sight unfolded: a heaven-spanning hand descending, blotting the firmament.
Sui Ling and Sui Ying had already hoisted billions of sea acres—a grand spectacle, Foundation-perfect authority making it a celestial river. Yet this palm engulfed it all!
"Who dares!?"
Panic-stricken, the pair shifted to true dragon form and fled skyward—trapped in the hand's grasp.
Boom!
No contest. Fingers clenched, crushing the Dragon Kings like chicks.
"Fellow Daoist, mercy!"
Tian Qiu's voice echoed from afar.
Answered by a pop.
Bang!
Blood and flesh sprayed; the Dragon Kings vanished. The hand's glow faded, divine light recoiling to reveal a stalwart youth.
"Back again to this broken place!"
Surveying his surroundings, Lu Yang bared a ferocious grin.
Tian Qiu's plea? Ignored.
Mercy?
He'd returned to muster the blades of war!