Chapter 254 - 247: Return, Ritual

Chapter 254: Chapter 247: Return, Ritual

A Dao Fruit Realm expert’s self-detonation was an earth-shattering event.

The few Cultivators from Endless Island who had been in pursuit watched from a distance, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"Elder Ren self-detonated his Dao Fruit?"

"What in the world happened? How could things turn out like this in such a short time?"

"Go! We can’t pursue them any further! If the enemy could survive Elder Ren’s Dao Fruit self-detonation, we’d just be throwing our lives away!"

All they saw was the detonation of Ren Yelin’s Dao Fruit. The blinding light of the blast prevented them from witnessing Jiang Zuo being grievously injured and then recovering at an astonishing rate.

Utterly shocked, the few Cultivators didn’t dare to pursue any further.

Had they been under orders, they might have disregarded their own safety.

But now, the enemy had either perished along with Elder Ren or was far too powerful for them to handle. Rushing forward would be a meaningless suicide.

After a brief discussion, they immediately turned around and flew back toward Endless Island.

Soon, the news of Ren Yelin’s Dao Fruit self-detonation spread throughout Endless Island.

The Cultivators on the island were immediately thrown into a panic.

"We’re short on Array materials, the island’s Spirit Vein has been seized, and now Elder Ren is dead."

"Staying on Endless Island any longer is pointless. It will only lead to more casualties."

"The mission to establish the Endless Island divine domain base has been a complete failure. Notify all believers. We’re preparing to leave."

In a wooden house, an old man sighed after listening to the reports from several eyewitnesses.

He was an elderly deacon whose status on the island was second only to Ren Yelin, and he was usually in charge of managing daily affairs.

The eyewitnesses were all trustworthy, devout believers, so the old man had no reason to doubt their words.

’Having lost another Dao Fruit Realm elder in Ren Yelin, staying here will only result in even greater losses.’

The old man decisively gave the order to leave.

Soon, the believers on the island gathered.

The old man said little, simply summoning a massive Flying Ship.

After all the believers had boarded, the Flying Ship, under the old man’s control, slowly ascended into the sky.

"No one is to let their guard down! Keep a close watch. We absolutely cannot let that person follow us!"

They had left Endless Island, but the old man did not relax.

’That person definitely didn’t follow us here.’

’This means he was likely already in the Endless Sea, or perhaps a Cultivator trapped here.’

’If that’s the case, we absolutely cannot let him follow us out!’

It had to be said, the old man’s instincts were sharp.

Unfortunately for him, Jiang Zuo didn’t need to be in the air to track them.

At that moment, Jiang Zuo was strolling along the seabed, following the Flying Ship from a great distance.

After Ren Yelin had detonated his Dao Fruit, Jiang Zuo had anticipated that the Cultivators on the island would most likely choose to retreat.

His injuries hadn’t fully healed, so he had his Blood Qi Avatar go and keep an eye on them.

Seeing that they were indeed making a run for it, Jiang Zuo couldn’t be bothered with his recovery and gave chase.

With his regenerative abilities, as long as he wasn’t fighting, he could slowly heal while tracking them.

The Flying Ship was initially extremely fast, and Jiang Zuo had to expend considerable effort underwater just to keep up.

However, after flying for more than half a day, the Flying Ship’s speed slowed down after sunrise.

It even had to stop at certain locations for the Array Master from the island to confirm their direction before they could continue.

The Endless Sea was full of Chaotic Space Domains, and the slightest mistake could get them hopelessly lost.

To prevent Jiang Zuo from tracking them, they secretly set up numerous warning Arrays in some narrow, unavoidable passages.

If anyone were to follow, they would surely be detected.

After flying for over a day without any of the warning Arrays behind them being triggered, the old man and the believers aboard the Flying Ship finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that they had truly shaken off their unknown enemy.

Jiang Zuo continued his silent pursuit on the seabed. Once the ship’s speed decreased, he finally had time to check his own physical condition.

’That guy Ren was at the initial stage of the Dao Fruit Realm.’

’When it comes to a contest of Magic, there’s still a significant gap between me and the Dao Fruit Realm.’

’Especially their Dao Fruit Divine Techniques. Even in my Flesh Burst state, I couldn’t break free and could only endure them head-on.’

’But the Flesh Burst state didn’t disappoint me. While in that state, the Divine Techniques of an initial-stage Dao Fruit Realm Cultivator probably can’t kill me.’

’I could probably even withstand a few blows from a mid-stage Dao Fruit Realm expert’s Divine Techniques. Only three or four consecutive Divine Techniques could inflict a fatal injury.’

’However, I can’t maintain the Flesh Burst state for very long right now. The more heavily injured I am, the shorter its duration.’

’And after the state ends, my body enters a relatively weakened state. My physical recovery is drastically reduced, and I need to refine a large amount of Spiritual Power and High Tier Demon Beast Flesh and Blood to recover.’

This was the first time Jiang Zuo had unleashed the power of his Primordial Flesh and Blood to enter the Flesh Burst state.

In the Flesh Burst state, his combat power had soared to the point where not even the self-detonation of a Dao Fruit Realm expert could kill him.

In this state, he could even hold his own in a direct confrontation with a mid-stage Dao Fruit Realm Cultivator.

The price was that after battle, his Primordial Flesh and Blood would be in a state of extreme starvation, requiring him to constantly refine Spirit Absorption Stones and High Tier Demon Beast Flesh and Blood.

He continuously refined and absorbed Spirit Stones and Demon Beast Flesh and Blood while following the Flying Ship.

Even so, Jiang Zuo felt it was far from enough.

’This condition will probably last for ten days to half a month.’

’And during this period, my physical recovery ability will be greatly reduced.’

’I also won’t be able to unleash the power of my Primordial Flesh and Blood again.’

’The cost isn’t too high, just a bit troublesome.’

’However, if I were to enter the Primordial Flesh and Blood liberation state...’

Besides the Flesh Burst state, Jiang Zuo had another move: Primordial Flesh and Blood Liberation.

He had always known he possessed this ability but had never dared to use it.

The Flesh Burst state already turned him into a bottomless pit that could never be filled.

If he were to use Primordial Flesh and Blood Liberation, Jiang Zuo had no idea what would become of him.

Jiang Zuo had a strong feeling that it was best not to use Primordial Flesh and Blood Liberation, no matter the circumstances.

’I can upgrade the Pet Beast Spirit Garden now without worry, but I don’t know if the upgrade process will cause some kind of disturbance. For now, I’m not in a hurry to upgrade.’

’I’m still in the Endless Sea anyway, so I can catch more Sea Beasts for the Pet Beast Spirit Garden along the way.’

Jiang Zuo glanced at his Pet Beast Spirit Garden again.

The Pet Beast Spirit Garden had now integrated one medium-grade Spirit Vein and one low-grade Spirit Vein, making the Spiritual Qi inside extremely dense.

During the years Jiang Zuo had spent on Endless Island impersonating a believer of the Celestial Eye Black Pupil, he had also captured many Sea Beasts and placed them inside.

Now, the Pet Beast Spirit Garden was ready in every respect. It could be upgraded as soon as Jiang Zuo gave the command.

But to be cautious, Jiang Zuo was still in no hurry.

The Celestial Eye Black Pupil’s Flying Ship wasn’t moving fast, and as Jiang Zuo followed, he wasn’t just blindly walking along the seabed.

He would have his Blood Qi Avatar scout ahead before proceeding himself, lest a single careless mistake undo all his efforts.

In truth, with his Blood Qi Avatar, even if he hadn’t happened to run into the people from Celestial Eye Black Pupil, leaving the Endless Sea wouldn’t have been a problem at all.

He only needed to send his Blood Qi Avatar to scout the path, and he wouldn’t have to worry about being drawn into a Chaotic Space Domain.

It would just cost him a great deal of time.

Relying on his Blood Qi Avatar, Jiang Zuo followed the Flying Ship and, along the way, handily captured many Sea Beasts he encountered on the seabed.

After achieving Great Success in both the Dao of Talismans and the Dao of Arrays, and especially now that he possessed a Dao Talisman that had lost its Talisman Spirit...

Jiang Zuo now had an excellent idea regarding the art of Divine Sense Puppets.

Once he left the Endless Sea and returned to the human continent, Jiang Zuo planned to use the Mysterious Stele to modify the Divine Sense Puppet technique and refine his own Clone Puppet.

The speed of the Celestial Eye Black Pupil’s Flying Ship became slower and slower.

Jiang Zuo didn’t know how they had originally found the way to Endless Island without being swept into a Chaotic Space Domain.

’Using puppets to scout the way?’

’That’s the most reliable method I can think of.’

’If they used people to scout, no number of lives would be enough.’

And so, the Flying Ship traveled in fits and starts for half a year before the silhouette of a coastline finally appeared ahead.

The Flying Ship’s speed instantly shot to its maximum as it sped toward the coast.

’Should I make a move?’

A vicious glint flashed in Jiang Zuo’s eyes.

’Without any Dao Fruit Realm Cultivators, this entire ship of Divine Body Realm and Three Flowers Realm Cultivators couldn’t do a thing to me.’

’But even if I attack, if these Cultivators choose to flee, I’ll only be able to kill a few dozen at most.’

’It would be meaningless, aside from exposing myself.’

His identity hadn’t been exposed yet. If that Manifestation Realm Venerable from Celestial Eye Black Pupil found out it was him, it would not be good news.

However, in the next moment, Jiang Zuo saw two figures appear on the shore, and his hesitation vanished.

On the coastline, two Dao Fruit Realm Cultivators were waiting.

Against two Dao Fruit Realm Cultivators working together, Jiang Zuo could only flee.

Not to mention there was still an entire ship of Cultivators.

Jiang Zuo didn’t know what the two Dao Fruit Realm Cultivators did. He only saw one of them wave a hand, and the entire Flying Ship vanished into thin air.

Then, the two Dao Fruit Realm Cultivators moved, flying toward the forest on the shore.

Jiang Zuo remained quietly on the seabed, with no intention of giving chase.

He waited on the seabed for a full week before slowly coming ashore.

...

「Celestial Eye Black Pupil, Seventh Divine Wonder Secret Realm.」

Celestial Eye Black Pupil referred to all the Secret Realms under its control as Divine Wonder Secret Realms.

Over the past 20,000 years, Celestial Eye Black Pupil had controlled more than ten Divine Wonder Secret Realms.

Some of them had been destroyed, while others had been abandoned.

The current Seventh Divine Wonder land was the true headquarters of Celestial Eye Black Pupil.

Within the Seventh Divine Wonder land, a young man was calmly gazing at an altar before him.

The young man was none other than the great Manifestation Realm Cultivator who had placed the Daoist Shackles on Jiang Zuo—the current Sect Leader of Celestial Eye Black Pupil, Mo Yunzhen.

"They encountered a Three Flowers Realm Cultivator in the Endless Sea, who secretly sabotaged the Array, set up another Array to drain the Spirit Vein, stole it, and even forced Elder Ren, who pursued him, to self-detonate his Dao Fruit?"

"Such a figure exists among the human Cultivators?"

Mo Yunzhen looked at the message he had received. Although his expression didn’t change, he still found it somewhat hard to believe.

He had personally approved Elder Ren’s mission, believing it to be a sure thing. He never expected such a major incident to occur.

However, with things as they were, Mo Yunzhen had no time to dwell on it.

The ritual before him was more important!