Chapter 486 487: Moon on the Water, Rising with the Tide

The three of them resurfaced.

Jiang Hongqin and the other two were gathered around the Dao Essence, trying one method after another. Clearly, they had exhausted all their options, yet the white Dao Essence remained completely unresponsive.

Seeing that Chen Dong had actually returned, the three of them frowned with varying degrees of disappointment, none more so than Xu Fu.

Meng Yingluo, meanwhile, stood to the side, her face deathly pale.

"What's wrong?" Chen Dong asked.

Meng Yingluo replied via voice transmission, "The aura here is too oppressive for me. If I stay any longer, I might have to go into a deep sleep. Take good care of Ying Luo. I'm going to hide myself away now."

Chen Dong nodded. 'It must be because of the Demon Refining Pot,' he thought. His own aura was also suppressed, just not as noticeably as a member of the Demon Race's would be.

Just as she finished speaking, Meng Yingluo collapsed, and Chen Dong swiftly caught her in his arms.

"What happened to her?" Murong Qing asked.

Zisang Jin answered in Chen Dong's stead, "She likely just overexerted herself." Looking at Chen Dong, she added, "Here, let me take her."

She gently took Meng Yingluo into her arms. "You two should hurry and claim the Dao Essence."

Chen Dong looked at Murong Qing, gesturing for her to try first. He could tell just from the aura radiating off the Dao Essence that it wasn't compatible with him. 'If Murong Qing can't absorb it,' he thought, 'I'll have to use the Creation Light Pillar to pull it into my Sea of Consciousness.'

Murong Qing walked toward the white Dao Essence. The moment she came within ten meters of it, the Dao Essence transformed into a streak of white light and shot into the space between her brows.

Instantly, a bright moon rose above the water's surface. The tide surged, and Murong Qing looked as if she were standing within the moon itself.

It was a phenomenon! For a moment, the moon and tide seemed to rise as one, its shimmering light stretching for countless miles across the waves.

The Dao Essence had chosen Murong Qing.

Everyone was stunned, even Zisang Jin, who already possessed a Dao Essence of her own. It was exceedingly rare for a Dao Essence to choose its master, and the more magnificent the phenomenon it revealed, the more powerful the Dao Essence was proven to be.

The fog that shrouded the marsh was scattered by the Dao Essence's phenomenon. Water and sky merged into a single, flawless color, with only the bright, solitary orb of the moon hanging in the vast expanse.

Murong Qing looked like a Moonlight Fairy, bathed in the pure, pristine lunar radiance. A small crescent moon formed between her brows. At the same time, her aura skyrocketed, instantly shattering the barrier to the Golden Core realm. Ninth-grade Golden Core... Eighth-grade Golden Core... Seventh-grade Golden Core... and it kept climbing...

What none of them knew was that this Dao Essence had survived here for eons. Among the living beings Liu Ling had sacrificed, some had possessed Dao Essences of their own. But over the long course of time, those other Essences had eventually dissipated, leaving only this one behind.

After a long while, the celestial phenomenon faded, retracting completely into the crescent moon between Murong Qing's brows. Her cultivation settled at the Fifth-Layer of the First-Grade Golden Core—even higher than Chen Dong's.

To be able to form a Golden Core just by fusing with a Dao Essence, and without even having to face a Thunder Tribulation... Jiang Hongqin and the other two couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. From the grand phenomenon to the incredible cultivation boost, everyone could see just how powerful this Dao Essence was.

Just then, however, Liu Ling shot out from the water, hovering in the air. Her aura was so profound that Chen Dong couldn't begin to fathom it. Her gaze was imperious, seeming at once cold, serene, and utterly void.

Liu Ling gave a wave of her elegant hand. An aura of the Great Dao washed over them and, in a flash of brilliance, Chen Dong and the group vanished from their spot.

A single message echoed within all of their Divine Senses.

"The Human and Demon Races should not be like this. I will investigate the cause of this conflict. As for everything that has happened here, all of you will keep your lips sealed!"

When they came to their senses, they found themselves at the exit of another Guardian Array, the one corresponding to Ningxian City. With the exception of Chen Dong, none of them could comprehend how Liu Ling possessed such immense power.

Chen Dong, however, knew. 'She must have used the power of the Demon Refining Pot,' he realized. 'That's the only way she could have teleported all of us here.'

Several li away, numerous members of the Demon Race were standing guard. They were completely baffled by the group's sudden appearance, assuming the Human Race was pulling some new trick. But when they saw Chen Dong and Zisang Jin, chaos erupted among them. 'How did those two get here?'

'So many Demon Kings went to intercept them, and they still managed to get away? Now they're this close to the Guardian Array—what can we possibly do? They only need to take one more step to be back inside the array's protection.'

Chen Dong's group paid no heed to the commotion among the Demon Race. Regardless of how it happened, they were just incredibly relieved to be back.

Zisang Jin summoned her Peach Blossom Divine Sword and cried out, "Open the array!"

Her Lifebound Divine Sword was better than anything else for proving her identity.

Once back inside the Guardian Array, everyone let out a sigh of relief. They exchanged glances, coming to a silent agreement to say nothing about Liu Ling. Jiang Hongqin and the other two were in awe of Liu Ling's power—she could command Divinity Transformation Stage demonic beasts and teleport people tens of thousands of li. There was no telling what other methods she had at her disposal. If they let anything slip, they wouldn't even know how they died.

Zisang Jin decided the same. Liu Ling's message had been unmistakable—the fewer people who knew about what had happened, the better. She wouldn't be the one to speak of it.

Now that they were safe, Zisang Jin took out a Communication Talisman.

"We're back!"

To her surprise, the voice that came from the Jade Talisman was Tian Sisi's.

"Thank you, Senior Sister. I already know!"

'The disciples guarding the array must have sent word ahead of me,' she thought.

"Also back with us is..." Zisang Jin's gaze fell upon Murong Qing and her pale blue hair.

"I... know..." At the exit of another Guardian Array, Tian Sisi tightened her grip on her long saber. She tossed the Communication Talisman to Sect Leader Fu Haitang, then flew off alone toward the sect.

Sensing the loneliness in her voice, Zisang Jin quickly added, "I'll keep an eye on him!"

But the voice that replied from the Communication Talisman was Fu Haitang's. "That's enough. Junior Sister Tian has already left. Junior Sister Zisang, you make sure to keep a close eye on that Chen Dong. And get back to the sect quickly!"