Chapter 431 - 400: Entering the Deep Sea, Finding the Palace

Chapter 431: Chapter 400: Entering the Deep Sea, Finding the Palace

Searching at sea was incredibly tedious. Even after traveling for days, the surrounding scenery remained unchanged. Aside from leaving one person to stand watch on deck, everyone else went into the cabins to rest and maintain their peak condition, avoiding any potential mishaps.

However, despite having fewer than ten people on board, their group included four Golden Core cultivators, two Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and five Golden Core Great Demons.

They could handle almost any unexpected situation.

Moreover, having faced countless life-and-death situations together, they trusted each other with their lives.

So, Chen Che didn’t bother setting up an Array. Instead, he sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate the water section of his Celestial Derivation Five Elements Skill.

He still hadn’t used up all the Essence of Water he had obtained from the Water Robe Golden Core cultivator.

If he combined it with the vast Water Element Essence Qi in the Chaotic Sea Region, he might be able to break through to the Third Transformation with ease.

"Go on, little guy, go play by yourself."

With a flick of his finger, he sent the juvenile turtle crawling beside him tumbling away. Watching it struggle to flip itself back over, Chen Che couldn’t help but crack a smile.

Interestingly, the father-and-son duo, Meng Qianxun and Meng Changtu, represented two complete extremes in Beast Taming. The former focused on nurturing a single beast, while the latter planned to win through sheer numbers.

...

The Yellow Gourd was placed before him, the Essence of Water surging from it like a fountain.

All of this Essence of Water came from the Water Robe Golden Core cultivator’s personal collection.

The man’s original name was Yu Bai. At the Golden Core Fourth Layer, his cultivation was unremarkable among the attackers. Though he was unknown in the territories governed by the Star-Picking Sect and the Primordial Sect, he was a notoriously vicious figure under the Mist Rain Pavilion’s jurisdiction.

This was because the Mist Rain Pavilion was located in the Jinghai Basin.

The lands under the Mist Rain Pavilion were almost entirely riverlands. Waterways like the Black Water River were countless, crisscrossing the vast majority of its territory.

One could only imagine how terrifying a cultivator like him was, holding such a geographical advantage. Combined with a gourd full of Essence of Water, killing enemies above his own level was child’s play. If not for his arrogance leading him to offend the Mist Rain Pavilion, he would never have been forced to flee to Faqian City.

Duobao had naturally taken a liking to his abilities; with his power in the Jinghai, he could easily destroy entire islands and reefs.

Who would have thought he’d fall.

And that was how the Essence of Water ended up in Chen Che’s hands.

Unfortunately, when under siege that day, Chen Che’s killing intent had been so strong that he hadn’t thought to hold back at all.

Yu Bai’s Divine Soul had been torn to shreds. Otherwise, Chen Che could have asked him where he had obtained the Essence of Water.

Of course.

Essence of Water could be refined by oneself, but it took the water from a lake nearly ten thousand mu in size to condense a single drop. The refining process was time-consuming and laborious, its complexity no less than that of refining a Magical Artifact.

If a ready-made supply was available, Chen Che naturally didn’t want to waste the effort.

...

One day, two days, three days...

The Spiritual Boat sailed swiftly across the vast sea.

At first, Chen Che worried about encountering the Aquatic Race and would periodically wake from his Meditation. But as the journey proved safe and with others on watch, he stopped bothering and immersed himself completely in his Cultivation.

The Essence of Water, combined with the Black Tortoise Calm Sea, made the Water Element Essence Qi incredibly abundant. It was the perfect place to practice the water section of the Celestial Derivation Five Elements Skill. Although the others in the cabin didn’t have a Cultivation Technique like Chen Che’s, they too were focused on improving their strength.

Meng Qianxun studied the Sea Snail, Meng Changtu communicated with his Spirit Pets, Chen Xi practiced controlling the Puppets, and Lu Qinglian and her husband cultivated day and night.

On the rare occasion they encountered Sea Beasts, the people in the cabins didn’t even need to act. The Little Chick and the other Spirit Pets easily took care of them. As a result, not only did these Sea Beasts fail to hinder their journey, but they also added a few more Golden Core Great Demons to Chen Che’s Pill Furnace.

The eighth day, the ninth day...

「On this day.」

Chen Che was cultivating when he suddenly sensed something and his eyes snapped open.

At almost the same instant, a cry came from Lu Qinglian, who was standing watch on deck.

"What’s happening?"

"Did we run into the Aquatic Race?"

Chen Che’s figure blurred as he shot onto the deck. The others inside the boat, also alerted, rushed outside. Everyone stared at the sky in astonishment.

"This must be the location of the Spiritual Qi eruption..."

Here, the wind and rain had ceased.

In the distant sky, heavy clouds pressed down almost to their heads, forming a colossal vortex hundreds of miles wide. Countless bolts of lightning, like thunder pythons, slithered through the clouds. Even tribulation clouds seemed to pale in comparison.

The sea was the same. Drawn in by the vortex, the water formed a massive waterspout that seemed to connect heaven and earth.

The section connecting to the clouds was as thin as a strand of hair.

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Even Chen Che felt that, for a moment, he couldn’t find the words to describe the overwhelming shock of the scene.

"I once thought that after Core Formation, one could truly achieve ’my fate is my own, not for the heavens to decide.’ Only now do I realize that even a Golden Core True Master is utterly insignificant before such Power of Heaven and Earth."

After a long silence, Meng Changtu couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

Before the might of heaven and earth, it wasn’t just mortals who were insignificant; cultivators were as well.

Chen Xi took out the ’Spirit Testing Geomancy’ device. Its needle immediately spun like a propeller, and a moment later, it shot off with a PENG. Everyone glanced over. This meant the Spiritual Qi here was chaotic to the extreme.

Chen Che had no interest in taking out his Micro Crystal Brain to test it. He could feel the violent Spiritual Qi, like little snakes trying to burrow into his skin at any moment, accompanied by a faint pricking sensation.

A common Qi Refining Cultivator would likely have been blown apart by the sheer density of Spiritual Qi in an instant.

"Che’er, it seems we came to the right place."

Meng Qianxun stared for a long moment before pointing at the vortex. "That should be the core of the Spiritual Qi eruption, and it’s highly likely the location of the Undersea Palace."

"But even if the Undersea Palace collapsed, how could it release such a terrifying amount of Spiritual Qi?" Lu Qinglian asked, confused.

"A massive Spirit Gathering Array was set up inside the Undersea Palace. The amount of Spiritual Qi it gathered over thousands of years would certainly not be small. Besides that, when Celestial and Earthly Treasures are destroyed, they also release Spiritual Qi."

Looking away, Chen Che recalled what Ye Yuanji had revealed before his death.

’Two major Golden Core Sects had fought fiercely over this palace, but in the face of profit, there are no eternal enemies. Soon, both sides joined forces to explore the site.’

’However.’

’Unraveling the secrets of a Nascent Soul Cave Mansion as a mere Golden Core cultivator was simply too difficult. Even advancing with extreme caution, they still fell into traps.’

’Faced with a choice between survival and resources, the Primordial Sect chose the former.’

’That was why, before the palace collapsed, at least seventy percent of the Spirit Treasures were left behind. These factors led to the Spiritual Qi being unleashed in a short period, which in turn affected the weather patterns here.’

No one held much hope for how many Spirit Treasures might be left here.

"Should we go?"

Chen Xi glanced around. A look of longing was written on everyone’s face, and even Chen Che was moved. Who wouldn’t want to see the palace that nearly a hundred Golden Core True Masters had fought over? Even if it was just ruins, they still wanted to see it.

"Let’s go!"

Chen Che made the call immediately.

WHOOSH!

At that, no one bothered returning to the cabins. They immediately began controlling the Spiritual Boat. A flicker of light appeared outside it, revealing an azure shield. Then, the massive vessel plunged headfirst into the water, parting the waves as it rapidly dove toward the seabed.

The astonishing phenomenon wasn’t just on the surface; it was happening under the sea as well.

The vortex twisted and churned the seawater. The deeper they went, the larger the vortex’s area became.

To reach the Undersea Palace, the Spiritual Boat had to pass through this vortex.

But it wasn’t that easy. The moment the Spiritual Boat touched the vortex, it was like a leaf sucked into a whirlpool. It immediately lost control, pushed upward by the spiraling current, seemingly about to be swept back to the surface.

At the same time, the people on the Spiritual Boat felt as if they had stumbled into a massive Sword Array.

The high-speed, swirling seawater was like countless sharp blades, scraping against the shield and creating dazzling sparks and a deafening screech. Before this terrifying force of nature, the main body of the Spiritual Boat began to shake, groaning and creaking as if it might fall apart at any moment.

Chen Che felt this vortex was no less formidable than the Array outside the Chixia Traveling Palace.

An ordinary Golden Core cultivator would probably be shredded to pieces upon entering. However, for this very reason, although their descent was difficult, they didn’t encounter any other members of the Aquatic Race.

They controlled the Spiritual Boat, pushing deeper against the vortex’s current.

However.

This stretch of sea was even deeper than the area around the reef. What shocked them even more was that the vortex was erupting from a massive oceanic trench.

"This trench?"

Meng Qianxun’s eyes widened as he peered into the distance.

He saw that the trench stretched on one side toward the far reaches of the Jinghai, with no end in sight. The other side snaked and curved, seeming to point toward the reef. It was the very same place where his explorations that day had stirred up the Bone-eating Fish.

At this moment, Chen Che also noticed this, but before he could speak...

The Spiritual Boat suddenly shuddered.

The surrounding water currents vanished. The Spiritual Boat, still carried by its immense forward momentum, kept hurtling forward. Even though everyone had already reacted, it was too late to stop the vessel’s charge.

BOOM—

The several-hundred-zhang-long Spiritual Boat, bursting out of the water, shot forward like a runaway horse and smashed heavily onto the seabed. With a tremendous crash, the hull slid for dozens of miles after landing, crushing the ground beneath it with a series of loud CRACKS.

By the time it stopped, it had carved a deep trench behind it.

"Where did the water go?"

Amidst cries of alarm, everyone staggered to their feet in shock.

Chen Che leaped onto the ship’s railing and looked around, a trace of disbelief in his astonished gaze. "We’ve reached the Undersea Palace..."