Chapter 435 - 404: An Unknown, Terrifying Great Demon

Chapter 435: Chapter 404: An Unknown, Terrifying Great Demon

Yu Yunko revealed that due to the tides, many Demon Beasts had also been sucked into this place. Besides the Mudskipper Shrimp at Golden Core Great Perfection, there were quite a few other Golden Core Great Demons, but over the past few days, they had managed to eliminate the ones active in the outer regions.

But the few that remained were all quite powerful.

Chen Che nodded in understanding.

This was perfectly normal. The vortex outside was practically a natural Sword Array. Due to survivorship bias, the weak ones had all died in the vortex. Those that managed to reach this place were not only far from weak, but were, in fact, unexpectedly powerful.

"Valley Master Chen, how much do you know about these ruins?"

Yu Yunko asked after revealing what she knew.

’I knew it quite well before it was turned into ruins,’

Chen Che thought to himself.

Ye Yuanji had revealed a great deal before his death. What’s more, he was one of the very few Cultivators who had ever entered the Undersea Palace, so he naturally knew more than most. However, with the palace now destroyed, that information was of little value.

"We only arrived recently, so we don’t know much. What we do know comes from an ancient text. When this Undersea Palace still stood, it was said to be no less grand than Primordial City..."

After sharing some useful tidbits of information, Chen Che added,

"Also, we learned from a stone stele that this place is called the Sea Ruins."

"The Sea Ruins?"

Yu Yunko frowned.

"You know of it?"

"Yes. My Yu Clan was originally a large family of officials in the Mortal World. Later, we learned a phrase from an ancient book: ’Immortals dwell in the Sea Ruins, found in the East.’"

"Because of this, every generation of our clan had members who went to sea in search of Immortals. This continued for over ten generations, for nearly two or three hundred years. But later, by a stroke of luck, we obtained a Cultivation Technique elsewhere and embarked on the path of Cultivation. Naturally, we no longer came to the Black Tortoise Calm Sea to seek Immortals. Barely anyone in the clan today knows about this..."

Chen Che glanced at Yu Yunfei and the others, and sure enough, they all looked bewildered. Yu Yun looked around and remarked with a sigh,

"To think that the Immortals our ancestors sought for generations, but could never find, actually lived here."

"It’s no wonder they could never find them or see any Immortals; it was possible the Nascent Soul True Monarch had perished long ago. Then again, even if he were still alive, it was unlikely that generations of my Yu Clan ancestors would have ever been able to meet him."

Chen Che nodded slightly.

This was a reflection of most mortals’ quests for immortality—a lifetime spent searching in vain.

The long road to finding Immortals was paved with countless bones, and very few ever obtained an Immortal Fate. The Yu Clan, however, was clearly fortunate. Although they hadn’t found the ’Immortal of the Sea,’ they had obtained a fortuitous encounter elsewhere and stepped onto the path of Cultivation.

"What about that stone stele? Could I have a look at it?"

Chen Che hadn’t expected the Yu Clan to have been searching for the Sea Ruins for so many years. He could only apologetically hand over a Treasure Bead. "It’s already been cut up and used as the Array Foundation for the boat. However, I recorded the image on the stele with a Memory Stone."

"Thank you, Valley Master Chen."

Yu Yunko took the Treasure Bead and examined it for a moment before saying, "I wonder if I could make a copy? I plan to take it back to pay respects to our ancestors and tell them that their descendants have found the Sea Ruins."

Chen Che had no objection.

The stele was already destroyed, and he hadn’t found any important information on it before cutting it up.

Carefully putting away the Memory Bead, Yu Yunko sighed a few more times, seemingly filled with regret that the stele was destroyed. Just then, her gaze happened to fall upon Chen Xi, who was sitting under the Spiritual Boat repairing the Hundred-Eyed Marsh Dragon. She asked pointedly,

"I have a question. Did Thousand Eyes really perish in a Celestial Tribulation?"

"Why do you ask?"

Chen Che was a little curious.

The official explanation for Thousand Eyes’ death was:

When Chen Yin was undergoing his tribulation, Thousand Eyes was accidentally caught up in it, causing the Celestial Tribulation’s range to expand and leveling the entire Imperial Mausoleum. Of course, not everyone believed this story. But the lingering might of the tribulation was undeniable, and Thousand Eyes had no descendants. Furthermore, the Chen Clan members in the Imperial Mausoleum had been almost completely wiped out, so the matter became a closed case.

"If I were caught in a Celestial Tribulation, I would certainly resist the Celestial Thunder with everything I have. If I died under the tribulation, it’s impossible that my Magical Artifacts would be left behind completely intact..."

Yu Yunko gently patted the Ring-Headed Saber at her waist and added, "I forgot to mention, before Thousand Eyes changed his Cultivation Technique, he was from the Star-Picking Sect."

"There’s that connection?" Chen Che hadn’t expected that.

"That’s right."

Yu Yunko withdrew her gaze from Chen Xi and continued,

"During the internal strife in the Star-Picking Sect, many Golden Core Cultivators left, and Thousand Eyes was one of them. The Cultivation Technique he switched to was one he took from the Star-Picking Sect, along with that Divine Statue. My Yu Clan fought with Thousand Eyes several times, trying to reclaim the Divine Statue, which is why I recognized it at a glance."

"With Thousand Eyes’s strength, it’s unlikely that he would die while his Magical Treasure remained perfectly preserved. Perhaps there’s another reason for his death..."

Chen Che glanced at the people behind her out of the corner of his eye and asked back, just as pointedly, "Are the Golden Core Cultivators registered to the Yu Family truly only the ones known to the public?"

The two looked at each other and smiled, tacitly avoiding the topic.

Meng Qianxun, sitting to the side, couldn’t help but marvel at the constant sparring in their words. It seemed like they were saying nothing, yet at the same time, they were saying everything.

BOOM—

Just then, a cataclysmic roar echoed through the area. The relaxed atmosphere was shattered. Chen Che immediately turned his head and saw a mushroom cloud of sand and dust rising from the depths of the ruins.

The sand churned, blotting out the light and seemingly propping up the undersea sky above them.

"Clan Head!"

"Sis!"

The crowd cried out in alarm.

"Damn it!"

Yu Yunko’s brow furrowed, and she shot to her feet. "Yunfei, go take a look..."

Yu Yunfei paused for a second, then immediately flew toward the explosion.

"What’s going on?"

Chen Che asked.

"It’s a Demon Beast."

Yu Yunko said grimly,

"While we were searching the ruins, we unexpectedly encountered a Black Dragon Flood Dragon. It followed us in here. Not only is it powerful, but it’s also extremely cunning. If its attack fails, it retreats immediately."

"We’ve fought it several times to no avail, and it has even launched several sneak attacks on us. So, we set up an Array where it usually appears, preparing to destroy it. With your arrival, we... forgot about it."

"In that case, let’s go take a look."

As Chen Che spoke, he pointed a finger. The Little Chick on his shoulder immediately spread its wings and shot toward the cloud of dust.

It was about ninety li away, a journey of only a few breaths.

By the time everyone arrived, the dust had not yet settled.

The Grand Array had been set up amidst a patch of ruins, but the surrounding broken walls and rubble had been violently crushed. All that remained was half of a shattered Array, slowly deactivating. The Talismans in mid-air vanished inch by inch.

In the center of the Grand Array was only a large pool of blood and a few broken scales.

"It escaped?"

Lu Qinglian said immediately upon seeing the scene.

"That Black Dragon Flood Dragon is pretty impressive, then... Is it also at Golden Core Great Perfection?" Meng Qianxun couldn’t help but ask in astonishment.

"Eighth Layer."

Yu Yunko frowned, her eyes filled with confusion. "With its strength, it should have had a hard time breaking the Array. How did it manage to escape?"

The members of the Yu Clan all looked grim. Given the Black Dragon Flood Dragon’s cunning, now that their Array Formation had failed, it would be much harder to make a move against it next time. Moreover, with the beast’s vengeful nature, they would surely face its frantic retaliation.

"Something’s not right!"

Chen Che spoke up.

"Valley Master Chen, did you discover something?"

Yu Yunko turned to look at him.

"The Array... the Black Dragon Flood Dragon might not have escaped. It might have been eaten by another Great Demon." Amid a series of gasps, Chen Che took a few steps, crouched down, and pointed at the sand and gravel on the ground.

"See this? The tracks on the ground lead from the outside in. This means the Array was broken from the outside. In other words, something broke through the Array and took the Black Dragon Flood Dragon."

"For real? That Black Dragon Flood Dragon is at least a hundred and eighty zhang long. What kind of being could carry it away?"

Yu Yunfei was the first to exclaim, "And we only heard one loud noise! We didn’t even hear the Black Dragon Flood Dragon scream. Doesn’t that mean the attacker had the power to kill it instantly?"

Everyone thought back.

It was true.

They had only heard a single explosion. Nothing else.

Yu Yunko said nothing. She circled the broken Array once, then stopped and sighed. "Valley Master Chen is right. We might be in big trouble. Something even more terrifying than the Mudskipper Shrimp may have entered these sea ruins."