Chapter 410 - 370: Blood Sea Across the Sky

「Seven Stars Arching Moon Sea, Bixuan Palace.」

On the day of the grand wedding, the sky was cloudless for thousands of miles, the sea and heavens as clear as crystal.

The seven main islands were festooned with lanterns and streamers. They were adorned with Deep Sea Pearls, Luminous Corals, and all sorts of Treasure Beads, which caught the sunlight and refracted a dreamy, hazy glow.

At the heart of the sea, nine water spouts, each a thousand feet high, rose above the Dragon Palace.

Atop the spouts rested enormous ’Double Happiness’ symbols, patterned with dragons.

The watery light shimmered, and the faint sound of dragon roars echoed. The sight was truly magnificent.

Guests arrived in droves, all from the Four Seas Alliance—an organization founded by the Dragon Race and jointly established by twenty-eight great Sea Races.

In the plaza before the main hall of the Dragon Palace, the ground was paved with Thousand-Year Warm Jade, and thousands of banquet tables were set.

The delicacies served were all rare treasures from the sea, and the fine nectars emanated a rich Spiritual Qi.

Melodious music filled the air as young Merfolk maidens sang softly and danced on a stage of water. Their movements were graceful, their voices ethereal.

Yet, beneath this scene of ultimate luxury and clamor, an undeniable, icy undercurrent churned.

Three days prior, Bixuan Palace, in league with the Four Seas Alliance’s Sea Patrol Team, had completely sealed off the Seven Stars Arching Moon Sea. The official reason was that "the sacred grounds of the wedding must remain pure."

All non-members of the Four Seas Alliance—be they Human Race Loose Cultivators, small demon tribes, or passing merchant caravans—were unceremoniously "escorted" out.

On the sea’s surface, squads of grim-faced, heavily armored Cyan Scale Dragon Palace Guards patrolled back and forth alongside the multi-racial Sea Patrol Vessels of the Four Seas Alliance, forming a formidable blockade.

Anyone who showed the slightest hesitation or discontent was met with harsh rebukes and even forceful expulsion.

The abodes of native Demon Race tribes and reclusive Loose Cultivators on smaller islands were cleared out by force.

The slightest resistance was met with suppression and capture, followed by imprisonment in hastily constructed underwater cages.

At the edge of the region, countless exiled Cultivators and members of the Demon Race gathered. They stared from afar at the sealed, shimmering waters, their faces a mixture of indignation, helplessness, and repressed anger.

"Tch! What a load of crap. A grand wedding with no shortage of pomp and circumstance!"

"They have one of these every year! Even my hogs don’t breed that often!"

"The Seven Stars Arching Moon Sea is supposed to be open water. When did it become Bixuan Palace’s private backyard?" a human Loose Cultivator muttered, his face livid.

He had been in seclusion on a deserted island here, only for the Dragon Palace Guard to break his protective formations and "invite" him out. Years of work, ruined in an instant.

"Shh! Be careful what you say, friend!"

An older member of the Demon Race nearby quickly sent a telepathic message to stop him, glancing warily at the patrols in the distance.

"’The Four Seas Alliance is a great power, and the Dragon Race is its Champion Scholar. They’ve always been this tyrannical.’"

"’Haven’t they designated enough ’Forbidden Zones’ and ’Private Hunting Grounds’ over the years?’"

"’Life is hard in these outer seas for anyone who isn’t part of their alliance. Today is just more of the same.’"

"’Dammit! One of my clan’s merchant caravans was passing through and was ordered to make a detour of hundreds of miles. A complete waste...’" another, a minor chieftain from the Sea Horse Race, added through gritted teeth.

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, their resentment simmering, but no one dared to raise their voice, let alone step forward to protest.

Faced with the combined might and utter tyranny of the Dragon Race and the Four Seas Alliance, they could do nothing but curse silently in their hearts. They swallowed their anger and retreated obediently beyond the blockade, becoming the awkward backdrop for the grand wedding.

「Dragon Palace Plaza. The auspicious hour had arrived.」

The master of ceremonies called out, his voice echoing across the sea.

The Seventh Princess, dressed in a magnificent phoenix crown and wedding dress woven from East Sea Jueqiao silk and studded with countless star-like Bright Pearls, was a vision of absolute beauty.

Her makeup was exquisite, and a smile played on her lips. Flanked by four Dragon Maiden attendants, she glided gracefully into the plaza, inspiring a chorus of admiration and flattery.

At her side was the groom, Xuan Ming. He too wore a grand red wedding robe and a Golden Crown. His features had been carefully groomed, making him look exceptionally handsome.

He wore an impeccable, gentle smile and walked with a steady gait, shoulder to shoulder with the Princess, accepting the stares and blessings of the guests.

But his smile was like a meticulously painted mask—perfect, yet lifeless. He resembled an exquisite puppet, moved by invisible strings.

Worshipping the heavens, announcing to the ancestors, exchanging vows... The intricate and solemn rituals proceeded one by one, overseen by a Dragon Palace Elder.

Xuan Ming moved through the rituals flawlessly, his responses flowing and without error.

The Seventh Princess occasionally glanced his way, her eyes filled with scrutiny and a hint of satisfaction, as if pleased with her control over him.

Among the guests, wine cups were raised and toasts were made, the atmosphere growing ever more festive.

Amidst the clamor and luxury, everything was proceeding exactly as the Dragon Race had planned.

However, just as the grand banquet reached its climax and the Dragon King raised his cup to accept the congratulations of all his guests—

Disaster struck without warning!

The first to notice something was wrong were the cultivators who had been driven to the edge of the sea, their hearts heavy with resentment.

’Hm? What’s happening... The water temperature... it seems to be dropping, doesn’t it?’

A cultivator who practiced a Fire Element Skill was the first to frown. He felt an unnatural, sinister chill seeping into the abundant Water Element Spiritual Qi around him.

Soon, others began to feel it too.

The water, once a clear azure that sparkled under the sun, began to darken as if vast quantities of ink had been poured into it.

A thin, cloying, pale-red mist began to spread across the sea’s surface, carrying with it a faint but deeply unsettling, sickly-sweet stench.

It smelled of old blood, mixed with the odor of decay.

The sea breeze lost its freshness, turning damp and bone-chilling. As it blew across their skin, cultivators with lower cultivation shivered uncontrollably. Even their Divine Souls felt a strange throb of oppression.

"’Something’s wrong! Fall back!’"

The more experienced cultivators’ expressions changed instantly. Without a moment’s hesitation, they summoned their Escape Lights and fled to a safer distance.

The others quickly realized the danger and followed suit.

For a moment, the edge of the sea was a chaotic flicker of Escape Lights.

Once they had retreated to what they deemed a safe distance, they turned to look back, their faces filled with alarm and uncertainty.

One look was all it took for everyone’s pupils to shrink to pinpricks.

High above the Seven Stars Arching Moon Sea, where festive lights had once shone, a colossal, boundless phantom had appeared, blotting out the sun!

It was a vast Blood Sea, so deep it was nearly black, but revealing a viscous, dark crimson as it churned and roiled!

The phantom of the Blood Sea stretched across the Celestial Vault, endless and vast, as if the entire sky had been replaced by a canvas of putrid blood.

Within it, sanguine waves surged, each cresting thousands of feet high. As they churned, they let out a low rumble, like the roar of a primeval Demon Deity.

Vaguely visible within the waves were countless twisted, tormented faces, screaming as they bobbed on the surface. Shards of broken weapons drifted in the current, and deep within the Blood Sea, unnamable colossal shadows writhed, radiating an aura of ultimate ferocity, filth, stillness, and depraved madness!

And now, this phantom Blood Sea was descending with slow, unstoppable force from the lofty Celestial Vault, bearing down on the shimmering, festive, and clamorous Seven Stars Arching Moon Sea below!

"Wh-what... what is that?!" a cultivator stammered, his voice trembling so badly he could barely speak.

"’A-a... Blood Sea?! How can such a terrifying phantom of a Blood Sea exist?!’"

Even the most knowledgeable among them turned pale with fright. They had never witnessed a Blood Sea phenomenon of such scale and substance, one so saturated with the aura of annihilation!

"’It’s... it’s heading for Bixuan Palace!’ more people realized, their faces masks of pure horror."

The phantom of the Blood Sea blotted out the sun, plunging the Seven Stars Arching Moon Sea from bright daylight into an eerie, crimson twilight.

Against the backdrop of this overwhelming sanguine light, the festive splendor of the Dragon Palace Plaza seemed fragile and absurd.

The celebratory music ground to a halt.

The boisterous cheers froze on the guests’ faces.

Every guest—including the Bixuan Dragon King on his high throne, the peerless Seventh Princess, and her groom Xuan Ming, whose smile was now frozen on his face—snapped their heads up to stare at the terrifying, boundless Blood Sea pressing down from above.

In an instant, celebration gave way to boundless terror and deathly silence.

A grand wedding banquet, besieged by a sea of blood!

Just as everyone in Bixuan Palace stared in shock at the terrifying Blood Sea that had appeared out of thin air.

The Bixuan Dragon King, who had been about to rise from his throne and issue a furious command, and the Seventh Princess beside him in her phoenix crown and wedding dress, both felt a sudden jolt of intuition at the exact same moment.

Their gazes shot like lightning toward the side of the ceremonial platform—

There, next to the groom, Xuan Ming, who was supposed to be standing alone awaiting the final rites.

Another figure had appeared out of nowhere.

It was a young Daoist clad in blood-red robes.

The red was deep, the color of dried, clotted blood, or perhaps a churning Blood Sea.

The Daoist was unnaturally handsome, with sharp, upswept brows, a high-bridged nose, and thin lips curled into a faint, cold, and wicked smile.

His complexion was a demonic pallor, a stark contrast to his blood-red robes.

Within his uncanny eyes, blood-red vortexes seemed to swirl slowly. His gaze alone was enough to make one’s Divine Soul feel an icy chill, as if sinking into an abyss.

He stood there with an air of complete naturalness.

One hand rested familiarly on Xuan Ming’s shoulder, his posture casual, as if they were old friends.

The assembled guests, finally tearing their attention away from the horrifying Blood Sea phantom, now focused on the bizarre, blood-robed Daoist.

In an instant, sharp gasps and hushed, startled cries broke the dead silence of the plaza.

The blood-robed Daoist, Nether Spring, ignored the countless shocked, furious, and fearful gazes fixed upon him.

He inclined his head slightly, leaning close to Xuan Ming’s ear. His voice was not loud, yet it possessed a strange Penetration Power that echoed clearly across the now-silent plaza.

"I am Nether Spring."

He paused, his blood-red eyes sweeping over Xuan Ming’s dazed and dispirited face. He chuckled, a sound laced with equal parts wickedness, amusement, and unquestionable authority.

"’I feel an instant kinship with you, my young friend.’"

"’Seeing your downcast expression, you must have been coerced. You are unwilling, trapped here against your will, deprived of your freedom.’"

Nether Spring’s fingers tapped lightly on Xuan Ming’s shoulder, and a light danced in his blood-red eyes.

"’No matter.’"

He lifted his head, his gaze sweeping leisurely across the crowd.

His gaze drifted from the livid Bixuan Dragon King on the high throne and the furious, shocked Seventh Princess, down to the Four Seas Alliance guests below—some frozen in fear, others stirring restlessly. The wicked smile on his lips widened.

"’Point them out.’"

Three words, spoken lightly.

Yet they seemed to make the temperature in the plaza drop several degrees.

"’Whoever forced you, whoever coerced you, whoever made you lose your freedom and wear this gloomy face today...’"

Nether Spring’s voice turned abruptly cold, like the grinding of Ten Thousand Years Profound Ice. A glacial, annihilating killing intent swept out from him, utterly undisguised.

"’Point to them, and I’ll kill them.’"

"!!!"

...