Chapter 74: Deep Abyss
Chapter 74: Deep Abyss
Ao Jing was unlike Ao Lie and Ao Cheng. After countless millennia of inheritance, the Dragon Clan had moved beyond the ancient practice of solely cultivating the Immortal Demon Body. They now cultivated both Primordial Spirit and physical form, as Ao Lie and Ao Cheng did. Though they trained the body, they also incorporated Daoist Primordial Spirit methods. However, Ao Jing cultivated the pure, unadulterated Divine Dragon Immortal Body without a trace of impurity. Hence, the Magical Artifacts he used were the heavy, sharp, fiercely powerful types favored by warriors, with no added Talismanic Seals or complex arrays!
This silver spear was a treasure of the Dragon Palace, forged from ten-thousand-year-old red copper and Abyssal Sunken Silver. The spear tip was carved from Thunderclap Crystal, capable of maximizing the lightning attribute. For a creature like a dragon, natural masters of thunder and lightning, it was exceptionally rare!
Though different from Daoist Flying Swords, this Magical Artifact was also inscribed with numerous arrays and incantations to boost its power—Aggregating Spirit Arrays, Adamantine Mantras, Armor-Piercing Curses, and more! Ao Jing swept the spear horizontally. Its flashing radiance, like a silver serpent striking, entangled Mu Yuan’s Sword Qi threads. Spear glow and Sword Qi danced back and forth in a dangerous exchange!
While Mu Yuan’s Sword Qi was held back, Ao Lie’s pressure lessened significantly. His Ice Fiend Unity Yin Thunder Net surged wildly, forcefully suppressing Ao Jing’s Sinking Silver Thunder Evil. The thunder net flipped and descended, attempting to trap Ao Jing within!
Ao Jing merely laughed. He swung his arm diagonally upwards. A massive light blade made of energy, spanning over ten feet, erupted violently from his forearm! Its rays flashed, encircling the thunder net and spinning it in mid-air. Merging it with his Sinking Silver Thunder Evil, he abandoned Ao Lie and aimed the combined force directly at Mu Yuan!
Seeing Mu Yuan’s formidable cultivation, Ao Jing intended to eliminate him first, then shatter Ao Lie’s spirit!
Ao Lie’s Golden Rainbow Rope and Ice Fiend Unity Yin Thunder Net were both blocked mid-air by a dark, soft scale armor that materialized on Ao Jing. Though the explosions from the thunder net chipped the black scale armor and scattered fragments amidst dancing golden light, Ao Jing ignored it entirely. He combined his three attacks—the spear, the energy blade, and the thunder evil—and struck fiercely from afar!
Before the weapons even arrived, their oppressive aura choked him. Mu Yuan felt every pore on his body constrict; his Zhenqi felt blocked. An icy chill touched his brows and lashes! Immense pressure surged as a vast, immeasurable might roared towards him. Startled, he densely layered his Six Harmonies Sword Pills around him. The Green Wood Thunderblade became a shocking azure light pillar swirling protectively at his side—aiming purely for defense, not offense!
Seeing this, Ao Cheng simply pointed a finger. His Heavenly Dragon Seal transformed into spinning torrents of radiant light, like a silver river pouring down! It joined Ao Jing’s Sinking Silver Thunder Evil, light blade energy, and silver spear, concentrating their combined force entirely on Mu Yuan!
Despite Mu Yuan’s considerable strength, he only managed to block a portion of the onslaught. The Sinking Silver Thunder Evil pellets, silver-white like polished marbles of jade, exploded with deafening booms! Astonishingly numerous, they encircled Mu Yuan like a silvery stream. The blasts shook and shattered his protective Sword Qi. The Wu Clan Flying Swords outside his Sword Pills were shattered into countless pieces by the explosions!
The silver spear and the light energy blade danced ferociously in the wind, smashing apart his Green Wood Thunderblade. The Heavenly Dragon Seal crashed down like a rolling mountain range. Its combined force first shattered Mu Yuan’s protective Sword Qi and parted his Zhenqi. The Heavenly Dragon Seal slammed Mu Yuan violently deep into the Lingyuan Reef rocks!
Ao Jing himself was, of course, immensely powerful. The might of his Sinking Silver Thunder Evil truly surpassed Mu Yuan’s expectations. The silver-white thunder pellets exploded, releasing countless strands of malignant energy that surged directly into Mu Yuan’s body, rampaging unchecked! This evil energy contained sharp metallic energy, specifically designed to shred Mu Yuan’s meridians and organs!
Coupled with Ao Jing’s profound cultivation, the force of his light blade energy was no less than Ao Cheng’s Heavenly Dragon Seal. The Armor-Piercing Curse, Soul-Sealing Curse, and Spirit-Binding Curse inscribed on the silver spear erupted simultaneously! They scattered Mu Yuan’s Zhenqi violently. Blood gushed from his pores, covering his body in crimson!
The nine dragon souls within the Heavenly Dragon Seal focused their power—sharp claws, fangs, horns, and tails each locked onto a single Sword Pill, trying to tear them away. Beneath the crushing pressure was also a powerful, drawing, tearing force. Straining under these two opposing forces, Mu Yuan struggled desperately!
The Six Harmonies Sword Pills were arguably Mu Yuan’s favorite set. He naturally wouldn’t let Ao Cheng seize them! His Green Wood Thunderblade shot upwards fiercely from a distance, transforming into an azure beam that hacked hard onto the Heavenly Dragon Seal with a shower of sparks! This finally broke the Seal’s hold!
While he defended against the Heavenly Dragon Seal, Ao Jing’s Sinking Silver Thunder Evil churned into a river of silver stars, exploding around Mu Yuan incessantly. Booming sounds filled the air. Mu Yuan had exhausted his techniques; his Zhenqi was breached. The Thunder Evil flooded his body! However, this invasion activated the Longevity Sword in his Dantian! It released a beam of violet Sword Qi that blasted away the Thunder Evil and the spear. Yet, Mu Yuan’s back was still struck by Ao Jing’s light blade energy, flinging him into the depths of the Lingyuan Reef!
Inside the Lingyuan Reef, everything was hazy and indistinct. Seawater boiled as if fiercely churned. Mu Yuan’s whole body felt weak and numb, his meridians stiff and swollen. After the combined strike from Ao Cheng and Ao Jing Brothers, his injuries were severe. Luckily, at the critical moment, the Longevity Sword erupted and blocked Ao Jing’s spear thrust. Otherwise, he might be utterly paralyzed right now!
The Heavenly Dragon Seal itself was incomparably powerful. Had Ao Jing wielded it, its impact might rival his silver spear. Fortunately, though Ao Cheng was strong, he was far inferior to Ao Jing. That’s why Mu Yuan had managed to preserve his life.
The Heavenly Dragon Seal’s dazzling light still flickered above him, relentlessly blasting the rocky walls on both sides. Boulders tumbled down, threatening to bury him alive! Ao Jing’s light blade energy, silver spear, and Sinking Silver Thunder Evil had already withdrawn. The intense attack on Mu Yuan had likely injured Ao Jing considerably, despite his defensive treasures, battered by Ao Lie’s Ice Fiend Unity Yin Thunder Net. Having dealt with Mu Yuan first, he now freed his hands to face Ao Lie!
Alone against the Heavenly Dragon Seal, Mu Yuan could still manage. Though severely injured, he wasn’t incapacitated. He morphed his Six Harmonies Sword Pills into six azure halos circling his body, dodging the falling boulders as he slowly descended deeper.
“Hmph! Just Elixir Formation… far behind Senior Brother Chen Taiyi,” Mu Yuan thought bitterly. “If he were here, I doubt I could last more than a few exchanges. These two merely caught me off guard together, and that’s how they injured me! Seems the Dragon Clan isn’t all that impressive!” He felt he had suffered greater losses than gains by backing Ao Lie, deeming it a losing deal. He wasn’t in a hurry to get out. After all, they were brothers—though conflict ran deep, it was unlikely Ao Jing and Ao Cheng would kill Ao Lie. But if he himself reappeared, he truly might perish on the spot!
“They knocked me into the Lingyuan Reef? Fine! I’ll see just what precious treasure is worth such a fierce fight. Didn’t Young Master Chu mention Abyssal Sunken Silver? That Profound Yin Black Fiend Great Capture technique he forged looked truly formidable. Time for me to grab some benefits too! Abyssal Sunken Silver really is good stuff!”
Filled with resentment, Mu Yuan sulked as he descended. Thankfully, the Longevity Art was exceptionally potent for healing wounds. Already, his meridians felt much better. Using the glow from his Sword Pills, he scanned his surroundings!
The sheer cliff walls were riddled with pitted holes and crevices. Occasionally, the exhalations of deep-sea fish creatures echoed from within. Mu Yuan paid no mind to what beasts might lurk there; his focus was solely on finding the Abyssal Sunken Silver!
Descending nearly a hundred feet, Mu Yuan finally glimpsed a shimmering expanse! It was a silvery flow composed of countless lustrous hexagonally-faceted crystals. Each grain glittered, merging into one continuous, shimmering stream that surged ceaselessly, covering an area exceeding two li! Mu Yuan’s breath hitched—then immense joy surged through him!
Abyssal Sunken Silver was extremely precious. Normally, finding a few hundred grains was rare luck. Here, however, there were millions! Moreover, they all originated from the same source, making them perfect for cultivating External Object Transformation Divine Abilities!
Within the cultivation world, Abyssal Sunken Silver was an exceptionally rare forging material. It formed from Star fragments falling from the Celestial River into the sea. There, bathed in the Essence of Northern Water and forged by underground fire for countless years, Sunken Silver coalesced. While rare, its value wasn’t simply based on age – finding large amounts was difficult. Rather, artifacts forged from large quantities of the same quality were superior. Hence, this vast quantity of Sunken Silver was Mu Yuan’s windfall!
“No wonder! Since this place was the East Sea Dragon King’s decree granting it to Ao Lie as his fief, yet Ao Cheng’s brothers sought to seize it… Such rare material! But strange, why didn’t Ao Cheng’s brothers simply collect it all?”
Mu Yuan felt puzzled. Glancing downwards, he finally understood! Beneath the Sunken Silver stream flowed countless grains of star sand, soaking in a sea spring enriched with thick Essence of Northern Water. More remarkably, beneath that spring lay an underground Earth Vein volcanic vent! Suspended between the two extremes of cold water and hot fire, the star sand particles continuously condensed and transformed. Intermittently, specks of newly formed Sunken Silver would emerge, merging into the flowing stream above!
With Sunken Silver, the older it grew, the lighter it became. Newly condensed Sunken Silver sank to the very bottom. The older it got, the higher it floated. Mu Yuan wasn’t one to overthink; unlike the Ao brothers who might control this place long-term, if he missed this chance today, he’d likely get none at all! Without hesitation, he unleashed the Black Water Gourd, greedily sucking the Sunken Silver circulating in the upper layers clean!
Once inside the gourd, the Abyssal Sunken Silver gathered into a radiant, miniature lake. Its flowing, shimmering light was dazzlingly beautiful. Even immersed in the gourd’s Primordial Qi waters, transformation continued, though without the underground fire to refine it further, significant quality advancement was impossible.
“This gourd is also a fine Spiritual Treasure. To leave it like this… what a waste!” Mu Yuan murmured to himself, observing the changes within. “Someday, I will refine it properly into a Magical Artifact!” The Black Water Gourd was an innate Spiritual Root gifted by Heaven and Earth, possessing limitless potential. Its current lack of internal restrictive arrays was the pity. With dedicated effort, Mu Yuan could easily refine it into a top-tier Magical Artifact. Previous inheritors of the Tidal Flow likely neglected this, leaving it idle. But not Mu Yuan! The Tidal Flow contained numerous artifact-forging methods. He resolved to study them deeply later—surely achieving something extraordinary!