Chapter 120

Chapter 120: Return to the Ruins Tidal Surge

"Even if it’s a dragon’s pond and tiger’s den, I must brave it."

Lian Jiuyou leaped down into the Deep Abyss of the Return to the Ruins.

Instantly, terrifying pressure flooded from all directions. Lian Jiuyou’s body creaked, seeming on the verge of being crushed into pulp by the overwhelming force.

His expression darkened, and he immediately channeled his magic power to resist the abyss’s might.

It must be known: as a demon emperor, he possessed an immensely powerful physique and vast reserves of magic power. Yet merely entering the abyss strained his body to its limits. The dreadfulness of this Deep Abyss could be easily imagined.

Within the abyss, countless unseen gazes seemed to watch covetously, causing Lian Jiuyou extreme discomfort.

Mysterious substances floated in the void.

Many remained unrecognizable even to Lian Jiuyou’s seasoned eye. Yet their survival within the Deep Abyss proved they were anything but ordinary.

Still, plunder wasn’t on his mind.

He followed the map, seeking the Green Lotus Demon Emperor’s tomb.

Only a spatial node marked the map; he had to find this node to locate the tomb and gain entry.

"Demon emperor?"

Just then, a surprised voice reached Lian Jiuyou’s ears.

From the darkness, three figures slowly materialized: two women and one man.

They were none other than Lin Qianmo, Lan Youruo, and Nangong Zhandao.

"It’s you!"

Lian Jiuyou inwardly stiffened. Lin Qianmo was one of those he feared most. Seeing her instantly made every hair on his body stand on end.

Why were they here?

Had the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion revealed the tomb’s secret?

Almost instinctively, suspicion fell upon Ye Xu.

"You’ve come for the Green Lotus Demon Emperor’s tomb, haven’t you?" Lin Qianmo spoke lightly, instantly deducing Lian Jiuyou’s purpose. "Seems you visited Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

In all the Yuan Realm, besides herself, only Ye Xu could know the tomb’s location.

"Elder Ye Xu did inform me," Lian Jiuyou nodded, his eyes flickering with wariness. "Daoist friend, why are you also within the Deep Abyss?"

"Rest easy," Lin Qianmo stated flatly. "We aren’t here for the Green Lotus Demon Emperor’s tomb. I came for the Return to the Ruins tidal surge about to erupt."

"What exactly is the Return to the Ruins tidal surge?" Lian Jiuyou inquired.

"Telling you matters not," Lin Qianmo replied. "The Deep Abyss resembles a bottomless chasm, possibly linked to the Burial Soil. Every eighteen hundred years, a Return to the Ruins tidal surge erupts, spewing forth things from the other side."

"Perhaps treasures… perhaps evil spirits…"

"In short, whether one gains fortune from the surge depends entirely on luck."

"Haha… it seems Daoist friend understands the Return to the Ruins tidal surge quite profoundly."

Laughter rang out, and the white-robed man who had been there before walked slowly. He had already adapted to the gravity of the Deep Abyss of the Return to the Ruins, as if treading on level ground. "May I ask, Daoist friend, which sect or school do you hail from as a great master?"

"No sect, no school, just a rogue cultivator," Lin Qianmo said lightly.

"Since your Daoist friend seems unwilling to say, I won’t press further."

The white-robed man’s gaze swept over Lan Youruo; he saw her origins clearly—undoubtedly a member of the Moon God Clan of the Star Realm. This group of people most likely came from the Star Realm. "The Return to the Ruins tidal surge is about to erupt; is there any intent to join forces with me, Daoist friend?"

Lan Youruo smiled and said, "Sir senior brother, joining forces within the Deep Abyss of the Return to the Ruins—could you be tired of living long?"

The white-robed man smiled sheepishly.

Lian Jiuyou’s pupils contracted slightly; he immediately understood that the man’s talk of joining forces probably served as a cover, and his intentions were not pure.

"Get lost!" Lian Jiuyou revealed his killing intent and said harshly.

A trace of coldness flickered deep in the white-robed man’s eyes, and he vanished into the darkness.

Gurgle! Suddenly, a muffled sound rose from beneath everyone’s feet, like boiling water, gurgling and bubbling.

Within the Deep Abyss of the Return to the Ruins, countless experts were alarmed.

Lian Jiuyou was horrified to discover that around him, there were at least dozens of auras no weaker than his own, and even one expert at the level of a Great Emperor.

"Have they all come for the Return to the Ruins tidal surge?"

"Of course," Lan Youruo said. "The Return to the Ruins tidal surge is a grand event that happens once every eighteen hundred years; it holds great significance." "Those who know of it wouldn’t miss this great opportunity."

Lian Jiuyou’s face darkened like water; why hadn’t his senior told him about the Return to the Ruins tidal surge? If he had known earlier, he would have avoided its timing, and not been trapped in such an impossible dilemma now.

Boom! An incredibly terrifying aura surged from below, like a volcanic eruption. A sonic roar swept through the entire Deep Abyss of the Return to the Ruins, deafening as a beast’s roar.

The entire Deep Abyss of the Return to the Ruins trembled.

"It’s come," Lin Qianmo said solemnly.

Rumble!

The next moment, boundless divine light burst from below, thoroughly illuminating the dark and profound Deep Abyss of the Return to the Ruins. Lian Jiuyou saw what seemed like countless figures.

Within the divine light lay a Divine Spear, weathered by the trials of time and exuding an ancient, weathered aura.

"It’s an imperial weapon!" someone exclaimed in shock.

Lian Jiuyou’s heart shook violently; had an imperial weapon really appeared with the tidal surge? "This is just the first round," Lin Qianmo explained. "The Return to the Ruins tidal surge erupts in three rounds total; within it, anything unexpected could emerge."

"But behind such a stroke of luck, there often lurks risk."

"This is mine!"

A quasi-emperor made her move—an elderly crone. She unleashed the Heavenly laws manifesting earth technique, her body swelling to mountainous proportions. Withered branches for hands plunged into the boundless divine light, grasping for the imperial weapon.

Hiss!

Her hand entered the radiance only to rot and vaporize instantly, soon stripped bare to yellowed bone.

Unfazed, the crone had prepared. Branches erupted from her skeletal fingers, tendrils twisting like sentient vines to ensnare the imperial war spear, straining to wrench it free.

Swish!

In a blink, a coil of shadow flickered within the boundless divine light. A shrill scream tore from the crone before her colossal form vanished into the light. Within one breath, both flesh and primordial spirit turned to ephemeral dust.

Nangong Zhandao’s pupils abruptly contracted. "How did she perish?"

"Seems something lurks within," Lian Jiuyou stated.

"Likely an entity from beyond the Deep Abyss of the Return to the Ruins," Lan Youruo solemnly declared. "She stood at the peak of quasi-emperor level, yet lacked even an instant to react. That creature’s power is fearsome."

Lin Qianmo remained silent.

In truth, she had witnessed it all.

That shadow was a black tentacle, covered in scales. A mere flick—out, then in—and the crone was dragged into the boundless divine light and utterly annihilated.

"Old Matriarch Qi perished!"

Recognition sparked murmurs from someone who knew her, shock rippling through the onlookers at her demise.

"That was merely bait," another quasi-emperor asserted. "Something cast out the imperial weapon, deliberately luring our intervention, only to strike down the one who acted."

Fear and suspicion gripped the crowd.

"Hesitation breeds failure," snorted a middle-aged man crowned with an imperial coronet. He stood tall and imposing, his body radiating imperial might, eyes blazing with terrifying divine power—a true Great Emperor.

"That’s Royal Prince Bao, from the Holy Ancestor Dynasty."

The quasi-emperors exchanged uneasy glances. Few dared challenge him, whether intimidated by his rank or the sheer authority of his status.

The Holy Ancestor Dynasty stood paramount among the Mysterious Realm’s powers, rivaling—even surpassing—mighty sects like the Taihao Heavenly Sect.

"Moon-Snaring Grasp!"

Royal Prince Bao’s robes billowed as he invoked his power.

Though a simple technique, under his command, it evoked the colossal grandeur of wresting the sun and moon from the heavens. His hand descended like a god reaching down from the Ninth Heaven to pluck stars from the firmament.

The massive hand entered the boundless divine light. Instantly, bizarre Symbols materialized. Burning like hot brands against his palm, they sought to consume his flesh as they had the old crone’s body.

Yet, as a Great Emperor, Royal Prince Bao had long transcended the limits of mortal flesh. He defied the boundless divine light, his fingers brushing the shaft of the Divine Spear.

Swish!

Just as before, that tendril of shadow snapped forth again.

"You coward hiding your head and tail, get out before this king!"

Royal Prince Bao roared, his imperial might shaking the Great Abyss. His attack instantly changed as he clasped his hand, five fingers like pillars propping up the sky. Divine patterns flowed, swiftly forming a bounded field.

In that moment, everyone saw it clearly.

It was a tentacle resembling an octopus, but covered in black scales of extreme hardness.

Trapped by Royal Prince Bao’s power, it struggled frantically, actually shattered his bounded field, and shrank back into the boundless divine light.

Frowning, Royal Prince Bao smoothly retrieved his Divine Spear and withdrew from the boundless divine light.

"Royal Prince Bao, what was that thing?" A quasi-emperor asked respectfully.

"This king doesn’t know either," Royal Prince Bao replied coldly. "This Great Abyss is full of strange things to begin with. With the Return to the Ruins tidal surge coinciding, likely even more monsters will emerge."

Boom!

The boundless divine light twisted violently as an immense aura erupted. A cloud of black mist sprayed out.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant, countless tentacles burst from the black mist, sweeping towards cultivators in every direction.

"It’s the monster from before!"

"That monster got out!"

Panic seized everyone. The monster’s strength was undeniable—it had instantly killed the old woman—clearly possessing battle prowess equivalent to a Great Emperor. How could a group of quasi-emperors not panic?

"Annihilation of the Heavenly Cycle!"

"One Slash Severing Heaven and Earth!"

…

The quasi-emperors simultaneously invoked their magical artifacts and divine abilities, unleashing immense power against the monster.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dozens of divine techniques and magical artifacts blasted into the black mist. Tentacles recoiled as if struck by lightning.

The black mist scattered, revealing an enormous tentacled octopus monster.

The octopus monster roared continuously, spewing ink-like dense fog from its mouth.

Clang!

Then.

A blade’s keen cry rang out. The boundless divine light flashed once more. A strand of blade light suddenly erupted. Appearing like lightning, like radiance, it instantly slashed across the octopus monster’s body.

The octopus monster froze.

Then, its body split in two. Its flesh withered rapidly in a grotesque and terrifying manner, as if every drop of its blood and flesh had been drained.

By the time the monster’s desiccated remains melted within the boundless divine light, everyone saw the blade.

That blade was thin as a cicada’s wing, its body pitch black. An eye opened upon its surface, greedily drinking the beast’s soul essence.

A fearsome demonic aura emanated from the blade.

Without a doubt, it was a demonic blade.

Moreover, capable of cleaving a monster with Great Emperor-level battle prowess in a single stroke, this demonic blade was of an extremely high grade. Even among imperial weapons, it stood at the very apex.

Even Lian Jiuyou was stunned.

This was only the first wave of the Return to the Ruins tidal surge, yet it had already produced two imperial weapons. Their value plainly surpassed that of the Green Lotus Demon Emperor’s tomb.

Originally disinterested, Lian Jiuyou was now tempted.

Gurgle… Gurgle…

The boundless divine light flowed like liquid, seeming to contract, continuously brewing.

Boom!

A few seconds later, the boundless divine light exploded, radiating intensely. Beams of divine light and demonic radiance erupted from the depths of the Great Abyss, like a treasure tsunami, completely flooding the passage leading downward.

Everyone went berserk.