Chapter 985: Lightning Splits The Sky; An Ancient Beast Awakening From Slumber (I)

At the edge of the Sunken Sea, Ding Yi's black robe allowed him to blend in, nearly invisible against the black water background. He stood beneath the golden expanse overhead and took the scene silently. Suddenly, something in the distance caught his attention.

The sea before him stirred, and a massive turtle rose and fell from the waves, with three figures on its back. The man at the front looked up at the sky for a long moment, as if working something out, then slowly shook his head. Behind him stood a young-looking man and woman, and as the turtle steadied, the young man's eyes met Ding Yi's from afar. Ding Yi's lips curled faintly; he then slipped into the sea, vanishing from sight.

The young man frowned slightly. "Father, quite a few people are interested in the pocket world."

The man at the front kept his gaze forward. "That pocket world has been around for over a thousand years. Nothing stays hidden forever. People couldn't get to it before because of the devil sect, and now that it's gone, all sorts of nobodies think they can get a piece of it. Heh, don't worry about them. Just a bunch of Adepts anyway. If they go in, they're basically courting death."

"What about Little Lian and me?"

"What about you? Don't worry about it, I'll be there to protect you. If we can find the Spirit-Shaping Sacred Spring that Ascendant Li once bathed in, you'll be able to reshape your spirit roots and break into the Nascent Soul Realm smoothly. Perhaps you'll even be able to comprehend the Power of Laws early, and that'll allow you to reach Divine Transformation."

The young man hesitated. "Does that spring... really exist?"

His father did not elaborate. He studied the area for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind. "The death energy in this sea is being drawn toward the Heaven of Northern Yama, and that's forcing the pocket world entrance to open early. Hmm... That's not entirely a good thing. If that's the case, the entrance will not be stable. We'll still need to wait a few months before we can enter.... Oh well, it is what it is. Let's find somewhere to stay for now. When the time comes, we'll enter through a more stable opening."

As he spoke, the giant turtle beneath them slowly sank into the sea and disappeared from sight.

Elsewhere, now far from the shore, Ding Yi let out a sigh. The connection's still faint; it's hard to pin down. The pocket world hasn't fully opened yet, so we've got a bit of time. But we can't afford to drag this out. I need to head back and drag Azure Yang out of his burrow.

As he thought this, a trace of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. He had chosen that man with utmost care—strong enough to be useful, not strong enough to escape his control. But if he stepped into the late stage of Golden Core, too many variables would arise, and Ding Yi had no intention of leaving such things to chance.

***

A month later, Ding Yi arrived on Surging Island with Devil's Cloud and asked to see Luo Chen. This time, Luo Chen did not turn them away and met them in the Alchemy-Artifact Hall. In all fairness, that was hardly a place to receive guests, but he could not care less. He simply remained at his workbench, focused on making a sword case, while a basket-shaped enchanted treasure was lying nearby, waiting for repairs. The two of them paused at the sight and exchanged surprised glances.

Ding Yi spoke up first. "You shut yourself away and even refused to see us for this?"

Without even looking up, Luo Chen replied, "Like you said, the trip to the Sunken Sea is dangerous. None of us can be sure we'll come back in one piece. Before I go, there are things I need to finish. Safety measures, you know? And this enchanted treasure was something I promised a friend I'd repair. Once that's done, I can leave without anything weighing on my mind."

Ding Yi was left speechless. Devil's Cloud, on the other hand, did not seem to care. He rarely got a chance to watch Azure Yang work with artifacts up close, and right now, he was focused fully on Luo Chen's hands. But after watching for a while, he did not see anything particularly impressive, so felt a little disappointed.

Luo Chen slowed his movements slightly and looked up at Ding Yi. "Since you came rushing over like this, I don't think it's because you're worried about my health, is it?"

Ding Yi shook his head and quickly went over everything he had seen and heard at the Sunken Sea. When he finished, his tone turned serious. "The pocket world is already opening. We need to make preparations now."

Luo Chen frowned. "That's not what you said before. You told me the opening and closing follow the celestial signs, and it could last anywhere from a year or two to decades. Don't we have plenty of time?"

"Things are different now!" Ding Yi took a deep breath and spilled out his findings. "I said that the pocket world is opening, but that was poor phrasing on my part. What I meant was the pocket world is being opened. Someone's forcing it open. There are rumors that Merman Emperor Liu Jun is using a secret method to draw out the death energy of the Sunken Sea to break the formation of the Heaven of Northern Yama. That's what triggered the early opening. And if it can open early, it might close early too. If we get trapped inside, we might never come out. And obviously, the sooner we go in, the more we stand to gain. Azure Yang, we really can't afford to wait."

Luo Chen's frown deepened as he listened. He remained silent for a long moment before saying, "Give me just a little more time."

With that, he lowered his head and resumed his work. The steady rhythm of his hands made his stance clear. Ding Yi's expression darkened, a spark of anger flashing through his eyes, but at Devil's Cloud's signal, he held back and left unwillingly.

Luo Chen did not see them off and continued working in the hall. Only half a day later did he finally stop. Repairing Duan Li's basket-shaped enchanted treasure was not really a difficult task; it just required the right materials, and once it was fixed, he only had to throw it in the cauldron for a while and it'd be back to full function. What truly occupied his time was the enchanted artifact Han Zhan had entrusted to him, the Soul Heaven Sword Case! He had replaced the silkworm silk that was customarily used for such items with higher-quality merfolk silk. It was the best way to insulate the case against fiend qi. The auxiliary materials used were also of excellent grade. After a month of work, it was finally done, and it would certainly suffice for Han Zhan's needs.

He ran his fingers across the soft surface of the sword case, and he narrowed his eyes. Ding Yi was anxious, and growing more so by the day. To Luo Chen, that was not a bad thing. Even if it did not allow him to take control of the situation, it would at least prevent him from being pushed around later. As for himself, he was in no hurry. He was quite literally just a step away from reaching the fourth tier in Physique Refinement. This physique might be his only reliable way to stand against a Sage, so no matter how much he was urged, he could not rush it.

No rush... The first who rush ahead might just be the first to die.

He chuckled, stored away the sword case, and headed directly to the Starry Palace. Recently, he had gained new insights into Myriad Path Convergence. The closer he came to the fourth tier in Physique Refinement, the more flaws he noticed in this art. If he could resolve them one by one, his transformed form might reach an entirely new level.

***

The Society had always been a haven for rogue cultivators; in the eyes of those at the lower tiers, it stood on par with a Holy Land. As the war between righteous and devilish factions deepened, more unaffiliated cultivators poured in and filled the place.

On the surface, it seemed livelier than ever. Yet beneath that bustle, something had begun to change. Over the past year, an unspoken pressure had settled over the Society's lower segment. Faces they had never seen before began to appear, and with them came an unmistakable shift in atmosphere. High-tier experts, figures who would normally remained hidden or distant, were showing themselves more frequently. Especially with the strange phenomenon of the Golden Sky Black Sea, those experts who had long stayed in the shadows were no longer content to remain still.

Gradually, a rumor began to circulate. It was said that the Sunken Sea concealed a pocket world where an ancient cultivator had left behind their inheritance. Within it lay treasures capable of extending one's lifespan, elevating one's cultivation, and perhaps even granting the chance to reach Nascent Soul or even Divine Transformation. Normally, these claims would have been dismissed. But this time, there were obvious signs in the sky, and these were the basis for the rumor—that something in this pocket world had allowed Li Canghai to advance to the Divine Transformation Realm!

Whatever the truth was, it was enough for doubt to turn to desire and desire to action.

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